Asus ROG Xonar Phoebus User manual

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ASUS Xonar Phoebus
1. Introduction
1.1 Package Contents
• XonarTM Phoebus 7.1 Channel PCI Express Audio Card
• Phoebus Control Box
• Driver CD
• S/PDIF TOSLINK optical adaptor x1
• ATX 4P-to- 6P Power Cable x1
• Quick Start Guide
1.2 System Requirements
• One PCI Express 1.0 (or higher) compatible slot for the audio card
• 6-pinperipheralpowercableconnectorfromyourcomputer’spowersupply
unit (PSU)
• Microsoft®Windows®Vista/Win 7 (32/64bit) / XP(32/64bit) / MCE2005
• Intel®Pentium® 4 1.4GHz or AMD Athlon 1400 CPU or faster CPU
• More than 256 MB system memory
• More than 60 MB available storage space for driver installation
• CD-ROM drive (or DVD-ROM drive) for software installation
• High-quality headphones, powered analog speakers, or a Dolby Digital
decoder,toenjoytheaudiocard’shighdelity

2ASUS Xonar Phoebus
1.3 General Specication
(continued on the next page)
Items Description
Audio Performance
Output Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-
Weighted)
118dB for Front channel of Line-out
112dB for other channels of Line-out
110dB for Headphone-out with 600ohm load
Input Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-
Weighted):
118dB
Output Total Harmonic Distortion +
Noise at 1kHz (-3dB) :
0.00039% (-108dB) for Front channel of Line-out
0.00063% (-102dB) for other channels of Line-out
0.0019% (-94dB) for Headphone-out with 600ohm load
Input Total Harmonic Distortion +
Noise at 1kHz (-3dB) :
0.0003% (-110dB) for Line-in
Frequency Response (-3dB, 24-
bit/96kHz format):
< 10Hz to 46KHz
Output / Input Full-Scale Voltage 2 Vrms (5.65 Vp-p)
Headphone Output Full-Scale
Voltage
Up to 6.8 Vrms (supports headphones with up to
600ohms impedance)
Bus Compatibility
PCI Express -PCIExpressRev.1.0aspecicationcompatible
- Max. full 2.5Gbps bandwidth per direction and
optimizedlatencyforhigh-denitionaudioprocessing
- Compatible with x1, x4, x8, x16 PCI Express slots
Main Chipset
Audio Processor ASUSCM8888HDTHigh-DenitionSoundProcessor
(Max. 192KHz / 24bit)
24-bit D-A Converter of Digital
Sources
Texas Instruments PCM1796 * 1 for Front-Out (123dB
SNR, Max. 192kHz/24bit)
Cirrus-Logic CS4362A * 1 for other 6 channels (114dB
SNR, Max. 192kHz/24bit)
HighFidelityHeadphoneAmplier Texas Instruments 6120A2*1 (120dB SNR, -117dB
THD+N@Vcc±12V,RL=600Ω,f=1kHz)
24-bit A-D Converter for Analog
Inputs
Cirrus-Logic CS5381* 1 (120dB SNR, Max. 192kHz/
24bit)
Sample Rate and Resolution
Analog Playback Sample Rate and
Resolution
44.1K/48K/88.2K/96K/176.4K/192KHz @ 16/24bit
Analog Recording Sample Rate
and Resolution
44.1K/48K/88.2K/96K/176.4K/192KHz @ 16/24bit
S/PDIF Digital Output 44.1K/48K/88.2K/96K/176.4K/192KHz @ 16/24bit,
Dolby Digital

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ASUS Xonar Phoebus
*Specications are subject to change without notice.
Items Description
I/O Ports
Analog Output Jack 3.5mm jack * 1 (Headphone out)
Analog Input Jack 3.5mm jack * 1 (Shared by Line-In / Mic-In)
Digital S/PDIF Output High-bandwidth TOS-Link combo port supports
192KHz/24bit
Other line-level analog input (for TV
Tuner or CD-ROM):
Aux-In (4-pin header on the card)
Driver Features
Operation System Windows Vista / Win 7(32/64bit) / XP(32/64bit) /
MCE2005
Dolby®Digital Live Dolby Digital Live encodes any audio signal on PC in
real-time to Dolby Digital (AC3) 5.1 surround sounds
to your home theater environment through one single
S/PDIF connection
Dolby®Headphone Dolby Headphone technology allows users to listen to
music, watch movies, or play games with the dramatic
5.1-channel surround or realistic 3D spacious effects
through any set of stereo headphones.
Dolby®Virtual Speaker Dolby Virtual Speaker technology simulates a highly
realistic 5.1-speaker surround sound listening
environment from as few as two speakers.
Dolby®Pro-Logic IIxx Dolby Pro-Logic IIx is the well-known technology to
process any native stereo or 5.1-channel audio into
a 7.1- channel output, creating a seamless, natural
surroundsoundeld.
DirectSound3D Game EXtensions
3.0
GX 3.0 supports EAX gaming sound effects and
DirectSound 3D hardware enhanced functions for
more games on Windows Vista/Win 7 & XP. (DirectX/
DirectSound 3D compatible)
Smart Volume NormalizerTM Normalizes the volume of all audio sources into a
constant level and also enhances your 3D sound
listening range and advantages in gaming
FlexBassTM Professional Bass Management / Enhancement system
Xear 3DTM Virtual Speaker Shifter Virtual 7.1 speaker positioning
Other Effects 10-band Equalier / 27 Environment Effects
ASIO 2.0 Driver Support: Supports 44.1K/48K/88.2K/96K/176.4K/192KHz
@16/24bit with very low latency

4ASUS Xonar Phoebus
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2. About Hardware
2.1 Xonar Phoebus Audio Processing Card
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2
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4
5
Mic in
HP out
Box link
Line in
Front
Ctr / Sbw
Rear
Side /
SPDIF out
9
12
6
7
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10 11

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ASUS Xonar Phoebus
No Item Description
1 Microphone Input Port
Connect your external PC microphone to this 3.5mm
jack for voice input. Built-in high-quality Microphone
pre-amplier.
2 Headphone Output Port Connect your headphones to this jack.
3 Box Link Connect the Xonar Phoebus Control Box to this 2.5mm
port.
4 Line Input Port
Connect analog devices like MP3 players, CD players,
music synthesizers, and other line-level sound sources
to this 3.5mm jack for audio recording or processing.
5 Front Output Port For 2 channel speaker systems, connects to the front
left / right input on the powered speakers.
6Center/Subwoofer Out
Port
Connect to the center / subwoofer input on 5.1/7.1
powered analog speakers.
7 Rear Output Port Connect to the back surround input on 7.1 powered
analog speakers.
8S/PDIF Output / Side
Out port
Digital output jack. Connect to an external digital
decoder or digital speaker systems, Home Theater
systems, AV receivers for outputting digital audio
including PCM, Dolby Digital, DTS, WMA-Pro, etc.
Connect to the surround channel input on 5.1 powered
analog speakers.
9 Aux Input Header
4-pin header. Usually connects to the Analog Audio
output of TV tuner card or other sound source inside
yourPCsystem.(TomonitoryourTVtunercard’s
audio from this Aux-In, you must enable the “monitor”
functionforAux-InintheXonarAudioCentersoftware’s
recording mixer.)
10 S/PDIF Out Header Connects to the graphics card with HDMI support.
11 Power connector Connects to the 6-pin power cable of your power supply
unit.
12 PCI Express Bus
Golden Fingers
Inserts into the PCI Express slot on your motherboard.

6ASUS Xonar Phoebus
3. Installing the Xonar Hardware
3.1 Preparing Your Computer
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 sound cards on your PC. (For BIOS setting or uninstallation of other
sound cards, refer to the user manuals of your motherboard and sound card)
1. Power OFF the computer, the monitor,
and all other peripheral devices
connected to your computer.
2. Unplug the computer power cord from
your computer and power outlet.
3. Touch the metal back or side panel of
the computer to avoid static electricity.
4. Remove the chassis cover.
5. Remove the metal bracket from an
available PCIE slot for the Xonar Phoebus audio card.
3.2 Installing the Audio Processing Card
1. Face the bracket of the Xonar Phoebus audio card toward the back panel of
your computer and insert the audio card gently into an available PCI Express
slot.Makesureit’scompletelyinsertedintothePCIExpressslot.(Warning!
Do not force the audio card into the slot. Make sure that the gold pins of
thecard'sPCIExpressconnectorarealignedwiththemotherboard’sPCI
Express connector before you insert the card into the PCI Express slot. If it
doesnottproperly,gentlyremoveitandtryagain.)

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ASUS Xonar Phoebus
2. Secure the audio card bracket to the back of your computer with the screw
that you removed. Refer to section 3.1.
3. Connect the power cable of your power supply to the power connector on the
Xonar Phoebus audio card.
The PCI Express high-quality audio card requires additional power from your
computer. If the power cable is not connected properly, the audio card will not
work at all.

8ASUS Xonar Phoebus
3.3 Connecting TV tuner card
If you have a traditional PCI or PCI Express TV tuner card on your PC, you may
needtoconnectittotheaudiocardtosendthetunercard’ssoundtoyourPC
speakers.
1. Secure the PCI/PCI Express TV tuner card and screw it into the back-panel.
2. Connect the audio output header from the TV tuner card to the Aux-In header
oftheaudiocard,asshowninthegurebelow.
For optimum TV audio quality, Xonar uses ADC recording to digitize the signal
and loops it back to DAC playback. Please select Aux-In as the recording
sourceintheXonarAudio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. TV audio on your PC will become even better
thanonyourTVset!

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ASUS Xonar Phoebus
4. Installing Software
4.1 Installing the Audio Card Driver
1. After you have installed your audio card, turn on your computer. Windows
automatically detects your audio card and searches for device drivers. When
prompted for the audio drivers, click the Cancel.
2. Insert the Support CD into the optical drive. If Windows®AutoPlay mode is
enabled in your system, the setup starts automatically. If not, double-click the
setup.exe from your Support CD.
3. Followtheonscreeninstructionstonishtheinstallation.
The version and content of the support CD are subject to change without notice.
4.2 Uninstalling or Reinstalling Software
4.2.1 Uninstalling Software
1. Click Start -> Settings -> Control Panel.
2. Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon.
3. Click the Change or Remove Programs button.
4. Select each program you would like to remove, and then click the Add/
Remove (or Change/Remove) button.
5. In the InstallShield Wizard dialog box, select the Remove option.
6. Restart your computer when prompted.

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4.2.2 Reinstalling Software
To reinstall the Xonar Phoebus card driver:
1. Beforereinstallinganysoftware,it’srecommendedtouninstalltheexisting
softwarerst.
2. Afternishingtheuninstallationofthesoftware,pleasefollowtheinstallation
process again to reinstall the same or updated software.

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ASUS Xonar Phoebus
Mic in
HP out
Box link
Line in
Front
Ctr / Sbw
Rear
Side /
SPDIF out
5. Connecting Speakers and Peripherals
5.1 Connecting to Phoebus Control Box
5.1.1 Connecting Phoebus Box
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2
3
No Item Description
1 Microphone Input Port Connectthemicrophone’s3.5mmplugfromthe
Phoebus Control Box into this Mic-In port for voice
communication, recording or karaoke.
2 Headphone Port Theheadphoneporthasabuilt-inhigh-qualityamplier
to drive headphones. Connect the Phoebus Control
box directly to this port.
3 Box Link Port Connect the Phoebus Control box directly to this port.

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5.1.2 Connecting Phoebus Box with external headphone and
microphone
Mic In
Headphone Out
No Item Description
1 Headphone Port Connect headphone to headphone port on Phoebus
Control box
2 Microphone Input Port Connectmicrophone’s3.5mmplugtoPhoebus
Control Box Mic-In port.
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2

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ASUS Xonar Phoebus
5.2 Connecting Digital Speaker Systems (Home Theater)
Xonar Phoebus makes playback through your home theater system possible,
creating an impressive surround sound experience. A single digital cable
connection can carry high-quality digital audio from any of your PC audio sources
to any digital speakers or AV Receivers.
No Item Description
1 Optical adapter Plug the optical TOSLINK adapter into the S/PDIF-Out
connector.
2 Optical cable Connectyourdecoder’sS/PDIF-Inporttotheoptical
adapter with the TOSLINK optical cable.
Mic In
Headphone Out
Box Link
Line In
Front
Center / Sub
Rear
SPDIF / Side
2
1

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5.3 Connecting stereo headphones
5.3.1 Connecting stereo headphones
Connecting stereo hadphones
Mic in
HP out
Box link
Line in
Front
Ctr / Sbw
Rear
Side /
SPDIF out
No Item Description
1 Headphone Out Port The Headphone Out Port has a built-in high-quality
ampliertodriveheadphones.Pleaseconnectyour
stereo headphones directly to this jack.
1

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ASUS Xonar Phoebus
No Item Description
1 Front Out Connect the front-channel 3.5mm plug of your 5.1
headphones into this jack.
2 Back Surround Out Connects to the Back Surround input port with the mini-
jack cable.
3Center/Subwoofer
Out
Connect the Center/Bass-channel 3.5mm plug of your
5.1 headphone into this jack.
Connecting 5.1 channel hadphones
Mic in
HP out
Box link
Line in
Front
Ctr / Sbw
Rear
Side /
SPDIF out
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2
3

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Mic in
HP out
Box link
Line in
Front
Ctr / Sbw
Rear
Side /
SPDIF out
5.4 Connecting Analog Speaker Systems
5.4.1 Connecting Analog Power Amplier
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3
2
No Item Description
1 Front Out Connects to the “left front” and “right front” input ports of the
analogamplierwiththemini-jacktoRCAcable.
2 Back Surround Out Connects to the Back Surround input port with the mini-jack
cable.
3Center/Subwoofer Connects to the “Center” and “subwoofer” input ports of the
analogamplierwiththemini-jacktoRCAcable.

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ASUS Xonar Phoebus
5.4.2 Connecting 2/2.1 Channel Speakers
2 Speakers
No Item Description
1 Front Out Port Connectthe2channelspeakerset’s3.5mmpluginto
this Front Out jack.
AUDIO
INPUTS
Mic in
HP out
Box link
Line in
Front
Ctr / Sbw
Rear
Side /
SPDIF out
1

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4 Speakers
AUDIO
INPUTS
Side
AUDIO
INPUTS
Front
Mic in
HP out
Box link
Line in
Front
Ctr / Sbw
Rear
Side /
SPDIF out
1
2
No Item Description
1 Front Out Connects to the Front input port of the 4/4.1 speakers
with the mini-jack cable.
2 Back Surround Out Connects to the Back Surround input port with the mini-
jack cable.

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ASUS Xonar Phoebus
5.1 Speakers
Mic in
HP out
Box link
Line in
Front
Ctr / Sbw
Rear
Side /
SPDIF out
Side
Front Center/
Subwoofer
AUDIO
INPUTS
No Item Description
1 Front Out Connects to the Front input port of the 5.1 speakers with
the mini-jack cable.
2 Back Surround Out Connects to the Back Surround input port with the mini-
jack cable.
3Center/Subwoofer Connects to the Center/Subwoofer input port of the 5.1
speakers with the mini-jack cable..
1
2
3

20 ASUS Xonar Phoebus
Connecting 7.1 channel speakers
7.1 speakers
Rear
Side
Front
Center/
Subwoofer
AUDIO
INPUTS
AUDIO
INPUTS
Mic in
HP out
Box link
Line in
Front
Ctr / Sbw
Rear
Side /
SPDIF out
No Item Description
1 Front Out Connects to the Front input port of the 7.1 speakers with
the mini-jack cable.
2 Side Surround Out Connects to the Surround input port of the 7.1 speakers
with the mini-jack cable.
3 Back Surround Out Connects to the Back Surround input port of the 7.1
speakers with the mini-jack cable.
4Center/Subwoofer Connects to the Center/Subwoofer input port of the 7.1
speakers with the mini-jack cable.
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