Xonar DGX

PCIE 5.1 & Headphone Amp Audio Card

User manual
 E11106
Revised Edition (V5)
November 2015

Copyright © 2015 ASUSTeK Computer Inc. All Rights Reserved.

No part of this manual, including the products and software described in it, may be reproduced,
transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language in any form or by any
means, except documentation kept by the purchaser for backup purposes, without the express written
permission of ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. (“ASUS”).
Product warranty or service will not be extended if: (1) the product is repaired, modified or altered, unless
such repair, modification of alteration is authorized in writing by ASUS; or (2) the serial number of the
product is defaced or missing.
ASUS PROVIDES THIS MANUAL “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS
OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF
MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL ASUS, ITS
DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL,
INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS,
LOSS OF BUSINESS, LOSS OF USE OR DATA, INTERRUPTION OF BUSINESS AND THE LIKE),
EVEN IF ASUS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES ARISING FROM ANY
DEFECT OR ERROR IN THIS MANUAL OR PRODUCT.
SPECIFICATIONS AND INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS MANUAL ARE FURNISHED FOR
INFORMATIONAL USE ONLY, AND ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE,
AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY ASUS. ASUS ASSUMES NO
RESPONSIBILITY OR LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS OR INACCURACIES THAT MAY APPEAR IN THIS
MANUAL, INCLUDING THE PRODUCTS AND SOFTWARE DESCRIBED IN IT.
Products and corporate names appearing in this manual may or may not be registered trademarks or
copyrights of their respective companies, and are used only for identification or explanation and to the
owners’ benefit, without intent to infringe.

ii
Contents
Notices.......................................................................................................... iv
Safety information........................................................................................ v
Trademarks................................................................................................... v
License.......................................................................................................... v
1. Introduction...................................................................................... 1
1.1 Package contents............................................................... 1
1.2 System requirements.......................................................... 1
1.3 Specifications summary...................................................... 2
2. Xonar DGX card layout.................................................................... 3
3. Installing the hardware.................................................................... 5
4. Installing software............................................................................ 6
5. Connecting speakers and peripherals........................................... 7
5.1 Connecting digital speaker systems (Home Theater)......... 7
5.2 Connecting stereo headphones.......................................... 8
5.3 Connecting Analog Speaker Systems.............................. 10
5.4 Connecting microphone.................................................... 14
5.5 Connecting Line-In audio sources.................................... 15
6. Software Utilities............................................................................ 16
7. Troubleshooting and FAQs........................................................... 17
[Troubleshooting]............................................................................. 17
[FAQ] .......................................................................................... 18

iii
 Notices
Federal Communications Commission Statement
This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the
following two conditions:
• This device may not cause harmful interference, and
• This device must accept any interference received including interference that
may cause undesired operation.
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a
Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are
designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a
residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio
frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with manufacturer’s
instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However,
there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If
this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception,
which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is
encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following
measures:
• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
• Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
• Connect the equipment to an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the
receiver is connected.
• Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.

Canadian Department of Communications Statement

This digital apparatus does not exceed the Class B limits for radio noise emissions
from digital apparatus set out in the Radio Interference Regulations of the
Canadian Department of Communications.
This class B digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES-003.

Australia statement notice

From 1 January 2012 updated warranties apply to all ASUS products, consistent
with the Australian Consumer Law. For the latest product warranty details please
visit http://support.asus.com. Our goods come with guarantees that cannot be
excluded under the Australian Consumer Law. You are entitled to a replacement or
refund for a major failure and compensation for any other reasonably foreseeable
loss or damage. You are also entitled to have the goods repaired or replaced if the
goods fail to be of acceptable quality and the failure does not amount to a major
failure.
If you require assistance please call ASUS Customer Service 1300 2787 88 or visit
us at http://support.asus.com

iv
Safety information
• Before installing the device on a motherboard, carefully read all the manuals
that came with the package.
• To prevent electrical shock hazard or short circuits, switch off the power supply
before installing the device on a motherboard or connecting any singal cables
to the device.
• If the device is broken, do not try to fix it by yourself. Contact a qualified service
technician or your retailer.
• Before using the product, make sure all cables are correctly connected. If you
detect any damage, contact your dealer immediately.
• To avoid short circuits, keep paper clips, screws, and staples away from
connectors, sockets and circuitry.
• Avoid dust, humidity, and temperature extremes. Do not place the product in
any area where it may become wet.
• Place the product on a stable surface.
• If you encounter technical problems with the product, contact a qualified
service technician or your retailer.

This symbol of the crossed out wheeled bin indicates that the product (electrical
and electronic equipment) should not be placed in municipal waste. Check local
regulations for disposal of electronic products.

Trademarks
Xonar and ASUS logo are trademarks of ASUSTek Computer Inc. “Dolby”
and “Dolby Digital Live”, “Dolby Pro Logic IIx”, “Dolby Virtual Speaker”, “Dolby
Headphone” are trademarks of Dolby Laboratories. EAX and A3D are trademarks
of Creative Technology Ltd. Microsoft, DirectSound3D, Windows are trademarks of
Microsoft Corporation. Other company and product names may be trademarks of
the respective companies with which they are associated. ASIO is a trademark and
software of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH

License
Dolby Master Studio driver is manufactured under license from Dolby Laboratories.

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vi
1. Introduction
1.1 Package contents
• ASUS Xonar DGX PCIE audio card
• Low Profile Bracket x1
• Support CD x1
• Quick Start Guide x1

1.2 System requirements

• One PCIE 1.0 (or higher) compatible slot for the audio card
• Microsoft® Windows® 10 / 8.1 / 8 / 7(32/64bit)
• Intel® Pentium® 4 1.4 GHz or AMD® Athlon 1400 CPU or faster CPU
• 256 MB (or above) DRAM system memory
• 60 MB available HDD space for driver installation package
• CD-ROM drive (or DVD-ROM drive ) for software installation
• High-quality headphones or powered analog speakers to enjoy the ultra-high
fidelity sound of the card

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 1.3 Specifications summary
Items Description
Audio Performance
105dB for 5.1CH
Output Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-Weighted):
100dB for Headphone-out@150ohm loading
Input Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-Weighted): 103dB

Output Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise at 1kHz

Up to 0.0025% (-92dB)
(A-Weighted):
Input Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise at 1kHz
Up to 0.0022% (-93dB)
(A-Weighted):
Frequency Response (-3dB, 24-bit/96kHz input ): <10Hz to 48kHz

Output/Input Full-Scale Voltage 1Vrms (3Vp-p)

Headphone Impedance Optimized for 32~150Ω

Bus Compatibility
PCIE PCIE bus compatible

Main Chipset
Audio Processor C-Media CMI8786 High-Definition Sound Processor (Max. 96KHz/24bit)
Cirrus Logic CS4245*1 (104dB DNR, Max. 192KHz/24bit) / Cirrus Logic
D-A Converter of Digital Sources:
CS4361*1 (103dB DNR, Max. 192KHz/24bit)
A-D Converter for Analog Inputs: Cirrus Logic CS4245*1 (104dB DNR, Max. 192KHz/24bit)

Sample Rate and Resolution

Analog Playback Sample Rate and Resolution 44.1K/48K/96KHz @ 16/24bit for all channels

Analog Recording Sample Rate and Resolution 44.1K/48K/96KHz @ 16/24bit

S/PDIF Digital Output 44.1K/48K/96KHz @ 16/24bit, Dolby Digital, DTS, WMA-Pro

ASIO 2.0 Driver Support: 44.1K/48K/96KHz @ 16/24bit

I/O Ports
Analog Output Jack: 3.50mm mini jack *3 (Front/Side/Center-Subwoofer)

Analog Input Jack: 3.50mm mini jack *1 (Line-In/Mic-In)

Other line-level analog input (for CD-IN/TV

Aux-In (4-pin header on the card)
Tuner):
High-bandwidth Optical Connector supports 96KHz/24bit
Digital S/PDIF Output
-additional SPDIF-out header for HDMI audio output
Supports headphone jack-detection, automatically switch audio output from
Front-Panel Audio Header
back-panel to front
Driver Features

Operation System Windows 10 / 8.1 / 8 / 7 (32/64bit)

Bass Boost Applies a +6dB boost on 2Khz to 4Khz band of the extracted voice.

Voice Clarity Enables or disables the compressor audio processing. Works as an auto volume
to ensure a constant loudness.

Compressor Controls the Compressor Rate between 0 and 1. Threshold, Attack and Release
are preset and not available to the user.

Noise Gate Enables or disables the Noise Gate audio processing. The Noise Gate cuts the
unpleasant noises between words or sentences for clearer voice communication.
When Noise Gate is disabled, the Perfect Voice can be disabled.

Perfect Voice Enables or disables the Perfect Voice audio processing. The Perfect Voice has
been designed to analyze and estimate the amount of ambient noise before
eliminating them through spectral subtraction. The Noise Gate is enabled when
Perfect Voice is enabled.

Virtual Surround Virtual Surround is only for Speaker > audio config 2.0 and headphones > audio
config 2.0.

ASIO 2.0 Driver Support: Supports 44.1K/48K/96K/192KHz @16/24bit with very low latency

Accessories
Accessories -Low-profile bracket

* Specifications are subject to change without notice.

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2. Xonar DGX card layout

6 7 8

Audio ports

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 No Item Description
Connect your external PC microphone to this 3.5mm port for
Microphone In port
voice input. Built-in high-quality Microphone pre-amplifier.
1 Connect analog devices like MP3 players, CD players,
Line In port music synthesizers and other line-level sound sources to this
3.5mm port for audio recording or processing.
Connect your headphones or 2 channel speakers to this
Headphone/Front
2
Out port
3.5mm port. For multi-channel speaker systems, connects to
the front left/right input on the powered speakers.
Side Surround Out Connects to the surround channel input on 4/5.1 powered
3
port analog speakers.
Center/Subwoofer Connects to the center/subwoofer input on 5.1 powered
4
Out port analog speakers.
Optical TOSLINK digital output port. Connects to external
digital decoder or digital speaker systems, Home Theater
5 S/PDIF Out port
systems, AV receivers for outputting digital audio including
PCM, DTS Digital, DTS, WMA-Pro, etc.
9-pin Intel AC’97 / HDA front-panel which supports audio
Front panel audio
6
header
jack-detection and audio FP Headphone selection for Analog
Out on the Audio Center.
4-pin header. Usually connects to the Analog Audio output of
TV tuner card or other sound source inside your PC system.
7 Aux Input Header (To monitor your TV tuner card’s audio from this Aux-In, you
must enable the “monitor” function for Aux-In in the Xonar
DGX Audio Center’s recording mixer.)
8 S/PDIF Out header Connects to the supported graphics card with HDMI.

4 ASUS Xonar DGX

3. Installing the hardware
Installing the audio card

Before you proceed with the following installation steps, it’s recommended that
you disable your onboard audio device in your BIOS settings, or uninstall any
other audio cards on your PC. (For BIOS setting or uninstallation of other sound
cards, refer to the user manuals of your motherboard and audio card.)

Installing the Xonar DGX card

1. Power OFF the computer, the monitor, and all other peripheral devices
connected to your computer.
2. Unplug the computer power cord from your computer and power outlet.
3. Touch the metal back or side panel of the computer to avoid static electricity.
4. Remove the chassis cover.
5. Remove the metal bracket from an available PCIE slot for the Xonar DGX
audio card.
6. Carefully insert the audio card into the PCIE slot. Ensure the audio card sits
properly in place.
7. Secure the audio card with screws and the metal bracket.
8. Put back the chassis cover.
9. Reconnect all cables.
10. Plug the power cord to the computer and to a power outlet.
11. Power ON the computer.

1
2

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 4. Installing software
Installing the card driver

Ensure that you have installed the audio card driver before installing the Xonar
DGX driver. Otherwise, driver installation error may occur.

1. After you have installed the Xonar DGX card, turn on your computer.
Windows® automatically detects the audio card and searches for device
drivers. When prompted for the drivers, click Cancel.
2. Insert the support CD into the optical drive. If Autorun is enabled in your
system, the setup starts automatically. If not, run setup.exe from your
support CD.
3. Follow the onscreen instructions to finish the installation.

The version and content of the support CD are subject to change without notice.

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5. Connecting speakers and peripherals
5.1 Connecting digital speaker systems (Home Theater)
The Xonar DGX makes playback through your home theater system possible,
creating an immersive and impressive cinema surround sound experience. A
single digital cable connection can carry high-quality digital audio from any of your
PC audio sources to any digital speakers or AV Receivers.

SPDIF Out

No Item Description
1 Optical cable Plug your decoder’s TOSLINK optical cable into the S/PDIF-
Out connector.

ASUS Xonar DGX 7

 5.2 Connecting stereo headphones
5.2.1 Connecting Stereo Headphones

No Item Description
1 Front Out/Headphone The Front Out jack has a built-in high-quality amplifier to
Jack drive headphones. Connect your stereo headphones directly
to this jack.

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5.2.2 Connecting 5.1 channel Headphones

No Item Description
1 Front Out Connect the front-channel 3.5mm plug of your 5.1
headphone into this jack.
2 Side Surround Out Connect the surround-channel 3.5mm plug of your 5.1
headphone into this jack.
3 Center/Subwoofer Out Connect the Center/Bass-channel 3.5mm plug of your 5.1
headphone into this jack.

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 5.3 Connecting Analog Speaker Systems
5.3.1 Connecting Analog Power Amplifier

1
2
3

No Item Description
1 Front Out Connects to the “left front” and “right front” input ports of the
analog amplifier with the mini-jack to RCA cable.
2 Side Surround Out Connects to the “left surround” and “right surround” input
ports of the analog amplifier with the mini-jack to RCA cable.
3 Center/Subwoofer Connects to the “Center” and “subwoofer” input ports of the
analog amplifier with the mini-jack to RCA cable.

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5.3.2 Connecting 2 channel speakers

2 Speakers

No Item Description
1 Front Out/Headphone Connect the 2 speaker set’s 3.5mm plug into this Front Out
Jack jack.

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 5.3.3 Connecting 4 Channel Speakers

4 Speakers

1
2

No Item Description
1 Front Out Connects to the Front input port of the 4 speakers with the
mini-jack cable.
2 Side Surround Out Connects to the Surround input port of the 4 speakers with
the mini-jack cable.

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5.3.4 Connecting 5.1 Channel Speakers

5.1 Speakers

1
2
3

No Item Description
1 Front Out Connects to the Front input port of the 5.1 speakers with the
mini-jack cable.
2 Side Surround Out Connects to the Surround input port of the 5.1 speakers with
the mini-jack cable.
3 Center/Subwoofer Connects to the Center/Subwoofer input port of the 5.1
speakers with the mini-jack cable.

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 5.4 Connecting microphone

1
1

1 Mic In

2 Headphone Out

No Item Description
1 Microphone Input Connect the microphone’s 3.5mm plug into this Mic-In jack
Jack for voice communication, recording, or karaoke.
2 Headphone Jack The Front Out jack has a built-in high-quality amplifier to
drive headphones. Connect your stereo headphones directly
to this jack.

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5.5 Connecting Line-In audio sources

1
Line In

No Item Description
1 Line Input Jack Connect the 3.5mm plug of the CD/MP3 Player or any other
Line level analog audio sources into this Line-In jack for
sound recording (See the “Mixer” section of the driver guide).

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 6. Software Utilities

Sonic Studio overview

Sonic Studio comes with advanced sound algorithms and virtual surround effects
to enhance your gaming and entertainment experience.

For more details about using Sonic Studio, refer to the Sonic Studio manual.

16 ASUS Xonar DGX

7. Troubleshooting and FAQs
[Troubleshooting]
The audio card driver could not be installed on my PC.
Instructions:
1. Make sure that you have properly plugged the audio card in the PCIE slot on
your motherboard.
2. Check that the Windows hardware device manager has discovered a
multimedia audio device. If no device is found, please try scanning for new
hardware.
3. Try soft reboot (restart) your Windows.
4. Remove the card, plug it into another PCIE slot, and try again.
I cannot find the Xonar DGX Audio Center
Instructions:
1. Make sure you have installed the driver
2. Locate the Xonar DGX Audio Center icon in the system tray on the bottom
right-hand corner of the screen. Double-click the icon to open the Xonar DGX
Audio Center utility.

3. If the icon could not be found in the system tray, go to the Windows Control
Panel and double click the “Xonar DGX Audio Center” icon to make it visible
in the system tray again.
4. After the driver installation is complete, it’s recommended that you reboot
your computer to complete the setup. If the icon still doesn’t appear, please
try installing the driver package again.

I cannot hear any sound from my analog speakers

Instructions:
1. Ensure that you have connected speakers properly and have powered on
your speakers.
2. Ensure that the device master volume or the software player has NOT been
muted on the Xonar DGX Audio Center.
3. Go to the sound and audio device of Windows Control Panel to check if the
playback default device is set to Xonar DGX Audio Device, instead of other
onboard AC97 or HDA codec device. If it’s not, please set it to Xonar DGX
Audio Device and restart your applications.
4. Try restarting your Windows.

ASUS Xonar DGX 17

 I cannot hear any sound from the S/PDIF output
Instructions:
1. Ensure that you have enabled S/PDIF output in the Audio Center GUI (Main
page).
2. Ensure that you are connecting the correct S/PDIF output jack on the card to
the decoder’s (AV receiver) S/PDIF input jack.
3. You may need to select the correct input and mode of your decoder or AV
receiver.
4. If you are using 96KHz PCM output, please make sure your decoder can
support 96KHz decoding. Try changing it to 44.1K or 48KHz first.

I cannot hear audio input (Mic, Line-in, AUX, etc.) from my speakers
Instructions:
1. Go to the mixer recording page in the Audio Center and select the correct
input as the recording source. If you are using Windows Vista, also go to
system audio control panel to see the current default recording/input device is
right.
2. Remember to turn on the digital monitoring button for that recording source.

I cannot hear the TV tuner audio from my speakers

Instructions:
1. If you are using a traditional TV tuner card which has analog audio output,
please connect it to the Aux-In header on the audio card
2. Select Aux-In as the recording source and remember to turn on the digital
monitoring button on the recording mixer page
3. If you are using a TV tuner card which has digital audio output instead of
analog, check that the sound is not muted and whether other applications can
play sound out. If you still have problem, read the TV tuner card’s software
user guide.

[FAQ]
Q1: Does the Xonar DGX support Windows 7/Vista?
Answer:
Yes, the Xonar DGX driver package does support Windows 7/Vista 32/64 bit and
most key features are available. In addition, Xonar DGX supports unique DS3D
GX on Windows 7/Vista, which can recover DirectSound 3D hardware and EAX
gaming sound effects on Windows 7/Vista for a lot of existing DirectX games.

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Q2: Why does the Xonar DGX support Dolby® Headphone?
Answer:
Dolby is the ONLY brand and technology recognized by the CE industry and
available on a wide range of audio equipment. Xonar DGX includes the feature to
make your PC a powerful media and entertainment center.
Q3: Does the Xonar DGX support EAX on Vista?
Answer:
Yes, Xonar DGX can support the latest EAX on Windows 7/ Vista /XP through
innovative DirectSound3D Game EXtensions v2.5 (DG3D GX 2.5) technology.
Q4: Why do I need Dolby Headpone for PC games?
Answer:
Dolby Headphone is the best 3D sound positioning, spatial modeling and
5.1-channel virtualization technology for regular stereo headphones and speaker
headphones.
Q5: What is the most important benefit of the Xonar DGX for gamers?
Answer:

1. Headphone amplifier: Enables accurate sound positioning in superb quality

for unparalleled gaming experience.
2. Dolby headphone: Delivers a realistic and spacious 2-to-5.1 surround and
3D positional sound field over any set of stereo headphones.
3. GX 2.5: Enables the latest EAX gaming audio and restore surround gaming
in Windows Vista/7 without additional software.

Q6: Will PCM sound output through S/PDIF be just 2 channels even with
different analog output channels?
Answer:
The S/PDIF protocol specification (IEC-60958) can only carry 2-channel PCM data
or non-PCM AC3/DTS data. So, when a user selects PCM output for S/PDIF, the
Xonar sound card will always deliver 2 channel PCM data through the S/PDIF
output port.

ASUS Xonar DGX 19

 Q7: Why can I hear and record sound from other recording devices when
Wave/Digital is selected in Record on Vista?
Answer:
Different from Windows XP, Vista has a multiple devices/streams concept in audio
structure, in which the concept can be categorized into Digital Input and Analog
Input. In other words, multiple recording devices can be used and working at the
same time. In this case, Wave In or SPDIF-In, considered as a Digital Input, is
an independent recording device from Analog Devices such as Mic In, Line In,
or Aux In. Therefore, if you have analog inputs other than Wave In and set to be
monitored, you are able to hear and even record sound from those analog devices
even Wave In / SPDIF-In is selected as the default recording device.
If you don’t want to hear the analog input sounds at that situation, simply turn off
“monitoring” function on other analog input devices.

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