Asus Audio Card Xonar D2 User Manual

ASUS® Xonar D2 audio cardUser Manual

4ASUS Xonar D2 2. About Hardware2.1 Xonar D2 Audio Processing Card123456781213781234569 10 11

5ASUS Xonar D2 No Item Description1 Microphone JackConnect your external PC microphone to this 3.5mm jack for voice input. Built-in high-quality Micro

6ASUS Xonar D2 2.2 MIDI Board/Cable1234No Item Description1 MIDI I/O HeaderConnects to the MIDI I/O header on the main Xonar D2 audio card2 Mini-DIN

7ASUS Xonar D2 3. Installing the Xonar Hardware3.1 Preparing Your ComputerBefore you proceed with the following installation steps, it’s recommended

8ASUS Xonar D2 3.2 Installing the Audio Processing Card1. Face the bracket of the Xonar D2 audio card toward the back panel of your computer and ins

9ASUS Xonar D2 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 d

10ASUS Xonar D2 3.5 Connecting TV Tuner Card1. If you have a traditional PCI TV tuner card on your PC, you may need to connect it to the audio card

11ASUS Xonar D2 4. Installing Software4.1 Installing the Audio Card Driver1. After you have installed your audio card, turn on your computer. Windo

12ASUS Xonar D2 4.2 Installing the PMP software (Portable Music Processor)1. From the installation CD menu, select the option to install the P

13ASUS Xonar D2 4.3 Installing the Ableton Live1. Insert the Ableton Live installation CD into the CD/DVD-ROM drive.2. The installation program will

iiE3255First Edition V1 May 2007Copyright © 2007 ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. All Rights Reserved.No part of this manual, including the products and software

14ASUS Xonar D2 4.4 Installing the Cakewalk Production Plus Pack4.4.1 Installing SONAR LE1. Insert the Cakewalk Production Plus Pack installation CD

15ASUS Xonar D2 4.4.2 Installing Dimension LE1. Insert the Cakewalk Production Plus Pack installation CD into your CD/DVD-ROM drive.2. Choose to in

16ASUS Xonar D2 4.4.3 Installing Project5 LE1. Insert the Cakewalk Production Plus Pack installation CD into your CD/DVD-ROM drive.2. Choose to ins

17ASUS Xonar D2 2. Click Start -> Settings -> Control Panel.3. Double-click the “Add/Remove Programs” icon. 4. Click the “Change or Remove Pr

18ASUS Xonar D2 5. Connecting Speakers and Peripherals5.1 Connecting Digital Speaker Systems (Home Theater)The Xonar D2 supports Dolby Digital Live

19ASUS Xonar D2 5.2 Connecting Headphones5.2.1 Connecting Stereo Headphones1No Item Description1 Front Out/Headphone JackThe Front Out jack has a bu

20ASUS Xonar D2 5.2.2 Connecting 5.1 channel Headphones123No Item Description1 Front OutConnect the front-channel 3.5mm plug of your 5.1 headphones i

21ASUS Xonar D2 5.3 Connecting Analog Speaker Systems5.3.1 Connecting Analog Power Amplier1234No Item Description1 Front OutConnects to the “left fro

22ASUS Xonar D2 5.3.2 Connecting 2/2.1 Channel SpeakersNo Item Description1 Front Out/Headphone JackConnect the 2/2.1 speaker set’s 3.5mm plug into t

23ASUS Xonar D2 5.3.3 Connecting 4/4.1 Channel SpeakersNo Item Description1 Front OutConnects to the Front input port of the 4/4.1 speakers with the

iiiContentsContents ... -iiiNotices ...

24ASUS Xonar D2 5.3.4 Connecting 5.1 Channel Speakers5.3.5 Connecting 6.1/7.1 Channel SpeakersNo Item Description1 Front OutConnects to the Front in

25ASUS Xonar D2 No Item Description1 Front OutConnects to the Front input port of the 6.1/7.1 speakers with the mini-jack cable.2 Side Surround OutCon

26ASUS Xonar D2 5.5 Connecting Microphone5.6 Connecting Line-In Audio SourcesNo Item Description1 Microphone Input JackConnect the microphone’s 3.5m

27ASUS Xonar D2 5.7 Connecting Digital Audio SourcesYou can also use a coaxial cable for a S/PDIF digital connection. Just plug the coaxial RCA male

28ASUS Xonar D2 6. Xonar D2 Driver Guide6.1 Introduction to the Xonar D2 Audio Center GUI1. After the driver installation is complete and your compu

29ASUS Xonar D2 No Item Description1 Display AreaThis display area shows the 10-band signal meter, volume level, and the status of the Dolby/DTS techn

30ASUS Xonar D2 6.2 Main Setting6.2.1 Sample RateThe Sample rate determines the number of audio samples per second that the Digital-to-Analog Conver

31ASUS Xonar D2 6.2.2 Analog Out/Speaker TestNo Item Description1 Analog OutThe Analog Out setting is used to match your actual speaker setting, such

32ASUS Xonar D2 6.2.3 SPDIF Out/DDL/DTS Interactive Xonar D2 is capable of outputting Dolby Digital Live and DTS Interactive, which are real-time enc

33ASUS Xonar D2 6.2.4 Audio Channels (For Vista only) This setting only appears in Windows Vista. Vista will deliver the audio channels to the audio

ivContents6.4 Effects ... 426.5 Karaoke/Magic Voice ...

34ASUS Xonar D2 6.2.5 7.1 Virtual Speaker ShifterThe 7.1 Virtual Speaker Shifter has the following major features:• Expanding/upmixing audio to 7.1-

35ASUS Xonar D2 6.2.6 Dolby Pro-Logic IIxDolby Pro-Logic IIx is a 7.1 surround upmixing technology and is widely used in home theater systems, TVs, g

36ASUS Xonar D2 6.2.7 DTS Neo:PCDTS Neo:PC is another 2-to-7.1 channel upmixing technology, using a sophisticated algorithm from DTS Labs. It can spr

37ASUS Xonar D2 6.2.8 Dolby HeadphoneDolby Headphone creates a stunning multi-channel surround experience over ordinary stereo headphones for playing

38ASUS Xonar D2 6.2.8 Dolby Virtual SpeakerDolby Virtual Speaker technology simulates a 5.1-speaker surround sound listening environment from as few

39ASUS Xonar D2 6.3 Mixer/VolumeThe mixer page is designed to control the volume for playback and recording on the Xonar D2. In addition, the Xonar D

40ASUS Xonar D2 6.3.2 Recording/Monitoring Volume8No Item Description1 Recording Volume TabClick this button to show the recording volume page.2 Sour

41ASUS Xonar D2 4 Recording Selector buttonClick this button to select the path/source you are going to record. Please note that the recording functio

42ASUS Xonar D2 6.4 Effects6.4.1 Environment EffectsEnvironment effects can be used to create realistic listening experiences that mimic different e

43ASUS Xonar D2 6.4.2 10-Band EqualizerThe equalizer can modify the audio output for different frequencies, and be used to compensate for deciencies

vNoticesFederal Communications Commission StatementThis device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two condi

44ASUS Xonar D2 6.5 Karaoke/Magic VoiceThe Xonar D2 provides powerful features for VOIP and Karaoke, including Magic Voice, Microphone Echo, Key-Shif

45ASUS Xonar D2 6.6 FlexBassFlexBass, an advanced bass management and enhancement mechanism, allows you to select each satellite speaker’s type for o

46ASUS Xonar D2 6.7 Smart Volume NormalizationSmart Volume NormalizationTM (SVN) automatically keeps all music or video/TV audio output at a constant

47ASUS Xonar D2 No Item Description1 SVN On/OffClick this button to enable SVN. This button is outlined blue when active.2 SVN DisplayWhen SVN is enab

48ASUS Xonar D2 6.8 DSP ModesBesides the abundant sound effects described above, the Xonar D2 also provides quick Digital Sound Processing modes whic

49ASUS Xonar D2 6.9 ASIO 2 DriverASIOTM (Audio Stream Input Output) is a proprietary audio driver architecture and a trademark of Steinberg Media Tec

50ASUS Xonar D2 When Using Sonar LE…12

51ASUS Xonar D2 For other applications that support ASIO, such as WaveLab, Cubase, Reason, Winamp, etc, the setup will be very similar to the above.34

52ASUS Xonar D2 7. Portable Music ProcessorTM Soft-ware Guide7.1 IntroductionXonar D2 provides the Portable Music ProcessorTM (referred to as PMP

53ASUS Xonar D2 4. You will also need an MP3 encoder installed to encode music into MP3 format (If you don’t have this already, the Xonar D2 installe

viThis symbol of the crossed out wheeled bin indicates that the product (electrical and electronic equipment) should not be placed in municipal waste.

54ASUS Xonar D2 7.2 Converting music in “Main Setting” PageClick the main setting page to start the PMP music conversion process.No Item Description1

55ASUS Xonar D2 2 Conversion settingsStep 2 is to set the conversion settings you would like. There are three tabs for different settings:1) Format: s

56ASUS Xonar D2 7.2 Find Converted Music in “PMP Music” PageThe default conversion destination folder is C:\Program Files\ASUSPMP\PMP Music\. You can

57ASUS Xonar D2 8 Ableton Live Software GuidePlease refer to the separate manual for Ableton Live.9. Cakewalk Production Plus Pack Software Gui

58ASUS Xonar D2 10. RMAA Test GuideXonar D2 driver CD includes RightMark Audio Analyzer (RMAA) v5.6, which is a popular software intended for testing

59ASUS Xonar D2 4. Go to Mixer Recording page and select “ALT” as the recording source. Click “Reset” to make sure the recording volume is on the def

60ASUS Xonar D2 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

61ASUS Xonar D2 10.2 Conguration and Test with RMAAStart RMAA and follow the setup procedure below.1. Select both of the playback/recording devices

62ASUS Xonar D2 4. Go to the Sound Card tab and select “DirectSound” as the Driver Model (because Windows MME mode doesn’t support high-resolution 24

63ASUS Xonar D2 6. Check if the levels shown in the Adjusting level window are OK (the level meter will be green).7. If the recording volume level i

1ASUS Xonar D2 1. Introduction1.1 Package Contents• Xonar D2 7.1 Channel PCI Audio Card• Driver Support CD (including Portable Music ProcessorTM u

64ASUS Xonar D2 8. Begin the test by clicking the “Done” button. If you cannot get the level to be “ok” anyway, click “Done” anyway and proceed.9. E

65ASUS Xonar D2 10. RMAA will pop up the Test results window. You can click “Select” checkbox and click to make an HTML report.11. Check and key i

66ASUS Xonar D2 10.3 RMAA Testing ResultsOpen the html le you created and saved in the test above, then it will display the report with both data an

67ASUS Xonar D2 Xonar D2 Audio CardRightMark Audio Analyzer testTesting chain: External loopback (line-out - line-in)Sampling mode: 24-bit, 48 kHzSumm

68ASUS Xonar D2 Noise levelDynamic rangeParameter Left RightRMS power, dB: -115.5 -115.2RMS power (A-weighted), dB: -116.7 -116.5Peak level, dB FS: -9

69ASUS Xonar D2 THD + Noise (at -3 dB FS)Parameter Left RightDynamic range, dB: +115.4 +115.3Dynamic range (A-weighted), dB: +116.6 +116.4Dynamic rang

70ASUS Xonar D2 Intermodulation distortionStereo crosstalkParameter Left RightIMD + Noise, %: 0.0009 0.0007IMD + Noise (A-weighted), %: 0.0005 0.0005

71ASUS Xonar D2 IMD (swept tones)*This report was generated by RightMark Audio Analyzer 5.6Parameter Left RightCrosstalk at 100 Hz, dB: -113 -114Cross

72ASUS Xonar D2 11. Troubleshooting and FAQs[Troubleshooting]The audio card driver could not be installed on my PC. Instructions: 1. Make sure that

73ASUS Xonar D2 I can’t hear any sound from my analog speakersInstructions: 1. Make sure that you have connected speakers properly and have powered o

2ASUS Xonar D2 1.3 Specications summaryCategory ItemDescriptionAudio Performance Output Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-Weighted):118dBInput Signal-to-No

74ASUS Xonar D2 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

75ASUS Xonar D2 [FAQ]Q1: Does the Xonar D2 support Windows Vista?Answer:Yes, the Xonar D2 driver package does support Windows Vista and most key featu

76ASUS Xonar D2 Q6: What’s the most important benet of the Xonar D2 for musicians?Answer:1. Ultimate Fidelity: Xonar D2 has the highest quality of

77ASUS Xonar D2 Q8: What's the application of "S/PDIF in loopback"?Answer:"SPDIF in loopback" is the process of looping back

78ASUS Xonar D2

3ASUS Xonar D2 Driver Features Operation System Windows® Vista/XP(32/64bit)/MCE2005Dolby® Technologies Dolby® Headphone, Dolby® Virtual Speaker, Dolby