Asus XONAR U5 SI User manual

Xonar U5 SI
5.1-Channel Audio Card
User Guide

Copyright © 2015 ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. All Rights Reserved.
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OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF
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E11114
Revised Edition v2
November 2015

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Contents
1. Introduction ..................................................................................... 4
1.1 Package contents ............................................................. 4
1.2 System requirements ......................................................... 4
1.3 General Specication......................................................... 5
2. Hardware.......................................................................................... 7
2.1 Xonar U5 SI Audio Card .................................................... 7
2.2 Installing Xonar U5 SI Audio Card ..................................... 9
3. Driver Installation.......................................................................... 10
3.1 Installing the Xonar U5 SI Card Driver............................. 10
3.2 Uninstalling or Reinstalling the Xonar U5 SI Card Driver. 10
4. Connecting Speakers and Peripherals ....................................... 11
4.1 Input connection .............................................................. 11
4.2 Output connection............................................................ 13
5. Software Utilities ........................................................................... 18
6. Troubleshooting............................................................................ 19

4ASUS Xonar U5 SI User Guide
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1. Introduction
1.1 Package contents
Check your ASUS Xonar™ U5 SI audio card package for the following items:
• ASUS XonarTM U5 SI 5.1-Channel Audio Card x1
• USB Cable x1
1.2 System requirements
To ensure a successful installation of the Xonar U5 SI audio card, make sure that
your computer meets the following requirements:
• 32/64bit Microsoft®Windows® 10 / 8.1 / 8 / 7 (32/64bit)
• Intel®Pentium® 4 1.4GHz, AMD Athlon 1400 CPU, or faster CPU
• 256MB system memory
• 60MB 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

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1.3 General Specification
Items Description
Audio Performance
Output Signal-to-Noise Ratio
(A-Weighted)
Up to 104dB
Input Signal-to-Noise Ratio
(A-Weighted)
Up to 94dB
Output Total Harmonic Distortion +
Noise at 1kHz (A-Weighted)
Up to 0.005% (-86dB)
Input Total Harmonic Distortion +
Noise at 1kHz (A-Weighted)
Up to 0.005% (-86dB)
Frequency Response
(-3dB, 24-bit/96kHz input)
< 10Hz to 44kHz
Output / Input Full-Scale Voltage 1 Vrms (2.828 Vp-p) for rear output (Speaker)
1.3 Vrms (3.677 Vp-p) for headphone out
1 Vrms (3.677 Vp-p) for line in
Bus Compatibility
USB audio class USB audio class 2.0 for all functions
Main Chipset
Audio Processor Cmedia 6631A High-Performance Sound Processor
(Max. 192kHz / 24bit)
D-A Converter of Digital Sources Cmedia CM9882A x1 (108dB SNR, Max.
192kHz/24bit)
A-D Converter for Analog Inputs Cmedia CM9882A x1 (104dB SNR, Max.
192kHz/24bit)
Sample Rate and Resolution
Analog Playback Sample Rate and
Resolution
44.1k/48k/96k/192kHz @ 16/24bit
Analog Recording Sample Rate
and Resolution
44.1k/48k/96k/192kHz @ 16/24bit
S/PDIF Digital Output 44.1k/48k/96k/192kHz @ 16/24bit
ASIO 2.0 Driver Support 44.1k/48k/96k/192kHz @ 16/24bit
(continued on the next page)

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Items Description
I/O Ports
Analog Output Jack 3.50mm mini jack x3 for 5.1 speaker
(Front/Center-Subwoofer/Rear-out)
3.50mm mini jack x1 (Headphone out)
Analog Input Jack 3.50mm mini jack x1 (Shared by Line-In / Mic-In)
Digital S/PDIF Output High-bandwidth coaxial / optical port supports 192kHz/24bit
Driver Features
As SW specications Version 1.01

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Mic/Line-in
Headphone
Front
Rear
Center
S/PDIF
2. Hardware
2.1 Xonar U5 SI Audio Card
3
2
1
Side view
Rear view
4
5
6
7
3
2
1
4
5
6

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No Item Description
1
Microphone In port Connect your external PC microphone to this 3.5mm
port for voice input.
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.
2Headphone Out
port
Connect your headphone to this port.
3Front Out port For 2/4.1/5.1 channel speaker systems, connects to the
front input on the powered speakers.
4Center/Subwoofer
Out port
Connects to the center/subwoofer input on 5.1 powered
analog speakers.
5Rear Out port Connects to the rear/subwoofer input on 5.1 powered
analog speakers.
6S/PDIF Out port
Coaxial (Optical combo) digital output port. Connects 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. Connects to the surround channel input on
4.1/5.1 powered analog speakers.
7 USB Port Connects to the USB port of your motherboard using
the bundled USB cable.

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2.2 Installing Xonar U5 SI 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 setting or uninstallation of other sound
cards, refer to the user manuals of your motherboard and audio card.)
Installing the Xonar U5 SI Audio 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 U5 SI
audio card.
6. Carefully insert the audio card into the PCIe slot. Ensure the audio card sits
properly in place.
7. Connect the USB port of Xonar U5 SI to the internal USB port of your
motherboard with the bundled USB cable.
8. Secure the audio card with screws and the metal bracket.
9. Put back the chassis cover.
10. Reconnect all cables.
11. Plug the power cord to the computer and to a power outlet.
12. Power ON the computer.
Note: the PCIe is for placement support only with the goal to have the audio
card sit properly in place.

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3. Driver Installation
3.1 Installing the Xonar U5 SI Card Driver
After installing the Xonar U5 SI audio card to your computer, you need to install
the device driver that enables the Xonar U5 SI audio card to work with Windows
operating system.
The version and contents of the support CD are subject to change without
notice.
To install the device driver:
1. Insert the ASUS Xonar U5 SI support CD into your optical drive or download
the driver from the ASUS support site. If Autorun is enabled, the ASUS Xonar
Card Driver screen appears automatically. Go to step 4. If Autorun is not
enabled in your computer, perform step 2.
2. Click Computer on your desktop and double-click the optical drive icon.
3. Double-click setup.exe located on the optical drive.
4. Click Driver to start the installation.
5. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation. Read,
understand, and accept the END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT before
continuing the installation.
6. When the installation nishes, you may be prompted to restart your
computer. You can choose to restart the computer at a later time.
3.2 Uninstalling or Reinstalling the Xonar U5 SI Card
Driver
3.2.1 Uninstalling the Xonar U5 SI Card Driver
To uninstall the Xonar U5 SI card driver:
1. Click Start > Control Panel > Programs and Features.
2. Right-click the driver you want to remove, and then click Uninstall.
3. In the InstallShield Wizard dialog box, select Remove.
4. Restart your computer when prompted.
3.2.2 Reinstalling the Xonar U5 SI Card Driver
To reinstall the Xonar U5 SI card driver:
1. Uninstall the existing software or driver.
2. Follow the installation process to reinstall the driver.

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Mic/Line-in
Headphone
Front
Rear
Center
S/PDIF
S/PDIF
AVR
4. Connecting Speakers and Peripherals
4.1 Input connection
4.1.1 Connecting digital audio systems
1
No Item Description
1 S/PDIF Out port Connect an AVR (Audio/Video Receiver) to this S/PDIF
output port.

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Mic/Line-in
Headphone
Front
Rear
Center
S/PDIF
OR
4.1.2 Connecting microphone / Line-In
1
No Item Description
1 Microphone In /
Line In port
Connect the microphone’s 3.5mm plug into this Mic-In
port for voice communication, recording, or karaoke.
Connect the 3.5mm plug of the CD/MP3 Player or any
other Line level analog audio sources into this Line-In
port for sound recording.

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Mic/Line-in
Headphone
Front
Rear
Center
S/PDIF
4.2 Output connection
4.2.1 Connecting Stereo Headphones
1
No Item Description
1 Headphone Out
Port
The Headphone Out port has a built-in high-quality
amplier to drive headphones. Connect your stereo
headphones directly to this port.

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Mic/Line-in
Headphone
Front
Rear
Center
S/PDIF
No Item Description
1 Front Out port Connect the Front-channel 3.5mm plug of your 5.1
channel headphone into this jack.
2Center/Subwoofer
Out port
Connect the Center/Bass-channel 3.5mm plug of your
5.1 channel headphone into this jack.
3 Rear Surround
Out port
Connect the Rear-Channel 3.5mm plug of your 5.1
channel headphone into this jack.
4.2.2 Connecting 5.1 channel headphones
1
2
3

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Mic/Line-in
Headphone
Front
Rear
Center
S/PDIF
4.2.3 Connecting analog speaker systems
Connecting 2 channel speakers
No Item Description
1 Front Out port Connects to the front input port of 2 channel speakers.
1

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Mic/Line-in
Headphone
Front
Rear
Center
S/PDIF
Amplifier
OR
Connecting 4.1 channel speakers / power amplifier
No Item Description
1 Front Out port Connects to the front input port of 4.1 channel speakers
2 Rear Surround
Out port
Connects to the rear surround input port of 4.1 channel
speakers.
1
2

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Connecting 5.1 channel speakers
No Item Description
1 Front Out port Connects to the front input port of 5.1 channel speakers
2 Center/Subwoofer
Out port
Connects to the Center and Subwoofer input ports of 5.1
channel speakers.
3 Rear Surround
Out port
Connects to the rear surround input port of 5.1 channel
speakers.
Mic/Line-in
Headphone
Front
Rear
Center
S/PDIF
1
2
3

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5. Software Utilities
For more details about using Sonic Studio, refer to the Sonic Studio manual.
Sonic Studio overview
Sonic Studio comes with advanced sound algorithms and virtual surround effects
to enhance your gaming and entertainment experience.

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6. Troubleshooting
1. I cannot install the audio card driver in my PC.
(1). Make sure that you have connected your audio card to the internal USB port
of your motherboard.
(2). Ensure that you have the latest driver version.
(3). Check that the Windows hardware Device Manager has detected the device.
(4). Restart your computer.
(5). Remove the card, insert it into another PCIe slot and try again.
2. I cannot find the Sonic Studio application.
• Make sure you have installed the driver.
• Find the Sonic Studio icon in the system tray on the lower right hand
corner of the screen. Double click the icon to launch the Sonic Studio
utility.
• If you cannot nd the icon in the system tray, go to the Windows
Control Panel and double click the Sonic Studio icon to make it
visible in the system tray again.
• After driver installation is complete, it’s recommended that you reboot
your computer to complete setup. If the icon still doesn’t appear,
please try reinstalling the driver package.
3. I can’t hear any sound from my analog speakers
(1). Ensure that you have connected speakers properly and have powered on
your speakers.
(2). Ensure that the device master volume or the software player has NOT been
muted in the Xonar U5 SI Audio Center.
(3). Please go to the sound and audio device of Windows®Control Panel to check
whether the playback default device is set to Xonar U5 SI Audio Device,
instead of other onboard AC97 or HDA codec device. If it’s not, please set it
to Xonar U5 SI Audio Device and restart your applications.
(4). Restart your computer.

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4. I can’t hear any sound from the S/PDIF output
(1). Ensure that you have enabled S/PDIF output in the main settings of Sonic
Studio.
(2). Ensure that you have connected the correct S/PDIF output jack in the card to
the decoder’s (AV receiver) S/PDIF input jack.
(3). You may need to select the correct input and mode of your decoder or AV
receiver.
(4). If you are using 192KHz PCM output, make sure that your decoder can
support 192KHz decoding. Try changing it to 44.1K or 48KHz rst.