Asus Xonar DX User Manual
  1. Manuals
  2. Brands
  3. Asus Manuals
  4. Sound Card
  5. XONAR DX
  6. User manual

Asus Xonar DX User Manual

Hide thumbs Also See for Xonar DX:
Table of Contents

Advertisement

Quick Links

Xonar DX
Audio Card
User Manual

Advertisement

Table of Contents
loading

Related Manuals for Asus Xonar DX

Summary of Contents for Asus Xonar DX

  • Page 1 Xonar DX Audio Card User Manual...
  • Page 2 Product warranty or service will not be extended if: (1) the product is repaired, modified or altered, unless such repair, modification of alteration is authorized in writing by ASUS; or (2) the serial number of the product is defaced or missing.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    Connecting Analog Speaker Systems ......15 Connecting Microphone ........... 20 Connecting Line-In Audio Sources ........20 Xonar DX Driver Guide ..............21 Introduction to the Xonar DX Audio Center GUI ....21 Main Setting ..............23 Mixer/Volume ..............31 Effects ................34 Karaoke/Magic Voice ............
  • Page 4 Converting music in “Main Setting” Page ......52 Find Converted Music in “PMP Music” Page ....54 RMAA Test Guide ................55 Setting Up Xonar DX Audio Card ........55 Configuration and Test with RMAA ........58 RMAA Testing Results ............. 63 RightMark Audio Analyzer test ............

  • Page 5: Notices

    You are also entitled to have the goods repaired or replaced if the goods fail to be of acceptable quality and the failure does not amount to a major failure. If you require assistance please call ASUS Customer Service 1300 2787 88 or visit us at http://support.asus.com.

  • Page 6: Safety Information

    Trademarks Xonar and ASUS logo are trademarks of ASUSTek Computer Inc. “Dolby” and “Dolby Digital Live”, “Dolby Pro Logic IIx”, “Dolby Virtual Speaker”, “Dolby Headphone” are trademarks of Dolby Laboratories. “DTS” and “DTS CONNECT”, “DTS Interactive”, “DTS Neo: PC”...

  • Page 7: Introduction

    Introduction Package Contents • ASUS Xonar DX audio card • ASUS Xonar DX support CD (including Portable Music Processor™ Lite and RMAA V6.0.6 utilities) • Additional low-profile bracket • S/PDIF TOSLINK optical adaptor x1 • Quick Installation Guide System Requirements •...

  • Page 8: Specifications Summary

    - Max. full 2.5Gbps bandwidth per direction and optimized latency for high-definition audio processing - Compatible with X1, X4, X8, X16 PCI Express slots Main Chipset Audio Processor ASUS AV100 High-Definition Sound Processor (Max. 192KHz/24bit) 24-bit D-A Converter of Digital Sources Cirrus-Logic CS4398*1 for Front-Out(120dB SNR, Max. 192kHz/24bit) Cirrus-Logic CS4362A*1 for other 6 channels (114dBSNR, Max.

  • Page 9: Specifications Summary

    - DS3D GX 2.0 adds latest VocalFX voice effects for online gaming or chatting. VocalFX™ Xonar DX provides VocalFX, the latest vocal effect technologies for gaming and VoIP, including: - VoiceEX: produces vivid environmental reverberation for your voice in EAX games...

  • Page 10: About Hardware

    About Hardware Xonar DX Audio Processing Card ASUS Xonar DX...
  • Page 11 Aux-In, you must enable the “monitor” function for Aux-In in the Xonar Audio Center software’s recording mixer.) Connects to the PCI Express slot on your motherboard PCI Express Bus Golden Fingers ASUS Xonar AV100 Audio Processing Unit (DuplexHD Main Audio Processor 192K/24bit) ASUS Xonar DX...

  • Page 12: Installing The Xonar Hardware

    MIDI board in the package). Installing the Audio Processing Card Face the bracket of the Xonar DX audio card toward the back panel of your computer and insert the audio card gently into an available PCI Express slot.
  • Page 13 If the power cable is not connected properly, the audio card will not work at all. When removing the power cable from the Xonar DX audio card, make sure to pull outward the 4-pin header first, then unplug it from the power connector as the following pictures show.

  • Page 14: Connecting Tv Tuner Card

    Using this setup, you can even turn on sound effects such as Pro-Logic IIx to expand the stereo TV audio to 5.1 or 7.1 channel surround sound. TV audio on your PC will become even better than on your TV set! ASUS Xonar DX...

  • Page 15: Installing Software

    “END USER LICENCE AGREEMENT” in the process and make sure you understand and accept it before you continue the installation. When the installation finishes, you may be prompted to restart your computer. You can choose to restart the computer later if desired. ASUS Xonar DX...

  • Page 16: Installing The Pmp Software

    Installing the PMP software (Portable Music Processor) From the installation CD menu, select the option to install the PMP software. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the installation. After the installation is complete, click Finish. ASUS Xonar DX...

  • Page 17: Uninstalling Or Reinstalling Software

    4.3.2 Reinstalling Software Before you reinstall any software, it’s recommended to uninstall the existing software first. After you finish the uninstallation of the software, please follow the installation process again to reinstall the same or updated software. ASUS Xonar DX...

  • Page 18: Connecting Speakers And Peripherals

    Connecting Speakers and Peripherals Connecting Digital Speaker Systems (Home Theater) The Xonar DX supports Dolby Digital Live technology, which transcode any audio, including games and music, into industry-standard Dolby Digital surround bit-streams. This makes playback through your home theater system possible, creating an immersive and impressive cinema surround sound experience.

  • Page 19: Connecting Headphones

    Connecting Headphones 5.2.1 Connecting Stereo Headphones Item Description The Front Out jack has a built-in high-quality amplifier to Front Out/Headphone Jack drive headphones. Connect your stereo headphones directly to this jack. ASUS Xonar DX...
  • Page 20 Connect the front-channel 3.5mm plug of your 5.1 Front Out headphones into this jack. Connect the surround-channel 3.5mm plug of your 5.1 Side Surround Out headphone into this jack. Connect the Center/Bass-channel 3.5mm plug of your 5.1 Center/Subwoofer Out headphone into this jack. ASUS Xonar DX...

  • Page 21: Connecting Analog Speaker Systems

    Connects to the “Center” and “subwoofer” input ports of the Center/Subwoofer analog amplifier with the mini-jack to RCA cable. Connects to the “left back” and “right back” input ports of the Back Surround Out analog amplifier with the mini-jack to RCA cable. ASUS Xonar DX...
  • Page 22 5.3.2 Connecting 2/2.1 Channel Speakers 2 Speakers 2.1 Speakers Item Description Connect the 2/2.1 speaker set’s 3.5mm plug into this Front Front Out/Headphone Jack Out jack. ASUS Xonar DX...
  • Page 23 4.1 Speakers Item Description Connects to the Front input port of the 4/4.1 speakers with Front Out the mini-jack cable. Connects to the Surround input port of the 4/4.1 speakers Side Surround Out with the mini-jack cable. ASUS Xonar DX...
  • Page 24 Connects to the Surround input port of the 5.1 speakers with Side Surround Out the mini-jack cable. Connects to the Center/Subwoofer input port of the 5.1 Center/Subwoofer speakers with the mini-jack cable. 5.3.5 Connecting 6.1/7.1 Channel Speakers 6.1 Speakers ASUS Xonar DX...
  • Page 25 Connects to the Center/Subwoofer input port of the 6.1/7.1 Center/Subwoofer speakers with the mini-jack cable. Connects to the Back Surround input port of the 6.1/7.1 Back Surround Out speakers with the mini-jack cable. ASUS Xonar DX...

  • Page 26: Connecting Microphone

    Connect the 3.5mm plug of the CD/MP3 Player or any Line Input Jack other Line level analog audio sources into this Line-In jack for sound recording or real-time Dolby sound processing through the Monitoring path (See the “Mixer” section of the driver guide). ASUS Xonar DX...

  • Page 27: Xonar Dx Driver Guide

    Introduction to the Xonar DX Audio Center GUI After the driver installation is complete and your computer has been rebooted, you will find the Xonar DX Audio Center’s icon in the system tray on the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. Double click this icon to open the Xonar Audio Center utility.
  • Page 28 These 4 buttons give access to quick sound effects DSP Mode combinations for Music, Games, DVD Video, and effect-free (Hi-Fi) modes. This panel gives access to setting tabs, including Main Setting Menu Panel Settings, Mixer/volume, Effects, Karaoke/MagicVoice, and FlexBass. (see the following details) ASUS Xonar DX...

  • Page 29: Main Setting

    The Sample rate determines the number of audio samples per second that the Digital-to-Analog Converters (DAC) and S/PDIF digital interface will output. The Xonar DX audio card can support sample rates up to 192KHz (44.1K, 48K, 96K, 192KHz). Usually audio CDs and MP3 files are 44.1KHz; DVD-Video uses 48KHz;...
  • Page 30 2 speakers (or 2.1), 4 speakers (or 4.1), 5.1 speakers, 7.1 speakers, Front Panel Headphone and Front Panel 2 speakers (or 2.1). Xonar DX will play the channels and do the proper 3D/Dolby sound processing accordingly. Please select the correct speaker type for your connected speakers.
  • Page 31 6.2.3 SPDIF Out/DDL Xonar DX is capable of outputting Dolby Digital Live, which are real-time encoders that transcode any audio, including games and music, into industry-standard Dolby Digital bit-streams on-the-fly. This is ideal for playback through a home theater system, creating an immersive and impressive cinema surround sound experience.
  • Page 32 Audio Channels -MP3, WMA, AAC, CD, VCD, 2D games => 2 channels -DVD-Video with Dolby Digtial or DTS 5.1 => 6 channels -DVD-Video with Dolby Digtial EX or DTS ES => 8 channels -3D games => 8 channels ASUS Xonar DX...
  • Page 33 You can drag each speaker or listener to a different relative Drag speaker or listener position “virtually” using only your mouse. The Xonar DX audio card will process it and virtualize each speaker position in real-time. The Subwoofer has no directional sounds, and hence can be moved only closer or further away.
  • Page 34 Music mode is the default mode for regular music playback. Music Mode In this mode, you can adjust the Center Width and Dimension parameters. Movie mode is a preset optimized for movie audio. Movie Mode ASUS Xonar DX...
  • Page 35 They differ in the sense of the “spatial dimension” they impart. DH1—Reference Room: Small, acoustically damped room. DH2—Livelier Room: More acoustically live than DH1 DH3—Larger Room: Larger room than DH1; more distant and diffused effect. ASUS Xonar DX...
  • Page 36 Dolby Virtual Speaker provides two modes of virtualization: Reference Mode The first is Reference mode, which virtualizes the missing speakers as in the following picture. Wide mode virtualizes the necessary speakers and Wide Mode enhances the surround experience as in the following picture. ASUS Xonar DX...

  • Page 37: Mixer/Volume

    The mixer page is designed to control the volume for playback and recording on the Xonar DX. In addition, the Xonar DX also provides a high-quality digital monitoring function for hearing the recorded audio from the speakers. You can also process the input signals with all playback sound effects such as Dolby technology.
  • Page 38 You can check with “Front Panel Microphone” to enable microphone of front panel. Enabling “Microphone Boost” will increase a volume gain to boost microphone input signals. For typical low-cost PC microphone, it’s recommended to enable this function. (continued on the next page) ASUS Xonar DX...
  • Page 39 Line-In: recording from Line-in jack for external audio devices WAVE: recording from digital wave audio you are playing on PC (Note: Windows Vista doesn’t support WAVE recording.) Reset all volume controls to the default settings Reset ASUS Xonar DX...

  • Page 40: Effects

    Clicking this button will apply the environment effect that you More Option select from the pull-down menu on the right side. There are another 23 options in this menu. There are three size settings for each environment: Large, Environment Size Medium, and Small. ASUS Xonar DX...
  • Page 41 Key in a name for your own “User Defined” equalizer setting Save Name Click this + button to save the parameters into User Defined Add/Save list Click this - button to delete the parameters from User Delete Defined list ASUS Xonar DX...

  • Page 42: Karaoke/Magic Voice

    Karaoke/Magic Voice The Xonar DX provides powerful features for Karaoke, including Key-Shifting, Vocal Cancellation and Microphone Echo. Microphone Echo can generate natural echo effects on your singing voice just like a karaoke machine. Key-Shifting can change the pitch of Karaoke background music, and Vocal Cancellation can reduce the original vocal in songs and keep the music and symphony for karaoke.

  • Page 43: Flexbass

    Adjusts the cut-off frequency (50~250Hz) for LFE (low- LFE Crossover Frequency frequency effects) signals. Xonar DX will filter out the bass signals below the crossover frequency from small speaker channels and forward them to the subwoofer. The higher the crossover frequency, the more bass signals will be subtracted.

  • Page 44: Aec (Acoustic Echo Cancellation)

    AEC technology can eliminate up-to- 40dB speaker echo return and suppress noises into your microphone for easier conversation experience. AEC is an innovative feature to make Xonar DX the best sound card choice for online chatting in VOIP applications (Skype, MSN, Google, QQ, etc.) or online gaming.
  • Page 45 Put your microphone 20~30cm away from you (fix the distance) and do NOT speak too close or too loud into the microphone to avoid signal clipping and distortion. Enable “microphone boost” on Xonar DX audio center mixer to get proper input signal level.

  • Page 46: Smart Volume Normalization

    2, it will become louder when you turn on SVN; and for higher volume music 1, it will become quieter. 0dB (Full-scale) Music 1 -10 dB Music 2 SVN Off SVN On - ∞ ASUS Xonar DX...

  • Page 47: Ds3D Gx And Dsp Modes

    API. All existing games compatible with Microsoft DirectX and DirectSound 2D/3D will be supported with DS3D GX technology. Before you start EAX and DS3D HW games, please enable DS3D GX on the Xonar DX audio center, and disable the function after the games.
  • Page 48 DirectSound 3D Game Extensions mode to support EAX GX Mode and DirectSound 3D Hardware extensions for lots of DirectX/ DirectSound3D games on Windows Vista and XP. This mode is set for Games. Game Mode This mode is set for DVD Movie playback. Movie Mode ASUS Xonar DX...

  • Page 49: Vocalfx

    Changes your voice pitch to different types for disguising Magic Voice your real voice or just for fun in online chatting It emulates different background environment effects when ChatEX you chat online. You can add VOIP application into VOIP application List. App List ASUS Xonar DX...
  • Page 50 For VOIP Press App List If you don’t see the VOIP application of yours in the list, press Add.(Make sure the Skype and MSN Messenger are the latest version) Look for the application’s location and Open it. ASUS Xonar DX...
  • Page 51 This message implies the record device will be set to microphone. Make sure the GX function is enabled. Click “OK” to accept it, or “Cancel” if you want to enable it later. Check “Don’t remind me again” if you don’t want to see this messsage pop up next time. ASUS Xonar DX...

  • Page 52: Asio 2 Driver

    ASIO or ASIO2 output. ASIO can ensure lower latency during playback and recording on PCs, which is very important for professional music creation and editing. The Xonar DX package also provides Ableton Live and Sonar LE audio editing software, which all support ASIO output. The setup reference is described below.

  • Page 53: Using Sonar Le

    Step 4 is to click the Hardware Setup to configure the Bit- Hardware Setup depth (16/24bit) and latency (1ms~300ms). Step 5 is to select the sample rate from 44.1, 48, 96, Sample Rate 192KHz. Using Sonar LE… ASUS Xonar DX...
  • Page 54 Step 2 is to select “ASIO” as the driver mode in Advanced Driver Mode tab. (WDM and MME are Windows driver types) The changes will take effect after you restart the program next time. (continued on the next page) ASUS Xonar DX...
  • Page 55 After step 2, Sonar LE will display 4 output drivers: “ASUS Playback Timing Master Xonar DX ASIO Out -00~06”. Make sure you are using 00 or another one. After step 2, Sonar LE will display 1 input driver: “ASUS Recording Timing Master Xonar DX ASIO In -00”.

  • Page 56: Portable Music Processor™ Software

    Xonar DX Audio Card has been installed in your PC. The Xonar DX driver has been installed (Xonar DX audio converter driver is installed for PMP utility) You will also need an MP3 encoder installed to encode music into MP3 format (If you don’t have this already, the Xonar U1 installer will provide a...
  • Page 57 “PMP Music” folder This button is used to check online for upgrades to the Software Update PMP software and download it for upgrade (make sure your computer is connected to the Internet before you click the button) ASUS Xonar DX...

  • Page 58: Converting Music In "Main Setting" Page

    You can select all or click each check box to choose which file to be converted later. The files that have been converted during the process will show a check mark in the status column. (continued on the next page) ASUS Xonar DX...
  • Page 59 This display window will tell you the music being converted, Display for converting status file type, bitrate, spent time, converted percentage, and speed. Clicking the information button will display the version of Information page PMP that you have installed. ASUS Xonar DX...

  • Page 60: Find Converted Music In "Pmp Music" Page

    Find Converted Music in “PMP Music” Page The default conversion destination folder is C:\Program Files\ASUS PMP Lite\ PMP Music\. You can easily click the PMP Music page to find the converted music library. The new file name will be copied and suffixed with the data rate and DH (ie.

  • Page 61: Rmaa Test Guide

    RMAA Test Guide The Xonar DX driver CD includes RightMark Audio Analyzer (RMAA) v5.6, a popular software intended for testing the quality of audio equipment, be it a sound card, portable MP3 player, consumer CD/DVD player, or a speaker system. The measurements are conducted by playing and recording test signals, and using frequency analysis algorithms.
  • Page 62 Click “Reset” to make sure the recording volume is on the default highest level (0dB). This allows you to get realistic output and input quality ratings for the Xonar DX audio card. You should use an external 3.5mm line cable as follows (as short as possible) to connect the Front-Out jack to the Line-In jack for loop-back testing.
  • Page 63 Click “Reset” on the playback volume mixer page to keep the volume setting on default. Turn the master volume to the MAX level (0dB) ASUS Xonar DX...

  • Page 64: Configuration And Test With Rmaa

    Configuration and Test with RMAA Start RMAA and follow the setup procedure below. Select both of the playback/recording devices as “ASUS Xonar DX Audio”. Select 24bit and 48KHz for the test signals. (If you change the format here, please remember to go back to set the same sample rate output in the Xonar DX Audio Center) Click “Test options”...
  • Page 65 Go to the Sound Card tab and select “DirectSound” as the Driver Model (because Windows MME mode doesn’t support high-resolution 24bit audio playback and the data may be manipulated by Windows so that the real hardware quality can not be measured properly.) Click loop-back mode test button ASUS Xonar DX...
  • Page 66 If the recording volume level is not high enough, please check and make the WAVE and Master Volume are at the maximum level; Instead, if the recording volume level is too high, please lower the WAVE and Master volumes gradually until the level is ok. ASUS Xonar DX...
  • Page 67 Begin the test by clicking the “Done” button. If you cannot get the level to be “OK” after the previous step, click “Done” anyways and proceed. Enter “ASUS Xonar DX Audio” in the New slot name and select one Empty slot. Then click “OK”.
  • Page 68 10. RMAA will pop up the Test results window. You can click the “Select” checkbox and click to “Make html report”. 11. Check and key in the report name/options as follows and then click “OK”. ASUS Xonar DX...

  • Page 69: Rmaa Testing Results

    The following report is a sample and you can see how high-fidelity and crystal-clean the Xonar DX audio card is for both output and input (one of the world’s finest sound cards, it has higher quality than most CE devices.) You can also try testing the performance for other sample...

  • Page 70: Frequency Response

    Frequency response Frequency range Response From 20 Hz to 20 kHz, dB -0.11, +0.01 From 40 Hz to 15 kHz, dB -0.05, +0.01 Noise level ASUS Xonar DX...
  • Page 71 RMS power (A-weighted), dB: -112.4 -113.0 Peak level, dB FS: -87.5 -88.4 DC offset, %: -0.00 -0.00 Dynamic range Parameter Left Right Dynamic range, dB: +111.4 +111.8 Dynamic range (A-weighted), dB: +112.4 +112.8 DC offset, % -0.00 -0.00 ASUS Xonar DX...
  • Page 72 THD + Noise (at -3 dB FS) Parameter Left Right THD, %: 0.0006 0.0006 THD + Noise, %: 0.0008 0.0008 THD + Noise (A-weighted), %: 0.0010 0.0009 Intermodulation distortion ASUS Xonar DX...
  • Page 73 IMD + Noise, %: +0.0010 +0.0009 IMD + Noise (A-weighted), %: +0.0008 +0.0007 Stereo crosstalk Parameter Left Right Crosstalk at 100 Hz, dB: -109 -107 Crosstalk at 1 KHz, dB -101 -101 Crosstalk at 10 KHz, dB ASUS Xonar DX...
  • Page 74 IMD (swept tones) Parameter Left Right IMD + Noise at 5 KHz, 0.0011 0.0011 IMD + Noise at 10 KHz, 0.0009 0.0009 IMD + Noise at 15 KHz, 0.0009 0.0009 ASUS Xonar DX...

  • Page 75: Troubleshooting And Faqs

    Instructions: Make sure you have installed the driver Find the Xonar DX Audio Center icon in the system tray on the bottom right- hand corner of the screen. Double click the icon to open the Xonar DX Audio Center utility..
  • Page 76 PCI Express bus power. Please double check you have plugged the small 4-pin power plug onto Xonar DX power connector. If you did not plug the internal power, Xonar DX audio center will remind you a warning message and won’t allow your operation when you double click Xonar DX audio center icon in the system tray.
  • Page 77 Instructions: Windows Vista doesn’t show MPU-401 MIDI port on system. However, Xonar DX did support MIDI I/O and you can directly use it to connect MIDI instruments on Vista without any setting. I found no sound effects when playing 96K or 192KHz sound sources.

  • Page 78: [Faqs]

    Q1: Does the Xonar DX support Windows Vista? Answer: Yes, the Xonar DX driver package does support Windows Vista 32/64 bit and most key features are available. In addition, Xonar DX supports unique DS3D GX 1.0 on Windows Vista, which can recover DirectSound 3D hardware and EAX gaming sound effects on Vista for a lot of existing DirectX games.
  • Page 79 Q4: Does the Xonar DX support EAX on Vista? Answer: Yes, Xonar DX can support EAX2.0 not only on Windows XP but also on Vista through innovative DirectSound3D Game EXtensions v1.0 (DS3D GX 1.0) technology. Q5: Why do I need Dolby for PC games?
  • Page 80 CD optical drive to Analog. Open the Windows Media Player and do the following to change the setting: Tools > Options > Device > CD Properties > Playback > Analog. ASUS Xonar DX...

Table of Contents