# Asus Xonar U7 DAC/AMP Impressions Thread



## pcharouz

I think i am one of the first people here to get it, so i though i would post some initial thoughts
  
 Build:
 the worksmanship is great, feels much less plasticky than i would have thought. 
 I pluging it straight into the usb on my win 8 64bit desktop, the card lit up and started working within seconds, hovewer when i tried to manually install all the software/drivers, it said it did not recognize my asus xonar u7?!? after 15mins, i have discovered that the USB switch was set to 1.1. Set it to 2.0 and everything was fine! Installed, restarted and started listening...
  
 Testing:
 Bear in mind that i never had a dedicaded headphone amp, i plugged in my v-moda m80, and started listening to some Infected Mushroom- Im The Supervisor, Kanye West -Yeezus, and some oldies; all in Flac. The first thing that i noticed was that that i could set the volume to max without getting unconfortable, Isnt the "Headphone Amp" supposed to make em louder? So i checked the setting and under headphone settings (u have to right click on the headphones, took me quite a while ) the are 3 Gain settings
 Low Gain (-12db for <32 ohms)
 Medium Gain (-6db for 32-64ohms)
 High Gain (0db for >64ohms)
  
 Hovewer this was already set at max gain, i set it to medium for the v-modas, and for me 90% volume was ok (75% on low gain on my shure e500). This leads me to conclude that the headphone amp is not all that powerfull, since both these should be easily drivable... Editmuch better with either mp3's or volume equilizer on in the dolby center, 50% volume now on low gain)
 from asus.com, "Headphone : 1.3 Vrms (3.677 Vp-p)"  Does this number sound about right? (I have no idea)
 A pleasant suprise was that there is ABSOLUTELLY no noise at any volume/gain on my shure e500.
  
 Sound:
 Bear in mind that i am not an audiophile, i just enjoy listening to music, i have found that i can hear more of the low-low frequencies, and very high as well than from my onboard sound, I have no problem with the sound this card makes, but i would rather leave this on someone with more experience, and better equipment... I quite like the software, and the surround features, and inteligent equilizer(on-the-fly equalizing, leveling volume) work quite nice, without overly changing the music. For example there is a Eq present to open up soundstage/frequency response.
  
 If u have any questions feel free to ask


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## Chronark

Have you tried playing any games with them? I am interested in the quality of the surround sound when it comes to direction, e.g. footsteps or gunfire.


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## pcharouz

not yet, but from what i have read, the positional audio should be exactly the same as the other cards in the xonar series (DX/phebeus) both using dolby's virtuall surround..
   
  i have tried to to just test the different rear chanells in the app, and it was quite convincing


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## lemm

Good review. The only user review I've found on the web so you must be one of the first. I have a few questions if you have the time. I was looking to get a cheaper sound card but for pc gaming I've since found out that unlike consoles that auto process and output surround sound over the optical cable, on a pc I need a sound card that can encode Dolby Digital Live or DTS Connect.
   
  So if you can help with the following questions:
   
  1. Does the Asus Xonar U7 have DDL and DTSC? I primarily need DDL but is DTSC better quality and good to have too?
  2. I think the analog outputs provide better audio quality, so would there be any benefit in having DTSC as I have analog? (I will still need DDL)
  3. My current analog input gives noise/hiss whereas the optical does not which I find strange as analog is supposed to be better. Does the Asus Xonar U7 have analog noise?
  4. Does this card have Asio? I read that this is good for lag so what is the lag like on DDL outputs from this card.
   
  5. I was considering the Creative's Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro or the newer Sound Blaster Z, both of which are 5.1 so do you think this a 7.1 card is a better option for games/bluray and how do you think the surround sound quality would be on the Asus Xonar U7 compared to the other two? ie the X-Fi Surround 5.1 Pro is up to 24/96kHz over 5.1 and stereo; and the Sound Blaster Z is up to 96kHz on 5.1 and 192kHz for stereo with 116db SNR. Is the Xonar U7 24bit 192kHz on all the 7.1 channels over analog and optical?
   
  It's the most expensive of the cards I have considered but if it ticks all the boxes it may be worth it. Thanks.


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## pcharouz

1. DDL, through optical and coax (u can set it in windows audio settings)
  2/3, There is absolutely no noise/hiss coming form this card at any volume, my shure e500/530s are very good at picking this up, and they are dead silent
  4. Yes, u can set 16/24bit, and 4-20ms ish latecy (i have no idea how to use this though)
  5, Imo the x-fi might have a bit better software, but the xonar will have a lot better sound quality (less hiss, more music, more frequency response) xonar u7 can do 7.1 over analog and digital yes
   
  It also seems like it might work on a mac with usb 1.1 setting, but dont quote me on that!


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## lemm

Thanks for the great feedback mate. Seems like this card has everything I need. Just to clarify, is the full sample rate of 192kHz and max resolution of 24bits available on the full analog 7.1 and optical/coax, as this sample rate and bit depth was restricted only on the stereo playback on the other cards. Unfortunately it's just gone out of stock on Amazon and everywhere else I've checked so I may need to wait a while unless you know of a reputable retailer at a decent price. And thanks for the OS tip. I'm still on Vista at the moment and noticed you're thoughts were based on a Win 8 experience, but I assume it will be compatible regardless of which windows version. Again, thanks for the quick and comprehensive reply.


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## pcharouz

there is no analog 7.1 through spdif, only dolby digital live, and that is 16/48khz i think


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## lemm

I think I phrased my query a bit ambiguously but your reply was still clear and helpful. Clearly spdif output needs dolby digital live encoding for surround, but thanks for mentioning the spdif playback quality with ddl. Don't often find all the info direct from the manufacturer, so thanks for taking the time. Much appreciated.


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## Ikos

I'm going to buy a new headphone and I was looking to buy the Xonar U7 as sound card/amp but I already have a 2.1 speakers that I would like to alternate with my headphone, can the Xonar U7 do this? Switch between headphone and speaker?
   
  The speaker is a Creative (L3800) and has a 3.5mm jack as input that I'd plug in the U7.


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## pcharouz

yes, all u do is press the silver button and it switches(headphone/spdif(if available)/speakers), i use it this way, and its great!  all u need is a rca to 3.5mm cable
   
  btw, i just borrowed sennheiser HD800, and it drives them, but loses quite a bit of the depth of frequency that they can produce, they sound much fuller, and unique on my pioneer elite reciever (still doesnt do the phones justice imo)
  i also tried the HD700 and those sound great at 70-80% volume, so 150ohms is the limit of this card imo


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## deanorthk

thanks for that review, really
   
  Do you know if there's a way, when you activate Xear surround headphone, to send that signal to the analog output, so an headphone amp can be use, and take that signal to headphone?
  In my setup, I would like to get such a card, so I can output to my burson HA160 and my senn HD650... don't know if that could work, as it work in the U3 card..


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## alienden

Just finished installing it. Using mine with Senn's gaming 363d headphones. Switched from AstraMix 2013 and wow, music and movies have improved dramatically! Surround is a bit of a mixed bag, I have a subjective feeling that DDH is slightly better then DHT v4. But then again the jump in overall quality is so big I hardly care anymore


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## alienden

Also the box is really cute and much smaller then I imagined. Takes me back to the time I had audigy 2 usb!


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## foreign

I have the asus sonar stx and pc360 also hd650. It sounds pretty good coming straight out if the soundcard but I have also purchased w6 woo audio tube amp primarily for the hd650. The hd650 has nice balance mids are upfront and centre. Big soundstage very neutral. The dac and amp is pretty good on the soundcard for $165 however the tube amp does pair better with the hd650.


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## pcharouz

Quote: 





foreign said:


> I have the asus sonar stx and pc360 also hd650. It sounds pretty good coming straight out if the soundcard but I have also purchased w6 woo audio tube amp primarily for the hd650. The hd650 has nice balance mids are upfront and centre. Big soundstage very neutral. The dac and amp is pretty good on the soundcard for $165 however the tube amp does pair better with the hd650.


 
  how does that relate to this thread exactly? just curious...


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## foreign

pcharouz said:


> how does that relate to this thread exactly? just curious...



It's not related to this thread at all. Had one too many websites open and posted in the wrong one. Oops .


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## davidsh

Can you apply the dolby headphones when going digital out?
   
  EDIT: Does it actually have dolby headphoens?


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## alienden

Yeah it has digital out and you should be able to apply dolby headphones later in the chain, but this might mean using inferior capacity of U3 soundcard for the rest of processing instead of fancy U7 hardware. It doesn't have dolby headphones, what it does have is Dolby Home theather 4.


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## Jaspe213

Is it possible to run speakers and headphones at same time?


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## pcharouz

i dont think so... sorry
   
  just for info, why would you want this anyways?


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## Jaspe213

I Like to listen movies on loud and my wife lukea more quiet sound so i can be on headphones and wife on speakers


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## Blinxat

According to the box "Headphone Amplifier (impedance): 32-150 ohm" isn't that somewhat poor? I mean personally I think many headphones up to 80ohms even sound great on smartphones....


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## pcharouz

Quote: 





jaspe213 said:


> I Like to listen movies on loud and my wife lukea more quiet sound so i can be on headphones and wife on speakers


 
  ah, this actualy makes perfect sense  how about a volume adjusting headphone splitter?
   
  Edit: what i do, is just run subtitles, so if something is not loud enough for me, i can read what is happening


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## pcharouz

Quote: 





blinxat said:


> According to the box "Headphone Amplifier (impedance): 32-150 ohm" isn't that somewhat poor? I mean personally I think many headphones up to 80ohms even sound great on smartphones....


 
  if you have headphones above 150ohm, you are not the target market for these, they also have other xonar external soundcards


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## deanorthk

SO far, using Sein HD650, they work really, really well, at least in the game I tested, Tomb Raider, the sound and surround sound is fantastic.


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## stv014

Quote: 





blinxat said:


> According to the box "Headphone Amplifier (impedance): 32-150 ohm" isn't that somewhat poor? I mean personally I think many headphones up to 80ohms even sound great on smartphones....


 
   
  It does not have much higher output voltage than some smartphones, that is why the recommended impedance range is so low. Of course, some will still find the output enough with high impedance/less sensitive headphones. And if not, there is always the option of using an external amplifier. The Xonar U7 seems to be basically like an external Xonar D1/DX with slightly worse specs and lower voltages, so it should work decently as a DAC.


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## pietcux

It has slightly worse specs than the Essence ST/STX, but as it is processing the analog signal outside the computer case, it runs more uninfluenced by the multi Ghz clocked  computer internals. Right now I run a hard to drive but nice to wear AKG K 702 when gaming or watching movies, and there is nothing missing here. All my other cans are 32 or 64 ohm so also no problem here.


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## stv014

Quote: 





pietcux said:


> It has slightly worse specs than the Essence ST/STX, but as it is processing the analog signal outside the computer case, it runs more uninfluenced by the multi Ghz clocked  computer internals.


 
   
  Not that I think the better DAC specs of the Essence cards are of much practical significance for music listening, but they do have EMI shielding (at least for the analog output path), and should normally not have interference problems. Most often people run into those when trying to use an external amp (because of ground loops - also an issue for non-isolated USB DACs), or the front panel headphone jack on the PC.


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## pietcux

Had the STX and yes it was the front out that was practically unusable due to noise from the CPU/GPU/CHIPSET. The cards rear out was ok, but in the wrong placefor me.


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## benbenkr

How does DHT v4 hold up to DH?
  I'm not entirely sure on this but I read somewhere that DHT v4 is basically a renamed DH with a few extra new features, is this true?
   
  EDIT+
  Also, how are the drivers? Because Asus has been renowned for their absolutely horrendous drivers for their internal soundcards, up until today.


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## pietcux

First of all I have Xonar devices since 4 years. Xonar Essence STX, Xonar U1 and now The Xonar U7. I had Windows XP, Windows Vista and now Windows 7 and different computers and I had *never* any trouble with the Xonar Drivers.
  And yes the DHT v4 contains DH. Dolby customer service told me that they use the same algorithms for DH and for DHT v4. It is the same in a more user friendly package. I still have the Xonar U1 to compare. The surround effects are basically the same, but the sound is more refined from the Xonar U7. And the U7 can drive an active 7.1 speaker system or simulate surround from 2 active speakers.


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## firefly89

i couldnt get the u7 to sound as good as the u3, the surround sound wasn't the same, it was much worse. Maybe i'm missing a setting


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## pietcux

You need to avoid using any of the settings in the Asus panel. Just select stereo and the sample frequency/bit rate. Then use the Dolby panel for all surround settings. And mske sure that the unit is running on USB 2.0 switch settings.


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## pietcux

And please download the latest driver from Asus. The installation from the CD was missing the Dolby panel completely on my end with W7/64. The download workes just fine.


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## pietcux

And the U1 is gor sure better than the crappy U3. On my pc setup, the U7 is far superior to the U1, so it must be better than the U3 at least.


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## firefly89

Quote: 





pietcux said:


> And the U1 is gor sure better than the crappy U3. On my pc setup, the U7 is far superior to the U1, so it must be better than the U3 at least.


 
   
  I meant more like, that the quality of the surround processing was better. In terms of actual sound quality I think the u7 had more clarity in music, but it was an unpleasant clarity, a harsh metallic sound, I didn't like it at all, sure the u3 is lower in fidelity (no doubt) but it was more musical, thicker, richer, I liked it better
   
  in my posession right now I have asus u3, xonar u7, audio engine d1 dac, a fiio e17 dac, and a fiio e12 amp. the most pleasant musical sound is obtained from the u3 feeding into the e12 amp- it's a slightly muddy combination but the most pleasing for the type of music I listen to, my friends also came to similar conclusions (and no I didn't tell them what they should hear, and they're not audio buffs at all)
   
  in terms of clarity, the audio engine d1 blows away the u7- in games footsteps are so clear, but in music I actually think it's too revealing, I don't like it. I only use the d1 for games
   
  Quote: 





pietcux said:


> And please download the latest driver from Asus. The installation from the CD was missing the Dolby panel completely on my end with W7/64. The download workes just fine.


 
  i did, my laptop doesn't have a cd drive
   
  Quote: 





pietcux said:


> You need to avoid using any of the settings in the Asus panel. Just select stereo and the sample frequency/bit rate. Then use the Dolby panel for all surround settings. And mske sure that the unit is running on USB 2.0 switch settings.


 
   
  i'll have another go, so you're saying to disable the 'xear surround'? and then  on the dolby panel what settings on there (all eq's and everything off, just with the headphone virtual surround slider set to 100%?), usb is set to 2.0, and windows is set to 7.1


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## pietcux

Yes disable xear. It is sounding like crap. Dunno why Asus includes it.


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## firefly89

Quote: 





pietcux said:


> Yes disable xear. It is sounding like crap. Dunno why Asus includes it.


 
  ok i'll try that
   
  so what surround settings do you apply in the dolby home theatre panel?


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## pietcux

For gaming I simply use the gaming preset. For music I do not use Dolby, just stereo on the Asus panel @ 192/24. So for music I only use the Asus dac and geadphone amp without any enhancements. Just select the gain that suits your phone. If you need more bass, you can carefully try out what Dolby can do for you. And btw, you cannot change Windows sound device settings to more than 2 channels When using the headphone out. That is normal, Dolby uses always as much channels as the source can provide.


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## ffh2303

Hi,I have a few simple questions that needs to be answered,hope you guys can help
   
  1- Does this sound as good as the Fiio E17 purely for music?
  2- Would this be a downgrade compared to the Xonar STX purely for music?


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## pietcux

From memory I find the two quite similar. I had the STX till I sold my gaming rig in 2011. Now I have a new rig and use the U7. But memory cannot replace a direct comparison..... They have different processors and different DACs. so there must be a difference in sound that you cannot find in the specs. For gaming I find them equal though. The amp of the Xonar U7 delivers a very detailed and smooth sound. I do not own the Fiio E17. But I have the E12. And that one is very powerful compared to the Xonars, but not so detailed and not smooth, but more on the harsh side.


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## Ilian

Does Xonar U7 support stereo mix ?


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## pietcux

Sorry, what is that?


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## Ilian

Hi,
   
  I want to do this: http://support.citrixonline.com/en_US/GoToMeeting/help_files/GTM050006?Title=Broadcast+Computer+Audio
   
  But my sound card driver does not support stereo mix.
  Now I'm using Virtual Audio Cable(software), but I want to buy Asus Xonar U7 if it support stereo mix.


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## pietcux

In my case it is the Realtek Audio chip on the mainboard that is listed as Stereo Mix. After disabling it in the BIOS I have not such a device listed anymore. So I think that the U7 does not support it.


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## Ilian

Thank you for replying to me.
   
  On some soundcards they call it "What you Hear"
   
  Is there something like this ?
   
  Sorry for my bad english


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## pietcux

I will check onthis tonight. Should this be in the Windows device settings or in the Xonar software?


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## Ilian

In Windows 7 Recording devices.


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## pietcux

Sorry Illian, there is not such recording device. I only have microphone and line in on the U7.


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## Cence

Hi there!
   
  I recently bought the Asus Xonar U7 and it has worked fine so far with my headphones. Unfortunately, after plugging in my KRK Rokit 5 active speakers into the RCA jacks of the U7, I am getting constant static noise, no matter the volume (even when the U7 is set to mute). The audio itself it playing fine though.
  The KRK speakers previously were connected to another audio interface on the same computer with balanced TRS cables. So I can rule out any of the involved devices being broken. I am also using quality cables.
   
  Strangely, when I move my mouse around, play a 3D game or use the scroll bar in a window, the static noise gets worse.
   
  Initial research showed that this apparently is a ground loop problem but I have no knowledge about these things.
   
  Does anyone know how I might be able to fix it? Thanks!


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## pietcux

We heard about such things from some users who use headphone amps with their pc for gaming. It always seems to be the mouse creating the noise. I have very cheap Logitech speakers connected to the RCA jacks and have not such issue. Is the mouse USB plug sitting next to the Xonar USB plug @ the PC side? Which mouse do you use? Can you try a different mouse?


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## Cence

I have tried all possible USB connection combinations (it was on another USB controller as the mouse before) but unfortunately it didn't change a thing. Disconnecting the mouse doesn't stop the problem either. I am using a Logitech G600.


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## davidsh

USB hub might help?


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## Happy Hacking

I'm interested in getting one of these, but how does this compare with say a Creative Soundblaster Z and Titanium HD?
  Also, has anyone tried using the line-out/RCA outputs with their speakers? How does it sound? Would getting a sound card be a better investment?


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## pietcux

I can assure you it is a decent sound card by itself. And I use the RCA lone out for my stereo desktop speakers. I works flawless. Asus did some decent things under the XONAR name, you cannot go wrong.


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## Happy Hacking

Quote: 





pietcux said:


> I can assure you it is a decent sound card by itself. And I use the RCA lone out for my stereo desktop speakers. I works flawless. Asus did some decent things under the XONAR name, you cannot go wrong.


 
   
  Thanks for this. I have someone offering me a second hand X-FI HD (Creative) External DAC at a very decent price. Argh, should I get the Asus or the Creative?
  I might go with a soundcard though, just afraid headphones will be too short to reach the rear of my rig(NZXT Switch 810) on the floor, and yes it is a MASSIVE full tower case.


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## pietcux

I had a Corsair 800D as my last rig. I had a AKG K401 with a 12 ft cable, so it could easily reach my Xonar Essence STX. But unplugging the cord was always a hassle.Now I am perfectly happy with my U7 on my big tower ( Fractal Design Define) and my U1 on my gaming laptop. I switched to Xonar cards when Microsoft released Vista. Since that date the Creative drivers have become less effective, because MS changed the Windows sound engine. So I still lean more to the Xonar side.


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## Happy Hacking

Quote: 





pietcux said:


> I had a Corsair 800D as my last rig. I had a AKG K401 with a 12 ft cable, so it could easily reach my Xonar Essence STX. But unplugging the cord was always a hassle.Now I am perfectly happy with my U7 on my big tower ( Fractal Design Define) and my U1 on my gaming laptop. I switched to Xonar cards when Microsoft released Vista. Since that date the Creative drivers have become less effective, because MS changed the Windows sound engine. So I still lean more to the Xonar side.


 
   
  Thanks for your input. How does the U7 compare with the STX? I'm pretty sure someone said they sounded quite the same for headphones.
  But like I've mentioned, main usage will be for my ACTIVE speakers. So how will the (line out) DAC for the U7 fair against the STX?
   
  Although the U7 is fairly new..  really hoping to see more reviews and input(by the community) on it.


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## pietcux

Are your speakers stereo?


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## Happy Hacking

Quote: 





pietcux said:


> Are your speakers stereo?


 
   
  They are the Swans M200MKII. Unable to answer your question since I am practically an idiot to audio related stuff, just gotten into these things and now I'm hooked for better SQ.


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## pietcux

The question is if you are looking for 2 channel stereo or surround like 5.1 7.1


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## Happy Hacking

pietcux said:


> The question is if you are looking for 2 channel stereo or surround like 5.1 7.1




Ah, I'm going for a 2.0 speaker setup. Sorry for the confusion.
Deciding between this and the X-Fi HD external USB dac/amp by creative, it is cheaper by ~30%.
Or I might get a better dac. No rush for me, taking my time to think.


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## stv014

Quote: 





cence said:


> I have tried all possible USB connection combinations (it was on another USB controller as the mouse before) but unfortunately it didn't change a thing. Disconnecting the mouse doesn't stop the problem either. I am using a Logitech G600.


 
   
  Try using the U7 with a USB isolator. like this one (there are many similar devices available).


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## pietcux

If you want Dolby Sorrund from your 2.0 setup, take the STX. It's driver allows that. On th U7 you need to connect thespeakers to the headphone out to get this effect. If you only want stereo in good quslity, the the U7 is ok.


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## Happy Hacking

pietcux said:


> If you want Dolby Sorrund from your 2.0 setup, take the STX. It's driver allows that. On th U7 you need to connect thespeakers to the headphone out to get this effect. If you only want stereo in good quslity, the the U7 is ok.




Will connecting my speakers to a creative z series (lineout) allow surround?
Thanks for your quick responses!


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## pietcux

You might want to ask this question here:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/593050/the-nameless-guide-to-pc-gaming-audio-with-binaural-headphone-surround-sound/1740#post_9748179


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## Kazon

I ordered my Xonar U7 but its going to take a while to get here in the US. I think you said you have the Fildelio X1 too? Does the output impedance from the xonar u7 make the X1 not sound as good as they could?
   
  Been reading a few threads the recommendation was < 2ohm impedance is optimum for Fidelio X1.


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## pietcux

Quote: 





kazon said:


> I ordered my Xonar U7 but its going to take a while to get here in the US. I think you said you have the Fildelio X1 too? Does the output impedance from the xonar u7 make the X1 not sound as good as they could?
> 
> Been reading a few threads the recommendation was < 2ohm impedance is optimum for Fidelio X1.


 
  Sorry, I don't have or had the X1. My Ultrasone Signature DJ has 32 Ohm and does not suffer from the output impedance of the U7. Sounds perfect for me.


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## Kazon

Well seems the headphone amp is not super strong on the U7 from the review. I see you can set the gain on the headphone amp. Would setting it to low make the impedance low enough say 2 ohms?


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## pietcux

The gain setting does not alter the output impedance.


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## pcharouz

pietcux said:


> Are your speakers stereo?


   


  if there is two of them, they are stereo


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## mashakos

pietcux said:


> Sorry Illian, there is not such recording device. I only have microphone and line in on the U7.


 
 not sure if this is relevant, but on my Asus Xonar D2X I have a stereo mix recording device. Asus is generally consistent with offering extensive features on all it's products though all these products are also consistent in that there is a noticeable learning curve to configuring them properly 
  
 I imagine Stereo Mix is there but it's hidden or disabled. Try right clicking in the "Recording Devices" window and enabling the option labelled "Show Disabled Devices"


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## volly

Interesting post, I wonder, can you run the U7 out to a headphone amp and is the microphone still functional at the same time.
  
 Looking at one of these especially for BF4 and need a dac that has a mic option, currently running a E10 and don't want to use the mobo's onboard mic!


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## sa_ill

I'm kind of looking for new bookshelf speakers.
 Will my U7 do a good job in driving hifi speakers?


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## pietcux

It will work for active speakers.


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## sa_ill

My U7 doesnt support OS X. What a bummer considering I have a Macbook and the U7 is marketed as a portable DAC.
  
 Any workarounds to get it working in Max OS X?
 The volume knob works, but it affects the volume of the laptop speakers.


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## pietcux

Sorry but that is the discount of the Apple world. Asus had Mac drivers for the U1 years ago, but they disappeared soon. But the U7 was never marketed for Mac usage. It is a pc component.


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## sa_ill

That is a big let down. So what, I use these in my house where I always use the speakers??
 I use my headphones/IEMs only when I travel, and I have a Mac.


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## pietcux

You might want to install Windows then to get a proper OS finally.......Lol!!!
Just kidding.....


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## pcharouz

sa_ill said:


> My U7 doesnt support OS X. What a bummer considering I have a Macbook and the U7 is marketed as a portable DAC.
> 
> Any workarounds to get it working in Max OS X?
> The volume knob works, but it affects the volume of the laptop speakers.


 
 try using the USB 1.1 mode!


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## qazico

Where did you guys buy the U7 from?


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## pietcux

Got mine from Amazon UK


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## f iDeL

Hi! I have some questions about xonar u7.
 Is it possible to connect ex: Fiio e10 to xonar u7? so I'll have for example my 5.1 speakers to xonar and then I'll output to e10 from my xonar.
 I bought xonar u7 but I would like to use a better amp or dac/amp for my headphones.
  
 I mainly use u7 just because I can put my mic and output to my 5.1 but is it possible through spdif to output to a better dac/amp for my headphones?. If so, what are your recommendations? max 200$
  
 Thanks.


----------



## mrlimbo

Is the sound like the stx ?(as someone stated in the thread) for me that means harsh and bright , if so , i'll cross this of my list of cards to replace my stx !!


----------



## mchart

Figured I'd post some thoughts about this device. I purchased one as I sold off my top of the line Desktop for a new Alienware laptop. The Alienware laptop like most things these days had the generic Realtek audio. Was using a STX in the desktop paired with some Q701's so I wasn't willing to take a step back on the audio department with my Laptop.
  
 Anyways, while it is technically inferior to the STX I have to say I personally find the sound of the U7 to be better. This likely has to do with not being inside a noisy computer case.
  
 The control panel of the U7 is pretty crap IMO. It has everything you need. It's just not easy to access. The STX's control panel had everything you needed right on the main page. Easy to access and easy to change. Now, the U7 does have the ease of being able to push the volume button to switch between headphone/speaker output. Still, other options are buried in the U7's control panel.
  
 Finally, there is a serious issue with the U7 control panel / drivers in regards to Virtual Surround. The U7 offers both XEAR Surround, and Dolby Headphone. Good. Great. I wanted Dolby Headphone as I game a lot. ... What's this? The most channels I can select in Windows/U7 Control panel are two? Can't select 5.1. Can't select 7.1. I basically can't tell Windows, and thus the games that I play that I want audio to be passed to the U7 with all channels. This means that while the U7 has Dolby Headphone it is worthless. Dolby Headphone needs the surround channels passed to it to work properly. Switching to the speaker output gives one the option for 5.1/7.1 but you can't hook up headphones to the left/right jacks and expect virtual surround to work properly as when you select anything more then stereo for the speaker output the U7 is passing the extra channels to the additional jacks as it should.
  
 I assume this is just an oversight in the drivers, but come on guys.
  
 Other then that I find it to be an outstanding product when compared to the also outstanding STX.


----------



## pietcux

Dolby assured me that you get all available channels passed through but a headphone simply only has 2 speakers, so Windows shows only 2. The 7.1 signal is complete, but must be virtualized to 2 channel as there are no more. I also had teh STX and still have the U1 which uses the same interface as the STX. The sound via Dolby is as good as the U1, but has a much higher quality.


----------



## mchart

pietcux said:


> Dolby assured me that you get all available channels passed through but a headphone simply only has 2 speakers, so Windows shows only 2. The 7.1 signal is complete, but must be virtualized to 2 channel as there are no more. I also had teh STX and still have the U1 which uses the same interface as the STX. The sound via Dolby is as good as the U1, but has a much higher quality.




I don't see how this is possible. Yes, headphones are stereo. The problem is that with the U7 windows will only allow 2 channels passed to the u7 itself. With the STX you can set it to 7.1 while using the headphone out, then Dolby Headphone can do its job. 

This is a serious oversight in the U7 drivers.


----------



## pietcux

I can only tell you from playing games like COD Ghosts that it works perfectly. Sure I had the same What like you, but setting the channels to 7.1 in the STX interface did not alter the surround effect at all. You know two speakers cannot get real 7.1 channels, it has to be simulated. Maybe you select a movie with good surround effect andtest it. switch Dolby on and of while watching. just in the Dolby panel is the on/off button. Testing it with LOTR DVD The Bridge of Karzad Dhum. The goblins are all aroud me, perfect version of headphone surround....


----------



## stv014

mchart said:


> The problem is that with the U7 windows will only allow 2 channels passed to the u7 itself.


 
  
 Technically, it is probably not the U7 that does the virtualization itself in hardware, but the C-Media/ASUS Windows drivers in software. So, the audio data passed to the U7 via USB is most likely already stereo.


----------



## JayBrand

Hey, thanks for taking the time to write this thread!
  
 I am a noob when it comes to audio in general. I have always skimped on the soundcards and equipment and could use some help now to finally get some decent sound in my games.
 I got a laptop with the standard Realtek audio and I started this search looking for a good headset for my Battlefield 4 days. And getting virtual surround sound is something I desire.
 I have been stalking the Sennheiser PC 360 and a couple of others that claim to offer 5.1 and/or 7.1.
 But I quickly realised that my lappy would need help with running these so thus I stumbled upon a mention of the Xonar U7.
  
 Now to my question(s):
  
 1. Will this offer 7.1 vSurround on any headset? Even ones like the Sennheiser PC360 that isn't advertised as a 7.1 headset?
 2. Would I still have need for equipment like Astro MixAmp etc that I have heard about? Or the Sennheiser PC363D's additional amp-thing?
 3. Is there anything specific I need/should do to ensure the equipment delivers it's best or will it take care of things pretty much automatically? (I see some headsets come with EQ presets..dose this as well?)
 4. It's just PC - USB - XU7 - 3.5 jack - Headset right? No other complicating connection mess required?
  
  
  
 Thanks for all help given to a man sinking in the vast new ocean that is quality audio


----------



## davidsh

jaybrand said:


> 1. Will this offer 7.1 vSurround on any headset? Even ones like the Sennheiser PC360 that isn't advertised as a 7.1 headset?
> *Yes.*
> 2. Would I still have need for equipment like Astro MixAmp etc that I have heard about? Or the Sennheiser PC363D's additional amp-thing?
> *No.*
> ...


 
 Some headohones might need amplifiers, though.


----------



## JayBrand

davidsh said:


> Some headohones might need amplifiers, though.


 
  
 Thanks a lot for taking the time to comment, Davidsh.
  
 Out of curiosity (know this is prolly asked a lot):
 Are there any other headsets, that would pair up well with the XU7 that are good for gaming and has a decent mic, that I should consider over the PC360?
  
 For example Plantronics RIG or Plantronics PC 363D?
 These have their own amps (i think) so would I not need the Xonar U7 with these?


----------



## davidsh

jaybrand said:


> Thanks a lot for taking the time to comment, Davidsh.
> 
> Out of curiosity (know this is prolly asked a lot):
> Are there any other headsets, that would pair up well with the XU7 that are good for gaming and has a decent mic, that I should consider over the PC360?
> ...


 
  
 Well, hard to say. The only other headset I can recommend is the beyer mmx300. Or perhaps the siberia v2 in some cases. You ain't gonna find a lot of opinions on headsets here on the forum.
  
 Else, theres the antlion modmic and others like it or just an external mic.


----------



## mchart

Or just skip a headset and get a decent set of normal cans and a modmic.
  
http://www.modmic.com/
  
 Got one of these I use with my Q701 and it works great.


----------



## pietcux

I use pc > U7 > AKG K702. And a stand alone mic that came with my Xonar U1. Works perfect.


----------



## JayBrand

Yeah, I probably would have gone the ModMic way if they were available and cheaper to get imported.
  
 I've also noticed that some sets come with USB only, or if you want to utilize the Plantronics' mixer you have to use USB.
 Is there a way to connect something like the mixer through the U7 and get the best of both?


----------



## FightCat

Hello,
  
 Just purchased a pair of HD650 yesterday.
  
 Hi-fi enthusiasts in Turkey have recommended Matrix M-Stage Dac/Amp to go with it whereas I had Asus Xonar U7 in mind.
  
 Gaming-wise which one should I go for? Music-wise, would U7 be trampled too badly by Matrix ?
  
 Thank you.


----------



## davidsh

fightcat said:


> Hello,
> 
> Just purchased a pair of HD650 yesterday.
> 
> ...


 
 It's the matrix m-stage with the m-stage DAC, right?


----------



## FightCat

davidsh said:


> It's the matrix m-stage with the m-stage DAC, right?


 
 Yes, dac and amp.


----------



## davidsh

fightcat said:


> davidsh said:
> 
> 
> > It's the matrix m-stage with the m-stage DAC, right?
> ...


 
 If I am not mistaken, the m-stage should have optical input, right? If so, you should get the u3 (it's pretty cheap), as it has optical output. You can also get Dolby Headphones (virtual surround) and all the other effects out of the optical output. I'd suggest you do it that way.


----------



## FightCat

davidsh said:


> If I am not mistaken, the m-stage should have optical input, right? If so, you should get the u3 (it's pretty cheap), as it has optical output. You can also get Dolby Headphones (virtual surround) and all the other effects out of the optical output. I'd suggest you do it that way.


 
 Umm, the correlation between optical output and Dolby please?
  
 I've been away from my Logitech Z5500 for more than two years so I've completely forgot what's what about audio connections, forgive me.


----------



## davidsh

You can use all the features of the u3 with the good sound of the matrix m-stage, provided the m-stage has optical input (which I think it has?). Like this pc->u3->m-stage->headphones.
Dolby headphones is virtual surround, good for gaming


----------



## FightCat

davidsh said:


> You can use all the features of the u3 with the good sound of the matrix m-stage, provided the m-stage has optical input (which I think it has?). Like this pc->u3->m-stage->headphones.
> Dolby headphones is virtual surround, good for gaming


 
  
 Why not only an Asus Xonar U7 by itself ?


----------



## davidsh

It's your money, but the hd650 is said to need some proper amping to sound good. I doubt the u7 will deliver as well as the m-stage.


----------



## pietcux

The HD 650 is not too hard to drive. The U7 can do that very well. I use my AKG K702 for gaming with the U7. And even that one is good for music on the U7.


----------



## FightCat

So I've been using my U7 for a day now combined with HD650.
  
 At max volume, I notice the treble distortion (I don't exactly know the word for it) you'd normally hear when you'd turn up the volume too much on a TV, for example.
  
 Is it expected or one of the components is too less/too much for the other ?


----------



## pietcux

fightcat said:


> So I've been using my U7 for a day now combined with HD650.
> 
> At max volume, I notice the treble distortion (I don't exactly know the word for it) you'd normally hear when you'd turn up the volume too much on a TV, for example.
> 
> Is it expected or one of the components is too less/too much for the other ?


 
 Did you select the gain setting according to your needs? Low gain could be less than what the D 650 needs. I would run it from either medium or high gain. Then you should not have to max out the volume. But as I have sold the HD 650 long ago, I cannot test it for you.
 See this for the explanation:
 http://www.head-fi.org/t/669127/asus-xonar-u7-dac-amp-appreciation-impressions-thread#post_9545846


----------



## FightCat

pietcux said:


> Did you select the gain setting according to your needs? Low gain could be less than what the D 650 needs. I would run it from either medium or high gain. Then you should not have to max out the volume. But as I have sold the HD 650 long ago, I cannot test it for you.
> See this for the explanation:
> http://www.head-fi.org/t/669127/asus-xonar-u7-dac-amp-appreciation-impressions-thread#post_9545846


 
  
 Thank you but I already was using it at high gain.


----------



## ployez

Thanks for all the great insight on this DAC / Amp, I'm strongly considering purchasing it in favor of other external DACs such as the Audioengine d1 or Aune models.
  
 One question I had, for owners of the device, is regarding the volume control. Is the volume control 'software' based, i.e. driver-dependent, or does it occur post digital conversion in hardware? In other words, when turning the volume knob, does the volume level in Windows or in the device's driver software move, or is it an entirely analog adjustment that uses a built in amplifier? Hopefully the way I've worded this question is clear, I'd really like to know.
  
 The other thing I was wondering was regarding Mac compatibility. I use both Windows and Mac, and although I'm sure the dolby functions, driver software etc. probably wouldn't work with the Mac OS I was wondering if the basic audio functionality and volume control works. The manual for the u7 says that it's supposed to work with Macs in USB 2.0 mode, which is a little counterintuitive since USB 1.1 is usually 'driverless', but in any case if anyone has tried fiddling with the device on Macs I'd be grateful for any insight you have.


----------



## gdourado

How does the U7 compare to the Fiio E17?
  
 Cheers!


----------



## pietcux

ployez said:


> Thanks for all the great insight on this DAC / Amp, I'm strongly considering purchasing it in favor of other external DACs such as the Audioengine d1 or Aune models.
> 
> One question I had, for owners of the device, is regarding the volume control. Is the volume control 'software' based, i.e. driver-dependent, or does it occur post digital conversion in hardware? In other words, when turning the volume knob, does the volume level in Windows or in the device's driver software move, or is it an entirely analog adjustment that uses a built in amplifier? Hopefully the way I've worded this question is clear, I'd really like to know.
> 
> The other thing I was wondering was regarding Mac compatibility. I use both Windows and Mac, and although I'm sure the dolby functions, driver software etc. probably wouldn't work with the Mac OS I was wondering if the basic audio functionality and volume control works. The manual for the u7 says that it's supposed to work with Macs in USB 2.0 mode, which is a little counterintuitive since USB 1.1 is usually 'driverless', but in any case if anyone has tried fiddling with the device on Macs I'd be grateful for any insight you have.


 

 It works on a Macbook Air. The volume control works fine. The sound is very good. The gain setting was probably low. The AKG K702 was not overly loud. But besides that you have no settings. The function is very basic. Due to Christmas my son who is a Mac fan is with us so I could finally test it. SPDIF was also available.


----------



## ployez

Hey, thanks for the response.
  
 By S/PDIF I assume you mean the optical output, since the u7 has not optical input. Good to know.
  
 So, when adjusting the volume, does it adjust the system volume on the Mac? Or is the volume 'post-dac' stage?


----------



## pietcux

It is the system volume of the MAC and yes it is optical out.


----------



## Aarsdal

Thanks for all the replies! 
Will the U7 work perfectly with my Razer Tiamat 7.1 headset?


----------



## gdourado

Just to listen to music in ALAC what is the better performance unit?
The U7 or a Fiio E10?


----------



## pietcux

Dunno about the E10. But the U7 provides you with Dolby Headphone and has a very good headphone amp. The Fiio E12 is more powerful though. But is only on amp, no dac. I am fine with the U7 for gaming. If you buy thr U3 and use its optical out, you can feed the E10 with the Dolby signal and benefit from the E10 amp section.


----------



## mchart

Dolby Headphone is still not able to be used properly with this product FYI. I know there a few that may disagree with me but I know enough about how Windows works to know that Dolby Headphone will absolutely not function correctly if it is not receiving multi-channel audio from Windows under Windows Vista +.
  
 Again, since Windows Vista most applications/games output audio based on what you have selected in windows. When in Headphone mode the U7 driver only allows two channel (stereo) audio. This is unlike the STX, or any number of other sound cards where you can run the thing with Headphone out but still select 5.1/7.1 in Windows/the driver control panel.
  
 This becomes a problem in regards to using virtual surround as when you have the DH DSP active it is only taking two channels and applying any environmental effects it typically does. Without the driver receiving multi-channel audio from Windows due to the stereo limitation this is what happens.
  
 Again, this is an easy fix with the U7 driver itself, but do not buy this product if you wish to use Dolby Headphone. It simply will not work. You can argue with me all you like that it is working, but logic dictates it cannot without receiving surround from Windows itself. To confirm that this is an issue go into any Game that typically reports what you also have selected in Windows and all you will see is Stereo. If the game see's stereo it's sure as **** not going to be handing off anything more then two-channel audio to windows/the driver.


----------



## pietcux

mchart said:


> Dolby Headphone is still not able to be used properly with this product FYI. I know there a few that may disagree with me but I know enough about how Windows works to know that Dolby Headphone will absolutely not function correctly if it is not receiving multi-channel audio from Windows under Windows Vista +.
> 
> Again, since Windows Vista most applications/games output audio based on what you have selected in windows. When in Headphone mode the U7 driver only allows two channel (stereo) audio. This is unlike the STX, or any number of other sound cards where you can run the thing with Headphone out but still select 5.1/7.1 in Windows/the driver control panel.
> 
> ...


 

 Do you own the U7? I mean, you are correct about what Windows is showing, but I have the U1, had the STX and have the U7. I have the same amount of surround effect with each of those, only Windows shows only two channels with the U7, my ears hear 7.1 though. I asked Dolby about this and they assured me that the U7 receives as much discrete channels as the source can provide. I was also thinking, am I missing something here? But anyways, the surround is there for me.


----------



## raoultrifan

pcharouz, really great review...indeed!
  
 I have a Xonar U7 card since 6 months ago and I'm enjoying it. I usually listen mostly to FLACs on AKG K550 headphones and sometimes to K701. There is plenty of volume for K550 on medium gain setting (32-64ohm) and there is almost enough volume for K701 too, but on the highest gain setting (64-150ohm). I preffer driving the K701 through O2 headamp, which sounds much louder and a bit fuller than U7.
  
 Anyway, seems that U7 has the same opamps as Audioengine D3 ($189): LME49726MY (which are designed for audio purposes: http://www.bdtic.com/DataSheet/TI/LME49726.pdf), according to http://chinese.vr-zone.com/84937/asus-xonar-u7-usb-soundcard-hand-on-review-10142013/ or to http://vrzchinese.blogspot.com/2013/10/asus-xonar-u7-usb.html or to http://www.hksilicon.com/kb/articles/276268/ASUS-Xonar-U7-USB, to http://pclab.pl/art53890.html and to http://www.coolpc.com.tw/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=79&t=127891&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a. Feel free to use google.translate.com or anything else to read the reviews properly. There are plenty of pictures with PCB with electronic parts too.
  
 Have fun reading and a happy new year to all, 
 Raul.


----------



## gdourado

Is the U7 fully compatible with Mac and OSX? Just plug and play with the USB?
 The Asus site says the U7 Echelon will work with OSX without extra drivers, but it does not mention the regular U7...
  
 Cheers!


----------



## pietcux

Then go get the Echelon. The standard U7 works, but only very basically. See my earlier post above.


----------



## raoultrifan

Like pietcux said before, in OSX there is a problem with adjusting the gain setting of the amp (which is most likely on the lowest gain setting). The same issue is happening on Linux.
  
 Instead, on Android 4.x the gain setting is stuck on the highest gain setting; I couldn't find a way to change this somehow.


----------



## retiredat21

does anybody know where i can buy this in the us? all I saw was shipping from hongkong or korea... damn..


----------



## Senccu

Does anyone have any idea how to get a subwoofer workin in a 2.1 setup with this sound card?I have my speakers plugged into the rca ports of the card and my yamaha yst-sw012 in the ctr sub port but all i can do is to configure it to a 5.1 setup without center and back speakers.And the sound is very weird,the sub is working but the stereos are getting a 5.1 signal or something and are echoing and i cant hear any singing.Sorry about grammar im in a breaking point after whole day trying to figure this out.I took 2 days of from work to get the sub from UPS and now when i got it the problems still go on.Help.Please.


----------



## raoultrifan

I was able to get perfect sound with the 5.1 setting on both RCA front speakers and the SUB port too. With the 7.1 setting everything was perfect too, same applies for quadro setting (subwoofer in one of the rear-out jack).
  
 I was playing some regular stereo music, YouTube and movies with VLC and wmplayer.
  
 So, maybe you have an environment effect applied by default? You should uncheck the Enable Environment Effects for better audition.


----------



## Senccu

raoultrifan said:


> I was able to get perfect sound with the 5.1 setting on both RCA front speakers and the SUB port too. With the 7.1 setting everything was perfect too, same applies for quadro setting (subwoofer in one of the rear-out jack).
> 
> I was playing some regular stereo music, YouTube and movies with VLC and wmplayer.
> 
> So, maybe you have an environment effect applied by default? You should uncheck the Enable Environment Effects for better audition.


 
 Lol funny.Actually the subwoofer started working with stadium effect on.Sounded pretty weird tho,but it was on and working.How this can be so difficult i do not even....


----------



## Chogin

I have the exact same doubt:
  


> One question I had, for owners of the device, is regarding the volume control. Is the volume control 'software' based, i.e. driver-dependent, or does it occur post digital conversion in hardware? In other words, when turning the volume knob, does the volume level in Windows or in the device's driver software move, or is it an entirely analog adjustment that uses a built in amplifier? Hopefully the way I've worded this question is clear, I'd really like to know.


 
  
 When we don't have any headphone connected and we turn the volume nob on the Xonar U7 will it decrease Windows volume or is this the volume for U7's internal amplifier?


----------



## pietcux

If you disconnect all outputs, you will see the green Windows volume bar moving on your screen. That also happens, no matter which output is used. So the U7 volume is is permanently maxed but we adjust the input signal volume from the PC. Is that bad? I do not know.
 As far as I remeber all my soundcards so far did this, even the Xonar STX.


----------



## loadinglevelone

I'm having some problems with the U7 drivers. 
  
*1. *Whenever the Dolby Control panel is activated all stereo sound gets output to all 5.1 channels into some sort of weird surround-ish mix. The only way to get stereo music to output as true stereo (into left and right channel only) is to deactivate the dolby panel and select Hi-Fi mode from the Xonar panel.
  
 Is this normal? Why does the Dolby system try to upmix all my sound (regardless of settings)?
  
 2. Subwoofer sounds are not throughput to my front speaker. This is a bit of a problem as I have no subwoofer and hence miss out on all the LFE sounds. I've found no speaker configuration-settings in the Xonar or Dolby control-panel to adjust this. 
  
 --------
  
 My system: 5.0 system, set up with analogue cables to 5x mono-amplifier blocks. The windows sound settings are set to 5.1 with subwoofer disabled.


----------



## pietcux

You can uncheck the headphone virtualisation in the active Dolby panel. You can uncheck all functions of the panel seperately. But I do not know about the subwoofer part as I only use headphones or some very basic stereo speakers from Logitec. And yes ther is no 2.1 setting in the brown Xonar panel. only 5.1 and 7.1. Maybe Asus thought that 2.1 is out somehow. And in case of the 2.1 speakers that I had, the woofer got the full stereo signal and applied the bass to itself in mono and the mids and treble to the satelites in stereo. But the basic signal was full range stereo, not 2.1.


----------



## loadinglevelone

pietcux said:


> You can uncheck the headphone virtualisation in the active Dolby panel. You can uncheck all functions of the panel seperately.


 
  
 Yes, but even with all the setting unchecked the Dolby panel still behaves like described.
  
 Been testing a bit here and it definately seems like a bug. Sometimes the the sound is output in true stereo only and sometimes it is upmixed into 5.1. I have yet to pinpoint how and when this occurs. I can jump in and out of the Dolby panel without making any changes and suddenly it decides to output the sound correctly.
  
 Here's one way I have found though to get the Dolby panel to behave normally every single time:
 I set my system to 2.0 channels. Enter the Dolby panel and confirm that it outputs stereo only. I select music mode and disable everything. I then turn of the Dolby panel, set the system back to 5.1 and enable the Dolby panel again. The sound is now still output as stereo only. As soon as I touch any of the settings is immediately goes into upmix mode and stays that way regardless of settings.
  
 Until this bug is fixed I'm ditching the Dolby panel and using using Xonar panel only.
  
 (Oh and I have the latest drivers installed, btw).


----------



## loadinglevelone

Another question - what is the difference to the Echelon version of the U7 (besides the fancy army paint scheme)?
  
 I notice that for the Xonar U7 the latest driver available is Version 7.0.11.17,
 whereas for the U7 Echelon the lastest driver is: Version 7.0.11.19.
  
 Havent tested yet, but are there any reason why the Version 7.0.11.19 shouldnt work for the regular U7?


----------



## pietcux

I found the newer driver some time ago. On Windows7 64 it will not recognize my standard U7. I.e. there must be a little hardware difference.


----------



## Thewreck13

Just got this little guy but I am still undecided on my new headphones to use with it.  Debating between the Philips Fidelio X1 and AKG Q701.  I want to lean towards the Q701's but I am concerned the U7 wont be able to drive them properly (also concerned about build quality as they are now made in China, but thats a different discussion).  Any suggestions?


----------



## raoultrifan

Thewreck13, Xonar U7 will drive your Q701 at only about half of power, with headphone amp to max gain (0dB). For very quiet listening environments this might be a decent low cost choice.
  
 If you intend to use the U7 internal headphone amplifier and want to benefit by a full power driving then you should go for the Philips Fidelio.
 For full power driving and a much better listening experience for the AKG Q701 you will need to use an external amplifier connected to U7 (like Objective2 for example).
  
 A thread comparing X1 and Q701 might be this one: http://www.head-fi.org/t/670318/philips-fidelio-x1-review-comparison.


----------



## Thewreck13

Thanks for the response. Has anyone had the opportunity to compare the U7 to the Creative Sound Blaster Omni Surround 5.1?  The Omni has an 600 ohm amp which will drive the Q701 better but I havent seen any reviews for it.


----------



## raoultrifan

There's an almost empty thread here http://www.head-fi.org/t/695251/creative-sound-blaster-omni-surround-5-1-external-sound-card (you may want to add your question there as well) and a difficult to translate review over here: http://www.ixbt.com/multimedia/soundcard-duel-dec-2013.shtml.
  
 Anyway, the MAX97220A opamp from Omni seems to be able to drive 600 ohm cans, which U7's opamps (LME49726MY) can only drive up to 300ohm cans (at least in Xonar U7's amplifier). I believe there will not be a huge difference regarding the volume between the 2 USB external DACs, mostly because it's very hard to drive 600 ohms cans from a 5V USB voltage. According to http://www.maximintegrated.com/datasheet/index.mvp/id/7138, Omni could deliver decent audio performance on 600ohm cans, but you might want to wait until someone from head-fi.org will do a proper test on this external soundcard.


----------



## pietcux

I run my K702 from the U7 without any problems for gaming. Absolutely loud enough and a killer combo for sound whoring.


----------



## pcharouz

Btw, just tested it with a Retina MacBook Pro 2014 (13'), and its working perfectly via usb 2, plug and play, shows up as Speakers(switchable on unit) and SPDIF under audio settings


----------



## balionelis

Could someone compare Asus U7 with Fiio E17 and Cambridge Audio DacMagic XS ? Which one of these have widest soundstage, best vocal, bass (not quantity but quality like accuracy, depth.....)?


----------



## pcharouz

i haven't heard the E17, but here are the main differences
  
 u7
 -7.1 sound
 -dobly digital live
 -lots of software control inside pc
  
 e17
 -higher output
 -better stereo quality
 -battery powered/portable


----------



## pietcux

If you have not listened to the Fiio, how can you tell that they have a better stereo sound? Just saying.


----------



## pcharouz

I have heard other high quality sound equipment, and they have had a bit more power then the u7, from reading the reviews about the e17, i can kind of guesstimate the quality..
  
 If you do not trust my judgment, that is no problem  i was trying to help, and even specified that i do not actually own it, so that everyone can make up their own point of view...
  
 it comes down to what you want to use it for, the u7 for IEM's (don't need as much power) or surround sound systems, or the e17 for high impedance headphones, maybe stereo speakers
  
 I was deciding between the 2 as well, and since i  do not have any high ohm headphones, did not plan to use it outside of my house, have a home theater, and it was cheaper, the u7 was a clear choice


----------



## pietcux

That's ok. THe U7 drives my AKG k702 very well for gaming and movies. And music is also quite ok, but I do not listen to music very much from a computer, more from my DAP/AMP combos.


----------



## x7007

Hey,
  
 I have the Xonar Phoebus, I wanted to know how to use Headphones Surround with the DHTv4, I have it enabled in the menu.
  
 I wanted to know what do I need to choose when playing games that support 5.1 and 7.1 and movies DTS, DTS-HD MA that support 5.1 7.1 with normal players Potplayer, Media player home cinema, and programs like PowerDVD13 and Arcsoft Theater.
  
 As far I understand in windows it set to 2 channel cause the DHTv4 takes the 5.1 / 7.1 and down mixing it for headphones surround. so you won't have Virtual 5.1 or 7.1 speakers, Razer surround and Xear does that for QUALITY LOSS. DHTv4 doesn't seem to do that for that reason.
  
 So what are the settings do I need to use for games ? for example BF4, I don't know if Hi-Fi is 5.1 or 7.1 and so is Home Cinema but people say Hi-Fi for better Dynamic. and then Stereo and not surround on the speakers settings, I don't remember how it's called. Is that correct ? So if using Razer Surround then it needs to be Hi-Fi and surround cause we have virtual 7.1 speakers ? is that correct also.
  
 For other games that we can select speakers configuration, should we choose 5.1/7.1 or Stereo ?
  
 For movies what is the settings should I select for PotPlayer for example, will it depends on the movie, 5.1/7.1 or stereo ?
  

  
  
  
 And what settings should I choose for PowerDVD13 and Arcsoft when watching Blueray and such 5.1/7.1
  
  
 And this one for more info
 http://www.head-fi.org/t/703920/how-to-use-dolby-virtualizer-surround-with-stereo-headphones#post_10235509


----------



## x7007

Did anyone see this ?
  
  
 http://www.manualowl.com/m/Asus/XONAR-PHOEBUS/Manual/320155
  
 look on page 6.3.7 it has 7.1 Shifter !
  
  
 It has Direction and Distance.
  
 EDIT : Yes they said they replace it with DHTv4 , that's why they are gone !


----------



## pietcux

x7007 said:


> Hey,
> 
> I have the Xonar Phoebus, I wanted to know how to use Headphones Surround with the DHTv4, I have it enabled in the menu.
> 
> ...



Dolby simulates 7.1 for headphone, if the source has such information. For stereo music files, ther is a wider stage, but not much from behind you. In games it works very good in simulating surround, much better than Xear. Similar to Creative solutions. In game or in Power DVD I select as much cannels as possible, Dolby will provide it correctly to your ears using the two available speakets of your cans. I think they decided to remove the manual selection of speakers because many users messed the settings up and got a worse sound due to this. DOLBY assured me that the Dht4 system always uses all channels that are available.


----------



## x7007

pietcux said:


> Dolby simulates 7.1 for headphone, if the source has such information. For stereo music files, ther is a wider stage, but not much from behind you. In games it works very good in simulating surround, much better than Xear. Similar to Creative solutions. In game or in Power DVD I select as much cannels as possible, Dolby will provide it correctly to your ears using the two available speakets of your cans. I think they decided to remove the manual selection of speakers because many users messed the settings up and got a worse sound due to this. DOLBY assured me that the Dht4 system always uses all channels that are available.


 
  
 Ok, so if there is movie 5.1 and I choose 7.1 won't it cause problem ? Is it safe that I go with "Same as Input" to be safe ? Cause I noticed, when you choose 7.1 or 5.1 it makes the volume quiter compare to stereo 2.0 I dunno if that's suppose do that, cause with Xear the volume stays the same.
  
 And what about BattleField 4, what is the different between the Surround and Stereo speakers after the Hi-Fi and Home Cinema, why some say Stereo and some Surround ?


----------



## x7007

Anyone ?


----------



## Harvester

I recently bought the Xonar X3 and absolutely loved Dolby Headphones.  I'd set the number of audio channels to 6 (5.1) Turn on Dolby Headphone (dh1) and set surround in BF4....sounded great.  I loved it so much I decided to upgrade to U7....It arrived today and here is what I found:
  
 Dolby Home Theatre and the U7 in general seems to be crippled to 2 channel audio when in Headphone Mode. This renders Dolby Headphones into more of a stereo expander rather than a 5.1/7.1 virtualizer like it was in the U3 and the older sound cards.  The newer internal sound cards seems to have fallen into the same sad shape.   I have no idea why this was done but you can read these links and see for yourself that Asus is aware of it but hasn't made any indication that it will ever be changed. 
  
http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?34437-Stumbled-upon-advanced-tunning-for-dolby-home-theatre&highlight=dolby+home+theatre
  
http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?40778-Whql-win-8.1-driver&p=344867&viewfull=1#post344867
  
  
 So as of right now it seems that my upgrade wasn't much of an upgrade if I want to continue using Dolby Headphones....as a matter of fact I think it was actually a downgrade.
  
 I'll keep fiddling with things.....if any one has different info I'd love to hear it.
  
 Thanks in advance!


----------



## alienden

What do you guys think of Creative Omni? Worth trying? I heard good things about SBX Pro.


----------



## x7007

harvester said:


> I recently bought the Xonar X3 and absolutely loved Dolby Headphones.  I'd set the number of audio channels to 6 (5.1) Turn on Dolby Headphone (dh1) and set surround in BF4....sounded great.  I loved it so much I decided to upgrade to U7....It arrived today and here is what I found:
> 
> Dolby Home Theatre and the U7 in general seems to be crippled to 2 channel audio when in Headphone Mode. This renders Dolby Headphones into more of a stereo expander rather than a 5.1/7.1 virtualizer like it was in the U3 and the older sound cards.  The newer internal sound cards seems to have fallen into the same sad shape.   I have no idea why this was done but you can read these links and see for yourself that Asus is aware of it but hasn't made any indication that it will ever be changed.
> 
> ...


 

 Dolby Theater is exactly the same, it just does it behind of what u see, it activates Shifter 7.1 automatically and 5.1 surround, I tried to test 7.1 speakers but it doesn't work. in games u can feel the differences and don't use Surround in BF4. use Hi-Fi and Stereo. Surround is if you use real 5.1 or 7.1 not virtual. That's what I heard from people and it does sound better as I played more with Stereo.


----------



## Harvester

x7007 said:


> Dolby Theater is exactly the same, it just does it behind of what u see, it activates Shifter 7.1 automatically and 5.1 surround, I tried to test 7.1 speakers but it doesn't work. in games u can feel the differences and don't use Surround in BF4. use Hi-Fi and Stereo. Surround is if you use real 5.1 or 7.1 not virtual. That's what I heard from people and it does sound better as I played more with Stereo.


 
 Hi Thanks for the reply.
  
 I just received the U7 so as I have time I'll try to get it setup so that Dolby Theater's Dolby Headphone sounds like it did on my U3.
  
 I just can't get over the fact that Windows shows it as only being 2 channel audio when in Headphone mode.....are you sure it switches on 5.1 in the background somehow?  If you don't mind me asking, where did you get that info from?
  
 I'll try using Stereo Mode instead of Surround in BF4....but that doesn't seem right.  How can Dolby Headphones know what to put in the right rear channel if it is only being fed 2 channel (left/right) audio?  I would think Dolby Headphones would need to be fed the discrete 6 audio channels (5.1) in order to downmix/virtualize that info into 2 channel stereo....but I'm not an expert....
  
 I just can't get over the feeling that U7/Dolby Theater has castrated Dolby Headphones by feeding it only 2 channel audio.....hopefully I am wrong.


----------



## x7007

harvester said:


> Hi Thanks for the reply.
> 
> I just received the U7 so as I have time I'll try to get it setup so that Dolby Theater's Dolby Headphone sounds like it did on my U3.
> 
> ...


 

 It says on the Xonar Phoebus manual, that Dolby Theater is the new GUI for Dolby 7.1 Shifter and 5.1 Surround, what it does is Downmix and not upmix, so you can't have real Speakers on your headphones,, they are virtual, so what it makes is Surround to 2 headphones, not distercte speakers. I saw people say use Stereo cause you have already Dolby Surround doing the surround. U need surround only when you have Real Speakers, cause Hi-Fi is already 5.1 and maybe Home Cinema is 7.1 I'm not sure, but u use Hi-Fi so you need Stereo and Dolby surround does the virtual surround.


----------



## pietcux

Hi all,
 I had a little conversation with Dolby last year regarding this issue. Please check:
  
 Me:
 As a long time user of Dolby Headphone technology from Asus Xonar soundcards, I am concerned that the new Dolby® Home Theater v4 headphone implementation found on the Xonar U7 might be inferior to the classical Dolby Headphone. Please clarify that for me.
  
 Thanks Peter
  
 Hi Peter
 I apologize for the delay in responding to your email, the team was attending E3 last week. The algorithms between Dolby Headphone and Dolby Home Theater v4 for headphone virtualization are the same, so there shouldn’t be any difference. You may be hearing a difference because DHT v4 features things like volume leveling, dialogue enhancement, etc.
 I hope this helps. Best
  
 The Dolby Game Team
  
 Me:
  
 Hi again,
 here comes the next question. This is a big discussion on HeadFi.org. When DHT v4 is activated for headphone use, does Windows or the running application send real 5.1 or 7.1 to the sound processor ? Or does it only provide stereo information that is kind of processed to sound like surround. So is it real multi-channel information or only stereo the basis for what DHT v4 sends to the headphone? That is very important for a lot of FPS gamers out on HeadFi.org and elsewhere. And the new interface tells us nothing about what’s going on behind the curtain…
 Please clarify
  
 Peter
  
 Hi Peter,
 Thanks for the email. In Dolby Home Theater v4 the headphone virtualizer algorithm receives and processes discrete multichannel audio. Hope this helps. -
  
 The Dolby Game Team
  
 For me the the issue is solved, because it works audible. It works in games like COD, Battlefield Bad Company 2 and Crysis 3, and in movies like The Matrix. Only that Windows shows 2 speakers only makes us all worry.... but as I said it works perfectly. I also have the Xonar U1 which uses the old interface with DH and all that stuff. Windows shows up to 8 speaker when I use it, but the effects are the same as on the U7, only that the U7 sounds better overall.


----------



## x7007

pietcux said:


> Hi all,
> I had a little conversation with Dolby last year regarding this issue. Please check:
> 
> Me:
> ...





nice then. the problem is to choose in games 5.1 always yes ? Not stereo or headphones. and in battlefield 4 surround or stereo ?


----------



## pietcux

If you need stereo, you can disable Dolby completely.


----------



## x7007

pietcux said:


> If you need stereo, you can disable Dolby completely.




but should I select with DD stereo or surround and why.


----------



## Harvester

pietcux said:


> Hi all,
> I had a little conversation with Dolby last year regarding this issue. Please check:
> 
> Me:
> ...


 
  
  
 Sounds great.  I also sent them a message basically asking the same things you did but I haven't received an answer yet.
  
 BTW, Have you ever seen the DHTV4 manual the Xonar manual refers to?  Google search turned up nothing.
  
 I also have both the U7 and the U7 Echelon Edition.  If anyone has any questions about the differences between the 2 models are I'd do my best to answer them.
  
 Some obvious differences I've noticed:
  
 a) The Echelon Edition definately has a quieter Headphone Amp.  I remember reading somewhere that the Echelon Edition was optimized for gaming headphones....maybe this is the reason it is not as powerful.
  
 b) The Xear Panel has been replaced by the Sonic Studio panel.  The Sonic Studio panel has most setting all on one page at the expense of some custom setting.  For example, I do not think you can set the room size for the headphone virtualization on the new panel.  
  
 c) The Echelon Edition also includes the Sonic Radar that is included with some of Asus motherboards.  It seems kind of gimmicky and I don't see much use for it really.
  
 d)  The Echelon Edition also seems to missing the ASIO driver that I see on the regular U7.  I'm not familiar with this so I'm not sure if that makes a difference.
  
 I'm sure there are other differences....let me know if you have any questions.....
  
 Here is a review of the Echelon Edition where you can see the new control panels:
  
http://www.kitguru.net/components/soundcard/zardon/asus-xonar-u7-echelon-edition-review/


----------



## raoultrifan

Hi Harvester, 
  
 Honestly, I don't think there should be any sound quality differences (others than effects used for gaming) between the regular U7 and the Echelon version of U7, mostly because hardware is exactly the same and ASUS specs looks identical on paper. So, if your original U7 has some background noise on headphones, then this might be caused by your sound source or by ASUS software or defective drivers. I'm only using the U7 for music and while listening, I always make sure that Dolby and ASUS control panel software are closed and all sound options are OFF (there should be a Hi-Fi setting in ASUS control panel). For testing background noise I always use sensitive 32ohms like AKG 550 or IEMs and trust me: U7 has no background noise at all (at max. gain and max. volume!).
  
 Besides the external aspect, I believe the only difference between the 2 cards would be the firmware; that's why when I was trying to install Echelon drivers & software on U7 didn't let me. 
  
 If you're able to take some inside screenshots and post'em here would be great. Also, if you can find some pictures with internal components of Echelon on Internet, please let us know. This way we can find out if there really should be any differences between U7 and Echelon, besides the ASUS software included in the package.
  
 Regards!


----------



## pcharouz

So who will be the first to hack the echelon firmware on the classic one?


----------



## Xepo

Hi Folks,
  
 I'm planning to buy this (apparently) wonderful piece of hardware. However, I was wondering if the following is possible? I'd like to set the u7 up like this:
  
 PC -> U7 -> 5.1 system (via optical/coax)
                 -> Headphone via front (ill plug them in only when using)
  
 Now, as far as i know, the u7 will automatically switch to the headphone setting when connecting a pair of headphones? Can I configurate the u7 so that, when I have no headphones attached, the u7 outputs dolby digital live over optical/coax to my sound system and then when I plug in my headphones, it switches to Dolby Headphone? And in reverse ofcourse, when I remove the headphones?
  
 I hope my situation is clear, thanks in advance for any insights =)


----------



## pietcux

Mine always switches to headphone when I plug them in. Only in some games and application the driver crashes on switching in the process. So you'd better decide before you start an app if you want speakers or headphones. This will probably be fixed by a new driver revision sooner or later.


----------



## Harvester

raoultrifan said:


> Hi Harvester,
> 
> Honestly, I don't think there should be any sound quality differences (others than effects used for gaming) between the regular U7 and the Echelon version of U7, mostly because hardware is exactly the same and ASUS specs looks identical on paper. So, if your original U7 has some background noise on headphones, then this might be caused by your sound source or by ASUS software or defective drivers. I'm only using the U7 for music and while listening, I always make sure that Dolby and ASUS control panel software are closed and all sound options are OFF (there should be a Hi-Fi setting in ASUS control panel). For testing background noise I always use sensitive 32ohms like AKG 550 or IEMs and trust me: U7 has no background noise at all (at max. gain and max. volume!).
> 
> ...


 
 Bad choice of words on my part.  When I said that the amp was quieter on the Echelon version I meant that it was not as loud.     But you are correct.  I reinstalled the Echelon version and the two version do indeed have the same volume level on headphones.  If I see a review with pictures of the internal components I will link it here.
  


xepo said:


> Hi Folks,
> 
> I'm planning to buy this (apparently) wonderful piece of hardware. However, I was wondering if the following is possible? I'd like to set the u7 up like this:
> 
> ...


 
 I do not use the optical connector but I can tell you that the manual says that the speaker/headphones are muted while you are using  DDL through the optical output.   I would think that you can indeed leave the headphones plugged in and just switch between between the two depending on which you wanted to use at the time....maybe someone that actually uses the optical output could tell you for sure.
  
 Also, the dolby headphones option is in software so I you will have to manually turn that off and on....but it's not that difficult to do


----------



## Xepo

Thank you for your answers, both of you =)
  
 I can see that switching in the software is a breeze, but I'm trying to create a system that does almost everything automatic; so for my purpose I think I'd better go for DDL output on my realtek soundcard and then split the optical; one going to my receiver and one going to something like a mixamp.


----------



## Jakob789521

I heard good things about it, It has a big amp but sacrifices a little audio quality compared.
 And apparently the sound is too fake or enhanced. mainly good for games etc
  
 This is just what I heard. Never used it myself.
  
 Quick question though, I have a Xonar U7 and Sennheiser HD598's, and am feeling like this U7 isn't driving them enough, I can put them on high gain at 100% while being comfortable. I ordered a USB powered HUB to check that it's not the power from the laptop.
  
 I need a higher volume as I play piano through a VST.
  
 Any ideas guys?
 Thanks


----------



## pcharouz

jakob789521 said:


> I heard good things about it, It has a big amp but sacrifices a little audio quality compared.
> And apparently the sound is too fake or enhanced. mainly good for games etc
> 
> This is just what I heard. Never used it myself.
> ...


 
 as I said in my review, unfortunately the U7 is not all that power-full, only thing you could try is getting a dedicated headphone amp, and use the u7 as a DAC..


----------



## Jakob789521

Oh  I read the review but didn't think it would be this quiet. I will try the USB hub anyway as I have ordered one. It may have to do with the fact I am using a midi keyboard as well as the soundcard next to eachother. 
  
 What external Amplifier do you recommend with the asus as a dac?
  
 Also how quiet would my recordings be if there not even loud enough for my headphones with the internal amp? I presume the amp in the xonar only does headphones?
  
 Thanks for the help


----------



## pietcux

jakob789521 said:


> I heard good things about it, It has a big amp but sacrifices a little audio quality compared.
> And apparently the sound is too fake or enhanced. mainly good for games etc
> 
> This is just what I heard. Never used it myself.
> ...


 

 I have the AKG K702 running on medium gain and it is more than loud enough to be too loud @ 60%  for me. The K702 is a hard to drive can it takes 3x the power to get to 90dB than you HD 598 if we belive Inner Fidelity. Did you notice the switch on the underside of the U7? It needs to be set to USB 2.0 to enable the U7 completely. You might want to check that.


----------



## 370685

Xonar U7 measurements:http://personalaudio.ru/raa/otchety/usiliteli/asus-xonar-u7-hp/
  
 If i understand correctly, the U7 has 19,8 Ohm output impedance. Its not good for driving IEMs/ low impedance headphones.
  
 The Xonar STX and the upcoming STX ll have 10ohm output impedance.


----------



## Jakob789521

Thanks for the advice guys, I checked the usb 2.0 setting and it was on.
  
 So maybe this isn't good enough to drive these headphones :/ I tried a usb powered hub and that made no difference. I can comfortably listen at full volume on high gain. This is trouble if I want to play piano.
  
 Do you think I should send it back and get another one? OR maybe a different one? It needs to be for a notebook.
 I only have a gaming laptop and a music one. So usb is the only option.
  
 I really like the sound of this Xonar, can't I just get a cheap amp to plug in the output of the xonar?
  
 Thanks again for helping out


----------



## xerxe

Hello,
  
 I was thinking of purchasing the U7. I will use it on my Win7 64 bit PC, for listening to music and capturing sound from my Korg synthesizer.
 I have a pair of Audiotechnica ATH-T500 with 40 Ohm impedance which I will use with the U7.
  
 I was wondering about the line-in of the U7, as no one seems to mention it (I read the entire thread, and also searched google, with no luck).
 My main concern: is the line-in stereo? I realize it could be a dumb question, but I'm considering that the microphone - which is usually mono - shares the same input with line-in.
  
 Apart from that, is the line-in quality acceptable? Can I get low latency with ASIO?
  
 Thanks in advance to anyone who can help me!


----------



## Jakob789521

Hey just to answer a few questions about the U7, Yes the line in is for a Mic, it is stereo so you have the option to plug in a Mp3 player etc. (The control panel lets you choose whether the input is Line in or Mic) It has a tremendous Mic boost, I have it on 10% haha. I haven't found a way to have mic playback like the realtek onboard would so :/ Havent really tested it out yet.


----------



## Jakob789521

And also the ASIO has 4ms latency on 16 or 24 bit. It can be changed if you want to higher levels maybe to increase sample size if you need it. My main problem is I have 50 ohm headphones (HD598's) and is too quiet when using Kontakt player to play piano. I need a headphone amp to put after the U7 that won't change the sound but will amplify for my headphones without distortion. Turning the volume up on Kontakt makes horrible crackling noises. So would really appreciate the help


----------



## 370685

jakob789521 said:


> And also the ASIO has 4ms latency on 16 or 24 bit. It can be changed if you want to higher levels maybe to increase sample size if you need it. My main problem is I have 50 ohm headphones (HD598's) and is too quiet when using Kontakt player to play piano. I need a headphone amp to put after the U7 that won't change the sound but will amplify for my headphones without distortion. Turning the volume up on Kontakt makes horrible crackling noises. So would really appreciate the help


 
  
 Popular Head-fi amps: Fiio E11, PA2V2, Fireye Mini Plus.


----------



## Jakob789521

Thanks for the reply, I like the Fiio one. 
 A few questions if I may:
 1.Does charging and using at the same time cause interference (If not how long does it last?)
 2.can it accept an analogue input such as 3.5mm jack?
 3.Will it change the sound effects or quality of my U7?
 4.what kind of gain can I expect? 
 5.I use my HD598's through my U7 a 100%+High gain and am comfortable, is this normal or faulty?
  
 Thanks for the help guys


----------



## pietcux

If you play music from a program like media player or the likes, is the listening level the same, or is it louder?


----------



## Jakob789521

I find that if I am using youtube etc I can turn the volume up in flash player and that's good enough but in Kontakt player that causes distortion. The pianos are really good but something in my setup makes my Kontakt distort. I really like the Xonar U7 because of all the features. I found an amp called the Objective 2 and am really interested in getting it to run a setup like:
 Laptop>U7>O2>HD598's  ?
  
 How would that work out? (Ill probably velcro the Xonar and O2 together and make some kind of elaborate design.)
  
 Thanks for the help


----------



## pietcux

That is a perfect idea. The O2 should be able to drive your HD598 with ease.


----------



## Jakob789521

That is Awesome, you have made my day, that is exactly what I wanted to hear 
  
 This means I can use the O2 for playing piano, listening to music and games. But also have the U7 for my Mic, Dolby and EQ and 7.1 if I ever want to.
 One last question, On realtek there was an option to turn Mic playback volume up to hear myself through headphones, Is there a way to do this on a U7?
 The U7 has a playback option but has delay :/
  
 Thanks Pietcux


----------



## xerxe

Thanks for the answers, Jakob!
 I see you also use the U7's line-in for your piano, happy playing!
  
 I am also thinking that I might need a headphone amp, but first I just want to see how the U7 manages with my T500s.
  
 BTW, pietcux, all the amps that you mentioned are portable, and use rechargeable batteries. Is there no wall-pluggable (and perhaps not-too-expensive, like < $100) alternative?


----------



## Jakob789521

No problem xerxe,
  
 Well I use a midi keyboard and a headphone out to for my piano, But that will soon be connected to the objective 2 amp.
 And yes try out the amp on the U7 first, Mine gets loud but I want to avoid turning volume up in Kontakt.
  
 Also I have been searching for something like you are, I didn't want portability, just quality.
 That is where I found the Objective 2, JDS supplies the USA and Epiphany supplies the UK, But I got mine from a guy in the UK who builds them at a much higher quality and look to the other two company's.  
  
 What is great about it is that it's meant to be plugged into the wall for full functionality, or it has two 9v batteries for portability (6.5x gain doesn't work on batteries but holy hell that would be loud) for 10+ hours battery life. So it's kinda like the best of both worlds. Check out the specs on it. I got mine for £85 delivered.
  
 Im still trying to decide if my U7 or my headphones are faulty because I have never had semi audiophile equipment and don't know how it should sound :/


----------



## pietcux

You might want to check the Fiio E12. I have two of this amp. One is the standard the other is the limited edition. Both play well when pwered by usb and also last quite longon the Iinternal battery. And this amp has a lot of power.


----------



## Jakob789521

Oh I didn't realise you could use it while charging :/ I remember one not allowing you to do that. I think it was the E12


----------



## pietcux

No the E12 allows that perfectly. I practice that daily.


----------



## Jakob789521

Oh it must have been the E11 I think


----------



## xerxe

Ok, so I just picked up my Xonar U7. I can't wait to get home tonight and try it! 
  
 As for the amp, the O2 seems nice. This should be the next step, in a few weeks. Unfortunately I don't think I can find it in my country so that I can give it a listen. I'll try some local forums, maybe I can find a nice person who would allow me a listen. 
  
 Fiio E10 is another good idea, i think.
 E11 is portable, and I don't really need portability, as I will only use it at home.
  
 Thank you very much for your replies, guys!
 I hope I can give something back to this community once I learn more.


----------



## Jakob789521

Nice it is very good, It's an all rounder for me  
  
 Yes the O2 is excellent, Which country are you in? and it doesn't really change the sound, it's just a really good amp, I use the sound card to change the sound.
  
 You would be surprised how small it is as well.
 (That's what she said)


----------



## xerxe

I'm in Romania. There are plenty of hi-fi shops, but most of the wares are for studio, and less for home use.
For instance, a shop only had headphone amps with 4 or even 8 headphone outputs! That is a bit too much for me


----------



## Jakob789521

Hmm then it's probably worth buying from the UK and waiting a couple extra days, But see how your headphones work with the U7 first  I only need the amp as I use a VST player that sucks when you turn it up haha.


----------



## xerxe

I finally installed it last night, and I'm very happy with it. It's driving very well my T500s, with the medium gain option (-6db). The sound is nice.
  
 But the line in doesn't seem to be working. The thing is, if I stick in a microphone, it's working, but with the keyboard it's not. It doesn't detect that a jack is inside, and no sound is captured.
 I'm starting to dig a bit, maybe I missed something.
  
 L.E.: I also tried a guitar plugged directly in. As line in, I can't hear it. As microphone, I can hear it, but it's awfully amplified and cut off.


----------



## Jakob789521

That's great I have to use high gain for some reason, Think im gunna send it back for a replacement.
 Are you plugging in the keyboard in the same usb slot as the U7? 
 And are you selecting line in for the guitar?


----------



## xerxe

I think I solved the problem, and that it was my 1/4" to 1/8" adapter that was causing the problem. I just wiped the jack with my fingers. 
 Now I only need to figure out how to remove line-in latency. I'm not using any programs, just "Listen to this device" in sound properties.
  
 Regarding the amping, I see the HD598 have 50 Ohm impedance. My phones have 40, and U7 is doing a good job driving them on medium gain. So, if high gain still isn't enough for you, then it might really be a faulty device.


----------



## xerxe

I found a workaround. Before I plug the mic in, I go to windows recording devices and disable U7 line-in. Conversely, when I plug in my keyboard, I re-enable line-in and disable the microphone.
I am happy with this workaround. I was thinking of returning the U7 before.

Now the only issue is the latency. Any idea how I can play my keyboard through the line-in without latency? Rather, with 40ms or less.
I think I do have ASIO, it came with the drivers, but I don't have ProTools, nor any other such software, although I might get one in the future. Are there other ways?


----------



## Jakob789521

Hey sometimes it can be the simplest things eh  Im glad you found a workaround I gotta try it, as I have a mic aswell and cant stand the latency through playback so thanks. As for Asio, if you click on the 'Xonar U7 Audio Centre' at the top somewhere will be a button that Said 'ASIO', If you click that you can change the latency, I hope that works for you. 
  
 As for my HD598, I have noticed the drivers rattling at really low base and High volumes
 http://www.audiocheck.net/soundtests_headphones.php
 If you activate bass checker does this do that to you also?
  
 And I might try and return it soon, I think you may be right :/ it sais high gain is for >64ohms lol, thats a lot more.
 Let me know how it works out
 Regards
 Jake


----------



## xerxe

Yes, I also get a rattle. I remember doing these tests when I got my headphones. Even at under 20Hz I can feel a rumble like a massive truck passing nearby. This is so even with my onboard sound device, so it must be the headphones.

But I haven't noticed any problems when listening to music. My favorite track for checking headphones is Massive Attack - I Against I. It has a lot of different sounds, high and low.

On a different note, I installed Krystal Audio Engine, and a trial for Cakewalk Sonar, and both let me play with good latency.


----------



## Fruit

I was looking for another external USB sound card after my old one does not support Windows 8. 
  
 Is this significantly better than *Creative X-Fi HD USB Soundcard*? I want to listen to music, have a volume control and be able to switch between headphones and speakers quickly but I really want excellent sound for 80GBP/130 USD.
  
 I am so tempted to buy this right now. 68 GBP!


----------



## xerxe

While I was doing my research I came up on a direct comparison between Asus Xonar U7 and Creative X-FI. I can't seem to find it now, though I remember that the reviewer was slightly inclined towards U7.
  
 What I can say is that, apart for the few problems I had with the U7's line-in (which I solved acceptably - see my previous few posts in this thread), it's an excellent buy for me.
 Consider that it's my first external sound device, though. I only had integrated sound cards.
  
 Last night I bought a phone jack-to-RCA adapter, to plug my desktop speakers in the U7. I have my headphones plugged in at all times, and the switch from one to the other goes well. There's around half of second of silence between redirecting the sound to the other output, but it's not a problem.


----------



## Fruit

xerxe said:


> Last night I bought a phone jack-to-RCA adapter, to plug my desktop speakers in the U7. I have my headphones plugged in at all times, and the switch from one to the other goes well. There's around half of second of silence between redirecting the sound to the other output, but it's not a problem.


 
 Thanks for you reply.
  
 I thought I was just able to keep my speakers plugged in at the back and when I needed my headphones I'd just plug them into the front jack for headphones. Have I been very confused?


----------



## pietcux

No that is what you can do. For the speakers you might need the aforementioned adapter. If you have both, speakers and headphones, connected, you can press the volume knob to swich between both outputs.


----------



## Fruit

Thanks guys, I am buying it from Amazon now!


----------



## xerxe

Nice! Post your opinion of it once you use it a bit, won't you?


----------



## Fruit

I will try to. It doesn't arrive until next week.


----------



## Reignski

Hey guys, I'm wondering if you could offer me some advice on the xonar U7.

 I purchased it the other day to temporarily supplement my audio until I invest into some big time audio equipment as well as requiring an optical out jack. I was expecting it, at the very least, to offer a slight lift to my SRH1440s, which drive quite well off the onboard sound with Realtek HD audio. I figured, as they are a 32ohm headphone, it should be fine. 

 However I have found that they don't seem to have the full rich sound and vivdness that I seem to get off my onboard (rear panel only, though.) There is a thinness in the mids and a less punchy and rich bass. There is less clarity, which is disappointing as the 1440s (with double-stacked pads) are able to be gently revealing while still being dreamy and rich in sound. the volume tends to be the same, if not slightly lower. Bear in mind that this is compared to the stock Realltek HD audio that came with my computer and only applies to the rear panel jack.

  Where have I gone wrong? Have I at all? I am thinking of packing it back up and going for a dedicated amp, but that doesn't necessarily offer me the spaciousness and virtual surround (realtek has it but it feels lacklustre) that is nice during gaming.

 Thoughts, Head-Fi?


----------



## pcharouz

Is it possible that you have some equalizer enabled on your Realtek? try using the software that came with the U7, and see if it helps...


----------



## pietcux

And avoid using any surround settings in the XEAR panel. Only use the Dolby software for that. The Xear stuff just sounds awfull and off on headphones.


----------



## xerxe

I eventually decided to return the U7, yesterday. It was not an easy decision, and I am convinced that it is a great device, but the latency issue makes it unsuitable for playing/recording instruments.
  
 I am now thinking to get a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 or Behringer U-Phoria 202, which both have the direct monitor option.
 While U7 was $100, these others are $160-180.


----------



## pietcux

Yes I think for producing music, you need a professional device. A friend of mine uses a Focusrite and it is also a good headamp.


----------



## fmene

Hello, I just got the U7 for my Laptop a few days ago. Now I am not very well informed on this matter, so please bear with me if my questions sound stupid.
  
 Anyway, I already have been using the Xonar D2X on my Desktop, where I grew very fond of the stereo to 5.1 upmix possibility (receiving a stereo signal and putting it out as 5.1). I was hoping to achieve similar results with the U7, but I find no such option in either the Xonar panel nor the Dolby Home Theatre one. Can somebody here maybe explain to me what I'm missing? Just fyi, I have the U7 connected directly connected to a 5.1 analog system.
  
 Thanks!


----------



## pietcux

The upmix only works for headphones on the U7. If you connect a 5.1 speaker system it can only output 5.1 if the source is 5.1. And for headphones it works very good.


----------



## devonkev

Thanks for all the advice in this thread Guys.I've now paired my Qpad 1339 with the u7 echelon edition.I'm now a very happy gamer..


----------



## pietcux

Please be aware that the sonic radar can be interpreted as a cheat in online multiplayer games.


----------



## yssrnwr275

Hi... I purchased the xonar u7 about a month back. I have windows 8 pro with media center 64 bit installed on my vaio laptop. I have realtek drivers and DHT v4 came preinstalled with them.. When I plugged in the xonar u7 and installed the latest drivers from asus website, everything is working perfectly. I have the xonar audio panel and I am very happy with the sound quality out of this thing. But my only problem is that the DHT v4 is still exactly the same as it was with the realtek drivers. There is no icon of Dolby in my taskbar but when I open it from speaker(Xonar u7) properties, it works. But I cannot expand it to use graphic equalizer, surround, dialogue enhancer etc. I am very disappointed as I am unable to use the full features of my xonar u7. When I try to install DHT v4 from the xonar u7 driver package, it shows DTH v4 setup wizard ended prematurely. Any help would be highly appreciated. Thanks!


----------



## pietcux

You might want to uninstall the existing DHT v4 that was preinstalled first. But honestly I have only experience with Windows 7 so far, will skip W8 and wait for W9 to come.


----------



## yssrnwr275

That's the problem! The preinstalled DHT v4 HAS no icon! Neither does it appear in the uninstall program tab in the control panel. It is only accessible from the Xonar u7 properties tab. The msi installer file that comes with the driver package is not completing the installation process. How did you install your DHT v4? Did you install it before or after installing the Xonar u7 Audio setup?


----------



## pietcux

For W7 it is included in the driver package. But as far as I remember it was only installed after the Xonar package.


----------



## oxygen1

Trying appreciate U7 a bit more lately. Currently using U7 as DAC → Meier PCSTEP as AMP → HD600, but do experience noticeable hiss. What can be improved in such case?


----------



## pietcux

Do you use the headphone out or the line out?


----------



## oxygen1

Yes, headphone line out


----------



## pietcux

Here are my settings:
 Itunes Adele I melt my heart to stone @ AAC 320 vbr > Xonar U7(on max vol/medium gain) > Meier Stepdance (low gain / vol 2pm) > AKG K702
 Result:
 absolute no hiss at all, the background is totally black


----------



## oxygen1

And you are using headphone out on U7 as well?


----------



## pietcux

Sure.


----------



## oxygen1

Damn, seems not lucky. My first U7 broke after 3 months of use and now can't pair them up with decent amp that well. May be it's the drivers on Win8 or just particular unit.  I'll try on Win7 setup at work.


----------



## Jaeger 77

Hello!
 I also own an Xonar U7 DAC/AMP (classic edition) and i want to post here some of my impressions about this soundcard:
 -very good upgrade from Realtek HD 898 (Carbon Based Lifeforms sounds a ton better now - big CBL fan here!
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 )
 -my ROCCAT KAVE sound more defined,more bassy than before (i play BF4 online).
 For music i have a pair of decent PHILIPS SHP 3000 cans and for gaming i use Roccat KAVE 5.1 headset. My OS is Windows 7 X64 SP1 and i have an desktop computer.
 Despite the fact that i'm overall pleased with the quality of sound,i have few cons,though...
 1) i heard some discrete white noise/harsh sometimes with DOLBY EQ on when i listen music,but when i switch off DOLBY that noise dissapear. The thing is that this ''noise'' is not present all the time,just to some melodys... I tested an audio file 24 bit/96 khz and sound is cristal and very pleasant with no interferences.
 2) in BF4,when i set KAVE to 24 bit/192 khz/5.1 ch i hear a little cracklings/hiss noises sometimes in the end of the round and not at all when the match is activ. Also in movies i heard a few times some strange noises,but very very rare. Curious that this noise is not present anymore and everything is cristal clear  if i use SHP 3000 with DOLBY vitualization set to max (sounds sick!).
 The switch for USB 2.0 was ON by default (factory) so i just leave it like that.
 My guess is that Win 7 X64 drivers for U7 are pretty bad (i have an D1 PCI before and OMG! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 ). Also mic work flawless with no interferences. As far as i remember,D1 act the same way like described in 2).
 I like to hear some opinions about this 2 ''problems'' that i encountered with my U7. Please forgive my english,is not my native language.
 Thanks for your opinions!


----------



## pietcux

I also think, that the drivers are suboptimal. Sometimes when I switch from loudspeakers to headphone the driver just crash and I have to reboot.....
 24/192 is nice to have, but the upscaling can create some noise.


----------



## Jaeger 77

That' what i tought so!
 Asus continue to ignore drivers for Win 7 X64. Two years ago i had very,very hard time with XONAR D1 and W 7 X64. Sadly,after all this years i see no improvements.
  
 L.E.
 Now that's funny! When i unpluged the mic,BF4 has no noise moments anymore in the end of the rounds! Despite the fact that i had no interference problems in Skype,the microphone prove to be the ''problem''?... Also when i unpluged the mic, line-in was greyed-out too... Hmm,strange situation!
 Why i think that under Windows 8.1 there is no such issues?...
  
 L.E 2
 Unbelieveble! I was mistake about noise dissapearing... Mic has nothing to do with that! I discover that simply turn off DOLBY EQ while i playing just stopped the discrete hiss in BF4.
 Why ASUS choose to implement this DOLBY crap i don't understand,instead to put a nice old-school 10 band EQ like they did with old Xonars..
 I know from the beginning it was just a software related issue,but i did not consider DOLBY.
 Curious is that PHILIPS SHP 3000 cans work brilliant with DOLBY in games and movies,but KAVE not!
 Maybe has something to do with some sort of incompatibility between DOLBY and high sound resolution like 24/192 setted for KAVE? With SHP 3000 i only set to 16/48.
 I don't have normal speakers to test,though.


----------



## chicolom

I missed Dolby Headphone so I picked up a *Xonar U7.*
  
 Too bad I can't actually get it to DO any legit Dolby Headphone.  Not sure if it even can.  It seems like it's crippled to only doing Pro Logic due to not being able to feed the Dolby software actual discrete multi-channel surround.  I think everything gets bottlenecked down two channels before Dolby sees it, then gets upmixed back to pro logic surround.
  
 I know pietcux mentioned that Dolby said it is supposed to still work somehow, but I'm not hearing it.  That conversation was just with Dolby, and doesn't take into account the Xonar side of things, which may still be gimping Dolby from working properly (bottlenecking sources down to 2 channels before Dolby even gets it.).
 http://www.head-fi.org/t/669127/asus-xonar-u7-dac-amp-appreciation-impressions-thread/150#post_10284764
  
  
 It's got three outputs, "Headphones, Speaker, and SPDIF". 
  
 1.  The "Headphones" output can only be set to 2 channel in windows.  No "Configure Speakers" options.  So you just supposed to set it as your default audio device and _trust_ that somehow the game is still going to decide to send discrete multi-channel audio to it so Dolby Headphone can work properly?  Can't seem to get it to work - everything sounds like pro-logic.
  
 2.  The "Speakers" output CAN be "configured" to 5.1 or 7.1, but it splits that output between 5 analog jacks at the back.  If you take a line out from the red/white RCAs, you only hear the front L/R channels of the mix. 
  
 3.  The SPDIF/optical output is either PCM or Dolby Digital.  The Dolby Digital is at least correctly encoded and without lag, but the PCM options doesn't properly apply Dolby Headphone when you try and enable it
  
You guys who claim your getting proper Dolby Headphone to work with this:  _What are your settings??_


----------



## MoerasGrizzly

Indeed, I have found that Dolby Headphone does lack this functionality. It works fine in games where games themselves allow you to select the output, and it works fine with, say, the K-Lite Codec Pack. But with games which auto-select their output based on what they think your setup is, it doesn't work (as they assume you have stereo, whilst with the Xonar Dg, you could trick these games into thinking you had 7.1).
  
 Although the surround virtualization with stereo audio still works rather decently and does actually give you some decent information,  it hardly works as well as a Xonar DG did when it was set to 8 channel mode.
  
 I have e-mailed this query to Asus support, and they had this to answer:
  


> Dear (My name),
> 
> Thank you for your email.
> 
> ...


----------



## pietcux

The specs of the Xonar Essence 2 which is released show dedicated Dolby Headphone like it's predecessors. The U7 is lacking it obviously. The older Xonar U1 still has this funtionality though.


----------



## MoerasGrizzly

It's not Dolby Headphone that is the issue here, though, it's being able to select the amount of input channels (2 4 6 8 channel selector in the older Xonar cards) what is missing.


----------



## pietcux

The DHT4 software simply does not have this selector.


----------



## MoerasGrizzly

True, but neither did dolby headphone - the option was integrated into the Xonar Audio Center, and u7 still has one of those.


----------



## pietcux

But you cannot force more than 2 audio channels when using headphone. So the Xonar software that accompanies the U7 is totally different from the one that comes with the U1, U3, Xonar Essence........
Maybe one could tweak the Windows registry somewhere to force 5.1 and 7.1 on the headphone out.


----------



## x7007

pietcux said:


> But you cannot force more than 2 audio channels when using headphone. So the Xonar software that accompanies the U7 is totally different from the one that comes with the U1, U3, Xonar Essence........
> Maybe one could tweak the Windows registry somewhere to force 5.1 and 7.1 on the headphone out.


 
 it would be good if it was possible with xonar phoebus too,, I need to use Razer surround to get it, they've upgrades the quality in the latest version.


----------



## MoerasGrizzly

pietcux said:


> But you cannot force more than 2 audio channels when using headphone. So the Xonar software that accompanies the U7 is totally different from the one that comes with the U1, U3, Xonar Essence........


 
  
 Yes I know, and I'd like to see this functionality back, hence me e-mailing support. It seems we are actually on the same page, but we both missed that .
  


> I need to use Razer surround to get it, they've upgrades the quality in the latest version.


  
 This is actually a good tip. Do you use Razer Surround in combo with DHT or do you use it seperately?


----------



## x7007

moerasgrizzly said:


> Yes I know, and I'd like to see this functionality back, hence me e-mailing support. It seems we are actually on the same page, but we both missed that .
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
 only Razer  surround , DHT is not needed combined with razer.


----------



## pietcux

Yea let's give Razor a shot. The first rev. was not too good. Especially with the sound that should come from behind you


----------



## chicolom

moerasgrizzly said:


> It's not Dolby Headphone that is the issue here, though, it's being able to select the amount of input channels (2 4 6 8 channel selector in the older Xonar cards) what is missing.


 
  
  
 Yeah, this ^. 
  
 Only being able to select 2 channels prevents you from getting the full discrete multi-channel information from your sources.


----------



## kh600rr

just got mine today.only played Borderlands 2 with it so far.still trying to figure out how to best set it up.looks like you guys aren't to happy with the surround sound.


----------



## Freddy1765

Great thread, read all the posts. This sound card is on the top of my list, probably buying one on monday; first I have a couple of questions though:
 - I plan on getting a pair of Beyerdynamic DT-770 Pro with impedance of 80 Ohm; since some appear to be having trouble driving 50 Ohm headphones, should I expect any of the same problems? 
 - As someone who's never owned an actual sound card and has never used surround sound in headphones, how does Skype handle it? I read that it's a bad idea playing music in surround mode, and I'm often on Skype while gaming and therefore wondering if the call will get all echo-y since the input is not 7.1.
 - The last post in this thread was about using Razer software instead of DHTv4, any update on this?
  
 Thanks in advance!


----------



## gerpogi

So how does the u7 compare with the sound blaster omni? I have the omni atm but I am interested in the u7 for a while now and I wanted to do abit more research before buying one.


----------



## Jaeger 77

freddy1765 said:


> Great thread, read all the posts. This sound card is on the top of my list, probably buying one on monday; first I have a couple of questions though:
> - I plan on getting a pair of Beyerdynamic DT-770 Pro with impedance of 80 Ohm; since some appear to be having trouble driving 50 Ohm headphones, should I expect any of the same problems?
> - As someone who's never owned an actual sound card and has never used surround sound in headphones, how does Skype handle it? I read that it's a bad idea playing music in surround mode, and I'm often on Skype while gaming and therefore wondering if the call will get all echo-y since the input is not 7.1.
> - The last post in this thread was about using Razer software instead of DHTv4, any update on this?
> ...


 

 U7 can (at least in theory,though...) drive cans with more than 60 ohm impedance. I'm pretty sure that your DT-770 will perform at their maximum with this soundcard. As for the SKYPE i can assure you that will work brilliant and your mates will here you cristal-clear
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 I play BF4 and i use SKYPE to communicate with my friends in the game and they hear me very well whithout any hiccups or interference. Don't forget to lower the microphone volume while on Skype,because at max volume your voice will be to loud and not so clear so your teammates can be a little...disturbed in those moments
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



 I don't know anything about RAZER software,i using DHT4 just when i listen music (i have some twekings on the EQ). In gaming and movies i don't use DHT because i hear sometimes a little interferences or humming/buzzing. I guess DHT4 is not fully compatible with W7 X64. Take note that if a lower the sample rate to 16 bit/48 khz,interferences dissapear in movies and games,though... I prefer 24 bit/192 khz when i use my ROCCAT KAVE 5.1 headset,so i simply turn-off DHT.  For listening music i use a pair of PHILIPS SHP-3000 with 16/48 sample rate and Dolby EQ on. I played few matches with my PHILIPS cans and DHT virtual surround set to maximum with 16/48 rate and i was amazed about how good is virtual sorrund sound 7.1 ch in games. Of course is not so powerfull and accurate like a pair of 5.1 real surround headset with 24/192 s. rate,but very close. If you use your Beyerdinamic cans with virtual surround and 16/48,you will have a lot of fun in games!
 Overall this soundcard has top performance for the price you pay


----------



## Freddy1765

Thank you for a comprehensive response! Pretty excited, wish it would be monday soon.. I always get these great ideas of new purchases on the weekends when everything is closed; it's terrible..!


----------



## kh600rr

I use my U7>duet amp> HD-800, for gaming . 
I really need a decent cheap 5.1 headset, to run in place if my HD-800. I've been looking, haven't settled on one I like yet. The Razer is a free download, so u can give it a try.


----------



## Freddy1765

Quick Google turned up some _very_ expensive Senn HD-800, are those the ones you're using? Wow. In what way aren't they good for gaming? Is it positional sound accuracy or? I mostly want immersion as I rarely play BF4 anymore; I assume that for immersion the headphones need just generally good sound quality, probably with a focus on the lower frequency range.
  
 By the way, I've gravitated toward the Audio Technica ATH-M50X as the switchable cables really appeal to me (I want to use the cans with my smartphone when traveling); the Beyerdynamic don't have much in  the way of portability, although people seem to generally prefer them (at least for gaming).


----------



## kh600rr

Yup, those are the ones. There fantastic for music, but for gaming, as you know we tend to get a bit excited at times. And flipping a pair of $1500 headphones , after your killed, isn't the smartest idea. There ok for positioning, but I really just want a gamers headset. I was looking at Best Buy the other day. They had lots of nice ones, going back again today. The ATH-M50x are a nice choice.


----------



## Freddy1765

Haha, good point. I don't think I would even dare to put on such an expensive pair of cans in the first place!
 Very excited about going to the music store tomorrow to have a listen, I hope my HTC One can adequately represent the headphones. Maybe I should pick up the Xonar U7 on the way and bring my MacBook for a proper listening session


----------



## pietcux

kh600rr said:


> Yup, those are the ones. There fantastic for music, but for gaming, as you know we tend to get a bit excited at times. And flipping a pair of $1500 headphones , after your killed, isn't the smartest idea. There ok for positioning, but I really just want a gamers headset. I was looking at Best Buy the other day. They had lots of nice ones, going back again today. The ATH-M50x are a nice choice.


 
 I use an AKG K702 for gaming, it was recommended by MLE in his thread about gaming with headphones. This can is very solid build and can take some beating.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/534479/mad-lust-envys-headphone-gaming-guide-update-4-17-2014-akg-k612-and-k712-pro-added-edits
 It is very neutral sounding and is very helpful for sound whoring, i.e. lets you know where the enemy is. It works flawless with the U7 BTW and I use the gaming preset from DHTV4. I am very satisfied with the Dolby surround simulation for headphones BTW.
 And a good headphone on surround simulation and a separate mic is most of the time better as a gaming headset. An exception is the Beyerdynamic MMX300 for sure, as it is a decent headphone with a mic.


----------



## gerpogi

gerpogi said:


> So how does the u7 compare with the sound blaster omni? I have the omni atm but I am interested in the u7 for a while now and I wanted to do abit more research before buying one.




Oh and I use a fidelio x1 if that matters.


----------



## kh600rr

Never tried the sound blaster, I do sometimes hook up my AK-240 dac, and use the Razer surrond sound . But I think the Dolby may be better. I think you'd be happy with the U7, order off amazon, and return if u don't like.


----------



## gerpogi

kh600rr said:


> Never tried the sound blaster, I do sometimes hook up my AK-240 dac, and use the Razer surrond sound . But I think the Dolby may be better. I think you'd be happy with the U7, order off amazon, and return if u don't like.




I have tried the Razer surround sound and it is very similar to the omni's headphones mode. The 5.1 surround sound on omni kind of sucked on headphones since I couldn't hear parts on my screen. I did own dolby gaming headphones before, (logitech g930, turtlebeach dx11, etc) and I did like the virtual surround sound on those, just not the headphone quality =\ . So I am curious if the virtual surround sound on the u7 is similar to the headphones I mentioned?


----------



## Freddy1765

According to previous posts in this this thread, the Xonar U7 uses the Dolby Home Theater v4, which is apparently a re-branding of the well-known Dolby Headphones. So I'd imagine the surround is about the same as those headphones you mentioned. I don't own the sound card myself yet, so can't definitively confirm.


----------



## pietcux

gerpogi said:


> So I am curious if the virtual surround sound on the u7 is similar to the headphones I mentioned?


 
 Yes, but depending on the headphone you drive with the U7 better to much better.


----------



## gerpogi

freddy1765 said:


> According to previous posts in this this thread, the Xonar U7 uses the Dolby Home Theater v4, which is apparently a re-branding of the well-known Dolby Headphones. So I'd imagine the surround is about the same as those headphones you mentioned. I don't own the sound card myself yet, so can't definitively confirm.



Ok thanks for the info! Yeah I read the previous threadi just wanted more info about it .




pietcux said:


> Yes, but depending on the headphone you drive with the U7 better to much better.




I use a fidelio x1 most of the Time. I do use a beats pro once in a while if I needed no outside noises to be heard.


----------



## Viceroy

Does the U7 have GX 2.5/3? Or none at all?
  
 In the past I have used a Xonar DGX, with the GX button enabled.
 In game for Counter-Strike Global Offensive, I have snd_legacy_surround 1
 Audio options 5.1 instead of headphones
  
 That setup sounds great for positional audio I find with my PC 360's.
  
 I'm just wondering if GX still exists on the U7. I don't see it on the main page.


----------



## pietcux

GX is not available on the U7. Most of today's games don't use it any longer.


----------



## pietcux

gerpogi said:


> Ok thanks for the info! Yeah I read the previous threadi just wanted more info about it .
> I use a fidelio x1 most of the Time. I do use a beats pro once in a while if I needed no outside noises to be heard.



The Fidelio is easy to drive, so no problem with the U7. But the stock cable seems to have a bad influence an the sound. You might want to exchange it.


----------



## Viceroy

pietcux said:


> GX is not available on the U7. Most of today's games don't use it any longer.


 
  
 I see. Thanks for the info.


----------



## Freddy1765

I found a guy who's selling a Fiio Qogir E09K that I'd like to pair with the U7 to drive some DT 770 or 990 250 Ohms, but I'd really like some fast feedback from someone who's using a desktop amp with their U7; is it a good idea? And can you turn the built-in amp off in the sound card? I imagine having two amps hooked up as a bad idea. 
Also, in terms of connections, is it PC -> USB -> U7 -> 3.5mm jack -> E09K -> 1/4'' jack -> headphones?
  
I'd appreciate some quick feedback so I know whether this amp would be of interest, thanks!


----------



## oxygen1

I think it's worth it, I use it to drive HD600 from my second setup (U7→PCSTEP→HD600) and really like it. But dont know how to switch off U7's amp, it would be interesting to know if it's possible.


----------



## kh600rr

I just picked up the Razer kraken headset for gaming. Only to realize that I was in such a rush, I didn't notice it's usb connected to PC . I just assumed it was 3.5mm, crap, really wanted to hook it to my U7 last night. Can't use it with any of my DAC's.


----------



## Freddy1765

oxygen1 said:


> I think it's worth it, I use it to drive HD600 from my second setup (U7→PCSTEP→HD600) and really like it. But dont know how to switch off U7's amp, it would be interesting to know if it's possible.


 
 How does your amp connect to the U7? The E09K has aux in, which I assume is the one I should use? I want to preserve the surround stuff the Xonar does, which means I have to use the Xonar's headphone out to connect the amp, but what do I then plug into the amp? To my knowledge the E09K does not have a 3.5mm input on the back.
 Would a 3.5mm jack to RCA do the trick?


----------



## kh600rr

I hook my Duet amp into the headphone out of the U7, just use a 3.5 mm interconnect


----------



## Freddy1765

So your amp has a 3.5mm input on the back?


----------



## kh600rr

Yes, it has both balanced and 3.5 mm inputs and outputs


----------



## Freddy1765

Aha, I think your's differs from the E09K in that respect. Do you know whether anything happens to the signal in a 3.5mm jack -> RCA cable?


----------



## pietcux

freddy1765 said:


> How does your amp connect to the U7? The E09K has aux in, which I assume is the one I should use? I want to preserve the surround stuff the Xonar does, which means I have to use the Xonar's headphone out to connect the amp, but what do I then plug into the amp? To my knowledge the E09K does not have a 3.5mm input on the back.
> Would a 3.5mm jack to RCA do the trick?



The U7 has a line out. With an adapter RCA to 3.5 mm you can connect any amp. But you do not output Dolby effects this way. It is only Stereo.


----------



## kh600rr

I have a eo7k and a e 17, never used them with any RCA cables.


----------



## kh600rr

They make various usb to 3.5mm cables, as well as various RCA connections. I need a USB to 3.5 mm to use my U7. Now I'm using just the Razer surround sound software to drive my kraken headphones.


----------



## Freddy1765

Okay, well I plead ignorance. Just want to be sure I'm not shelling out for something that's effectively useless for my purposes, but it seems like everything's in order.
 Would be strange if the E09K couldn't connect to a PC sound card, so it most likely can, and without any signal being lost.


----------



## kh600rr

This may help.


----------



## Freddy1765

pietcux said:


> The U7 has a line out. With an adapter RCA to 3.5 mm you can connect any amp. But you do not output Dolby effects this way. It is only Stereo.


 
 Exactly, but I want to output Dolby from the Xonar into the E09K, and from there into my headphones.
 That's why I was thinking of plugging a 3.5mm jack into the Xonar headphone-out on the front. That cable would then connect to the back of the E09K, presumably by having RCA on the other end. And that's where my question is, would that transmit the Dolby effects through to the headphones? It seems logical that it would work, but I'm very inexperienced when it comes to setting all this up, having never owned a proper sound card or headphone amp before.


----------



## kh600rr

Ok, How do you open this page in the Xonar settings. I've messed with it like 20 times, and can not get this window to open up.


----------



## pietcux

freddy1765 said:


> Exactly, but I want to output Dolby from the Xonar into the E09K, and from there into my headphones.
> That's why I was thinking of plugging a 3.5mm jack into the Xonar headphone-out on the front. That cable would then connect to the back of the E09K, presumably by having RCA on the other end. And that's where my question is, would that transmit the Dolby effects through to the headphones? It seems logical that it would work, but I'm very inexperienced when it comes to setting all this up, having never owned a proper sound card or headphone amp before.



Yes that works. All output to the headphone out will give you all effects on the Fiio amp that way.


----------



## Freddy1765

Excellent! Thank you very much. I just picked up the sound card, gonna plug it in and play around with it. Too bad I still only have my crappy Fatal1ty headset.


----------



## pietcux

kh600rr said:


> Ok, How do you open this page in the Xonar settings. I've messed with it like 20 times, and can not get this window to open up.



I had that problem too when I used the driver from the supplied cd under W7/64. Please go to the Asus site and download the lates driver. Then you can open it from the Xonar panel. Right click on headphone and select the lowest menue point.


----------



## kh600rr

Xonar>Whiplash interconnect >Duet Amp.


----------



## vilela69

Hello people, i'm new to head-fi and i've been following this thread for a time now, but i still can't make up my mind about what audio solution should i get. So, I wondered if anyone could give me a hint or another about this product, and if it is the right choice for my future setup: What i'll be getting is:
 -> Audio Technica ATH-M50X (for music listening, i need a good analog output, which my motherboard doesn't have. My mobo is a MSI Z77A-G45 Gaming, and i don't feel like the audio quality of it's built in solution is any good. It has a lot of static and poor range, so a dedicated audio solution is a must)
 -> Astro A50 - For gaming ( These are actually connected through my SPDIF output on the MOBO, and they do provide a great sound thanks to the astro mixamp, but I still can't run it's Dolby Surround properly because the optical output on my PC is not 5.1 Dolby Digital capable )
 -> Logitech z506 - Plan on using them with the analog ports, but still, if i get them with the integrated board, i'll likely be getting poor audio with static.
  
 With these in mind, what would deliver a better audio quality and features, for gaming and music, under 100$ that is my budget: The Xonar U7 or a PCI sound card such as the Creative SB Z, or are there any other suggestions?
 - The fact that i could quickly switch the audio output on the Xonar u7 makes me lean towards it, but i would give it up if i could get better audio quality for the same price with another solution.
 Thanks in advance.


----------



## kh600rr

vilela69 said:


> Hello people, i'm new to head-fi and i've been following this thread for a time now, but i still can't make up my mind about what audio solution should i get. So, I wondered if anyone could give me a hint or another about this product, and if it is the right choice for my future setup: What i'll be getting is:
> -> Audio Technica ATH-M50X (for music listening, i need a good analog output, which my motherboard doesn't have. My mobo is a MSI Z77A-G45 Gaming, and i don't feel like the audio quality of it's built in solution is any good. It has a lot of static and poor range, so a dedicated audio solution is a must)
> -> Astro A50 - For gaming ( These are actually connected through my SPDIF output on the MOBO, and they do provide a great sound thanks to the astro mixamp, but I still can't run it's Dolby Surround properly because the optical output on my PC is not 5.1 Dolby Digital capable )
> -> Logitech z506 - Plan on using them with the analog ports, but still, if i get them with the integrated board, i'll likely be getting poor audio with static.
> ...



U may want to pose this question over in Mad Lusts envy gaming forum. There's a lot of guys there using set ups like that.I personally use. A laptop for gaming, so I don't have a lot of choices for gaming Dacs.


----------



## bryes

Hey all,
  
 Newbie to Head-Fi here, hoping to get some help regarding the U7 and whether my setup could benefit from it!
 I'm using a pair of AD900X's + ModMic 4.0 at the moment, connected to my PC using my old SteelSeries USB Soundcard. 
  
 I haven't got a dedicated soundcard (unless the SteelSeries thing counts?), and my mobo is the GA-H87M-D3H.
  
 1.) Would it make more sense to get a dedicated Soundcard to stick in my case (like Xonar DG), or would this USB alternative, the U7, be fairly equivalent?
 2.) Would the U7 help with the quality of my mic? I've been told my old Siberia's mic had better quality, but it might just be an error with my setup.
  
 From what I can gather, DACs seem to really enhance audio quality, but I was looking for something that could possibly improve my mic as well.
  
 Also this isn't really to do with the card itself, but would using a USB soundcard through a USB port from my monitor be 'worse' (quality/latency) than from a USB port on the back of my case? (always wondered but was never really sure.)
  
 Thanks in advance!


----------



## FireFreak111

I've been trying to contact ASUS support with the issue of the driver reporting the headphones are stereo, not 7.1. They posted back, said they will forward it to their driver team. Been 22 days. -_-. If more people can send a message to ASUS here https://vip.asus.com/VIP2/Services/QuestionForm/TechQuery to help them take the issue seriously.
  
 Basic issue is that the driver isn't allowing us to configure the device (the Configure button is greyed out on the audio control panel for windows), and it set to a default of stereo. This means that applications (players, games) get a report that the device is stereo, and only sends stereo out. Dolby has confirmed DHTv4's Surround Virtualiser is the same algorithm/functionality as Dolby Headphone, it's just that Dolby is only getting stereo from our apps thanks to the driver. ASUS needs to allow us to configure the device to 7.1, and ensure that DHTv4 converts it using a HRTF to stereo via Surround Virtualiser.


----------



## kh600rr

Will do..


----------



## Sam21

I have said it before and I am saying it now:
  
 Newer surround algorithms don't need 8/6 input channels in order to create surround sound that can be heard through headphones...
  
 Think about it:
  
 A game outputting 7.1 channels or 2 channels is actually outputting the same information in both cases...newer algorithms do not need 8/6 inputs, they can create the same surround sound (that DH can out of 8 channels) out of only two channels...
  
  
 this can also be seen in creative's Sound cards...


----------



## pietcux

I can second that. I have a Xonar U1 and the U7. The U1 has the same software as the Xonar Essence STX that I had some time ago. Even with the STX it was impossible to feel a difference between 2 or 7.1 channel settings. I just finished the sigle player of COD GHOSTS using the U7 and boy did it sound like a full blown 7.1 speaker setup. I did compare the immersion created by the U1 at 7.1 and the U7 at 2.0 and besides that the U7 sounds better in regards of resolution, I could not find differeces in surround sound placements. That goes not only for games, but also for movies.


----------



## x7007

pietcux said:


> I can second that. I have a Xonar U1 and the U7. The U1 has the same software as the Xonar Essence STX that I had some time ago. Even with the STX it was impossible to feel a difference between 2 or 7.1 channel settings. I just finished the sigle player of COD GHOSTS using the U7 and boy did it sound like a full blown 7.1 speaker setup. I did compare the immersion created by the U1 at 7.1 and the U7 at 2.0 and besides that the U7 sounds better in regards of resolution, I could not find differeces in surround sound placements. That goes not only for games, but also for movies.


 
 If I have Xonar Phoebus and Berdynamic DT990 600ohms headphones, would it help if I buy and use the Xonar U7 ? Cause xonar phoebus seems to support only 5.1 channels and not 7.1 . when trying to test it with a Blueray Sound Test, when trying to use 7.1 it just fails or u can't hear anything from the side speakers which are in 7.1 only, when using 5.1 it works for the current speakers cause it's only 5.1.
  
  
 "The Surround Decoder in Dolby Home Theater v4 creates a surround sound experience by converting two-channel stereo audio into 5.1 channels and converting 5.1-channel audio into 7.1 channels."
  
How do I know what and when to set in PotPlayer or MPC or in the LavFilter. what speaker set ? and in BF4 for example. If I see a movies with DTS then I need to set 5.1 in the media player and it will convert it to 7.1 ?  In BF4 if I want 7.1 I need to choose HI-FI and stereo or Surround ? If the movie itself is 7.1 DTS-MA or TrueDts what should I choose ?


----------



## firecommon

Hey guys, i'd appreciate any help!
  
 Can i connect a schiit lyr amp to the U7 via SPDIF and still get 3d audio?


----------



## Sam21

firecommon said:


> Hey guys, i'd appreciate any help!
> 
> Can i connect a schiit lyr amp to the U7 via SPDIF and still get 3d audio?


 
 SPDIF outputs a digital signal.....so you need a Digital to analog converter, after being turned into an Analog signal, you can amplify it using the Schiit lyr.
  
  
 You can also do it another way: use the Analog out port on the U7 and connect it to the lyr, this way you are using the Digital to Analog converter in the U7...which happens to be a good one in this case....
  
 most sound cards have SPDIF Out because the D/A converter on the Sound Card isn't good[or maybe to use with another device]...so you use your own D/A converter...but in this case the D/A converter is pretty good.


----------



## firecommon

Thank you Sam.
  
 Seems like lyr only has stereo RCA inputs. And according to pietcux, if i connected the lyr, i wouldn't have the dolby effects:
  


pietcux said:


> The U7 has a line out. With an adapter RCA to 3.5 mm you can connect any amp. But you do not output Dolby effects this way. It is only Stereo.


 
  
 Seems like I may have to purchase a second pair of headphones to use with the U7 if i wanted 3d gaming sound, because i don't think the U7 could power a LCD-2..?


----------



## pietcux

Why not use the headphone out to your Lyr analog in. That is called double amping. The DAC/AMP section of the U7 is quite good already, but they did not have the LCD cans in mind when they decided about the gain of the U7. I bet there are not many gamers using them. I use a AKG K702 or an Ultrasone PRO 550 for gaming and both are powered very well, COD Ghosts or BFBC 2 singleplayers both blow your ears away if you want. Like any other modern game probably, but those are the recent ones I played through. I always use the Dolby gaming preset.


----------



## Sam21

firecommon said:


> Thank you Sam.
> 
> Seems like lyr only has stereo RCA inputs. And according to pietcux, if i connected the lyr, i wouldn't have the dolby effects:
> 
> ...


 
 That might be true, because Dolby works with headphones...but still I am not sure if it is true. You can use the headphone out instead of the RCA out.


----------



## Sam21

"That is called double amping."
  
 I think you can disable the amp in U7's software ?


----------



## pietcux

firecommon said:


> Seems like I may have to purchase a second pair of headphones to use with the U7 if i wanted 3d gaming sound, because i don't think the U7 could power a LCD-2..?


 
 The measurements on Inner Fidelity show the the LCD2 needs o.114 Vrms to give you 90db SPL, whereas the AKG Q701 needs 0.318 Vrms. So the LCD2 is much more efficient as the AKG. And my AKG K702 is more than loud enough on the U7 on medium gain. You might just want to give the U7/ LCD2 a try.


----------



## firecommon

Thank you for the double amping suggestion. Also, i suppose i will try the lcd-2 directly to the U7 via a 1/4 to 1/8" converter.
  
 I haven't purchased the u7 yet, but I am pretty sure this is the right buy for me: I need a soundcard capable of dolby headphone, to be used solely for gaming, but i have a mini-motherboard with its only pcie spot occupied by the graphics card. It is very fortuitous that ASUS has this external usb sound card available.


----------



## pietcux

Make sure to install the latest driver package from the Asus webste, it is much more stable. And it is also good to disable the onboard sound device, once you have the U7 installed.


----------



## pietcux

I found a Xonar U7 Echelon used for a good on Amazon today. As the Echelon seems to have a totally different basic driver. I want to test if I can get windows to see it as a 7.1 sound device..... And if that makes a difference that I can hear or is more statistic. I will use the Dolby addon on both cards. Should get it by mid next week, so let's see....


----------



## pietcux

Hi I got the U7 Echelon Yesterday. even though it has a different basic user interface, not the XEAR stuff, but the Sonic Studio Pro, you cannot select more than 2 channels when selecting headphones. But the surround channels are very much there either with Sonic Studio or with Dolby activated. And the funny thing is that the sonic radar activated in game shows you exactly from where the sonic clues of your enemies or the environment come from just check the video below for further clarification.
  
  
  
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTn3c40ocnM&feature=youtu.be


----------



## Sam21

if the hardware is the same, why cant we use Echelon's driver with ordinary Xonar U7 ?


----------



## x7007

pietcux said:


> Hi I got the U7 Echelon Yesterday. even though it has a different basic user interface, not the XEAR stuff, but the Sonic Studio Pro, you cannot select more than 2 channels when selecting headphones. But the surround channels are very much there either with Sonic Studio or with Dolby activated. And the funny thing is that the sonic radar activated in game shows you exactly from where the sonic clues of your enemies or the environment come from just check the video below for further clarification.
> 
> 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTn3c40ocnM&feature=youtu.be


 
 So is it better than Xonar phoebus + Dolby Headphones Virtualizer ?  Should I think about buying U7 Echelon ?  Could I use the xonar phoebus amplifier with the U7 Surround ?
  
 Thanks


----------



## pietcux

sam21 said:


> if the hardware is the same, why cant we use Echelon's driver with ordinary Xonar U7 ?


 
 I have both, and tried it on the first evening for sure 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 If you just install the Echelon package with the Echelon connected, it works also for the non Echelon version, but only for a short period of time. I think windows recognizes the different hardware and tries to install a driver for new hardware found. But anyways, the Echelon driver does not work with the standard U7. When the echelon first came out I downloaded the Echelon driver and also could not get it working with the standard hardware.


----------



## Sam21

Which DAC do you guys think is better : the U7's (CS4398) DAC or the E17's (WM8740) DAC ? Would I hear a difference if I use U7's Analog outs vs U7's SPDIF's out to E17's optical in ?
  
  
 I honestly think that the DAC on U7 is much better....Like to hear your opinions....


----------



## atop50

I'm considering getting myself a U7 to use for gaming, but after reading through all 20 pages of this thread I still have some questions around the surround sound options on the card. Right now I have a pair of Audio Technica AD700X's hooked up to an Audioengine D1 DAC. I'm looking to add virtual surround capability, that is, to be able to use 6 and 8 channel information from games and downmix it into two channels for virtual surround playback on my headphones.
  
 I know the U7 comes with a lot of software options but I'd love some clarification as to if/how I might be able to do that, and if I can also output that via S/PDIF to my D1 (or if anyone thinks the U7's DAC is comparable to the D1 then that's good information as well).
  
 I've also seen some arguments in here regarding whether games that use the windows channel configuration (i.e. checks to see if the card is set to 2/6/8 channels in Windows and then outputs that many channels of audio) work with the Dolby software since it seems to limit that Windows setting to 2 channels, and I'm curious if that is in fact true since it would definitely impact how I plan to use the U7.
  
 Thoughts on any of these would be much appreciated.


----------



## Sam21

the D1 is as good as U7 DAC-Wise ... you may want to use Razer surround with D1...(If you have a powerful CPU)


----------



## Sam21

Or you may want to buy a U3 and output digitally to D1's optical in...
  
 U3 has dolby headphone and SPDIF out ... many people prefer dolby headphone...but dolby says DHT and DH use the same algorithm...
  
 Don't worry about input channels .. newer Algorithms do not need 7.1 channels in order to create surround...2 channels is sufficient for creating surround...Think about it,  A 2-Channels signal contains all the information that an 8-Channels Signal has...when you use true 7.1 the game splits the 2-channels into 8-channels....


----------



## chicolom

> Originally Posted by *Sam21* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
> 
> U3 has dolby headphone and SPDIF out ... many people prefer dolby headphone...but dolby says DHT and DH use the same algorithm...
> 
> Don't worry about input channels .. *newer Algorithms do not need 7.1 channels in order to create surround...2 channels is sufficient for creating surround*..*.Think about it,  A 2-Channels signal contains all the information that an 8-Channels Signal has...when you use true 7.1 the game splits the 2-channels into 8-channels....*


 
  
  
  
 WUT??
  
 No.  
  
 A two channel signal does NOT contain all the information of an 8 channel signal.  Think about it.  2 ≠ 8.
  
 Games don't split 2 channels into 7.1 channels.  It's the other way around.  Games start with 3D positioning data and multi channel sound, and then downconvert that into 2 channel audio later.
  
 Please avoid spreading misinformation.
  
  
  
 An already-downmixed 2 channel audio source is not sufficient for creating a convincing virtual surround sound mix, as most of the positional data was lost when it was downmixed to stereo.  You are just trying to interpolating it back from nothing at that point.  As a result the virtual positioning is inferior to a DSP using a multi-channel source, such as Dolby Headphone WITH a multi channel audio device (like the Xonar U3) or SBX Pro (which also uses multi channel audio as it source). 
  
  
 Xonar has Dolby HT, which includes the Dolby Headphone algorithm as it's headphone surround sound DSP, *HOWEVER*, that algorithm will only receive two channel of audio information from the game from the Xonar U7.  This prevents the Dolby Home Theater DSP from getting multi channel audio and severly gimps the positional accuracy of sounds compared to other Dolby Headphone devices that receive _multi-channel sources.  _*Dolby Headphone requires a 5.1 source to function correctly.  Period.*


----------



## chicolom

atop50 said:


> I've also seen some arguments in here regarding whether games that use the windows channel configuration (i.e. checks to see if the card is set to 2/6/8 channels in Windows and then outputs that many channels of audio) work with the Dolby software since it seems to limit that Windows setting to 2 channels, and I'm curious if that is in fact true since it would definitely impact how I plan to use the U7.
> 
> Thoughts on any of these would be much appreciated.


 
  

 I would advise against the U7 for _surround sound gaming._
  
  
 From my testing the U7 will only work as a 2 channel device with games, and the game will see that and match it by only sending it two channels - which will gimps the surround DSP and thus the positioning. 
  
 The Xonar U3 doesn't have this problem as you can manually set it to 2,4,6,8 channels, and the game will recognize this and send it the correct audio data.
  
  
  
 See this post:
  
 http://www.head-fi.org/t/534479/mad-lust-envys-headphone-gaming-guide-update-7-9-2014-ultrasone-hfi-15g-added/23610#post_10527271
  
 And this page, which talks about the U7s problem of only working as a 2 channel device:
 http://www.head-fi.org/t/669127/asus-xonar-u7-dac-amp-appreciation-impressions-thread/225#post_10526204
  
  
  
  
 For PC gaming I would recommend you pick up the* Xonar U3* over the U7. 
  
 The U7 has pretty lousy positioning in games compared to the Xonar U3 for the reasons already mentioned - They both use the same Dolby Headphone DSP, but one receives multi-channel sources while the other only ever receives stereo sources.  Like I said in the previous post, *Dolby Headphone requires a 5.1 source in order to function correctly*.  As a result, it _doesn't_ function correctly on the Xonar U7.


----------



## Sam21

You are missing the fact that when a game outputs 2-channels or 8-channels, it is outputting the same information. which means a virtual surround sound can be made out of either...
  
 I have these cards :
  
 Creative play!
 creative go pro!
 U7
  
 and all of them have fixed 2-channel input.
  
 check this out:
  
  
 http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=264978
  
*"It is interesting to note that CMSS-3D Headphone still manages to convert the file to surround sound as I could still hear the channels from their respective directions.
 4. Turn CMSS-3D Headphone off and you will immediatly see that the sound will go into your normal stereo which proves that CMSS-3D indeed works even for Stereo Output. Now how does CMSS-3D know exactly where to place each channel, I don't know but it does work. It converts basic stereo output into surround sound with almost no loss in direction. You can further test this by comparing this test to Test 1 that you did above. Personally for me, the results were close to being identical."*


----------



## chicolom

sam21 said:


> You are missing the fact that when a game outputs 2-channels or 8-channels, it is outputting the same information. which means a virtual surround sound can be made out of either...
> 
> I have these cards :
> 
> ...


 
  
  
 A game is NOT outputting the same information whether it's outputting 2 or 8 channels!  It's outputting different information! 
  
  
 DSPs will try and make virtual surround out of both 2 channel and 5.1+ channel sources, but it's NOT the same.  I think you may be confused because you are still getting a form of virtual surround even though you are only using 2 channels. 
  
 What you should be aware of is that any of these surround DSPs (DH, SBX Pro, CMSS) can and will _try _to create virtual surround from a 2 channel source.  The difference is, with only 2 channels of data it is required to interpolate and upscale information when creating the virtual surround mix.  <- This upmixed virtual surround sound is NOT the same virtual surround you get when you using these DSPs with a multi channel source.  The latter has superior positioning. 
  
  
 Just because you're hearing a form of virtual surround with your 2 channel source does NOT mean your getting the same virtual surround you'd be getting with multi-channel sources.  Your getting an interpolated and upscaled version.
  
  
 CMSS-3D _Headphone  _≠  CMSS-3D _Surround_*.* 
_The latter upmixes two channels to interpolate surround information.  _
  
 Dolby Headphone w/2 channel source (aka Xonar U7) ≠ Dolby Headphone with 5.1 source (Xonar U3). 
_Again, the Xonar U7 has to interpolate data while the U3 does not. _
  
  
 I'll say it a third time: Dolby Headphone _requires_ a 5.1 source in order to function correctly.
  
 In fact, even if you're only gaming in two channels, Dolby Headphone will still first process your 2 channel source through Dolby Pro-logic - in order to upscale it into 5.1 interpolated virtual channels - and _then_ send that interpolated signal to the Dolby Headphone DSP to finally do the 5.1 -> virtual surround sound processing.
  
In other words...
Dolby Headphone will ONLY ever accept a 5.1 source - even if it has to first upscale a 2 channel source into 5.1 channels itself by using Pro-Logic.  Your choice is to feed it a _native _5.1 signal...OR...force it to try and interpolate from your 2 channel signal into 5.1 virtual channels anyways and then process _that._
  
  
 Hope that clear things up.


----------



## x7007

To compare, how is DHTv4 to Creative SBX ?  I want better surround sound and I feel like the SBX is really have the best position, u know exactly where the fire is coming from with the distance.
  
 Currently I have Xonar Phoebus, I wonder if I should change to ZXR though I won't use the crappy out connector.


----------



## pietcux

chicolom said:


> A game is NOT outputting the same information whether it's outputting 2 or 8 channels!  It's outputting different information!
> 
> 
> DSPs will try and make virtual surround out of both 2 channel and 5.1+ channel sources, but it's NOT the same.  I think you may be confused because you are still getting a form of virtual surround even though you are only using 2 channels.
> ...


 

 I have the U7/U7 Echelon and the U1. The U1 has the same driver than all the Xonar cards had until the U7 appeared:
  

 Sorry the Windows stuff is in German, but I think everybody understands anyways. So with the U1 (and U3 which I do not have) you have real 8 channel or 6 channel from the source to Dolby Headphone.
 Does is make a difference? In Dishonored which is based on the Unreal Engine, it does not. But here you can select 5.1 in game, before you start the game. That cheats the driver default somehow. On the Echelon you can also visualize that with the Sonic Radar, very nice...
 On Battlefield Bad Company 2 and Crisis 3 there is a little difference for me, but only a little. The sound surrounds you nearly as good as with the U1. I thing if ones goal is critical pinpointing enemies in FPS multiplayer games the U1 / U3/Essence STX might have an edge.
 I recommend the U1 over the U3, because it's internal amp is very good already for gaming, there is no need for external amping.
 For more casual gamers the U7 and U7 Echelon is better, as the sound with music is excellent and the especially the Sonic Radar of the Echelon is something I really like.
 Again there is a small difference, but it is not night and day for me. If Asus could amend this small driver issue, the U7 would be the King of the Hill for external sound solutions IMHO.


----------



## chicolom

Yeah, looks like U1 and U3 use the same software layout.
  
 If Dishonored lets you force 5.1, then you're likely bypassing the limitation of the U7 defaulting to two speakers.  So I don't think you'll have a problem with THAT game and it should sound the same.
  
 Most other games don't let you choose your speaker configuration though.  Instead they auto-detect the maximum amount of channels your device supports and send that instead. 
 With the U7 in "Headphone" mode, this is 2 channels, so the game only sends two channels.  This WILL handicap the Dolby Headphone.  If you can't hear a difference between the "full" Dolby Headphone and this interpolated version, I don't know what to tell you...
  
  
 For me, it's pretty obvious that the U7 is NOT doing proper Dolby Headphone.
  
 It's a shame the U7 is crippled this way, because the hardware is quite nice.  It's just a software/driver issue that is preventing it from functioning correctly.
  
  
_Again, a warning to others:  _
_The U7 does NOT do proper Dolby Headphone surround sound with games.  I'd strongly advise you get a different card (such as the Xonar U3) if that is your goal._


----------



## chicolom

x7007 said:


> To compare, how is DHTv4 to Creative SBX ?  I want better surround sound and I feel like the SBX is really have the best position, u know exactly where the fire is coming from with the distance.
> 
> Currently I have Xonar Phoebus, I wonder if I should change to ZXR though I won't use the crappy out connector.


 
  
  
 Here's a comparison between Dolby Headphone and SBX Pro.
  
 I like them both.  I think SBX has a slight edge for positioning accuracy, but is a bit drier and clinical sounding.  Dolby Headphone sounds more immersive and cinematic, but is a bit more reverberant and diffuse sounding.


----------



## pietcux

I told you, I play offline FPS. Then there is much more going on and you do not need to spy on campets. The it is ok. And my PowerDVD software also can force 7.1. So I am fine when it really counts for me. But tpnight I will send a longer email to Asus and also put their nose to this thread here. Feel free to keep on dissing the U7.


----------



## chicolom

Not dissing it, simply pointing out that it has trouble processing Dolby Headphone correctly.


----------



## x7007

chicolom said:


> Here's a comparison between Dolby Headphone and SBX Pro.
> 
> I like them both.  I think SBX has a slight edge for positioning accuracy, but is a bit drier and clinical sounding.  Dolby Headphone sounds more immersive and cinematic, but is a bit more reverberant and diffuse sounding.




  
 Can't understand what's to dislike about SBX , you could hear the sound is really coming from the back.
  
 If I ask all of you with Xonar,U3,U7 and Creative and your experience from the Virtual Surround,  If I have Xonar Phoebus now, would the experience of SBX Pro would worth to replace the Xonar Phoebus ?


----------



## atop50

I decided to go with the Xonar DGX for Dolby Headphone since I don't really game much on my laptop and I can just use my USB DAC for that.
  
 I'll be interested to see what ASUS has to say about the 2 channel limitation...


----------



## chicolom

x7007 said:


> Can't understand what's to dislike about SBX , you could hear the sound is really coming from the back.
> 
> If I ask all of you with Xonar,U3,U7 and Creative and your experience from the Virtual Surround,  If I have Xonar Phoebus now, would the experience of SBX Pro would worth to replace the Xonar Phoebus ?


 
  
 Yeah, SBX is pretty solid. 
  
 I still enjoy Dolby Headphone though, and I use them both...
   
 



chicolom said:


> SBX is definitely clearer and less echoey sounding than DH.  Sounds are more chiseled out from each other and their placement is more discrete sounding, making it easier to hear when they start to move around.  Because DH is more diffuse and blended, it's not quite as clear with positioning.  SBX is definitely truer to the source audio, and less "processed" sounding.
> 
> Still, I often enjoy that more diffuse sound of Dolby Headphone.  Sounds are a little smoother and more blended together when panning.  The echo/reverb can actually be nice if you're playing a game where you are "indoors", like on a spaceship in Deadspace.  Gives a nice bit of ambience, where SBX can sometimes sound a tad too dry.  The overall sound is a little warmer on DH, with a little more body and impact on some lower freq sounds too.
> 
> ...


 
  
  
  


atop50 said:


> I'll be interested to see what ASUS has to say about the 2 channel limitation...


 
  
 I tried contacting them about it months ago, but I never got any replies back.


----------



## x7007

chicolom
 Thnx
  
 I asked in the ZXR thread about the surround settings,.
  
 But if it has better position I would like it, cause CMSS3D was with me since before the ZS cards and I used it with SteelSeries 5CHv2 headphone and those were real 5.1 channel. and now that I moved on to real stereo studio quality I still want the surround I had, the DHv4 just doesn't have position in the sense  " I am here , he is there "  if there are shooting and bombs u can't possibly know at all where or what is shooting at you.
  
 SBX should rectify that ,  I think...
  
 This will be for both ZXR and the Xonar card which only has 2 channels.   In movies for example DTS 5.1, what speaker option do you choose in specific program .
  
 1.Pot player
 2. MPC
 3. PowerDVD
  
 If the movie is 7.1 is there a difference ?
  
 For example with Razer Surround it makes 7.1 and u just choose 7.1 or same as input.  but when u have 2 channels the DHv4 does upmix so u need to choose the input which is Stereo 2.1 , right ?
  
 If I have ZXR I would choose 5.1 or 7.1 ?
  
 It's more than confusing for me right now.


----------



## pietcux

chicolom said:


> Here's a comparison between Dolby Headphone and SBX Pro.
> 
> I like them both.  I think SBX has a slight edge for positioning accuracy, but is a bit drier and clinical sounding.  Dolby Headphone sounds more immersive and cinematic, but is a bit more reverberant and diffuse sounding.




  
 I put the U7 on flat , all effects plus Dolby off. Took the Ultrasone Signature DJ as headphone. For me even the stereo setting has very good surround clues, maybe because my brain is able to combine audio with video in a way tha I create a surround effect for me. The only audible difference is the big amount of bass boost used by Both Dolbys and Creative 66%  and  100%. The latter the more I feel. So that is why I cannot criticize the U7 too much for having only stereo channels. I am not the best reference person her I fear. Can you imagine the first Star Wars Episode on a 15 inch TV in mono? That is where I come from in the seventies....ROFL As far as I remember it was so amazing, and we did not miss anything


----------



## pietcux

Got me a Sound Blaster Z today to be able to compare myself. First test with Crisis 3 was very impressive. But still I need some time to elaborate.


----------



## chicolom

pietcux said:


> Got me a Sound Blaster Z today to be able to compare myself. First test with Crisis 3 was very impressive. But still I need some time to elaborate.


 
  
 Nice.
  
 Make sure in the Sound Blaster control panel that the Speakers/headphones tab is set to Headphones, otherwise the DSP won't work correctly.  When you check the speaker configuration in windows it should still show up as 5.1 though.
  
 I'd recommend turning the "Crystalizer" off in the SBX panel.


----------



## pigpen4483

Just ordered mine. It won't be here until Tuesday, but my setup will be U7-->rca out--> Schiit Asgard 2--> Audeze LCD-2

I will post my impressions next week


----------



## pietcux

Did I mention, that the driver of the U7 Echelon is much better? They removed Xear funktion and added some very decent gaming stuff. Everything else is the same. And no you cannot use the Echelon driver with the non Echelon U7.


----------



## mdh994

Hey guys I am new here. I just recently bought one of these, I am an audio noob, so this is my first audio enhancing piece of equipment, so I really have nothing to compare it too except my motherboard sound. I have done a bit of testing on this headphone amp/soundcard and I am impressed, I have tried a cheap pair of 5 dollar headphones we got from a market years ago in this soundcard/amp and I am not going to lie it makes them sound alright. The best thing from this soundcard/amp is the Dolby home theater program, the presets are great and you can hear the sound change with the settings. At the moment I am using it to give my home theater system Dolby 5.1  I am waiting for my Audio Techinica m50x's to arrive. Just curious has anyone tried the combo of Asus u7 and m50x's?


----------



## ChristianM

Hi, please tell me which one is gonna be impressive with my Beats Studio 2013, sound blaster Z or U7? I know there are lot of Beats haters here but hope someone will reply politely. I'm gonna use it mostly for music, heavy metal etc. thanks.


----------



## infiniteknight

I want to purchase this + a Sennheiser Game zero (150 ohm impedance)
  
 the U7 should be able to drive them no problem right?


----------



## raoultrifan

U7 should drive decently 150 ohms headphones, but to be 100% sure you'll like the sound, maybe you should try to pair these first and listen to your preffered tracks.

Regards.


----------



## melvo

I just bought this and I'm having problems with the volume wheel on Windows 7. Installed and reinstalled drivers and it doesn't seem to do anything which is a bit disappointing for a new sound card. Did anyone have a similar experience?


----------



## mdh994

melvo said:


> I just bought this and I'm having problems with the volume wheel on Windows 7. Installed and reinstalled drivers and it doesn't seem to do anything which is a bit disappointing for a new sound card. Did anyone have a similar experience?




Yea this happened to me a couple times, but for me reinstalling fixed the problem and so did removing the usb cable and putting it back in. They dont seem to like Switching devices much.


----------



## melvo

Thanks for the tip but unfortunately didn't fix the problem in the end. Funnily works perfectly on a Windows 8 computer when I first tried it. Surprised how poor Asus support are btw, but I'm sure that's been said in here before.


----------



## Jaeger 77

It would be nice if we can gat UNI modded drivers for our non Echelon U7's with Sonic Radar and SS PRO included...
 ASUS still lazy on audio drivers,though - for W7 latest release is dated on 22.01.2014! I'm afraid they'll abandone support for U7 when Windows 9 will be launch...


----------



## infiniteknight

pigpen4483 said:


> Just ordered mine. It won't be here until Tuesday, but my setup will be U7-->rca out--> Schiit Asgard 2--> Audeze LCD-2
> 
> I will post my impressions next week


 
 Hey so how did that setup work out for you?


----------



## pigpen4483

Really well!I love it. I did have to connect the u7 to a usb hub to alleviate some noise, but I'm so happy with the setup and in love with the LCD-2s


----------



## infiniteknight

pigpen4483 said:


> Really well!I love it. I did have to connect the u7 to a usb hub to alleviate some noise, but I'm so happy with the setup and in love with the LCD-2s


 
 Awesome glad to hear it. Btw the virtual surround can be passed through the RCA outputs as well right? Or is that exclusive to that front end headphone jack


----------



## pigpen4483

Oh sorry I forgot to mention that I'm using the front out of the u7--> Schiit Asgard 2 and I do receive all of the advertised effects


----------



## infiniteknight

pigpen4483 said:


> Oh sorry I forgot to mention that I'm using the front out of the u7--> Schiit Asgard 2 and I do receive all of the advertised effects


 
 Ok cool so using the built in headphone amp with the asgard dont cause any problems? (From i understanding the front end is where the built in amp is)


----------



## pigpen4483

Nope,no problems on my end. some noise when I go full volume (way past comfortable levels) I emailed Schiit about amping an amp and they said there were no problems. I've noticed a lot of guessing in the audio world, and after doing a "no-no" like camping an amp , it was ******** and I'm in bliss


----------



## Nidus123

Are there any proper alternatives to this DAC/AMP ? ... I need something external for me puter that has headphone out + mic in ... using an mITX board and have absolutely no room for anything sound wise there...


----------



## pietcux

nidus123 said:


> Are there any proper alternatives to this DAC/AMP ? ... I need something external for me puter that has headphone out + mic in ... using an mITX board and have absolutely no room for anything sound wise there...



Creative just released an endgame external Jack of all Trades sound device:
http://www.soundblaster.com/x7/
That or a combo of the Xonar X1 and a Schiit Magni/Modi stack


----------



## Nidus123

pietcux said:


> Creative just released an endgame external Jack of all Trades sound device:
> http://www.soundblaster.com/x7/
> That or a combo of the Xonar X1 and a Schiit Magni/Modi stack


 
 That thing looks quite nice ... I think i'm going to pick one up when they release in Europe


----------



## pietcux

That thing is probably bigger than your pc...lol


----------



## Sam21

you mean more expensive.. lol


pietcux said:


> That thing is probably bigger than your pc...lol


----------



## infiniteknight

Hey guys,
 So my Xonar u7 echelon finally arrived. However there is some problems and I think I may have just received a faulty device. When I plug in my apple earphones, music sounds very muddy and distorted and I need to crank up the volume all the way to be hear anything.
  
 Sounds like a faulty device right?


----------



## Nidus123

Yup, better return it


----------



## pietcux

The device is absolute ok. It cannot work correctly eith the apple plug, thats it. It needs a stereo plug. The additional contacts for the mike and the commands do not fit with the U7 headphone out. Apple earbuds are a waste on such a good device anyways. Go get yourself at least some Sennheiser in ears.


----------



## infiniteknight

pietcux said:


> The device is absolute ok. It cannot work correctly eith the apple plug, thats it. It needs a stereo plug. The additional contacts for the mike and the commands do not fit with the U7 headphone out. Apple earbuds are a waste on such a good device anyways. Go get yourself at least some Sennheiser in ears.



I already have some Sennheisers, I'll try them later today. I just used the apple earbuds to test basic functionality. I guess I wasn't expecting the apple eat buds to sound worse than the on board sound, though I knew it wasn't going to blow me away until I tried the sennheisers


----------



## mdh994

I had the same problem with my old sennheiser mm30i's , i had to run them through my u7 --> fiio e6 --> mm30is i think it has something to do with inline controls, i dont think the u7 like in line mics and controls, my shure 215s sound amazing in it.


----------



## pietcux

As Sony created the 3.5 mm standard for their Walkmans, there was no inline control around. Apple just modified it for this purpose, but did not make sure that the new plug is bckwards compatible. Most of the times it works but not with the U7.


----------



## infiniteknight

Hahaha looks like i jumped the gun. Hooked it up to my O2 amp and then my sennhesiers. Sounds prestine.


----------



## maddogarchie

Hey can anyone help me with setting this up? Basically I spent some time trying to install the drivers because it kept coming up with an error message that I couldn't seem to find what exactly it was online. I eventually figured out I had to change the date on my PC to 2013 for some reason, then it worked perfectly. The only problem now is that I don't have the Sonic Studio Pro utility it should come with, though I do have the Dolby home theater program. Any suggestions or am I missing something obvious? Drivers were from the website for windows 8.1, also it's the echelon edition if that helps.


----------



## pietcux

On which Windows version are you?


----------



## maddogarchie

I'm on windows 8.1 64 bit, oh and the driver version was 8.0.11.19


----------



## pietcux

Not sure if that helps, but in my Windows 7/64 start menue under all programs there is a folder Xonar U7 Echelon and inside is the link to start the Sonic Studio Pro software. Click it and you get the Sonic Studio open. But W 8.1 I do not know. I am waiting for W9......


----------



## maddogarchie

Ah, I see where I've gone wrong then. Rather than thinking to look for the xonar folder I only looked for a sonic studio folder..... Thanks a lot for the help, made it sound a lot better now!


----------



## wolfwalker78

I've been running one of these for a few months now and pretty happy with it.
 Onboard audio died and too many video cards for a pice sound card.
 I lack the background to really comment on it's musical ability but I can say
 it's pleasing in general with music, games and the drivers have been stable.
  
 I ordered a set of decent headphones and an amp/dac the other day so maybe I can
 do some comparo, my gut suspects it's as good as any other cheap one.


----------



## agrosash

infiniteknight said:


> I already have some Sennheisers, I'll try them later today. I just used the apple earbuds to test basic functionality. I guess I wasn't expecting the apple eat buds to sound worse than the on board sound, though I knew it wasn't going to blow me away until I tried the sennheisers


 

 Quoting you on this because I think the problem lies in the TRRS jack of Apple Earbuds. Ironically, I've been connecting my rather high-end Ultimate Ears 10 Pro with an UE iPhone cable (with mic) to the Asus Xonar U7 and the sound quality was horrid. After trying the UE SuperFi 5 and the standard Apple Earbuds, which exhibited the same issues, I've tried the original UE 10 Pro cable — bliss. So it's really an issue with the connector. In addition, i've tried an 3 to 4 connector 3.5mm adapter which worked with the UE10 Pro /w UE Mic cable. The adapter is super flimsy though, so the Asus Xonar U7 switched randomly between headphone and speaker output. I've ordered a higher quality adapter and will test if that helps tomorrow. I'd rather keep the UE iPhone cable on my UE10 Pros.


----------



## d4rin

Is the normal EQ option available for a pair of headphones? 
  
 Right now I have the U3 and I like it alot, But I'd like to have one that has a dedicated volume control that would control the whole system/windows volume.
  
 Also, Is it worth upgrade from a U3 to a U7 sound quality wise? I am using the Sennheiser HD-25's


----------



## pietcux

It has eq for the headphone. I would suggest to use the Echelon version. The software is much better. The sound quality is much better than the U3, it has a real headphone amp.


----------



## d4rin

pietcux said:


> It has eq for the headphone. I would suggest to use the Echelon version. The software is much better. The sound quality is much better than the U3, it has a real headphone amp.


 
  
 The only difference is the software and the camo look. Think I'd stick with the regular U7 since i mostly only listen to music, If it has an EQ  setting that is all I need.
  
 I really like the U3, But the lack of volume control sucks .


----------



## pietcux

The Echelon's software suite is much better not only for games, but for everything else. I have both, you can trust me.


----------



## starv3d

hi there,
 im looking to get this sound card, is it still worth it for the 80€???
 I need one to replace my laptop audio that is a VIA card with creative sound cinema, it is realy bad when I plug the headphones it have alot of echo it really to force to use the creative software.
  
 anyways I have superlux 681 evo headphones and I mostly will use it for edm/rock music and games
  
 also is there any mod to use the  Echelon's software suite in the normal U7?
  
 thanks in advance and sorry for bad english


----------



## pietcux

1. There is no mod. I have both. First the standard U7 works with the echelon software.but when it is fully recognized after some time you need to reinstall the software to try it again, so forget it.
2. You might want to try the U1 with your laptop. You will be surprised how good it sounds. And it has the complete Dolby Headphone functionality On board.


----------



## Trunksleo

Would you recommend this sound card for krk rp5??? or its better some DAC?? My budget is 200u$s.


----------



## pietcux

I





trunksleo said:


> Would you recommend this sound card for krk rp5??? or its better some DAC?? My budget is 200u$s.



If you mean the active speakers, sure why not.


----------



## dmbr

Does the U7 have spdif out?


----------



## pietcux

Yes, but the chinch type of connector.


----------



## ravishkalra

hi i have a stupid question cuz ive been banging my head all around the internet over a week now to get some new cans <i already have hd 215s which are pretty nice> i wanted a sound upgrade so im planing to purchase a gaming headset which is 7.1<vengeance 1500s which will be a technological bump aswell as they are usb instead of a 3.5 jack>  which will help me over games <not that much> movies and music. And now im getting confused that shall i go for the new headphone and let go of my hd 215s or keep my hd 215s and get an xonar u7? will there be a significant change in the audio? my current laptop is asus k55vm-sx086d


----------



## dmbr

pietcux said:


> Yes, but the chinch type of connector.




Thanks! So I'd need this sort of cable?:
 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002J2B7E/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_Xpgvub1780P5F

Edit: I'm guessing not...would someone link me to the cable or adapter I'd need to spdif with the u3, please?


----------



## pietcux

dmbr said:


> Thanks! So I'd need this sort of cable?:
> https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002J2B7E/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_Xpgvub1780P5F
> 
> Edit: I'm guessing not...would someone link me to the cable or adapter I'd need to spdif with the u3, please?



The SPDIF is chinch coaxial, not optical. Don't use it, so I don't know whichever cable you need, sorry.


----------



## pietcux

ravishkalra said:


> hi i have a stupid question cuz ive been banging my head all around the internet over a week now to get some new cans _ i wanted a sound upgrade so im planing to purchase a gaming headset which is 7.1  which will help me over games  movies and music. And now im getting confused that shall i go for the new headphone and let go of my hd 215s or keep my hd 215s and get an xonar u7? will there be a significant change in the audio? my current laptop is asus k55vm-sx086d
> _


_
7.1 headphones have lots of small drivers. All from a arguable quality. You'd better stick with stereo headphones and use a proper surround simulation from either Asus or Creative. The overall sound quality is much better. The ultimate can for gaming is the AKG K701/702/Q701 and their successors combined with Asus Xonar sporting Dolby Headphone or the Creative SBX PRO STUDIO solution.
You also might want to check this, if you haven't already: 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/534479/mad-lust-envys-headphone-gaming-guide-update-10-15-2014-beyerdynamic-t51i-added
and this:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/593050/the-nameless-guide-to-pc-gaming-audio-with-binaural-headphone-surround-sound_


----------



## ravishkalra

thanks a lot


----------



## ravishkalra

ravishkalra said:


> hi i have a stupid question cuz ive been banging my head all around the internet over a week now to get some new cans <i already have hd 215s which are pretty nice> i wanted a sound upgrade so im planing to purchase a gaming headset which is 7.1<vengeance 1500s which will be a technological bump aswell as they are usb instead of a 3.5 jack>  which will help me over games <not that much> movies and music. And now im getting confused that shall i go for the new headphone and let go of my hd 215s or keep my hd 215s and get an xonar u7? will there be a significant change in the audio? my current laptop is asus k55vm-sx086d


 
 one more question that is dolby headphones what are they are they having dolby codecs inside em or they the normal cans which support dolby in an awesome way?


----------



## HarryCallaghan

Hi guys,
  
 I am going to buy a pair of headsets (probably takstar HI2050/Pro80 or something like that) and I am as well considering to buy a Xonar U7 since I am going to use the headphones mostly with the computer and i just have the ****ty onboard card from my GA-H97M-3DH. Considering this, which advantages have the U7 comparing to some dedicated DAC/AMP such us TCG-USkin or something like that?
  
 Thanks in advance!


----------



## ravishkalra

harrycallaghan said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> I am going to buy a pair of headsets (probably takstar HI2050/Pro80 or something like that) and I am as well considering to buy a Xonar U7 since I am going to use the headphones mostly with the computer and i just have the ****ty onboard card from my GA-H97M-3DH. Considering this, which advantages have the U7 comparing to some dedicated DAC/AMP such us TCG-USkin or something like that?
> 
> Thanks in advance!


 
  
 the cans are nice but xonar u7 id suggest go with Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi HD its cheaper aswell as better sounding of the both tho ergonomically dosent makes any huge difference just cuz of the placement of volume knob is a bit convenient. and if u can test it at any of the stores that would be an awesome thing. 
 and take a look at this video 
  
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJtJpD2beKA


----------



## starv3d

can this sound card power the Beyerdynamics dt990-PRO 250ohm?


----------



## Jaeger 77

I guess not because U7 is advertised for only 150 ohm impedance.


----------



## L3onardo

I have the Xonar U7 Echelon edition but I'm still confused on how to get the best in-game soundwhoring 
 Tried using both stereo and DHT4 but couldn't get it right?
  
 What are your settings for gaming, Im using a HD598+ modmic.


----------



## Jaeger 77

First of all,gaming means surround not stereo.For your cans put high gain>64 ohms and sample rate 48/16.Take note that i use a pair of Corsair Vengeance 1400 (pretty average headset),for your Senns you have to tune-in EQ differently. You can see my audio settings for gaming here:


----------



## jamieuk147

Any tips on best settings for Sony MA900 ?


----------



## jamieuk147

So for dolby surround gaming should this be avoided as it upscales from 2.0 ?

I all ready own it, but if I am honest I remember my Asus DX card sounding better and was much cheaper!


----------



## Ultraflr

Hi, im using a hifimediy sabre sync version, im considering buying the u7.
 basically I listen to music with a pair of technics speakers, and some with headphones.
 Do yo think i´ll hear some improvement in music listening?
  
 I've also heard that the speaker output is driven by the cirrus CS4362, and the headphones by cs4398.
 I thought the front channels were driven by cs4398 too. can anyone confirm it?
  
 thanks


----------



## suhaybh

I am interested in this devices as a strict USB DAC+AMP for OSX music playback. The only other device that seems to be comparable in capability is the meridian explorer. Any comparison between these two in terms of sound quality?


----------



## pietcux

The U7 is targeted on Windows usage. It comes with a complete software suite and has dedicated drivers. It seems to work with OSX, but I think you'd be better off with things like the Meridian, as such devices are made for USB audio usage and nothing else.


----------



## MrMD

Been looking for some advice on how to set up this card for my Setup,finally found this thread and signed up to post here
  
 So i have the U7 and i just cant figure out the best way to configure it.
  
 Im using some AT-m50's with it and im wondering what settings i should be using to get best quality sound.I listen to mostly metal and play a lot of games
  
 So what sample/bit rates should i be setting ect. And can any one point me in the direction of decent settings in Dolby EQ for a rock/metal profile.
  
 Im not too savvy on audio settings and tech,i dont really understand what a lot of the settings available actually do.The only setting i know i have defiantly correct is Amp gain (set to mid gain)
  
 Any help would be appreciated
  
 Edit: Also the Uni drivers dont work on the U7 do they?


----------



## L3onardo

Now Creative comes with the Soundblaster X7?? Lmao, seems I was too quick to buy my stuff, from what I read that should perfectly do what I need.
 Or is there a way I can get the best sound using the U7 altogether with my O2+ODAC??


----------



## du3z

Just got the U7 as the last component of a full new computer rig. Assumed that 7.1 means I could probably run a 2.1 setup too but not sure if this is the case?
  
 I'm currently using JBL LSR 305s as 2.0 with onboard audio. "might" consider adding a subwoofer, but man, these things are huge. Still, I would like the U7's to support my usage should I ever add a subwoofer. Can this be done?
  
 *got the U7 purely because I wanted a volume control knob since these JBLs don't have one in the front*


----------



## M D Gould

Hello everyone,
 Just reading all the posts on the U7 and I was thinking about the 7.1 not being available on the Headphone side of things...could this work around fix that....
 plug an '*RCA-to-3.5mm Y Cable' or an RCA-to-6.5mm Y Cable *into the red and white color coded RCA ports which pull double duty as front channel outputs in 7.1 configurations, then into the 3.5 or 6.5mmm connection plug in your Headphones...would this give the Headphones the needed 7.1 surround sound??
 I am not a tech dude so I do not know if the power rating of those RCA ports would blow up your Headphones...let me know and thanks in advance.
  
 regards
 M D Gould


----------



## lelynx

Hi there,
  
 I'm using this Xonar U7 sound card with the Philips Fidelio M1 headphone (16 ohms) reviewed here http://www.whathifi.com/philips/fidelio-m1/review
 and the sound is bad, like coming from the drain, a dozen of meters underground so I came here kindly asking for tips on getting this awful sound fixed.
  
 I'm sure that the headphone and the music/movies I tried are above any suspicion and cannot say that about the sound card's hardware handling the headphones. It would be nice to know if there are similar issues and if anyone had its sound card replaced for such things.
  
 About the software settings:
 - Low gain (-12 dB for < 32 ohms)
 - Sample rate 96 KHz 24 bits
 - Environmental effects: none (although with the Roon setting the sound is the closest to normal)
 - ASIO left to default settings? (i.e. Bit-Depth: 16/16 bits and Latency 20 ms)
  
 The other settings (Xear Sing FX, Xear Surround Headphone, Xear Surround Max and Dolby HTV4) are disabled.
  
 I've tweaked all the settings without any satisfactory result and now I'm out of ideas. Maybe I should have unplug/plug the sound card or even reboot the PC after some of the settings change?
  
 Any help would be greatly appreciated.
  
 Thanks and regards


----------



## Yatsuman

mrmd said:


> Im using some AT-m50's with it and im wondering what settings i should be using to get best quality sound.I listen to mostly metal and play a lot of games
> 
> So what sample/bit rates should i be setting ect. And can any one point me in the direction of decent settings in Dolby EQ for a rock/metal profile.
> 
> Im not too savvy on audio settings and tech,i dont really understand what a lot of the settings available actually do.The only setting i know i have defiantly correct is Amp gain (set to mid gain).


 
  


l3onardo said:


> I have the Xonar U7 Echelon edition but I'm still confused on how to get the best in-game soundwhoring
> Tried using both stereo and DHT4 but couldn't get it right?
> 
> What are your settings for gaming, Im using a HD598+ modmic.


 
  
  
 The best quality sound is achieved mostly by the hardware (hp's/speakers, soundcard, dac ,amp) and the source (audio or another multimedia file).
 The settings you should consider the most are the gain on the Gain Control (medium or eventually high for your M50's) and this will change the MAX volume your cans are going to produce.
 Next one is the Sample Rate, which I suggest you should equalize to your headphones specifications. I am running mine on 192KHz/24bit, since my headphones support it. And let me clear this one for you - having a 192KHz/24bit sample rate selected doesn't mean that when I'm playing 48KHz/16bit data rate music will be played as 192/24 to my headphones. Selecting 192/24 only ensured that when I'm playing such a sound it won't be lowered in quality as say 44,1/16. Of course, there is a great possibility that your sound device wouldn't produce any sound at all, if the desired sample rate (lower nor higher) is not supported.
 That's pretty much it about sound quality.
 Now as per other settings - Xear Surround Headphones/DHT v4 as well as equalizer (intelligent and graphic) - I believe it's all personal, but must be used with caution.
 If you think your songs are too bassy you can just turn down the gain for 32-250 Hz by a few dB in the graphic EQ. Same goes with the mids and highs. You can also try the intelligent EQlizer in DHT v4, which I fancy a lot. Experiment with the presets you will find there and pick the one your ears like the most.
 The surround virtualizer is good when you want to !!!simulate!!! surround sound in a stereo sound output. It might feel like a real surround or not based on your perception most of all. So play with that as well and see if it works for you or not.
  
  


m d gould said:


> Hello everyone,
> Just reading all the posts on the U7 and I was thinking about the 7.1 not being available on the Headphone side of things...could this work around fix that....
> plug an '*RCA-to-3.5mm Y Cable' or an RCA-to-6.5mm Y Cable *into the red and white color coded RCA ports which pull double duty as front channel outputs in 7.1 configurations, then into the 3.5 or 6.5mmm connection plug in your Headphones...would this give the Headphones the needed 7.1 surround sound??
> I am not a tech dude so I do not know if the power rating of those RCA ports would blow up your Headphones...let me know and thanks in advance.
> ...


 
  
 The only possible way to get a 7.1 sound is with 7.1 speakers setup. With headphones you can only simulate surround sound through Xear Surround Heapdones and/or DHT v4.
 Headphones should be plugged in the recommended jack (front left), so you would benefit from the amp gain and the other headphones settings you have available in the Xear and DHT v4 software.
  
  
  


lelynx said:


> Hi there,
> 
> I'm using this Xonar U7 sound card with the Philips Fidelio M1 headphone (16 ohms) reviewed here http://www.whathifi.com/philips/fidelio-m1/review
> and the sound is bad, like coming from the drain, a dozen of meters underground so I came here kindly asking for tips on getting this awful sound fixed.
> ...


 
 Just to make it clear - have you got the headphones connected to the front left 3.5mm jack? I know you said you changed the env. settings to room and it had some sort of an effect, and that already suggests that it's in the right place, but it's better to be safe than sorry.
 If yes, maybe the gain is too low (I am unaware of your headphones impedance specifications).
 Also have you tried pairing your headphones with say any portable device (smartphone/mp3 player) and have you tried another pair of headphones on the sound card?
 As with any peace of electronics there could be a shortened component or another factory defect, so keep that in mind with any of your purchases and always try different scenarios, which will help you easily identify the problem.
  
 Good luck to you all,
 Yatsu


----------



## Sam21

"The only possible way to get a 7.1 sound is with 7.1 speakers setup. With headphones you can only simulate surround sound through Xear Surround Heapdones and/or DHT v4."
  
  
 there exists true surround headsets out there ... like Razer Tiamat 7.1 or others...


----------



## Yatsuman

sam21 said:


> "The only possible way to get a 7.1 sound is with 7.1 speakers setup. With headphones you can only simulate surround sound through Xear Surround Heapdones and/or DHT v4."
> 
> 
> there exists true surround headsets out there ... like Razer Tiamat 7.1 or others...


 
 The number of drivers implemented in Razer Tiamat 7.1 or Asus Strix 7.1 matches the physical requirements of a 7.1 speakers setup, thus my statement above. I was a bit unclear with it indeed. By headphones I meant any 2 drivers audiophile headphones that are most likely to be mentioned here. Also, correct me, if I'm wrong but they both come with their own sound card implementation.


----------



## Jaeger 77

Anybody tried latest U7 drivers (january 2015)? If so,what are the improvements in sound quality?


----------



## raoultrifan

Hi there, 
  
 I used to have an older version of driver, so the new one, installed 3 days ago, did not really improved anything to hi-fi sound, but at least it comes with the new "Sonic Studio Pro" control panel, which look pretty nice and you have lots of things to customize there.
  
 Cheers!


----------



## Marshallo313

Hi 
 Have anyone installed the Echelon driver (sonic radar) to normal nonechelon u7?
  
 Edit:
 Second question.
 I have Xonar U7 and Beyerdynamics Custom One pro.
 Can someone describe me the best settings to using it in game ? (FPS) 
 Using Xonar via usb on laptop (msi ge60)
  
 3q. I have some strange issue.. i hear a litle crack sound sometimes.. its freaky. 
 (onboard sound card disabled - xonar set to 2.0 usb, tried to dissconect laptop charger but it give nothing. 
 first running beta driver (win 8.1) it was hard crack every 30-60 seconds, then i had install tested whql driver and its better but still can be heared...


----------



## raoultrifan

Hi, 
  
 I tried installing the Echelon driver on U7, but it failed. Looks like it realize it's not the Echelon version and it just rolls back the installer. Perhaps with some trick might be installed after all, but I haven't bothered...
  
 Cheers.


----------



## f iDeL

Hi!
 Just a quick question,
  
 I upgraded my PC and my new motherboard is the ASUS Z97-Pro Gamer
 with the SupremeFX onboard audio (Realtek ALC1150 with some funcy software...)
  
 Just for fun I did some hearing tests between U7 and SupremeFX
 Ofcorse the audio from U7 is better but I noticed some strange thing...
 The volume loudness if you prefer is way different from both cards,
 ex: Windows volume 20% on SupremeFX is as loud as windows volume 35% with U7
 Why is that? why SupremeFX can produce a much louder audio than U7?
 Does it have to do with the amp that realtek uses?
  
 I have Superlux HD668B and the U7 is at USB 2.0 with max gain...
  
 I'm also thinking of bying a Bravo Audio Tube Amplifier - V2 to hook into the U7 
 Is it possible to tell me If i can connect it like this?
 U7 Headphone output > Bravo Audio Tube Amplifier - V2?
  
 Best regards!


----------



## raoultrifan

You can increase internal U7's volume from low to med, based on your headphones low SPL and 56 ohms internal impedance. Anyway, don't bother to equalize volumes, because this doesn't means your mobo's amp is better in any way.

I don't see why Bravo will not be OK with U7.


----------



## f iDeL

Actually I set the ASUS to High Impedance
 do you believe is wrong?
  
 As for the Bravo, I know it will be ok
 My question is if I can connect with a 3.5mm to 3.5mm jack from U7 headphone output to the yellow 3.5mm bravos input...
  
 Sorry for my noobish question!!!


----------



## raoultrifan

If you really want to feed your Bravo V2 amp through U7's headphone out 3.5mm plug, you can do that, just be sure to setup the impedance to low from U7's control panel.
  
 According to http://bravoaudio.com/bravo2.html the input impedance for the Bravo amp is 100KOhm, but the output impedance of your U7's headphone amp is only few Ohms, so I would actually recommend you to connect the U7 to your Bravo amp by using a regular RCA-RCA cable; just try finding a decent short cable with a strong shield and gold plated plugs (less than 0.5 meters long, if possible). Also, you could try using both cables setup (RCA-RCA and jack-jack) and see what fits you best, but I still think that RCA-RCA should be the winner here. 
  
 The input sensitivity for Bravo V2 is 100mV, so this shouldn't be any issue for your U7 to deal with this; according to U7's datasheet it can output up to 1V RMS.


----------



## f iDeL

Thank you very much for your advise!
  
 Actually the only problem with the RCA connection is that I already use RCA for my 5.1 setup
 so the only available output that I have is the headphone 3.5mm output.
 I don't want to plug/unplug every time I would like to hear through my headphones or 5.1
  
 Maybe there is a way to do it via a splitter-switcher or something like that but again
 when I'll listen to my headphones the sound will be passing also from the SUB/FL-FR/RL-RR
  
 Correct me if I'm wrong.


----------



## teejmiller

I'm curious if anyone with a Mac who has the device has gone into the MIDI settings and raised the bitrate to 96/24? 

 I'm assuming the virtual surround only works in windows, being that it's software based?


----------



## HiCZoK

guys. I get it, its an asus top but I have some questions on those usb dac/amps
 Currently I have xonar dg and brainwavz hm5.
 Love the setup but I would like to have something on-desk like x-fi hd or xonar u7 (dont know any more products like that).
 Mostly just for convinience of having easy plug-in headphones on desk. If the sound gets better too. fantasic.
  
 any tips or recommendations ?
 As for now, I am using my hm5 with medium impedance setting on my xonar dg. That is 60+ and i am never going beyond 60% volume


----------



## BolverkGTM

So I've owned my Xonar U7 for a week now.  Nice little thing, but...I've noticed a bit of an issue surface today.  I was using it to output 192 KHz sample rate at 24 bits for the past week and just today, I've detected some low buzzing noises periodically from my headphones.  At first I was worried it was the headphones themselves, but I quickly switched to another pair and they did the same exact thing.  Rules out the headphones being an issue.  I checked onboard sound and that was fine by itself.  It was coming back to the U7.  I did some basic trouble shooting, including reinstalling the drivers (not sure if they properly uninstalled in the first place or not, I'm willing to attempt that fix again) and eventually, as it turns out, the buzzing is caused by the sample rate and bit settings I've been using for the past week.  I reset the settings to default and everything is fine now.  No more buzzing.
  
 I have to wonder, does it really make a noticeable difference in music and games if I crank those settings up to the highest values?  Should I just get the U7 replaced since it's still only a week old?  Is there a fix I could do on my end?  Help me out here.  If you need more info, I use Sennheiser HD 598 headphones with this DAC and amp.
  
 Update: The buzzing is back on the lower settings now.  I'm really at a loss on what to do here.  Any suggestions?


----------



## HiCZoK

Most stuff is recorded at 44 so setting it higher don't achieve anything


----------



## BolverkGTM

Alright, well at any rate, the U7 is still creating a low tone buzz periodically now.  How do I go about fixing that?  This wasn't always happening.  It just started the other night.  Should I just get it replaced under warranty, try a reinstall, or what?


----------



## hanaxxaru

has someone compared these asus u7 with fiio e10k? i would like to see the comparison as it have quite similar price..


----------



## Wiz33

I was thinking about the same thing. I guess it all depends on what you want to achieve. If all you want is a DAC/AMP for headphone use from your PC. than the E10K is probably a better/cleaner solution. My situation is a bit different. I want something that will give better sound quality to my 5.1 speaker setup (vs the onboard Realtek chip) and serve as an headphone amp at the same time (I'm out of slot on my PC for an onboard sound card and the mobo does not have any digital output available so an external USB DAC is the only option). Also, I figured that since I already have a E11K. If I don't like the sound from the U7 headphone amp, I can always switch that to line-out and connect through my E11K.


----------



## Wiz33

I got my U7 yesterday and installation was fairly simple and it only took about 10 minutes (a couple reboot) to get it up and running. Notice 2 things though.
  
 First:  The sound level going from the optical output to the Z680 speakers seems a bit low until I click the Dolby HTV4 then it almost doubled in volume even with all effect turned off. Is this normal? (edit on 3/14: OK that went away after another reboot. now it plays at the louder level on both setting).
  
 Second:  When I first plugged in my XBA-A3. Sound got really muddled and it seems to have lost most of the vocals. It turns out I was using the cable that have a mic for the XBA-A3 and once I switch back to the simple stereo cable everything is fine. However, I used the same cable on the U3 and a few Fiio product with no problem (E11, E11K, E17K). I ordered a3.5mm splitter cable with separate Headphone and Mic plugs. Hopefully, this will solve the problem but it was strange and took me quite a while to figure out it's the headphone plug (thought I messed up some setting on the U7 software at first).


----------



## Wiz33

For some odd reason. The U7 does not like 3.5mm jack with mic connections. You have to pull it maybe 1/4 ways out and it will work properly. It's a hassle so I ended up getting one of this:
  
 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PYZ2BT4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
  
 and now my Mic also works.


----------



## DrunkenTiger

I have a SoundBlaster Omni with the Sennheiser G4ME ZEROs
 Really no complaints beside not one button switch to speakers that I plan on buying soon.
  
 How does this compare? I game a lot, and also listen to a lot of music, cap out at FLAC though, don't dabble in "high res" audio.


----------



## Sopheus

Hi there,
  
 I have got Xonar Echelon too and I have a quick question: Will Xonar U7 be sufficient for Shure SM58 vocal microphone?


----------



## Jaeger 77

How to set properly cut off frequency in FLEX BASS II? I have an TRUST GXT 2.1 audio system and i made some tweaks in Flex Bass feature:
 cut off freq to 150/bass to level 4. Is this OK for the optimal sound or i should reconsider those values?

 Link with my speakers: http://trust.com/en/all-products/19023-gxt-38-ultimate-bass-21-speaker-set


----------



## untore

Hello guys, I have the echelon version and I just installed drivers on windows 8.1, it makes some other apps crash consistently, meaning that some apps crash every time they are launched, I suspect setup for the drivers replace some windows libraries used by other software or something like that...
  
 I worked around this issue by installing the drivers backing it up, uninstalling, and restoring it from the .inf file installation. This way I have the dolby home control panel, but not the studio pro control panel but at least it does not break half my apps! If someone can provide me a way to install the sonic studio pro software I would be grateful, maybe it is that one that is causing the issue I don't know.
  
 edit: ok, the problem is caused by the launcher nhAsusU7CamoUILauncher.exe
 just disable its automatic startup and run the sonic studio pro from its .exe


----------



## kh600rr

I had the same issue,I reinst it. Ok now


----------



## malidinho

Hello. I just bought xonar u7. And I have a problem. 
  
 For now Im using Ath-cks 55x. Ath A700x will be here soon.
  
 When I plug cks 55x fully it sounds crap. no bass. no vocal. But when I pull it back a little bit it sounds good. 
  
 Edit: I fixed it. Problem comes from headphone&mic devices with 1 input.


----------



## bonoz

Hi guys,
  
 Bought myself an ASUS Xonar U7 DAC for my laptop. 
  
 I like playing guitar and want it to play through my speaker system that my laptop is connected to via the DAC.
  
 But when I do the line in and plug the guitar into Xonar U7... I get at least 1/2 a second of latency which makes playing guitar almost impossible. 
  
 How can I fix this? Surely a DAC of this quality shouldn't be giving me these issues? I've had no latency issues with cards that were much cheaper. I've tried the ASIO setting and have set it to 4 ms with lowest bitrate. 
  
 Any advice? Thanks


----------



## raoultrifan

Hi Bonoz, 
  
 Can you completely reinstall driver with the latest version? Also, try ASIO with 8ms instead of 4ms.
  
 Thanks!


----------



## Reignski

I am running a nuforce ha-200 headphone amp through the u7's RCAs but I am getting an unpleasant high pitched ringing. It's not the amp as far as I can tell as I have run it through other sources. Any advice? Would shielding the RCAs help at all?


----------



## bobbavet

Gday all
  
 Thanks for the thread.
  
 Long time lurker and my first post "apparently". Though I am sure I was a member and posted from a couple of years ago, but site won't recognize my unchanged email. lols

 Any hows, I have had the U3 since its release. I bought it as I was building my first MITX PC.
  
 I have had high end Xfi and Xonars in regular builds but this U3 has given me the best pleasure. Not the best in music, though no shonk either.
  
 In gaming it is brilliant with Dolby Headphone. Set at 7.1 and the directional was superb in BF 3/4. I use some Sibera V2's which I am also happy with.
  
  
 I am doing a new build and considering the U7. Echelon is out unfortunately as it is not available in Australia that I can find. If anyone could help locating, Id appreciate.
  
 What is concerning me after looking through the thread is the U7 "not" being recognized as a 7.1 device and is fed a 2.0 Signal. Has this been addressed?
  
 I always have set at 7.1 feed and selected 8 channel in audio center.
  
 I'd DAC the U3, but want 24bit.
  
  
 For shiz and giggle I just ordered some Superlux 681's for a try. My Sibs are 3yrs old now.
  
 Will search around a bit more for an Echelon local. Can get OS but then I have warranty issue, shipping etc.
  
  
 Cheers Bob


----------



## dub Beatz

To piggy back off of what you said... I can't seem to find the Echelon in the US either. Only through Ebay?


----------



## LeYes

My impression on U7 is positive I would say, comparing its price range and the sound quality. 
  
 Sound is pretty awesome, audio output format is up to 24/192 and the driver is nice and lovely.
 It's external, therefore easy to plug in and remove, and place the audio port on proper locations (no more connections to the desktop)
 I am currently using this for my laptop, which you pretty much cannot install other sound cards in.
 U7 definitely qualifies my purpose of the purchase, and I love it.
  
  
 Yet, its usage is very limited to pc-fi, with headphones or pc speakers up to 5.1 channel.
 If you're looking for pc-fi interfaces for other usage, I would recommend looking for audio interfaces, but not this one.


----------



## dfuse

So, I've read this entire thread.
 If I read this correctly, most people agree that surround sound works with the U7 even though only stereo shows up in Windows, BUT the Echelon version does show the 7.1 option? 
 It should also have no trouble driving the Fidelio X2, as that is a 32ohm headphone. Quality seems to be very good and if my only goal is gaming with surround, the U7 Echelon would be a perfect match for the Fidelio X2?


----------



## Nidus123

Well, mine just crapped out after ~8 months of use ... it can only be detected as Unknown USB device on any computer i've tried and they were even preventing the pc from restarting (fun eh?).
  
 Back to stock windows audio until i get something else ... bleh.


----------



## amafi

I've had my Xonar U7 Echelon for a while now, and there's something not right with the x64 windows 8.1 drivers.
 Plays back sound fine, microphone on my connected headset (Kingston HyperX Cloud) works fine in applications like teamspeak, skype and ventrilo.
  
 But there are some issues. The Asus software for setting the thing up won't load. This happens with every single version of win 8.1 drivers available at Asus' site. I just get sidebyside errors in the event log, haven't been able to find a solution so far. There's also an issue with the signing of the drivers.
  
 Steam voice chat will detect the soundcard in settings, but it will not detect any audio. This happens with every version of the drivers outside of one, version 8.0.11.19 from January 2014.
 With that version of the drivers, you need to change the system clock to sometime in march/february 2014 to get the drivers to install.
  
 The Xonar software still won't launch, but steam will pick up audio from the mic.
  
 Dolby Home Theater seems to be working fine with every version I've tried, and with most of them the Xonar software sits in the system tray. With some versions I can enable sonic radar, but I can not open the Xonar software itself.
  
 Been fiddling with this for a couple months now since I got the thing, and I figure I might as well throw it out and get something from someone with better software support, as I very much doubt the situation will improve with Windows 10 come July.
  
 Any suggestions? Preferably external, but I can always move stuff around and free up a pci express slot as well if I really need to.


----------



## venky

pietcux said:


> First of all I have Xonar devices since 4 years. Xonar Essence STX, Xonar U1 and now The Xonar U7. I had Windows XP, Windows Vista and now Windows 7 and different computers and I had *never* any trouble with the Xonar Drivers.
> And yes the DHT v4 contains DH. Dolby customer service told me that they use the same algorithms for DH and for DHT v4. It is the same in a more user friendly package. I still have the Xonar U1 to compare. The surround effects are basically the same, but the sound is more refined from the Xonar U7. And the U7 can drive an active 7.1 speaker system or simulate surround from 2 active speakers.


 
 Hi there,
  
 I am planning to buy a sound card for my 2-channel stereo speakers which will be connected through RCA. Trying to decide between Xonar U7 and Essence STX. Is there really a noticeable difference in sound quality between them? or I can just go with the U7. Because it is cheaper, easily available in my location and looks cool (LOL). I expect neutral sound with minimal coloring. 
 Any suggestion is highly appreciated...


----------



## pietcux

venky said:


> Hi there,
> 
> I am planning to buy a sound card for my 2-channel stereo speakers which will be connected through RCA. Trying to decide between Xonar U7 and Essence STX. Is there really a noticeable difference in sound quality between them? or I can just go with the U7. Because it is cheaper, easily available in my location and looks cool (LOL). I expect neutral sound with minimal coloring.
> Any suggestion is highly appreciated...


 
 Hi venky, the only gripe with the U7 is that windows only recognizes it as a Stereo device when using the headphone out. So Windows will only deliver a Stereo signal to the U7 when used as headphone amp. Dolby creates the surround effect out of a stereo signal then. The Xonar STX or a Soundblaster Z will be recognised as 7.1 devices and Windows feeds them accordingly. If you only use Stereo the U7 will get you a good and clear signal though. But with the STX you can't go wrong. Or take the STX2. Btw, I go the STX that I sold because I switched to a Laptop bac and use it since some month again in my main rig for music and gaming. I am a little afraid thouh if there wll be a Windows 10 driver for the rather old STX card. That is why I think of moving on to the STX2.


----------



## dub Beatz

So I went ahead an ordered the Xonar U7. Arrived yesterday. I wanted to give you guys an honest mini-review.
  
 The first thing I noticed was that the Dolby positional audio was really... lackluster. Everything sounds like I'm in a room. It completely amplifies the wrong sounds in my opinion. In every game I've played so far the ambiance heavily outweighs any other sound. On top of being unable to hear crucial sounds like gunshots and footsteps, when I did hear them they were completely untraceable. Let me give a few examples.
  
 1) Was playing Planetside 2. Way too much ambiance. All I could hear was the loud amount of wind, trees rustling and vehicles. I couldn't hear ANYTHING directly around me. Positional audio was just plain terrible. It sounded like a slightly beefed up version of stereo. There was way too much sound being delivered to one channel. Essentially, put stereo headphones on, have someone shoot to the right of you. You know how you ONLY hear it in the right cup? That's what this sounds like, only a little more spacial. I never received any sound in the other channels. Now why is this bad you might ask? Well we don't hear sounds naturally that way. If something happens to my right, my right ear hears it first but my left ear still hears it. Simulated surround where only my right ear hears it sounds incredibly fake.
  
 2) I played some Breaking Point where positional cues are absolutely critical. I logged in and immediately was bombarded with more ambiance. I thought, ok, maybe the rest will be better though. NOPE. Saw a player, fired... It sounded like someone turned the volume of my gun down to 10 (out of 100). I can barely hear my own gun that is RIGHT ON TOP OF ME! This was also a huge problem in Planetside. I had a group of hunters try and sneak up behind me. Thank god I was panning the camera because I never heard them. Even when they fired, they were no more than 10 meters away from me. It sounded like they were several hundred feet away and their gunshots were so muffled. 
  
 3) These things do not drive my cans adequately. The headphone amp just isn't very powerful. I've tried cans 32ohms, 38ohms, 80ohms and 250ohms. I could set the card on the highest gain, use the 32ohms headphones and absolutely max the volume out and would be totally fine.
  
 Bear in mind I'm comparing this to my formerly retired, now reinstated Auzentech X-fi Forte which used CMSS-3D. I've come to the conclusion that CMSS-3D is VASTLY superior (in my opinion, obviously). I just processed the return for the Xonar and I ordered the omni 5.1. In all honesty I don't expect it to be much better, but we'll see. I think at this point CMSS-3D is a dying technology, which is sad, because it blows the pants off of several audio processing techniques I've heard. Dolby Headphone definitely being one of them.
  
 If I could give advice to anyone looking for an external sound card, I would say if you've never heard simulated surround, dolby heaphone will probably sound awesome to you. If you're used to excellent positional audio from CMSS-3D, do NOT make the switch to dolby headphone. Such a mistake.


----------



## venky

pietcux said:


> Hi venky, the only gripe with the U7 is that windows only recognizes it as a Stereo device when using the headphone out. So Windows will only deliver a Stereo signal to the U7 when used as headphone amp. Dolby creates the surround effect out of a stereo signal then. The Xonar STX or a Soundblaster Z will be recognised as 7.1 devices and Windows feeds them accordingly. If you only use Stereo the U7 will get you a good and clear signal though. But with the STX you can't go wrong. Or take the STX2. Btw, I go the STX that I sold because I switched to a Laptop bac and use it since some month again in my main rig for music and gaming. I am a little afraid thouh if there wll be a Windows 10 driver for the rather old STX card. That is why I think of moving on to the STX2.


 
  
 Hi, I am only going to use the stereo. So would u say that there is no significant difference in sound quality between U7 and STX?
 Thanks...


----------



## pietcux

venky said:


> Hi, I am only going to use the stereo. So would u say that there is no significant difference in sound quality between U7 and STX?
> Thanks...



I cannot hear a significant difference in stereo mode. Asus put a lot of effort into the U7 and they proved in the last years that the seem to know what they are doing.


----------



## passing

I've ordered the U7 this week too, it should arrive tomorrow, and I'll be comparing it to the X-Fi HD from Creative (also a USB card), which arrived just today. Lately I've become more and more tired of having to put up with onboard audio (which is actually the ALC1150 with integrated headphone amp, so one of the better ones), which just sounds too muffled and lacks too much detail. For both music and gaming/movies it's just not that good, especially since I use an HD 650 which really benefits from good a dac/amp. I'm saving up for some really hi-fi equipment, but in the meantime I wanted to get one of these "cheap solutions" so my music and movies can sound more lively at least for the time being.
  
 I will post some more thoughts this weekend when I've compared both sound cards, but I've been using that Creative soundcard today, and I gotta say it's pretty good for the price. I'm certainly no audiophile, so I can't comment on exact things like highs/lows etc, but compared to onboard, music immediately sounded way more clear and crispier, and also more detailed. I've been mainly listening to simple Spotify mp3s, but also some HD files, and the crispness/clarity and detail improves further with those tracks.
 There's two more things that I've noticed, one positive and one not so positive. Firstly, this sound card is FAST, like really fast, and for the HD650s that's actually a great thing because it's known to be a pretty relaxed headphone, and if pairing it to an equally relaxed amp or DAC, it can sound too slow (and yeah, a bit veiled). But anyway, that's definitely not the case here. The less positive thing, is that it can sometimes sound a little too "digital", like instruments and to a lesser extent vocals sometimes sound maybe a bit unnatural (and sometimes slightly distorted because of that). It's definitely not bad but it would be nicer if it sounded a bit more natural or "analog". But I certainly wouldn't say it sounds "cold", the sound is actually quite neutral. So far then, pretty good for a sub-100 euro (or dollar) DAC, I'm quite impressed.
  
 Anyway I've also ordered me a Fiio amp, which together with the U7 should arrive tomorrow. So I'll see how those combinations will fare with my HD650s.
  
  
 BTW, I've also heard how the STX II sounds, it's been a while but I'll try also compare it to the U7. Also had the Phoebus for a little while, which uses the same software as the U7, so those 2 are probably more related.
 What I can say vs. the X-Fi HD, if I recall correctly, is that the STX II sounded warmer and more natural, better defined, and slightly better instruments seperation. I thought it wasn't _really_ worth that ~200 euro/dollar price though, and it lacked some "body", so I didn't keep it. (Damn, that you can say euro/dollar now, while it seems not so long ago when the euro was much stronger that the dollar, lol.)
 I only used the stock opamps though, so perhaps with better opamps it will sound better. But I think also that the STX and HD650 is probably not the best combo because they're both warm sounding, so it might be better with a DT880 or so.


----------



## passing

So today I tried out the Xonar U7, so I can finally give some first impressions of the U7, and compare it to the Creative X-Fi I talked about yesterday. Both are priced about the same so they're close competitors in the USB/PC DAC market (although the X-Fi is stereo while the U7 also has 7.1 surround options, but I'm only interested in stereo).
 Besides the U7, I also tried out two Fiio amps with the DACs, namely the A3 (formerly E11K) and the E12A (which has a Muses02 opamp), just to see if they sound better than using the standard amps in the DAC's headphone outputs. I connected the amps to the DACs via the RCA outputs. Oh, and all the time I've used my HD 650 Sennheiser headphone to listen.
  
 So let's start with the U7. I think it's pretty similar to the Phoebus, it's been a while since I've used that one but it uses the exact same software and as I remember it sounded quite similar to the U7, although perhaps the Phoebus was a bit warmer. I don't believe the Phoebus had an integrated headphone amp though (the U7 does), although I might be mistaken. I'd say the U7 amp, which is 150 Ohm rated, is powerful enough to power the 300+ Ohm HD650, but it's of course not as good for the 650 as, say, the amp in the STX (which can power up to 600 Ohms).
 Now let's compare to the Creative X-Fi HD. The U7 has more punch in the bass for sure (the X-Fi's bass is a little thin at default), although I think it has less treble presence, which makes the sound perhaps a little more relaxed and a little thinner (though the punchiness makes up for that a bit). The U7 also has a more "analog" sound, as there's a lot more timbre to the sounds and instruments. However, it's not exactly the best sounding timbre I've heard, it somehow sounds slightly distorted overall, and it's hard to put into words but it's like taking a pretty natural sounding recording and processing it to make it sound a bit more precise and tight, but maybe a bit too tight. It's actually a sound signature that's common with the Xonar sound cards I believe (even the STX has it, although the STX has a more refined sound to it and sounds more natural and warmer). I do kinda like some aspects of its timbre and the tight sound, but it's not my most favorite sound signature I must say.
  
 So the U7 and X-Fi both have their advantages and disadvantages. I think the main advantage of the U7 is the versatility, and it's the better card for those who want a lot of surround options or who like a tighter and punchier sound for their music, games and movies. The X-Fi also has surround options, but only virtual surround. It's more a stereo card for music, but even with its default settings it's still very suitable for games and movies because of its clear sound, especially when using speakers or open-back headphones. In my case, at least for music (and I think also games and movies) I prefer the X-Fi sound, especially for longer listening periods (I like the U7 sound too, but it's maybe a bit "too much" for long listening periods, especially when using the Dolby app and Dolby headphone). The X-Fi also sounds more "musical" to me - it has a bit more "liveliness" and dynamic to the sound, and the U7 while technically very good sounding, it sounds a bit clinical with music, so it's primarily a card for gaming and movies.
  
 People do sometimes criticize Creative products, I haven't owned many products by them but they do of course have a lot of experience in making PC sound cards (a lot more than Asus), and while making this card they did know what they're doing, and the result I must say is excellent. The Asus I wouldn't quite call "excellent", but it's pretty good too. They're both very good cards for the price at least (some flaws, but nothing that really disturbed me, and overall they're way better than you'd expect in this price range) and if you're using onboard audio it's definitely a big step-up, if you care about your audio that is.
  
 Ok that was a bit long, so I'll be short about using a Fiio amp with these sound cards: not really worth it. It does make the sound a little bit better sometimes, and more so with the E12A, but it's not a very noticable difference so imo not worth the extra money. I'd say both integrated amps in the sound cards are good enough, even for powering a high impedance phone like the HD 650. Although the X-Fi wins here again because it has a bit stronger amp (up to 300 Ohms i believe). (And it also has a 1/4 inch headphone jack for my 650's so that's another plus.)


----------



## raoultrifan

nidus123 said:


> Well, mine just crapped out after ~8 months of use ... it can only be detected as Unknown USB device on any computer i've tried and they were even preventing the pc from restarting (fun eh?).
> 
> Back to stock windows audio until i get something else ... bleh.


 
 Hi Nidus123, 
  
 I you move the switch from back-side from USB2.0 to USB1.1 and plug your U7 into a different computer without U7 drivers on it (or an Android tablet or phone) will it work?
  
 Thanks, 
 Raul.


----------



## Nidus123

raoultrifan said:


> Hi Nidus123,
> 
> I you move the switch from back-side from USB2.0 to USB1.1 and plug your U7 into a different computer without U7 drivers on it (or an Android tablet or phone) will it work?
> 
> ...


 
 Nope, just sits there staring and mocking me... gotta RMA it, already spoke to ASUS support.


----------



## untore

beta 1.0.20 xonar u7 echelon edition, changelog:
- Fix MIC problem.
  
what is that supposed to mean


----------



## skk00

Replaced my essence ST with the U7 and i have some problems.
  
 The asio driver does not seem to work, i have xonar u7 asio set in foobar2k and the eq bars are moving but nothing gets outputed. Only Direct sound works. Used to work fine with the ST.
  
 I have the thing connected via coax spdif to my dac, which then goes to my amp / speakers. With asio my dac would automatically switch to the correct khz setting the specific track was recorded at.
  
 I can't use this without asio and no idea what to try next to make it work. I don't want to use asio4all, i want asus' s asio driver, which worked for the st anyway.
  
 Also, at random times, when i stop playback a crackling sound remains in my speakers, repeting itself over and over. I have to switch the dac off/on or play something else to get rid of it. But it does not do that all the time, now it remains silent after stopping playback for example.
  
 Weird, was not expecting so much trouble with this unit considering the essence worked perfect from day 1.
  
 I have tried every driver avail, currently running the latest one.
  
  
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5m9F_AGYuwc&feature=youtu.be
  
 Noise goes away after i turn the dac off on at the end.


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## Jaeger 77

The best and only driver in terms of audio quality for Xonar U7 is that WHQL dated on 22.01.2014. This year releases (february and latest beta-23.06) are PURE JUNK in terms of audio quality,imho.
 For example,in the latest BETA driver you cannot tune your subwoofer anymore in FlexxBass 2 and you are forced to stay with some weird presets!
 Why ASUS choose to sacrifice sound quality versus a fancy software interface filled with mediocre audio presets i cannot understand... If things will fallow this path,i rather sell my U7 and buy some Creative stuff!


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## untore

jaeger 77 said:


> The best and only driver in terms of audio quality for Xonar U7 is that WHQL dated on 22.01.2014. This year releases (february and latest beta-23.06) are PURE JUNK in terms of audio quality,imho.
> For example,in the latest BETA driver you cannot tune your subwoofer anymore in FlexxBass 2 and you are forced to stay with some weird presets!
> Why ASUS choose to sacrifice sound quality versus a fancy software interface filled with mediocre audio presets i cannot understand... If things will fallow this path,i rather sell my U7 and buy some Creative stuff!


 
 yeah but they fixed the MIC PROBLEM )


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## skk00

So the ones with the ugly gui. Yeah, i hate this sonic stuff myself, specially since it does not save any of my settings. Always have to turn the volume up for my fronts.


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## Jaeger 77

And it sounds so bad!!!
 I just reinstalled that old WHQL and everything sounds cristal clear now.


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## Glasofruix

The only thing i like in the sonic studio software is the virtual surround option, it has no quality loss, but it doesn't fool windows into thinking it's a proper surround device meaning the games that autodetect audio settings (like all of them, sadly) continue to output in stereo (Who the heck decided it's a good idea to look into windows control panel for that? Can't we have an ingame option?). As of now it works as a nice stereo expand, in witcher 3 for example the channel transitions in pure stereo are harsh, with virtual surround some sound from one speaker "bleeds" a bit to the other giving a more natura soundstage. In BF4 i actually managed to get the surround virualization working as it should (all the bars in the sonic radar interface are moving) and it sounds great giving perfect precision, too bad the code monkeys at asus suck at their job...


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## Jaeger 77

I'm wonder if ASUS will continue driver support for Xonar U7 when Windows 10 will be launched...


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## untore

jaeger 77 said:


> I'm wonder if ASUS will continue driver support for Xonar U7 when Windows 10 will be launched...


 
 the echelon version has only drivers tagged as beta for win 8.1, ill be damned if they don't keep the drivers up to date...
 also a gaming oriented sound board and the microphone input does not work with steam...it is really a joke, and my mic does not have line-in...


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## Jaeger 77

This is my second soundcard from ASUS (after D1) and i'm confronting same issues: bad/very rare drivers,0 support,generally speaking very good hardware plagued by software. I swear this will be my last XONAR card if they will screw the drivers like they use to!
 I am pretty sure that Creative Soundblaster Z is a better choice now,especially for gaming.


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## untore

jaeger 77 said:


> This is my second soundcard from ASUS (after D1) and i'm confronting same issues: bad/very rare drivers,0 support,generally speaking very good hardware plagued by software. I swear this will be my last XONAR card if they will screw the drivers like they use to!
> I am pretty sure that Creative Soundblaster Z is a better choice now,especially for gaming.


 
 I would not really say it, microphone wise the soundblaster was trash, it is to be said that SBZ is pcie whereas xonar is external so less interferences but the one I had had a mountain of noises and static, the u7 on the other hand has very low static. Software wise "perfect voice" is on another level compared to the crystal voice of SBZ, the latter makes the sound just underwater crap. The sbz had decent virtual surround integration compared to faulty u7 one, but it has also a scount mode which should enhance far sounds...but you can't use it with virtual surround which makes it uselss, effects wise they are on the same level, maybe the sbz has a little bit better sounds overall tough. Also this might not interest you but soundblaster Z has no linux drivers at all, which means you can only use it on windows, whereas asus xonar has some okish drivers on linux. 
 Overall I think asus still a better choice than creative here


----------



## palanoid

I have a problem with this soundcard. So I had to connect my U7 to an amplifier then to my headphones. When connected to the amp via RCA, the soundcard and Windows have both recognised the output device as "Speakers" instead of "Headphones". For music listening there seem not to be too much a difference, but in gaming with games that don't allow changes for the audio output between headphones or speakers, the accuracy of directional cues in those games seem to have suffered. I wonder if there was a way to make Windows or the soundcard think I was still using headphones for output


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## untore

nhAsusU7CamoMainConfig.exe which is sonic studio pro main executable crashes on windows10, on the bright side the tray icon does not make windows crash and asio control panel and sonic radar work


----------



## maxaudio

Hi Forum, I would like to buy an U7 mainly to have a high quality output for my regular stereo amp. However, the headphone amp and some surround-sound-effects for headset-gaming are a nice add-on. After reading this thread I am confused. Does DHTv4 work properly or not? Is the headphone amp of good quality (i wont be using headphones >200eur anyways ...)? Some people claim that one can only select stereo output in windows, such that games wont even "internally" produce 5.1 sound. Is that correct? Is this a driver issue that will be fixed at some point? Should I rather buy the Echelon or the regular version ? They differ only by firmware and driver, right? Which one is better? They are the same price ... Thank you!


----------



## Suuup

Is it possible to use the U7 as only a DAC and not as amp?


----------



## Jaeger 77

maxaudio said:


> Hi Forum, I would like to buy an U7 mainly to have a high quality output for my regular stereo amp. However, the headphone amp and some surround-sound-effects for headset-gaming are a nice add-on. After reading this thread I am confused. Does DHTv4 work properly or not? Is the headphone amp of good quality (i wont be using headphones >200eur anyways ...)? Some people claim that one can only select stereo output in windows, such that games wont even "internally" produce 5.1 sound. Is that correct? Is this a driver issue that will be fixed at some point? Should I rather buy the Echelon or the regular version ? They differ only by firmware and driver, right? Which one is better? They are the same price ... Thank you!


 

 Better to wait for some WHQL driver for Windows 10 instead hurry to buy Xonar U7 (regular or Echelon) right now.
 Nobody can tell for sure if ASUS will continue software support for U7...


----------



## skk00

Nvidia shadowplay doesn't work with this soundcard also. It's got no recording device in the mixer so no in-game audio / windows sounds ever get recorded. Shame on Asus for selling this while offering no support.
  
 Should've went with whatever Creative was offering for external usb sound cards. My mistake I guess.


----------



## Xtreme512

Guys I wanna upgrade my Xtreme Music to this. XtremeMusic uses *Cirrus* Logic® CS4382 DAC and Asus U7 uses *Cirrus* Logic® CS4398 DAC. Is it a good upgrade?
  
 And comparing *Cirrus* Logic® CS4398 DAC with TI _*Burr-Brown*_ PCM 1792A or 1794. Whats the quality wise difference? Is it too much? Is it noticable etc.?
  
 Thanks!


----------



## raoultrifan

The final sound is not related to DAC chip itself, but rather to implementation around the DAC chip, around I/V and LPF stages and the PSU. Maybe in really high end DACs the chip itself will make some difference, but not on mid-fi systems.
  
 Anyway, I think CS4398 and TI1792A sound about the same, because are in the same league. 1794 is same chip as 1792, small difference related to hardware control. 1795 should compare with 1792: 1792 has a better S/N ratio, but 1795 has DSD capabilities. Try searching on this forum, I'm pretty sure I've read a compare between many DAC chips made by a really tech guy (former TI worker I think).
  
 I've seen really great DACs created around CS4398 and TI1792 and TI1795, so it's not all related to DAC chip itself, it's all related to how much money do you intend spending on this DAC.


----------



## Xtreme512

raoultrifan said:


> The final sound is not related to DAC chip itself, but rather to implementation around the DAC chip, around I/V and LPF stages and the PSU. Maybe in really high end DACs the chip itself will make some difference, but not on mid-fi systems.
> 
> Anyway, I think CS4398 and TI1792A sound about the same, because are in the same league. 1794 is same chip as 1792, small difference related to hardware control. 1795 should compare with 1792: 1792 has a better S/N ratio, but 1795 has DSD capabilities. Try searching on this forum, I'm pretty sure I've read a compare between many DAC chips made by a really tech guy (former TI worker I think).
> 
> I've seen really great DACs created around CS4398 and TI1792 and TI1795, so it's not all related to DAC chip itself, it's all related to how much money do you intend spending on this DAC.


 
 I see... so better question will be, is it gonna be a good upgrade from xtrememusic? and is "implementation around the DAC chip" good in U7?
  
 Thanks for reply.


----------



## Jaeger 77

Windows 10 already launched,but U7 drivers support missing...
 Keep up the ''good'' work ASUS,this is so...you!


----------



## Asagrim

jaeger 77 said:


> Windows 10 already launched,but U7 drivers support missing...
> Keep up the ''good'' work ASUS,this is so...you!


 

 When I was speaking with an ASUS representative about Win10 drivers for the U7 they told me that it's too recent to drop support for it, so it will definitely have a Win10 driver, but it can take some time, because they don't write drivers for beta software. That means they waited for the final release of Windows 10 to start making drivers for it.


----------



## raoultrifan

xtreme512 said:


> I see... so better question will be, is it gonna be a good upgrade from xtrememusic? and is "implementation around the DAC chip" good in U7?
> 
> Thanks for reply.


 
  
 Technically speaking, yes...U7 would be an upgrade for X-Fi, mostly because it has a newer generation internal DAC, LM49990 OPAMPs, separate ground plane and power plane plus an additional layer for shielding audio plane, brand new capacitors (zero hours capacitors are better than few thousands hours capacitors), better headamp and let's not forget we're speaking about an external sound-card which is really easy to travel with or to move it to your Android tablet or phone or between desktop and laptop (some Androids will need the card to be setup for USB 1.1 instead of USB 2.0).
  
 Also, S/N ratio is better on U7 than on X-Fi cards; the only downsize I can see on U7 is the volume level on RCA output, a little bit less than 2V, but usually for home use this wouldn't be an issue, because most of us are using decent amplification (external amp or decent amped speakers).
  
 Now, to be honest, if your ears will perceive any sound differences between Xtrememusic and U7, that's another thing.  Most likely the sound color and differences between those 2 sound-cards are going to be quite minimal, but it worth to try it out if you can find an U7 to borrow from someone.
  
 Speaking about Windows 10, I'm pretty sure ASUS will create drivers for U7 in no time, but for Xtrememusic you will probably need to wait until October 2015 (based on Creative website ETA for Windows 10 drivers).


----------



## raoultrifan

Xtreme512, I think found something after all:
 http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f6-dac-digital-analog-conversion/oversampling-who-does-it-best-6088/index5.html
 http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-line-level/255358-what-so-unique-about-pcm1795.html


----------



## Xtreme512

Thanks man!  Regarding Xtreme Music drivers, do you know Daniel_K? From forums.creative.com man this guy is a genious. He ported proper drivers for x-fi cards from windows xp to windows 10 already and its a full suite drivers with all application etc.. Ive been using them for years on my win8.1 and it sounds like Im on winXP _(Xtreme Music is at its best on WinXP drivers). _
  
*Offtopic*: Thats the reason Im not gonna buy Creative cards anymore. They dont support their older cards, older cards perform best on their native installation discs which is compatible to only winXP for 2005 cards like X-FI PCI series. Its a marketing strategy to sell newer cards etc. And I dont like it. Huge thanks to Daniel_K though... He is the reason that Ive been using my XtremeMusic at its full potential al lthese years. 
  
 Ill only miss the creative software yet not sure about it  I mean cmss3d is very good for gamers using headphone but I use creative g500 5.1 system for gaming so no need cmss3d. Other than that, creative software can be buggy sometimes especially when it comes to bitperfect playback, after sometme cards sample rates will be locked and restart required. U7s software is good as far as I see.
  
 Back to topic... Ive few questions.
  
 1) I will buy Echelon version. My local seller doesnt have the first version. Is it bad? Any differences etc?
 2) Which drivers to install? From CD, web?
  
 Thanks.


----------



## raoultrifan

1) It's exactly the same hardware, just different part number and different firmware & Sonic Radar for gaming. (You can't install Echelon firmware on 1'st version of U7, because will detect it's a different part no. and vice-versa).
 2) I'd go to web for drivers.


----------



## Xtreme512

OK thats good to know. People said sound quality is very very bad in some drivers and they point out a specific driver to install for proper intended sound quality. Idk which one.
  
 edit: another thing is is there any setting or feature that U7 has but U7 echelon doesnt?
  
 edit2: I searched the internet and found that echelon drivers lack lots of things that u7 original drivers have. such as asio, bass cut off freq. and echelon drivers are buggy they said.
  
 I will install the original U7 drivers to my echelon firstly when they arrive.
  
 Which driver should I install on win8.1 pro x64? https://www.asus.com/Sound/Xonar_U7/HelpDesk_Download/ from these 3 drivers?


----------



## raoultrifan

Most likely original U7 drivers will not work on Echelon and vice-versa.They are both different part numbers and different USB ID devices.
  
 Let's wait for someone who already has Echelon version to provide an answer for ASIO and other drivers related questions.
  
 Regards!


----------



## Xtreme512

Yes that would be fine. I contacted my friend who has Echelon and installed regular U7 2014 WHQL driver on it just fine. I asked him about it but no reply yet.
  
 (its a bit funny) Basically, he got Echelon and tried to install driver CD no luck, then tried to install echelon drivers on web tried every one but no luck. lol  Then lastly he tried regular U7 drivers and finally it went smoothly.
  
 edit: ASUS has great durability and quality on its devices... But I never thought that they are very bad when it comes to the software.. I mean its just horrible, you cant even install your driver CD and drivers are buggy, missing features etc..
  
 I would fire that software department right away.


----------



## HAWX

Hello, I'm just got signed for my deamn U7 Echelon 
  
 I don't know, but I'm sick with this card. Echelon is really bad if you are listening especially from it's analog ports. The Sonic Studio Pro is really bad. And there is no upmixing option like Xear Sourround Max. And this is making me really sick. Original U7 does have it, but Xonar U5 and Xonar U7 Echelon doen't have it. How the fck there is no upmxing option in 5.1 or 7.1 cards?
 (I'm not considering Dolby because it's quite bad for quite peaces. Dolby makes them artificial.
  
 I will post lots of problems and issues with my U7 Echelon card, but today I was able to install normal U7's driver to my U7 Echelon Edition. As it's stated above "regular U7 2014 WHQL driver" (at least Windows 7 32 bit edition) worked on my system. AND I WAS THRILLED.
  
 Sound is much more powerful, I have upmixing option which works really good unlike Dolby's. Dolby tries to give vocals from center only and does some other weird things, so you loose stereo effect in most music. Sound fading issue is gone. I would explain it later but Echelon was fading especially in the bass areas. Even my motherboard doen't do that.. And my only problem is I lost equaliser option in Sonic Stuido Pro. I don't know what happens If I install Echelon Driver at the same time, but I would try it later  But right know I feel like I don't need equaliser because the sound is already balanced and powerfull. I might want to open the sound with high end a bit, but that's my personal taste 
  
 I will return my card to warranty because It has some kind of problem with headphone jack. If my headphone jack has 3 pins, you need to plug it 3/4 I would say to get a good sound. And while doing that card switches from speakers to headphones and tries to adapt but I think it's bad and headphone jack might be damaged doing that so often.(It's also pain to find sweet spot each time).
  
 Ah, and I don't know if regular U7 2014 WHQL driverdriver works in Windows 10 because every Echelon Driver I tried is awful for speakers AND headphones. Some people with average can hear that fading issue. I'm searching the internet and only find 1 complaint about it in the Asus's official forum. 
  
 You can clearly hear fading in U7 Echelon Edition from; The Crew OST - Heavy as a Feather (Track 02) [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3toQj7xLJM        , after 2:50]
  
 I don't know If my card has some kind of deffect, and installing U7 Echelon Driver is switching that deffect on (I hope you understood XD) Because installing normal U7 driver solved my issue thank God again 
 I wish there were no hardware check or some option to skip it. Because there is no Spec diffrence between Echelon and normal version..


----------



## Xtreme512

Thats good to hear  For myself, I dont care if theres a upmix or not because I wont use it. The real missing feature is the bass management part, that has cut off frequency. Its mandatory to have it. Echelon software didnt include that option. And the ASIO drivers of course. But I can live with the WASAPI which is the same thing.
  
 Anyways, I dont think that your device has a defect. Its the driver/software that creating problems, believe me.
  
 We can do only one thing about it.... That is to send an email to ASUS and explain them the problems and demand a better quality software/driver at least like the WHQL 2014 January one, for Windows 8.1 and 10. For both of the devices to have same features.
  
 EDIT: I hope WHQL 2014 works on my Echelon too, Im on Win8.1 X64 though.


----------



## HAWX

I hope so. And about sending e-mail to Asus I actually sent a good one 
  
 "Hi,
 First of all I would like to thank Asus and all of the people worked on the Xonar U7. It's a superior soundcard for it's value compared to most soundcards in the market. I'm writing this to help the Engineers/Developers at Asus to see some problems and highlight what could be causing it. I will try to use clean and formal language to improve understandability.
 About my 1st problem, there is no upmixing option whereas U7 does.
  
 I bought U7 Echelon Edition about 4 months ago. I was willing to buy normal U7 but only option to get U7 is via internet in Turkey. So when I saw  U7 Echolon Edition I was not sure to buy it because my plan is to use it for only music purposes. But the man who said U7 Echelon Edition is basically the same with U7. Only Echolon Edition has camouflage with updated drivers. I compared specs from Asus's original site and I didn't see any difference so I bought U7 Echelon Edition.
  
 When I plugged my 5+1 system to card I was quite disappointed. I tried every option in Sonic Studio Pro but there is no chance to upmix the sound to 5 channels. Therefore sound I get from my sistem is really weak compared to my old entry level Creative sound card which had an option to upmix the sound. My old Creative sound card was giving the same sound (which goes to front channels) to rear channels and and mono sound from center. It's pretty basic but It's a must option in 5+1 or 7+1 cards. To give another example, Internet Explorer does the same thing. (Actually I'm sure Asus Engineers knows this far better than me aboutu mixing but I'm still shocked how U7 Echeolon and U5 doen't have this feature.. ) Yes, we have Dolby Home theatre option, but it colours the sound and makes some sounds and instruements artificial and it's not good for music. Xonar U5 doesn't have Dolby option which means it's impossible to upmix the standart stereo music to 5 channels which is really frustrating for spesifically 5.1 and 7.1  designed sound cards.
  
 I've made a research about this problem and found that original U7 has an option to upmix the musics under "Xear Sourround Max" If I remember.  It's a must have option for people who have more than 2 channel speaker systems. This option must have been natively in U5 and U7 Echelon Edition also.
 I think Asus should give Sonic Radar and upmixing option to both U7 and U7 Echelon Ed. I could understand that Sonic Radar is given to Echelon Ed. exclusively for marketting purposes at the beginning. (Trying people to upgrade their normal U7's to U7 Echelon Ed.)  But right at the moment everybody thinks U7 Echelon Ed. is better one.( In my case it's not, because the fact that lack of Sonic Studip Pro's abilities makes it inferior ) Therefore giving both features on both cards will provide flexibility for customers like me in Turkey and maybe some others in diffrent countries..
  
 I've tried to solve the problem by installing normal U7's driver on my U7 Echelon edition, but installation was canceled during hardware check. If It allow me to install normal U7's software on my Echolon Ed. the upmixing problem should have solved. Therefore I want to ask Driver developers If they can do something about it. You can add Upmixing option to U7 Echelon Ed. in Sonic Studio Pro or you should allow us to install U7's driver on Echelon Ed. which would be really nice because U7's driver's offers also additional options like cut off frequency If I remeber right. I won't be bothered If I loose Sonic Radar. U7's driver offers also cut off frequency If I remeber right.
  
 To sum up, I want the options on Xonar U7, in my Xonar U7 Echelon Edition. Actually If I had an option to select between Xonar U7 and Xonar U7 Echelon Edition at that time, I would go for the Echelon Edition because of it's looks.. They should be equal in my opinion.
  
  
 My 2nd Problem is sound fading issue. This problem really annoys me when I use the Sonic Studio Pro.
  
 When I listen some songs which have heavy bass or high level noise parts volume level drops. It's like card is pushing too hard, or happens the time when you boost the bass in low end sound cards. I saw the similar problem on some forum site, http://www.sevenforums.com/sound-audio/213735-xonar-ds-sound-volume-fading-out-issue.html . However this doen't apply to Xonar U7 Echelon Ed. 's software. If I turn the volume down on Sonic Studio Pro, and turn up from my 5.1 system problem still exists. By the way I tested my music file (lossless), I know my speakers are fine (I've tested in my older card), my all settings are flat, I've tested the song from diffrent players like winamp and foobar. Actually problem occurs when I listen through my headphones as well. But when I switch to Dolby option, fading and fluctuating issues doen't occur in my both headphones and my speakers. So problem is definitely related with Sonic Studilo Pro from what I understood. Some songs which is easier to hear the problem: Fred V ft. Grafix ft. Etherwood - Forest Fires (Massappeals Remix) (after0:38),  Celldweller - The Sentinel,  The Crew OST - Heavy as a Feather ( in the last part)
  
 To solve that issue, I've tried quite few things, like downloading latest and even older softwares from Asus's site(64 bit and 32 bit versions), lowered the volume from my card, lowered the volume from windows (which does the same thing). But when I saw the Windows mixer I thought something is wrong. The green bar which goes up when the noise increases in the song, was not increasing. It was already fully increased to the level selected in the Sonic Studio Pro(mostly 100%). But when I select the Dolby option, I can seethe  green bar is moving according to music. It goes to full sometimes but not all the time like when the Sonic Studio Pro is selected. And I found  2 temporary solutions:
  
 -1st lower the volume from your music player e.g. from Winamp or foobar until you make enough space for green bar in the Windows mixer. But this problem will solve when you are listening from these music players that you lowered the volume. You should do the same thing on every game's settings..to get rid of problem..
  
 -2nd Lower the volume from mixers on the Sonic Studio Pro. Go to Sonic studio Pro, channel mixer, and lower all the channels. In my case I dropped them to -12. This also puts enough space between green bar and the sound level selected from Sonic Studio Pro (So idea is the same).  I don't like this option because even though I turn up the volume from my speakers to compensate, it's almost like the same, but strangely*, I don't get the same energy and joy from sound.* I normally use the card at 85 constant, and change the volume from my speakers. I guess afer lowering the channels impacted that but I guess that's deep topic.
  
 -3rd Strangely, If I select diffrent bitrates from Sonic Studio Pro during music playback, sound becomes low, even though it's same in Sonic Studio Pro and Windows Mixer, and in Sonic Studio Pro. And sound becomes cleaner and there is no fading or fluctuating issue. But when I stop the playback and play other song, sound levels become higher, causing the fading and fluctuating issue again.
  
  
 I believe Asus has become a brand for quality products and stands back their products. I'm looking forward to return from Asus. I am willing to help Developers/Engineers at Asus about the problem I stated. You can ask spesific parts of my writing If you didn't understand some parts. I can speak/write Turkish and English. Thank you. "
  
  
  
 And unfortunatelly I got a mixed return 
  
"Dear Customer, 

it's our pleasure to help you solve your problem. 
If you still have any technical issue, please feel free to contact Asus technical support team at http://vip.asus.com/VIP2/Services/TechQuery . 
Thank you. 

Kind Regards, 
Asus Technical Support Team"


----------



## HAWX

But I agree that we should post some more e-mails to Asus, so that our vocies heard better  Everybody who has some kind of problem with his U7 or Echelon Edition go to https://vip.asus.com/VIP2/Services/QuestionForm/TechQuery and describe your problem.
  
 Xtreme512, how does WASAPI or Asio drivers help you:? And about cut-off, you can downlad 20 band equaliser for foobar2000 and reduce some lower end frequencies to minimum If you want. I tried it and It worked that way. I know boosting frequencies in foobar2000 will reduce the quality but reducing frequencies, especially in lower end will just cut these part which is what you want.
  
 I hope Asus will make better software with more qualities like upsapling (Only on XP), cut off frequency, and equaliser. Thank you guys and since people here <3 music, here is some songs you might like too 
  
Lindsey Stirling  - Crystallize   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHjpOzsQ9YI and Orhan Gencebay - Dertler Benim Olsun https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtGXXRfvVFY


----------



## Glasofruix

Asus is waiting for c-media to release a new windows 10 driver (let's hope they don't take too long). Don't get fooled by an early release for some of the xonar products, it's the win 8.1 driver with a slightly modified dll.


----------



## Xtreme512

I will definitely send a problem report. Thanks for the link.
  
 Im using foobar with addons WASAPI and ASIO. WASAPI Exclusive and ASIO are basically serves the same thing which is bit-perfect playback. It allows the sound card to exclusively communicate with the player w/o any windows mixer etc. So that you get pure audio. Of course in sound card settings you need to disable any audio changing options like EQ and so. Another thing is to change sample rate of the card, ASIO does that automatically for my Xtreme Music card. In WASAPI I have to do that by myself.
  
 And remember you wont get any sound from Youtube or any other sound source if you use WASAPI exclusive, you'll hear only the music. And in windows sound settings serve as WASAPI shared, that is if you change sample rate in there lets say 192kHz and game you're playing is at 48kHz (generally it is) so windows will upsample your game sounds to 192kHz by its software and its not good.
  
 Therefore* I dont ever use EQ or any DSP etc. etc.*
  
 We have to have a bass management, period. And it includes bass re-direction and its cut-off frequency. I have these setting in my XtremeMusic, Im using satellite speakers (Creative G500) therefore I have a subwoofer so in windows settings I select (not large/full range) small speakers and in bass management I enable bass redirection and set cut-off to 120Hz.
  
 The idea behind it is, satellite speakers dont have full range, they need a subwoofer. So anyone has these type of system has to do above process. Because in movies, games, musics, they all have lower frequencies in front rear left right channels BUT satellite speakers are not capable of delivering these frequencies so they have to be redirected to subwoofer with a cut off freqeuncy that is mostly 120Hz (subwoofers give frequencies up to 120Hz basically). _THX recommends 80Hz though, but it sounds too bassy in my setup G500 which is THX certified lol._
  
 So subwoofer channel consists two things LFE + Redirected bass. LFE is the dedicated lower frequencies just for the subwoofer only.


----------



## HAWX

xtreme512 said:


> I will definitely send an problem report. Thanks for the link.
> 
> Im using foobar with addons WASAPI and ASIO. WASAPI Exclusive and ASIO are basically serves the same thing which is bit-perfect playback. It allows the sound card to exclusively communicate with the player w/o any windows mixer etc. So that you get pure audio. Of course in sound card settings you need to disable any audio changing options like EQ and so. Another thing is to change sample rate of the card, ASIO does that automatically for my Xtreme Music card. In WASAPI I have to do that by myself.
> 
> ...


 
 Bing! I got the idea. Yeah I was about you to ask so how do you get bass if you cut off, but enabling LFE (which I saw on Xonar U7's driver) does the job you describe, and now I understand. And does skipping the Windows mixer increase the audio quality quite much or is it hard to notice? Because I like to tweak the sound quite much. My ears are a bit opened so that my hearing is diffrent than most people


----------



## Xtreme512

I didnt understand the first sentence. enabling LFE where? does what job? Whats your setup?
  
 Its hard to notice but it definitely is there, depends on the source.


----------



## raoultrifan

Just realized U7 headphone plug is not fully compatible with 4-contact-plug headphones, like Beats Solo2. Most likely all headphones with microphone included (4-pins plugs) might not be working properly with U7, unless you manually take out the plug with about 1-1.5mm. So, fully press the headphones plug into U7, then unplug them for about 1mm. Quite annoying I'd say. 
  
 Until now I was listening mostly on O2 with my Solo2 headphones and I had never had this issue until I plugged them into U7.
  
 Can someone else try some 4-pin-headphones into U7, please?
  
 Thanks!


----------



## Asagrim

raoultrifan said:


> Just realized U7 headphone plug is not fully compatible with 4-contact-plug headphones, like Beats Solo2. Most likely all headphones with microphone included (4-pins plugs) might not be working properly with U7, unless you manually take out the plug with about 1-1.5mm. So, fully press the headphones plug into U7, then unplug them for about 1mm. Quite annoying I'd say.


 
  
 I used a spare "O ring" from my mechanical keyboard on my 3.5 jack when I had this problem, it's exactly the right thickness, solved my problem with another device perfectly. Although I concur, it's really annoying when you have to tinker your way around design/construction flaws.


----------



## raoultrifan

Asagrim, I was thinking at an O-ring myself this morning. 
  
 Thank you, 
 Raul.


----------



## Xtreme512

Guys did anyone install U7 WHQL 2014 driver to his/her U7 Echelon in Windows 8.1 x64?


----------



## Xtreme512

OMG YOU GUYS!!! It ********* worked!
  
 I just got my U7 Echelon, installed *Xonar U7-8.1.11.19(3.13-WHQL) *_the famous best driver (2014 January), _just fine and everything is working.
  
 Sound is amazing! Better than my Xtreme Music card. This is a really *GOOD *hardware.


----------



## Xtreme512

Cut off frequency doesnt seem to have effect on my subwoofer yet I decrease the bass for -5db, THX certified subwoofer has lot of unnecessary bass.
  
 To get the settings saved, set your settings and Sleep windows than after waking it up your setting wont be deleted if you restart/shut down your PC.
  
 On my audiophile headphones sounds really amazing. same thing goes for speakers as well better than X-Fi


----------



## AliveNoMore

Hi, how they hangin'. ASUS Xonar U7 owner here.
  
 Anyhoo, my U7 sort of crapped out on me. It developed a few issues and I was wondering if anyone here has experienced or heard of such problems.
  
 If the card has been out of power (cable unplugged) for like 10-20 minutes, it refuses to turn back on when I plug it again. One of the blue LEDs blinks a few times and stops, and that's it. If I warm it up (place it over my speakers' receiver) for a while, then it turns on fine.
  
 The knob on the top no longer changes volume, and the card doesn't switch between speakers and headphones properly. For example, if I'm using my 5.1 speakers and decide to switch to headphones, the headphones do start playing the sound but the speakers do not get muted (apart from the front two). If I have been using headphones, and switch to speakers, only the front two work. Basically, I need to plug or unplug my headphones (depending if I'm going to use them or my speakers), and then unplug the power cord to the card, so it can re-detect its outputs correctly.
  
 I did not expect such a product from such a respected manufacturer to develop such defects after less than 2 years of use. I must say I'm disappointed.
 I have returned the card to the store and expect a replacement, and if they don't honor the warranty, I might actually buy a Creative card this time (I'm looking in Sound Blaster Z's direction).
  
 So, again, has anyone experienced such weirdness?


----------



## Xtreme512

Creative cards has software bug issues. They dont deliver the full performance of the hardware unlike ASUS. Ive been using Creative for years now Im gonna stick with ASUS.


----------



## AliveNoMore

I can't comment on that. Perhaps Creative cards will reach their potential via the PAX drivers?
  
 And the ASUS driver isn't actually bursting with features. For example, it's missing pretty common features like Acoustic Echo Cancellation and Noise Reduction. The new Sonic Studio control panel has some features that like that but it's lacking other that the older driver has (like Flex Bass). So I cannot say I'm completely satisfied with U7's driver either.


----------



## Xtreme512

alivenomore said:


> I can't comment on that. Perhaps Creative cards will reach their potential via the PAX drivers?
> 
> And the ASUS driver isn't actually bursting with features. For example, it's missing pretty common features like Acoustic Echo Cancellation and Noise Reduction. The new Sonic Studio control panel has some features that like that but it's lacking other that the older driver has (like Flex Bass). So I cannot say I'm completely satisfied with U7's driver either.


 
 PAX drivers are tweaked, not natural for sound. And no they dont give the full potential either.
  
 Yep you're right on that. ASUS sucked big time on these drivers BUT there is only one driver that actually gives the full potential of the device regarding also the audio quality and that is WHQL 2014 January drivers for U7 regular version.
  
 Everyone who owns U7 whether echelon or not should use that.


----------



## AliveNoMore

I'm already using those drivers. Well, _was_. The card was RMA-ed today. Hopefully they will honor my warranty and replace the thing.
  
 And those drivers do lack Acoustic Echo Cancellation and Noise Suppression. I'm not saying it's a critical oversight, but it's still an oversight, and not a small one, since even Realtek drivers have those.
  
 The problem is that (at least in my country) there isn't almost anything in the mid-class. Basically only Sound Blaster Z and OMNI, and the Xonar U5/U7.


----------



## Marshall160

Does it say what exactly the Low - Medium - High impedance range are?
  
 I have DT 770s - 80ohm, I'm assuming I should be using the Medium setting?


----------



## raoultrifan

It's all written in the manual:
  
 Low Gain: 0dB for < 32 ohms
 Medium Gain: 6dB for 32 ~ 64 ohms
 High Gain: 12dB for > 64 hms
  
 Most likely you should be fine with the Medium setting, but you can also try the High Gain. U7 is not ment to deliver so much power anyway, so will not blow your head away, unless sensitive 8-16 ohms IEMs are used.


----------



## Marshall160

I haven't received my DT 770s yet but I tested the U7 with my Shure 750s (32ohm) and either this isn't very good or there's something wrong with my unit.
  
 When on medium gain and max power its no where near loud enough and the sound quality is about on par with my onboard sound, the lows are seriously lacking. When I put it on high gain the max volume is loud enough but the highs are so high it makes you cringe and is just uncomfortable, and again the lows are almost non-existent.
  
 I thought maybe my old Shures had just stopped working correctly but then I plugged them into my laptop with a Schiit Fulla and at 50% volume I was blowing out my ear drums, also the sound quality was just so much better, especially the lows which where making the cans shake.
  
 If it performs so poorly with a 32ohm headset I cant see it performing very well with an 80ohm headset.
  
 Is this normal? Should I RMA the card or just send it back for a proper AMP and DAC later down the road?


----------



## raoultrifan

Could you please check posts http://www.head-fi.org/t/669127/asus-xonar-u7-dac-amp-appreciation-impressions-thread/465#post_11815396 and http://www.head-fi.org/t/669127/asus-xonar-u7-dac-amp-appreciation-impressions-thread/465#post_11815992? Maybe it's related to U7's headphones plug issue. Basically, you need to plug your headphones only 90% and not 100%; see if this improves the sound or not.
  
 In case this is not your issue, then feel free to test your U7 on another computer or try a different driver (complete uninstall, restart, then install another driver).
  
 Also, might worth checking all settings from UT's control panel, just in case some effects or volumes are having a wrong setup.


----------



## amafi

Managed to get the Xonar U7 Echelon working passably well in windows 10 today.
 Downloaded and unzipped the Xonar U7-8.1.11.19(3.13-WHQL) drivers.
 Installed the latest U7 Echelon edition drivers, rebooted, and went into device management and forced the dac to use the old U7 driver instead by going update driver, browse computer, let me pick from list, removed the check mark by supported hardware, have disk, pointed at the u7 driver folder and hit next. Dolby Home Theater is working fine, mic is working in steam, and everything seems fine for now.
 Only been an hour or so though, so time will tell.


----------



## potatochobit

Can this be plugged into a USB to A/C plug to power from a wall socket?
 so I can use it as a portable amp to power things like gameboys and ipads?
  
 also, does this transfer ground loop noise from a PC?
 I am worried because it is USB only.


----------



## TheJRT

Hello fellas, i'm having a few problem with my U7 Echelon. Since my upgrade to windows 10 steam stopped recognizing the microphone, which is quite a pain for me since i can't use the steam voice chat... Any fix for this? I'm using the most recent windows 8.1 64bit drivers for the echelon edition. 
  
 Cheers
  
 -JRT


----------



## TheJRT

Nothing guys? *bump*


----------



## Sidewaykill

My Xonar D7 on Windows 10 using Xonar_U7_8_0_11_17 driver, microphone doesn't work? There is no sound through the mic input and it makes a slight hissing/crackling noise when you turn mic right up. I've tried each driver, and each produces the same result. The mic itself is fine, I've tested it successfully on multple devices, and it works fine, and I tried my other headset on the Xonar and same problems. I'm using HyperX Clouds if that helps.


----------



## amafi

thejrt said:


> Hello fellas, i'm having a few problem with my U7 Echelon. Since my upgrade to windows 10 steam stopped recognizing the microphone, which is quite a pain for me since i can't use the steam voice chat... Any fix for this? I'm using the most recent windows 8.1 64bit drivers for the echelon edition.
> 
> Cheers
> 
> -JRT


 
  
 I ended up having to go with the Xonar U7-8.1.11.19(3.13-WHQL) drivers (not echelon). That sorted my issues with the mic on my headset in steam chat etc.
 To get Dolby working, I had to install the latest Echelon drivers, and then go into device management and manually chose the U7 drivers I installed previously again. Now both work fine, but the U7 camo launcher software still crashes whenever I try to launch it. Will probably have to wait for a new version for that, none of the tricks I've tried have worked so far.


----------



## TheJRT

amafi said:


> I ended up having to go with the Xonar U7-8.1.11.19(3.13-WHQL) drivers (not echelon). That sorted my issues with the mic on my headset in steam chat etc.
> To get Dolby working, I had to install the latest Echelon drivers, and then go into device management and manually chose the U7 drivers I installed previously again. Now both work fine, but the U7 camo launcher software still crashes whenever I try to launch it. Will probably have to wait for a new version for that, none of the tricks I've tried have worked so far.


 
 ok, is your card the normal or echelon version? Also, those drivers are pretty old, are they the best ones?
  
 Thanks


----------



## untore

thejrt said:


> ok, is your card the normal or echelon version? Also, those drivers are pretty old, are they the best ones?
> 
> Thanks



 


I have echelon too and installed the latest beta for software and then switched to the whql drivers and steam mic works too. What you don't have with old drivers is the fine tuning of virtual surround and bass and eq options, microphone noise suppression, and the in game sonic radar


----------



## TsgtBandit

Hi, I've found a way to trick games into sending 7.1 signal to the U7 when used as headphone amp.You need to install Razer Surround and select Headphones (2- Xonar U7) as an audio interface and turn it on, then enter the game, wait until you can play, press Alt-Tab, go back to Razer Surround and turn it off. You can verify in Sonic Studio Pro if it's working (I only tested in Witcher 3 and MGSV:TFP ).


----------



## Ansem

Hi at all guys!
 I bought this audio card one year ago, and I'm using it with my bose companion 2.1
 Right now i want to search for some better speakers, like two monitor with maybe a subwoofer.
*For example i found this pari: BEHRINGER B1031A Truth*
*are this good?*
*Sorry if i ask here, but i don't really know other good forum where ask about that *


----------



## untore

my xonar u7 echelon is not being recognized by pc and the led keeps blinking, when I reconnect the usb it does not do the tic sound anymore, is it dead?


----------



## raoultrifan

Untore, could you change the USB cable? Also try using a different computer. USB1/2 switch might worth checking too.


----------



## untore

ok it is weird, same usb cable different pc it gets recognized and led is steady. I tried different ports on my pc but still, not recognized and blinking led, dafuq? It was working before maybe some bios ********? but I did not change anything...
  
 I also deleted the drivers from windows, from hidden devices because of course it does not get recognized


----------



## raoultrifan

Weird...
  
 Do you have more ASUS products installed (videocard or something else)? Sometimes 2 ASUS products on the same computer might not work as expected.
  
 Try reinstalling drivers again. Also, get an USB stick and copy Ubuntu live on it, then boot from the stick. Most likely U7 should be found after booting into Ubuntu.
  
 Are all other USB devices working properly on your computer? Maybe it's a USB root/hub driver issue after all.


----------



## untore

apparently it fixed itself somehow for now, it was definitely bios/mobo related, I already tried running on my archlinux and the problem was the same. Basically if I restarted the pc the bios would freeze and not continue booting until I disconnected the sound card, then I would enter the bios and reconnect the sound card and bios would freeze again and would restart working after disconnecting the sound card. Sometime though after disconnecting the soundcard and reconnecting it in the bios it would start working again (tic sound and steady led), but then after exiting the bios and continuing to windows it would go back to flashing with no tic. I guess because between the bios and the windows startup process the soundcard is restarted again and whatever was the problem kept reappearing. I messed around with an option in the bios called "usb compatibility patch" (mobo is asrock z87 killer) which toggling on and off made the soundcard work and not work. But in the end I disabled the option rebooted a couple times from a clean power off changed usb port again, reboot, disconnect soundcard, reconnect in bios, tics, exit from bios and it finally tics in the windows. really really weird...I have another 4 usb devices connected and all worked fine...


----------



## Sam21

is the Digital out on U7 Coaxial or optical...


----------



## Sam21

anyone ?


----------



## raoultrifan

AFAIK is optical.


----------



## Sidewaykill

sam21 said:


> is the Digital out on U7 Coaxial or optical...


 
 The U7 has a coaxial output with a optical adaptor included.


----------



## Sam21

The connector is coaxial but we can use it as coax and optical out...


----------



## TheJRT

Does anyone know if there are alternative or unofficial drivers for this thing? I kind of really need to use it via steam and it sucks that im not able to do so...


----------



## Sam21

Does the U7 support Async USB transfer mode ? the C-Media USB chip on U7 has it but is it implemented ?
  
 Edit: other Questions:
  
 The Front left and Front right RCA outputs on the back of the device are processed by CS4398 or CS4362 ?
 The Front left and Front right RCA outputs on the back of the device are pre-amps ? the amp is bypassed that way ?
 Does it do DSP on the Front L/R RCA outs ?


----------



## raoultrifan

Hi,
  
 According to ASUS and all reviews I've seen for U7 there is nothing written about sync or async transfer, so I initially assume the transfer would be sync (or maybe something mixed sync/adaptive/async, based on OS used 32-bit/64-bit or Linux/OSX/Windows).
  
 Based on C-Media 6632 chip, it fully supports async transfer; it also supports DSD x64 and x128 rates, but this doesn't means U7 knows how to play DSD files natively. 
  
 Based on http://www.head-fi.org/t/546092/confirming-whether-your-dac-is-asynchronous-as-claimed-or-not#post_7362553 and http://www.head-fi.org/t/546092/confirming-whether-your-dac-is-asynchronous-as-claimed-or-not/30#post_10135035 I got this:
  
*bmAttributes - 0x5 (USB_ENDPOINT_TYPE_ISOCHRONOUS) *
  
 I believe that makes U7 as being async USB transfer mode in Windows7-x64. If I'm right, then I don't know any reason why ASUS is not claiming this on U7's specs.
  
 AFAIK, CS4398 is only for Left/Right RCA plugs.
  
 P.S.: Looks like this DAC a respectable jitter: http://personalaudio.ru/detail/asus_xonar_u7/ (try Google translate).


----------



## HAWX

HAS ANYONE SEEN THE WINDWOS 10 BETA DRIVERS!!??  Please submit your expressions about them if you try them


----------



## f iDeL

Hi!
  
 I've got for my birthday the AKG K612 Pro, the sound is AMAZING!
 but I feel the Xonar U7 cannot drive them, actually I have to put the volume somewhere between 50-70%
 in order to come close to my likings...
 Do you believe I'll do my self a favor if I'll buy an AMP?
 If yes, then which one under 100$ should I get?
 AMP must also be able to connect through stereo jack cause the RCAs from the xonar goes to my speakers...
  
 I'm thinking about the Bravo v2 but I've heard that you must mod it for descent sound and I'm not into it right now...
  
 Thanks a lot!


----------



## Bj0rnis

hawx said:


> HAS ANYONE SEEN THE WINDWOS 10 BETA DRIVERS!!??  Please submit your expressions about them if you try them


 
  
 I actually just bought the ASUS Xonar U7 after reading ALOT of positive reviews (sound is amazing etc). 
  
 So i plugged it in the computer with windows 10 64-bit and installed the beta-drivers. Then i plugged in my Bose AE2i (4-pin) and it didnt work, went to the store and got an adapter which made the aux 3-pin. So i tried again and this time the sound worked.
  
 But the sound is not at all what i excptected? Its even slightly worse than the on-board soundcard, no bass at all. Ive tried all the different settings, changed usb-port, flipped the usb1-usb2 switch on the bottom. The only real differance between the U7 and the on-board card is the volume. 
  
 Coming from my old and now broken Fiio E17 im very disapointed, the Fiio would make my bose headphones vibrate from the amount of bass. 
  
 Any of you guys have a solution? Is it the drivers or have i gotten a faulty one?


----------



## raoultrifan

Bj0rnis, try reading http://www.head-fi.org/t/669127/asus-xonar-u7-dac-amp-appreciation-impressions-thread/480#post_11865452, maybe it's because U7 has a bit shorter jack plugs. Or maybe you have some DSP effects ON.
  
 As for U7 DAC/headamp, sound is pretty decent, so there's now way not to drive correctly your headphones (unless you're a basshead, ofc).


----------



## Bj0rnis

raoultrifan said:


> Bj0rnis, try reading http://www.head-fi.org/t/669127/asus-xonar-u7-dac-amp-appreciation-impressions-thread/480#post_11865452, maybe it's because U7 has a bit shorter jack plugs. Or maybe you have some DSP effects ON.
> 
> As for U7 DAC/headamp, sound is pretty decent, so there's now way not to drive correctly your headphones (unless you're a basshead, ofc).


 
 First off, yes i guess i would call myself a bass-head. 
  
 The headphones I use have a 4-pin connection and it didnt work at first even though i tried pulling out the plug abit, so i bought an adapter which makes the plug 3-pin so now it connects fine. Still, i did try pulling out the plug abit with the adapter, it resulted in sound only through the right headphone. 
  
 DSP? You mean like compression? 
  
 I went to the attic and got my old Sennheiser HD555, thought i had to try them to rule out if the 4-pin is causing problems. I first plugged them into the mobo and the sound was fine (pretty much bass) and then i plugged them into the U7 and the bass went much much lower but the sound was clearer.


----------



## raoultrifan

By DSP I mean EQ and other effects from U7's software. Some DSP effects may change the sound a lot.
  
 U7 is quite neutral sounding, so...no much bass with default settings. You probably need an external amp with bass boost function.


----------



## Bj0rnis

Without the use of equalizer i get next to no bass (when i increase the 32hz to max is marginally better) and the fact that the motherboard produces more bass is just wrong. 
  
 I e-mailed ASUS with a question regarding this. They replied with "Beta is an as-is driver and we do not promise that it works as well as other drivers". Crap service. 
  
 Ah well, guess i just have to wait until they release a proper driver for windows 10..


----------



## HAWX

bj0rnis said:


> Without the use of equalizer i get next to no bass (when i increase the 32hz to max is marginally better) and the fact that the motherboard produces more bass is just wrong.
> 
> I e-mailed ASUS with a question regarding this. They replied with "Beta is an as-is driver and we do not promise that it works as well as other drivers". Crap service.
> 
> Ah well, guess i just have to wait until they release a proper driver for windows 10..




Yo! Try the Win 8 drivers! Try the one with wqhl(Im not exactly sure) letters near to it. I had the similar problem but on Win 7. Notonly bass but much of the low end was not really there..You can fşnd more information in posts.


----------



## raoultrifan

Just create an Ubuntu USB life stick and boot from it. ALSA works perfect with this DAC.
 Test how U7 sounds on Ubuntu and see if gets better than Windows.
  
 P.S.: I've tested U7 on Ubuntu 1-2 years ago and the only downsize was inability to select the volume gain (I think it was on low-gain under Ubuntu), but the sound was very good indeed (AKG 550).


----------



## raoultrifan

For those planning to listed to U7 under Linux, since last year alsamixer supports adjusting U7's internal gain: http://askubuntu.com/questions/401591/is-asus-xonar-u7-supported/431658#431658?newreg=766dc5fd7cbf4cf19c3a94afc02ca33a. Adjustment is done linear and not in 3 steps like in Windows.
  
 Right now I'm listening on Ubuntu 14 with Banshee Media Player, because this player knows about UPNP protocol and is able to see my Raspberry's miniDLNA server.


----------



## untore

the echelon version does not even have win10 drivers yet  should i try vanilla ones? I mean I am on whql drivers from vanilla anyway 
 For the USB connection problem I had, it still keeps happening and kind of a workaround is to make the card "warmup". Which is connect the usb cable enough to give power to the board but not enough to make windows detect it, then I keep it this way for a few minutes, and then after connecting the USB completely it starts working...


----------



## AtrafCreez

I also got crummy service about this Xonar problem from Asus


----------



## Xeset

New beta drivers for W10 out!


----------



## Mojabragas

Hi all. I installed w10 beta drivers but there is no sonic studio! It has more options than Xonar U7 Audio Center. 
 I used it in w7 and I want it!


----------



## Xeset

Actually the options are there, you can right click the device (speaker or headphone) in the audio centre


----------



## Mojabragas

Yes but sonic studio it's very simple to use, only one window. Faster to change things, channels, voices, etc. If Xonar U5 has sonic, why U7 doesn't?


----------



## Jaeger 77

Sholud i install new beta driver for Windows 10 X64 or should i stick with an old WHQL that work absoluttelly fine on W 10 (WHQL 8_0_11_17)?


----------



## Xeset

mojabragas said:


> Yes but sonic studio it's very simple to use, only one window. Faster to change things, channels, voices, etc. If Xonar U5 has sonic, why U7 doesn't?


 
 I agree, and I have no idea why they switched. The sonic studio is so much nicer to use.
  


jaeger 77 said:


> Sholud i install new beta driver for Windows 10 X64 or should i stick with an old WHQL that work absoluttelly fine on W 10 (WHQL 8_0_11_17)?


 
 If you want to use the dolby home theatre and don't mind an uglier and not-so-intuitive control panel then you should. Sound-wise I have no idea.


----------



## untore

welp, I gave up on this soundcard, clearly it's defected and I don't think I want to try my luck again with this, I will probably stick with the onboard of my asrock z87 killer and get a small m-audio card for my microphone, since it appears that a sound card with virtual surround that also has a decent mic does not exist.


----------



## scum123

Hello guys,

 I recently bought this Xonar U7 and I'm getting massively frustrated. I'm running windows 10 on my laptop and i tried everything to get that card working, but after countless times installing and uninstalling drivers for windows 7/8/8.1/10, disabling the internal card from bios, i just can't figure it out. I can't play any of my music on any player(I use foobar, but tried everything and it's certainly from the drivers), but on youtube i can listen without a problem. Asus released 2 version of the drivers for windows 10 and both of them are not working at all for me. I tried on my girlfriend's laptop, which runs with windows 8.1 and boom...everything was working perfectly. So I want to ask someone, who was able to get that card running on windows 10, how you've done it. I surely don't want to get back to windows 8.1, most likely I will change the soundcard. Please replay. Thank you!


----------



## Xeset

scum123 said:


> Hello guys,
> 
> I recently bought this Xonar U7 and I'm getting massively frustrated. I'm running windows 10 on my laptop and i tried everything to get that card working, but after countless times installing and uninstalling drivers for windows 7/8/8.1/10, disabling the internal card from bios, i just can't figure it out. I can't play any of my music on any player(I use foobar, but tried everything and it's certainly from the drivers), but on youtube i can listen without a problem. Asus released 2 version of the drivers for windows 10 and both of them are not working at all for me. I tried on my girlfriend's laptop, which runs with windows 8.1 and boom...everything was working perfectly. So I want to ask someone, who was able to get that card running on windows 10, how you've done it. I surely don't want to get back to windows 8.1, most likely I will change the soundcard. Please replay. Thank you!


 
 You could use the WHQL drivers, or the W10 beta drivers. All work for me. 
  
 I don't use foobar but have you tried looking into the options and checking which device it is playing the sounds to?


----------



## scum123

xeset said:


> You could use the WHQL drivers, or the W10 beta drivers. All work for me.
> 
> I don't use foobar but have you tried looking into the options and checking which device it is playing the sounds to?


 

 Hi, thank you for your comment!
 Yes, my defaut device is the Xonar, I disabled the internal in Bios, then enableIed it, tried almost everything. I tried every single driver out there and none of it was working. The problem is not existent only in foobar, but also in every player( incl. WMP, video players as GOM, Splash and many others), it gave me some kind of driver error (foobar showed: _Unrecoverable playback error: Unspecified error_, in WMP was something similiar). When I play music on youtube I get sound, but on my laptop I just can't get anything to work. I completely ran out of ideas.


----------



## Sam21

The RCA outs at the back are handled by CS4398 or CS4362 ?


----------



## raoultrifan

CS4398 is handling stereo signals (RCA plugs).


----------



## Sam21

If I set the input channels to 7.1 in speaker mode and turn on headphone surround, Do I get surround sound through RCA outs ?


----------



## AtrafCreez

When I reinstalled my genuine Windows 7 the same thing happened to me
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





.  A pc genius who helped me told me.
 I have been looking for 14 months for an answer everywhere under the sun, probably hundreds of hours of investigation.  The ASUS support is so complicated just to send a request for their online support was a 2 hour hassle and they simply broke off communication.  
 I simply will be extra careful in the future to find these things out.  Its why I haven't yet downloaded Windows 10 and why i don't ever buy the latest version of my favourite tech toy.  Its best to see what problems creep in and if they are worked out.


----------



## scum123

To those who have the same problem like mine - the only solution is to roll back from Windows 10 to 8.1/7...or you have to wait until Asus release new working driver(and only IF they do). Both versions from Asus for W10 didn't work at all on my laptop and after 3 frustrating days trying every single driver out there, reading a lot and running out of patience I finally gave up and rolled back to Windows 8.1. Now everything is working like a charm.


----------



## AtrafCreez

I don't understand.  This Asus Xonar U7 is  not working by quite a number of us. I've been trying 14 months online to deal with it, the price is $87 in the USA, I paid about $115.00 in my country.  What can be done?  Any ideas?  At best the Asus support really stinks.  Maybe if we made a group effort?


----------



## Sam21

it works smoothly on my win7 64-bit laptop.


----------



## Eurobeat

Hello all,

 I was recommended this as a replacement for my sound card.

 which is the "Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro"

 I really loved the card, and I loved the I/O box as it was a cool feature and easy access to change settings, and mute!


 There is also a lot of extra features for line in and such that I personally probably wont be using, but someone else might like it.

 I've heard the card is still a very good card, and is up there with the top end cards of today.

 So I'm curious how it would compare to this?

 How do these "External sound cards" compare to internal sound cards/on-board audio  (why are they called sound "cards" still LOL)?

 I'm also looking at this motherboard www.msi.com/product/motherboard/Z170A-GAMING-M3.html#hero-overviewa

 which has multiple inputs for my need (have  Logitech 5.1 speakers with green, orange, and black cables), so I'm curious to see how the onboard would be?

 Thoughts?

 Thanks all!


----------



## M D Gould

Hello everyone,
 I have had the Asus U7 but did not really like it as the software was problematic on my system Win7. I have also had the Asus Xonar Essence STX internal sound card and the Asus Xonar STX 2 with 7.1 Daughter Board and while they sounded fantastic having to go into the software to adjust the sound was tiresome...what do I have now...I have just purchased the Asus Strix 7.1 Headphones with the external Control Box Sound Card and I am personally really liking it for it's ease of operation...just push a button to change the sound signature. The only downside is that you can not plug in any other headphones to the Control Box as the connection type is Asus's own make. How did the internal STX's compare to the Strix Control Box for sound...very good but I think the possible weak link is the Asus Strix 7.1 Headphones and although I am liking them they have a flat sound signature with highs clipped back so not shrilly sounding, slightly recessed but clear mids and great bass but not muddy...as they are Gaming Headphones I still found the sound to be a pleasing listening experience in Stereo mode while listening to my old CD collection using just an internal Bluray player on the PC. I have owned a pair of Grado GS1000, Ultrasone Edition 8 and the 'Lehmann Black Cube Linear Headphone Amp ($6500 in my countries currency) and while these combos where amazing they were not that much of a huge difference in sound quality to the Asus Stix 7.1 and Control Box set up and definitely not as versatile as the Asus Control Box ($299)...I suppose my sound requirements have somewhat changed...lol
 The Asus Control Box can also connect external 7.1 surround Sound Speakers to it...I have not tried this as I do not own any external speakers.
 Most modern motherboards will have very good audio and I still use Asus Realtech on other PC systems and find it great.


----------



## AtrafCreez

Well, I must have wasted my money on garbage which won't work and no support from Ass-us.


----------



## Quiksilvxr

Hey guys, so I recently purchased the Xonar u7 not realizing it was the original and not the echelon edition. I was trying to buy the echelon for the sonic radar because I am deaf in one ear and the Sonic Radar feature would help me immensely. I'm hoping there is a way to possibly download the echelon drivers for my original u7 so I can use the sonic radar feature. I stumbled across another forum where someone indicated it would be possible. Here are the instructions. I'm wondering if someone would be interested in maybe helping me out with this. It would be greatly appreciated. 
  
 At first I'm sorry for my English 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




*How to install U7 Echelon driver for U7 (x64 only)*:
 After deleting U7 driver:
 1) Boot from *"Disable driver signature enforcement" (F7)*
 2) Download this archive: http://yadi.sk/d/z3xJEiKkETgKt
 3) Primarily ruining *nhAsusU7Camo_64.msi* from this archive, and do NOT reboot
 4) Go to *C:\Program Files\ASUSTeKcomputer.Inc\nhAsusU7Camo\StockDriver \CMediaU7Camo\* and replace from archive *nhAsusU7Camo.inf* if you have Win 8 or 8.1, and if you have Windows 7 you mos download this .inf: and replace from him , 
 5) Launch Device manger, and manually update the driver software for U7 from *C:\Program Files\ASUSTeKcomputer.Inc\nhAsusU7Camo\StockDriver \CMediaU7Camo\* directory, allowing all questions.
 6) Now run *CheckCMediaU7HW.msi* from archive, and after this, run *Setup_1.0.8.exe* (if installation have been successful - you did everything right)
 7) Congratulations! You can use exclusive features from U7 Echelon Edition, Sonic radar, Sonic studio Pro. But in these interface not working some switches:
 Audio Format
 Audioconfig and volume control
 But you can do all this in old interface, or windows mixer

 Checked in Windows 8.1 x64

 Old interface you can download from this link:
http://yadi.sk/d/EIleRy8QETgtP
 This interface working in any directory, desktop, Document folder....


----------



## Quiksilvxr

accidentally posted multiple times.


----------



## pietcux

quiksilvxr said:


> Hey guys, so I recently purchased the Xonar u7 not realizing it was the original and not the echelon edition. I was trying to buy the echelon for the sonic radar because I am deaf in one ear and the Sonic Radar feature would help me immensely. I'm hoping there is a way to possibly download the echelon drivers for my original u7 so I can use the sonic radar feature. I stumbled across another forum where someone indicated it would be possible. Here are the instructions. I'm wondering if someone would be interested in maybe helping me out with this. It would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> At first I'm sorry for my English
> 
> ...



Please go get the Echelon. If you are a PC non pro, this fix is not for you. And also please stick to W7. Asus support is legendary for being not helpful and being slow. I tried the sonic radar with Crysis 3 and it worked quite good, once properly configured. I first had the standard version U7. Also downloaded the Echelon driver. The U7 was recognized as Echelon, but not for long. I could not get it to work in the end and bought the Echelon. The resell value of the U7 is quite good. Following my advice will cost you some money, but save you from a lot of frustrations. Btw, I am running a Xonar Essence STX on W10 with a hacked driver. Asus had nothing to offer for W10 as usual.


----------



## zaim

Has anyone had issue's getting DDL working with either version of the U7? I'm currently using windows 10 and thinking about purchasing the U7, there's a £20 difference between both model's. 
  
 And when DDL is enabled can you use Dolby Prologic X2 for upmixing ?
  
 The latest beta driver for the Original U7 says DDL has been removed, a bit concerning, the Echelon version doesn't mention this.
  
 Thanks


----------



## Herman Krause

Hi everyone, i signed up to give my 2 cents
  
 So i bought the U7 Echelon edition recently, originally wanted the normal version but there was no stock. I was using an internal Xonar DX but i was getting this buzzing sound on every game when using analogue out to my headphones which rendered my headphones useless.
  
 My setup is a Win7 64bit gaming/entertainment PC consisting of:
 A 6.1 (normal 5.1 + rear center) surround speaker setup which i normally connect via optical out on the sound card.
 My headphones are Razer Tiamat 7.1. which are connected via analogue out.
  
 I am hoping that some of my experiences which took around 2 days to completely resolve even after reading this entire thread will assist others and I also have some specific questions that hopefully someone else could answer.
  
 My issues:
 1) I naturally installed the Echelon driver and found that the sound was Crap mainly due to little bass. No flex bass function was a deal-breaker. Enabling Dolby digital helped somewhat but then all the options and dials cannot be tinkered with. Perhaps i am missing something but it seems like everything is locked in Dolby digital mode, this seems like a bug!
 2) Streaming online (youtube etc) over digital out , the home theater system rear speakers would not play. I was only getting 2 channels. This was also happening on analogue out on my headphones, only the front speakers on the Tiamat were playing. movies and music played off the hard drive worked perfectly though.
 3) Certain games over digital out, the home theater system rear speakers would not play again. I first noticed this on Fallout 4 and The Witcher 3. Grand Theft Auto 5 was working perfectly. The analogue out to my headphones worked perfectly in all games so this problem was exclusive to digital out and on select games.
  
 The solutions:
 1)I installed the original U7 drivers for Jan 2014 - all credit to this thread for this one. Saved me from major buyers remorse.
 2)I eventually figured out that this is a well known Chrome issue. I have not managed to fix it yet using the suggestions here
 https://www.reddit.com/r/chrome/comments/2dwgmo/chromeyoutubehtml5no_51_sound/
 but I am in the meantime using Firefox.
 3)This is an issue with DirectX and sound over digital out. fix here
 http://forums.cdprojektred.com/archive/index.php/t-37740.html  and
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7uM4uW6ZNM&feature=youtu.be
  
 Other thoughts
 The original drivers and options seem to be a lot better overall. I would only recommend the Echelon version to deaf people for sonic radar and those who want an unfair advantage in FPS.
 Once it is all working as intended this is an incredible piece of hardware. The Razer Tiamat 7.1 sounds amazing on this card, There is no buzzing noise at all on the headphones. I will NEVER buy an internal sound card again.
  
 Questions:
 While everything is working perfectly now I am concerned what is going to happen if I upgrade to Windows 8 or 10. Is there a similar driver package for win 8 64bit and win 10 64bit that will work as well. I am concerned that some of the original drivers do not work on Echelon, for example the most recent original win 7 64bit drivers refuses to install.
 From what i gather there is an equivalent windows 8 driver , Jan 2014, that works the same. What about Win 10?
  
 Thanks in advance.


----------



## infiniteknight

Did the new Windows 10 update break dolby surround for anyone else?


----------



## Mojabragas

infiniteknight said:


> Did the new Windows 10 update break dolby surround for anyone else?


 
 After the last update of win10 (10.0.10586) I can not find Dolby HTv4, so I should reinstall the driver.
 I'm very disappointed with Xonar & win10.
 Everything was better for me with win7.


----------



## infiniteknight

mojabragas said:


> After the last update of win10 (10.0.10586) I can not find Dolby HTv4, so I should reinstall the driver.
> I'm very disappointed with Xonar & win10.
> Everything was better for me with win7.


 
 Even after I reinstalled the drivers, Dolby still wont show up. Very disappointing indeed. i wish i could roll back the windows 10 update Edit: Ok so actually in the settings you can roll back! I'm trying it now


----------



## Magic Man

Got the Echelon version myself, Windows 10 drivers seem to be fine now (apart from lack of Dolby and Sonic Studio standard rather than Pro). As a bonus, tried it with my Note 10.1 (Android tablet) via a USB otg cable and works well.


Installed a previous version under Win10 on a tablet and seems to work fine. Get Sonic Studio Pro and the Dolby app. both working without issue so not sure what the problem is with the dedicated Win10 drivers.


----------



## Mojabragas

I have reinstalled the driver (win10) and after restart it says it "can´t load Dolby driver", any suggestions?


----------



## Magic Man

I installed the lastest Win 8/8.1 drivers to get SS Pro and the Dolby app. Got the occasional pop/crackle so maybe not ideal with Win 10.


----------



## Technics

Hi All Considering a U7, though, i want to know if i can play just 2 channel stereo. I wish to run it through my notebook to save my 80s cd players now and them, and i have few gig of music on the notebook that is 24bit, so it will be playing through the aux input on my amplifiers. ?
  
  
 I was considering the Xonar Essence ST PCI for the old desktop but it isnt mobile. The Essence is 46$ more over the Xonar U7 at 125$ AU
  
 thanks for any help 
  
 i look at the manaul online, the RCA outputs is that for speakers? not for  rca plugs to the stereo?


----------



## raoultrifan

Hi, 
  
 I'm also listening sometimes in the morning to U7 on Win7 or Ubuntu and it works just great.
 RCA outputs are for amped speakers or amplifiers only; it can output 1V RMS (https://www.asus.com/Sound-Cards/Xonar_U7/specifications/).
  
 Cheers, 
 Raul.


----------



## halcyon

mojabragas said:


> I have reinstalled the driver (win10) and after restart it says it "can´t load Dolby driver", any suggestions?


 

 Did you get this solved? Windows 10 had problems with Dolby in older updates (pre-December). This should have been fixed in later Windows (not just driver) updates.
  
 Did anybody get Dolby Headphone or DHTv4 working with Xonar U7 Echelon in windows 10 x64?

 Perhaps by installing U7 (non-echelon) Win 8 x64 drivers and then the U7 Echelon Win10 (beta?) drivers on top of those?

 Or does this result in "Can't load Dolby Driver" error?
  
 Thanks for any updates and info on this!


----------



## Mojabragas

halcyon said:


> Did you get this solved? Windows 10 had problems with Dolby in older updates (pre-December). This should have been fixed in later Windows (not just driver) updates.
> 
> Did anybody get Dolby Headphone or DHTv4 working with Xonar U7 Echelon in windows 10 x64?
> 
> ...


 
 My problems with Dolby began when I installed 10586 update of win10. So I thought reinstall the driver was the solution but no way; I didn't find a solution yet.


----------



## infiniteknight

The Win8.1 drivers work on my Win 10 device as well. Only issue is I cant open the main software, but the sound and Dolby works fine atleast. Sound quality is good as well


----------



## infiniteknight

magic man said:


> Got the Echelon version myself, Windows 10 drivers seem to be fine now (apart from lack of Dolby and Sonic Studio standard rather than Pro). As a bonus, tried it with my Note 10.1 (Android tablet) via a USB otg cable and works well.
> 
> 
> Installed a previous version under Win10 on a tablet and seems to work fine. Get Sonic Studio Pro and the Dolby app. both working without issue so not sure what the problem is with the dedicated Win10 drivers.


 
 Which drivers are you using for the tablet. Im on Win 8.1, dolby works but i cant open the main Xonar program


----------



## Magic Man

Tried the 8.1 drivers on the Windows tablet, Xonar and Dolby run fine but was getting some crackles so went back to the Win10 drivers.


----------



## chavdarb

Hi, There,
   
    Just obtained this card yesterday and have something useful to share:
    I am using it with Windows 8.1 (64bit):
    There are two drivers listed on Asus page for this OS:
    one is Xonar U7 Driver for Win8.1 32/64-bits(A-Volute UI version: 1.0.13) 2015/02/04
   the other is U7 driver for Windows 8.1 WHQL driver 2014/01/22.
  
    I am using Foobar with ASIO to play my music and use low impedance quality headphones - ATH-M50X, Creative Aurvana Live! and Xiaomi Piston.
  
    Initially i installed the "later" driver and was slightly surprised by the *SLIGHT CROSSTALK* between channels at any volume level!
    Simple way to check this is to play sound in left channel for example and put your year to the right headphone. The music is audible clearly! This was reproducible with various other players.
  
    I checked multiple times that Dolby is disabled and all other effects. 
    I checked through foobar also.. the same. Do mind that the asio testing routine in foobar does not use attenuation ,but simply plays single channel.
  
*   Then i uninstalled the driver and insalled the WHQL Version!*
*   SURPRISE! Crosstalk in headphone output have GONE!*
  
    My conclusion is, that you can hurt the sound quality quite much by lame drivers!
    Also it spared me the dissapointment of returning the card right after the purchase...
  
    Edit: It seems the cross talk is still audible on sensitive IEM headphones but now is affected by volume meaning it is much less and is inaudible on ATH-M50.
  
  
 Best Regards, Chavdar


----------



## Technics

I purchased a  U7 and hooked it up to the computer usb, and found the sound was very quiet. I had it set at stereo as I have 80s equipment which is analog, i used the rca output to the source ( i choose aux on the amp).  I am not sure If I will be keeping it yet. I will try it later on my V9 amplifier. The toslink outout would be great for a more modern digital amplifer.


----------



## raoultrifan

U7 is having a max. output level of 1V RMS: https://www.asus.com/Sound-Cards/Xonar_U7/specifications/.
  
 CD players usually have about 2.3V RMS, most external DACs have between 1.9-2.3V RMS and high-end DACs have about 2.3-2.5V RMS.
  
 More details here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_level.


----------



## plasmen

Hello, since the Windows 10 update, I am having troubles with the card as well (more than 6 months). The sound format has dropped to 16 bit, 48000 Hz (DVD Quality) and the output channels are now limited to stereo only. 

  
 I have tried everything, uninstalling, installing, different versions, 3rd-party drivers, nothing worked. I have read somewhere that something has been removed from Windows 10 itself, preventing the card to work. I would appreciate if someone had found a way to fix it, to share it here. I attach a screenshot on how my drivers looks like now:
  
http://plasmen.info/share/windows-10-asus-xonar-u7.jpg


----------



## raoultrifan

plasmen, have you checked the USB1.1/2.0 switch?


----------



## plasmen

raoultrifan said:


> plasmen, have you checked the USB1.1/2.0 switch?


 
 Yeah, I have tried that a long time ago, it is at 2.0 position. I know the user guide says that at 1.1 it drops to the exact quality I have.
  
 Are you using this card with windows 10? My Windows 10 is fully updated, to the latest builds.


----------



## raoultrifan

I'm only using Win7 and Ubuntu. Perhaps you may want to install on a USB stick Ubuntu Live, who knows...maybe you have some drivers issue in Win10.
  
 In case you think it could be hardware related issue, do you have another computer to do a test?


----------



## plasmen

raoultrifan said:


> I'm only using Win7 and Ubuntu. Perhaps you may want to install on a USB stick Ubuntu Live, who knows...maybe you have some drivers issue in Win10.
> 
> In case you think it could be hardware related issue, do you have another computer to do a test?


 
 If we are talking about tests, I have performed all kinds of tests - the card on another physical PC, the card on my PC with windows 7 and 8. Always the card works fine. Only thing I have not tested yet is the same model card, but different unit under windows 10.
  
 The problem, I read about on the web is around some Dolby digital module (or something like that) that has been removed from Windows 10, and this is causing all issues.


----------



## Xtreme512

Replying to *Herman Krause:*
  
 I was one of those guys who insisted on using *non-echelon WHQL drivers (Version 8.1.11.19) *for both of the devices (echelon + non-echelon) due to the sound quality and features. WHQL drivers (Version 8.1.11.19) is the best. I dont know what were they thinking while making new drivers... They just not only screwed the device's potential sound quality but also removed the necessary features.
  
So Im using win8.1 x64 right now with (Version 8.1.11.19) on my echelon (wanted so bad to buy non-echelon though) and my concern is also what you said in the end, are these drivers are compatible with windows 10 x64? Because eventually Im gonna have to install windows 10 on my machine.
  
 Some say that they are compatible...
  
 Or did you any of you guys tried the latest win10 drivers for non-echelon? are they the same as the (Version 8.1.11.19)? 
  
_Note: Do not ever install Echelon drivers... thats out of the scope completely. They are all crap._


----------



## Lumpiersorz

I purchased this soundcard, since I no longer have room for an internal soundcard.
  
  
 The bass response on this soundcard is horrific, I don't know why more people don't mention this. Even if you boost the equalizer up to max, it will NOT distort, which in my opinion is a bad situation, since it means even at max it can't even output enough bass to distort headphones even at high volumes.


----------



## Xtreme512

lumpiersorz said:


> I purchased this soundcard, since I no longer have room for an internal soundcard.
> 
> 
> The bass response on this soundcard is horrific, I don't know why more people don't mention this. Even if you boost the equalizer up to max, it will NOT distort, which in my opinion is a bad situation, since it means even at max it can't even output enough bass to distort headphones even at high volumes.


 

 Everything about this card is normal and natural. There is nothing wrong with it. And are you using old WHQL drivers? Check out previous pages, there is only one proper driver and software pack for this card.
  
 edit: short answer -> use only this *non-echelon WHQL drivers Version 8.1.11.19*


----------



## Lumpiersorz

I traded in the soundcard and bought a used Xonar Essence STX. Saved 20 bucks in the progress.
  
 Didn't want to bother with a soundcard like the U7.


----------



## TheJRT

xtreme512 said:


> Everything about this card is normal and natural. There is nothing wrong with it. And are you using old WHQL drivers? Check out previous pages, there is only one proper driver and software pack for this card.
> 
> edit: short answer -> use only this *non-echelon WHQL drivers Version 8.1.11.19*


 
  
 Are you sure that these drivers fully work in windows 10?


----------



## Xtreme512

some says yes but as i said i need to confirm it.


----------



## HAWX

Mine one is Echelon edition, running Win10 64 and I couldn't install 8.1 WHQL drivers of U7 or Windows 10 U7 driver :/
  
 But luckely Windows 10 driver for the U7 Echelon is working very good. All Windows 7 drivers for U7 Echelon were trash. This one is working properly. Only thing about this is that when you change the sampling rate or bit depth, just stop the player and any other sound, and then continue. If you don't do that it will sound tiny and very quite.
  
 My other problem is right at the moment U7 Echelon with Windows 10 Echelon drivers is that it sounds like hmm OK I will try to explain it.
  
 When I put something classical or some songs which has not too much instruments or effects in it they all sound good. But when I put some track with lots of intruments and effects let's say a rock song, especially in the clutteret part I feel that there is too much. Let me say in that way. Normally I see an improvement int these parts because card handles these parts better than onboard. Dedicated card seperates the intruments thus makes these parts more pleasant. But in my case with Echelon Windows 10 drivers I feel the opposite :/  But other thing is that I have been using it only for 2 days. Could it be better in time because it needs break/burn in:?
  
 If somebody could comment the U7 Echelon's audio quality wih Windows 10 driver and compare it to WHQL driver with U7 or U7E I would be happy  Because if you feel the 8.1 drivers are better I will try to find a workaround to install these drivers but I don't want to to be honest. I'm afraid that it might cause some problems :/
  
EDIT: The problem is because Windows 10's resampling. I used the native asio drivers and remembered WHQL days immediately  Use the method on here and playback quality is now very good: http://www.asus.com/microsite/essence/tutorialpage/Foobar2000-ASIO.html  And set buffer length to 50ms.


----------



## Xtreme512

HAWX that is absolutely a driver issue, not your headphone/speaker or the U7 device. As we heard that kind of issues before due to crappy drivers which asus engineers made for that device.
  
 Earlier posts say that 8.1 WHQL U7 (non-echelon) Driver (*the only best driver for this device*) works on W10 and some say it doesnt. So thats a bit weird lol


----------



## Kitmellow

Update: My Xonar U7 impressions/Review moved 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




  
 http://www.head-fi.org/products/xonar-u7-7-1-usb-soundkarte/reviews/15421


----------



## Idiotpod

TLDR: V-moda M-100 + Xonar U7 gives low distant echoing sound with no bass and nothing seems to help.

 

Just wanted to start with that I was referenced here by a reddit user. =) 

 

I recently bought me a couple of V-moda M-100 that I love so far. I've been plugging them straight into my laptops (MSI GT72 2QE Dominator pro) headphone jack resulting in good sound. 

And then, since I'm also a gamer who like the occasional BLOPS 3 game, I bought an Asus Xonar U7 for the virtual 5.1 and 7.1. I've mainly read good things about the U7...

 

*What I was expecting:* Slightly better sound, but most importantly 5.1/7.1 for FPS.

*What I've got:* Low volume (about 30-40% of going straight into the laptop), sounds are distant (Like in a big big room) with weird echos. The bass is almost non-existant (Which is very maddeing since M-100)

 

In the Xonar U7 Audio center I've got sample rate @ 192 khz with 24 bits. There is no change to the above problem if I change it to 44.1 khz and 16 bits or any other combination. I've also tried Low, mid and high gain without any better result. No environment efffects fixes the problem. Surround makes it sound like listening in a church with a bad stereo for 50 skr/4-5$.

I'm powering the U7 through a USB 3.0 and connecting my headphones straight into front of the U7. Windows 10 64 bit OS and installation of the Asus-program.

It is also in headphone-mode.

 

My references have been:

  

*Black ops 3 (Game) 

*Black Desert (Game)

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BV9fqP8IS3E Flim and the B.bs - Tricycle)

*A couple of FLAC albums (In Flames, Muddy Waters, Hendrix, Daft Punk, Meshuggah and Amy Winehouse)

 
Is this all I'm getting out of the Xonar U7? Might it be defective?


----------



## Kitmellow

idiotpod said:


> TLDR: V-moda M-100 + Xonar U7 gives low distant echoing sound with no bass and nothing seems to help.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
  
 Hello welcome to the _*HEAD-FI*_ forums!! Forgive me for bringing up something that might seem so juvenile, but what you describe (if it is as glaringly as bad you said) seems like a poor connection with the headphone jack.  The echoing sound without any effects turned on is a symptom of this poor connection/contact, along with absent or very subdued sound frequencies.
  
 Have you tried slowly inserting your headphone's jack at different depths (for example not all the way in) to see if there is a "sweet spot" that makes the sound come through so it is present at all frequencies your source is playing? 
  
 Any modern 3.5mm headphone's jack should have a 3-pole connection (2 black notches on the jack) with no problems with almost all sources. Headphones with in-line mics have 4-pole connections (3 black notches). 4-pole 3.5mm jacks usually come in two configurations, one that's a more modern universal standard, and one that's made for early portable players which make them incompatible to the universal 4-pole 3.5mm standard input without an adapter. But I have no reason to believe that is the problem for you since the U7 should accept both 3 pole and the modern 4 pole configuration. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



  
 Worst case scenario is you try plugging in other headphones or earphones to see if they sound more less like they should. But obviously, make sure that you have *all* of your effects turned off in your driver panel first.
  
  
  
 Edit: In case you were wondering, the sample rate and bit-depth settings in your driver panel will not effect this issue and are completely unrelated. However, as a friendly tip it is recommended that you change the sample rate to match the content you are currently playing or listening to so that your soundcard is not forced to resample every time and introduce measurable artifacts (if you want the absolute best sound quality).
  
 Since most content both games and online/videos/music are CD quality (44.1kHz) it's best to leave it at that setting in your driver, unless you are specifically listening to FLAC files or similar with over 44.1kHz sampling. Your bit depth setting however, can be left at 24-bit to ensure the highest dynamic range without needing to compromise to 16-bit.


idiotpod said:


> Just checked all of the headphones! None of them have 4 contacts, only three. =)


----------



## HAWX

kitmellow said:


> Update: My Xonar U7 impressions/Review moved
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
 Good review.
  
 Actually I'm listening the card from RCA port and I changed only 1 band in the eq which was 64. I felt it was a bit much, but after your results I'm conviced that's bacuse of the cards behaviour. (But now I use asio while listening my files, you can't use the Eq using asio)
  
 But the main thing I am stuck is that "Card lacks definiton.." Well it might be true but I have read many reviews and users opinon about U7 and they were saying this card is almost same as Essence STX level. Some users said this is better than Titanium HD. And this leads me to think about your settings while listening the card. And I want you to do these simple things and do a minor listening test again. I believe you will see improvements immediately.
  
 1) Best driver for the U7 is that, as statet many people on this forum, the WHQL drivers  If you are using Windows 7, first unistall the current software, restart, and then install Version 7.0.11.19, U7 driver for Windows 7 (then restrat again) If you have Win 8.1 look comments on page 39 sent by Xtreme512. 
  
2nd) Well 1st one might not make a diffrence but this one is definitelly will. Use U7's native asio drivers to avoid Window's resampling. *Resampling to higher usually makes the sound more smooth but takes some of the crispness on highs and reduces the lows. So that's why I believe your findings are affected from these issue.* To skip the Windows resapling (you can find more information on that on google etc.) you can use Xonar U7's native Asio drivers, using foobar or winamp. This will send your datas directly to U7, but beware you won't hear Chrome and etc while listening you music files. You need to stop your playback and restart the Chrome. It's not really practiacal, but since you are a serious listener who wants to see the card's full potential, bit perfect playback is very important.
  
Asus's guide on their site: http://www.asus.com/microsite/essence/tutorialpage/Foobar2000-ASIO.html
  
 After setting up set change the buffering rate. That's 100ms by default but I had random playback stopping etc.* I set buffer lenth to 50ms and haven't had issues so far. *
  
 I was finding the card not that good untill I tried asio, you can check: post #572. You can test the DSX using asio but I don't if it has native asio support or not:?
  
  
  


xtreme512 said:


> HAWX that is absolutely a driver issue, not your headphone/speaker or the U7 device. As we heard that kind of issues before due to crappy drivers which asus engineers made for that device.
> 
> Earlier posts say that 8.1 WHQL U7 (non-echelon) Driver (*the only best driver for this device*) works on W10 and some say it doesnt. So thats a bit weird lol


 
 Dude my problem is solwed using native asio, skipping Windows ! I think the Windows 10's resampling is ****tier than Windows 7. Thx


----------



## Kitmellow

hawx said:


> Good review.
> 
> Actually I'm listening the card from RCA port and I changed only 1 band in the eq which was 64. I felt it was a bit much, but after your results I'm conviced that's bacuse of the cards behaviour. (But now I use asio while listening my files, you can't use the Eq using asio)
> 
> ...


 
  
 Hey, thanks for the feedback man! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



  
 There's certainly many possibilities and variables that might cause these differences in sound and other people's reviews, even though it's the same product. For example, there are instances where different batches of products behave differently, and how at times "review samples" may be handpicked for their best performance from the manufacture to give away for sites or reviewers to review, and are *not* representative of the quality of the same product that you buy from your local store like I have.
  
 Some people may be confused about the results I came out with, but it's just my most honest review of how my specific Xonar U7 performed... 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



  
 On the surface, I* really *wanted to like this U7 very much as it had all the features and flexibility I wanted, but beneath that with all the testing and trials I've done, it didn't really turn out to be what I expected for $150 compared to my $50 DSX. I suppose I expected it to sound somewhat similar and maybe even slightly "better" whatever that meant... 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



  
  
 Besides preferring the sound of my DSX overall, in subjective listening tests, I thought my Samsung Galaxy S5 still sounded better than the U7 playing the same tracks since it had a better sense of balance, texture, thickness/fullness and quickness that sat between the characteristics of the DSX and U7. I would say that the U7 and the DSX are polar opposites of each other in sound presentation despite both being relatively neutral. The rise of distortion in the charts in the bass region is probably what shifted the tonality of the U7 a bit too much for my liking.
  
 Even by plugging in some 8 ohm computer speakers and later a boombox with Aux In to the U7 headphone jack, the sonic imaging was a bit scattered-sounding on complex tracks where as when I plugged them into the DSX, the overall presentation (bass, mids, treble) tightened up and the treble especially was more alive with realistic attack where as they sounded a bit dull (but not recessed at all) on the U7. Again, I can't confirm if this has to do with possible poor (high) output impedance on the U7, but the fact that the U7 didn't pair as well to several different earphones/headphones as they did on my DSX or even my Galaxy S5 wasn't so great for me. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



  
  
 I was using the same driver you listed and I have been for the last week or so. I have also uninstalled twice, but there was no determinable difference to me between using the Windows 8.1 driver and the 7.0.11.19 for Windows 7. If I recall correctly, the measurements were more less the same with each driver. Both even had identical stero crosstalk numbers, so I do doubt it's driver related.
  
I agree that resampling done by any DAC is a bad thing indeed, but like I mentioned before, as long as you match your sound device's sample rate to the sources (music) you are playing with Windows, it's confirmed that there won't be any resampling to degrade the sound, which is something I do already, including during the RMAA testing. 
  
Even other audio enthusiast sites like hydrogenaudio (http://wiki.hydrogenaud.io/index.php?title=Bypassing_Windows_Mixer), say there's questionable or minimal benefit in running ASIO or other interfaces outside of reducing input lag for producing. For convenience reasons also I can't justify running Foobar2000 in ASIO/exclusive mode. Especially considering that you can't really multitask when running exclusive mode and that your driver wont function so you can't have any EQ like you said. In my opinion, good sound quality is supposed to be provided as is, and within the natural mixer environment of Windows. After all, that's what companies get paid to design around. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



  
 But honestly, it's whatever makes people happy, because I can't tell if anyone who has the Xonar U7 might have an _actual _better sounding and measuring one than I do.


----------



## Idiotpod

kitmellow said:


> Hello welcome to the _*HEAD-FI*_ forums!! Forgive me for bringing up something that might seem so juvenile, but what you describe (if it is as glaringly as bad you said) seems like a poor connection with the headphone jack.  The echoing sound without any effects turned on is a symptom of this poor connection/contact, along with absent or very subdued sound frequencies.
> 
> Have you tried slowly inserting your headphone's jack at different depths (for example not all the way in) to see if there is a "sweet spot" that makes the sound come through so it is present at all frequencies your source is playing?
> 
> ...


 

 Hi Kitmellow, thank you for the welcoming! 

 For some reason, if I put the headphones 3.5mm halfway in - I get the sound I wanted... Thats pretty darn weird, why would I get the wanted sound with half the connectors? :O Hahahahah
 I've tried a bunch of phones so far by the way, I didnt mention it in my original post tho(Sorry!). But about 5-6 different headphones, all from a couple mid-fi philips, my V-Modas, Momentum On-Ear, 2 pairs of In-Ears and a couple of sony on-ears. =) 
  
  
 I'll still send it back for a new one, since this one is defective and I don't want to risk it getting more defective since it's already there. 
  
 Thank you Kitmellow!


----------



## Kitmellow

idiotpod said:


> Hi Kitmellow, thank you for the welcoming!
> 
> For some reason, if I put the headphones 3.5mm halfway in - I get the sound I wanted... Thats pretty darn weird, why would I get the wanted sound with half the connectors? :O Hahahahah
> I've tried a bunch of phones so far by the way, I didnt mention it in my original post tho(Sorry!). But about 5-6 different headphones, all from a couple mid-fi philips, my V-Modas, Momentum On-Ear, 2 pairs of In-Ears and a couple of sony on-ears. =)
> ...


 
 No problem! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



  
_If only many other things in life were solved this easily... right?_ 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



  
 Hope you get your new U7 soon and see you on Head-Fi in the future! 
  
 We will be here if you run into any other issues and stuff.
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



  
  
  
  
@HAWX, so I looked over the drivers once again and I installed the slightly older official "_WHQL"_ version of the 7.0.11.19 this time and I realized this version did not have the Sonic Studio Pro interface.
  
 I ran some quick tests on RMAA and it appears that the distortion on the bass area and the frequency response curves have improved drastically and was basically *halved* with this particular driver.
 All I can say to Asus is: 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



  
  
 I will post some images and update my review later when I do some more listening tests.
  
 It appears as if Asus doesn't know how to make very good drivers. Which is something I let my guard down on, despite the fact that I'm already using the Asus Uni drivers (Third party drivers) for my Xonar DSX because the original drivers were kinda crud.


----------



## raoultrifan

idiotpod said:


> For some reason, if I put the headphones 3.5mm halfway in - I get the sound I wanted... Thats pretty darn weird, why would I get the wanted sound with half the connectors? :O Hahahahah
> I've tried a bunch of phones so far by the way, I didnt mention it in my original post tho(Sorry!). But about 5-6 different headphones, all from a couple mid-fi philips, my V-Modas, Momentum On-Ear, 2 pairs of In-Ears and a couple of sony on-ears. =)


 
  
 If your headphones are having 4-contacts (microphone included) then it's "normal" to have this issue, because of the way output plug of U7 was designed. Same thing happens to myself when I listen to my Apple Beat Solo2 headphones and same thing happens to more others. A headfier told me he placed an O-ring on headphones plug and this solves the issue, unless you want to unplug it a little bit every time.


----------



## Idiotpod

raoultrifan said:


> If your headphones are having 4-contacts (microphone included) then it's "normal" to have this issue, because of the way output plug of U7 was designed. Same thing happens to myself when I listen to my Apple Beat Solo2 headphones and same thing happens to more others. A headfier told me he placed an O-ring on headphones plug and this solves the issue, unless you want to unplug it a little bit every time.


 



 Just checked all of the headphones! None of them have 4 contacts, only three. =)


----------



## Kitmellow

idiotpod said:


> Just checked all of the headphones! None of them have 4 contacts, only three. =)


 
  
 Wait lol! Before you return it, he's right. If your headphone has a microphone combo (which I didn't know it did), your headphone jack is split into 3 black notches (called a 4-pin 3.5mm) so it can have a small chance of not working depending on the design of the source jack.
  
 Generally, your modern standard 4-pin 3.5mm should be fine with most sources but again, the U7's jack seems to be designed differently and not accept a modern configuration 4-pin 3.5mm at all. 
  
 I didn't realize this would be a problem because I haven't actually tried a headphone with a mic combo on the U7 yet so I pulled out my fairly recent $20 earphones that I used for traveling (on the airplane) with in-line mic and indeed got this problem. 
  
 Edit: I can't really think of anything that would solve this without DIY or buying an adapter. If anyone else has opinions on an easy fix, please share!


----------



## Idiotpod

kitmellow said:


> Wait lol! Before you return it, he's right. If your headphone has a microphone combo (which I didn't know it did), your headphone jack is split into 3 black notches on your jack (called a 4-pin 3.5mm) so it can have a small chance of not working depending on the design.
> 
> Generally, your modern standard 4-pin 3.5mm should be fine with most sources but again, the U7's jack seems to be designed differently and not accept a modern configuration 4-pin 3.5mm at all.
> 
> I didn't realize this would be a problem because I haven't actually tried a headphone with a mic combo on the U7 yet so I pulled out my fairly recent $20 earphones that I used for traveling (on the airplane) with in-line mic and indeed got this problem.


 

 Wow, just tried another pair of headphones with an old 2-striped cable to my fathers headphones - worked PERFECTLY.
 But since there are no replacement cables for my V-Modas that are thin enough to fit the jack in the headphone, I still have to return the U7.
 This feels like a bit of a miss from Asus since there are quite a lot of headphones that are made with cellphones in mind these days.
  
  
 By the way, do you think this mics adapter would be able to fix the problem since it splits the channels into 2 x steroes?
 http://s3.pji.nu/product/standard/800/2671684.jpg


----------



## Xtreme512

@Kitmellow You were using bad driver suite, now you see at last  Ive been mentioning it many times, asus engineers did a very bad job with newest drivers. There is only one driver for this device that will run the card at its best and it is the WHQL non echelon drivers as I wrote earlier posts with full number. And newest driver suites lack serious features like lfe cut off frequency.
  
@HAWX So basically you might using some effects without knowing. because when you select playback option as WASAPI exclusive or ASIO, it will not only send the datas to the card directly but also bypass all the DSP effects and such. And i dont think the reason was the windows sampler as if you left it on the musics sample rate, windows wont resample at all. and there is a common mistake that windows sampler is bad actually it was bad back in the windows xp, vista era. But yes Im using ASIO too sometimes WASAPI Exclusive when playing surround tracks.
  
  
 I moved on to this device from my xtreme music. Im using ATH-A500X monitors and creative G500 surround speakers, and the overall sound quality is improved considerably in all areas at my end. Some said my Galaxy S5 has better sounding and bla bla. But no, in reality this card is really really good piece of hardware, you just need to know how to use it. And for people says otherwise, I dont blame you, I blame asus engineers.


----------



## Kitmellow

xtreme512 said:


> @Kitmellow You were using bad driver suite, now you see at last  Ive been mentioning it many times, asus engineers did a very bad job with newest drivers. There is only one driver for this device that will run the card at its best and it is the WHQL non echelon drivers as I wrote earlier posts with full number. And newest driver suites lack serious features like lfe cut off frequency.
> 
> @HAWX So basically you might using some effects without knowing. because when you select playback option as WASAPI exclusive or ASIO, it will not only send the datas to the card directly but also bypass all the DSP effects and such. And i dont think the reason was the windows sampler as if you left it on the musics sample rate, windows wont resample at all. and there is a common mistake that windows sampler is bad actually it was bad back in the windows xp, vista era. But yes Im using ASIO too sometimes WASAPI Exclusive when playing surround tracks.
> 
> ...


 
  
 Yup clearly. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




  
 Considering that I want to use the U7 with Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 across different machines, is there a driver suite that won't butcher the U7's performance for those OS's or can I still install this Windows 7 driver on them?
  
 Edit: I noticed that Windows 8 and 8.1 have official WHQL drivers on the site, so I am guessing those will work fine with Windows 8?
 Windows 10 still does not have a certified driver yet...


----------



## HAWX

Actually I wasn't using any dsp effect etc. but I set the sampling bit depth to 96-24. But I have songs from all over the place, if I needed to adjust to each song's sampling rate I must change it every 5 minutes  So my problem was with Windows 10's resampling mostly on 44-48 to 96. Well there is a very small difrence actually, but it affects overall representation.But asio solved my problems luckly  But If I launch my resampler (installed in foobar) in asio mode it works which is good, even in asio mode. So some dsp effects might work installed in the foobar as well, but anyway that's another topic..
  
@Kitmellow I tried Windows 7 and  Windows 8.1's WHQL drivers to install but no luck it says system is not compatible even I try compability mode, on my U7 Echelon. But When I tried Windows 8's WHQL driver it worked. I think It might be better than native U7 Echelon Windows 10 driver, but I don't know. By the way If you are using for loudspeakers like me, I recommend you to use RCA port. 3.5mm port does not sound good on mine as well. I remember I was sad when I hooked it up there first because of the sound I got ) I hope you find better overall listening from card with this drivers  But Asus making me sick for drivers as well 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




​
  
 And you might already seen it but here is a review which shows cards components benchmarks and compares it to DSX but just in a small phragraph   http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/asus-xonar-u7-usb-soundcard-review.209326/
  
  
  
  
*For all the  U7 Echelon owners running Windows 10 ,* try Windows 8's newer WHQL driver for U7, not Echelon. It Works on Win 10, (But no Sonic Radar)
  
 And Every U7 Echelon driver for Windows 7 sucks big time in terms of audio quality. I tried everyone on 32 and 64 version, they all suck unfortunately, avoid using them. I wrote about them in the past but Asus didn't fix them on Windows 7 :/ post #462 post #464


----------



## Kitmellow

@HAWX I think you might be mistaken thinking I have a Xonar DX 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



  
 The review you linked is a comparison to the Xonar DX, not my DSX... the DSX is a lower-end and cheaper model than the DX which doesn't require an extra power connector that the DX requires. The DX is a good soundcard and should perform a little better than the Xonar U7, but without the amplifier and being an internal card.
  
  
  
*Here are my updated results after "downgrading" to the older WHQL Windows 7 driver...*




  
 Listening to several intrumental FLACs and vocal tracks, the overall fullness characteristic sound of the U7 is still present (which is good). However, the low mids and even higher mids had more airiness to them instead of being as sweet and as mellow sounding.
  
 This contributed to a better sense of space of separation between sounds/instruments. The difference is kind of subtle in the context of the fullness of the sound, but nevertheless it still affected female vocals and especially male vocals so they sounded somewhat more realistic with a certain lightness and finesse where it wasn't very apparent before.
  
 The bass by comparison was still on the warmer side of things except the slightly boomier nature seemed to be more punchy-ish and a little more textured. Though I admit it was difficult to tell at times. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



  
  
 On to RMAA again:
  

  
 Now the _numbers_ in RMAA might not tell much of a difference besides the THD sweeps and most notably, the much bigger IMD discrepancy, but the graphs are where things start getting interesting. These frequency response graphs are at 48kHz 24-bit. The left graph is the new result the right graph is the older one from loading my saved results. You can clearly tell the signature has smoothed out eliminating the random sickled-shaped dip and even reducing the low bass slightly.
  
  
_*But wait until you see this... The left side are the new results and the old results on the right side.*_
  

  
  
  
_*I'll just let the charts speak for themselves at how much distortion I was getting *_
  
Moral of the story: never trust Asus drivers


----------



## HAWX

Actually I don't know both cards but in the review it says DS performs only better in multi chanel compared to U7. So If U7 is better than DX it will be better then the DSX naturally
  
  
 Results are striking. I think I'm gonna send Asus new email about this. And I will think twice before buying sound cards which requires drivers to work..
  
 Edit: Did you get the card for 140$? I think It's quite expensive for U7. U7 is 86$ in amazon right now. I bought it about 90$ converting my purchase to dollar.


----------



## Kitmellow

Hmm... I might have forgotten to mention the prices for me are in CAD since I live in Canada, so $140 with taxes is kinda standard because the economy isn't doing so good...
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



  
 I feel a lot more confident about the U7, but I still have some reservations about the "weaker" amplifier and the high measured output impedance which I read varies from 17-20 ohms according to some posts from Hydrogenaudio and this Russian review site (http://personalaudio.ru/detail/asus_xonar_u7/?CODE=asus_xonar_u7&PAGEN_2=3).
  
 Most of the things I plug into the headphone jack sound okay, besides those with an inline mic, which I have to use an additional 3.5mm adapter with.
  
 After the driver change, the U7 still sounds a bit on the warm/smoother side of things but with quite transparent mids now. I still don't know if this is because of a poor damping factor between the gear I use or that fact that the U7 is supposed to sound a little on the warmer/smoother side to begin with.
  
 I am slightly on the fence with the U7 but I guess it's still better than my DSX. The extra features I don't use like the 7.1 are nice for futureproofing...


----------



## Mojabragas

I recently downgrade from windows 10x64 driver to windows 8x64 whql, because I couldn't install 8.1 whql because it said wrong platform.
 I notice no difference, maybe a lack of punch.


----------



## Kitmellow

It's a difference that you're unlikely to notice unless you are aware of this issue, that's for sure. The scaling bass distortion with the wrong drivers _can_ bleed into the mids that you may or may not notice very much depending on the headphones you use. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



  
 And you might actually prefer sound before downgrading because you've gotten used to liking the warmer sound. But, when the output measures like it does from my post above without any EQ applied, it just shows how much the Xonar U7 with the wrong drivers is lying to you, not giving a flat presentation that a soundcard of this class is capable of.
  
 I've not tested the regular Windows 10 64-bit drivers, but in my experience using anything other than the WHQL drivers, the measured bass response distortion starts to scale and gets worse at anything under 1K hertz.


----------



## Mojabragas

So is there a difference between whql win8 and whql win8.1?


----------



## Kitmellow

Hmm.. well It shouldn't really be a concern because like you said: only one of them is compatible with your OS. 

Choose the newest one that is WHQL certified that installs properly.


----------



## Xtreme512

Guys, Ive been thinking, when I install windows 10 as there are no clear information about which driver to install for best sound quality (like the WHQL version in win8.1), Im planning to use the card on usb1.0 mode (switching usb mode physically under the device) and let native windows 10 drivers drive the card.
  
 My thought is that, as I do not ever use any asus driver feature like EQ and other stuff, and also im not sure which asus driver to use for w10, this idea is pretty interesting. I only use flex bass for bass management and ASUS ASIO drivers. For ASIO it will be a trade off for me. But for bass management, I see that windows has it too and it exactly looks like ASUS's flex bass.
  
 Now my question is, is it wise to do that? I mean will it affect the sound quality of the hardware?
  
 Thanks.


----------



## HAWX

@Xtreme512 I must have said earlier but Windows 8's U7 WHQL driver (updated WHQL I guess, one of the WHQL is newer) worked on my Windows 10 U7Echelon. It has the cut off frequency option (It looks like older one and interface and options are the same). It provides best sound quality like other WHQL drivers. There are no native WHQL driver for W10 unfortunately :/ Asio sometimes stops working but not a big deal. Just wait some seconds and replug U7.


----------



## Xtreme512

thanks for your reply. thats great to know, after all i got one solid option now. but i still seek some answer to my previous question as it sounds pretty interesting to me.


----------



## AtrafCreez

Kit Hi,
 I am a no nothing about audio., but having spent at least 50 hours online , also various Head_Fi forums, googling and wasting time with ASUS I still have no answer.
 Reading about the Asus Xonar u7 2 or 3 years ago i bought one not knowing that my motherboard had an Asus internal anyhow.....I did see a large difference though with my speakers and Sennheiser headphones.
 At a later time i had to re-install Windows 7 and then the Asus software would not install, each time it said "plug in the Asus xonar 7u"  but it was plugged in.
 Asus support was horrible the whole forms to fill out and then they still offered no solution.
 I tossed the Asus Xonar in a drawer.
 Having in the last 2 years bought Sennheiser wireless RS 180  and the newer RS 195  I was reading on the forums that I would have a better audio quality by using the available Optical connection rather than the analog connection I use.  (I have no AV reciever, amp or the such just a desktop pc) my PC has no optical connection (checked) everything outside the USA often has 117% taxes added on.
 So I figured to use the optical connection on the Asus Xonar u7 but trying again to install they  write the same message : "Connect the Xonar before proceeding with instalation"  What should I do??


----------



## HAWX

Man you are sure you are trying to install right edition? Maybe your one is the Echelon edition:? 
If you are doing it right and still have that message I have no idea.


----------



## AtrafCreez

Thank You for replying. No its not Echelon !


----------



## harbinger66

amafi said:


> Managed to get the Xonar U7 Echelon working passably well in windows 10 today.
> Downloaded and unzipped the Xonar U7-8.1.11.19(3.13-WHQL) drivers.
> Installed the latest U7 Echelon edition drivers, rebooted, and went into device management and forced the dac to use the old U7 driver instead by going update driver, browse computer, let me pick from list, removed the check mark by supported hardware, have disk, pointed at the u7 driver folder and hit next. Dolby Home Theater is working fine, mic is working in steam, and everything seems fine for now.
> Only been an hour or so though, so time will tell.


 
 Really appreciate you posting this. First off, I'm on Win10 and I have a standard U7, not the Echelon. I had installed the drivers for the U7 on my win7 laptop as well as my win10 desktop. On my laptop I had no issues whatsoever, on my win10 machine i kept hearing crackling. I tried using virtually all of my USB ports thinking perhaps was the problem, tried moving the USB away from other powered devices, switched my mouse, did a bunch of things and I still had the crackling. I used this post and downloaded the 8.1.11.19 (3.13-WHQL) drivers and the method used to switch out the driver. Voila! no crackling whatsoever, I now have clean sound. Thank you sir!


----------



## paulkemp

Considering the Xonar U7, it is 1) cheaper than solid state dac/amp solutions, and 2) it does have mic input at the front, and 3)will let me switch the outputs to speakers. All well a nice. However, there seems to be some issues with the drivers? I am PC capable, but I dislike when things dont work. And, more importantly, my DT990s are 250 ohm, is this amp capable of driving them? 
  
 I have a Astro MixAmp today.


----------



## SlashZack

Hi guys need help here. I just got the U7 today. Browse within the thread and completely lost. 
 The "Best" version of the old driver mentioned earlier working on win10?
  
 I'm on win 10 64bit. Which driver should i install?  4.14 or 4.16?
  
 http://i.imgur.com/7aGzTvb.jpg
  
 Thanks


----------



## paulkemp

As a rule of PC thumb, get the newest. Howeve it is simply a uninstall / reinstall and you should be good to go if something strange happens with one of the other. Can't go wrong here


----------



## Kitmellow

Hey guys! In case any new U7 owners have missed the previous posts, the following is where you should download and what to install if you are running Windows 10 64-bit. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




  
  

  
 (https://www.asus.com/us/Sound-Cards/Xonar_U7/HelpDesk_Download/)
  
  
 The reason people running Windows 10 should use these drivers instead of the Windows 10 drivers offered there is because those are not "WHQL" quality-certified and many people who used them reported quality/usability issues and weird bugs like popping/buzzing noises.
  
 It has also been confirmed through my testing that these poorly written Windows 10 drivers degrade the sound quality of the headphone output on the U7 because the bass response performs significantly sloppier with higher harmonic distortion than when using the "WHQL" Windows 8 drivers in my measurement tests. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



  
 If you are using a different driver, please make sure you fully uninstall them and reboot before you install these Windows 8 drivers. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



  
  
  
 For people potentially looking to buy the U7, my review is that it's excellent sound quality for the dollar, but there are 4 main weaknesses you might want to consider:
  
 - The U7 has about 17-21 ohms of output impedance meaning that it's not suitable for use with low or medium impedance *Balanced Armature Driver* earphones if you have any. Most Dynamic Driver headphones/earphones should be fine and should sound great. This higher output impedance can be negated if you are using a good amplifier with the U7.
  
 - The U7 has a relatively weak built-in headphone amplifier pushing only 1.3 Vrms at an unknown amount of load, which means that headphones rated at 250 ohms of impedance and above *might *not get as loud as you want them to, in which you'd need to run it through another amplifier.
  
 - The way the U7's headphone jack has been designed, means that any headphones/earphones you plug in that *has an inline-microphone* will sound distorted with missing frequencies. To fix this, you'll have to not fully insert the jack in (maybe 90%) until you get full range sound. This means that your headphones/earphones with inline-mics will be prone to disconnecting from the jack with small tugs, but this can be remedied if you connect your headphones to the jack with any cheap 3.5 mm 4 pole to 3 pole adapter.
  
 - Finally, unlike Asus' internal Xonar soundcards such as the Xonar DSX, the Xonar U7 does not have built-in "Stereo Mix" hardware capability, meaning that you cannot record everything you hear from your PC even though basic Realtek onboard audio has that capability. If you want to record the sound that you hear through your speakers, you'll need to utilize 3rd party software such as Voicemeeter (it's free).


----------



## SlashZack

Not able to install the mentioned win8 whql driver  "Don't support this platform"
  
 I'm having problem with the latest win10 driver. After installation it causing serious lag on my desktop browsing.
 Dolby panel crashes all the time. 
 Also for the U7 Sonar panel all i got is volume control and all other setting are not available. 
 Really annoying. Now still trying to troubleshoot after many method. 
  
 Asus product often have the worst driver and support. Guess i forgot all my previous learnt lesson.


----------



## Fujibayashi

Is it any info about new Windows 10 driver? (Xonar U7-4.14(W10-PR))


----------



## CaptainAwesome

Yeah, there's a new win10 beta driver for regular U7 (nothing for Echelon) that's less than a week old now with beta support for DDL again. Anyone give that a go yet?
 There's some weird things happening with the driver versioning on Asus's site, but it seems new at least based on the date.


----------



## NarTa

Hi guys. i have some question. When i change Audio Config from 7.1,5.1 or 4.0 to Stereo why the sound out put is decrease so much.Do you have a way to fix it? or my U7 have a problem?


----------



## ciarlatano

narta said:


> Hi guys. i have some question. When i change Audio Config from 7.1,5.1 or 4.0 to Stereo why the sound out put is decrease so much.Do you have a way to fix it? or my U7 have a problem?


 
 I am having exactly this same issue since I upgraded to Win 10. I tried the 8.1 drivers, and it was actually fine until I changed the sample rate. As soon as I did, volume decreased significantly. I also can't get DHT4 to install no matter what I do, and that is actually the biggest reason I am using the U7 at all.
  
 EDIT: I used the Win8 WHQL driver, used compatibility mode with the setup.exe to install and everything is working perfectly. The Win 8.1 driver was a no go for me in Win 10 x64 Pro.


----------



## igytech

Does anyone use some amp with Xonar u7. What can recommend for $100?


----------



## Rasket

Hello,

 I wonder if someone can please help me, i'm going crazy.
  
 I have normal Xonar U7 since January last year. It works fine for my headphones, my speaker output is disabled because I have other USB speakers. But this works all good for one year. Then two things break. One, lots of crackling in headphones. Two, Microphone doesn't work unless you turn levels to 100. 
  
 The crackling is annoying but I don't know how to fix. The microphone is TERRIBLE though now. I try with 4 different microphones. No one can hear my in team speak or Skype unless I turn the Microphone Levels all the way up to 100. Then people can hear me but also can hear every single click of my mouse and keyboard, Also SO MUCH STATIC. Just terrible, all the noise.
  
 I contact Asus for warranty repair (as I assume maybe no power getting to microphone). They tell me to **** off. So I go to Amazon and they amazingly send me a new one straight away! Today I get the new one and...still quiet mic. So this means it must be driver??? Perhaps the reason it breaks is because Windows 10 update? I don't know if the microphone break when I upgrade (i didn;t even upgrade, I just go away for a few minutes, come back at windows 10 installed ((((()
  
 So Windows 10 breaks Xonar u7? Right now I am using the Windows 8.0 driver like this thread says but still no mic.
  
 PLEASE help.


----------



## CaptainAwesome

rasket said:


> Hello,
> 
> I wonder if someone can please help me, i'm going crazy.
> 
> ...


 

 Have you tried the driver for Windows 10 that is dated 2016/07/13?


----------



## elemunt

So after 16months of annoying and troubled use with this thing, today my Xonar started ******* my PC up. Firstly my PC wouldn't boot past the mobo logo, so I disconnected usb devices one by one by power of deduction. Once unplugging the Xonar it boots into windows fine (???). And now once I'm in Windows and I plug it back in it detects absolutely nothing, just the speaker LED starts flashing. I've had it to wits end with this products and it boggles my mind that there is no alternate solution to buy, just a nice little DAC with amperage and a good microphone input.
  
 Can anyone recommend me another product that won't break the bank?


----------



## Rasket

captainawesome said:


> Have you tried the driver for Windows 10 that is dated 2016/07/13?


 
 Yes, no joy.


----------



## Trevor White

I just bought a U7 from Amazon.co.uk and I had the blinking LED problem. I originally had Windows 10 on my laptop but it never did run right so when I read people all having trouble I thought sod it, I shall put Windows 7 64bit back on and all should be well. I installed Windows 7 and the U7 came to life. I started performing the updates and at some point it started blinking again. Then it came back to life after a few more updates. Then is started blinking again. I do not know what the problem is but I tried enough to know Asus should have addressed this issue better or indicated what the problem is. I even contacted them and got a generic response that maybe I needed to unseat the device and reseat it. Its a USB device and they were giving me advice for an internal card! Then they said it sounds like maybe a faulty card and that Amazon take care of warranty. 
  
 After 3 days of really trying to get it to work I decided that its just not worth the effort. I have sent it back because I feel that even if I got it working again, any day it could just stop working. It is a really strange problem. 
  
 Can anyone point me at some threads indicating what usb DAC I should get instead? My budget was about the U7 mark really. I am a bit gutted because the U7 looked perfect and the times I did get it working, the sound was very clear. 
  
 Thanks
  
 Trev
  
  
 Well an update on this it appears I had a faulty u7 after all. Replaced for another one and now works perfectly.


----------



## Rasket

Okay so now my ENITRE COMPUTER IS BROKEN. Thanks Asus!
  
 I reinstalled Windows 10 and all my programs. Everythings works fine. I wait until last to install Xonar u7 Audio Center and drivers. Now, my computer freezes and locks up. No audio through speakers, LOUD DISTORTED ROBOT AUDIO through headphones, and the computer constantly crashes so you have to hold the button to turn it off.

 This is just insane. I will never buy Asus again. I will make sure no friends ever do too.


----------



## Rasket

> So after 16months of annoying and troubled use with this thing, today my Xonar started ******* my PC up. Firstly my PC wouldn't boot past the mobo logo, so I disconnected usb devices one by one by power of deduction. Once unplugging the Xonar it boots into windows fine (???). And now once I'm in Windows and I plug it back in it detects absolutely nothing, just the speaker LED starts flashing. I've had it to wits end with this products and it boggles my mind that there is no alternate solution to buy, just a nice little DAC with amperage and a good microphone input.
> 
> Can anyone recommend me another product that won't break the bank?


 
  
  
 This is exactly what happened to me. ******* asus suck.


----------



## Rasket

Okay so I restore System image - computer now works. I install latest Win10 drivers (as I cannot install Win7 or 8 because not supported). 

 I have no microphone input and no headphone output. Completely useless. I don't use speaker out but I bet that's probably broken too. I get zero register sound from microphone and Headphones sound like distorted robot. I wish I was rich I would sue Asus for wasting so much of my life.


----------



## SK90

So after 1 1/2 years I'm getting the blinking LED issue. So I plugged the U7 into a USB wall charger, left it for a few hours and voila! It works again on my computer. Not sure why, maybe the U7 isn't getting enough power from the USB ports? 

 Anyways, I had question: Is it possible to use SPDIF out for headphones? I have the u7 connected to my pc through USB, I also used the toslink cable to connect from my PC to the U7 as well. I am not getting any audio when I try using SPDIF out. My previous Turtle Beach DSS2 (yes I know) had no issues with this lol. Is it even possible? I use the HD598 and ATH-M50x.


----------



## Xtreme512

*Kindly reminder and saver of the day: *As for majority of people now use W10. Please download and install (x86 or x64 based on your W10) Windows 8 (*8.0.11.19 last WHQL*) for Xonar U7 or Echelon does not matter. _May have to use compatibility mode for setup executable._
  
 Thanks to the user _HAWX _for the specific information that he told us some time ago. And no, W8.1 drivers will not work on W10. And yes, W8 and W8.1 drivers are completely same build.


----------



## SK90

xtreme512 said:


> *Kindly reminder and saver of the day: *As for majority of people now use W10. Please download and install (x86 or x64 based on your W10) Windows 8 (*8.0.11.19 last WHQL*) for Xonar U7 or Echelon does not matter. _May have to use compatibility mode for setup executable._
> 
> Thanks to the user _HAWX _for the specific information that he told us some time ago. And no, W8.1 drivers will not work on W10. And yes, W8 and W8.1 drivers are completely same build.


 
 Wow thanks! This fixed my problem!


----------



## Xtreme512

I'm glad that it did!
  
 And additional to that, if you use Win8 or Win8.1, again install those WHQL drivers accordingly. Do not use any other version as they are all broken in terms of sound quality.
  
 You must have already been aware of that, as we wrote a lot in previous pages. It only takes a few mins to search and read.


----------



## Kitmellow

Wow!
  
 I'm surprised I mentioned to install the wrong Windows 8 drivers to people earlier by accident. My mistake, shoutout to Xtreme for his clarification. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




  
 So yes, what I meant was please install the regular Windows 8 drivers instead of the Windows 8.1 one, since the other clearly *WILL NOT* install.
  
 I have been using the Windows 8 64-bit drivers all along, which is why I never had any issues, and neither should any of you if you switch to it. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



  
 Basically, *DO NOT* use anything other than the WHQL drivers dated 2014/01/22, or else you _will _suffer weird bugs and a slightly distorted frequency response... at least until Asus releases a decent Windows 10 driver... which will probably be never anyways.


----------



## igytech

Power your Android device


----------



## SlashZack

No driver needed for Android? Just plug and play?


----------



## igytech

slashzack said:


> No driver needed for Android? Just plug and play?



Installed USB Audio player PRO... Still don't know can it be manage in android options. Maybe in android developer options.
Don't need anything else, this app and play. Warning: I use S7 USB adapter. At app developer page say that may require a powered USB hub.


----------



## Xtreme512

slashzack said:


> No driver needed for Android? Just plug and play?


 
 It is P&P if you switch it to USB1.1 on the back of the device.


----------



## igytech

Good advice. Didn't try that.


----------



## nsdjoe

Hey guys,
  
 So I recently picked up a U7 and have really liked it, but I'm having a problem.  When Dolby Home Theater v4 is active, I get intermittent popping/crackling while playing music.  Goes away completely when I turn DHTv4 off.  Any ideas how I can fix it?
  
 FWIW my computer is a beast (i7-5820k) so I'm certain it's not a resource issue.
  
 Any help would be greatly appreciated!
  
 **EDIT**  I updated to the Win8 WHQL drivers as recommended in previous posts and so far the problem has gone away.  Hoping that's it!


----------



## igytech

nsdjoe said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> So I recently picked up a U7 and have really liked it, but I'm having a problem.  When Dolby Home Theater v4 is active, I get intermittent popping/crackling while playing music.  Goes away completely when I turn DHTv4 off.  Any ideas how I can fix it?
> 
> ...




Most possible it is driver problem. What about movies? And why do you use DHTv4 for music? Try another driver.


----------



## oguignant

HI! I'm going to buy this sound card, Asus xonar u7. Can someone tell me if DDL now works in Windows 10? Pls hlp! I want to know before I buy it.

Thks


----------



## nomei

oguignant said:


> HI! I'm going to buy this sound card, Asus xonar u7. Can someone tell me if DDL now works in Windows 10? Pls hlp! I want to know before I buy it.
> 
> Thks


 
 I want to know it too. Can someone tell if Dolby Home Theater v4 works in Windows 10 64bit on Xonar U7?


----------



## SlashZack

Yes mine works flawlessly.


----------



## nomei

I'm very interested in buying Xonar U7 but can someone here confirm that this card doesn't make noises like hum/hiss/buzz/etc? I recently returned Phoebus Solo because "white noise" on headphone output drove me crazy... I think it was caused by interference from PSU or GPU. I'm not sure so I'm looking for a decent external sound card and U7 seems pretty good.
 I'm using CAL! and HyperX Cloud. Should be ok ?


----------



## igytech

nomei said:


> I'm very interested in buying Xonar U7 but can someone here confirm that this card doesn't make noises like hum/hiss/buzz/etc? I recently returned Phoebus Solo because "white noise" on headphone output drove me crazy... I think it was caused by interference from PSU or GPU. I'm not sure so I'm looking for a decent external sound card and U7 seems pretty good.
> 
> I'm using CAL! and HyperX Cloud. Should be ok ?




Don't have problem like that. It should work fine if it is not broken or you have interference from some device.


----------



## HAWX

nomei said:


> I'm very interested in buying Xonar U7 but can someone here confirm that this card doesn't make noises like hum/hiss/buzz/etc? I recently returned Phoebus Solo because "white noise" on headphone output drove me crazy... I think it was caused by interference from PSU or GPU. I'm not sure so I'm looking for a decent external sound card and U7 seems pretty good.
> 
> I'm using CAL! and HyperX Cloud. Should be ok ?




No, as some people said earlier this card's background is pitch black. I'm sometimes pumping it to max volume when no music is playing and I have absolutely zero hiss, bot in headphones and speakers. I put my U7 above the PC.
 I'm surprised that you have buzzing Phoebus Solo I think it was more expensive than U7, and I will check its specs If it has EMI shielding.


----------



## Milos Raonik

x7007 said:


> Did anyone see this ?
> 
> 
> http://www.manualowl.com/m/Asus/XONAR-PHOEBUS/Manual/320155
> ...


 
 Link to manual didnt work (404 error), found some backup link if someone needs, helpful for me http://safe-manuals.com/user-manual/asus/e7799-xonar-phoebus


----------



## ScubadudeSA

Apologies if this has been covered before ... how effective is the U7 as a USB-SPDIF bridge?


----------



## Ante Pan

Hello! 
  
 Sort of new U7 user here. 
 I was thinking about the volumes in software & hardware, and how they affect sound quality. So I went to google, and from what I found you should have the volume max digitally, eg. the audio-playback program you're using and also windows, and then control the soundvolume through the amp directly, analogally. 
  
 Now with the U7 when I adjust the wheel on the box it adjusts the Windows volume, so I was wondering if I'm getting worse audioquality than I possibly could? Right now I have Spotify at max, and use the wheel to adjust to about 12% in windows because that's what I find comfortable. (And I know Spotify isn't the best audioquality but it's my favorite audio-playback app.)
  
 I'm not dissapointed with the audio with my M50's, but if I'm missing out on crisper audio I want in on that. 
  
 I'm a total audio noob so if all this is mumbojumbo talk please set me straight. And also I'm getting a pair of Fidelio X2's so I want my ears to be pleased to the maximum.


----------



## Kitmellow

Welcome @Ante Pan! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




  
 The Xonar U7 only has a digital volume control linked to your Operating System. So realistically, you wont be able to leave the volume on 100% all the time, because it could get too loud for your headphones/earphones/speakers and damage them.
  
 There are exceptions to this, for example you have audio gear that is very difficult to drive and doesn't get very loud with the U7 at 100% to begin with, or you are plugging in powered speakers with their own volume nob (in which case you should set the volume of Windows to 100% and control the volume through the speakers themselves), or you are using an external amplifier with your U7 like I do, then you should max out the volume in the Operating System then control the volume directly from the external amplifier.
  
 To get the best sound quality, the idea is that you try to max out the original source signal in the chain from your DAC *before *it reaches your headphones/earphones/speakers without getting too loud, and you control or restrict the volume through other means like an external amplifier (if you use one). Powered speakers generally have their own built in amplifier, which is why they tend to have a volume nob too.
  
 Setting the volume at 100% is not _always_ correct though, because besides potentially being too loud (without an external amplifier to restrict the volume), if you use a relatively weak DAC/Amp like the U7 with some *very *hard to drive headphones, the phenomenon known as "clipping" could occur. When clipping occurs, it is generally pretty obvious to make out as it sounds like distorted, noisy peaks in the louder parts of your music. In this case, you have to lower the volume within your Operating System until the clipping no longer occurs and increase volume though other means like an external amplifier to compensate.
  
 This is more of a tip, but in the U7's Audio Device properties, there should be an Amplifier Gain setting. For best results, make sure you leave it at +0.0 dB because there's really no point in lowering the power of the U7 unless your headphones or earphones are extremely easy to drive and you get some channel imbalance because you are forced to leave the volume % very low or else they get too loud.
  
 Hope this helped!


----------



## Ante Pan

Thanks, @Kitmellow that explains it. 
  
 Solved my confusion, and I took your tip and set my gain to +0.0 dB. My headphones are low impedance, ATH-M50 and Fidelio X2's but maybe I should still have the gain at + 0.0 dB?


----------



## KingKrush

Fellow U7 user checking in! My first one stopped working, but fortunately the store I bought it from handled the replacement for me (two months before the warranty expired). Using it with an M50X and it sounds mostly great, but definitely needs the right EQ for what you're listening to.


----------



## Fujibayashi

I have a problem with the software.
 I use Windows 10 x64 and 8.0.11.19 WHQL driver(2014/01/22).
 I installed the driver using Device Manager. The problem is that it did not install ASIO. Could anybody please explain me how to get WHQL driver with ASIO on Windows 10 x64?


----------



## HAWX

fujibayashi said:


> I have a problem with the software.
> I use Windows 10 x64 and 8.0.11.19 WHQL driver(2014/01/22).
> I installed the driver using Device Manager. The problem is that it did not install ASIO. Could anybody please explain me how to get WHQL driver with ASIO on Windows 10 x64?


 
 I don't know but normally it installs asio as well! When you right click to your Sonic Studio icon could it let you click on the option "Open Asio"? And just to be sure, you know you need to install some components to eg. "asio support" for foobar2000 to get benefit from asio, right?


----------



## Fujibayashi

hawx said:


> When you right click to your Sonic Studio icon


 
  


fujibayashi said:


> I installed the driver using Device Manager.


 
 It does not install Sonic Studio.


----------



## Paulus XII

Can this be used with a smartphone as a DAC?


----------



## raoultrifan

It worked on my old Archos 9" Android tablet on the fly with OTG cable, just gain was at max. value. I was able to listed music with many Android players. Don't know about phones, most likely you may need to try it out on your phone before the purchase.


----------



## Mojabragas

Anything new with Dolby HTV4? Can it be installed in win10 in this days without error?


----------



## HAWX

mojabragas said:


> Anything new with Dolby HTV4? Can it be installed in win10 in this days without error?


 
 For U7 Echelon, no, there is no Dolby HTV4 included in Windows 10 driver unfortunatelly.
  
 But in another respect, I was using Dolby HTV4 functionality in the past, but it is not good for games, or music.I was only using it for speeches, sometimes for films and tuned it for night time speech listening in very low volume thorugh my speakers. But other than these, Dolby HTV4 makes the sound artificial and less seperated for music and games no matter what setting you use. I can do the similar things with voice clarity and compressor and equaliser options in Sonic Studio, so I personally don't miss all that much, headphone users would not need it at all I guess.


----------



## Mojabragas

hawx said:


> For U7 Echelon, no, there is no Dolby HTV4 included in Windows 10 driver unfortunatelly.
> 
> But in another respect, I was using Dolby HTV4 functionality in the past, but it is not good for games, or music.I was only using it for speeches, sometimes for films and tuned it for night time speech listening in very low volume thorugh my speakers. But other than these, Dolby HTV4 makes the sound artificial and less seperated for music and games no matter what setting you use. I can do the similar things with voice clarity and compressor and equaliser options in Sonic Studio, so I personally don't miss all that much, headphone users would not need it at all I guess.


 
 I liked Sonic Studio too, but they delete it from the driver in non echelon version , so we can't get it.


----------



## disfunktor

Out of all the problems that i had with this device (usb connection, blinking blue led), and most of all worse support ever, I still like the sound that this thing puts out. When it does. However, I now have a completely new problem. Up until now I had it hooked up to Logitech 5.1 system, and I could select any mode (44.1-192kHz). Recently I hooked it up to the new desktop PC and Marantz stereo receiver, and suddenly I can select only 44.1 and 48 kHz modes. Any ideas why?


----------



## HAWX

How do you find & like sound after you connected to your amp?

And about your problem:
You might have changed the switch (located under the card) to Usb 1. 
Have you connected it through optic output?


----------



## disfunktor

Well, the HD detail isn't there of course, because I can't get it higher than 48kHz. I can hear the difference when I listen to HD stuff (when compared with Fiio Q1 at 96kHz/24bit). The RCA output is also too weak for Hi-Fi grade amps. They are usually tweaked to 2 Vrms inputs, and I believe Xonar U7 has 1.3 Vrms. So I have to crank the volume much higher than when I play something from CD player. Luckily there is very little hiss and noise, so U7 still sounds much better than onboard soundcard. When compared to Hi-Fi grade DAC, it lacks in many aspects. It is also less clear, and has less soundstage and definition than portable DAC/amp Fiio Q1.
  
 I would probably like the U7 a lot, if it actually worked. If Asus cared to polish it up and fix all the hardware and software/driver issues it would be very good bang for buck. But since they didn't, it sucks big time, and I am not buying Asus ever again.
  
 And yes, I don't have it in USB 1 mode, although I did try to use it in USB 1 mode too. It didn't help. I also tried all the USB ports on my computer. Still doesn't work.
  
 I never connected the U7 through optic output.


----------



## Herv

Hi,
Did anyone manage to use spdif in asio ?
U7 asio driver parameters are locked to 16 bits / latency 20ms, and I can't find a way to specify I want to use spdif and not the default speakers output.
I asked asus support, but I got the usual "try restore windows" answer.
Regards,


----------



## Xtreme512

Did anyone check out the latest U7 hardware? * Xonar U7 MkII? *What are the differences in hardware and software? There is a driver close to 120MB on the official site.


----------



## igytech

xtreme512 said:


> Did anyone check out the latest U7 hardware? * Xonar U7 MkII?* What are the differences in hardware and software? There is a driver close to 120MB on the official site.




It has different C-Media 6632AX over 6632A sound processor. It is maybe like some upgrade but it is question how is it in reality. 
It has different software probably not compatibile with standard one. 

Also there is not any review to see what is inside, for example better opamps...


----------



## Xtreme512

it is only that in hardware? honestly i dont care about the DSP as i dont use any dsp effects and for HD sound processing for games etc. U7 series already have a powerful DSP.
  
 for software, it looks like they have used echelon's game features and nothing new at all... but i wonder if the sound quality is the same as the ****ty drivers that have made for U7 or better than the win8 WHQL version. this would be interesting.
  
 edit: it is most probably compatible with older U7s too as some people managed to run echelon software on non-echelon devices and after that company decided to use the same UI in non-echelon too, which was a bad decision because the old UI was more usable and efficient.


----------



## Green-mist

Hello, 
  
 Im using Xonar U7 and have been for a while now. Im not that much into good sound but to me it sounds better with High Gain, 0dB. For my headphones, ATH m50x, Im supposed to use medium, -6dB, but to me it sounds better with it set to High 0dB. They are 38ohms. Can someone clarify this to me? 
  
 Low Gain -12dB for <32 ohms
 Medium Gain -6dB for 32~64 ohms
 High Gain -0dB for >64 ohms.
  
 Thanks.


----------



## Xtreme512

just put it to 0db that is neutral (most optimal experience) and adjust the volume of your headphones according to your taste.


----------



## HAWX

*I just wanted to give some impressions on U7 Echelon and compared it with some phones I have access to.*



 Today, for a moment I could't find the empedence setting in my Xonar U7 Echelon with Windows 10 driver (Still beta btw). I thought to myself how is that possible while using this card 2 years actively and being in this forum? 

 First the speakers and spdif showed but headhpone didn't showed itself. Then I clicked the wheel on the U7 and then I saw the headhpone symbol showed up. I right clicked it but onyl the set the defaul option came in. I couldn't find any solution, then I decided to restart my computer, and it worked. After restarting my computer impedance setting showed up along with the set the default option, problem solved 


*I compared the Xonar U7 Echelon (Windows 10 Beta Driver, max empedance), iPhone 4 and Samsung Galaxy S7 edge dual (exynos variant) 3.5mm Headphone jacks quality *today, using Youtube App. I put the same songs on same quality and listened carefully. My headphones are *cheapo Philips Noise Canceling Headphones*. I don't like to use headphones If the speakers are available. Anyways, my findings are;

*Comparing S7 edge to the iPhone 4*: iPhone 4 is definitely has more max volume. I would say about 15-20 % more volume. (Even though my S7 has about 10% more volume than iPhone 6S I compared). I heard more details with iPhone 4, on the mid-low area. iPhone 4 is quite better on the bass, mid bass and mid area. Natural instruments like trumpets are more real and enjoyable, and the starting of the note the first breath I would say is better on iPhone 4. I can hear the background noise while the music is not playing on the S7, like white noise but really really low volume. S7 on the other hand, is lacking in bass and midbass area but has more epmphasis on the upper mids and highs. I would heard more details on mids to upper mids with the S7, but it might be related to the fact that S7 shows less lower mids and bass. Hİghs are spikey in both devices, but it distracts me more on the S7 because it has more emphasis on mid and higher frequencies as I stated. ( Highs are less spikey and more natural on the U7, but still a bit spikey, so I think this is related to my headphones I'm using.
  
 But there is 1 thing that I realised more and more while switching between them. There is 1 thing that S7 did appearently better. In iPhone 4,sound is more thick and has more presence BUT while listening same thing, I feel the Song is more crowded with the iPhone 4. With the S7, background is more black I would say. Listening with iPhone like they added just a little tiny amount of reverb to everything, just a very tiny little bit so that I would prefer S7 with most modern pop, rock dubstep(although I don't like most dubsteps) etc. 

 I must say that I am impressed with the iphone and I would still prefer iPhone 4 overall! Especially for atmospheric, classical, film scores and etc iPhone is undoutably better than S7. I have seen many people in the forums who say iPhone 4 is the best iPhone to all the way to iPhone 7, and I'm very surprised that Apple team put serious components and achieved performance that still races with the 6 years never flagships, at that time. I think the iPhone 4 was the best device (considering the device at the time it launched) of the Apple, but that's another topic.
  
  
*Comparing S7 to the U7 Echelon: *I'm gonna be honest, at first I could't find almost any diffrence except for the bass and midbass area. But after some time and careful listening and not doing other things,
 -U7 is a little more softer, (which some people say the same thing like: Asus cards are more forgiving compared with the Soundblasters, and I think It is sometimes good like you know when you want to relax it is definitely really really good but in energetic pop and rocks and techno etc it isn't. ) . Thus U7 is more natural and relaxing and suits more for the most audiophilie peoples music preferences like classics and jazz and etc.
 Because the U7 is more forgiving the highs are less harsh and it has less compared to S7. And after careful listening (which I normally don't) S7 sound unnatural and you know you started to look at the phone as a toy or joke compared to U7, which might be bad cause me personally listen thorugh from the S7 when I'm not at home. 
  
 - Remeber the thing I explained "There is 1 thing that S7 appearently better than the iPhone 4" ? The U7 makes it even 2 times better than the S7 edge ! Background is way less crowded.(I understood After detailed listening in very quiet environment for 1 minute listening)
  
 - Bass control
 When the bass hits or things like kick drum kicks in just at that moment the other things and instruments and vocals etc on the S7 makes a dip, but for a very little time. It's like phone says I can't give you instatnt powerfull bass and and other instruments at the same time. I realised that when I compared the phone with S7. But on the other hand U7 is like no problem take from all the frequencies as much as you want. When bass kicks in it doesn't affect the other things on the U7 echelon.
  
 Thank you.
  

 And anyone who can compare Xonar U7 or Galaxy S7 with the other DAPs especially with the Sony A15 or A35? I'm thinking to buy one of seperate DAPs but not sure about how they will perform compared to the ones I have. Thanks.

 Edited the major mistakes after I read it myself.


----------



## Xtreme512

Hey, you know first hand that the W10 drivers have bad quality on sound, right? Have you stopped using W8 WHQL driver?
  
 By bad quality, I mean, those drivers apart form WHQL one, have something messed up with the C-media chipset. They do not drive the chipset properly, resulting in digital bits from sound source are crippled before going into DAC unit. 
  
Kitmellow had done the thorough analysis before, proving that. I wonder if he can does the same thing with newer drivers and show us if any improvement has been made at all.


----------



## HAWX

Yeah mate. I did some test with my Windos 10 Beta driver for *U7 Echelon* and the results were quite similar to one on the Win 8 (8.1 I dont remeber exactly) WHQL drivers. I was having severe problems in Windows 7, but Windows 10 beta driver for the U7 Echelon seems good. Thx for the warning mate. I don't know about the original U7's drivers.


----------



## Xtreme512

then its fine, keep using them.
  
 no you know about the non-echelon (original) U7 drivers. in fact, these are the ones you suggested us to use some time ago. remember, non-echelon software had basic UI and WHQL driver for best possible sound quality. you can check few pages previously.


----------



## HAWX

I know, but at that time I was using Windows 7 and Windows 10 beta driver for U7 echelon was not available.


----------



## xeizo

I now have one sample of the new version Xonar U7 mkII in my posession, but it's night here and I'm tired, some first impressions may follow tomorrow


----------



## Jaeger 77

I'm eager to see what's your impressions on the new U7 revision! They said that DAC are changed,also headphone amp. I have now old version and headphone amplifier is ''meh'' at best... My HyperX Cloud sounded more deep on the STRIX RAID PRO wich i owned for a month
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 
 If MKII is better,i'll sell my U7 and get one of those.


----------



## igytech

jaeger 77 said:


> I'm eager to see what's your impressions on the new U7 revision! They said that DAC are changed,also headphone amp. I have now old version and headphone amplifier is ''meh'' at best... My HyperX Cloud sounded more deep on the STRIX RAID PRO wich i owned for a month
> If MKII is better,i'll sell my U7 and get one of those.




Even if I think that changes are minor it is interesting to see someone who tried it. But don't think there is better sound quality more like changing chip supliers with similar specs.


----------



## xeizo

Well, it passed first test, installed fine on latest Windows 10 16179 on my laptop, ASIO works great 4ms latency. Ran a Cubase project which sounded without glitches. Windows found a driver automatically, but I never tested it as I want ASIO so I installed Asus own driver immediately. Sonic Studio is a handy systemwide sound control panel, nice and simple. The torture test is driving my K612 Pro cans, notoriously hard to drive, which it does very well. Much louder than Topping NX-1 and a full rich sound. Driving HD600 isn't as taxing but they are driven well. Compared to my M-Audio 2X2M it sounds about as good but is smaller enough to fit in my laptop case for casual sound everywhere, carrying the 2X2M  or my UR22 requires a extra case, I wanted the smallness as the built in Conexant sound in my laptop sucks big time(Cubase can't even find it despite using a generic ASIO-driver). It seems mission is accomplished  
  
 Here's a hasty unboxing:


----------



## Xtreme512

no new DAC or whatever. It is completely same as the old one except the DSP. Well if someone opens it up and compare with old one then there may differences in some chips. we shall see.
  
 Im more interested in the software part. It looks like its using the same new UI but what about the driver performance on sound quality? Is the same as WHQL ones with older devices?


----------



## xeizo

It looks like the biggest difference is better compatibility with Windows 10, which is no small thing going forward. I would guess it has something to do with the new DSP, "X"-version, X is 10 in roman numbering. Also according to the second user review on Amazon so is the sound in gaming(positioning) much improved from the original U7 which that user says he had before, The new Sonic Studio interface is nice, simple and uncluttered which is a pro.
  
 SQ in general is very good, I've had a very hard time removing me from Rumours Super DeLuxe-edition using the K612 Pros, they are cans which have a unique lifelike attack to sounds but most headphone outs struggles to give them juice,  the U7 mkII drives them with authority which is impressive from such a tiny plastic box..
  
 edit. btw there should be no reason to change DAC-chip, CS4398 is a great chip used in many high-end DAC:s and is more than enough for the task, there is a parallell thread here hailing a Marantz DAC using the exact same chip.


----------



## xeizo

Someone wondered about support for Windows USB 2.0 audio in Windows 10, I can confirm the U7 mkII fully supports it. When I first tested it I used Asus drivers as I wanted ASIO on that machine, but now I tested it with one of my desktops and it was fully plug and play. Within seconds Windows had installed Microsofts own driver and it works flawless as far as I can hear. The Microsoft driver supports all samplerates plus Windows Sonic and Dolby Atmos surround up to 7.1. Most people wouldn't need the Asus driver, except me who needs ASIO or a gamer who wants to use Asus Sonic Radar for positional audio. The Asus driver is handy though, as it features a systemwide EQ plus several surround alternatives and of course control of the headphone amps gain for various impedance cans.


----------



## Xtreme512

xeizo said:


> Someone wondered about support for Windows USB 2.0 audio in Windows 10, I can confirm the U7 mkII fully supports it. When I first tested it I used Asus drivers as I wanted ASIO on that machine, but now I tested it with one of my desktops and it was fully plug and play. Within seconds Windows had installed Microsofts own driver and it works flawless as far as I can hear. The Microsoft driver supports all samplerates plus Windows Sonic and Dolby Atmos surround up to 7.1. Most people wouldn't need the Asus driver, except me who needs ASIO or a gamer who wants to use Asus Sonic Radar for positional audio. The Asus driver is handy though, as it features a systemwide EQ plus several surround alternatives and of course control of the headphone amps gain for various impedance cans.


 
 so you cant see headphone gain settings in control panel -> sound when you dont install ASUS drivers?


----------



## xeizo

xtreme512 said:


> so you cant see headphone gain settings in control panel -> sound when you dont install ASUS drivers?


 
  
 No, of course not as that is a hardware feature of the card and the Microsoft driver is generic. I'm talking about the gain setting for various impedance heaphones and not volume gain which of course works as normal. But no panic, it defaults to high gain as far as I can tell which is the most usable setting anyway.


----------



## raoultrifan

Same does my 1st ver. of Xonar U7 in Android: it defaults to high gain. It is perfectly usable this way, indeed.


----------



## S.V.

I am deciding about buying a Xonar U7 Mkii. In this process I am having some noob questions.
Most of the new receivers don't have 7.1 multichannel in plugs. They are using HDMI In.
How can I connect the Xonar U7 to a 7.1 receiver ? Is the s/pdif only used for 5.1?
Thanks


----------



## Leopardi

Does the MKII have a real volume knob, or does it act like a keyboard volume roller that just controls windows volume? Really disappointed there's no DAC's with decent surround sound software and a real volume control... not going risk my hearing by relying just on software.


----------



## Mystic Mac (Jul 11, 2017)

what do you guys think of the microsoft windows driver instead of the asus whql driver ? you can install the windows driver by deinstall the actual driver and restart the pc after that the windows driver will be installed


----------



## EXTREME_

Hello guys! Thats my first post, please let me know if I did something wrong.

I'm an u7 owner that is facing the same problem as you are.

I've bought a Dell 7567 laptop which have 3 usb3.0 and the u7 is blinking when connected to it. The u7 still works on my desktop on usb2.0.

I have search a lot about that problem and then I remembered I have a usb current meter which I used to measure the current on my phones chargers and cables.

Testing on u7 I've got these currents: desktop usb2.0 = 130mA and laptop usb3.0 = 40mA.

Well, I didn't find anything to change or increase or fix the current on the usb3.0 ports on my laptop. I don't know if its my laptop that is giving less power to the u7 or if the u7 not working well on usb3.0.

Does anyone have any idea if I can increase/change the current on usb port? I'm already using high performance profile for battery and I'm connected to the power. I also disabled the sleepmode for usb on device manager.

Here are the pictures:
on desktop






laptop





Any idea is welcome to try to solve the current problem. I ordered a powered usb hub, probably need wait a month or more to get it... I will try to remember to post back here.

Bye


----------



## mmans0n

EXTREME_ said:


> Hello guys! Thats my first post, please let me know if I did something wrong.
> 
> I'm an u7 owner that is facing the same problem as you are.
> 
> ...




Unfortunately, i have the same problem and the powered hub did not solve the issue. But under w7 and ubuntu works fine. So the problem came from  w10  Creators Update...


----------



## EXTREME_

mmans0n said:


> Unfortunately, i have the same problem and the powered hub did not solve the issue. But under w7 and ubuntu works fine. So the problem came from  w10  Creators Update...


Hi! So the powered hub will not fix it? Ok, at least I will use it anyway. Which version of Windows should work? I'm on 1607 version and don't know if that is before that Creators Update.
Another question.. will it works on Win7? I'm just waiting my ssd to install it... win10 sux..


----------



## mmans0n

EXTREME_ said:


> Hi! So the powered hub will not fix it? Ok, at least I will use it anyway. Which version of Windows should work? I'm on 1607 version and don't know if that is before that Creators Update.
> Another question.. will it works on Win7? I'm just waiting my ssd to install it... win10 sux..



That's Anniversary Update (but maybe my laptop did not have that, before this update). Anyway I have a another desktop computer with W7 professional and another old laptop with Ubuntu 16. On both, the Xonar, works fine. I even reinstalled the w10 on my laptop and didn't solved anything. I'm hopping that maybe the fall update solves the problem before i ditch the xonar. I did not have the time to experience very much with the problem, 2-3 days most, but because i have a Fiio Dac, I use that instead of xonar. Maybe someone who have more info can help us...


----------



## disfunktor (Sep 25, 2017)

It has nothing to to with USB connectors, Windows10 or drivers. Most Asus Xonar U7 sound cards are faulty from the get go. There is a bad chip, or bad soldering process involved. What you are experiencing (and me too btw) is the "blue blinking led of death". When you start to get those, you know it started to go downhill from there on. The cause (and workaround solution) is;
https://vip.asus.com/forum/view.asp...d_id=21&model=Xonar+U7&page=1&SLanguage=en-us

Asus doesn't aknowledge the fault. So there you go. It's a pity, because the sound is very good, when it works. And there is really not much alternative. Still, that's Asus for you. Good value (when it works), decent product (when it works) and 0% customer care (when it stops working).


----------



## redjazz

Bought the Xonar U7 MkII today, mainly for recording vinyl.

I was very disappointed to find that my recordings are clipped. I've set the input to Line In, lowered the recording volume in the GUI, but my recordings are getting a haircut.

Disappointing.

Am I missing something?


----------



## TheClubman

This product is great! The noise floor is nonexistent, fantastic quality, great features for home theater and equalization.


----------



## HAWX (Oct 10, 2017)

Have a nice day people,
I just wanted you guys to know some bugs I have found with Windows 10 with *U7 Echelon*, and some long term usage report for today and future potential buyers.

1) Interestingly, sometimes gain options don't appear when right clicked on the Headphone symbol.
*I try* restarting my computer or restarting Xonar software, sometimes It works sometimes It doesn't.

2) Some games don't start while the Xonar program is open in the background. Or says stopped working because of it. Eg: Age of Empires 2 HD, BF3.
*I do* close the Xonar software before entering game.

3) Volume with the Windows and Xonar software does not match. This does happen such as when I plug headhpones, unplug headphones, when I just restarted my computer etc. But I think mostly Xonar program's volume is correct, sometimes Windows shows the actual volume wrong.
*I do* zero the volume all the way down turning the U7's wheel, and turn it even more for Windows volume to catch up and both Windows and Xonar volume level to be zeroed, then I higher the volume as much as I want. They increase equally.

4) (Using it with foobar2000, with Asio) While clicking on other track, or clicking somewhere in the seekbar, foobar2000 stops, audio cuts, and foobar2000 stucks like that for about 10 seconds, and then says exactly "Unrecoverable playback error: Timeout" and then becomes functional again. This happens to me for say once in changing 40 tracks. If I do unplug and replug U7E in while the foobar2000 was unresponsive my computer won't detect it probperly afterwards, I need to restart my computer to solve that problem. Or If I force close foobar from task manager while the foobar2000 is frozen, again, I need to restart my computer to use U7E.
*I couldn't find a solution to that problem.* Dicking with the buffer length might work for you, It gave me some inconsistent results. Or It might be related to CPU is not enough. It happens to me more often while my computer is slow because of some programs or games open in the bacground.

Other than that device is still great, I have been using it for close to 3 years I guess. I did not have blinking light or kind of problem like some unfortunate people had in this forum. (I feel sad for them and I hope same problem does not happen to me). I really like the USB cable come with it, bending It doesn't make it mark,scar. You know after bending It just forgets how you bent it and becomes linear again. (I sometimes carry it in my bag) Headphone jack port didn't become loose and It's quite tight for industry standarts which is really good. Turning wheel on the device haven't corroded. Minor problem dust collected between the turning wheelI and just around it a bit hard to clean. I am happy and satisfied with this device.

Extra: If you're going to use with Windwos 7 only install original Xonar U7 (not echelon) WQHL drivers. All the W7 drivers for U7E have problem.

EDITED Sections for being more understandable.


----------



## Zblarg

Hello everybody,

I'm considering buying a Xonar U7 for my laptop and would like to have some feedbacks about its s/pdif output.
I'll be using it with a separate DAC so I'm not really interested about its headphone output or analog output performance. I recently tried some audio interfaces (some very expensive) and always prefered the toslink output of my realtek integrated sound card which was more warm and smooth. So I thought "maybe if I buy another sound card, and not an interface, with a good digital output, I could increase my sound quality without sacrificing the warmness/smoothness of my sound".
Should I expect an improvement in sound quality with the U7 over my Realtek chipset using the digital output? And if yes, what kind of improvement?
Best regards.


----------



## caspadan (Nov 12, 2017)

I've been looking for something to help drive my headphones (AKG K702) a bit better and just came across the Xonar U7 MKII.  I first saw the SoundBlaster Omni and thought maybe that would be decent.  Then I saw this Asus one, and now not sure which way to go.  I'm leaning towards the U7 MkII though.
I like clean (close to neutral) sound, but I only use these headphones on the PC and don't really listen to music through the PC, so it just needs to be decent I guess.  I mostly game and watch youtube on the PC.  I like the microphone addition on the Omni (I use the microphone usually when gaming), but I do have a microphone integrated in my Logitech C920 webcam which I use, so it's not like I need it.
What do you think?


----------



## raoultrifan

Hi Caspadan, 

None of the above soundcards will drive your K702 correctly, though Omni seems to have a better output stage and could probably do the job better.
AKG K702 likes dedicate headphones amplifiers, so U7 is definitely not the best choice for that.


----------



## Kitmellow (Nov 13, 2017)

caspadan said:


> I've been looking for something to help drive my headphones (AKG K702) a bit better and just came across the Xonar U7 MKII.  I first saw the SoundBlaster Omni and thought maybe that would be decent.  Then I saw this Asus one, and now not sure which way to go.  I'm leaning towards the U7 MkII though.
> I like clean (close to neutral) sound, but I only use these headphones on the PC and don't really listen to music through the PC, so it just needs to be decent I guess.  I mostly game and watch youtube on the PC.  I like the microphone addition on the Omni (I use the microphone usually when gaming), but I do have a microphone integrated in my Logitech C920 webcam which I use, so it's not like I need it.
> What do you think?



Hey there!

It's important to keep in mind that a lot of people often overestimate the kind of amp/power needed to be able to drive most headphones "properly" (I used to be guilty of this too), but it mainly just boils down to clipping and adequate loudness. Clipping rarely ever occurs in normal cases, and even if it does, it's pretty obvious (you can hear it) and pretty much only happens when an amp cannot provide enough power to certain power hungry headphones that are already being played at loud volumes. Both the U7 and the Omni will drive your K702 fine, and as loud as you would reasonably want it to be, especially if you care about hearing loss or damage. The 702's are really not particularly difficult to drive dynamics either.

When people ask about properly driving a headphone, they often get it confused with "pairing", which refers to using the subtle tonal characteristics each DAC and amp to best complement the tonal characteristics of a given pair of headphones, but that is a whole different thing of preference in itself, and is quite subjective in practice.

If you had to choose between the Omni or the U7, it would depend on the features you are after. The U7 offers slightly better, known to be more neutral-sounding hardware with more useful features overall, and at a better price point. But it also has quite a bad reputation for terrible driver support and less consistent performance as a result of it. The Omni does have a more powerful amplifier though, which could be very helpful for future-proofing, especially if you decide to own actually-hard-to-drive headphones like Planar Magnetics in the future. The Omni does have two stereo microphones integrated, but they are poor, if unusable in quality; without a doubt worse than your webcam.

If you don't need all the features of 7.1 or 5.1 surround, SPDIF (Optical), better than 24-bit depth 96Hz sampling rate (things like YouTube and most games are limited to 16-bit 44Hz), and the software digital sound processing (EQ), you would be better off buying a standard DAC amp combo that works plug-and-play without any need for drivers. You can still use free software tools like Equalizer APO to add EQ to them too.

Best of luck


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## raoultrifan

Actually this is not a matter of taste or an overestimation, it's a pure fact that AKG K701/702/712 etc. are not so easy to drive. I own U7 and K701 so I know they don't pair so well, especially for high-dynamic music. My thoughts here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/asus-xonar-u7-dac-amp-impressions-thread.669127/page-8#post-10114012.

However, feel free to read Tyll's notes here: https://www.innerfidelity.com/images/AKGK701.pdf (90dB: 0.32V RMS=1.57mW; 100dB: 3.2V RMS=157mW) and ASUS notes here: https://www.asus.com/ro/Sound-Cards/Xonar_U7/specifications/ (1.3V RMS = 26.4mW). Usually people listens to an average RMS of 85dB which means having the loudest sounds from the songs at around 95-100dB; also, you always need a power reserve of 5dB or even10dB for songs having a better dynamic or recorded before loudness war.

Cheers!


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## caspadan (Nov 13, 2017)

@raoultrifan, When you say U7, do you mean U7 MKII?
I don't seem to find much on the mark 2 as I do on the first U7.  I have read other people with the 1st U7 say that it does drive their K702s just fine.  So it seems that what is fine to some, is not fine to others.

I currently connect my K702 straight to my M/B, and while the sound I'm getting is actually fine for me, there are some occasions where I just need a bit more, but for the most part what I get is fine.  I'm using an "old" M/B, the Gigabyte Z87x-UD3H, which is for 4th gen Intel.  Also, I'm not planning on getting other headphones anytime soon.  If these K702s break, I'll probably just replace them for another pair of K702s.  But, I've been spending way too much on headphones/IEMs..


----------



## Kitmellow (Nov 13, 2017)

Thanks for the reply Raoultrifan!

There's obviously truth to that, and seeing as how you already own both these products, I suppose we have different expectations when it comes to loudness. 

For me, I dont like to listen at high volumes, and I also live in a quiet environment away from any streets with a relatively low noise floor with my PC physically cabled to another room and the door closed. Now, I wouldn't call what I have a "studio" environment, but in my case, I dont need much volume if at all to compensate for or override the ambient noise around me.

I thought I'd share this as well but about 6 years ago, I managed to permanently damage my hearing in my left ear from listening to loud music and I still experience intermittent tinnitus in that ear (it was me as a teenager using my left earbud in mono almost everyday and not really caring about how loud it was), so forgive me for being naturally cautious about loudness levels now.

There is also scientific evidence that suggests that exposure to just 80 dB SPL over time can cause and dramatically accelerate hearing loss too, so I personally try to keep my average listing volumes limited to that or slightly below without ruining my enjoyment for music.

While I do realize that not having enough power to drive those cans could limit the full potential of emphasizing certain peaks in high dynamic music, I am okay with that unless it clips or distorts, which is still very rare in my experience. And also, high dynamic content does not apply to YouTube or gaming as the OP would want it to be used for.

In your situation Caspadan, if you found your motherboard's volume levels to be adequate, then the Xonar U7 will do you just fine, while being a bit louder too. Your motherboard uses a Realtek ALC898 codec which from the datasheet says the full scale voltage output to be 1.2 vrms. The Xonar U7, will give you a boost to a fsvo of 1.3 vrms.

Last thing is the Xonar U7 is the same as the Mkii version with the exception of a new Digital Signal Processor (C-Media 6632AX instead of the old 6632A). This means everything else including hardware should be the same except for using different drivers, having native Windows 10 support, and possibly more refined DSP effects within the software.

By the way, aside from the driver issues and the weaker but mostly adequate amp on the U7, the U7 also has an output impedance of somewhere around 17-23ohms (varies by source) which isn't really ideal to be paired with headphones or earphones under 140ohms. But other than that, the U7 is amazing for the price. And you could, if you wanted, pair a quality external amp with the U7, solving the output impedance and weaker amplifier issues altogether.

Some other options like the Schiit Modi + Magni or the ODAC + O2 amp are infamous for raw performance for your money though. And if you don't need all the features of a sound card like the U7, it is definitely worth considering those options.

Anyway, sorry for the long post. I am quite passionate about this stuff and always learning. Hope I helped at the very least


----------



## caspadan (Nov 14, 2017)

Thanks guys

I think I'll just stick to my onboard and get a cheap amp.  I don't need the U7, but if it drove headphones better I'd have got it.  Otherwise I'd be using it for my sound - which my onboard is currently doing anyways (I know I'm ignoring the quality factor here  ), so no real benefit for me then.

Maybe I'll get the FiiO A3 or perhaps the Q1 (so that I could maybe use it as a DAC on the PC if I wanted).  I'm sure either of these will be ok for my needs.
It should be fine if I just leave it plugged in permanently right (not worrying about noise/hiss right now)?

And it's ok to just connect the amp (3.5mm input) to the the speaker out (the green 3.5mm) on the M/B?  My front headphone jack on my chassis is broken so I just use the back port.

EDIT:  You won't believe it, but I plugged in my tiny FiiO E6 amp and it's noticeably louder.  Now it may not be a very good idea, but for the meantime it'll do I guess.


----------



## Xtreme512

Hey, just a quick heads up here.

After using 2 years, it just started happening yesterday that my device wouldn't turn on and other people as well had this issue, I found a solid fix. 
 You can try plugging it in other USB ports and it will be recognized as a new device (2- Xonar U7 or 3- 4- depend how many times you changed the port) which does not matter and starts working right away. 
Or, here is the kick, while the LED is blinking, push the volume button once or twice until there is no LED is showing, and wait for 2-4 minutes, your device will turn on like nothing ever happened. 

 Note: I think this happens due to the colder temp. in room as the device needs some heat to not damage itself. It is more like a precaution, but IDK really.


----------



## kalston (Dec 7, 2017)

To my surprise Microsoft now has generic Win 10 drivers for the original (non MKII) Xonar U7. I found out because I wanted to try different drivers, but after uninstalling and rebooting I had sounds working just fine. I checked the driver source and sure enough it is Microsoft. Maybe it's the same drivers they're using for the MKII lol (which would make the new card a rip-off). And yep, you do get full 7.1 sound (up to 192/24).

I don't have ASIO now of course but I only ever used ASIO to circumvent issues I was having with Directsound or WASAPI anyway (such as audio glitches for no reason whatsoever, things that never happened in Windows 7) so this is OK and I will give it a chance. 

Feels good having a plug & play USB card with surround sound!

Those drivers are pretty recent too: 27/07/17.


----------



## Xtreme512

I don't know if I also wrote it here but yes Microsoft recently have *usbaudio2 *driver developed by Thesycon for Microsoft. Check this link: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/audio/usb-2-0-audio-drivers
They are the real deal generic drivers for all USB 2.0 based audio devices. So no more need to install proprietary drivers that poops on us with bloatware and misconfigured settings etc.

I just love it! DSP effects are gone means that I don't have to worry about disabling them and you get the quality of whatever your DAC is, it's really that plain and simple.

Note: Also update your WASAPI plug-in for foobar2k if you have it. For movies, I use MPC-BE's audio renderer within MPC-HC and it's fully working with WASAPI-exclusive. You don't need ASIO unless you are an audio composer and really really need it, but then again you won't be using Xonar U7 anyways.


----------



## Thums

I have *Xonar U7 MKII* and Sonic Studio is driving me crazy. When I'm trying to play PUBG, game (especially mouse) stutters because of Studio being active.. had to spent 3 hours to figure that out. 

But why is Sonic Studio behaving like that? I tried PUBG on another computer and it was working just fine there with Sonic Studio open. I really need to use Studio, because I am deaf from one ear and I want to use Sonic Radar in game.

I have W10 64bit version 1709 (updated just now from 1603'ish), on other computer I had version 1703. 
Disabled on-board card from BIOS. 
Also disabled all unnecessary drivers from Device Manager and shut down programs etc etc.. 

I am out of options now..


----------



## Xtreme512 (Jan 2, 2018)

ASUS software QA engineers are all a joke, as well as their drivers and software suites, so first you must know that. Now, do you really need that crappy software called Sonic Radar for your games which  "allegedly" helps you find enemies nearby (hard to not laugh, sorry). If your answer is;

1) Yes. Then, uninstall those drivers and install, try Windows 8.1 WHQL drivers of U7 Echelon that also has Sonic Radar.
2) No, the hell with all those junk DSP effects. Then, uninstall those drivers and let Windows 10 1709 use its own native usbaudio2 drivers instead for pure audio.


----------



## Thums (Jan 2, 2018)

I already realise that ASUS support is worst I've ever seen.

Seems like Asus doesn't even support drivers for U7 Echelon, I really can't find them anywhere..

Little off-topic now:
For PUBG, radar is really helpful for these situations, where you are running and hear shots away. Or someone is driving somewhere.. It's really hard to pinpoint sound direction, if I don't have my "surround" hearing. For footsteps isn't radar very helpful, also it sucks on CS:GO.

EDIT: Ok, I found some drivers on Softpedia.. version (of UI?) 1.0.20 and on install it says "PCEE must be installed."  1.0.18 (8.0.11.19) and 1.0.19 setup didn't recognize my card.

EDIT2: Got past PCEE driver now and driver seems succesfully installed, BUT... I can't do anything on Studio like it doesn't recognize my device. (For example Output and Input Device box is blank) How to trick program to make to believe that my device is Echelon?


----------



## raoultrifan

Hi, 

I have the first ver. of U7 and it works fine in Win10 without getting additional drivers. So, you don't really need dedicated drivers for U7 unless you really want to.


----------



## EXTREME_

raoultrifan said:


> Hi,
> 
> I have the first ver. of U7 and it works fine in Win10 without getting additional drivers. So, you don't really need dedicated drivers for U7 unless you really want to.


Hi, could you please tell us what windows 10 version you are using and if you are using it on usb2.0 or 3.0? Thanks


----------



## raoultrifan

Win10 Pro, USB 2.0, but I believe all drivers are the same for all Win10 versions.
I just installed a fresh copy of Win10 recently, U7 was connected all the time in the USB 2.0 port. Everything went flawless, I just found the U7 in Device Mgr., then I pressed PLAY on my foobar and "voila".


----------



## Thums

Thums said:


> I already realise that ASUS support is worst I've ever seen.
> 
> Seems like Asus doesn't even support drivers for U7 Echelon, I really can't find them anywhere..
> 
> ...



Still need help with that, haven't found the solution.


----------



## Xtreme512 (Jan 23, 2018)

Guys there is a permanent fix for blinking led problem, replace your quartz. Temporary solution is to wait for like 1-2 hours, or touch the quartz with bare finger (opening the case). Guess this is a chronic problem for Xonar U7 and this is most likely why ASUS keeps refurbishing the same hardware and releasing it with new software and cosmetics (hardware is the same but I think they use newer capacitors etc.).



edit: eventually your Xonar U7 will die on you if not today, unless you are using the latest U7 version and thinking that it uses a new quality quartz...


----------



## Xtreme512

Thums said:


> Still need help with that, haven't found the solution.



maybe because there isn't any? just go along with the windows 1709 (FCU) drivers and forget.


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## Thums (Jan 23, 2018)

Actually there is and it was really simple solution for me. Don't think it's permament solution though:

Tried MKII drivers again and set "Priority" to "high"  on Task Manager.. boom, no lag whatsoever. Priority was on "below average" before..

So weird.

E: downgraded myself to W10 1703.. no idea if this works on 1709.


----------



## Xtreme512

so this is my xonar u7 now... i opened the case to touch the quartz everytime i boot my pc (see the video i posted before). i cut the plastic that came with it in box to cover the top for dusts.


----------



## raoultrifan

Kinda creepy workaround I'd say. 
Also, not sure how touching the quartz helps here...don't understand the "behind the scene" of this scenario.


----------



## Xtreme512

raoultrifan said:


> Kinda creepy workaround I'd say.
> Also, not sure how touching the quartz helps here...don't understand the "behind the scene" of this scenario.



they say its the heat from the finger but it is actually the resistance that goes lower (shorting it) with a bare finger makes quartz come alive again. its not much safe to do (may short other things) yet devices like this have protector components. actually some people solder specific amount of resistor there but i dont have any soldering kit.


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## SyCoREAPER (Feb 14, 2018)

Saw some discussion surrounding the MKII and just to let everyone know, I purchased the U7 MkII because A) It was all I could find, B) MKII would imply that it is superior. 

 Minus some minor chip upgrades, this has turned into a major disappointment. The software is lackluster and no longer includes Dolby HT4. Gen1 Drivers are not compatible with MKII

If you own the U7 1st gen and don't have any issues, hold on to it and pass on the MKII. Major letdown.


----------



## Xtreme512 (Feb 14, 2018)

SyCoREAPER said:


> Saw some discussion surrounding the MKII and just to let everyone know, I purchased the U7 MkII because A) It was all I could find, B) MKII would imply that it is superior.
> 
> Minus some minor chip upgrades, this has turned into a major disappointment. The software is lackluster and no longer includes Dolby HT4. Gen1 Drivers are not compatible with MKII
> 
> If you own the U7 1st gen and don't have any issues, hold on to it and pass on the MKII. Major letdown.



on the contrary, newer revisions of same device are better due to implied improvements. as far as the drivers, do not install any proprietary driver/software suite and use plug'n play windows usbaudio2 driver for the untouched sound quality.

also a note for the, software(s) come with driver suites like dolby ht4 or other "gamer" features are all snake oils. regarding dolby ht4, one knows for a fact that virtual surround sound processing for headphones sounds worse than the actual true stereo sound and even real 7.1 surround headphones are way worse than the stereo headphones. so in reality, you are not losing anything, only its better for you.


----------



## SyCoREAPER (Feb 14, 2018)

Xtreme512 said:


> on the contrary, newer revisions of same device are better due to implied improvements. as far as the drivers, do not install any proprietary driver/software suite and use plug'n play windows usbaudio2 driver for the untouched sound quality.
> 
> also a note for the, software(s) come with driver suites like dolby ht4 or other "gamer" features are all snake oils. regarding dolby ht4, one knows for a fact that virtual surround sound processing for headphones sounds worse than the actual true stereo sound and even real 7.1 surround headphones are way worse than the stereo headphones. so in reality, you are not losing anything, only its better for you.



So the live/active/automatic (whatever it's called) Equalizer that came with DHT4 didn't work or sounded like poo-poo?

That was the one feature that I wanted, not sure how it worked on the Xonar but on my Denon, Audyssey (active EQ) works great


----------



## Xtreme512

if you need an EQ to fix/tune your certain frequencies, then you should be really looking at your sound equipment on hardware level EQ.


----------



## SyCoREAPER

Xtreme512 said:


> if you need an EQ to fix/tune your certain frequencies, then you should be really looking at your sound equipment on hardware level EQ.


I know that would be ideal, but I am still curious about the active EQ in DHT4. 

BTW, the U7 MKII doesn't sound bad at all, that wasn't what I was getting at. In fact it sounds fantastic and has a feature over the Dragonfly (which I was also considering), true ASIO support. My FLAC files sound so good, I could sit here all day at work.


----------



## dnaimad

The Win 8 WHQL driver no longer works on Win 10. Crackling and popping like crazy. I'm wondering if it's anything to do with USB 3, as I had this problem on a previous laptop, but only on the USB 3 sockets. USB 2 was fine. Then again the default Windows 10 driver for the U7 works fine on USB 3. The trouble with the default driver is the surround channels don't work. I may have to install a windows 7 virtual machine to get this to work.


----------



## Xtreme512

dnaimad said:


> The Win 8 WHQL driver no longer works on Win 10. Crackling and popping like crazy. I'm wondering if it's anything to do with USB 3, as I had this problem on a previous laptop, but only on the USB 3 sockets. USB 2 was fine. Then again the default Windows 10 driver for the U7 works fine on USB 3. The trouble with the default driver is the surround channels don't work. I may have to install a windows 7 virtual machine to get this to work.



Please read previous posts. You can use windows 10's plug&play driver. Just uninstall any previously installed driver, and plug your device for windows to recognize as USB sound card. There is no reason for surround channels not to work, it works just fine.


----------



## dnaimad (Aug 20, 2018)

Xtreme512 said:


> Please read previous posts. You can use windows 10's plug&play driver. Just uninstall any previously installed driver, and plug your device for windows to recognize as USB sound card. There is no reason for surround channels not to work, it works just fine.



Thanks for reply. I've read carefully the last 10 or so pages. By "default windows 10 driver" I meant the plug&play one, which I've tried and yes it cures the crackling but only outputs on the stereo outs, none of the other analog outputs have any sound. I've gone through the windows speaker set up for this device, set it to quadraphonic, 5.1, 7.1 but can't get any surround sound out. Is there a trick to getting surround to work with the plug&play driver? The only reason I bought this device was for surround sound through the analog outputs. The rest of the stuff I don't care about or need.

[Edit] Scrub that. Got surround working  Was a wiring problem. Thanks.


----------



## dnaimad

Well, after a couple weeks experience with the WIndows 10 plug & play driver, all I can say is... it too, is utter rubbish. The crackling, while less initially, returns with a vengeance randomly, making it unlistenable. Not only that, but the driver crashes multiple times a day, bringing down every usb port on my laptop with it. I have to unplug and replug the Xonar multiple times every day to keep it and the other USB devices working, putting ridiculous repetitive strain on the fragile port. Looks like this Xonar is going in the bin.


----------



## Xtreme512

clearly something is wrong with your hardware (either mainboard or the sound card). you can't blame the software driver as it's working properly for us.


----------



## dnaimad

Xtreme512 said:


> clearly something is wrong with your hardware (either mainboard or the sound card). you can't blame the software driver as it's working properly for us.



It's a brand new HP Envy X360 Ryzen laptop, and the Xonar works fine on another PC (Win 7). Could be some incompatibility with the AMD motherboard I guess. I've noticed the software (and possibly driver) looks identical to another identically specced soundcard (the Sewell Soundbox Pro aka Diamond Xtreme aka SIIG HD aka Maplin HD) so I may try and play around with the drivers for that.


----------



## Xtreme512

don't confuse the windows' native usb sound card driver with other proprietary software suite/driver solutions from brands like ASUS, Creative etc. Windows' "USB Soundcard" driver has no fancy software suite, it just let you use the card on its own directly.

if you are sure with your hardware, I suggest you to format your PC and install Windows 10 again from scratch and just plug'n play your sound card without installing any audio driver from outside.


----------



## rogerharris

Xtreme512 said:


> *Kindly reminder and saver of the day: *As for majority of people now use W10. Please download and install (x86 or x64 based on your W10) Windows 8 (*8.0.11.19 last WHQL*) for Xonar U7 or Echelon does not matter. _May have to use compatibility mode for setup executable._
> 
> install those WHQL drivers accordingly. Do not use any other version as they are all broken in terms of sound quality..




Hi, restarting this thread as I am building a car audio sound system partly using the U7.  But the U7 is mkii now.     Can anybody confirm if the distortion due to the bad driver programming was fixed on the U7 mkii under windows 10 64 bit ?  

If the MKii also suffers distortion then I will build my system around the older version U7..  but this means buying a secondhand unit and having no warranty so would rather use the mkii if that is fixed.  I dont care about any of the software features in later drivers or versions.  Just no distortion is what is important as it will be amplified from the line out into a high quality car sound system.


----------



## dnaimad (Sep 18, 2018)

rogerharris said:


> Hi, restarting this thread as I am building a car audio sound system partly using the U7.  But the U7 is mkii now.     Can anybody confirm if the distortion due to the bad driver programming was fixed on the U7 mkii under windows 10 64 bit ?
> 
> If the MKii also suffers distortion then I will build my system around the older version U7..  but this means buying a secondhand unit and having no warranty so would rather use the mkii if that is fixed.  I dont care about any of the software features in later drivers or versions.  Just no distortion is what is important as it will be amplified from the line out into a high quality car sound system.



I have the Mk I and as far as I can ascertain it's the only one that's not working as it was designed. Asus in their cynical shenanigans brought out the Mk II to fix the problems the first one was having with Windows 10, instead of fixing the driver, thus expecting people to pay again. No thanks. Not only that, they downgraded the features for the Mk II. And I would take notice of this behaviour from them if I were you, if you plan on buying one of their products expecting it to work after Windows updates again.


----------



## pageman99

Xtreme512 said:


> I don't know if I also wrote it here but yes Microsoft recently have *usbaudio2 *driver developed by Thesycon for Microsoft. Check this link: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/audio/usb-2-0-audio-drivers
> They are the real deal generic drivers for all USB 2.0 based audio devices. So no more need to install proprietary drivers that ****s on us with bloatware and misconfigured settings etc.
> 
> I just love it! DSP effects are gone means that I don't have to worry about disabling them and you get the quality of whatever your DAC is, it's really that plain and simple.
> ...




I think most folks here missed the significance of your post. USBaudio 2.0 is a significant step by Microsoft. So what if they are 10 years late. Our lives all just got easier. No more fussing with driver settings assuming your DAC or other sound device that follows the 2.0 standard has been written properly.


----------



## ccrys

Hi,

I'm planing to upgrade my Xonar U7 1st gen with Topping NX4 or Fiio BTR5. 

I will use it with Meze Classics 99 headphones. Will be a true improvement in sound quality? 

How about ocasionally gaming and movie. Those two will suitable?


----------



## nomei

I'm using Xonar U7 1st version for almost 5 years and once I upgraded Win7 to Win10 my Dolby home theater v4 stopped working. Are you guys have the same problem? I can't use dolby anymore, only Xonar Audio Center is working without Equalizer and other stuff which I was using previously...
I tried 4.14, 4.16 and even drivers from MKII and Echelon Edition. Any feedback?


----------



## dnaimad

nomei said:


> I'm using Xonar U7 1st version for almost 5 years and once I upgraded Win7 to Win10 my Dolby home theater v4 stopped working. Are you guys have the same problem? I can't use dolby anymore, only Xonar Audio Center is working without Equalizer and other stuff which I was using previously...
> I tried 4.14, 4.16 and even drivers from MKII and Echelon Edition. Any feedback?



I gave up on my Mk I a year ago due to driver issues in Win 10. Sounds like the situation hasn't improved since then. 

I ended up getting one of these for surround sound duties, second hand for £20, and have had no problems with drivers.


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## dnaimad

nomei said:


> I'm using Xonar U7 1st version for almost 5 years and once I upgraded Win7 to Win10 my Dolby home theater v4 stopped working. Are you guys have the same problem? I can't use dolby anymore, only Xonar Audio Center is working without Equalizer and other stuff which I was using previously...
> I tried 4.14, 4.16 and even drivers from MKII and Echelon Edition. Any feedback?



I gave up on my Mk I a year ago due to driver issues in Win 10. Sounds like the situation hasn't improved since then.

I ended up getting one of these for surround sound duties, second hand for £20, and have had no problems with drivers.

https://shop.techswitchcf.com/produ...-khz-audio-7-1-channels-sound-cards-sw-30415/


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## nomei

^
Never ASUS again then...


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## shauno100 (Oct 30, 2020)

nomei said:


> I'm using Xonar U7 1st version for almost 5 years and once I upgraded Win7 to Win10 my Dolby home theater v4 stopped working. Are you guys have the same problem? I can't use dolby anymore, only Xonar Audio Center is working without Equalizer and other stuff which I was using previously...
> I tried 4.14, 4.16 and even drivers from MKII and Echelon Edition. Any feedback?



I am using the Windows 8 (64 bit) WHQL certified driver from Asus on Windows 10 and have had no issues whatsoever with Dolby Home Theatre V4, this specific driver was recommended on another forum i recall (may have been this one actually in an earlier post). I have used multiple versions of Windows 10 (currently on 2004) with this driver and Dolby Home Theatre v4 still works fine. Give the below driver a try.

https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/Audio_Card/Xonar_U7/Xonar_U7_8_0_11_19_WHQL.rar


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## PsiCore (Aug 26, 2021)

Nevermind - sent the unit back


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## Yukon Trooper (Oct 18, 2022)

Just a heads up for those that still own this DAC. I also had the same random popping/crackling in Windows 10, which the Windows 8 driver workaround seemed to fix. However, I started getting unresponsive YouTube videos and the Xonar control panel wouldn't allow setting changes like sampling rate.

What's seemed to clear everything up is using Voicemeeter as the Windows sound device with the Xonar as the hardware slave in MME mode. ASIO and WDM modes have sound defects and do not work properly. KS mode also seems to work but I haven't tested long term. I'm able to use the Windows 10 driver.


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## Xtreme512

a month ago I purchased the mkii version, because I've had enough heating up the card to get it working at every computer boot. sadly they didnt make a good successor out of this card like newer, better DAC, opamps etc. yet there's no rivalry in the market and this is the best external solution at good price.


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