Xonar DG Settings...

[PowerPie5000]

I have an Asus Xonar DG that i bought recently and i've only just started fiddling with the 'Xonar Audio Center'... The sample rate is set to 96kHz by default, so why does it show 16-bit, 44.1kHz (CD Quality) in the Windows 7 speaker properties? I would have thought the Asus utility would override this? So, is my card running at 96kHz or 44.1kHz

Can anyone shed some light on this please? Cheers :

 

[PowerPie5000]

What's with the 'side speakers' port?? Shouldn't a 5.1 card have a 'rear speakers' port instead? Does this mean i'll lose rear audio if i connect 5.1 speakers?

 

[Devrij]

You should have ports for all channels of a 5.1 system, or an optical port for those that support it.

Are you plugged into the rear ports or the ones on your case?

 

[PowerPie5000]

You should have ports for all channels of a 5.1 system, or an optical port for those that support it.

Are you plugged into the rear ports or the ones on your case?

I use my headphones with the port on front of the case (and 2.0 speakers plugged into the card)... I just find it strange how they've labelled the ports. Maybe the side speakers port is supposed to be labelled rear speakers instead? I've also seen people mention online that the Xonar DG only outputs 2 channles through the optical port (bit of a let down really - i could always use the onboard Realtek optical port if i had to).

*Mic/Line In Port
*Headphone/Front Out Port
*Side Surround Out Port
*Center/Subwoofer Out Port
*S/PDIF Out Port (Optical)
*Front Panel Audio Header
*Aux Input Header
*S/PDIF Out Header

No mention of a rear speaker output and i thought the side output was only for 7.1 audio?...

 

[melmac]

I use my headphones with the port on front of the case (and 2.0 speakers plugged into the card)... I just find it strange how they've labelled the ports. Maybe the side speakers port is supposed to be labelled rear speakers instead? I've also seen people mention online that the Xonar DG only outputs 2 channles through the optical port (bit of a let down really - i could always use the onboard Realtek optical port if i had to).

*Mic/Line In Port
*Headphone/Front Out Port
*Side Surround Out Port
*Center/Subwoofer Out Port
*S/PDIF Out Port (Optical)
*Front Panel Audio Header
*Aux Input Header
*S/PDIF Out Header

No mention of a rear speaker output and i thought the side output was only for 7.1 audio?...

The black socket is for rear speakers. It's just Asus's terminology. Depending on what speakers you have and your room setup you might not have any rear speakers, but they will be just to the side in line with your ears or slightly behind you.

And all optical/coaxial out from any sound card only supports 2 channels. That is 2 channels of uncompressed audio. But it can handle compressed audio fine, like dolby digital 5.1 and DTS, so you can get your 5.1 channels that way.

 

[Devrij]

As above. I'm not 100%, but I think the headphone amp is only supported via the rear ports? Be worth double checking though, as I haven't read the blurb in ages.

 

[PowerPie5000]

As above. I'm not 100%, but I think the headphone amp is only supported via the rear ports? Be worth double checking though, as I haven't read the blurb in ages.

The headphone amp also works using the case headphone port too... I just don't know how to enable auto jack sensing (it's supposed to support it). I have the front panel audio header set to HD and not AC97, but i still have to manually select 'FP Headphones' from the Xonar utility and then manually select speakers again when i want to use the speakers (after already unplugging the headphones) .

EDIT: is it normal for the card to make a click noise when switching between outputs? It's the actual card itself that's clicking .

 

[PowerPie5000]

I just did a 5.1 test in Windows and it displays what should be the rear left and right speakers as side left and right (with no rear speakers at all!)... I'm starting to think this card is a bit crap to be honest. The sound quality is good, but everything else is messed up!

1. Auto jack sensing doesn't work at all even though it's one of the advertised features.

2. The card itself makes clicking noises when switching between outputs (i don't think it's normal.)

3. The 6 channel (5.1) support is crap as there's no rear audio (just side audio... WHY???).

4. The settings in the 'Xonar Audio Center' never match the Windows audio settings .


At least the onboard Realtek does what it's supposed to and i've never had issues with Realtek drivers.

 

[melmac]

Get the unified drivers and try them first.

 

[PowerPie5000]

Get the unified drivers and try them first.

I tried to install them but they kept hanging towards the end (this also happened with the official drivers when i first tried to install them), it seems to be a common problem.

Anyway, i completely uninstalled the card, performed a driver sweep and then managed to get it all setup again. The front panel jack sensing works now (to an extent as sometimes it won't switch back to speakers after unplugging my headphones). It seems i can't escape shoddy drivers if i want decent audio (Asus, Creative & Auzentech - i've had issues with all of them!)... I've never had issues with Realtek drivers.

The sound quality is pretty decent compared to my onboard audio, and it's capable of driving the meaty Senn 600's... But there's those little issues that put me off and make me think 'WHY'?? The whole 'side speaker' thing does my head in with a 5.1 card! Also, is the clicking sound normal when changing outputs? The card itself will make a click noise... Someone on Hexus said it's normal, but i've never had a sound card that clicks.

Maybe i should have splashed out a bit more on a sound card... All the latest cards seem to be PCIe only (my GPU is blocking the small PCIe port on my m-ATX motherboard). How good is the PCI Auzentech X-Meridian?

 

[melmac]

I don't understand, the side audio is just terminology, it doesn't make a difference to where the sound is coming from with headphones on.

As I said before in some 5.1 setups the rear speakers are called side surround speakers. But in reality you could call them anything you wanted because it doesn't matter a damn, the sound is still going to be coming from where ever you put speakers.

The clicking sound is normal, it's just mechanical relay.

And sorry, should have mentioned this earlier, I forgot, sometimes the only way to get the auto sensing working right is to make sure the headphones are plugged into the front socket when the computer starts.

What motherboard do you have? Are there not two small PCI-E slots?

The X-Meridian is a pretty good card. Comes with a headphone amp, which does power the front panel as well.

 

[PowerPie5000]

I don't understand, the side audio is just terminology, it doesn't make a difference to where the sound is coming from with headphones on.

As I said before in some 5.1 setups the rear speakers are called side surround speakers. But in reality you could call them anything you wanted because it doesn't matter a damn, the sound is still going to be coming from where ever you put speakers.

The clicking sound is normal, it's just mechanical relay.

And sorry, should have mentioned this earlier, I forgot, sometimes the only way to get the auto sensing working right is to make sure the headphones are plugged into the front socket when the computer starts.

What motherboard do you have? Are there not two small PCI-E slots?

The X-Meridian is a pretty good card. Comes with a headphone amp, which does power the front panel as well.

Windows shows the 5.1 configuration as having the speakers at the sides instead of the rear... Does this mean rear audio will be quieter as the rear speakers are configured to output side audio (which is usually used in 7.1 setups)? I could still place the rear speakers behind me, but they'll still be outputting left & right side audio according to the settings.

My motherboard has 2 x PCIe x16 slots, 1 x PCIe 1x slot (blocked by the GPU's cooler) and a single PCI slot which is on the end of the board away from the GPU. It's a micro-ATX board so there's not much room (Biostar TH67XE).

A PCI sound card is my only option, and i don't want to spend too much as i've heard the next generation of Intel motherboards won't have PCI slots... I was tempted by the X-Meridian or possibly the Xonar Essence ST (which may have better drivers for gaming?)... Just means i'll have to sell it again if i upgrade to Haswell.

 

[melmac]

Windows shows the 5.1 configuration as having the speakers at the sides instead of the rear... Does this mean rear audio will be quieter as the rear speakers are configured to output side audio (which is usually used in 7.1 setups)? I could still place the rear speakers behind me, but they'll still be outputting left & right side audio according to the settings.

My motherboard has 2 x PCIe x16 slots, 1 x PCIe 1x slot (blocked by the GPU's cooler) and a single PCI slot which is on the end of the board away from the GPU. It's a micro-ATX board so there's not much room (Biostar TH67XE).

A PCI sound card is my only option, and i don't want to spend too much as i've heard the next generation of Intel motherboards won't have PCI slots... I was tempted by the X-Meridian or possibly the Xonar Essence ST (which may have better drivers for gaming?)... Just means i'll have to sell it again if i upgrade to Haswell.

You see people are all confused. Traditionally 5.1 meant 2 fronts, a center, 2 side speakers and subwoofer. 7.1 added the 2 rear speakers. Somewhere along the line in the 5.1 setup side surrounds started getting called rear speakers. See here

http://www.audioholics.com/tweaks/s...ome-theater-speaker-layout-an-essential-guide

and here

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-position-surround-speakers-in-a-home-theate.html

Again doesn't matter what any picture shows. In a 5.1 setup, the two side surround, or rear speakers if you want to call them that will play the sounds that are directed to them from the game or movie. You generally position these speakers where you get the best surround effect from.

I don't know what way the sound panel in windows shows them. I don't pay too much attention to it, I set it at 5.1 and leave it. I use the control panel of my sound card to make all other adjustments.

If you have a spare PCI-E x16 slot you can use that for your sound card if you want.

 

[PowerPie5000]

You see people are all confused. Traditionally 5.1 meant 2 fronts, a center, 2 side speakers and subwoofer. 7.1 added the 2 rear speakers. Somewhere along the line in the 5.1 setup side surrounds started getting called rear speakers. See here

http://www.audioholics.com/tweaks/s...ome-theater-speaker-layout-an-essential-guide

and here

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-position-surround-speakers-in-a-home-theate.html

I never knew that! Every 5.1 setup i've used or seen has rear speakers (according to setup guides and speakeer labels etc..) and no speakers immediately/directly to the left and right (as my drivers show). The Xonar cards are also the only ones i've seen that have side speaker output instead of rear outputs for 5.1 setups... Learn something new every day .

Again doesn't matter what any picture shows. In a 5.1 setup, the two side surround, or rear speakers if you want to call them that will play the sounds that are directed to them from the game or movie. You generally position these speakers where you get the best surround effect from.

I don't know what way the sound panel in windows shows them. I don't pay too much attention to it, I set it at 5.1 and leave it. I use the control panel of my sound card to make all other adjustments.

I just assumed the audio would vary depending on where the software thinks the speakers are positioned... If i had 2 x front and 2 x rear, then sound would come from both the front left and rear left for audio coming directly from the left (i think that's how it works). So if the software is configured to send sound to what it thinks are side left & right, then what does it do about sound coming from the rear? This is becoming a bit confusing!

If you have a spare PCI-E x16 slot you can use that for your sound card if you want.

I would use the spare PCIe x16 slot, but it's a bit close to the GPU and would also drop the GPU's PCIe slot to x8 lanes (it's currently running at PCIe 3.0 x16).

 

[melmac]

Even if you go to the dolby site, in a 5.1 setup it recommends having the "rear" speakers at between 90 and 110 degrees to the listening position.

Why are you confused? How will the software know where you have your speakers positioned? Why are you so hung up on where the speakers are positioned in the windows control panel? and what they are called?

The computer will play the sounds to the speaker that they should be coming from. You place the speaker where you get the best sound. It depends on room size, furniture etc etc. You might get great surround effects with the speakers more behind then to the side. Others, might get a better experience with the speakers at the side.

It's not confusing at all, you are just making it confusing. Stop worrying about what they are called.

Oh, it drops to x8 speed with the Pci-e slot. You might not even notice that in your gaming.

 

[PowerPie5000]

Why are you confused? How will the software know where you have your speakers positioned? Why are you so hung up on where the speakers are positioned in the windows control panel? and what they are called?

The PC won't know where i place the speakers, but it will be sending the relevant audio signals based on where the PC has recommended to place the speakers (if you get what i mean?)... Therefore the left and right audio will be more pronounced as the driveras are not really taking rear audio into consideration (as far as i can tell)... If i move my speakers to the rear, then they're still going to be sending out left & right side audio.

Anyway, I've decided not to bother messing around with surround sound configs and i'll just stick to using my adequate 2.0 speakers (Creative GigaWorks T20 Series II). I also decided to buy another 'all in one' headset as i feel my Sennheiser HD 600's are not doing themselves any justice when it comes to gaming... They're brilliant with music and movies though (which i originally bought them for ). I also hate using a clip on mic .

I now want to learn the FPS art of 'sound whoring' without spending too much money ... I decided to give the Alienware TactX headset a go (basically a rebranded Steelseries 5HV2). It was cheap, comes with tough braided cables, extension cables and is engineered to enhance 'light' sounds in games (things like footsteps, enemies reloading etc...). I imagine music will sound crap, but it's a good thing i bought them for gaming .

Is it best to select 6 or 8 channel sound when using Dolby Headphone with a 2.0 headset?

 

[melmac]

The PC won't know where i place the speakers, but it will be sending the relevant audio signals based on where the PC has recommended to place the speakers (if you get what i mean?)... Therefore the left and right audio will be more pronounced as the driveras are not really taking rear audio into consideration (as far as i can tell)... If i move my speakers to the rear, then they're still going to be sending out left & right side audio.

I'll try to explain this one more time. In the sound options in the windows control panel, the picture it's showing doesn't matter a damn. It's only a simple way to show if you are on 2 speakers, 4 speakers, 5.1 speakers or 7.1. It could show the two rear speakers up beside the two front speakers, and it wouldn't matter because the film or game will still send the sounds to where ever you have placed the physical speakers in your home.

Now if you start a game, it checks to see are you using stereo, quad surround, 5.1 or 7.1(if the game supports it) It doesn't look at the picture in the control panel and go, oh I must send the sound more to the side than the rear. No, it just checks what speaker configuration you have. The game engine then works out which speaker to send the sounds to based on that.

5.1 is 5.1, some diagrams show the speakers behind, some diagrams show them at the sides. It doesn't matter, it's the exact same thing. The sound is still going to come from where ever you have placed the speakers.

Anyway, I've decided not to bother messing around with surround sound configs and i'll just stick to using my adequate 2.0 speakers (Creative GigaWorks T20 Series II)

Wait, you only have 2 speakers? There is no surround configs in windows. If you only have 2 speakers changing the number of speakers in the windows control panel wont do any kind of virtual surround or anything like that. Setting the number of speakers to 5.1 won't magically make the sound come from behind you in a 2 speaker setup.

I also decided to buy another 'all in one' headset as i feel my Sennheiser HD 600's are not doing themselves any justice when it comes to gaming... They're brilliant with music and movies though (which i originally bought them for ). I also hate using a clip on mic .

I now want to learn the FPS art of 'sound whoring' without spending too much money ... I decided to give the Alienware TactX headset a go (basically a rebranded Steelseries 5HV2). It was cheap, comes with tough braided cables, extension cables and is engineered to enhance 'light' sounds in games (things like footsteps, enemies reloading etc...). I imagine music will sound crap, but it's a good thing i bought them for gaming

Really? Well, it's your money.

Is it best to select 6 or 8 channel sound when using Dolby Headphone with a 2.0 headset?

I use 8 channel. Don't think there is too much difference.

 

[PowerPie5000]

I'll try to explain this one more time. In the sound options in the windows control panel, the picture it's showing doesn't matter a damn. It's only a simple way to show if you are on 2 speakers, 4 speakers, 5.1 speakers or 7.1. It could show the two rear speakers up beside the two front speakers, and it wouldn't matter because the film or game will still send the sounds to where ever you have placed the physical speakers in your home.

Now if you start a game, it checks to see are you using stereo, quad surround, 5.1 or 7.1(if the game supports it) It doesn't look at the picture in the control panel and go, oh I must send the sound more to the side than the rear. No, it just checks what speaker configuration you have. The game engine then works out which speaker to send the sounds to based on that..

I put surround sound to the test as i can have both the Xonar DG and onboard Realtek ALC892 installed at the same time (i can select between them via the windows sound properties ). The Xonar driver dispays the side/rear seakers as side left & right and the Realtek driver displays the side/rear speakers as rear left & right (driver defaults and i don't think they can be changed). This is what i found when testing using a cheap Logitech Z506 5.1 setup:

Realtek ALC892:

Front Audio: Comes from center and front left & right speakers.
Left Audio: Comes from front & rear left speakers.
Right Audio: Comes from front & rear right speakers.
Rear Audio : comes from rear left & right speakers.


Xonar DG:

Front Audio: Comes from center and front left & right speakers.
Left Audio: Comes mainly from side left speaker.
Right Audio: Comes mainly from side right speaker.
Rear Audio: Comes from side left & right speakers but is VERY quiet... I can hardly tell if anything's behind me at all!


How can this be explained? The game can detect 5.1 sound if it's enabled in Windows, but it's the audio device drivers that direct the in-game sounds to the correct speakers. You or others can test this too if you want (if you have a Xonar DG and onboard audio supporting 5.1).

5.1 is 5.1, some diagrams show the speakers behind, some diagrams show them at the sides. It doesn't matter, it's the exact same thing. The sound is still going to come from where ever you have placed the speakers.

The Realtek shows them as rear speakers and i can hear the rear audio just fine. The Xonar on the other hand shows them as side speakers and sounds that are meant to be coming from behind can barely be heard!

Wait, you only have 2 speakers? There is no surround configs in windows. If you only have 2 speakers changing the number of speakers in the windows control panel wont do any kind of virtual surround or anything like that. Setting the number of speakers to 5.1 won't magically make the sound come from behind you in a 2 speaker setup..

I was trying out a Logitech Z506 setup that i bought for my brother (i've decided against 5.1 for now as it seems wasted on a Xonar DG card).

Really? Well, it's your money.

I thought the Senns were great for gaming... That's until my partner bought a £40 Turtle Beach X12 Headset for her Xbox 360. I tried them with my PC and the sound with games seems wider or more spacious (i can hear things from further away). The senns have exceptional sound quality (and they should do given the price) but the sound for gaming is not as good as i first thought. They can stay downstairs where they belong.

I use 8 channel. Don't think there is too much difference.

Is that with a stereo headset/headphones? I've noticed Windows will automatically change the speaker config to 7.1 when i select 8 channles for FP headphones. I thought Dolby Headphone mimicked virtual surround for 2 channel/stereo heaphones? I can also hear a slight tinny echo or reverb affect in games when using Dolby Headphone... Is this normal?

 

[melmac]

Everything you are saying seems to be pointing to a configuration problem with your Xonar DG.

 

[PowerPie5000]

Everything you are saying seems to be pointing to a configuration problem with your Xonar DG.

Probably a driver issue then as i've tried playing with the 'Xonar Audio Center' and the usual windows sound settings. The Unified driver doesn't really improve much (as far as i can tell) and it was an absolute pain to install without it hanging towards the end of the progress bar!

It's basically a 7.1 card with the rear channels (and port) removed and no 5.1 audio optimisation... That's my guess anyway as rear audio is almost muted.