ASUS XONAR D2, XONAR D2X Test Guide

Xonar D2/D2X
7.1 Channel Audio Card 192KHz/24Bit DuplexHDTM
Featuring Dolby
and DTS® Technologies for Home
Entertainment
RMAA V.6.0.5 Test Guide and Results
Revision: 1.2 Date: Sep. 13, 2007
ASUS Xonar D2/D2X Audio Card
The Xonar D2/D2X sound card package includes RightMark Audio Analyzer (RMAA) v.5.6, popular software intended for testing the quality of audio equipment, be it a sound card, portable MP3 player, consumer CD/DVD player, or a speaker system. However, the latest RightMark Audio Analyzer v6.0.5 is now available. This document describes the test guideline with RMAA v6.0.5, not only for Windows XP but also for Windows Vista, and the complete reference test results by latest Xonar D2/D2X driver package. The measurements are conducted by RMAA loop-back test approach, that is playing and recording the test signals (Out-to-In loop-back test), and using frequency analysis algorithms. The followin g provides a step-by-step loop-back test guide for your Xonar D2/D2X audio card. The test platforms are specified here:
OS: Windows XP or Vista 32bit RMAA Version: V.6.0.5 (By its loop-back test) Audio Card: Xonar D2 or D2X audio card (similar audio performance) XP Driver Version: 8.17.20
RMAA v6.0.5 Test Guide V.1.2
Vista Driver Version: 8.17.25
1. Setting Up Xonar D2/D2X Audio Card
Firstly open the Xonar D2/D2X Audio Center. Use the settings below:
1. Select the sample rate you will be using with RMAA test (here we set 48KHz for testing 48KHz/24bit signals).
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ASUS Xonar D2/D2X Audio Card
RMAA v6.0.5 Test Guide V.1.2
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2. Set analog output to 2-speaker mode (to get rid of any channel processing over RMAA stereo signals in the driver) If the Windows platform is Vista, please mind to also select “2 channels” for Audio Channel as the following picture.
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ASUS Xonar D2/D2X Audio Card
RMAA v6.0.5 Test Guide V.1.2
3. T urn off all sound effects including Dolby, D TS, 7.1 speaker shifter, EQ, Environment, etc. A quick way to do so is to enable the “Hi-Fi mode” button in the Audio Center.
4. Go to the Mixer Recording page and select “ AL T” as the recording source . Click “Reset” to make sure the recording volume is on the default highest level (0dB). This is actually a high-quality onboard loop-back path from the Line-out directly to the Line-In. This allows you to get realistic output and input quality ratings for th e Xonar D2/D2X audio card.
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ASUS Xonar D2/D2X Audio Card
RMAA v6.0.5 Test Guide V.1.2
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Note: Yo u may al so ch oose to use an external 3.5mm line cable as follows (as short as possible) to connect the Front-Out jack to the Line-In jack for loop-back testing. In that case, please select “Line In” as the recording source on the mixer page. However, this
external cable may cause unexpected performance drop depending on its cable quality.
3.5mm Line Cable
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ASUS Xonar D2/D2X Audio Card
5. Turn the master volume knob to the MAX level (0dB)
6. Click “Reset” on the playback volume mix er page to keep the volume to default setti ngs.
(i.e. WAVE volume to max (100) and LEFT and Right channel volume to default level (76))
RMAA v6.0.5 Test Guide V.1.2
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2. Configuration on Vista (for Windows Vista only)
To achieve the best hardware quality and to test RMAA on Vista, it’s recommended to do
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some additional audio format configuration for both playback and recording on Vista sound device panel:
1.Setting the right format for playback: Right click the sound icon in the system
tray=>select playback devices=>select “Speakers (ASUS Xonar D2/D2X Audio Device)”
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ASUS Xonar D2/D2X Audio Card
RMAA v6.0.5 Test Guide V.1.2
=>open “Properties” => Click “A dv anced” tab => select “24bit, 4800 0 Hz” in the format pull-down menu (for 24bit/48KHz test in RMAA)
2.Setting the right format for recording: Right click the sound icon in the system
tray=>select Recording devices=>select “ALT (ASUS Xonar D2/D2X Audio Device)” =>open “Properties” => Click “A dv anced” tab => select “24bit, 4800 0 Hz” in the format pull-down menu (for 24bit/48KHz test in RMAA)
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