Without going into a story of frustration here's what you need to do to get this running on Windows 7 64. (PLEASE NOTE: I am not going to cover basic computer safety guidelines, if you do not know what you are doing stop and get an adult or watch some videos on PC safety) We are not using the install disk at all it is worthless. Download the UNi Xonar Driver from here, (http://maxedtech.com/asus-xonar-unified-drivers/) I believe I went with the v1.71 release as of 9/25/13. If you feel the urge you can read why we are not installing the old drivers. Also download a program called Driver Fusion, found here, (http://treexy.com/products/driver-fusion) Uninstall any audio drivers you have on your PC. Start driver fusion, install, open, select "sound" drivers, select all of the listed brands, and hit delete. Shutdown. First off, make sure your Mobo is seated fairly well, I read people had the same issue that I had of installing the card and having it come up a 1/8-1/4th of an inch short of getting your case screws back in. Some had to re-seat their mobo or adjust their risers, I loosened the mobo screws on the opposite side (away from the I/O ports) and tightened them back down enough so they won't move. After that it fit very well. I then installed the card in the PCI-E slot furthest away from everything else which isn't that far, wish this came with shielding. Also note the card is powered by a molex adapter, don't know why just is, be very careful about pulling on the molex as this connection very fragile and the solder points aren't that tough. If you're feeling frisky go ahead and run the front panel wires to the card as well, I have yet to get my audio working on that one, but I don't really need it. Everything back on, start her up, start spamming your BIOS key, usually F8 or some such. Yes you heard a loud click but that's okay it's not going to kill your PC. Once in BIOS disable the on board sound and save/exit. Now if you're slick you can spam your OS boot screen but if not restart, access your OS boot, and go down to, "Disable Driver Sig Enforcement" click on that and boot in safe mode. Now what we should have is a system with no audio drivers and an unrecognized audio component. Here's where things get tricky, open the UNi Xonar Driver installer and you will have a few options to choose from. I chose a normal install, Silent - NO, Driver Clean - NO, Upmix - YES, Bypass - YES, Add-ons - NO but if your want to that's your thing, & Select the card type DX. This install will take an uncomfortable about of time even when installing correctly so have patience. IF you get an error, quit, and restart with the removal steps above. If that fails, try an earlier driver release. If problems still exist reference the fixes here, (http://maxedtech.com/driver-signature-possible-solutions-discussions-page/) If the install takes purchase you're good to restart and adjust your sound settings. I have a pair of cans for gaming and a pair for audio so they both had to be setup independently. My default is my audio set, 2 channel, 44.1 rate, 2 speak analog out, and that's it. Under the playback devices, speakers, (It should say asus xonar device) adjust those settings as needed, to match your headphone sample rate. OK, 5.1, this one is a bit more tricky, but here's my setup. 6 Channel, 96 rate, 5.1,& Dolby Live. You may have a better set of cans than I do so adjust as you see fit. Remember to adjust your playback settings in windowsRead full review
The software tweaks are limited but good options for mic/phone headset, multiple systems output and speaker/phone settings. Separation and clarity are good the bass and warmth are lacking compared to my older 5.1 M-Audio card maybe it's a lack of crossover in all ranges. My Asus motherboard has a VIA VT1708s chip handling sound and does a decent job but Xonar DX (C-Media chip?) is cleaner and more defined. S/N decent. It has an adapter type setup for optical out but I use Klipsch Ultra 5.1 for amplification. Card not worth retail price in my opinion (nothing really ever is).
8 channel audio mixed to 2 channel SPDIF works beautifully. If only newer sound cards had this capability.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
The sound of the Xonar DX is not only a high quality, even I would say it sounds beautiful. Bass not too sharp like the X-Fi Xtreme Gamer, bass does not hit on the head. Resampling! Resampling is excellent! The accuracy of translation OUTSTANDING! X-Fi and all the products from Creative that never provided... and this card has a super resampling of any frequency. If anyone from the Creative camp disagree - try for fun to listen to the sound of such parallels with the frequency of 28 000 or 34 000 running with it a file which has 44100 or 48000. All understand what I'm writing. The sound from the headphones is very good. The choice fell on the DX, as it, in contrast to the younger models are already better operational amplifiers (on the front output). Quality assembly, are solid capacitors. Great sound, crystal-clear, new notes, which had simply not noticed. Sounds no noise, and do not try to drown each other, they just poured. Disadvantages: Curves driver, unfinished software. Should to download the new one from www. Extra power from floppy cable - why? Need another wire from PSU to plug.Read full review
very happy. Luckily I have a spare floppy power adapter. Should be noted for stuff like this in the future.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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