Review Asus Xonar DGX 5.1

[Naylor]

Naylor submitted a new article:

Asus Xonar DGX 5.1 - Asus Xonar DGX 5.1

Recently there has been a debate about whether modern motherboards are able to produce audio quality that matches dedicated sound cards for gaming and listening to music. This can be largely subjective, as some users report hearing no difference whatsoever, whilst others swear by dedicated audio solutions.

For the purposes of recording and studio production, dedicated sound cards and interfaces are a...

Read more about this article...

 

[V_R]

Good read, shame it was slightly marred by the install issues. Hopefully you were just unlucky.

On the plus side, this card is unbeatable value if your looking for a good cheap sound card.


I for one certainly couldn't go back to onboard audio after using my XFI Titanium HD.

 

[Naylor]

Good read, shame it was slightly marred by the install issues. Hopefully you were just unlucky.

On the plus side, this card is unbeatable value if your looking for a good cheap sound card.


I for one certainly couldn't go back to onboard audio after using my XFI Titanium HD.

Thanks! Yeah it was a real pain in the ass to install! I just reformatted my pc to clean it up and install my shiny new GPU and had the same issue installing the card again! Dunno what they are playing at with these drivers.
However, when it works, it REALLY works! Outstanding piece of hardware.

 

[V_R]

Same issues on a fresh build too? That doesn't bode well. Was this in the MSI build in your specs or a test rig out of interest? Just curious.

 

[Naylor]

Same issues on a fresh build too? That doesn't bode well. Was this in the MSI build in your specs or a test rig out of interest? Just curious.

It was in the MSI build. I changed the GTX670 to a GTX780Ti and had the onboard audio disabled in Bios before I even installed Windows. Very strange problem indeed!

 

[floppybootstomp]

I use two Asus Xonar DG cards here which are basically the same card as the DGX but PCI flavour.

My network consists of 3 machines, Gaming/Work; Media Centre and Video/Audio editing/Games/Linux. I have the Asus cards installed on the media and editing machines.

Media machine spec:

Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3P Socket 1155 Motherboard
Intel Core i3 2120 3.3Ghz Sandybridge Socket 1155 CPU
Arctic Cooling Alpine II Rev 2 CPU Cooler
Corsair 8Gb (2 x 4Gb) DDR3 1600Mhz Memory Kit CL9 1.65V
EVGA Nvidia GTX 560 1Gb Memory video card
Win 7 Ultimate 64 Bit


Editing/gaming machine spec:

Asus M5A99X EVO Motherboard
AMD FX-4 4100 Black Edition 4 Core Socket AM3+ CPU 3.6Ghz
Corsair 8Gb (2 x 4Gb) DDR31600MhzXMS3 Memory CL9 1.65V
Noctua NH-U12F CPU Cooler with 2 x 120mm Noctua fans
MSI 660 2Gb Graphics Card
Win 7 Ultimate 64 Bit


I use the optical outputs on both cards and each optical output is taken to a DAC and then to a stereo Hi Fi setup. I'm not a fan of 5.1 or 7.1. Both DACS are mostly home made, using these: Ebay DAC & TX

The sound on both setups, in my opinion, is very good indeed, beats each board's onboard sound hands down. On the media machine I play FLAC files a lot and visitors here have commented on how good it sounds. On playing BluRay or DVD disks or mkv/avi/mp4 files the result is also very good.

Reading the article I recalled I had exactly the same problem with the card not being recognised on the media machine (i3 based setup) during setup. I can't remember how I solved the problem but I seem to think it was with either the latest drivers, or maybe it was first trying latest drivers then switching to the drivers on the supplied CD but I honestly can't remember. But it works ok.

I don't remember having to refresh the card's EEPROM, that sounds a bit finicketty to me, lol

On the AMD based system the card installed without a hitch, no probs. Linux Mint 16 Cinnamon on this machine recognised the card ok as well but I did have to manually change the output to digital as it defaulted to analog out.

I like the Asus software Module, but I have all settings on flat, no enhancements or EQ used.

And just out of interest I'll mention that on my main i7 system I use an old Auzentech X-Fi based card, no DAC used here, just analog out into a Corsair 2.1 loudspeaker system. I'm happy with that as well.

Good article Naylor

 

[bootneck02]

I fitted the Asus Xonar DGX 5.1 when I built this PC I was hoping to fit my old Auzen Meridian 7.1 sound card but they seem to have gone off the net and was not able to download the drivers for W 8.1 so I bought the Asus Xonar DGX 5.1 and now I have the PC in a very small room I also purchased a 2.1 Microlab Fc 360 speaker set and had to dispose of my Logitech Z5500 7.1 surround speakers.
I love my music but unlike flops I am no audiophile but I love and enjoy my music and I find the clarity and sound that is produced by that combination is great.
Here is the spec of my PC
Home built PC:- Microsoft 8.1 64bit OS, CPU Asus A88X-Plus, Hard drive Seagate SSHD 200 GB, Ram 16 GB, Sound Card XONAR DS 5.1, Speakers Microlab FC360 2.1, Video Card GeForce GT640.

 

[bbelica]

i also have this card. I have tried to record games with shadowplay and OBS but the sound is really low. If i record my screen on YouTube music the audio is fine. its just when i play it back after recording gameplay that the audio is very low. any tips to fix this?

 

[BS Detective]

You are not hearing the audio chipset of the soundcard if you use digital out, you are hearing the chipset of the DAC.

Furthermore, both the Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3P & Asus M5A99X EVO motherboards have SPDIF optical out, which will send the exact same data. This means that you wasted whatever money you spent on them unless you use the analogue audio.

 

[floppybootstomp]

You are not hearing the audio chipset of the soundcard if you use digital out, you are hearing the chipset of the DAC.

Furthermore, both the Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3P & Asus M5A99X EVO motherboards have SPDIF optical out, which will send the exact same data. This means that you wasted whatever money you spent on them unless you use the analogue audio.

Partly true, but there's DACS and then there's DACS.

And I don't know this but will not optical audio out vary from chipset to chipset?

I'm using a homemade DAC based on a 2496 chip that cost me less than £100 to make but a budget of £25 to £2500 and more will also buy an external DAC which basically all do the same job but with varying degrees of quality.

Your views Mr/Ms BS Detective?