Asus Xonar D-KARAX User’s Manual

Xonar D-KARAX

PCIe 7.1 Karaoke Audio Card

User Manual

E11119

Revised Edition V2 November 2015

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, modied or altered, unless such repair, modication 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.

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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 Specications summary ..................................................... 2

2. Xonar D-KARAX card layout .......................................................... 3

3. Installing the hardware ................................................................... 5

3.1 Installing the audio card ..................................................... 5

3.2 Connecting to a TV tuner card ........................................... 6

4. Installing software ........................................................................... 7

Installing the card driver .................................................................... 7

5. Connecting speakers and peripherals .......................................... 8

5.1 Connecting digital speaker systems (Home Theater) ........ 8

5.2 Connecting stereo headphones ......................................... 9

5.3 Connecting analog speaker systems ............................... 10

5.4 Connecting a microphone ................................................ 15

5.5 Connecting Line-In audio sources ................................... 16

6. Xonar Audio Center ...................................................................... 17

6.1 Xonar Audio Center GUI .................................................. 17

6.2 Xonar D-KARAX Audio Center Icon ................................. 19

6.3 Music Main Settings ......................................................... 20

6.4 Mixer/Volume ................................................................... 21

6.5 Effects .............................................................................. 24

6.6 FlexBass .......................................................................... 26

6.7 Karaoke Main Settings ..................................................... 27

6.8 Enhancer .......................................................................... 33

7. Troubleshooting and FAQs .......................................................... 34

7.1 Troubleshooting ............................................................... 34

7.2 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) ................................. 35

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.

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 signal cables to the device.

•

If the device is broken, do not try to x it by yourself. Contact a qualied 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 be exposed to moisture.

•

Place the product on a stable surface.

•

If you encounter technical problems with the product, contact a qualied

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, and 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.

1. Introduction

1.1 Package contents

• ASUS Xonar D-KARAX PCIe audio card

• Driver/User Manual CD x1

• Quick Start Guide x1

• S/PDIF adapter x1

1.2 System requirements

• One PCIe v1.0 (or higher) compatible slot for the audio card

• Microsoft

• Intel

• 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

Windows® 10 / 8 / 7 / XP (32/64bit) / Vista (32/64bit)

Pentium® 4 1.4 GHz or AMD® Athlon 1400 CPU or faster CPU

1ASUS Xonar D-KARAX PCIe 7.1 Karaoke Audio Card

1.3 Specifications summary

Items Description

Audio Performance

Output Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-Weighted) 106 dB

Input Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-Weighted) 102 dB

Output Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise at 1kHz (A-Weighted)

Input Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise at 1kHz (A-Weighted)

Frequency Response (-3dB, 24-bit/96kHz input) <10Hz to 48kHz

Output/Input Full-Scale Voltage 1 Vrms (2.828Vp-p)

Bus Compatibility

PCIe PCI Express v1.0 or above bus compatible

Main Chipset

Audio Processor C-Media CMI8786 High-Performance Sound Processor

Audio CODEC Cirrus Logic CS47028 *1 (105dB DNR, Max. 192KHz / 24-bit)

Sample Rate and Resolution

Analog Playback Sample Rate and Resolution 44.1K / 48K / 96KHz / 192KHz @ 16 / 24-bit for all channels

Analog Recording Sample Rate and Resolution 44.1K / 48K / 96KHz / 192KHz @ 16 / 24-bit for all channels

S / PDIF Digital Output 44.1K / 48K / 96KHz / 192KHz @ 16 / 24-bit for all channels

I/O Ports

Analog Output Jack 3.50mm mini jack *4 (Front / Side / Center-Subwoofer / Rear)

Analog Input Jack 3.50mm mini jack *2 (Line-In / Mic-In)

Other line-level analog input (for CD-In / TV Tuner) Aux-In (4-pin header on the card)

Digital S/PDIF Output High-bandwidth Optical Connector supports 192KHz @ 24-bit

Front-Panel Audio Header Supports headphone jack-detection, automatic switching of

Driver Features

Operating System

Dimension (Width x Height) 106.15mm x 178.06mm

0.0013% (-98dB)

(Max. 192KHz/24-bit)

audio output from back panel to front panel

Windows

10 / 8 / 7 / XP (32/64-bit) / Vista (32/64-bit)

* Specifications are subject to change without notice.

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2. Xonar D-KARAX card layout

Audio ports

3ASUS Xonar D-KARAX PCIe 7.1 Karaoke Audio Card

No Item Description

1 Microphone In port

Connect an external PC microphone to this 3.5mm port.

Connect analog devices like MP3 players, CD players,

2 Line In port

music synthesizers and other line-level sound sources to

this 3.5mm port for audio recording or processing.

Headphones/Front Out

port

4 Side Surround Out port

Center/Subwoofer Out

port

Connect your headphones or 2-channel speakers to this port. For multi-channel speaker systems, this port connects to the front left/right input on the speakers.

Connects to the surround channel input on 4/5.1/7.1 powered analog speakers.

Connects to the center/subwoofer input on 5.1/7.1 powered analog speakers.

Rear surround output port: Connects to the rear input on 7.1 powered analog

Rear Surround and S/

PDIF Optical TOSLINK Combo Out Port

speakers.

S/PDIF Optical digital output port: Connects to external decoder or digital speaker sets, home theater systems and AV receivers.

This 9-pin Intel® AC’97/HDA front-panel port supports

7 Front panel audio header

auto jack-detection and auto FP Headphone selection for Analog Out on the Audio Center.

This 4-pin header connects to the Analog Audio output of TV tuner cards or other sound devices inside your PC.*

8 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 Audio Center software’s recording mixer.

9 S/PDIF Out header

Connects to a graphics card with HDMI support

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3. Installing the hardware

3.1 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 settings or uninstallation of other sound cards, refer to the user manuals of your motherboard and audio card.)

Installing the Xonar D-KARAX 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 D-KARAX audio card.

6. Carefully insert the audio card into the PCIe slot until the card is seated rmly

in place.

7. Secure the audio card with screws and the metal bracket.

8. Replace 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.

5ASUS Xonar D-KARAX PCIe 7.1 Karaoke Audio Card

3.2 Connecting to a TV tuner card

If you have a traditional PCI TV tuner card on your PC, you may need to

connect it to the Xonar D-KARAX card to send the tuner card’s sound to your PC speakers.

2. Secure the PCI TV tuner card and screw it into the back-panel.

3. Connect the audio output header from the TV tuner card to the Aux-In header of the Xonar D-KARAX card.

For optimum TV audio quality, Xonar D-KARAX uses ADC recording to digitize

the signal and loop it back for DAC playback. Select Aux-In as the recording source in the Xonar D-KARAX Center’s recording mixer and enable the monitoring button to pass this signal to the audio output. Using this setup, you can even turn on sound effects such as Dolby headphone to expand the stereo TV audio to 7.1 channel surround sound in any set of headphones. TV audio on your PC will become even better than on your TV set.

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4. Installing software

Installing the card driver

Install the audio card driver before installing the Xonar D-KARAX driver. Otherwise, driver installation error may occur.

1. After you have installed the Xonar D-KARAX 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 on your system, the setup starts automatically. If not, run setup.exe from your support CD.

3. Follow the onscreen instructions to nish the installation.

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

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