Asus Xonar DX - Lack of Sound/Distorted Issue

st2000

st2000

st2000

Associate
Joined
12 Nov 2011
Posts
89
Hi Guys,

I am having a few issues with my Xonar DX Soundcard. Firstly, for ages it has said the powercable is unplugged and therefore I havent had any access to the software for sometime. Mainly down to me being lazy as the card still worked and sounded good in my games.

I have recently installed a new graphics card - HD7990 and since doing this, the sound has now gone terrible. To the point where, when everything is set to max volume, it still sounds like its on 1/5th of what the card is capable of. In addition some of the music I play sounds a little distorted now.

The power cable issue is a flaw with the design I guess, as frankly it doesn't sit snug on the card at all - however to a point I managed to balance this in place (Not ideal) and I managed to gain access to the software again. (Until I put the case back on and then it went again :/ )

I have re-seated the sound card and also ensured the onboard sound is disabled in the BIOS. Just to be certain I have tested the headphones using another device and these are blarring.

Has anyone had any similar problems, if so - any ideas how to resolve this?

Thanks
 
Well other than pushing the power connector on as firmly as you can, then I'm not sure what else you can do, if you have already placed it as far from the 7990 as possible. It would appear that the 7990 is producing more EMI than your old card, which in turn is affecting your DX. You could try Uni Xonar drivers, but I'm not sure they would make much difference.

EMI is the bane of sound cards. Some brands and models of PC components have more impact than others when it comes to EMI affecting a sound card. There are so many PC component configurations it's impossible to say how a sound card will fare within any given PC. Some cards do fare better than others, but it's a lottery really. You buy a card and hope it works. For this reason, a fair few people just go with an external solution.
 
A sound card with a EMI shield may help. I'm not totally convinced by them though, because they are described in the specs as some kind of EMI resistant forcefield. That would be fine if they were certain to prevent EMI from the affecting the sound card, but they aren't. Too many people have EMI problems with cards that have such shields, including the Xonar Essence. It would be a PitA to spend £140 only to find that it's no better. If there is too much EMI within the case, a shield cannot help.

A external sound card may be the answer, or even better, a DAC (digital to analogue converter). A DAC is audio output only though, so if you use a headset, you'd still need the sound card or onboard audio for microphone.
 
OK wicked, cheers for the advice mate. Frankly, I am now plugged into my on-board sound and it sounds so much better than my sound card. I have re-tested with my old graphics card now and it's still the same. Just need to test the card in another machine before I send back under the warranty.

Thanks
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom