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ii E3549 First Edition V1 January 2008 Copyright © 2008 ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. All Rights Reserved. No part of this manual, including the products and software described in it, may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language in any form or by...
Page 3 - iii; Contents
iii Contents Contents ...................................................................................................... iiiNotices .......................................................................................................... vSafety information ........................................
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iv Contents 6.9 DS3D GX (for Vista Only) and DSP Modes ..................... 41 6.10 VocalFX ............................................................................ 42 6.11 ASIO 2 Driver ................................................................... 46 7. Portable Music Processor™ Software...
Page 5 - Notices; Federal Communications Commission Statement; may cause undesired operation.; Canadian Department of Communications Statement; This class B digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES-003.
v Notices Federal Communications Commission Statement This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions:• This device may not cause harmful interference, and• This device must accept any interference received including interference that may caus...
Page 6 - Safety information; that came with the package.; Trademarks
vi This symbol of the crossed out wheeled bin indicates that the product (electrical and electronic equipment) should not be placed in municipal waste. Check local regulations for disposal of electronic products. Safety information • Before installing the device on a motherboard, carefully read all ...
Page 7 - ASUS Xonar DX; Introduction; Package Contents; Windows
1 ASUS Xonar DX 1. Introduction 1.1 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 1.2 System Requirements • One P...
Page 8 - Specifications summary
ASUS Xonar DX 1.3 Specifications summary (continued on the next page) Items Description Audio Performance Output Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-Weighted): 116 dB for Front-out112dB for other channels Input Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-Weighted): 112dB Output Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise at 1kHz(-3dB) : 0...
Page 10 - About Hardware; Xonar DX Audio Processing Card
ASUS Xonar DX 1 2 345 2. About Hardware 2.1 Xonar DX Audio Processing Card 7 1 2 34 5 9 8 6
Page 12 - Installing the Xonar Hardware; Preparing Your Computer; Power off your computer and disconnect the power cord.; Installing the Audio Processing Card
6 ASUS Xonar DX 3. Installing the Xonar Hardware 3.1 Preparing Your Computer Before you proceed with the following installation steps, it’s recommended that you disable your onboard audio device in your BIOS settings, or uninstall any other sound cards on your PC. (For BIOS setting or uninstallation...
Page 14 - Connecting TV Tuner Card
8 ASUS Xonar DX 3.3 Connecting TV Tuner Card 1. If you have a traditional PCI or PCI Express TV tuner card on your PC, you may need to connect it to the audio card to send the tuner card’s sound to your PC speakers. 2. Secure the PCI/PCI Express TV tuner card and screw it into the back-panel. 3. Con...
Page 15 - Installing Software; Installing the Audio Card Driver
ASUS Xonar DX 4. Installing Software 4.1 Installing the Audio Card Driver 1. After you have installed your audio card, turn on your computer. Windows automatically detects your audio card and searches for device drivers. When prompted for the audio drivers, click the “Cancel” button. 2. Insert the d...
Page 16 - Installing the PMP software (Portable Music
10 ASUS Xonar DX 4.2 Installing the PMP software (Portable Music Processor) 1. From the installation CD menu, select the option to install the PMP software. 2. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the installation. After the installation is complete, click Finish.
Page 17 - Uninstalling or Reinstalling Software; Click the “Change or Remove Programs” button.
11 ASUS Xonar DX 4.3 Uninstalling or Reinstalling Software 4.3.1 Uninstalling Software 1. Click Start -> Settings -> Control Panel. 2. Double-click the “Add/Remove Programs” icon. 3. Click the “Change or Remove Programs” button. 4. Select each program you would like to remove, and then click t...
Page 18 - Connecting Speakers and Peripherals; Connecting Digital Speaker Systems (Home Theater)
12 ASUS Xonar DX 5. Connecting Speakers and Peripherals 5.1 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 thro...
Page 19 - Connecting Headphones
13 ASUS Xonar DX 5.2 Connecting Headphones 5.2.1 Connecting Stereo Headphones No Item Description 1 Front Out/Headphone Jack The Front Out jack has a built-in high-quality amplifier to drive headphones. Please connect your stereo headphones directly to this jack. 1
Page 21 - Connecting Analog Speaker Systems
15 ASUS Xonar DX 5.3 Connecting Analog Speaker Systems 5.3.1 Connecting Analog Power Amplifier 12 34 No Item Description 1 Front Out Connects to the “left front” and “right front” input ports of the analog amplifier with the mini-jack to RCA cable. 2 Side Surround Out Connects to the “left surround”...
Page 22 - Speakers
16 ASUS Xonar DX 5.3.2 Connecting 2/2.1 Channel Speakers No Item Description 1 Front Out/Headphone Jack Connect the 2/2.1 speaker set’s 3.5mm plug into this Front Out jack. 1 2 Speakers 2.1 Speakers 1
Page 23 - Speakers
17 ASUS Xonar DX 5.3.3 Connecting 4/4.1 Channel Speakers No Item Description 1 Front Out Connects to the Front input port of the 4/4.1 speakers with the mini-jack cable. 2 Side Surround Out Connects to the Surround input port of the 4/4.1 speakers with the mini-jack cable. 12 12 4 Speakers 4.1 Speak...
Page 26 - Connecting Microphone
20 ASUS Xonar DX 5.4 Connecting Microphone 5.5 Connecting Line-In Audio Sources No Item Description 1 Microphone Input Jack Connect the microphone’s 3.5mm plug into this Mic-In jack for voice communication, recording, or karaoke. 1 No Item Description 1 Line Input Jack Connect the 3.5mm plug of the ...
Page 27 - Xonar DX Driver Guide; Introduction to the Xonar DX Audio Center GUI
21 ASUS Xonar DX 6. Xonar DX Driver Guide 6.1 Introduction to the Xonar DX Audio Center GUI 1. 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 ...
Page 29 - Main Setting
23 ASUS Xonar DX 6.2 Main Setting 6.2.1 Sample Rate 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...
Page 32 - Here are some typical suggestions:
26 ASUS Xonar DX 6.2.4 Audio Channels (For Vista only) This setting only appears in Windows Vista. Vista will deliver the audio channels to the audio driver according to this setting, no matter what the original audio content is or how many channels they have. Therefore, you need to set this in acco...
Page 33 - The 7.1 Virtual Speaker Shifter has the following major features:; Reset all Speaker Shifter settings to the defaults.
27 ASUS Xonar DX 6.2.5 7.1 Virtual Speaker Shifter The 7.1 Virtual Speaker Shifter has the following major features: • Expanding/upmixing audio to 7.1-channel surround sound• Virtualizing 7.1 surround sound over any set of speakers• Shiftable virtual speaker positioning allows you to adjust the best...
Page 35 - DH2—Livelier Room: More acoustically live than DH1
29 ASUS Xonar DX 6.2.7 Dolby Headphone Dolby Headphone creates a stunning multi-channel surround experience over ordinary stereo headphones for playing 3D games, watching 5.1 DVD movies, and listening to music. Dolby Headphone produces surround sound cues so realistic that you will believe you are l...
Page 37 - Click this button tto show the playback volume page.; Reset all volume controls to the default settings
31 ASUS Xonar DX 6.3 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 w...
Page 38 - Click this button to show the recording volume page.
32 ASUS Xonar DX 6.3.2 Recording/Monitoring Volume 8 No Item Description 1 Recording Volume Tab Click this button to show the recording volume page. 2 Source/Path Name This shows the source name for each volume control slider, including: Mix: Stereo Mix which will record all analog inputs and digita...
Page 40 - Effects
34 ASUS Xonar DX 6.4 Effects 6.4.1 Environment Effects Environment effects can be used to create realistic listening experiences that mimic different environments. There are a total of 27 environment options, which can be applied to all 2D sound sources, like music. No Item Description 1 Default Env...
Page 41 - Key in a name for your own “User Defined” equalizer setting
35 ASUS Xonar DX 6.4.2 10-Band Equalizer The equalizer can modify the audio output for different frequencies, and be used to compensate for deficiencies in your speakers/systems. There are 12 default patterns and you can also make your own settings. No Item Description 1 Default Equalizer Options Th...
Page 42 - The switch to turn on or off the functions on this page.; Reset all settings to the default.
36 ASUS Xonar DX 6.5 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 Kara...
Page 43 - FlexBass; Colors for small/large speakers are different.
37 ASUS Xonar DX 6.6 FlexBass FlexBass, an advanced bass management and enhancement mechanism, allows you to select each satellite speaker’s type for optimal sound performance from the speakers. (Small: common speaker that cannot produce low frequencies; Large: wide-band speakers that can produce lo...
Page 44 - to you on line
38 ASUS Xonar DX 6.7 AEC (Acoustic Echo Cancellation) Xonar DX provides advanced Acoustic Echo Cancellation (AEC) for best voice communication quality over your speakers. AEC technology can eliminate up-to-40dB speaker echo return and suppress noises into your microphone for easier conversation expe...
Page 45 - Smart Volume Normalization; Click AEC function page
39 ASUS Xonar DX 6.8 Smart Volume Normalization Smart Volume NormalizationTM (SVN) automatically keeps all music or video/TV audio output at a constant level to reduce manual adjustment hassles inherent with sound sources of different loudness. It allows you to listen to various content, like MP3, T...
Page 47 - Supports latest DS3D GX 2.0 for gaming on Vista & XP
41 ASUS Xonar DX 6.9 DS3D GX (for Vista Only) and DSP Modes Xonar DX is introducing an innovative technology –DirectSound 3D Game Extensions v1.0 (DS3D GX 1.0)- to restore DirectSound 3D Hardware acceleration mode and its subsidiary EAX effects on Windows Vista for 3D games. Unlike some proprietary ...
Page 49 - For 3D Games; Check the check box of VoiceEX and Local VoiceEX.; For VOIP; Press App List
43 ASUS Xonar DX No Item Description 1 VoiceEX It produces realistic and dynamic environmental reverberation for your voice in 3D gaming communication. 2 Local VoiceEX It produces realistic and dynamic environmental reverberation for your voice in 3D gaming communication. (You can hear your voice fo...
Page 50 - Look for the application’s location and Open it.
44 ASUS Xonar DX 3. Look for the application’s location and Open it. 4. Your VOIP application has been added into list.
Page 51 - Check the check box of ChatEX and Magic Voice.
45 ASUS Xonar DX 5. Check the check box of ChatEX and Magic Voice. 6. You can use ChatEX and Magic Voice when you chat online. Click the checkbox to enable VocalFX function, then a prompt message will pop up: This message implies the record device will be set to microphone. Make sure the GX function...
Page 52 - ASIO 2 Driver
46 ASUS Xonar DX 6.11 ASIO 2 Driver ASIOTM (Audio Stream Input Output) is a proprietary audio driver architecture and a trademark of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH. The Xonar DX driver package has included an ASIO2 compatible driver for application programs that have ASIO or ASIO2 output. ASIO ca...
Page 53 - When Using Sonar LE...
47 ASUS Xonar DX No Item Description 1 Preferences Step 1 is to open the “Preferences” window from the Options tab. 2 Driver Type Step 2 is to select “ASIO” as the driver type. (WDM and MME are other Windows driver types) 3 Audio Device Step 3 is to choose “ASUS Xonar DX ASIO” as the Audio Device. 4...
Page 56 - Portable Music ProcessorTM Software
50 ASUS Xonar DX 7. Portable Music Processor™ Software Guide 7.1 Introduction Xonar DX provides the Portable Music Processor TM (referred to as PMP hereafter) software tool that contains the following features: • Converts MP3, WMA, Audio CD, WAVE into WMA or MP3 files with the same ID3 information a...
Page 57 - Default page to setup and start the music conversion
51 ASUS Xonar DX No Item Description 1 Main Setting page Default page to setup and start the music conversion 2 PMP Music page This page will display the converted music files saved in the “PMP Music” folder 3 Software Update This button is used to check online for upgrades to the PMP software and d...
Page 58 - Converting music in “Main Setting” Page
52 ASUS Xonar DX 7.2 Converting music in “Main Setting” Page Click the main setting page to start the PMP music conversion process. No Item Description 1 Select Music Sources Step 1 is to prepare the music sources that you are going to convert. You can select 2 music source folders which can be mult...
Page 60 - Find Converted Music in “PMP Music” Page
54 ASUS Xonar DX 7.3 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 (...
Page 61 - RMAA Test Guide; Setting Up Xonar DX Audio Card
55 ASUS Xonar DX 8. 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 pl...
Page 63 - Turn the master volume to the MAX level (0dB)
57 ASUS Xonar DX 5. Click “Reset” on the playback volume mixer page to keep the volume setting on default. 6. Turn the master volume to the MAX level (0dB) 5 6
Page 64 - Configuration and Test with RMAA; Start RMAA and follow the setup procedure below.
58 ASUS Xonar DX 8.2 Configuration and Test with RMAA Start RMAA and follow the setup procedure below. 1. Select both of the playback/recording devices as “ASUS Xonar DX Audio”. 2. Select 24bit and 48KHz for the test signals. (If you change the format here, please remember to go back to set the same...
Page 65 - Click loop-back mode test button
59 ASUS Xonar DX 4. 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.) 5. Click loop-back mode...
Page 68 - RMAA will pop up the Test results window. You can click the “Select”
62 ASUS Xonar DX 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”. 10 11
Page 69 - RMAA Testing Results
63 ASUS Xonar DX 8.3 RMAA Testing Results Open the html file you created and saved in the test above, and it will display the report with both data and plots in your browser. The following report is a sample and you can see how high-fidelity and crystal-clean the Xonar DX audio card is for both outp...
Page 70 - RightMark Audio Analyzer test; Summary
64 ASUS Xonar DX 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 9. RightMark Audio Analyzer test Testing chain: External loopback (line-out - line-in)Sampling mode: 24-bit, 48 kHz Summary General performance: Excellent Frequency response Frequenc...
Page 71 - Noise level
65 ASUS Xonar DX Noise level Dynamic range Parameter Left Right RMS power, dB: -111.4 -112.0 RMS power (A-weighted), dB: -112.4 -113.0 Peak level, dB FS: -87.5 -88.4 DC offset, %: -0.00 -0.00
Page 73 - Intermodulation distortion
67 ASUS Xonar DX Intermodulation distortion Stereo crosstalk Parameter Left Right IMD + Noise, %: +0.0010 +0.0009 IMD + Noise (A-weighted), %: +0.0008 +0.0007
Page 75 - Troubleshooting and FAQs; Remove the card, plug it into another PCI Express slot, and try again.; I couldn’t find the Xonar DX Audio Center; Make sure you have installed the driver
69 ASUS Xonar DX 10. Troubleshooting and FAQs [Troubleshooting] The audio card driver could not be installed on my PC. Instructions: 1. Please make sure that you have properly plugged the audio card in the PCI Express slot on your motherboard. 2. Check that the Windows hardware device manager has di...
Page 76 - Please try restart your Windows.
70 ASUS Xonar DX I can’t hear any sound from my analog speakersInstructions: 1. Xonar DX PCI Express audio card needs the power cable to supply addition power in addition to the basic PCI Express bus power. Please double check you have plugged the small 4-pin power plug onto Xonar DX power connector...
Page 77 - please connect it to the Aux-In header on the audio card
71 ASUS Xonar DX I can’t hear the TV tuner audio from my speakersInstructions: 1. If you are using a traditional TV tuner card which has analog audio output, please connect it to the Aux-In header on the audio card 2. Select Aux-In as the recording source and remember to turn on the digital monitori...
Page 78 - Why couldn’t PMP convert some music files successfully?
72 ASUS Xonar DX Why couldn’t PMP convert some music files successfully? Instructions: 1. Please make sure you have installed Windows Media Player 9 or above version, and MP3 encoder in your PC. (following the pop-up downloading information to finish the installation. To download free MP3 encoder, g...
Page 79 - Q6: What’s the most important benefit of the Xonar DX for musicians?
73 ASUS Xonar DX 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?Answer: 1. Dolby Digital, Pro-Logic IIx, ...