The sound specific component of DirectX TM.

This application programming interface (API) is the wave-audio component of the DirectX® API. DirectSound provides low-latency mixing, hardware acceleration, and direct access to the sound device all the while maintaining compatibility with existing device drivers. It also enables wave sound capture and playback, supports property sets that enable application developers to take advantage of extended services offered by sound cards and their associated drivers.

DirectSound is a new technology that sends the incoming and outgoing audio directly to your sound hardware on your computer. This maximizes the full potential of the audio hardware that your computer uses.