Xonar Essence STX
Audio card
User manual
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Contents
Introduction ..................................................................................... 1
iii
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Notices
Federal Communications Commission Statement
This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the
following two conditions:
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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
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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.
•
•
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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. 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.
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1.
Introduction
1.1
Package contents
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ASUS Xonar Essence STX PCI Express audio card
3.5mm-to-RCA cable x1
3.5mm-to-6.3mm adapter x1
S/PDIF TOSLINK optical adapter x1
Support CD
Audio Precision Test Report
1.2
System requirements
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One PCI Express 1.0 (or higher) compatible slot for the audio card
Microsoft® Windows® Vista (32/64bit) / XP (32/64bit) / MCE2005
Intel® Pentium® 4 1.4 GHz or AMD® Athlon 1400 CPU or faster CPU
256 MB (or above) DRAM system memory
60 MB available HDD space for driver installation package
CD-ROM drive (or DVD-ROM drive ) for software installation
High-quality headphones, powered analog speakers, or a Dolby Digital
decoder, to enjoy the ultra-high fidelity sound of the card
ASUS Xonar Essence STX
1
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1.3
Specifications summary
Items
Description
Audio Performance
124dB for Front-out
110dB for Headphone-out
Output Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-Weighted):
Input Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-Weighted):
118dB
Output Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise at 1kHz 0.0003% (-110dB) for Front-out
(-3dB) :
0.001% (-100dB) for Headphone-out
Input Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise at 1kHz
(-3dB) :
0.0002% (-113dB) for Line-in
Frequency Response (-3dB, 24-bit/96kHz format): <10Hz to19820KHz
Output/Input Full-Scale Voltage
Headphone Impedance
2 Vrms (5.65 Vp-p)
Optimized for 32~600Ω
Bus Compatibility
-PCI Express Rev.1.0a specification compatible
-Max. full 2.5Gbps bandwidth per direction and optimized
latency for high-definition audio processing
PCI Express
-Compatible with X1, X4, X8, X16 PCI Express slots
Main Chipset
ASUS AV100 High-Definition Sound Processor (Max.
192KHz/24bit)
Audio Processor
Texas Instruments PCM1792A*1 for Front-Out (127dB
SNR, Max. 192kHz/24bit)
Texas Instruments 6120A2*1 (120dB SNR, 100dB THD
+N @ Vcc±12V, RL=600Ω, f=1kHz)
24-bit D-A Converter of Digital Sources:
High Fidelity Headphone Amplifier
24-bit A-D Converter for Analog Inputs:
Sample Rate and Resolution
Analog Playback Sample Rate and Resolution
Analog Recording Sample Rate and Resolution
S/PDIF Digital Output
Cirrus-Logic CS5361* 1 (114dB SNR, Max. 192kHz/24bit)
44.1K/48K/96K/192KHz @ 16/24bit
44.1K/48K/96K/192KHz @ 16/24bit
44.1K/48K/96K/192KHz @ 16/24bit, Dolby Digital
I/O Ports
RCA jack *2 (Front R / Front L)
6.30mm jack*1 (Headphone out)
Analog Output Jack:
Analog Input Jack:
Digital S/PDIF Output:
6.30mm jack *1 (Shared by Line-In/Mic-In)
High-bandwidth Coaxial/TOS-Link combo port supports
192KHz/24bit
Other line-level analog input (for TV Tuner or CD-
ROM):
Aux-In (4-pin header on the card)
Shared by Headphone out / 2 channels out /
Microphone in
Front Panel:
Driver Features
Operation System
Windows Vista(32/64bit) / XP(32/64bit) / MCE2005
Dolby Digital Live encodes any audio signal on PC in real-
time to Dolby Digital (AC3) 5.1 surround sounds to your
home theater environment through one single S/PDIF
connection
ꢀ
Dolby Digital Live
Dolby Headphone technology allows users to listen to
music, watch movies, or play games with the dramatic
5.1-channel surround or realistic 3D spacious effects
through any set of stereo headphones.
ꢀ
Dolby Headphone
Dolby Virtual Speaker technology simulates a highly
realistic 5.1-speaker surround sound listening
environment from as few as two speakers.
ꢀ
Dolby Virtual Speaker
Dolby Pro-Logic II is the well-known technology to
process any native stereo or 5.1-channel audio into a 6.1
channel output, creating a seamless, natural surround
soundfield.
ꢀ
Dolby Pro-Logic II
-DS3D GX 2.5 supports EAX gaming sound effects and
DirectSound 3D hardware enhanced functions for more
DirectSound3D Game EXtensions 2.0 & 1.0 (DS3D games on Windows Vista & XP. (DirectX/DirectSound 3D
GX 2.0)
compatible)
-DS3D GX 2.5 adds latest VocalFX voice effects for online
gaming or chatting.
(continued on the next page)
ASUS Xonar Essence STX
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Xonar Essence STX provides VocalFX, the latest vocal
effect technologies for gaming and VoIP, including:
-VoiceEX: produces vivid environmental reverberation for
your voice to others in EAX games
-Local VoiceEX: enables yourself to hear the vivid
environmental reverberation by your speakers
-ChatEX: emulates different background environment
effects when you chat online
VocalFXTM
-Magic Voice: changes your voice pitch to different types
(Monster/Cartoon…) for disguising your real voice or just
for fun in online chatting
Normalizes the volume of all audio sources into a
constant level and also enhances your 3D sound listening
range and advantages in gaming
Music Key-Shifting, Vocal Cancellation, and Microphone
Echo effects like professional Karaoke machine
Smart Volume NormalizerTM
Karaoke Functions
FlexBassTM
Professional Bass Management/Enhancement system
Virtual 7.1 speaker positioning
Xear 3DTM Virtual Speaker Shifter
Other Effects
10-band Equalier/27 Environment Effects
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DirectSound3D GX 2.5 & 1.0, EAX 2.0&1.0,
ꢀ
3D Gaming Sound Engines/APIs
ASIO 2.0 Driver Support:
DirectSound HW, DirectSound SW, OpenAL generic
modes, 128 3D sounds processing capability
Supports 44.1K/48K/96K/192KHz @16/24bit with very
low latency
*Specifications are subject to change without notice.
ASUS Xonar Essence STX
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3
2.
Xonar Essence STX card layout
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No Item
Description
1
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Front Right Out port
Front Left Out port
Headphone Out port
Connect the Right audio cable (red) from your 2/2.1 channel
speakers to this port. For multi-channel speaker systems,
connects to the Front Right In port on the powered speakers.
Connect the Left audio cable (white) from your 2/2.1 channel
speakers to this port. For multi-channel speaker systems,
connects to the Front Left In port on the powered speakers.
Connect your headphones to this port.
NOTE:
- DO NOT connect your speakers to the headphone out port.
The possible high driving power may cause damage to your
speakers.
- To prevent damage to your headphone, before the
connection, adjust the headphone impedance settings
in the Xonar Essence STX Audio Center to match your
headphone impedance.
4
Microphone In port
Connect your external PC microphone to this port for voice
input. Built-in high-quality Microphone pre-amplifier.
(continued on the next page)
ASUS Xonar Essence STX
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4
5
Line In port
Connect analog devices like MP3 players, CD players,
music synthesizers and other line-level sound sources to
this 6.3mm port for audio recording or processing. (Through
Ultra-high fidelity 118dB SNR A-D converter)
S/PDIF Out port
Coaxial and optical TOSLINK combo digital output port.
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.
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Front panel audio
header
Connect one end of the front panel audio cable to the front
panel audio header on the Xonar Essence STX card, with
the other end to the chassis-mounted front panel audio I/O
module.
Aux Input 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 Essence STX
Audio Center’s recording mixer.)
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Power connector
S/PDIF Out header
Connects to the power cable of your power supply unit.
Connects to a graphics card with HDMI output.
NOTE: When using Dolby Digital Live on S/PDIF output,
make sure the connected graphics card is capable of
decoding DDL; otherwise, there will be no audio output from
the graphics card’s HDMI port.
ASUS Xonar Essence STX
5
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3.
Installing the hardware
3.1
Preparing your computer
Before you proceed with the following installation steps, it is recommended that
you disable the onboard audio device in the 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 cards.
1.
Power OFF the computer, the monitor, and all other peripheral devices
connected to your computer.
2.
3.
Unplug the computer power cord from your computer and power outlet.
Touch the metal back or side panel of the computer to avoid static electricity.
Remove the chassis cover.
4.
5.
Remove the metal bracket from an available PCI Express x1 slot for the
Xonar Essence STX audio card.
6.
Carefully insert the audio card into the PCI Express x1 slot. Ensure the audio
card sits properly in place.
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3.2
Installing the Xonar Essence STX card
1.
2.
Secure the audio card with screws and the metal bracket.
Connect the 4-pin power cable of your power supply unit to the power
connector of the audio card.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Put back the chassis cover.
Reconnect all cables.
Plug the power cord to the computer and to a power outlet.
Power ON the computer.
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.
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3.3
Connecting to a 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 Xonar Essence STX 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 Xonar Essence STX card.
For optimum TV audio quality, Xonar HDAV uses ADC recording to digitize the
signal and loops it back to DAC playback. Select Aux-In as the recording source
in the Xonar Essence STX 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.
ASUS Xonar Essence STX
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