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).
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.
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.
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.
=>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)