Asus Xonar D-KARA manual

Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Karaoke Audio Card User manual e7404_xonarkara.indd 1 7/4/12 3:33:51 PM[...]

ii E7404 First Edition June 2012 Copyright © 2012 ASUST eK Computer Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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[...]

iii Contents Contents ...................................................................................................... iii Notices ......................................................................................................... iv Safety information .....................................................................................[...]

iv 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 b[...]

v 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. Safety information • Before installing the device on a motherboard, carefully read all the manuals that came with the package. • T o p[...]

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1 ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Audio Card 1. Introduction 1.1 Package contents • ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI audio card • Driver/User Manual CD x1 • Quick Start Guide x1 1.2 System requirements • One PCI 2.2 (or higher) compatible slot for the audio card • Microsoft ® Windows ® 7 (32/64bit) / Vista (32/64bit) / XP (32/64bit) / MCE2005 • Intel [...]

2 ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Audio Card 1.3 Specications summary *Specications are subject to change without notice. Items Description Audio Performance Output Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-Weighted): 106 dB for Speaker Out Input Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-Weighted): 102 dB Output T otal Harmonic Distortion + Noise at 1kHz (A- Weighted): Up to 0.0013[...]

3 ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Audio Card 2. Xonar D-Kara card layout No Item Description 1 Microphone In port Connect an external PC microphone to this 3.5mm port. 2 Line In port Connect analog devices like MP3 players, CD players, music synthesizers and other line-level sound sources to this 3.5mm port for audio recording or processing. 3 Headphone/[...]

4 ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Audio Card No Item Description 7 Front Panel Header This 9-pin Intel ® AC’97/HDA front-panel port supports auto jack-detection and auto FP Headphone selection for Analog Out on the Audio Center . 8 Aux Input Header This 4-pin header connects to the Analog Audio output of TV tuner cards or other sound devices inside yo[...]

5 ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Audio Card 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[...]

6 ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Audio Card 3.2 Connecting to a TV tuner card 1 . If you have a traditional PCI TV tuner card on your PC, you may need to connect it to the Xonar D-Kara 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 T[...]

7 ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Audio Card 4. Installing software Installing the card driver Install the audio card driver before installing the Xonar D-Kara driver . Otherwise, driver installation error may occur . 1. After you have installed the Xonar D-Kara card, turn on your computer . Windows ® automatically detects the audio card and searches fo[...]

8 ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Audio Card 5. Connecting speakers and peripherals 5.1 Connecting digital speaker systems (Home Theater) The Xonar D-Kara makes surround sound playback through your home theater system possible. A single digital cable connection can carry high-quality digital audio from any of your PC audio sources to any digital speakers[...]

9 ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Audio Card 5.2 Connecting stereo headphones 5.2.1 Connecting Stereo Headphones No Item Description 1 Front Out/Headphone Jack Connect stereo headphones directly to this port. 1 e7404_xonarkara.indd 9 7/4/12 3:33:57 PM[...]

10 ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Audio Card SPDIF Out Mic In Line In Front L/R Side L/R Center/Sub 5.3 Connecting analog speaker systems 5.3.1 Connecting an analog power amplier No Item Description 1 Front Out Connect “left front” and “right front” input ports of the analog amplier to the Front L/R port. 2 Side Surround Out Connect “lef[...]

1 1 ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Audio Card 5.3.2 Connecting 2 Channel Speakers No Item Description 1 Front Out/Headphone Jack Connect the speaker set’s 3.5mm plug to Front L/R port. SPDIF Out Mic In Line In Front L/R Side L/R Center/Sub AUDIO INPUTS 1 e7404_xonarkara.indd 11 7/4/12 3:33:58 PM[...]

12 ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Audio Card SPDIF Out Mic In Line In Front L/R Side L/R Center/Sub 5.3.3 Connecting 4 Channel Speakers No Item Description 1 Front Out Connect the front input port of the 4 channel speakers with the 3.5mm plug. 2 Side Surround Out Connect the Surround input port of the 4 channel speakers with the 3.5mm plug. AUDIO INPUTS[...]

13 ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Audio Card SPDIF Out Mic In Line In Front L/R Side L/R Center/Sub 5.3.4 Connecting 5.1 Channel Speakers No Item Description 1 Front Out Connect the front input port of the 5.1 speakers with the 3.5mm plug. 2 Side Surround Out Connect the Surround input port of the 5.1 speakers with the 3.5mm plug. 3 Center/Subwoofer Con[...]

14 ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Audio Card SPDIF Out Mic In Line In Front L/R Side L/R Center/Sub 5.4 Connecting a microphone No Item Description 1 Microphone Input Jack Connect the microphone’s 3.5mm plug to the Mic In port. 2 Headphone Jack Connect headphone plugs to the Front L/R port. 1 2 e7404_xonarkara.indd 14 7/4/12 3:34:01 PM[...]

15 ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Audio Card 5.5 Connecting Line-In audio sources No Item Description 1 Line Input Jack Connect the 3.5mm plug of the CD/MP3 Player or any other Line level analog audio sources into the Line-In port for sound recording (See the “Mixer” section of this User Manual). SPDIF Out Mic In Line In Front L/R Side L/R Center/Su[...]

16 ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Audio Card 6. Xonar Audio Center 6.1 Xonar Audio Center GUI 1. After driver installation is complete and your computer has been rebooted, you will nd the Xonar Audio Center’s icon in the system tray on the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. Double click this icon to open the Xonar Audio Center utility . If the[...]

17 ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Audio Card No Item Description 1 Display Area This display area shows the 10-band signal meter , volume level, status of preset, equalizer , and signal output.* *This area displays information, but is not used to change settings. 2 Menu Open/Close Clicking this button will reveal the conguration settings. Clicking it[...]

18 ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Audio Card No Item Description 1 Information icon Click this icon to display driver options. Double-click the icon to launch the Xonar D-Kara Audio Center . 2 Restore Click to restore Xonar Audio Center application window . 3 About AsusAudio Center Click to nd out more about Audio Center version. 4 Edit Hot Keys Clic[...]

19 ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Audio Card 6.3 Music Main Settings No Item Description 1 Audio Channel The audio channel refers to the available speaker channels that can be used to mix sounds. Select an audio channel based on your speaker system ( 2CH, 4 CH, 5.1 CH, or 7.1 CH). 2 Sample Rate The sample rate determines the number of audio samples per [...]

20 ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Audio Card 6.4 Mixer/V olume The mixer page is designed to control the volume for playback and recording on the Xonar D-Kara. The Xonar D-Kara also provides a high-quality digital monitoring function for playing the recorded audio from the speakers. 6.4.1 Playback V olume No Item Description 1 Playback V olume T ab Clic[...]

21 ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Audio Card 6.4.2 Recording/Monitoring V olume No Item Description 1 Recording V olume T ab Click this button to show the recording volume page. 2 Recording volume slider Drag this slider down to decrease the recording volume; drag up to increase the recording volume. The tool-tip displays percentage increments. 3 Record[...]

22 ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Audio Card 6.5 Effects 6.5.1 Environment Effects Environment effects can be used to create realistic listening experiences that mimic different environments. There are 27 available environment options that be can be applied to music and other 2D sound sources. No Item Description 1 Default environments There are four de[...]

23 ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Audio Card 6.5.2 10-Band Equalizer The equalizer can modify the audio output for different frequencies and can be used to compensate for deciencies in your speakers/sound system. Y ou can create custom settings in addition to the 12 default patterns available. No Item Description 1 Default equalizer options There are[...]

24 ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Audio Card 6.6 FlexBass FlexBass is an advanced bass management and enhancement mechanism that allows you to select each satellite speaker’s type for optimal sound performance. It comes with an adjustable crossover frequency for the boundary of the bass signals. FlexBass will lter out the bass signals from small sp[...]

25 ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Audio Card No Item Description 4 LFE Crossover Frequency Adjusts the cut-off frequency (50~250Hz) for LFE (Low- Frequency Effects) signals. Xonar D-Kara will lter out bass signals below the crossover frequency from small speaker channels and forward them to the subwoofer . Higher crossover frequency values would resu[...]

26 ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Audio Card No Item Description 1 Master Preset The master preset lists multiple combinations of presets such as EQ, Compressor , Reverb, and so on. Click this dropdown box to select, save, or edit a master preset. 2 Select all/Unselect all Click this checkbox to select all or unselect all presets. 3 Preset Checkbox Clic[...]

27 ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Audio Card 6.7.1 Advanced Settings No Item Description 1 Use mono microphone Select check box if you are using a mono microphone to balance the audio output. 2 Mic Boost On Select check box to boost the microphone audio by 20dB. 3 Mix with W ave On Select check box if you intend to record music audio with your voice. 1 [...]

28 ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Audio Card 1 3 2 No Item Description 1 Master Preset Click dropdown box to select, save, or edit a master preset. 2 Save as Select a combination of presets and click Save as to create a new master preset. Y ou may also choose to adjust settings for the current master preset. 3 Edit Click edit to delete, rename, import, [...]

29 ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Audio Card No Item Description 1 Reset Click to reset to default. The reset option is only available under Manual Mode. 2 Preset Click dropdown box to view current preset parameters or select Manual Mode to change parameters under the Advanced Settings Panel. 3 Center Frequency This slider determines cutoff frequency . [...]

30 ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Audio Card 6.7.5 EQ No Item Description 1 Preset Click the dropdown box to view current preset parameters or select Manual Mode to change parameters under the Advanced Settings Panel. 2 Frequency Band Drag the slider up or down to change the gain of each frequency band. 3 Reset Click to reset settings to default. The re[...]

31 ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Audio Card 6.7.6 Reverb No Item Description 1 Preset Click the dropdown box to view current preset parameters or select Manual Mode to change parameters under the Advanced Settings Panel. 2 Reverb Intensity level of late reverbation 3 Reverb Delay T ime limit between early reection and late reverbation 4 Reections[...]

32 ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Audio Card 6.8 Mixer 6.8.1 Playback V olume No Item Description 1 Playback V olume T ab Click this button to show the playback volume page 2 Source/Path Name Left and Right volume controls for each speaker/channel 3 V olume Slider Drag this slider down to decrease the volume; drag it up to increase the volume. The tool-[...]

33 ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Audio Card 6.8.2 Recording/Monitoring V olume No Item Description 1 Recording V olume T ab Click this button to show the recording volume page. 2 Recording volume slider Drag this slider down to decrease the recording volume; drag up to increase the recording volume. The tool-tip displays the percentage increments. 3 Re[...]

34 ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Audio Card No Item Description 5 Source/Path Name This shows the source name for each volume control slider: FP MIC: Recording from MIC front panel jack RP MIC: Recording from MIC rear panel jack Aux: Recording from Aux-In sources such as TV - tuner audio cards or other audio sources Line-In: Recording from Line-In jack[...]

35 ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Audio Card 6.9 Enhancer The Xonar D-Kara provides powerful features for karaoke, including Key-Shifting and V ocal Cancellation. Key-Shifting can change the pitch of the karaoke background music. V ocal Cancellation can reduce the original vocals in songs while retaining the music and symphony for karaoke. No Item Descr[...]

36 ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Audio Card 7. Troubleshooting and FAQs 7.1 T roubleshooting Q1. The audio card driver could not be installed on my PC. 1. Check that the audio card is properly inserted into the PCI slot on your motherboard. 2. Run Windows hardware Device Manager and check if a multimedia audio device is listed. If no device is detected[...]

37 ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Audio Card Q4. I cannot hear any sound from the S/PDIF output. 1. Check that you have enabled S/PDIF output in the Audio Center GUI. 2. Check that you connected the correct S/PDIF output port on the card to the decoder’s (A V receiver) S/PDIF input port. 3. Y ou may need to select the correct input and mode of your de[...]

38 ASUS Xonar D-Kara PCI 5.1 Audio Card Q2. Why can I hear and record sound from other recording devices when W ave/Digital is selected in Record on Windows V ista? Unlike Windows XP , Windows Vista manages multiple audio devices and audio streams, identifying them as either Digital Input or Analog Input. This approach allows for multiple recording[...]