Asus Computer Hardware D2X User Manual

Xonar D2X  
Audio Card  
User’s manual  
Contents  
iii  
Contents  
iv  
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 cause undesired operation.  
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a  
Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are  
designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a  
residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio  
frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with manufacturer’s  
instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However,  
there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If  
this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception,  
which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is  
encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following  
measures:  
Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.  
Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.  
Connect the equipment to an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the  
receiver is connected.  
Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.  
Canadian Department of Communications Statement  
This digital apparatus does not exceed the Class B limits for radio noise emissions  
from digital apparatus set out in the Radio Interference Regulations of the  
Canadian Department of Communications.  
This class B digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES-003.  
Australia statement notice  
From 1 January 2012 updated warranties apply to allASUS products, consistent with  
the Australian Consumer Law. For the latest product warranty details please visit  
under theAustralian Consumer Law. You are entitled to a replacement or refund for a  
major failure and compensation for any other reasonably foreseeable loss or damage.  
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  
v
 
Safety information  
Before installing the device on a motherboard, carefully read all the manuals  
that came with the package.  
To prevent electrical shock hazard or short circuits, switch off the power supply  
before installing the device on a motherboard or connecting any singal cables  
to the device.  
If the device is broken, do not try to fix it by yourself. Contact a qualified service  
technician or your retailer.  
Before using the product, make sure all cables are correctly connected. If you  
detect any damage, contact your dealer immediately.  
To avoid short circuits, keep paper clips, screws, and staples away from  
connectors, sockets and circuitry.  
Avoid dust, humidity, and temperature extremes. Do not place the product in  
any area where it may become wet.  
Place the product on a stable surface.  
If you encounter technical problems with the product, contact a qualified  
service technician or your retailer.  
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.  
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” are trademarks of Digital Theater Systems,  
Inc. EAX and A3D are trademarks of Creative Technology Ltd. Microsoft,  
DirectSound3D, Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Other company  
and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which  
they are associated. ASIO is a trademark and software of Steinberg Media  
Technologies GmbH.  
License  
Dolby Master Studio driver is manufactured under license from Dolby Laboratories;  
DTS Connect driver is manufactured under license from Digital Theater Systems,  
Inc.  
vi  
 
1.  
Introduction  
1.1  
Package Contents  
ASUS Xonar D2X audio card  
ASUS Xonar D2X support CD (including Portable Music Processor™ utility)  
Ableton™ Live software CD  
Cakewalk™ Production Plus Pack CD  
(Sonar LE, Dimension LE, and Project5 LE)  
PowerDVD 7.0 software DVD player CD  
Additional MIDI bracket and adaptor cable x1  
S/PDIF TOSLINK optical adaptors x2  
S/PDIF TOSLINK optical cable x1  
3.5mm-to-RCA cables for 8-channel output x4  
Dolby Demo CD  
Quick Installation Guide  
1.2  
System Requirements  
One PCI Express 1.0 (or higher) compatible slot for the audio card  
One available 4-pin power cable from PC’s power supply unit  
Microsoft® Windows® Vista/XP(32/64bit)/MCE2005  
Intel® Pentium® 4 1.4GHz or AMD Athlon 1400 CPU or faster CPU  
> 256 MB DRAM system memory  
> 60 MB available HDD space for driver installation package; > 200MB space  
available for Ableton Live and > 320MB for Cakewalk package  
CD-ROM drive (or DVD-ROM drive) for software installation  
High-quality headphones, powered analog speakers, or digital speakers with  
Dolby Digital or DTS decoders to enjoy the Ultra-High Fidelity sounds of the  
card  
1
ASUS Xonar D2X  
 
1.3  
Specifications summary  
Category  
Item  
Description  
Audio Performance  
Output Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-  
Weighted):  
Up to 118 dB  
Input Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-  
Weighted):  
Up to 118 dB  
Output Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise  
at 1kHz (A-Weighted) :  
Up to 0.0004% (-108dB)  
Up to 0.0004% (-108dB)  
<10Hz to 46KHz  
Input Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise  
at 1kHz (A-Weighted) :  
Frequency Response (-3dB, 24-  
bit/96kHz input ):  
Frequency Response (-3dB, 24-  
<10Hz to 90KHz  
bit/192kHz input):  
Output/Input Full-Scale Voltage  
Sample Rate Conversion Quality  
2 Vrms (5.65 Vp-p)  
Almost lossless, high-fidelity floating-point filters,  
with:  
-140dB THD+N (typical value for 44.1K-> 48KHz,  
24bit)  
145dB Dynamic Range (typical value for 44.1K->  
48KHz, 24bit)  
Bus Compatibility  
PCI Express  
-PCI Express Rev.1.0a specification compatible  
-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 AV200 High-Definition Sound Processor  
(Max. 192KHz/24bit)  
24-bit D-A Converter of Digital Sources:  
24-bit A-D Converter for Analog Inputs:  
TI Burr-Brown PCM1796 *4 (123dB SNR, Max.  
192kHz/24bit)  
Cirrus-Logic CS5381* 1 (120dB SNR, Max.  
192kHz/24bit)  
Sample Rate and  
Resolution  
Analog Playback Sample Rate and  
Resolution  
44.1K/48K/96K/192KHz @ 16/24bit  
44.1K/48K/96K/192KHz @ 16/24bit  
Analog Recording Sample Rate and  
Resolution  
S/PDIF Digital Output  
44.1K/48K/96K/192KHz @ 16/24bit, Dolby Digital,  
DTS, WMA-Pro  
S/PDIF Digital Input  
44.1K/48K/96K/192KHz @ 16/24bit  
44.1K/48K/96K/192KHz @ 16/24bit  
ASIO 2.0 Driver Support:  
(continued on the next page)  
2
ASUS Xonar D2X  
 
I/O Ports  
Analog Output Jack:  
Analog Input Jack:  
3.50mm mini jack *4 (Front/Side/Center-  
Subwoofer/Back)  
3.50mm mini jack *2 (Line-In/Mic-In)  
Other line-level analog input  
(for CD-IN/TV Tuner):  
CD-In, Aux-In (4-pin header on the card)  
Digital S/PDIF Output  
Digital S/PDIF Input  
MIDI Ports  
Coaxial and High-bandwidth Optical Combo  
Connector Supports 192KHz/24bit  
Coaxial and High-bandwidth Optical Combo  
Connector Supports 192KHz/24bit  
Additional MPU-401 MIDI I/O bracket and  
converter cable  
Driver Features  
Operation System  
Windows® Vista/XP(32/64bit)/MCE2005  
Dolby® Technologies  
Dolby® Headphone, Dolby® Virtual Speaker, Dolby  
® Pro-Logic IIx, Dolby® Digital Live  
DTS® Technologies  
DTS® Connect (DTS Interactive Encoder and  
DTS Neo:PC)  
Smart Volume Normalizer™  
Normalizes the volume of all audio sources into a  
constant level and also enhances your 3D sound  
listening range and advantages in gaming  
DirectSound3D Game EXtensions 1.0  
(DS3D GX 1.0)/DirectX  
DS3D GX 1.0 supports EAX gaming sound  
effects and DirectSound 3D hardware enhanced  
functions on Windows Vista. (DirectX/DirectSound  
3D compatible)  
Acoustic Echo Cancellation (AEC)  
Provides advanced Acoustic Echo Cancellation  
(AEC) and noise suppression for best voice  
communication quality in VOIP applications or  
online gaming  
Xear 3D™ Virtual Speaker Shifter  
Magic Voice™  
Virtual 7.1 speaker positioning  
Modifies the sound of your voice, for VOIP and  
online chat applications  
Karaoke Functions  
FlexBass™  
Music Key-Shifting and Microphone Echo effects  
Professional Bass Management/Enhancement  
system  
Other Effects  
10-band Equalier/27 Environment Effects  
3D Gaming Sound Engines/APIs  
Vista: DirectSound3D® GX 1.0, EAX® 2.0&1.0,  
DirectSound® HW, DirectSound SW, A3D®  
1.0, OpenAL generic modes, 128 3D sounds  
processing capability  
XP: EAX® 2.0&1.0, DirectSound® HW,  
DirectSound SW, A3D® 1.0, OpenAL generic  
modes, 128 3D sounds processing capability  
(continued on the next page)  
3
ASUS Xonar D2X  
Software Utility  
Portable Music Processor utility  
Converts digital music content or CD audio into  
regular MP3/WMA files with Dolby Headphone,  
Dolby Virtual Speaker (w/ Pro-Logic II), and Smart  
Volume Normalization processing (Windows  
Media Player 10 or above is required)  
Professional Audio Editing Utility  
PowerDVD 7.0  
Ableton Live; Cakewalk Production Plus Pack  
(SONAR LE, Dimension LE, and Project5 LE)  
Software DVD player with Dolby Digital 5.1  
decoder  
Accessories  
-3.5mm-to-RCA adaptor cable *4 (8ch)  
-S/PDIF optical adaptors *2  
-S/PDIF optical cable *1  
-Additional MIDI card, cable, and external standard MIDI adaptor Y cable *1  
-Dolby Demo CD  
*Specifications are subject to change without notice.  
4
ASUS Xonar D2X  
2.  
About Hardware  
2.1  
Xonar D2X Audio Processing Card  
9
10  
11  
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
12  
13  
14  
LED color definition  
Red  
Blue  
MIC In  
Line In  
Front Out  
Green  
Orange  
White  
Amber  
Side Surround  
Center & Subwoofer  
Back Surround  
No LED  
No LED  
SPDIF In  
SPDIF Out  
5
ASUS Xonar D2X  
 
No Item  
Description  
1
Microphone Jack  
Connect your external PC microphone to this 3.5mm jack for  
voice input. Built-in high-quality Microphone pre-amplifier.  
2
Line Input Jack  
Connect analog devices like MP3 players, CD players,  
music synthesizers and other line-level sound sources to  
this 3.5mm jack for audio recording or processing. (Through  
Ultra-high fidelity 118dB SNR A-D converter)  
3
Headphone/Front  
Output Jack  
Connect your headphones or 2/2.1 channel speakers to this  
jack. For multi-channel speaker systems, connects to the  
front left/right input on the powered speakers.  
4
5
6
7
Side Surround Output  
Jack  
Connects to the surround channel input on 4/4.1/5.1/6.1/7.1  
powered analog speakers.  
Center/Subwoofer  
Output Jack  
Connects to the front center/subwoofer input on 5.1/6.1/7.1  
powered analog speakers.  
Rear/Back Surround  
Output Jack  
Connects to the Back Surround input on 6.1/7.1 powered  
analog speakers.  
S/PDIF Input  
Coaxial and optical TOSLINK combo digital input jack.  
Connects to external digital audio sources such as MD  
players, CD players, or DVD players, for audio recording or  
loopback.  
8
9
S/PDIF Output  
Coaxial and optical TOSLINK combo digital output jack.  
Connects to external digital decoder or digital speaker  
systems, Home Theater systems, AV receivers for outputting  
digital audio including PCM, Dolby Digital, DTS, WMA-Pro,  
etc.  
CD Input Header  
4-pin header. Connects to the Analog Audio output on the  
back panel of CD/DVD-ROM drive using an Analog CD  
audio cable, which is usually available with your CD/DVD-  
ROM drive. You can still play CD audio through the Xonar  
driver without connecting this. We recommend playing audio  
through the driver to take advantage of the Xonar’s high  
quality D-A converter, but this header is provided in case you  
need it.  
10  
Aux Input Header  
4-pin header. Usually connects to the Analog Audio output of  
TV tuner card or other sound source inside your PC system.  
(To monitor your TV tuner card’s audio from this Aux-In, you  
must enable the “monitor” function for Aux-In in the Xonar  
Audio Center software’s recording mixer.)  
11  
12  
MIDI I/O Header  
Connects to the additional MIDI board/bracket (available in  
the package)  
Main Audio Processor  
ASUS Xonar AV200 Audio Processing Unit (DuplexHD  
192K/24bit)  
13  
14  
PCI Bus Golden  
Fingers  
Connects to the PCI slot on your motherboard  
Power Connector  
Connects to the power cable of your power supply  
6
ASUS Xonar D2X  
2.2  
MIDI Board/Cable  
4
2
1
3
No Item  
Description  
1
MIDI I/O Header  
Connects to the MIDI I/O header on the main Xonar D2X  
audio card  
2
Mini-DIN MIDI port  
Connects to the 6-pin mini-DIN connector of the MIDI Y cable  
(adaptor to 5-pin DIN standard MIDI I/O connectors)  
3
4
6-pin Mini-DIN MIDI  
connector  
Connects to the #2 6-pin mini-DIN port on the MIDI board  
5-pin DIN MIDI input/  
output connectors  
(Female)  
Connects to the input and output DIN male connector of the  
standard MIDI instrument cable  
7
ASUS Xonar D2X  
 
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 of other sound cards,  
refer to the user manuals of your motherboard and sound card)  
1.  
2.  
3.  
Power off your computer and disconnect the power cord.  
Open the computer’s case.  
Remove the metal brackets from one unused PCI Express x1 slot for the  
audio card and its adjacent slot for the MIDI board (You can just remove one  
if you don’t need to use the MIDI board in the package).  
3.2  
Installing the Audio Processing Card  
1.  
Face the bracket of the Xonar D2X audio card toward the back panel of your  
computer and insert the audio card gently into an available PCI Express  
slot. Make sure it’s completely inserted into the PCI Express slot. (Warning!  
Do not force the audio card into the slot. Make sure that the gold pins of  
the card's PCI Express connector are aligned with the motherboard’s PCI  
Express connector before you insert the card into the PCI Express slot. If it  
does not fit properly, gently remove it and try again.)  
8
ASUS Xonar D2X  
 
2.  
3.  
Secure the audio card bracket to the back of your computer with the screw  
that you removed. Refer to section 3.1.  
Connect the power cable of your power supply to the power connector on the  
Xonar D2X audio card.  
The PCI Express high-quality audio card requires additional power from your  
computer. If the power cable is not connected properly, the audio card will not  
work at all.  
When removing the power cable from the Xonar D2X audio card, make sure to  
pull outward the 4-pin header first, then unplug it from the power connector as  
the following pictures show. Do not forcefully remove the header from the power  
connector; doing so may pull up the power connector from the audio card and  
cause damage!  
9
ASUS Xonar D2X  
3.3  
Installing the MIDI board  
1.  
2.  
Secure the MIDI bracket to another slot on the back of your computer case.  
Connect the 4-pin MIDI header on the audio card to the MIDI bracket with the  
MIDI cable as the figure below.  
3.4  
Connecting CD/DVD-ROM Drive (with the analog  
header)  
1. If you would like to use the physical playback buttons on your CD-ROM drive  
to control audio CD playback on your PC, you need to connect the analog  
cable between the CD-ROM drive and the audio card. Otherwise, you can  
just skip this section and use ordinary digital CD playback on Windows.  
2.  
Connect the CD-IN 4-pin header to the analog output on the back of your  
CD/DVD-ROM drive with the audio CD cable which is usually included with  
CD/DVD-ROM drive.  
10  
ASUS Xonar D2X  
 
3.5  
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.  
3.  
Secure the PCI/PCI Express TV tuner card and screw it into the back-panel.  
Connect the audio output header from the TV tuner card to the Aux-In header  
of the audio card, as shown in the figure below.  
For optimum TV audio quality, Xonar uses ADC recording to digitize the signal  
and loops it back to DAC playback. Please select Aux-In as the recording  
source in the Xonar Audio Center’s recording mixer and enable the monitoring  
button to pass this signal to the audio output. 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!  
11  
ASUS Xonar D2X  
 
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.  
3.  
Insert the driver installation CD into your CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive. If  
Windows AutoPlay mode is enabled for your CD-ROM drive, the CD starts  
running automatically. If it doesn’t start the installation, double-click the setup.  
exe icon located on the CD-ROM.  
The installation program will remind you to make sure you have connected  
the additional power cable from your power supply unit to the card. If the  
power cable is not connected properly, the audio card will not work at all. If  
it has not been done, please turn off the computer to install the power cable  
before you go on the installation process.  
4.  
Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the installation. Please read  
the “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.  
12  
ASUS Xonar D2X  
 
4.2  
Installing the PMP software (Portable Music  
Processor)  
1.  
2.  
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.  
13  
ASUS Xonar D2X