Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST User Manual
Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST Manual
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Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST manual content summary:
- Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 1
Xonar Essence ST Audio card User Manual - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 2
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 - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 3
About this guide vii Chapter 1: Product introduction Package contents 1 System requirements 1 Specifications summary 2 Xonar Essence ST card layout 5 Chapter 2: Getting started Before you proceed 7 Installing the audio card 7 Connecting to a TV tuner card 8 Installing the audio card driver - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 4
Appendix: Troubleshooting and FAQs Troubleshooting 39 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs 41 ASUS Contact information 45 iv - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 5
following two conditions: • This device may not cause harmful interference. • This device must accept any interference received 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 - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 6
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 - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 7
the Xonar Audio Center, which is the graphics user interface (GUI) of the audio card driver. Where to find more information Refer to the following sources for additional information and for product and software updates. 1. ASUS websites The ASUS website provides updated information on ASUS hardware - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 8
• ASUS Xonar Essence ST PCI audio card • 3.5mm-to-RCA cable x1 • 3.5mm-to-6.3mm adapter x1 • S/PDIF TOSLINK optical adapter x1 • Support CD • Audio Precision Test Report If any of the above items is damaged or missing, contact your retailer. System requirements • One PCI slot for the audio card - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 9
+ Noise at 1kHz (-3dB) : Frequency Response (-3dB, 24-bit/ 96kHz format): Output/Input Full-Scale Voltage Headphone Impedance Main Chipset Audio Processor 24-bit D-A Converter of Digital Sources: High Fidelity Headphone Amplifier 24-bit A-D Converter for Analog Inputs: Sample Rate and Resolution - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 10
combo port supports 192kHz/24bit Aux-In (4-pin header on the card) Shared by Headphone out/ 2 channels out/ Microphone in Windows® Vista (32/64-bit) / XP (32/64-bit) / MCE2005 Dolby® Digital Live encodes any audio signal on PC in real-time to Dolby Digital (AC3) 5.1 surround sounds to your - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 11
Other Effects 3D Gaming Sound Engines/APIs ASIO 2.0 Driver Support Xonar Essence ST provides VocalFX, the latest vocal effect technologies for gaming and VoIP, volume of all audio sources into a constant level and also enhances your 3D sound listening range and advantages in gaming. Music Key- - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 12
headphone out port. The possible high driving power may cause damage to your speakers. • Before connecting your headphone, adjust the headphone impedance settings in the Xonar Essence ST Audio Center to match your headphone impedance. This is to prevent damage to your headphone. ASUS Xonar Essence - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 13
Audio output of TV tuner card or other sound source inside your computer. To monitor your TV tuner card's audio from this Aux-In, you must enable the "monitor" function for Aux-In in the Xonar Essence ST Audio Center's recording mixer. 8 Power connector Connects to the power cable of your power - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 14
and precautions before you install the audio card. • Disable the onboard audio device in the BIOS settings or uninstall any other sound cards on your computer. • For BIOS setting or uninstallation of other sound cards, refer to the user manuals of your motherboard and sound cards. • Turn off your - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 15
recording source in the Xonar Essence ST 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 Pro-Logic IIx to expand the stereo TV audio to 5.1 or 7.1 channel surround sound. This gives you - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 16
error may occur. To install the audio card driver: 1. After you have installed the Xonar Essence ST card, turn on your computer. Windows® automatically detects the HDAV card and searches for device drivers. When prompted for the drivers, click Cancel. 2. Insert the support CD into the optical drive - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 17
) The Xonar Essence ST supports Dolby Digital Live technology, which transcodes any audio, including games and music, into industry-standard Dolby Digital surround bit-streams. This makes playback through your home theater system possible, creating an immersive and impressive cinema surround sound - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 18
Connecting stereo headphones Headphone Out The Headphone Out port has a built-in high-quality amplifier to driver headphones. Connect your stereo headphones to the headphone output ports on the Xonar Essence ST card. ASUS Xonar Essence ST 11 - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 19
The Left/Right Front Out ports have a built-in high-quality amplifier to drive headphones. Connect the 2/2.1 speaker set's 3.5mm plug to the bundled RCA-to3.5mm Y cable, and then connect the Left/Right ends to the Front Left/Right Out ports on the Xonar Essence ST card. 12 ASUS Xonar Essence ST - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 20
Out Mic In 2 1 Front Left/Right Out port/Headphone port Connect the headphone's 3.5mm plug to the bundled RCA-to-3.5mm Y cable, and then connect the Left/Right ends to the to Front Left/Right Out ports on the Xonar Essence ST card. 2 Microphone Input port Connect your external PC microphone - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 21
the CD/MP3 Player or any other Line level analog audio sources to this Line-In port by using the bundled 6.3mm-to-3.5mm adapter for sound recording or real-time Dolby/DTS sound processing through the Monitoring path. Refer to the Mixer section of the driver's user manual. 14 ASUS Xonar Essence ST - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 22
user interface (GUI) of the Xonar Essence ST, allows you to control the functions and features of the Xonar Essence ST. To launch the Xonar Audio Center, double-click the Xonar Audio Center icon on the taskbar. If the icon is not shown on the taskbar, click Start > All Programs > ASUS Xonar Essence - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 23
and VocalFX. 4 Information icon Click this icon to launch driver's information window. 5 Menu Open/Close Click this button to display more to quick sound effects combinations for Music, Games, DVD Video, and effect-free (Hi-Fi) modes. By default, DSP Mode is OFF. 16 ASUS Xonar Essence ST - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 24
Rate The sample rate determines the number of audio samples per second that the Digital-to-Analog Converters (DAC) and S/PDIF digital interface will output. The Xonar Essence ST card can support sample rates up to 192KHz (44.1K, 48K, 96K, 192KHz). Usually audio CDs and MP3 files are 44.1KHz; DVD - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 25
in the right pane. Click the Play button to test each speaker one by one or click each speaker manually to test. 3 HP Advanced Setting Click this button to select the gain tuning according to your headphone impedance. The setting is also available for FP Headphone. 18 ASUS Xonar Essence ST - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 26
raw audio data format.) • Dolby Digital Live real-time 5.1ch encoding 3 Dobly Digital Live advanced upmixing option This advanced setting will automatically upmix stereo (2ch) content to 5.1 channel surround with Dolby Pro-Logic II when using Dolby Digital Live output. ASUS Xonar Essence ST 19 - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 27
changing this setting. 1 1 Audio Channels Here are some typical suggestions: • MP3, WMA, AAC, CD, VCD, 2D games => 2 channels • DVD-Video with Dolby Digtial or DTS 5.1 => 6 channels • DVD-Video with Dolby Digtial EX or DTS ES => 8 channels • 3D games => 8 channels 20 ASUS Xonar Essence ST - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 28
window to the Speaker Shifter page for manual adjustments. The setting will not change when a different Analog Output is selected. 2 Drag speaker or listener Virtually drag each speaker or listener to a different relative position using only your mouse. The Xonar Essence ST card virtualizes - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 29
stereo audio, such as MP3, CD, and TV programs into immersive 5.1 or 7.1-channel surround. 2 3 4 1 1 Dolby Pro-Logic IIx enable/disable Tick this checkbox to enable Dolby Pro-Logic IIx. Click the textbar to switch the right window to the Pro-Logic IIx page for manual adjustments. 2 Center - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 30
of audio. They differ in the sense of the "spatial dimension" they impart. DH1-Reference Room: Small, acoustically damped room. 3 DH2 DH2-Livelier Room: More acoustically live than DH1 4 DH3 DH3-Larger Room: Larger room than DH1; more distant and diffused effect. ASUS Xonar Essence ST 23 - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 31
channel surround listening experience from any high-quality stereo source. 2 3 1 1 Dolby Virtual Speaker enable/disable Tick this checkbox to enable Dolby Virtual Speaker. Click the text bar to switch the right window to a Dolby Virtual Speaker page for manual below. 24 ASUS Xonar Essence ST - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 32
of the MIDI files • CD: CD-ROM digital playback (CD-DA) volume control • LEFT, RIGHT...: the volume control for each speaker/channel Windows® Vista does not support WAVE, Synthesizer and CD-In volume controls. 6 Reset Reset all volume controls to the default settings ASUS Xonar Essence ST 25 - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 33
between the left and right channels. 3 Recording volume slider Drag Windows® Vista, some programs may allow you to select the recording device/path audio module, enable "Front Panel Microphone". For typical low-cost PC microphone, we recommend that you enable this function. 26 ASUS Xonar Essence ST - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 34
other sound sources. • Line-In: Recording from Line-in jack for external audio devices. • W AVE: Recording from digital wave audio you are playing on your PC. Windows® Vista does not support WAVE recording. 8 Reset Click to reset all volume controls to the default settings. ASUS Xonar Essence ST - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 35
environments. There are a total of 27 environment options that can be applied to all 2D sound sources such as music. 3 1 2 1 Default environments These four buttons activate Bathroom, Concert There are three size settings for each environment: Large, Medium, and Small. 28 ASUS Xonar Essence ST - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 36
Equalizer The equalizer modifies the audio output for different frequencies, and is User Defined" equalizer setting. 5 Add / save Click this "+" button to save your customized equalizer setting. 6 Delete Click this "-" button to delete a customized setting from the list. ASUS Xonar Essence ST - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 37
Karaoke The Xonar Essence ST provides powerful features for Karaoke, including KeyShifting, Vocal Cancellation, and Microphone Echo. Key-Shifting changes the pitch of Karaoke adjust the gain for echo signals (30~16KHz) 5 Reset Reset all settings to the default settings. 30 ASUS Xonar Essence ST - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 38
" speaker type. Usually, low-cost computer's 2-channel speakers are small-type speakers. Common 2.1 speakers with a subwoofer are categorized as Large speakers because the subwoofer redirects the bass signals inside the two channels to the subwoofer speaker automatically. ASUS Xonar Essence ST 31 - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 39
keeps all music or video/TV audio output at a constant level to reduce manual adjustment hassles inherent with sound sources of different loudness. It allows you to listen to various content, like MP3, TV program, DVD video and even games with consistent sound level. The following graph shows how - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 40
is illuminated by a red light if the volume is muted. 3 SVN display When SVN is enabled, "Smart Volume" lights up to display the volume level. ASUS Xonar Essence ST 33 - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 41
Xonar Essence ST is introducing an innovative technology -DirectSound 3D Game Extensions v1.0 (DS3D GX 1.0)- to restore DirectSound 3D Hardware acceleration mode and its subsidiary EAX effects on Windows® Vista for 3D games. Unlike some proprietary API like OpenAL, DS3D GX does not require games - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 42
, where all effects are cleared to keep the original digital data and analog output quality as high as possible. 3 Music Mode This mode is set for Music playback. 4 Movie Mode This mode is set for DVD Movie playback. 5 Game Mode This mode is set for Games. ASUS Xonar Essence ST 35 - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 43
VocalFX VocalFX is an innovative voice processing technology to let your voice get into the realistic game landscape (VoiceEX) or to emulate the background scenes in an online chat (ChatEX). . 5 App List You can add a VOIP application into the VOIP application List. 36 ASUS Xonar Essence ST - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 44
can talk to each other in the game. For VOIP 1. Click App List. 2. If you do not see your VOIP application in the list, click Add. Ensure that you have installed the latest Skype or MSN Messenger. 3. Locate the application from the list, then click Open to launch it. ASUS Xonar Essence ST 37 - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 45
appears: This message implies that the record device is set to microphone. Ensure that the GX function is enabled. Click OK to accept it, or Cancel if you want to enable it later. Tick the Don't remind me again checkbox if you do not want to see this message again. 38 ASUS Xonar Essence ST - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 46
Xonar Essence ST Audio > Xonar Essence Audio Center to launch the Xonar Essence ST Audio Center. • Try installing the driver again. I cannot hear any sound from my analog speakers. • Ensure that the power cable of your power supply unit is properly connected to the power connector of the audio card - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 47
mixer page. • IIf you are using a TV tuner card which has a digital audio output instead of an analog output, check that the sound is not muted and whether other applications can play sound out. If you still have problems, read the TV tuner card's software user manual. 40 ASUS Xonar Essence ST - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 48
the Xonar Essence ST card support Windows® Vista? Yes, the Xonar Essence ST driver package supports Windows® Vista 32/64 bit and most key features are available. In addition, Xonar Essence ST supports unique DS3D GX on Windows® Vista, which can recover DirectSound 3D hardware and EAX gaming sound - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 49
: Supports audio sampling rates up to 24bit/192KHz for all inputs and outputs. • ASIO 2.0: Xonar Essence ST includes an ASIO 2.0 driver for low-latency, low-distortion music creation application. Will PCM sound output through S/PDIF be just 2 channels even with different analog output channels? The - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 50
default audio device. Hence, in most scenarios, we suggest that you keep it in "Speakers" to enjoy the full control functions of the Xonar sound card. You could actually still get LPCM audio data monitoring from S/PDIF-Out port as analog Front channel output in this situation. ASUS Xonar Essence ST - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 51
44 ASUS Xonar Essence ST - Asus XONAR ESSENCE ST | User Manual - Page 52
www.asus.com.de/sales Technical Support Telephone +49210295990 Fax +492102959911 Online support www.asus.com.de/support Website www.asus.com.de/news * Available on this site is an online Technical Inquiry Form that you can fill out to contact technical support. ASUS Xonar Essence ST 45
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Xonar Essence ST
Audio card
User Manual