Asus Xonar U1 manual

Xonar U1 External USB Audio Station User’s manual R[...]

ii E3348 First Edition V1 September 2007 Copyright © 2007 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 p[...]

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

iv Contents 7. Portable Music Processor™ Lite Software Guide ...................... 32 7.1 Introduction ...................................................................... 32 7.2 Converting music in “Main Setting” Page ......................... 34 7.3 Find Converted Music in “PMP Music” Page ................... 36 8. T roubleshooting a[...]

v 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 be[...]

vi This symbol of the crossed out wheeled bin indicates that the product (electrical, electronic equipment and mercury-containing button cell battery ) 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 man[...]

1 ASUS Xonar U1 1. Introduction 1.1 Package Contents • Xonar™ U1 Audio USB dongle • Driver Support CD (including Portable Music Processor™ Lite utility) • S/PDIF T OSLINK optical adaptor *1 • Array Microphone *1 • Dolby Demo CD • Quick Start Guide 1.2 System Requirements • IBM compatible PC with one USB1.1 (or higher) compatible p[...]

2 ASUS Xonar U1 1.3 Specications summary Category Item Description Audio Controller an d Codec Audio Chipset ASUS UA100 USB Audio Chip Bus Interface USB Bus USB 2.0 and 1.0 Full-speed compatible USB Audio Class USB Audio Device Class v1.0 compatible I/O Ports Analog Output Jack & Digital S/PDIF Output Combo 3.50mm mini analog and digital com[...]

3 ASUS Xonar U1 *Specications are subject to change without notice. Software Utility Portable Music Processor Lite Converts digital music content or CD audio into regular MP3/WMA files with Dolby Headphone, Dolby Vi rtual Speaker ( w/ Pro-Logic I I), and Smart V olume Normalization processing (Windows Media Player 10 or above is required) Audio [...]

4 ASUS Xonar U1 2. About Hardware 2.1 Xonar U1 Audio Station 1 2 3 R No Item Description 1 Microphone Jack Connect your external PC microphone to this 3.5mm jack for voice input. Built-in high-quality Microphone pre-amplifier . Line Input Jack Connect analog devices like MP3 players, CD players, music synthesizers and other line-level sound sources[...]

5 ASUS Xonar U1 3. Installing the Xonar Hardware 3.1 Installing Xonar U1 Connect the USB connector to any USB 2.0 port on your notebook or PC as the following drawing shows.[...]

6 ASUS Xonar U1 4. Installing Software 4.1 Installing the Audio Station Driver 1. After you have installed your audio station, turn on your computer . Windows automatically detects your audio station and searches for device drivers. When prompted for the audio drivers, click the “Cancel” button. 2. Insert the driver installation CD into your CD[...]

7 ASUS Xonar U1 4.2 Installing the PMP Lite software (Portable Music Processor™ Lite) 1. From the installation CD menu, select the option to install the PMP Lite software. 2. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the installation. After the installation is complete, click Finish. 4.3 Uninstalling or Reinstalling Software 4.3.1 Uninsta[...]

8 ASUS Xonar U1 2. Click Start -> Settings -> Control Panel. 3. Double-click the “Add/Remove Programs” icon. 4. Click the “Change or Remove Programs” button. 5. Select each program you would like to remove, and then click the “Add/ Remove (or Change/Remove)” button. 6. In the InstallShield Wizard dialog box, select the “Remove?[...]

9 ASUS Xonar U1 5. Connecting Speakers and Peripherals 5.1 Connecting Digital Speaker Systems (Home Theater) The Xonar U1 supports Dolby Digital Live technologies, which transcode any audio, including games and music, into industry-standard Dolby Digital surround bit-streams. This makes playback through your home theater system possible, creating a[...]

10 ASUS Xonar U1 5.2 Connecting Headphones 5.2.1 Connecting 2/2.1 Channel Speakers No Item Description 1 Headphone Jack Connect the 2/2.1 speaker set’s 3.5mm plug into this Headphone jack. 2 Speakers 2.1 Speakers 1 R R 1[...]

1 1 ASUS Xonar U1 5.3 Connecting Microphone 5.4 Connecting Line-In Audio Sources No Item Description 1 Headphone Jack Connect your headphone directly to this jack. 2 Microphone Input Jack Connect the microphone’s 3.5mm plug into this Mic-In jack for voice communication, recording, or karaoke. No Item Description 1 Line Input/Microphone Jack Conne[...]

12 ASUS Xonar U1 6. Xonar U1 Driver Guide 6.1 Introduction to the Xonar U1 Audio Center GUI 1. After the driver installation is complete and your computer has been rebooted, you will find the Xonar U1 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 utilit[...]

13 ASUS Xonar U1 No Item Description 1 Display Area This display area shows the 10-band signal meter , volume level, and the status of the Dolby technology , EQ, and DSP modes. Note: this area just displays information, but is not used to alter settings. 2 Menu Open/Close Clicking this button will move the display area and reveal the configuration [...]

14 ASUS Xonar U1 6.2 Main Setting 6.2.1 Sample 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 U1 audio card can support sample rates up to 48KHz. Even if your setting differs from the audio source’ s sample rate, the Xonar U1 en[...]

15 ASUS Xonar U1 6.2.2 Analog Out/Speaker T est No Item Description 1 Analog Out The Analog Out setting is used to match your actual speaker setting, such as headphones, 2 speakers (or 2.1). Xonar U1 will play the channels and does the proper 3D/Dolby sound processing accordingly . Select the correct speaker/ Headphone type for your connected speak[...]

16 ASUS Xonar U1 6.2.3 SPDIF Out/DDL Xonar U1 is capable of outputting Dolby Digital Live, which are real-time encoders that transcode any audio, including games and music, into industry-standard Dolby Digital bit-streams on-the-fly . This is ideal for playback through a home theater system, creating an immersive and impressive cinema surround soun[...]

17 ASUS Xonar U1 6.2.4 Audio Channels (For Vista only) This setting only appears in Windows Vista. V ista will deliver the audio channels to the audio driver according to this setting, no matter what the original audio content is or how many channels they have. Therefore, you need to set this in accordance with your audio content before you play it[...]

18 ASUS Xonar U1 6.2.5 7.1 Virtual Speaker Shifter The 7.1 Virtual Speaker Shifter has the following major features: • Expanding/upmixing audio to 7.1-channel surround sound • Virtualizing 7.1 surround sound over any set of speakers • Shiftable virtual speaker positioning allows you to adjust the best sound field easily without moving physica[...]

19 ASUS Xonar U1 1 2 6 6.2.6 Dolby Pro-Logic IIx Dolby Pro-Logic IIx is a 7.1 surround upmixing technology and is widely used in home theater systems, TVs, game consoles, and car audio systems. It can expand stereo audio, such as MP3, CD, and TV programs into immersive 5.1 or 7.1-channel surround. No Item Description 1 Dolby Pro-Logic IIx enable/di[...]

20 ASUS Xonar U1 6.2.7 Dolby Headphone Dolby Headphone creates a stunning multi-channel surround experience over ordinary stereo headphones for playing 3D games, watching 5.1 DVD movies, and listening to music. Dolby Headphone produces surround sound cues so realistic that you will believe you are listening over speakers in a well-controlled studio[...]

21 ASUS Xonar U1 6.2.8 Dolby Virtual Speaker Dolby Virtual Speaker technology simulates a 5.1-speaker surround sound listening environment from as few as two speakers. Dolby Virtual Speaker also creates a wider two-channel environment during playback of stereo CDs and MP3 content, and when combined with Dolby Pro Logic® IIx processing, delivers a [...]

22 ASUS Xonar U1 6.3 Mixer/V olume The mixer page is designed to control the volume for playback and recording on the Xonar U1. In addition, the Xonar U1 also provides a high-quality digital monitoring function for hearing the recorded audio from the speakers. Y ou can also process the input signals with all playback sound effects such as Dolby tec[...]

23 ASUS Xonar U1 6.3.2 Recording/Monitoring V olume No Item Description 1 Recording V olume T ab Click this button to show the recording volume page. 2 Source/Path Name This shows the source name for each volume control slider , including: MIC: recording from microphone Line-In: recording from Line-in jack for external audio devices W A VE: recordi[...]

24 ASUS Xonar U1 5 Recording V olume Slider Drag this slider down to decrease the recording volume; drag up to increase the recording volume. The tool-tip reveals the percentage number from 1 to 100 in terms of the full scale level. 6 Left/Right Balance This horizontal slider controls the volume between the left and right channels. 7 Reset Reset al[...]

25 ASUS Xonar U1 6.4 Effects 6.4.1 Environment Effects Environment effects can be used to create realistic listening experiences that mimic different environments. There are a total of 27 environment options, which can be applied to all 2D sound sources, like music. No Item Description 1 Default Environments These four buttons activate Bathroom, Co[...]

26 ASUS Xonar U1 6.4.2 10-Band Equalizer The equalizer can modify the audio output for different frequencies, and be used to compensate for deficiencies in your speakers/systems. There are 12 default patterns and you can also make your own settings. No Item Description 1 Default Equalizer Options There are 12 available equalizer patterns. Click one[...]

27 ASUS Xonar U1 6.5 Karaoke/Magic V oice The Xonar U1 provides powerful features for VOIP and Karaoke, including Magic V oice, Microphone Echo, Key-Shifting, and V ocal Cancellation. Magic V oice is a great feature for disguising your voice (using monster/cartoon/male/female effects) for VOIP and online gaming applications. Microphone Echo can gen[...]

28 ASUS Xonar U1 6.6 Mic Array It can reduce environmental background sounds and noises as well as keeping your front side voice input as clean as possible. No Item Description 1 On/Off Check the box to enable or disable array microphone. 1[...]

29 ASUS Xonar U1 6.7 Smart V olume Normalization Smart V olume Normalization TM (SVN) automatically 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 consis[...]

30 ASUS Xonar U1 No Item Description 1 SVN On/Off Click this button to enable SVN. This button is outlined blue when active. 2 SVN Display When SVN is enabled, “Smart V olume” will be lit up at the bottom of the volume meter and the volume meter will show the level. 3 SVN Blue Light When SVN is enabled, the master volume knob will be illuminate[...]

31 ASUS Xonar U1 6.8 DSP Modes Besides the abundant sound effects described above, the Xonar U1 also provides quick Digital Sound Processing modes which are configured for typical applications including Music, Movies, and Games over different output speaker types. In addition, Xonar U1 also offers a Hi-Fi mode for hi-fidelity playback without any e[...]

32 ASUS Xonar U1 7. Portable Music Processor™ Lite Software Guide 7.1 Introduction Xonar U1 provides the Portable Music Processor™ Lite (referred to as PMP Lite hereafter) software tool that contains the following features: • Converts MP3, WMA, Audio CD, W A VE into WMA or MP3 files with the same ID3 information and post processor effects •[...]

33 ASUS Xonar U1 No Item Description 1 Main Setting page Default page to setup and start the music conversion 2 PMP Music page This page will display the converted music files saved in the “PMP Music” folder 3 Software Update This button is used to check online for upgrades to the PMP software and download it for upgrade (make sure your compute[...]

34 ASUS Xonar U1 7.2 Converting music in “Main Setting” Page Click the main setting page to start the PMP Lite music conversion process. No Item Description 1 Select Music Sources Step 1 is to prepare the music sources that you are going to convert. Y ou can select 2 music source folders which can be multiply checked: 1) My Music – This path [...]

35 ASUS Xonar U1 2 Conversion settings Step 2 is to set the conversion settings you would like. There are three tabs for different settings: 1) Format: select MP3 or WMA to be the converted format you would like to have. Y ou can also choose the bitrate from 128Kbps, 192Kbps, and 320Kbps (the higher bitrate, the higher quality but bigger file size)[...]

36 ASUS Xonar U1 7.3 Find Converted Music in “PMP Music” Page The default conversion destination folder is C:Program FilesASUS PMP LitePMP Music. Y ou can easily click the PMP Music page to find the converted music library . The new file name will be copied and suffixed with the data rate and DH (ie. Dolby Headphone) or DVS (ie. Dolby Virtu[...]

37 ASUS Xonar U1 8. Troubleshooting and FAQs [T roubleshooting] The Xonar U1 driver could not be installed on my PC. Instructions: 1. Make sure that you have plugged the Xonar U1 into USB port. 2. Check that the Windows hardware device manager has discovered a USB audio device. If no device is found, try scanning for new hardware or restart Windows[...]

38 ASUS Xonar U1 I can’t hear any sound from my analog speakers Instructions: 1. Make sure that you have connected speakers properly and have powered on your speakers 2. Make sure that the device master volume or the software player has NOT been muted on the Xonar U1 Audio Center . 3. If you are using Dolby Digital Live encoder through the S/PDIF[...]

39 ASUS Xonar U1 Why couldn’t PMP Lite convert some music les successfully? Instructions: 1. Make sure you have installed Windows Media Player 9 or above version, and MP3 encoder in your PC. (following the pop-up downloading information to finish the installation. T o download free MP3 encoder , go to: http://www . elecard.com/download/#freewa[...]

40 ASUS Xonar U1 [F AQ] Q1: Does the Xonar U1 support Windows V ista? Answer: Y es, the Xonar U1 driver package does support Windows Vista and most key features are available. Q2: Why does the Xonar U1 support Dolby technologies? Answer: Dolby is the ONL Y brand and technologies recognized by the CE industry and available on a wide range of audio e[...]