The 'gold' ports on the Xonar DX are actually just thin caps attached to a plastic base, which I discovered after tripping over my headphone cable and snapping one them off revealing the plastic. I can only assume that this means they serve no purpose aside from looking nice (which they don't once you have realised they are fake).
Am I using my Xonar DX to its full potential? (mainly in-game)
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You are not the only one, reading a review of the Xonar D1, the reviewer thought the X-fi easily beat the Xonar when it came to music. Maybe we who praise the Xonar for it's musical quality so much, wouldn't know good sound if we heard it.
You are not the only one, reading a review of the Xonar D1, the reviewer thought the X-fi easily beat the Xonar when it came to music. Maybe we who praise the Xonar for it's musical quality so much, wouldn't know good sound if we heard it.
Sound quality is subjective. My gf has always said her JVC all in one hifi system was better than my seperates system. She is wrong of course.
tbh I think theres little in it with xonars and x-fi and depends on the speakers you use. One thing is sure though, they both sound better than onboard.
Associate
Yes I totally agree that sound quality is subjective...to a point.
I just upgraded from my X-Fi Audio to a M-Audio Firewire Solo audio interface which I bought new for £130.
Admittedly, this is slightly more than one would normally pay for a gaming card (although I have mentioned before the RIDICULOUS bargain that is the E-MU 0404 PCI @ £54) this new firewire card absolutey rinses the X-Fi and indeed the Xonar that preceeded it.
I just truly feel these gamer cards are a rip off for what they are. Looking at the site, there is an X-Fi for £240! Are Creative having a laugh?! Seriously?? £240 for a gaming card?!
The worst part is - the product description refers to "audio creation". In my youth, I was ignorant over soundcards. I bought the then top of the line Audigy 2 Plantinum something a rather...I thought it was the absolute bees knees untill I tried to do any recording on it in Cubase SX. I then quickly realised (after studying Music Technology A level) that the Creative cards were indeed a complete joke in terms of audio production. I moved to a M-Audio Delta 66 for ~£100 and was AMAZED at the difference not just in sound quality but in latency and driver stability.
Seriously guys forget the gaming cards - I am lucky enough now to own a professionally acoustic treated recording studio and have A/Bed multiple cards (with several different producers and engineers) and the budget semi-pro soundcards ALWAYS come out on top. Always...
Don't get me wrong here - I am a gamer to. I love video games. But I also happen to have an insight into professional audio and what is being sold as 'premium' soundcards to the gaming market is frankly, one of the biggest marketing scams I have ever seen.
Don't just take my word for it though. Have a listen for yourselves. I even saw the M-Audio Audiophile 2496 (which btw is a BARGAIN for what it is) in a certain high-street retailer the other day for ~£70. I installed this card in every single PC I built for the music tech lab at the college I teach at and it is sonically, a beast! The fact you can pick one up in a non-specialist shop is a testament to how accesible audio production has become these days. Theres no reason why you can't buy one and try it out for a week (you can presumably always take it back if you don't like it) but the important thing to do is A/B it with your current gaming card. In Winamp for example, you can manually select which outputs (and indeed which device) audio is sent through.
Make sure to load up a song which you know well and try both. You will be amazed at the sonic quality a 'budget' pro sound card will give you over a 'premium' gaming card.
Rant adjourned people! haha! Think I'm getting RSI from all this typing...
I just upgraded from my X-Fi Audio to a M-Audio Firewire Solo audio interface which I bought new for £130.
Admittedly, this is slightly more than one would normally pay for a gaming card (although I have mentioned before the RIDICULOUS bargain that is the E-MU 0404 PCI @ £54) this new firewire card absolutey rinses the X-Fi and indeed the Xonar that preceeded it.
I just truly feel these gamer cards are a rip off for what they are. Looking at the site, there is an X-Fi for £240! Are Creative having a laugh?! Seriously?? £240 for a gaming card?!
The worst part is - the product description refers to "audio creation". In my youth, I was ignorant over soundcards. I bought the then top of the line Audigy 2 Plantinum something a rather...I thought it was the absolute bees knees untill I tried to do any recording on it in Cubase SX. I then quickly realised (after studying Music Technology A level) that the Creative cards were indeed a complete joke in terms of audio production. I moved to a M-Audio Delta 66 for ~£100 and was AMAZED at the difference not just in sound quality but in latency and driver stability.
Seriously guys forget the gaming cards - I am lucky enough now to own a professionally acoustic treated recording studio and have A/Bed multiple cards (with several different producers and engineers) and the budget semi-pro soundcards ALWAYS come out on top. Always...
Don't get me wrong here - I am a gamer to. I love video games. But I also happen to have an insight into professional audio and what is being sold as 'premium' soundcards to the gaming market is frankly, one of the biggest marketing scams I have ever seen.
Don't just take my word for it though. Have a listen for yourselves. I even saw the M-Audio Audiophile 2496 (which btw is a BARGAIN for what it is) in a certain high-street retailer the other day for ~£70. I installed this card in every single PC I built for the music tech lab at the college I teach at and it is sonically, a beast! The fact you can pick one up in a non-specialist shop is a testament to how accesible audio production has become these days. Theres no reason why you can't buy one and try it out for a week (you can presumably always take it back if you don't like it) but the important thing to do is A/B it with your current gaming card. In Winamp for example, you can manually select which outputs (and indeed which device) audio is sent through.
Make sure to load up a song which you know well and try both. You will be amazed at the sonic quality a 'budget' pro sound card will give you over a 'premium' gaming card.
Rant adjourned people! haha! Think I'm getting RSI from all this typing...
So would you recommend the M-Audio Audiophile 2496 to people for both gaming and music?
Associate
Yes, whole-heartedly.
The only niggle I can forsee would be surround sound. Although the 2496 does have the following:
S/PDIF digital I/O with PCM and AC-3/DTS passthrough
Presumably this would be enough to send to something like the Logitech Z-5500s although after doing some reading recently, it seems Windows does not understand anything other than stereo over SPDIF. This might result in lack of 5.1. The Xonars get around this by converting the audio stream to analogue and then out through digital but this is definitely a compromise and I am unsure whether or not the 2496 would do the same. I have not personally had any experience with surround sound and pro cards, so I would not be able to say either way.
However, if you game on stereo then its a no-brainer.
The only niggle I can forsee would be surround sound. Although the 2496 does have the following:
S/PDIF digital I/O with PCM and AC-3/DTS passthrough
Presumably this would be enough to send to something like the Logitech Z-5500s although after doing some reading recently, it seems Windows does not understand anything other than stereo over SPDIF. This might result in lack of 5.1. The Xonars get around this by converting the audio stream to analogue and then out through digital but this is definitely a compromise and I am unsure whether or not the 2496 would do the same. I have not personally had any experience with surround sound and pro cards, so I would not be able to say either way.
However, if you game on stereo then its a no-brainer.
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Well thats interesting, im surprised its so cheap then.
Ive been reading a lot of your posts regarding how you should set 96KHz, which I have now done. However, I cant see when you would have 96KHz source material anyway.
I thought SPDIF is only 2 channel. I thought 5.1 via digital is only possible if it's compressed by either Dolby or DTS for eg.
Associate
I am unsure to be completely honest - when using SPDIF in the pro audio circle its very much a 2 channel digital interface so we tend to use it for mastering or for sending sub mixes to different devices. I do not know the ins and outs of using it for surround but I've seen enough home cinema speaker systems (the Logitech Z-5500 included for example) that take SPDIF...so presumably its possible?
Also my best mate has a Xonar D2X and Logitech Z-5500s which he asked me to hook up for surround sound. I did so through SPDIF although the Xonar and Audiophile will be different in their handling of this no doubt.
The problem is, because I don't personally run surround sound, I have not looked into it as much as I should; I am however keen to learn anything you might know Marsman!!!
Also my best mate has a Xonar D2X and Logitech Z-5500s which he asked me to hook up for surround sound. I did so through SPDIF although the Xonar and Audiophile will be different in their handling of this no doubt.
The problem is, because I don't personally run surround sound, I have not looked into it as much as I should; I am however keen to learn anything you might know Marsman!!!
Associate
@ trancer
In Windows XP it wasn't an issue. Since Vista it is. We now have two variables to deal with in terms of sampling rates - 1) The Soundcard and 2) Windows. I agree that it is pointless in principle to set higher sample rates than what the source material is encoded with but Windows is now artifacting and aliasing the sound if it is set low. And believe me, it sounds horrible. It also tries its best to sync with what sample rate is set by the soundcard. Unfortunately, this does not often work out and as such, (in order to 'unlock' the higher sample rates) we must set them both from the soundcard's driver panel and in windows to avoid any audio degradation.
Again, dont just take my word for it. Try it out for yourself - what speakers/soundcard/OS are you running?
In Windows XP it wasn't an issue. Since Vista it is. We now have two variables to deal with in terms of sampling rates - 1) The Soundcard and 2) Windows. I agree that it is pointless in principle to set higher sample rates than what the source material is encoded with but Windows is now artifacting and aliasing the sound if it is set low. And believe me, it sounds horrible. It also tries its best to sync with what sample rate is set by the soundcard. Unfortunately, this does not often work out and as such, (in order to 'unlock' the higher sample rates) we must set them both from the soundcard's driver panel and in windows to avoid any audio degradation.
Again, dont just take my word for it. Try it out for yourself - what speakers/soundcard/OS are you running?
Mistake then. Waste of time your mate having the D2x as the z5500 are doing all the decoding and he may as well use onboard sound.
use the anologue outputs to connect to the z5500 and let the d2x do the processing.
Associate
Would you be kind enough to explain in a little more detail for me Greebo?
I am woefully ignorant over all these digital surround standards for gaming and I really ought to be in the know in my line of work!!!
Cheers dude
Tom
EDIT: Nevermind, I have done some reading - I understand now. To be fair, my mate switched to analogue on his own accord as he was having problems with the digital cutting in and out in Windows. It seems that it is best to connect via analogue in this way as the Xonar will do the digital to analogue conversion and not the Logitech Z-5500s. This apparently is preferable as the converters are of higher quality on the Xonar than on the Logitech (which I have trouble with as I thought they sounded bad enough as they were haha!). Thanks for clearing that up though Greebo.
I am woefully ignorant over all these digital surround standards for gaming and I really ought to be in the know in my line of work!!!
Cheers dude
Tom
EDIT: Nevermind, I have done some reading - I understand now. To be fair, my mate switched to analogue on his own accord as he was having problems with the digital cutting in and out in Windows. It seems that it is best to connect via analogue in this way as the Xonar will do the digital to analogue conversion and not the Logitech Z-5500s. This apparently is preferable as the converters are of higher quality on the Xonar than on the Logitech (which I have trouble with as I thought they sounded bad enough as they were haha!). Thanks for clearing that up though Greebo.
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Glad you found the answer Thomas.
Of course, somebody "might" prefer the sound using the z5500 decoders over the d2x but that's personal preference.
To me, my z5500's sound far superior with anolugue connection over digital.
Of course, somebody "might" prefer the sound using the z5500 decoders over the d2x but that's personal preference.
To me, my z5500's sound far superior with anolugue connection over digital.
Soldato
im surprised hwo few people seem to have read asus's won little info thing about what to set the channel number to. Set it to the source material, is what it says. on my 5.1 if i do this it means that
mp3s set at 2 channel come out 5.1, set at 6 or 8, they only come out 2.1 which is arguably better.
Gaming you want to set to 6 for 5.1 or 8 for 7.1, althuogh that tends to be emulated anyway since most games are only 5.1
96 @ 24bit is the way forward. There is a problem with cod4, unless its been patched and it doesnt work with certain audio setting, although i cant remember which way round it is that doesnt work.
mp3s set at 2 channel come out 5.1, set at 6 or 8, they only come out 2.1 which is arguably better.
Gaming you want to set to 6 for 5.1 or 8 for 7.1, althuogh that tends to be emulated anyway since most games are only 5.1
96 @ 24bit is the way forward. There is a problem with cod4, unless its been patched and it doesnt work with certain audio setting, although i cant remember which way round it is that doesnt work.
Soldato
Anyone else had a problem with their DX where the right channel goes nearly silent?
It occurs randomly and others on the Asus forums have experienced it, but nobody has a solution. The latest driver does not solve it and also I'm pretty sure this didn't happen until I upgraded to Windows 7.
It occurs randomly and others on the Asus forums have experienced it, but nobody has a solution. The latest driver does not solve it and also I'm pretty sure this didn't happen until I upgraded to Windows 7.
Soldato
i had a few issues with channels switching around in games/firefox browsing, and/or crackling on vista with my d2x. I fixed it by using some hacked Xonar essence drivers, since they weer newer, some reason it wasnt as good in the new standard drivers that i tried a few months later. On win 7 and cant say im noticing a problem yet, but it was only a few programs/games that did it
Can't say that I have read it and perhaps I ought to. Link? However, setting to 6 for games fail for me and many others as you get no sound from the rear speakers, just 3.1.
You need to set 8 channels and disable the two side speakers to have 5.1 sound. At least in windows 7 you have to.
Associate
Just wanted to say thanks to all who have shared in this thread.
I have a xonar D2 and a DX and i have not been using them to full potential, (what a muppet!)
Alway thought you had to use the same amount of channels to match your speakers i.e headphones 2 channels.
set my channels to 8 using headphones and wow, boy have I been missing out on some surround sound gaming.
I have yet to try this on my DX but I have z5400's rigged up to this so time to get some decent sound out of these, using optical out at the mo but would prefer analouge with the DX doing the work.
Cheers again
CB
I have a xonar D2 and a DX and i have not been using them to full potential, (what a muppet!)
Alway thought you had to use the same amount of channels to match your speakers i.e headphones 2 channels.
set my channels to 8 using headphones and wow, boy have I been missing out on some surround sound gaming.
I have yet to try this on my DX but I have z5400's rigged up to this so time to get some decent sound out of these, using optical out at the mo but would prefer analouge with the DX doing the work.
Cheers again
CB
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Soldato
In vista and Win7 5.1 is 3 front and 2 side, rear is only for 7.1
So you should plug speakers into front, side and center/sub sockets.
Thatll be why your not getting sound when setting 6, or having to disable speakers etc. I have no link, it was something on the cd, like a pop up or maybe i pressed help? It was 1.5 years ago when i was trying to work out why i couldnt get 5.1 with 6 channels on vista, then i found out that vista/win7 changed it so that you dont use rear in a 5.1 setup.
Edit: I use 5.1 speakers, the below about headphones is only for while gaming/voice
8 channels + pc 350 with base eq + dolby surround + gx + headphones + 24bit @ 96Khz = freaking awesome spatial awareness, like omfg better than my medusa 5.1's on an audigy 2. People (friends) sometimes ask me if im wall hacking because i can hear, and accuratly(ish) shoot people through walls....make me feel so pro lmao
Associate
Well you learn more every day!!
I did not know that about vista and windows 7!!
5.1 over analouge all day every day here I come!!
I did not know that about vista and windows 7!!
5.1 over analouge all day every day here I come!!