ASUS Xonar D2X Please Help

The Tourist

The Tourist

The Tourist

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31 May 2012
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134
Please help me try to figure out how to output sound from my D2X sound card to my AMP.

I've searched around and looked for solutions, tried various settings, but no luck so far.

Also, I know my sound card works because I can hear sound when I plug in my headphones.

My setup:

OS: Windows 8.1 Pro
Motherboard: ASUS RIVE
CPU: 3930K
GPU: 290X (crossfire)
RAM: 16GB
Sound card: ASUS Xonar D2X
Display: Samsung TV
Amplifier: Denon AVR-1911

At the moment, the 290X is connected to the TV with an HDMI 1.4 cable and the TV is connected to the AMP via another HDMI 1.4 cable.
Therefore sound is being output from the 290x, sent to the TV then onto the AMP and I can hear it out of the speakers.
Now obviously, seeing as I have a dedicated sound card it makes sense for my audio to be output from the D2X and not the GPU. However, I don't know how to do it. I'm hoping that someone here can walk me through exactly how to connect my sound card to my current setup in order to achieve this.

Thanks in advance :)
 
You're sending digital signals to your receiver (not just an amp) via HDMI, if you want to use the sound card you need to take the analogue outputs (RCA) and connect those to the RCA inputs on your receiver instead of HDMI
 
Thanks for the reply.

Which are the analogue outputs (RCA) on the sound card?

The outputs/ports on the card are listed as:

MIC In
Line In
Front Out
Side Surround
Center & Subwoofer
Back Surround
SPDIF In
SPDIF Out

Thanks :)
 
Last edited:
Uhm...

Front out, side surround, centre & subwoofer and back surround. You need to find the corresponding RCA sockets on your receiver, depending on how many you are using (5.1 or 7.1) and connect the two devices.
 
Denon 1911 does not have analogue 5.1 input, so you can only use analogue stereo connection. Best to use either optical or coaxial from the D2X to the receiver.
 
Unfortunately my receiver only has Right and Left RCA inputs; the number of inputs don't correspond to the number of speakers.
It has 5 pairs of Right and Left RCA inputs, one pair labelled as DVD, the other as CD, then Sat/Cable, BD and Dock.

How would I connect the Front out, side surround, centre & subwoofer and back surround RCA outputs on the sound card to one pair of RCA inputs on the receiver?
 
Marsman said:
Denon 1911 does not have analogue 5.1 input, so you can only use analogue stereo connection. Best to use either optical or coaxial from the D2X to the receiver.
Click to expand...

I've used an optical cable to connect the SPDIF out on the sound card to the only optical port on the receiver which is labelled 'Digital' (Assignable) 'In' 'Optical' (TV)

I've not been able to hear any sound when I've done this however. Do need to change the settings on the receiver/Assign the digital optical port as 'in'?
 
You're stuck with digital then and that is pretty much bypassing the sound card. If the receiver doesn't have the right inputs there is nothing you can do about it.
 
rids57 said:
You're stuck with digital then and that is pretty much bypassing the sound card. If the receiver doesn't have the right inputs there is nothing you can do about it.
Click to expand...

So if I understand correctly, as long as I connect my 290X GPUs to my setup with an HDMI cable i.e. digital, then the digital output overrides the outputs of my D2X like e.g. optical? Which is why I'm only hearing sound output from my GPU and not the D2X?
 
Digital is digital, it doesn't matter where it comes from, it's being decoded by your receiver and turned into analogue audio.
If you take the digital audio from the graphics card HDMI it is exactly the same data as you'll get from the sound card or even your motherboard if it has optical output. It's not a case of bypassing or taking priority, it's the same data, so when your receiver decodes it, it will sound exactly the same.
 
The Tourist said:
Yes, I'd attach pictures to show the D2X control panel setup but I don't know how lol
Click to expand...

If you've got that ticked, then you probably have to select the optical input on the receiver, if you haven't already.

So if I understand correctly, as long as I connect my 290X GPUs to my setup with an HDMI cable i.e. digital, then the digital output overrides the outputs of my D2X like e.g. optical? Which is why I'm only hearing sound output from my GPU and not the D2X?
Click to expand...

If you've got the Nvidia as the default output in Windows sound properties, then that will be why the sound is coming from that rather than the D2X.

As rids has said though, digital is digital. The D2X isn't going to do a better job than the Nvidia because it's a sound card rather than a GPU with an onboard audio controller. Actually, it's more the other way round.

Whether you use HDMI or optical, both send digital audio data. The receiver is decoding that data and converting it into an analogue sound signal. Effectively, you could say the receiver is acting as the sound card.

Technically, using HDMI would be better, because optical (SPDIF) requires Dolby Digital or DTS encoding in order to pass 5.1 audio, which uses compression. SPDIF doesn't have the bandwidth to pass anything more than stereo without compression. It was designed in the 80s before 5.1 came about. HDMI on the other hand can pass multi channel audio without any compression at all.

You'd need to connect the GPU to the receiver though, then receiver to the TV; rather than connecting the GPU to the TV.
 
Marsman said:
If you've got that ticked, then you probably have to select the optical input on the receiver, if you haven't already.



If you've got the Nvidia as the default output in Windows sound properties, then that will be why the sound is coming from that rather than the D2X.

As rids has said though, digital is digital. The D2X isn't going to do a better job than the Nvidia because it's a sound card rather than a GPU with an onboard audio controller. Actually, it's more the other way round.

Whether you use HDMI or optical, both send digital audio data. The receiver is decoding that data and converting it into an analogue sound signal. Effectively, you could say the receiver is acting as the sound card.

Technically, using HDMI would be better, because optical (SPDIF) requires Dolby Digital or DTS encoding in order to pass 5.1 audio, which uses compression. SPDIF doesn't have the bandwidth to pass anything more than stereo without compression. It was designed in the 80s before 5.1 came about. HDMI on the other hand can pass multi channel audio without any compression at all.

You'd need to connect the GPU to the receiver though, then receiver to the TV; rather than connecting the GPU to the TV.
Click to expand...


I tried to select optical input on the receiver but it didn't appear to work, the manual isn't very clear on this. I'm guessing my receiver wasn't really designed with my kind of setup in mind.

Also, even when my D2X is set as the default device, I still hear no sound, even though I can see that it's being produced.

So, based on what you guys are saying, does this mean that dedicated sound cards are obsolete?
 
There must be something amiss somewhere, because it should work.

Do you get any sound from analogue devices connected to the D2X? Headphones for example.

Dedicated sound cards are not obsolete, because primarily they are designed for use with headphones or speakers that have analogue input, and for the most part offer better sound quality than onboard audio. For use with an AV receiver home cinema setup though, then yes, they are pretty much obsolete now.

Depends on the setup though. Multi screen, high refresh rate or 4k setups make using HDMI connection to an AV receiver either a pain in the backside or not viable. In such cases, SPDIF is still the way to go. As long as Dolby Digital Live or DTS Connect is available, then doesn't matter if that's from a motherboard or a sound card.
 
Ah, so in a way my receiver is acting like a sound card, I never thought of it like that but it makes sense.

I hear sound through my headphones when they are plugged into the sound card. Chances are the reason I can't hear sound through my speakers is because either I can't find the correct setting, or the receiver isn't designed to do what I'm trying to do.

Looks like I need to upgrade my receiver. I plan to get a 4K TV and probably a new home cinema system (and therefore a new receiver).
The setup I'd like is to have the 4K TV, the home cinema surround sound system and PC all connected together.

Do you have any recommendations for the sound system? You mentioned 4K setups make using an HDMI connection to a receiver a PITA or not viable, what did you mean by this? Is the setup I'm looking for not really feasible just yet?
 
It isn't because the 1911 isn't designed for what you are trying to do, as for the reason why it's not working. It is. Optical input takes stereo PCM or 5.1 encoded with Dolby Digital or DTS. Just as it would if you connected a DVD player with optical output. Some setting is wrong somewhere with either the PC or receiver.

One possible thought is that you have the sample rate set to high in the D2X control panel. You may have it set to 192k, which the receiver may not be able to decode. Receiver may only accept 96k sample input. Worth checking to see if it is that.

New receivers may have better support for 4k passthrough when gaming. Previous receivers were perfectly fine for 4k video, but were too limited to be of any use for 4k gaming. Depending on when you decide to buy new gear, best to check current models can do this with no problem.
 
Ah OK. Well the sample rate was set to 48khz, I've tried 96 and 44.1khz but still hear no sound from the speakers. I think you're right, there's a setting wrong somewhere and I have no idea where.

I'll be sure to to check new models of receivers to see if they offer good support for 4K passthrough when gaming.

Thanks for all your help :)
 
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