The Microsoft® DirectSound™ application programming interface (API) is the audio component of the Microsoft Windows® 95 DirectX™ 2 Software Development Kit (SDK) that provides low-latency mixing, hardware acceleration, and direct access to the sound device. DirectSound provides this functionality while maintaining compatibility with existing Windows 95-based applications and device drivers.
DirectX 2 allows you, as an application developer, access to the display and audio hardware while insulating you from the specific details of that hardware. The overriding design goal in DirectX 2 is speed. Instead of providing a high-level set of functions, DirectSound provides a device-independent interface, allowing applications to take full advantage of the capabilities of the audio hardware.