# [Official] - Asus Strix Soar / Asus Strix Raid Pro / Asus Strix Raid DLX - Series Club



## Wolfseye

I thought, if thats ok of course, since there is no topic so far for the new Asus Strix Soundcard series, I would start one. In Europe that Series of 3 cards is already released, however I didnt find it on American Store Websites like Amazon.com or Newegg so far. And I thought we in Europe get usually stuff last, seems not in this case.












Anyways, I got my *ASUS STRIX RAID DLX* on Saturday and will post some of my experiences so far here in the next days. I moved to this Soundcard because I had always issues with the Creative ZxR, pretty much since I had it a couple years ago. Creative really dropped the ball with the Z series. And by that I dont mean the quality of the Sound, but a lot of issues with many Mainboards and System which would either not detect the card at all, or work for a while and then the Soundcard is just not detected anymore. There is plenty of those stories on Google, i am just one of many with these and similiar issues.

Me not really being a big fan of Asus Soundcards so far, had to choose now what to do. Especially since I wanted a external Control Box (_not an external Soundcard!_) like with the _Creative Zx_ and _ZxR_, the new Asus Strix soundcard offers that with two of its 3 models.

Here is a short overview of all 3 Models.

*ASUS STRIX RAID DLX*



*ASUS STRIX RAID PRO*



*ASUS STRIX SOAR*



As I am a bit short on time, please forgive me, more information will come tomorrow.









Cheers

*Wolfseye*


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## Tiihokatti

How good are the drivers?
And I mean both the stability of the driver and the UI of the control panel.

The Xonar control panel UI is pretty craptastic and the usability is abysmal. XonarSwitch gives infinitely better UI and usability.
And the Phoebus had stability problems when it was first released.
Hoping that they have learned something from their previous blunders


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## Waro

Is it possible to change the strength/Ohm of the headphone amplifier in the driver?


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## x7007

Can you show the settings for the headphone surround and all the settings you can choose for the most headphone surround importance ?

If you can open a new thread about the card and write there, because it's not officially out then only you have this.

When you enable virtual surround it gives you selection of 7.1 or 5.1 virtual speakers ? Disable the Bass Boost if you are using Studio headphones, this bass quality is always crap.


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## Wolfseye

Thats pretty much how it looks. I have the german language version but I am sure you'll notice all the things important. Driver seems to be pretty stable so far. And I like that its all pretty much on one page.


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## x7007

but can you enable the surround in the options and we see if it enable 7.1 and what surround options.


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## Wolfseye

With Headphones you can enable "*Virtual Surround*" which has 3 options. "_Balanced_", "_Front Panned_" and "_Rear Panned_". And Virtual Surround is 7.1. Its actually ok, really. For using Headphones in Games its fine. Since I only use a Stereo Headset, its still fine.



Sure, its not like the Creative, but then I think it might be really time to leave Creative behind. They screwed up too many things, its just annoying by now.

And the headphones on the Strix Raid DLX have a lot of power. I dont even use a fancy studio headphone, so far I use a simple Steelseries Siberia 2, but switching soon (_for testing_) to the HyperX Cloud.


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## x7007

nice it seems really good options. but you still say its not sound like creative . you mean the sound itself , the surround , or the option 7.1 surround ?

can you post the screenshot of the windows speakers , does it shows 7.1 speakers on the headphone selection ?


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## Wolfseye

Creative and Asus Soundcards will never sound the same, but in this case its not a problem. The Asus sounds really good. If you want the same sound than with the ZxR, you have to stick with that.

And you can only see the Virtual Surround as I showed it above in a Screenshot. Isn't that enough? You're really too much fixated on that. As soonas you can get the card in your area, try it out. If you like it, keep it. If not then not.


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## x7007

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfseye*
> 
> Creative and Asus Soundcards will never sound the same, but in this case its not a problem. The Asus sounds really good. If you want the same sound than with the ZxR, you have to stick with that.
> 
> And you can only see the Virtual Surround as I showed it above in a Screenshot. Isn't that enough? You're really too much fixated on that. As soonas you can get the card in your area, try it out. If you like it, keep it. If not then not.


trying is an issue . I have the asus xonar phoebus which was amazing quality but the dolby surround ruined it. I bought the creative and the annoying sound card dissapear issue. So the only big advance is if they really upgrade the sound if it sound more or like xonar phoebus then I would want it so the surround will be the better choice. to try I need to buy and its not cheap. if Ill buy it ill be stuck with non used phoebus and zxr ... no one buy those damn things. I want to see the windows speaker config because I want to know if it makes true 7.1 speakers and not just effect. need to select this settings in powerdvd and potplayer and such.


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## Wolfseye

Yes, its not cheap but, and I am not sure if thats the same in other countries, here if you buy something online, you have from 14 up 30 days (_depends on store_) to give the item back without any reason. So its easy to decide. Recently I wanted to have a new keyboard because I screwed the old one up. So I ordered one, found its not my thing and realized that its no good to do it like that. And since there are no real stores around here that have all those in stock, I decided to order 3 different keyboards in order to find the one I like, faster. I found one and sent the other two back, and got the money back for those. Same with the soundcard. I knew, i didnt had much choice now after it became clear that Creative is a no-go for me anymore.

But, if something comes up in the next days, that I so dislike with the Asus Strix Raid DLX, I will return it as well and get my money back. I am very careful in that time with the packaging and stuff, just so in case I can return it.

However I dont think so.

As for your request, I think you mean this ?





I know, its in german, but I am sure you know what this means. Of course over Headphone attached to the Control Box (_which is stereo_) you only have "*Virtual Surround*", which is fine btw. for gaming. But the Soundcard itself is real surround over speakers.

Btw, for Headphones on the *ZxR* its also only "_Virtual Surround_". Nothing more.


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## x7007

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfseye*
> 
> Yes, its not cheap but, and I am not sure if thats the same in other countries, here if you buy something online, you have from 14 up 30 days (_depends on store_) to give the item back without any reason. So its easy to decide. Recently I wanted to have a new keyboard because I screwed the old one up. So I ordered one, found its not my thing and realized that its no good to do it like that. And since there are no real stores around here that have all those in stock, I decided to order 3 different keyboards in order to find the one I like, faster. I found one and sent the other two back, and got the money back for those. Same with the soundcard. I knew, i didnt had much choice now after it became clear that Creative is a no-go for me anymore.
> 
> But, if something comes up in the next days, that I so dislike with the Asus Strix Raid DLX, I will return it as well and get my money back. I am very careful in that time with the packaging and stuff, just so in case I can return it.
> 
> However I dont think so.
> 
> As for your request, I think you mean this ?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I know, its in german, but I am sure you know what this means. Of course over Headphone attached to the Control Box (_which is stereo_) you only have "*Virtual Surround*", which is fine btw. for gaming. But the Soundcard itself is real surround over speakers.
> 
> Btw, for Headphones on the *ZxR* its also only "_Virtual Surround_". Nothing more.


I wish I could do it like you buy and return it. You didn't think it happen on all countries did you xD

The menu you opened speakers options is when you select the headphones or your normal speaker options ? usually asus sound cards had split option for speakers and Headphones , what I want to know if you have the 7.1 speakers inside the windows headphones options


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## Wolfseye

Of course you cant have that in Headphones. Consider this, same like with the Creative ZxR, you have a Stereo connector for a Headset / Headphone. How can you have 7.1 in the Speaker settings of Windows if you have a Stereo headset attached, which is the only thing you can attach to the Control thing of the Strix DLX. Virtual Surround in the drivers is the only thing you can set for that. And btw, the Creative wasnt different. You can only have "*real*" Surround output, if you attach something that can do it. And if the outputs (_in the Control Box_) allow that. Since these are Stereo 3.5 mm jacks, how do you exptect to get "*real*" Surround that way ? Real surround you get with the Speakers, not over the Headphones. And again, the ZxR also can only provide "*virtual surround*" on the Headset.


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## x7007

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfseye*
> 
> Of course you cant have that in Headphones. Consider this, same like with the Creative ZxR, you have a Stereo connector for a Headset / Headphone. How can you have 7.1 in the Speaker settings of Windows if you have a Stereo headset attached, which is the only thing you can attach to the Control thing of the Strix DLX. Virtual Surround in the drivers is the only thing you can set for that. And btw, the Creative wasnt different. You can only have "*real*" Surround output, if you attach something that can do it. And if the outputs (_in the Control Box_) allow that. Since these are Stereo 3.5 mm jacks, how do you exptect to get "*real*" Surround that way ? Real surround you get with the Speakers, not over the Headphones. And again, the ZxR also can only provide "*virtual surround*" on the Headset.


Yes the thing is phoebus had dolby surround which expand the stereo effect to virtual surround but you could only select stereo everywhere and in windows. with creative xfi titanium and zxr had the ability to have 5.1 real speakers selected thats how it did the surround. so all what I am asking is if you select headphone output then will you have 7.1 speakers in windows. I know the explanation but because its new card I have no idea if asus change from what they had with phoebus because its rog series . their xonar music card had the options to have 5.1 speakers selected.


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## Vlada011

Guys what you think about this cards. I'm satisfied with Sound Blaster Z but I could sell mine and try some ASUS card.
I would love in future everything to be ASUS, but people complain on some of their sound cards..
This Strix Soar is better than Phoebus Solo or not?


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## Wolfseye

*@Vlada011:* If you dont have issues with the Creative Z series, and I really mean issues, you might not need to switch. My switch was out of desperation, because I was finally annoyed by the issues with the ZxR over the years. Its not like there is so much choice otherwise. I didnt had any other Asus Soundcards yet, but I can tell you that the Strix (in my case the DLX) is a really good card and especially made for Gaming. For me its worth it.

Unfortunately I cant tell you if the Phoebus is better, I never had those. But if you dont mind spending the money, no matter if you are still happy with your Creative, go for it. I dont think you'll regret it.

Cheers

Wolfseeye


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## bulletlol

Hey guys,
Does the asus strix soar sounds card have any LFE subwoofer controls and Dolby surround capabilities to use with 5.1/7.1 analog speaker setups? I received this card yesterday and I'm hugely underwhelmed by its sound performance with my current 5.1 speaker setup, if I can't find a solution to the aforementioned problem I will be returning this very soon. My previous Asus xonar d1 works much better with my setup and the lack of a LFE crossover control really kills it for me as bass is being outputed incorrectly, I need to set the crossover to 80hz.I also dislike the inbuilt upmixing as it sounds narrow and synthetic to me.
It's a shame really that the software, which is advertised as dynamic, is actually very incomplete.


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## Tiihokatti

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *bulletlol*
> 
> Hey guys,
> Does the asus strix soar sounds card have any LFE subwoofer controls and Dolby surround capabilities to use with 5.1/7.1 analog speaker setups? I received this card yesterday and I'm hugely underwhelmed by its sound performance with my current 5.1 speaker setup, if I can't find a solution to the aforementioned problem I will be returning this very soon. My previous Asus xonar d1 works much better with my setup and the lack of a LFE crossover control really kills it for me as bass is being outputed incorrectly, I need to set the crossover to 80hz.I also dislike the inbuilt upmixing as it sounds narrow and synthetic to me.
> It's a shame really that the software, which is advertised as dynamic, is actually very incomplete.


Now that you mention it, the manuals/documents don't mention anything about FlexBass, LFE or bass redirection features that the soundcards usually have for subwoofer outputs.
The feature is basically one of the sole reasons why soundcards are better than external DACs in some situations, and they removed it?


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## bulletlol

Precisely! Seems like a seriously dumb move to remove it, My subwoofer (Klipsch R110SW) can only only output 20-125hz, i believe the crossover is set to 200hz by default, therefore im getting a huge frequency gap due to the lack of control :/


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## Wolfseye

Please lets not forget, the Asus is advertised as Gaming oriented Soundcard. They never said it has "Dolby Surround", and how it sounds is a matter of taste and opinion. Some like this, some like that. No Sound is universally set to be liked by everyone. As for me, I have also 5.1 here and I am please with how the Bass sounds. The Asus strix soundcards are definately aimed at Gaming oriented use, for which its fine in my opinion.

If you need it more preferrable for Audio specific stuff, the Asus Xonar Essence STX II might be more to your liking. As for improvement, I suggest also posting these things in the official Asus ROG forums so they might take note of that and improve things. It always depends on what you want to have.

For better audio possibilities, you might prefer the other Asus Soundcards, the STX II for example. I heard from many that those are lousy for gaming though. So all has its different usage.
I suggested the thing with the LFE in a Youtube review about this Soundcard, where I had replies from Asus and I hope they look into it.

Cheers

Wolfseye


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## bulletlol

Thanks for your reply,
Im well aware of the target audience, however it seems silly that they have left out a basic requirement. The Asus xonar essence stx II would be good, however it is a bit too expensive for me and I am looking for an all round music, gaming and theater sound card . May i see the youtube if thats okay? cheers.
If asus have identified have identified the issue then hopefully they will fix it soon.


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## Wolfseye

It was the first short unboxing about this Soundcard I had seen on Youtube, 1 day before I got it. There are still not many videos on Youtube. One other from Germany, since it appears people here (Europe) have these cards earlier than in the USA.

But I hope that Asus cares about critics and, since its so early with these new Cards, they still have the will to do stuff to make some of it better. After all, its the first version of this new Software (Drivers). Give them a bit. No first version was ever good.









Cheers

Wolfseye


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## bulletlol

Thanks for the link,
Im glad to see asus are taking some feedback initiative on this, I guess it is early days for this sound card and i know for sure the software will most definitely improve over time, give it through official or unofficial driver support. However how long until this is done is what concerns me, I've switched back to my previous card for the mean time.


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## x7007

How much did it cost you ? the cheapest I see now is 240 euro or so


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## Tiihokatti

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfseye*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It was the first short unboxing about this Soundcard I had seen on Youtube, 1 day before I got it. There are still not many videos on Youtube. One other from Germany, since it appears people here (Europe) have these cards earlier than in the USA.
> 
> But I hope that Asus cares about critics and, since its so early with these new Cards, they still have the will to do stuff to make some of it better. After all, its the first version of this new Software (Drivers). Give them a bit. No first version was ever good.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Wolfseye


Yeah, the first drivers are usually prototype/"barely works" quality.
At least Asus can't be as bad at driver making as Logitech... I can confirm that the 3 years old issue stated in the link is still alive in the newest drivers, you can't install Logitech drivers on a PC that has Asmedia Sata3 chipset (and it has something connected to it).


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## cartman325

Hi everyone !

First problem with the Strix Raid DLX !

I'm on Win10 Pro x64 (fresh install) and when i'm start listening music or anything actions with audio resources, randomly, the sound cut for less 1 second. The software (vlc / MPC / Spotify) is always playing resource (no visual pause) but audio is lost.

Someone have this problem too ?


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## Wolfseye

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *cartman325*
> 
> Hi everyone !
> 
> First problem with the Strix Raid DLX !
> 
> I'm on Win10 Pro x64 (fresh install) and when i'm start listening music or anything actions with audio resources, randomly, the sound cut for less 1 second. The software (vlc / MPC / Spotify) is always playing resource (no visual pause) but audio is lost.
> 
> Someone have this problem too ?


Definately a W10 issue, I dont have or ever had that on W8.1. Hope you find a solution for that. Maybe go to the official ASUS Forums for that. They need to made aware of these things.

Cheers

Wolfseye


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## Wolfseye

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *x7007*
> 
> How much did it cost you ? the cheapest I see now is 240 euro or so


The cheapest I see here atm in Germany from a store that is reliable is:

http://www.computeruniverse.net/products/90621820/asus-strix-raid-dlx.asp?utm_channel=psm&utm_source=idealo&utm_campaign=cpc&utm_medium=artikel&utm_content=90621820&agt=509

I got mine for 205 Euro or so.


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## cartman325

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfseye*
> 
> Definately a W10 issue, I dont have or ever had that on W8.1. Hope you find a solution for that. Maybe go to the official ASUS Forums for that. They need to made aware of these things.
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Wolfseye


Thank's for your answer, I'll post on asus forum to know if other people have this problem or not. And maybe I will reinstall 8.1 ...


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## x7007

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfseye*
> 
> The cheapest I see here atm in Germany from a store that is reliable is:
> 
> http://www.computeruniverse.net/products/90621820/asus-strix-raid-dlx.asp?utm_channel=psm&utm_source=idealo&utm_campaign=cpc&utm_medium=artikel&utm_content=90621820&agt=509
> 
> I got mine for 205 Euro or so.


the delivery costs kills me I hope I find it cheaper like I got zxr for something 169$ + 35$ delivery

review in deustch


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## cartman325

I've tried with Windows 8.1, same problem :/


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## Vlada011

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfseye*
> 
> *@Vlada011:* If you dont have issues with the Creative Z series, and I really mean issues, you might not need to switch. My switch was out of desperation, because I was finally annoyed by the issues with the ZxR over the years. Its not like there is so much choice otherwise. I didnt had any other Asus Soundcards yet, but I can tell you that the Strix (in my case the DLX) is a really good card and especially made for Gaming. For me its worth it.
> 
> Unfortunately I cant tell you if the Phoebus is better, I never had those. But if you dont mind spending the money, no matter if you are still happy with your Creative, go for it. I dont think you'll regret it.
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Wolfseeye


Really I have 0 issue... And usually when someone sell such thing only to try something else... problems start.
Probably because I use oldest driver for SBZ from CD and I didn't change on every driver change.
Some people claim Phoebus Solo is better, some people SBZ is better.
Than these cards are launched and I don't know is it better or not than Phoebus Solo.... I don't need these extra features.
OK If someone near me upgrade on Strix Soar I will borrow on 48h to try.


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## Wolfseye

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *cartman325*
> 
> I've tried with Windows 8.1, same problem :/


Weird, never had that problem. I am using Winamp, MPC, VLC, AIMP3 etc and no issue.


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## Wolfseye

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Vlada011*
> 
> Probably because I use oldest driver for SBZ from CD and I didn't change on every driver change.


Sure, the Creative drivers arent the best, but no driver doesnt help if the System doesnt recognize the Soundcard. Check Google, how many you find with the same issues. With my last Mainboard it worked at least sometimes, now with my new one its not at all. And I tried all the supposedly "_tricks and tips_" out there, nothing helped.

So the Creative is over for me. Regrettable, but that doesnt change the problem. But I am happy for you that it works.


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## Vlada011

If someone have problem with not recognize sound card I have one tip and maybe that help.
That happen with my previous Z77 motherboard sometimes but because I very rear turn off PC I didn't pay attention on that problem.
When I cross on X99 that problem gone. But many people on different platform had similar problem.

After someone turn off PC he recognize than no sound and when try to open Sound Manager he report that can't find device. And device manager usually read wrong Sound Blaster Z as Recon3D...
In such case must be done exactly this.
1. Uninstall all creative software and turn off PC.
2. Remove Sound Blaster Z card from PC
3. Enable PC without Sound Blaster Z card inside
4. Clean with CCleaner and all Creative folders delete, temp files delete, registry search from Creative files and delete
If someone Creative folder rest in C, User, Username, Appdata, Local delete them to... Best with Driver Sweaper in Safe mode to search for Creative folders and to clean them. CCleaner usually find lot Creative traces under Registry Issues, clean that too.
5. Disable PC and Install Sound Blaster Z
6. Enable PC and Immediately after Windows Boot, you will see that Windows recognize new hardware as High Definition Audio or similar but not as Recon3D, Install Creative Software/Driver for SBZ, don't restart PC again with SBZ inside before driver installation, only after driver installation finish and ask to restart.

After that SBZ will work until someone turn off PC again on several hours.
Sometimes not, but sometimes yes.

Everything depend of motherboard BIOS and CREATIVE Drivers.
They didn't work together good and people on some platforms no matter on brand or chipset have problems. I done this procedure at least 20 times for 3 years. After I cross on X99 I don't have similar problem any more.


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## Wolfseye

Thx, but I tried all these things before. Quite a few different so called "solutions" for that on the Net, but still nothing worked. I am done with Creative now. Hopefully other people have more luck with solutions such as this.









Cheers

Wolfseye


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## Man00k

I had a result and managed to get one off ebay when they had their 20% off code for a few hours. Strix Raid DLX for £116.81 delivered.

Have it installed and sounds very good coming from a SB Zx.


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## x7007

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Man00k*
> 
> I had a result and managed to get one off ebay when they had their 20% off code for a few hours. Strix Raid DLX for £116.81 delivered.
> 
> Have it installed and sounds very good coming from a SB Zx.


I can't find any deliver to Israel.... why no one sale them , amazon and not ebay now.


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## senna89

Sound quality of RAID DLX compared to ZXR or STX II ?

Virtual Surround on these Strix is better than Dolby Headphone ? How is compared with SBX Pro ?


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## x7007

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *senna89*
> 
> Sound quality of RAID DLX compared to ZXR or STX II ?
> 
> Virtual Surround on these Strix is better than Dolby Headphone ? How is compared with SBX Pro ?


That's what I wanted to know too, still we have no answer from reviews too, hard to get from a new device.

https://www.computeruniverse.net Deliver to Israel , but omg the costs are crazy. Man00k got it for £116.81 . for me if it's Net final amount for shipping outside the EU € 200.67 and that's excl the taxes and duties ! unbelievable cheaper to order a car.


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## cartman325

for users with the soundcard works correctly, you are on 8.1 or 10 ? (can you please, detail your config ? (motherboard ? M.2 ssd ? nvidia drivers version ? ) Thank's in advance. I just want to debug my case ... To know if issue exist with some other configuration parts ...


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## bulletlol

I've decided that I will keep my Asus strix soar instead of returning it on the grounds that Asus improve their drivers soon by adding missing features for speaker use, particularly Flexbass (LFE) controls.
If worse comes to worse i'll just sell it on eBay, does anyone have any idea how much i'll get for this card second hand in new condition on eBay?

Cheers.


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## Vlada011

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *bulletlol*
> 
> I've decided that I will keep my Asus strix soar instead of returning it on the grounds that Asus improve their drivers soon by adding missing features for speaker use, particularly Flexbass (LFE) controls.
> If worse comes to worse i'll just sell it on eBay, does anyone have any idea how much i'll get for this card second hand in new condition on eBay?
> 
> Cheers.


You can change with me, I will give you Sound Blaster Z.
Best version with shroud and Nichicon gold caps








Because huge success on SBZ later start to install them on all audio even onboard solutions.









I think you can get probably around 110-120$.
Problem is because price is not high and who want to buy rather will buy new from site as Amazon if something is not wrong to turn back later.


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## JustCase

Hi guys. My question is about the performance of the Soar. Is it better than SoundBlaster Z? Is it also good for listening to music? Is the amp good enough? Thanks


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## Wolfseye

That's too general questions, about sound you can't argue like that. For some people, like me, coming from a ZxR, i am happy with the Strix Raid DLX (can't say about Soar) and I listen to music a lot. But the fact that I or others like it's sound, doesn't mean you will like it too.

I can tell you that I like it, so then you might buy it. But, i cannot promise you that you will like it as much. It's a good card, the software needs a few more settings, like Bass LFE maybe. That could still come, right now the Software is in its first version. But for that I are likely it. Maybe wait a while if you can live with that and follow whats coming.

Gesendet von meinem SM-N910F mit Tapatalk


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## senna89

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfseye*
> 
> That's too general questions, about sound you can't argue like that. For some people, like me, coming from a ZxR, i am happy with the Strix Raid DLX (can't say about Soar) and I listen to music a lot. But the fact that I or others like it's sound, doesn't mean you will like it too.
> 
> I can tell you that I like it, so then you might buy it. But, i cannot promise you that you will like it as much. It's a good card, the software needs a few more settings, like Bass LFE maybe. That could still come, right now the Software is in its first version. But for that I are likely it. Maybe wait a while if you can live with that and follow whats coming.
> 
> Gesendet von meinem SM-N910F mit Tapatalk


Can i ask some questions about ?

1 ) What is better as sound quality ? Can you describe the differences into sount signature between two ?
2 ) Virtual surround of Strix ( sonic studio ) is good or crap like dolby headphone ?
3 ) "*Reverb*" feature introduce echo ??? For you its good or not ?
4 ) For 6 pin cable u add VGA cable on your PSU ?


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## Wolfseye

Bass on Asus cards is more natural, not so over the top if you know what I mean. Virtual Surround I only use in Games and I remember can't say that i disliked Dolby Headphone before. Reverb is actually pretty ok.

And again, you can't really say what sound is better. A sound i like might as well not be someone else's favorite or at all. Always depends. But do I consider the switch from Creative to Asus Strix a mistake, no. I like it.

Gesendet von meinem SM-N910F mit Tapatalk


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## senna89

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wolfseye*
> 
> Bass on Asus cards is more natural, not so over the top if you know what I mean. Virtual Surround I only use in Games and I remember can't say that i disliked Dolby Headphone before. Reverb is actually pretty ok.
> 
> And again, you can't really say what sound is better. A sound i like might as well not be someone else's favorite or at all. Always depends. But do I consider the switch from Creative to Asus Strix a mistake, no. I like it.
> 
> Gesendet von meinem SM-N910F mit Tapatalk


reverb mode introduce echo ?

Virtual surround compared to SBX ?


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## CruxXial

So i'm on win 10(x64) and I do also have the bug where sound is lost for about a second with the dlx... Anyways i also got the stxII and am going to test it today so i will see which one i will return and which one sounds better to me


----------



## senna89

i bought DLX but i saw its not 7.1

driver let me choose only stereo setting, no others exist.
in windows same thing.

ANYONE SAW IT ? CAN U CONFIRM ?


----------



## Wolfseye

Headphones or Speakers?

Gesendet von meinem SM-N910F mit Tapatalk


----------



## CruxXial

When headphones are selected it is true... Only stereo but with virtual 7.1. Windows won't show 7.1 option StxII can be set to 7.1 for windows speaker even when using headphones


----------



## x7007

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *CruxXial*
> 
> When headphones are selected it is true... Only stereo but with virtual 7.1. Windows won't show 7.1 option StxII can be set to 7.1 for windows speaker even when using headphones


thats what I wanted to know, wolfeye couldnt answer.


----------



## CruxXial

And to be honest i am most likely keeping the stxII instead of the strix dlx... Found the overall sound experience better since the dlx only gives me the feeling of a little step up from my ranger VIII onboard sound. I mean it sounds almost exactly the same just a pinch better and smoother, but stxII sounds to me like real Hi-fi. It's very different to the onboard and i like the surround way better and the settings are superior to the dlx's ones. But that is just my personal feeling so some may disagree and might be right to do so. If you have the chance to test both the stxII and the dlx you should really compare them directly yourself instead of relying on reviews...


----------



## senna89

*Surround mode and reverbs is totally non run !!!*
If i enable or disable both, the sound not change absoluttly, totall the same


----------



## cartman325

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *CruxXial*
> 
> So i'm on win 10(x64) and I do also have the bug where sound is lost for about a second with the dlx... Anyways i also got the stxII and am going to test it today so i will see which one i will return and which one sounds better to me


if you find solution for the sound bug, please tell us







Thank's !


----------



## senna89

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *senna89*
> 
> *Surround mode and reverbs is totally non run !!!*
> If i enable or disable both, the sound not change absoluttly, totall the same


Anyone can help me ?
I think its more important.


----------



## Dry Bonez

How much heat do these things emit? I have a Soundblaster ZXR and my oh my this thing sure gets hot. So how are these with heat?


----------



## senna89

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Dry Bonez*
> 
> How much heat do these things emit? I have a Soundblaster ZXR and my oh my this thing sure gets hot. So how are these with heat?


i had ZXR and it was not heat, never.
And this DLX is cold too.


----------



## backie

Does this have a front panel audio connector?


----------



## senna89

*IMPORTANT QUESTION*

Excuse me anyone know how to use surround mode ?

Enable it into Strix menù is not enought, in game i cant hear it never.
Only surround i hear is the BF integrated surround ( stereo mode in fact ).


----------



## bulletlol

Hey guys, so i've had the STRIX SOAR card for almost a month now and i've come to like it quite alot.

However as of today it seems to have developed a problem, after unplugging and replugging in speakers, the center speaker channel has started to produce a lot of background noise, I've correlated this to be 'computer noise' as the same sort of 'hissing' sound is just audible when i open my pc case. Its really quite an irritating sound, I have to turn my speakers off whenever im not playing audio so it doesnt drive me mad! Before hand it was working fine.

Has anyone got any idea whats gone wrong here and how I might fix it? Thanks!


----------



## senna89

i have DLX model and never problem with all

only at start the effects not run, but now run perfectly all.


----------



## jumpman

Can anyone let me know if the external module changes volume in windows or separately from windows? Does it also have front panel audio connector?


----------



## ditanner

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *jumpman*
> 
> Can anyone let me know if the external module changes volume in windows or separately from windows? Does it also have front panel audio connector?


Yeah, it does update the windows volume. The Raid Pro doesn't appear to have a front panel connector - but I guess you don't need it with the control box.


----------



## senna89

theres not any reviews about DLX model ?
comparison with ZXR and STX II ?


----------



## x7007

So does the surround works ? Can you use 7.1 with Headphones or just 5.1 ? are there any different from the SBX surround or Creative ZXR ?


----------



## Ufasas

I switched from Asus Xonar D2 PCI 7.1 to Asus Strix Soar, got it today, and I like Soar so far, I guess this is downgrade, but I hear enemies steps, shots, awp shot and echo well with my 200$ Sony MA900 open back headphones in csgo, love comfortable software, everything's in one window panel now, not like Xonar!

Seller compared Soar being similar to Creative SB Z

For music it is just sweet as D2, I feel instantly at home, for death metal/melodic death metal with piano/symphonic parts is just good for my ears without tuning equalizer, no boominess of bass is just awesome, non-tiring listening of music < 3, haven't tried other genres, I have big hopes that after more tests i'm keeping this and selling D2 away.

Soar was 31 pound for me, gotten as used, new Soar is 65~ GBP, so i'd say it's a nice bargain.


----------



## Neapstatties

Hardware Fault??? ASUS STRIX RAID PRO

Apologies for adding to an existing thread but I have just taken delivery of the STRIX RAID PRO. I installed the card and the latest ASUS drives - no problems and it plays well through my 7.1 system (once I had plugged the cables into the correct sockets!). The issue is the breakout box. On plugging in the cable, it cycles by turning on both headphone and speaker LEDs (red) and then the volume LEDs light up progressively (white). At this stage it simply stops with the speaker and headphone LEDs showing white and every other volume LED showing orange. No amount of RAID or volume control button pressing changes this. Additionally the drop down arrow is not visible on the RAID button mode of the ASUS panel. It looks to me like the control box has not completed initialisation.

I have tried the usual reboots, unplugs etc and there is no change. I have made a tech support email enquiry but at this stage it looks as if the control box is DOA - any suggestions MOST welcome.....


----------



## Neapstatties

Sadly Tech support said to RMA it. I will be getting the same again as what worked, worked well and I am after in games switching between speakers and headphones. For the RAID button, I may use mic volume - what do you guys use if for?


----------



## myschovip

AsusStrix Soar and Asus Xonar DX cost the same, which one is better?


----------



## Ufasas

I think Soar is better, had DX (before DX had Phoebus, which is as good as D2 for me, and was working flawless in games, until it burned out somehow) , upgraded to D2/D2X, never wanted go back, now downgraded to Soar, wanna stay with it or D2.

Few days passed, now i get some weird clicking sound, and sound card turns off, 6pin connector is plugged in, i was changing slots from 2nd PCI-E to 1st and 2nd PCI 1x, was happening same, for too much replacing card in slots i also had this:

Power cable doesn't plug in to Strix Soar, bla bla bla, and driver software stops installing, small window on top telling fatal error 0x8007.. something. Turned pc off, left for the night, now i can instal my driver again, can it be not enough power? i connect Benq 144 gaming monitor, laptop, superhub by virginmedia on one power socket extender, also hd 7770 arrived for tests, eats up to 60-80 watts, additional 6pin was needed, i am running out of 6pins on seasonic 520 80+ bronze

Running on win7 64 bit, strix driver is the only version now, downloaded from asus page. Seller said he had not clicking stuff on win10.

Dunno how to ask about problem, english is not fluent enough, and i think i might not understand everything if there will be a detailed solution : d

PS. PS.

ALSO, with strix studio software in the taskbar steam overlay stops working in cs go at least, shift+tab not working


----------



## Neapstatties

Chaps and Chapesses, grateful for some help. in the Strix Raid control box, what plugs into what? The black 3.5 is obvious but the other two are not - which is mic and which is for the headset?


----------



## JamesHabo

Hello

I just noticed this Soundcard

Whats the biggest difference between the cheapest one and the premium one? And im talking about the actual card and not the remote?

1 Question. Which is by far the most importent one. How does the MIC performe when you start a GAME.

Most Xonar soundcards have a humming noise when you do something that requires power from your PC. Like play a game.
I had the phoebus and the mic was great until I started a game then it sounded like this 



It was not a doa card because I returned several of them. Does this card have the same issue?

How does it perform in music and movies?


----------



## Neapstatties

Hi James,

Only difference is the sound quality - the DAC has a higher signal to noise. This will only be noticeable on higher end (HIFI) speakers and headphones. For most purposes the PRO card will suffice.

As to the microphone issue, I have not fully tested mine yet (I had a failed control box). My only comment is to note that the interference was likely to either originate from your graphics card or from your power supply (a stressed, poor quality supply will generate electrical noise). It is also worth making sure that your cable runs are away from noise inducing components.

I note that the ASUS STRIX RAID PRO uses an additional 6 pin PCI-E connection reducing the likelihood of power noise. Additionally the card also is shielded too. If you don't already, mount the card as far away from electrical noise generating components.

Sorry I cannot help further,

James


----------



## JamesHabo

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Neapstatties*
> 
> Hi James,
> 
> Only difference is the sound quality - the DAC has a higher signal to noise. This will only be noticeable on higher end (HIFI) speakers and headphones. For most purposes the PRO card will suffice.
> 
> As to the microphone issue, I have not fully tested mine yet (I had a failed control box). My only comment is to note that the interference was likely to either originate from your graphics card or from your power supply (a stressed, poor quality supply will generate electrical noise). It is also worth making sure that your cable runs are away from noise inducing components.
> 
> I note that the ASUS STRIX RAID PRO uses an additional 6 pin PCI-E connection reducing the likelihood of power noise. Additionally the card also is shielded too. If you don't already, mount the card as far away from electrical noise generating components.
> 
> Sorry I cannot help further,
> 
> James


Hi!









I'm using a Audio Technica m50 headphone









The mic issue is indeed an electrical noise.. The phoebus is also sheilded.. which didnt work. My gpu is a 780 and my power supply is an Corsair AX860i.

So I doubt that its any quality issues. The phoebus also had a 6pin connection. I returned my phoebus long ago.. l never owned it more than a full month.

Im just asking if this card has the same problem. Its not just me with this problem. Several people in ASUS offical Rog forums have it.


----------



## Neapstatties

as soon as I get my replacement card I will test the mic and report back but suspect it will be a week or so...


----------



## Ufasas

Strix soar, i plug vga in pcie3.0, and strix soar in pci x1 which is above the pcie 3.0, sound cards keeps making clicking sound once i instal drivers now, non stop clicking loops, sound is dissapearing after few minutes in game, removed, putting Asus D2, no problems and good gaming in fps


----------



## x7007

So can someone tell me if it is worth to replace ZXR with Strix Raid DLX which is the best one ?

because someone said the headphones impedance is way better than the ZXR.

And whole other things

Thanks


----------



## cquinn

I bought this soundcard from London because it's not available in the United States yet.

The first thing I would say is that you cannot rely on Asus for any kind of install help. This card is so new nobody there is as yet trained on it so you have extremely long wait times. My last call went for more than two hours without any help at all. It's extremely frustrating as I'm sure you know to wait on the phone while someone goes and talks to somebody only to come back and tell you something that you didn't ask and doesn't answer your question in the first place then puts you on hold again for another 20 or 30 or 50 minutes and comes back and does the same thing again.

I wound up with the Asus years ago because my experience with Creative was so abominable. But my experience after more than 10 years using their products is that ASUS is not much better. If you're sensitive to this kind of runaround from customer service departments, I certainly am, I would suggest you keep looking and not buy from Asus. I don't think peripherals are priority for this company and that's why we get such crappy products and service.

Case in point, connecting the audio box. They supply a cable with an HDMI on one end and three RCA's which are color-coded on the other end. The user guide, such as it is, is one foldout piece of paper with pictures but it doesn't show you where each individual RCA plug is supposed to go in the card. The card itself is not color-coded. So you're left to guess. There are only two plugs, the red one in the green one, that are the same and when you have them connected correctly the audio box lights will light up otherwise they won't.

For those that are wondering they plug-in in this order from the top of the card red, green then black

The next thing is if you're running a Windows system be advised that , without any notification or agreement, the Install disk updates your windows software.

That's right! You're going to get a Windows update whether you want it or not. If you're like me and have selectively installed Windows updates because of conflicts this is can be a problem. I couldn't get my system restore to restore my operating system back the way it was so I had to run an image file restore to get my system operating again. Needless to say this is a hassle. As far as I can tell there's no reason why a sound card should require an operating system update. But this is typical of this company that they think they know what's best for you and you, well, you don't really matter do you.

I thought I might be able to get some resolution to this problem and get the card installed and operating the way I wanted it. After all that's why bought the thing. But when you call the corporate offices all you get is a voice menu system that takes you right back to customer service. When you ask customer service how to contact the corporate offices they give you an email. They will not give you a phone number or if you insist the phone number they give you is the number to the voice prompt system which takes you right back to them.They're obviously completely oblivious to any requirements needed to assist customers. Which in itself is a little amazing when you consider how much money they spend on maintaining customer service centers. I get a better quality of help from the forum than from anything they provide And after more than 10 years I can say that it is always been this way.

I uninstalled this card when I restored my system and it's not going back in. Mailing the card back to London is just throwing good money after bad. I would suggest anybody who's thinking about buying this card or any card from this company - Think very carefully and then think again.


----------



## Wagnelles

Hello everyone

I'm also one of those who doesn't know if I should get an Asus Strix Raid DLX or a Creative ZxR.

The Raid DLX is brand new but apparently it doesn't have any Optical In/Out, and since I also play on consoles, it would be great to use the card to get some great audio quality from them.

On the other hand, the ZxR do have Optical In/Out but supports 5.1 channels only.

I should also mention that I've never experienced a high-end soundcard before. I'm going from onboard common sound quality here. I'm aware that any of these two cards will certainly blew my mind off, but I'm having a hard time finding 5.1 Headphones (the good ones) for the ZxR, because most of them are 7.1, and again, the Strix Raid DLX *apparently* doesn't support Optical audio In/Out, so I can't use it on my consoles.

What do you guys think?


----------



## Neapstatties

I have the Strix Raid Pro card installed in my Win 10 64 bit rig. This is essentually the same card as the DLX but with cheaper components at the cost of Signal to Noise Ratio. This is not an issue whatsoever on the vast majority of speaker or headphone users - basically unless you are an audio obsessive who agonises over what oxygen-free speaker cable to get for thier multy £k audio setups, get the cheaper card!

*Pros*

Generally, I game and play music. When gaming, the ability to swich immediately to headphones (albeit stereo ones) when her indoors requires it is a real boon for me. If you always game in headphones, the control box has other uses to including being able adjust mic volume on the fly.

It does true 7.1

Audio quality exceeds that of my not too shabby audio rig.

A one page do it all settings panel is helpful too

*Cons*

The big con is reliability of the driver. I have tried everything I know to get the software to start up the control box reliably but its about 50-50 if the control box works or not (a clear visual indicator is no lights or too many multicoloured lights). Sometimes a reboot initialises it (thankfully my rig is uber-swift) but sometimes I need to reinstall the drivers (thankfully this is easy as the first run of the installation routine uninstalls them, reboot, and run again to reinstall). I have tried all the following to solve: RMAs, seeking online support (the usual crap response, followed by a suggestion to RMA), removing bios and windows 10 fastboots, running software as admin, etc etc. The fact that it works some of the time leads me to conclude it is a driver issue. (happy to provide more rig specs if requested).

Noting the above about a one page setting, reinstallation resets the Windows 10 speaker config to stereo so a quick visit to the windows control panel settings to choose 7.1 is required on reinstallation.

Switch clicking very audible and intrusive on setup and headphone initialisation. Odd that PSU builders can produce silent ones but ASUS cannot! Requires an additional 6 pin power input too - may be a deal breaker for some.

*Conclusion*

Would I recommend it - no. Simply it currently does not work reliably. However if they fixed the control box initiation on boot, then absolutely! I live in hope of a fixed driver next time around....

Now to Vagnelles, sorry to spend so long on the above! It does do 7.1 (not tested in optical which looks like it is 5.1 capable in the manual). Sound quality is great but it lacks an optical input of any sort. I suggest you download the manual but, even if the boot issue went away, it looks as if it lacks the spec you need. Interestingly if Creative still did modern 7.1 cards, I would have bought one but I love the concept of the Asus Strix control box! Hope this helps - sorry Asus but you have to fix the drivers...


----------



## Wagnelles

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Neapstatties*
> 
> Now to Vagnelles, sorry to spend so long on the above! It does do 7.1 (not tested in optical which looks like it is 5.1 capable in the manual). Sound quality is great but it lacks an optical input of any sort. I suggest you download the manual but, even if the boot issue went away, it looks as if it lacks the spec you need. Interestingly if Creative still did modern 7.1 cards, I would have bought one but I love the concept of the Asus Strix control box! Hope this helps - sorry Asus but you have to fix the drivers...


Thanks for the reply!

About the Strix drivers, I think that's kind of expected because it's a very brand new card and they certainly have to optimize the drivers and fix the issues. In general, I find that both Asus and Creative doesn't have a good reputation regarding drivers. Maybe is it too hard to get an advanced soundcard to work properly?

I didn't find the manual, but I found the connectivity specifications of the DLX on ASUS site:

*Analog Output
5 x 3.5 mm jack (1/8") (Headphone out /Front out/Side out/Center-Subwoofer out/Rear out)
Analog Input
1 x 3.5 mm jack (1/8") (Line-in/ Mic-in combo)
Digital
1 x S/PDIF out ((combo with side out))
1 x Box Link*

I don't think this helps me, since I'm needing Optical In/Out to use on my consoles. But I'm real noob here, so if there's a way to use the Strix on consoles, please correct me.

Another question: is the difference between 5.1 and 7.1 channels notable? I'm asking this because I really want to have some immersive experiences in gaming and I'm afraid to lose immersion if I take the 5.1 ZxR

My struggle between the ZxR and the Strix DLX still lives


----------



## x7007

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wagnelles*
> 
> Thanks for the reply!
> 
> About the Strix drivers, I think that's kind of expected because it's a very brand new card and they certainly have to optimize the drivers and fix the issues. In general, I find that both Asus and Creative doesn't have a good reputation regarding drivers. Maybe is it too hard to get an advanced soundcard to work properly?
> 
> I didn't find the manual, but I found the connectivity specifications of the DLX on ASUS site:
> 
> *Analog Output
> 5 x 3.5 mm jack (1/8") (Headphone out /Front out/Side out/Center-Subwoofer out/Rear out)
> Analog Input
> 1 x 3.5 mm jack (1/8") (Line-in/ Mic-in combo)
> Digital
> 1 x S/PDIF out ((combo with side out))
> 1 x Box Link*
> 
> I don't think this helps me, since I'm needing Optical In/Out to use on my consoles. But I'm real noob here, so if there's a way to use the Strix on consoles, please correct me.
> 
> Another question: is the difference between 5.1 and 7.1 channels notable? I'm asking this because I really want to have some immersive experiences in gaming and I'm afraid to lose immersion if I take the 5.1 ZxR
> 
> My struggle between the ZxR and the Strix DLX still lives


So the Asus does 7.1 headphone surround or just speakers select ? Does the headphone impedance is a good reason to change from creative zxr to the Asus raid dlx ?

a good review in dutch 




I just want to know if I'll hear better with headphones than with the ZXR


----------



## Neapstatties

You should be able to find the manual here- http://www.asus.com/uk/supportonly/STRIX%20RAID%20PRO/HelpDesk_http://www.asus.com/uk/supportonly/STRIX%20RAID%20PRO/HelpDesk_Manual//

As to the configuration, a single set of 7.1 jacks exist on the souncard only. You can choose what to plug in here. For the control box, it effectively acts as a pass through using the Black jack for its own contol and lighting and a standard 3 pin, one each for headphones and mic (dark geen and red leads respectively). On the side of the control box these headphones and mic jacks are reproduced, as well as an hdmi type onnector that links to the aformentioned jack.

In summary you can either have 7.1 speakers or 7.1 headphones but not both without fiddling with wires!

Hope this helps, cannot comment on comparative headphone quality...


----------



## kuss

Yo hi i am looking to upgrade from the Phoebus solo to the new Asus Strix Soar or Asus Strix Raid Pro BUTi no the difference between the to is price and the control box, so i am thinking is it worth the extra to get the box or what? reason is i am limited to £100.


----------



## Neapstatties

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Neapstatties*
> 
> Chaps and Chapesses, grateful for some help. in the Strix Raid control box, what plugs into what? The black 3.5 is obvious but the other two are not - which is mic and which is for the headset?


To answer my own question in case anyone else needs it

black to black
dark red is mic
dark green is speaker


----------



## Neapstatties

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *kuss*
> 
> Yo hi i am looking to upgrade from the Phoebus solo to the new Asus Strix Soar or Asus Strix Raid Pro BUTi no the difference between the to is price and the control box, so i am thinking is it worth the extra to get the box or what? reason is i am limited to £100.


It depends on your use case - if you want to swap between spewkers and headphones or adjust volume or tinker with mic volume or bass output _mid game_ then get the Pro, if not, dont!


----------



## kuss

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Neapstatties*
> 
> It depends on your use case - if you want to swap between spewkers and headphones or adjust volume or tinker with mic volume or bass output _mid game_ then get the Pro, if not, dont!


ok great thanks


----------



## x7007

I still don't know if I should replace my ZXR with the Raid DLX. because I'm using 24/7 with Headphones DT990 Premium 600ohms and from what I saw the the amplifier on the asus is way better than the one on Creative, what should be the differences ? is it worth the upgrade ? does it have better surround and such of those.


----------



## CruxXial

After having both the stxII and RAID dlx to test i did choose the creative X7 over both of them. If you at least are to listen to music more than just besides or while playing games, you should consider having the option to swap op-amps. While the stxII had that option it didn't have the ability to be utilized as a standalone dac for your headphones or surround system without being forced to use the PC. But i don't think the raid dlx is far superior to zxr. By the way is there any music u can listen to in 24Bit 384kHz? CDs are usually 16Bit 44,1 kHz. Hi res streams are 24Bit 192kHz where are not that many providers for. Besides that u would need headphones of the likes of a sennheiser HD 800 and a very fine ear to realize a big difference


----------



## x7007

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *CruxXial*
> 
> After having both the stxII and RAID dlx to test i did choose the creative X7 over both of them. If you at least are to listen to music more than just besides or while playing games, you should consider having the option to swap op-amps. While the stxII had that option it didn't have the ability to be utilized as a standalone dac for your headphones or surround system without being forced to use the PC. But i don't think the raid dlx is far superior to zxr. By the way is there any music u can listen to in 24Bit 384kHz? CDs are usually 16Bit 44,1 kHz. Hi res streams are 24Bit 192kHz where are not that many providers for. Besides that u would need headphones of the likes of a sennheiser HD 800 and a very fine ear to realize a big difference


Still no one can give direct answer to the comparison of ZXR VS Raid DLX ?


----------



## CruxXial

Because when it comes to sound eveybody has got a different opinion. As both have a amp capable of driving 600Ohm headphones it is only up to your personal likings. The op-amps are responsible for the final sound as is the core for the effects and equalizing. The only way to find out is to compare both head to head. And probably changing your headphones would again change the result of your testing. I guess you are most likely interested in the quality of their soundprocessors when emulating 7.1 sound. But that also depends on the way your headphones sound. So if they have a wide stage and great space the result will be different from ones that got narrow sound but deep bases. Sorry but in my opinion nobody can make that decision for you. I can't really provide any help here sorry mate


----------



## x7007

If I want to hear 7.1 surround with headphone in PowerDVD or Potplayer or MPCHC , which setting for speakers do I choose ? 7.1 or Headphones ? or Stereo ?

Did they fix the issue with the mic ?

No one here who had Creative ZXR and replaced can give a good word on this card from surround perspective or better audio in a way or other ? I really want to buy it but I don't want to get dissapointed from something someone could've told me before who has this card.

I really like the sound the Asus Phoebus , but it was with crappy Dolby surround so I wanted to change it. the only reason I moved to ZXR is because the better surround. but now when there is 7.1 It would be really fun in game to have this option. but I need to know if it worth it.


----------



## Ufasas

I don't care it's raid pro xl, raid smizhel or other shizel, just need to see fixed drivers!!! god damn! still holding my Soar in my drawer, sound card making clicking noise, dunno is it dead, or what.. Hold Soar in drawer till it gets sore.. really


----------



## Phoenyx

Just thought I would chime in here.

I have the Strix Soar sound card myself, and have encountered my fair share of issues on my fresh Skylake build, from poor AC decoupling causing a 50Hz hum and narrow sounding audio.

The drivers are pretty dang poor and the feature set for a card at this price point is minimal, even if the card is aimed at a the gaming market.

My biggest gripe was its poor sound output to my 7.1 sound system. The card, as already noted is lacking LFE or Bass redirection (AKA Flexibass) feature for any sound source that does not have its own LFE channel.

That is to say, that if you feed it a stereo source, you will, of course, get stereo output, but if you don't rock full-range satellite speakers then you're in for a very poor and baseless sound experience. I am not talking about up-mixing stereo to 5/7.1, but rather the bass, or lack thereof.

Those of you who have the same issue and are very dissatisfied with the current feature offering in the driver and Sonic Studio software, which let's face it is abysmal, I have come across something that may help you.

There is a rather powerful utility called Equalizer APO, you can grab it here from Sourceforge.

The utility allows you to set up bass redirection, lowpass filter and a graphic equaliser allowing you to fine tune your sound stage. This application actually saved me from returning the card I ended up replacing the Sonic Studio with APO. It takes a little bit of fiddling to set up in the editor to get your sound output just right as well as setting up profiles for various streams E.G movie, gaming, music.

Below is a screen shot of my bass LFE and redirection. The rest of the equalisation is processed through my amp, but you can add an entire equaliser to the output.

It is best to set up and explore the software as what works for one person may not work for another. As with all things your mileage may vary, but this is a great utility until or if Asus sort out their BS Sonic Studio software.

It is not an elegant solution but it is one that works.



Other than that I find the card performs well, it has crisp clear audio that I can't fault. The biggest letdown, however, is the audio driver software.


----------



## Ufasas

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Phoenyx*
> 
> Just thought I would chime in here.
> 
> I have the Strix Soar sound card myself, and have encountered my fair share of issues on my fresh Skylake build, from poor AC decoupling causing a 50Hz hum and narrow sounding audio.
> 
> The drivers are pretty dang poor and the feature set for a card at this price point is minimal, even if the card is aimed at a the gaming market.
> 
> My biggest gripe was its poor sound output to my 7.1 sound system. The card, as already noted is lacking LFE or Bass redirection (AKA Flexibass) feature for any sound source that does not have its own LFE channel.
> 
> That is to say, that if you feed it a stereo source, you will, of course, get stereo output, but if you don't rock full-range satellite speakers then you're in for a very poor and baseless sound experience. I am not talking about up-mixing stereo to 5/7.1, but rather the bass, or lack thereof.
> 
> Those of you who have the same issue and are very dissatisfied with the current feature offering in the driver and Sonic Studio software, which let's face it is abysmal, I have come across something that may help you.
> 
> There is a rather powerful utility called Equalizer APO, you can grab it here from Sourceforge.
> 
> The utility allows you to set up bass redirection, lowpass filter and a graphic equaliser allowing you to fine tune your sound stage. This application actually saved me from returning the card I ended up replacing the Sonic Studio with APO. It takes a little bit of fiddling to set up in the editor to get your sound output just right as well as setting up profiles for various streams E.G movie, gaming, music.
> 
> Below is a screen shot of my bass LFE and redirection. The rest of the equalisation is processed through my amp, but you can add an entire equaliser to the output.
> 
> It is best to set up and explore the software as what works for one person may not work for another. As with all things your mileage may vary, but this is a great utility until or if Asus sort out their BS Sonic Studio software.
> 
> It is not an elegant solution but it is one that works.
> 
> 
> 
> Other than that I find the card performs well, it has crisp clear audio that I can't fault. The biggest letdown, however, is the audio driver software.


Is it windows 8 or 10? because on win7 64 i get sound card making clicking noise with Soar


----------



## Phoenyx

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ufasas*
> 
> Is it windows 8 or 10? because on win7 64 i get sound card making clicking noise with Soar


The method I posted above works on Windows 10 and 8, but I assume that it will work with Windows 7 as well.

As for the clicking you describe, is the sound coming from the audio output, or the actual card itself?

If it's the card itself that is clicking, this is normal. There is a relay built into the card that engages for the high impedance headphone amplifier. You can check this by toggling between "Speakers" and "Headphones" in the Strix Sonic Studio. If you get a corresponding clicking sound from your card itself when you change the setting, then it is fine.


----------



## Ufasas

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Phoenyx*
> 
> The method I posted above works on Windows 10 and 8, but I assume that it will work with Windows 7 as well.
> 
> As for the clicking you describe, is the sound coming from the audio output, or the actual card itself?
> 
> If it's the card itself that is clicking, this is normal. There is a relay built into the card that engages for the high impedance headphone amplifier. You can check this by toggling between "Speakers" and "Headphones" in the Strix Sonic Studio. If you get a corresponding clicking sound from your card itself when you change the setting, then it is fine.


I get constant loop of clicking sound from sound card when i install drivers and restart pc to get drivers fully engaged. The guy who i bought it from, told that it was working fine on his windows, but he had win 8 or 10, don't remember


----------



## Jubijub

Hello guys,

I'm considering moving away from motherboard powered sound back to a discrete soundcard. This would also allow to replace my USB headset for gaming.

Asus Xonar DX is generally recommanded, but I just realized Asus released new soundcards.

*Usage* :
- drive a gaming headset (looking towards the Sennheisers)
- drive my 2.0 desktop speaker Edifier Eclipse

Usage will be mostly gaming and occasional listening to music / video (I have a HT setup when I want to do that seriously)

*Requirements :*
- card shall be PCE-e
- I may not need the headphone amps if I can use the front case connectors (assuming that in win10, pluging a headphone there automatically stops the sound going to the speakers
- I want good drivers (good = stable, I don't tinker that much with settings), with decent win10 / linux setup (Ubuntu/Mint)
- 7.1 virtualization

*Questions :*
- On the board I see no connector for pluging the case front pannel jacks, am I missing something ?

Price is not an issue, I consider this to be a long term investment as cards tend to stay relevant for years

Which card would you recommend ? I kind ruled out the creative ones, so I would then stay with Asus.


----------



## lukacsmw

I'm currently running a Sound Blaster ZxR and I'm contemplating moving to this card. I've had issues with the ZxR - it sounds great, but the card disapears frequently. I had it solid for several months until Windows decided to push an automatic Win 10 patch, and the thing disappeared again and it took me 2 hours to get it back. I'm sick of dealing with that! The other issue I have is with the volume knob on the ZxR - it's a glorified attenuator pass through that adds significant noise to the system. I also don't like that the knob is only used for headphones and cannot control my desktop speakers. Looking at the Strix Raid DLX, it looks like some of these issues are addressed (and I'm sure new ones added). So questions:

1 - Does this card frequently drop out of the device manager?
2 - Does the control knob adjust the windows volume, or just attenuate the headphone out?
3 - I run a Schitt Tube amp off my ZxR for my headphones (I actually use the L/R out for it) - anyone have issues connecting an external amp to either the main outs or the headphone outs?
4 - Why did Asus decide to add lighting effects to the PCIe side of the card where no-one can see it - especially if you don't have an inverted case??
(The last one is just a gripe)


----------



## lukacsmw

Well, I decided to just go ahead and order one. I'm sick enough of the ZxR dropping out and having to jury-rig it to function like I want and the Raid DLX looks to do that out of the box. Nice thing about Amazon Prime is free returns - so if its not better than my ZxR, it's going back and I'll post my experiences here.


----------



## x7007

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *lukacsmw*
> 
> Well, I decided to just go ahead and order one. I'm sick enough of the ZxR dropping out and having to jury-rig it to function like I want and the Raid DLX looks to do that out of the box. Nice thing about Amazon Prime is free returns - so if its not better than my ZxR, it's going back and I'll post my experiences here.


Please check for me the 7.1 headphone surround and what settings in the media player you should choose . 7.1 speakers or stereo or headphones speakers set.


----------



## Baziee

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ufasas*
> 
> Strix soar, i plug vga in pcie3.0, and strix soar in pci x1 which is above the pcie 3.0, sound cards keeps making clicking sound once i instal drivers now, non stop clicking loops, sound is dissapearing after few minutes in game, removed, putting Asus D2, no problems and good gaming in fps


I got same clicking sound, card works nice but that click sound makes me crazy. I hope its because of drivers, no update tho for while to those drivers.

Card is nice, plugged my sennheiser 650hd in and played some fallout 4. Was walking pass man who was eating nudels and heard that slimy sound from nudels. Don`t know if its from card or headphones but sound is great. Mixer program that comes with card takes while to get used, but there are lots of obtions to chose and mix. Made own profiles for gaming, music and movies and im happy with that card.

Only problem is that damn clicking sound......

Update
Got answer from Asus RMA support:

"That has been a long time feature in our soundcards, they do click at times when f.ex booting or when they need more power they can make this strange click-click noise that can freak people out, no need to worry however as this is normal operation."

So click click


----------



## x7007

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Baziee*
> 
> I got same clicking sound, card works nice but that click sound makes me crazy. I hope its because of drivers, no update tho for while to those drivers.
> 
> Card is nice, plugged my sennheiser 650hd in and played some fallout 4. Was walking pass man who was eating nudels and heard that slimy sound from nudels. Don`t know if its from card or headphones but sound is great. Mixer program that comes with card takes while to get used, but there are lots of obtions to chose and mix. Made own profiles for gaming, music and movies and im happy with that card.
> 
> Only problem is that damn clicking sound......
> 
> Update
> Got answer from Asus RMA support:
> 
> "That has been a long time feature in our soundcards, they do click at times when f.ex booting or when they need more power they can make this strange click-click noise that can freak people out, no need to worry however as this is normal operation."
> 
> So click click


Can tell me how the 7.1 headphone surround with this card ? And what speaker set settings you use in the media player ?


----------



## Baziee

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *x7007*
> 
> Can tell me how the 7.1 headphone surround with this card ? And what speaker set settings you use in the media player ?


Tried 5.1 headset with this card and it worked fine. With headphone and surround sound I can hear footsteps at BF4 accurate where enemy is comming. Also when used headset 5.1. So with 7.1 I think everything works nicely for gaming

At mediaplayer it really depends what im doing Music or watching movies. Using sonarmixer to mix audio but it really depends what im doing.

My old creative xfi-gamer was good card but this Card makes sound lots more real. At Witcher 3 when I first used this card I got whoa effect, all the little details I heard...


----------



## x7007

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Baziee*
> 
> Tried 5.1 headset with this card and it worked fine. With headphone and surround sound I can hear footsteps at BF4 accurate where enemy is comming. Also when used headset 5.1. So with 7.1 I think everything works nicely for gaming
> 
> At mediaplayer it really depends what im doing Music or watching movies. Using sonarmixer to mix audio but it really depends what im doing.
> 
> My old creative xfi-gamer was good card but this Card makes sound lots more real. At Witcher 3 when I first used this card I got whoa effect, all the little details I heard...


But what is the speaker set you choose for which use ? For example if I use with atmos movies 5.1 sbx I have annoying sound artefact when heavey bass. When using stereo or headphone I don't . I ask if with Dolby atmos movies do you have this thing with headphones set to 5.1 or 7.1 virtual speakers and set to 5.1 or 7.1 in windows speakers.


----------



## wookie777

Hi Everyone,
Can someone please help me. I have a razer tiamat 7.1 that i used to use with a xonar DX with unified drivers that worked perfectly with flexbass option enabled and adjusting the bass crossover. Now i decided to upgarde to the STRIX RAID DLX and of course there is no flexbass option anywhere to change the crossover frequency. Even pushing up the bass and bass boost options in their horrible SONIC app doesnt help the bass much and it sounds terrible.
Installed that EQUILIZER app from sourceforge but how do i mimic a "FLEXBASS" type option as i had before and play around with crossover frequencies. I have tried but it just all sounds terrible. Very disapointing when i spent so much on a sound card. Must i buy a new set of 7.1 head phones like the ASUS STRIX 7.1 headset?? Or would it also have no bass.
Thanks for your help guys


----------



## wookie777

I see the ASUS STRIX RAID DLX has aa 600 ohm headphone impedence to power headphones bass but that is only one plug so how does one use that for a 7.1 headset???


----------



## lukacsmw

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *lukacsmw*
> 
> Well, I decided to just go ahead and order one. I'm sick enough of the ZxR dropping out and having to jury-rig it to function like I want and the Raid DLX looks to do that out of the box. Nice thing about Amazon Prime is free returns - so if its not better than my ZxR, it's going back and I'll post my experiences here.


My DLX came in yesterday, and I have to say that I'm definitely sold over the ZxR. Here are a couple Pros and Cons:

Pro:
- Sound is "crisper" versus the ZxR which always had overwhelming bass. Midrange frequencies are considerably better with this card.
- The volume control knob is software based and controls the Windows volume, not a physical attenuator that adds distortion
- Clicking the volume knob flips speaker/headphone outputs - which is awesome (the ZxR requires you to open the software to flip it)
(Also, the software remembers the last volume setting for both speaker and headphone, so when you flip from one to the other, you don't blow your ears out accidentally)
- Software package is minimalist, yet powerful. I like that you can dictate bit-rate and dynamic range on the fly
- POWER! I can see why they added a dedicated PCIe power connector - the amps on this card can power a bus.
- Software virtual surround adds some noticeable "depth" to the sound stage. I wouldn't all it "surround" per se (I haven't tried any gaming with my stereo headphones) but it gives a more open presence to the sound that is pleasing to my ears.
- Great alternative to the ZxR for audiophiles. The sound quality is at least on par if not superior.

Cons:
- No optical input (what can I say, that was a nice-to-have with the ZxR)
- The cable connector to the volume control is a 2" hard molded plastic piece that sticks out really far. This detracts from what looks like a sleek box in the pictures. (Aesthetics only of course)
- The lighting on the card is cool, but completely useless. Don't misunderstand, I love lighting - I have a window case with some awesome lighting effects. But the LED is a bit underpowered (so it doesn't "pop"), it's also not addressable (You can't turn it on/off). Finally, it's tucked away near the PCI connector on the shielded side of the card. Meaning anyone with a tower case (which most gamers have and is obviously about 95% of the card's target audience) is most likely not going to be able to see it! Also, if you have a discrete GPU, it'll completely block it. Cool idea - poor implementation. It would have been better to put LED's behind the words on the side of the card like most GPUs are doing now. I can think of so many cooler things they could have done, including addressable RGB's and some visual effects such as blinking to musical rhythm.

I don't have a 7.1 or 5.1 headset, so I can't evaluate that. I also only pair it with some nice stereo speakers right now or my PSB headphones (stereo) so I can't currently evaluate the physical surround sound (I do plan to connect to my home theater in the future, I just haven't don it yet). Lastly, I do have a stereo vacuum tube headphone amp (****t Vali) that I'm hoping I can pair with it. But since I don't have a 3.5mm to RCA adapter, I can't try it. I have the adapter on order from mono-price and will report back if there's any issues (which I doubt there will be).

Overall, I'm pleased with the card. I'm going to get rid of my ZxR. If anyone wants a ZxR (lightly used) it'll be on eBay shortly.


----------



## Shardnax

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Baziee*
> 
> I got same clicking sound, card works nice but that click sound makes me crazy. I hope its because of drivers, no update tho for while to those drivers.
> 
> Card is nice, plugged my sennheiser 650hd in and played some fallout 4. Was walking pass man who was eating nudels and heard that slimy sound from nudels. Don`t know if its from card or headphones but sound is great. Mixer program that comes with card takes while to get used, but there are lots of obtions to chose and mix. Made own profiles for gaming, music and movies and im happy with that card.
> 
> Only problem is that damn clicking sound......
> 
> Update
> Got answer from Asus RMA support:
> 
> "That has been a long time feature in our soundcards, they do click at times when f.ex booting or when they need more power they can make this strange click-click noise that can freak people out, no need to worry however as this is normal operation."
> 
> So click click


The Essence ST clicks whenever you switch inputs/outputs and powering on/off, these cards are the same going off their reply. If it won't stop clicking it's likely some kind of problem.


----------



## backie

Anyone else find that sound isn't recorded when using shadowplay with this card?


----------



## Ufasas

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Baziee*
> 
> I got same clicking sound, card works nice but that click sound makes me crazy. I hope its because of drivers, no update tho for while to those drivers.
> 
> Card is nice, plugged my sennheiser 650hd in and played some fallout 4. Was walking pass man who was eating nudels and heard that slimy sound from nudels. Don`t know if its from card or headphones but sound is great. Mixer program that comes with card takes while to get used, but there are lots of obtions to chose and mix. Made own profiles for gaming, music and movies and im happy with that card.
> 
> Only problem is that damn clicking sound......
> 
> Update
> Got answer from Asus RMA support:
> 
> "That has been a long time feature in our soundcards, they do click at times when f.ex booting or when they need more power they can make this strange click-click noise that can freak people out, no need to worry however as this is normal operation."
> 
> So click click


what psu do you have? man it's click sound all time after restart and no stopping, it's like some sewing machine mode, i doubt i am running out of power with my psu, 77w cpu, 170 gpu, +other parts max 100 without sound card, i can never enable this card to work again now, first day it was perfect, mama mia, how better steps were heard now! i want his card to work


----------



## Wagnelles

Hey there, Strix DLX owners, can I have your impressions on this card? Is it good? For someone who has been using an onboard card, will I have a blast? I'm planning on use them with a certain 7.1 headphones and a real 7.1 setup in a near future.


----------



## Baziee

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ufasas*
> 
> what psu do you have? man it's click sound all time after restart and no stopping, it's like some sewing machine mode, i doubt i am running out of power with my psu, 77w cpu, 170 gpu, +other parts max 100 without sound card, i can never enable this card to work again now, first day it was perfect, mama mia, how better steps were heard now! i want his card to work


Corsair 650W, about 4 years old one tho. Might be next upgrade that my setup needs. Counted my powerneeds with http://outervision.com/power-supply-calculator and 500W is enough.

Card working nicely, played BF4 and Witcher 3 last weekend +listened music and movies. Sound is great an clear with those....but that click sound sometimes........


----------



## senna89

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wagnelles*
> 
> Hey there, Strix DLX owners, can I have your impressions on this card? Is it good? For someone who has been using an onboard card, will I have a blast? I'm planning on use them with a certain 7.1 headphones and a real 7.1 setup in a near future.


with headphone 7.1 NOT RUN, only stereo mode available.

Audio quality is good but not as good as STX II. But better than ZXR for me.


----------



## Wagnelles

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *senna89*
> 
> with headphone 7.1 NOT RUN, only stereo mode available.
> 
> Audio quality is good but not as good as STX II. But better than ZXR for me.


Sorry, but what do you mean by saying "7.1 Not run" and "only stereo mode available"? The card seems to have all the required 3.5mm ports that I need.


----------



## Goat1

Hey guys, I just joined this site. I ordered the Raid DLX today and will have it friday..


----------



## TDK29

Hi guys,

I have the Strix Raid DLX for a few weeks now, and i struggle to setup my microphone correctly.. it sounds really terrible, the volume settings resets pretty often (which is kinda annoying for other teamspeak users)
I use a pretty cheap microfone, but it had enough quality for clear voice with the onboard soundcard, I'm not able to get nearly that result with the Strix card, independent of the settings in the sonic studio (noisegate on/off, perfect voice on/off, reverb etc...)
Is there any trick or alternative driver for the card to get the microfone working with a decent quality? (The quality did improve a bit when directly plugged into the card against using the little "box")

Thanks!


----------



## Goat1

I just got my card today.. Won't have it in til tonight,but I will test the Mic and see if mine does that also. I'm using DT770 Pro 80 cans with a zalman add on mic. I also have a Roccat Kave 5.1 headset. I'll test those also.


----------



## backie

My mic picks up interference from my gpu when it starts drawing power and adds a background hum


----------



## TDK29

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Goat1*
> 
> I just got my card today.. Won't have it in til tonight,but I will test the Mic and see if mine does that also. I'm using DT770 Pro 80 cans with a zalman add on mic. I also have a Roccat Kave 5.1 headset. I'll test those also.


Thanks mate. I'm also using a Zalman mic right now. (and I've tested a few others, with the same result...)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *backie*
> 
> My mic picks up interference from my gpu when it starts drawing power and adds a background hum


For me it's independent if there's load on the gpu or not. It doesn't sound like interference, it just sounds "****ty" and unclear.


----------



## CarbonKid

Hi there, i just bought a STRIX SOAR today! I'm a little bit disapointed. I bought the sound card not because of the sound quality or lack of there of, i just bought because i needed a dedicated headphone out, to be able to have the speakers and the headphone connected at the same time in the back of the computer.

Why am i disapointed? Can't find a option to play games in 5.1 trough optical. Does this card have DTS Connect or Dolby Digital Live? My onboard card has this option (realtek ALC1150 - trough modified drives). Why doesn't a 80€ card have this? Or am i doing something wrong?

Also didn't notice any upgrade in sound quality.


----------



## Wagnelles

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *CarbonKid*
> 
> Hi there, i just bought a STRIX SOAR today! I'm a little bit disapointed. I bought the sound card not because of the sound quality or lack of there of, i just bought because i needed a dedicated headphone out, to be able to have the speakers and the headphone connected at the same time in the back of the computer.
> 
> Why am i disapointed? Can't find a option to play games in 5.1 trough optical. Does this card have DTS Connect or Dolby Digital Live? My onboard card has this option (realtek ALC1150 - trough modified drives). Why doesn't a 80€ card have this? Or am i doing something wrong?
> 
> Also didn't notice any upgrade in sound quality.


From what I know Strix soundcards doesn't support Optical. With that said, I recommend you to return this card and use the money to buy a Creative ZxR. This one will do what you want and have similar sound quality than the Strix Soar.


----------



## CarbonKid

They have optical trough a supplied adapter. (it connects in the side+ connector)

What about the Creative Z (more in the same price, where I live)?


----------



## Wagnelles

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *CarbonKid*
> 
> They have optical trough a supplied adapter. (it connects in the side+ connector)
> 
> What about the Creative Z (more in the same price, where I live)?


Thank for correcting me, I wasn't aware of this feature. But is this adapter included in the SOAR package? It's the cheapest of the 3


----------



## CarbonKid

Yes it is!


----------



## Goat1

I having been using the Strix Raid DLX for the last 2 days, doing and A/B comparison with my Razer Barracuda AC-1. Personally, there isn't much difference. I think the DLX has the edge, but its so small it isn't worth spending $219 on the DLX over Barracuda. In BF4 they sound almost identical. With music, its really close. The control box is cool on the DLX, but I don't even really use it.

I'll probably stick with my barracuda. I also have a Recon3d, which is not as good as the other two offerings. I think getting a Soar would be fine, or a Sound blaster Z. The positional audio is really good on the DLX. I'm not a dolby fan and the virtual surround sound on the DLX sound very similar to the THX studio on the Recon3d which I like.

I've had no real issues with the software. There was a time the control box wouldn't switch between headphones and speakers. When not in use, the control box does a Knight Rider type strobe with the lights which is really cool. I'm watching it right now. I doubt I'll keep it. I'd rather keep the Barracuda/ Recon3d and maybe add a Schitt Vali 2/Modi uber 2. That way I get a great amp and dac, plus I can use the surround sound settings of those cards as well.


----------



## Wagnelles

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Goat1*
> 
> Personally, there isn't much difference. In BF4 they sound almost identical. With music, its really close. The control box is cool on the DLX, but I don't even really use it.


You say it's almost the same as your card, so is this a good thing? If it is, well then the DLX will be great for those jumping from onboard audio!


----------



## Goat1

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wagnelles*
> 
> You say it's almost the same as your card, so is this a good thing? If it is, well then the DLX will be great for those jumping from onboard audio!


That's exactly right. Its just amazing that my Razer Barracuda AC-1 from 2007 still holds up great today..


----------



## EarthSpiritD2

Has anybody tried the beta drivers yet?

http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/Audio_Card/Strix_Raid_DLX/StirxSoundCard_driver_v1_1_2.zip

It was released yesterday.


----------



## Goat1

Nice.. I haven't, but I will in a bit after dinner. I haven't had any problems other than when I try to switch between the headphones/Speakers, it won't switch to the speakers. There is no sound. You can hear the Sound card click when it switches, which I'm sure is normal. Maybe these drivers will fix it. I also don't think the card is better than the ZXR. I think they are pretty close. I like the speaker inputs on the Strix card better. Its more like my Recon3d, which I think is very useful. I don't like dealing with a daughter card..

There is also new firmware for the control box. I'll update that also. I bet they new about the problem with the box not switching headphone/speaker modes..


----------



## x7007

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Goat1*
> 
> Nice.. I haven't, but I will in a bit after dinner. I haven't had any problems other than when I try to switch between the headphones/Speakers, it won't switch to the speakers. There is no sound. You can hear the Sound card click when it switches, which I'm sure is normal. Maybe these drivers will fix it. I also don't think the card is better than the ZXR. I think they are pretty close. I like the speaker inputs on the Strix card better. Its more like my Recon3d, which I think is very useful. I don't like dealing with a daughter card..
> 
> There is also new firmware for the control box. I'll update that also. I bet they new about the problem with the box not switching headphone/speaker modes..


. You don't think the virtual headphones surround in strix is better ?


----------



## Goat1

No, I don't think its better. I think Asus is getting better. Its better than Dolby Headphone.


----------



## Goat1

I did the firmware/driver update. No problems. Drivers so far are rock solid. I didn't have a problem with the 1st drivers either. I don't know what changes they made, there was no directions to install or any log files. I installed the firmware update for the control module 1st, then the drivers..


----------



## Ufasas

So there's a chance for Asus Soar be able to run in windows 7 64 bit finaly??? i might try now

Woa, no clicking sound after instal, seems looking good, i'm running after my one csgo game after this new driver, report later.

Actually went to Quake 3 mod, and no clicking sounds, no loop of sound dissapearing, kinda happy like first day with 1.0.9 drivers, i hope after restart it will still be stable performance


----------



## Goat1

In all honesty, there has never been a sound card I ever had issues with. The only hassel I've had was with my Razer Barracuda when Vista came out. They were very slow getting the drivers out. Having said that, those drivers have been rock solid with Win7,8,8.1 & now 10.. I never had any of the popping issues with creative cards either. This is my 1st Asus card and so far so good..


----------



## Ufasas

I am giving up, new driver.. and in few hours sound icon in the taskbar still showed that audio card is disabled, restarted, moved it through slots, even worse, and with this card on i lost LAN port connection, which seems like burnt out! I stay away from this..


----------



## Wagnelles

Does anyone here plays Rocksmith? I wonder if the games works well with these cards.


----------



## Goat1

Stay away from these cards? I'm pretty sure if I had a chance to put that sound card in your computer, it would work perfectly. I doubt its the card.. And how in the hell does a sound card blow out a LAN port connection? Unless, you accidentally scratched the motherboard. Its a great card period ! For the record, I have 2 sound cards in my computer simultaneously and I can switch between them and they work flawlessly!

Wagnelles.. It works awesome with games.. You would love it. If you have a sound blaster Z, it would be more of a sideways move.


----------



## Wagnelles

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Goat1*
> 
> Wagnelles.. It works awesome with games.. You would love it. If you have a sound blaster Z, it would be more of a sideways move.


Nope, actually I have pretty much nothing. I'll soon build a rig and I'm looking for the best parts that I can get. Also I've never used anything but onboard audio. I'm pretty sure the DLX will blow my mind


----------



## Goat1

You will like it. Surround sound mode works very well.


----------



## Shardnax

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ufasas*
> 
> I am giving up, new driver.. and in few hours sound icon in the taskbar still showed that audio card is disabled, restarted, moved it through slots, even worse, and with this card on i lost LAN port connection, which seems like burnt out! I stay away from this..


Have you tried getting a replacement card?


----------



## Goat1

Has anyone else got this card yet?


----------



## Jubijub

Hello everyone,

I currently use onboard audio to drive my Edifier Luna Eclipse, and I use an USB Corsair 1500 as my gaming headset. This works fine, except that the headset has the infamous bug where I need to listen with volume at 1 otherwise I would turn deaf.
in anticipation of my next PC, I'd like to upgrade this :

Option A :
- bet on future motherboard onboard audio
- chose the Sennheiser PC-363D (with USB connector)

Option B :
- pick a soundcard (Asus / Creative)
- chose the Sennheiser Game ONE (I prefer velvet cushions)

I would go B if and only if :
- I can use my case front audio connectors
- Jack-sensing works with the front end connectors, so that if I plug headset, the speakers should go mute
- the system remembers volume settings for headset / speakers
- it just works (as it does today), ie bringing the soundcard doesn't create a mess with drivers, etc...


----------



## Goat1

I'd go with option B.. Kick your ass and collect $200.. Sorry, that was a quote from My Cousin Vinny. Couldn't pass it up..









The Asus Raid DLX will have everything you want. Plus you can switch between Headphones and speakers with a click of the volume dial.

I personally have the Beyerdynamics DT770 Pro 80's. I know they will sound better than the Game one's. Get a Zalman mic dirt cheap. That's what I did and it works awesome.


----------



## Goat1

Another thing I noticed about the Raid DLX is the bass doesn't have close to the authority that my Razer Barracuda has. I don't know if its because it doesn't have an LFE channel or you can't set the crossover for bass. I have the crossover for bass off on the Barracuda and with my DT770's it hits hard. I doubt I'll keep the DLX, I just see no benefit besides the control pod and I don't find it very useful either. Even with the bass boost all the way up, it just doesn't hit very hard.


----------



## Goat1

Wow the thread is dead already.


----------



## Wagnelles

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Goat1*
> 
> Wow the thread is dead already.


Niche Market in a nutshell. It's not like a monitor or a CPU that you need to have one to use your computer.


----------



## Goat1

That's true. I sent the Raid DLX back and picked up a ZXR last night. Don't think you can go wrong with either,but the ZXR definitely has more bass. I think they are pretty comparable cards. I think surround sound wise they are pretty close also. I really dislike Dolby Headphone. Either one of these cards will drive pretty much any pair of headphones. Its just amazing how well my Razer Barracuda holds up against cards today. It sounds as good as either of those cards. If it had better surround sound and not Dolby headphone plus a headphone amp, this card would be easily as good as the other 2.


----------



## Goat1

A heads up to Battlefield 3 & 4 players. The Raid DLX drivers screwed up both games. I couldn't even launch them,finally found a work around after scouring the internet. Not sure if any other games were affected. Took an act of god to play those games. Took the card out, uninstalled drivers.. Bought the ZXR and they both work again.


----------



## Wagnelles

Maybe your DLX was defective? Is every BF player complaining about this?


----------



## Goat1

It wasn't defective. It sounded great. The drivers were probably conflicting with something. Also, without it having LFE, you aren't getting the hard hitting bass. The Razer Barracuda has an LFE and the bass hit much harder,but the dolby headphone sucks. The ZXR is the best of both worlds. Another thing... The Raid DLX, whenever I pushed the control knob to switch between speakers and headphones, it rarely worked. You could hear the sound card click when it switched, but wouldn't switch. Spotify didn't like the DLX either. It locked up a lot. The ZXR clicks when it switches over, but it actually works and doesn't lock up Spotify.


----------



## Wagnelles

I'll keep this in mind and check the card compatibility with my games and applications when I buy it.

This card is not available in my country so I'll probably have to import one, and this will make the card more expensive for me. Gotta make sure everything works so far at least. Thanks for the feedback!


----------



## Goat1

Your welcome bro. I think I'd rather have the ZXR myself.


----------



## pelusio

Hello guys. I use asus strix soar and i got some problem with shadowplay. I don`t hear any sound in every video captured with shadoplay. Someone maybe know how to fix it?

Edit. U need to turn off soar software and services from autostart...
better this fix than nothing i think


----------



## Agent Blue

So supposedly a feature of the Strix Raid Pro is the ability to switch from Headphones to Speakers with the push of a button on the control module. Can this be used with 2.0 stereo speakers? The reason I ask is I usually plug my stereo speakers into the rear headphones jack/connector on a sound card and my headphones into the front panel connection and switch between them in windows. Since the headphones jack on the Strix card will be taken by the control module, I am curious if any of the other jacks/connections on the card can be used with my stereo speakers.


----------



## Goat1

I don't think you can do that. I would just plug the speakers into the back of the card and the headphones into the control pod.


----------



## Paul17041993

So are these cards decent in the terms of quality and stability or are they just as bad as creative and the xonar's...?


----------



## MazQuick

I got Asus Strix Soar recently... And tbh I'm mad af.

This crap got issues everywhere. Sound breaks randomly (for 2-3 seconds) when listening to music. This happens pretty often (say... 3-4 times per regular song) and is really annoying.

Doesn't matter if it's a local mp3 or external yt video.

Windows 10 here btw, but same issues on 8.1. Like *** Asus!?


----------



## fame805

Hello MazQuick, download dpc latency checker (http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml) and run it during your PC use. It may help you identify the problem.

Upon further review, dpc latency checker registered consistent interval spikes for me. I switched my typical programs off one by one and watched for spikes.

Turns out I no longer can run HWiNFO64, for some odd reason it was creating audio glitches/drop outs.

Nevertheless, just maybe it may help you identify the source. Cheers.

(P.S. I use an external sound card - Mackie's Onyx Blackjack)


----------



## x7007

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *fame805*
> 
> Hello MazQuick, download dpc latency checker (http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml) and run it during your PC use. It may help you identify the problem.
> 
> Upon further review, dpc latency checker registered consistent interval spikes for me. I switched my typical programs off one by one and watched for spikes.
> 
> Turns out I no longer can run HWiNFO64, for some odd reason it was creating audio glitches/drop outs.
> 
> Nevertheless, just maybe it may help you identify the source. Cheers.
> 
> (P.S. I use an external sound card - Mackie's Onyx Blackjack)


Use latencymon not dpc latency


----------



## MazQuick

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *fame805*
> 
> Hello MazQuick, download dpc latency checker (http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml) and run it during your PC use. It may help you identify the problem.
> 
> Upon further review, dpc latency checker registered consistent interval spikes for me. I switched my typical programs off one by one and watched for spikes.
> 
> Turns out I no longer can run HWiNFO64, for some odd reason it was creating audio glitches/drop outs.
> 
> Nevertheless, just maybe it may help you identify the source. Cheers.
> 
> (P.S. I use an external sound card - Mackie's Onyx Blackjack)


I have run the LatencyMon for about 15 minutes. After installing 1.1.2 beta drivers. In fact I haven't had any stutter yet, which is weird...

Here is the log of the test:
Log File

Here are screenshots (album):


http://imgur.com/6RDMn


I figured that SecureAPlus, Chrome, explorer.exe is doing most of the pagefaults, but before I installed it, the problem was still there...

Driver latency mostly Windows features and nvidia drivers.


----------



## Jeptil0t

Just thought I would add a quick summary of my thoughts comparing three different internal audio solutions I have tried:

Asus Strix Soar
Creative Soundblaster Z
Asus Supreme FX 2015 (Maximum VII Ranger)

Price point between the "entry level" Creative and Asus offerings is virtually the same so it makes for a good comparison. As these are both "gaming" sound cards, it seemed to make most sense to test it with a "gaming" headset so I chose to use one of the best off the shelf options available at the moment, the Sennheiser Game Zero.

On paper you will find numerous technical similarities beween the Asus Sumpreme FX 2015 and the Asus Strix Soar, however hands down the Asis Strix Soar is noticably better in terms of sound quality and software. However that being said, the sound card will run you around 1/2 what the motherboard will, so there is a question of value.

The Sumpreme FX offers clear sound, but nothing particully impressive or colourful from an audio perspective and the software is anemic compared the Strix Soar or the Creative. But then if you consider the relative price point as its built in, for a "free" sound card it's certainly sufficient, especially if you are only powering a lower end headset like the HyperX Cloud or similar.

Comparing the Strix Soar and Soundblaster Z there is a noticable difference, particularly when it comes to virtual surround. The software virtualisation implimentations here are fundimentally different and the Creative solution seems quite a bit sharper in terms of positional audio. The sound signature on the Creative is also warmer and offers tighter, deeper bass while maintaining clarity in other areas, however that being said its not night and day and likely more subjective based on your preferance and headphone setup. There is also quite a bit of room to tweak the various settings on both to tailor the sound, but the Creative solution seemed to produce a warmer sound overall compared the Strix, which I think most would find more enjoyable for games and movies in particular.

In terms of microphone quality, the Asus seems to offer superior voice clean up and back ground elimination, however the Soundblaster works as advertised, no complaints in either respect here. That being said, the quality of the Sumpreme FX is on roughly par in this respect, which is nice to see at such a budget price point.

The Asus Strix requires a 6 pin PCIE power connector, a rather curious requirement as this would typically produce more interference, particularly if your PSU isn't putting out extremely clean power. Having cablemod cables there is more bling factor here once its in the case and hooked up, as well it offers some top side branding if you have a window to show it all off and I think this is really representative of what Asus seem to be offering here. On paper it offers all the premium hardware you need, maximum rig bling, an excellent price and attractive software, but when it comes to audio quality, the Creative seems to be noticably better.

I have never liked the Creative software, mostly as it insists on installing a range of additional services and production registration utilities. The Asus does similar funny business, dropping in appx services as is seen on Maximum motherboard software and I personally dislike this as its anything but clean, simple software. In this respect, every one of these products is a chore.

Overall, within this price bracket I would recommend the Soundblaster Z, straight up based on sound quality.

Moving up to the Asus Raid DLX and ZxR offerings which are more than double the price of these entry level products, with little extra in terms of hardware features, this is where I would start to recommend literally anything else. Creative offer a range of external USB sound cards if gaming is your flavor and a Mayflower or similar would the pick if music is your primary focus.

My next purchase will likely be the Creative SoudnblasterX G5, a cut down version of the E5, I will be interested in any difference compared to Soundblaster Z.

Hope this helps as I know there is little comparative analysis between the Asus and anything else.


----------



## gene-z

How is the Xonar DG on W10? Seems like a good price, but I keep reading about latency problems? I need a soudcard, as my onboard has terrible hissing on the mic port.


----------



## thuNDa

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Jeptil0t*
> 
> My next purchase will likely be the Creative SoudnblasterX G5, a cut down version of the E5, I will be interested in any difference compared to Soundblaster Z.


I had the G5 for a week(before i sent it back), coming from the SB-Z, but didn't like what they did to the virtual surround(you need it basically set to 66% or above to don't mess up the rear cues, but then it will add more reverb) .























strange behaviour:









Soundquality was better than SB-Z tho.


----------



## HHawk

Man I am starting to hate this soundcard...

Bought it mid-may and so far only issues with it. When playing an internet stream after a short period of time it loops the music a few times and then goes silent. Nothing sound-related works anymore. It seems that the whole card is hanging?

The only solution to fix this is to reboot the computer, which on first reboot doesn't even post correctly. On the 2nd boot everything works again.
I never experienced this in my entire life before with a soundcard.

I even did a fresh install of Windows but no luck.

My best bet is to return the card and go back to Creative. Their support may be crap (Asus support is also pretty mediocre), but at least I never had these kind of issues with any Creative card other than dying of age. Sigh.

On a sidenote; the soundcard is also making loud clicking noises upon booting...?

I think my PSU (EVGA Supernova 1200 P2 is pretty decent / stable, so that cannot be the issue.
Somewhere I saw a post in here, who had the same problem or at least very similar...


----------



## Shardnax

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *HHawk*
> 
> Man I am starting to hate this soundcard...
> 
> Bought it mid-may and so far only issues with it. When playing an internet stream after a short period of time it loops the music a few times and then goes silent. Nothing sound-related works anymore. It seems that the whole card is hanging?
> 
> The only solution to fix this is to reboot the computer, which on first reboot doesn't even post correctly. On the 2nd boot everything works again.
> I never experienced this in my entire life before with a soundcard.
> 
> I even did a fresh install of Windows but no luck.
> 
> My best bet is to return the card and go back to Creative. Their support may be crap (Asus support is also pretty mediocre), but at least I never had these kind of issues with any Creative card other than dying of age. Sigh.
> 
> On a sidenote; the soundcard is also making loud clicking noises upon booting...?
> 
> I think my PSU (EVGA Supernova 1200 P2 is pretty decent / stable, so that cannot be the issue.
> Somewhere I saw a post in here, who had the same problem or at least very similar...


As long as the clicking stops it should be operating correctly. I'd go back to back to Creative or try to get an Essence card.


----------



## bonami2

Uh so asus or creative?

I love the look of the asus rog.

Wondering if my msi z97 gaming 7 is good enough or not.

Powering bookshelf and my sp2500


----------



## Paul17041993

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *HHawk*
> 
> Man I am starting to hate this soundcard...
> 
> Bought it mid-may and so far only issues with it. When playing an internet stream after a short period of time it loops the music a few times and then goes silent. Nothing sound-related works anymore. It seems that the whole card is hanging?
> 
> The only solution to fix this is to reboot the computer, which on first reboot doesn't even post correctly. On the 2nd boot everything works again.
> I never experienced this in my entire life before with a soundcard.
> 
> I even did a fresh install of Windows but no luck.
> 
> My best bet is to return the card and go back to Creative. Their support may be crap (Asus support is also pretty mediocre), but at least I never had these kind of issues with any Creative card other than dying of age. Sigh.
> 
> On a sidenote; the soundcard is also making loud clicking noises upon booting...?
> 
> I think my PSU (EVGA Supernova 1200 P2 is pretty decent / stable, so that cannot be the issue.
> Somewhere I saw a post in here, who had the same problem or at least very similar...


Probably the same buffer corruption nonsense that you can get on the SBZ, just that it behaves slightly differently. Booting wise it's likely either a firmware bug or the aforementioned buffer corruption causes the card to enter a corrupt state that the system cant recover from.

As for noises at boot, _all_ sound cards do this, just that their specific noises vary and with different equipment, occasionally the noise is very low and hard to notice. Even professional studio equipment has this issue and the general "fix" is to power devices on in order of their chain depth from the amps, ending at the amps (eg; effects equipment > mixer > post-mixers > amps) and the reverse for powering down.

TL;DR turn your speakers and/or headphones off when booting, shutting down, restarting or entering and exiting standby to fix the "clicking" noise.


----------



## X584EVA

I am looking at getting one of these fellas (the basic one) as my Soundblaster Z is playing up.

Are they recommended or is there a better alternative for a similar price?

Also does it play nicely with Windows 10?


----------



## xenocea

Took the plunge and bought the Asus Strix Soar 7.1 Gaming Soundcard.

After installing the card, I immediately went onto the Asus website and downloaded the latest drivers from the site.

I configured my setup as 5.1 both in Windows 10 & the software. To my dismay, stereo sources doesn't get upmix to 5.1 at all, the sound only plays in two speakers out of the 5...

I have to manually turn on the upmix in the software which actually makes the sound a lot worse. Both my previous X-fi extreme music and onboard sound did a much better upmixing job than this. Did anyone else here experienced this problem?

For reference my speakers is the Logitech Z-5500.


----------



## Paul17041993

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *xenocea*
> 
> Took the plunge and bought the Asus Strix Soar 7.1 Gaming Soundcard.
> 
> After installing the card, I immediately went onto the Asus website and downloaded the latest drivers from the site.
> 
> I configured my setup as 5.1 both in Windows 10 & the software. To my dismay, stereo sources doesn't get upmix to 5.1 at all, the sound only plays in two speakers out of the 5...
> 
> I have to manually turn on the upmix in the software which actually makes the sound a lot worse. Both my previous X-fi extreme music and onboard sound did a much better upmixing job than this. Did anyone else here experienced this problem?
> 
> For reference my speakers is the Logitech Z-5500.


The problem with many modern soundcards and surround speakers/headphones is the developers have a false sense of "surround" or they simply don't test it adequately, they basically apply an excessive amount of filters and change the stereo channels directly, making it sound like complete garbage with more than half of the actual audio being removed a lot of the time.

If the surround option has a control slider you could try values less than 50%, but otherwise you're left with the X-Fi's or onboard. Alternatively you could try using the Equaliser APO (google it) and its GUI tool Peace, from these you can customise your audio however you please.


----------



## orlfman

been really bummed out that my sound blaster z after all these years still doesn't have linux support. i can't blame linux. i only can blame creative... who on the windows side of things hasn't been anything spectacular. so been looking for a new card with similar audio quality but linux friendly. the xonar soar seems to be very comparable to the z but not sure how well it plays with linux. could only find a few reviews on google and they were mostly from a guy trying to figure out why is mic was so low...

has anyone here messed around with the soar in linux? also wondering how would the xonar dx stack up against the soar and sound blaster z?


----------



## klrpwnzsmtms

Planning to purchase Strix Soar, I have a question not regarding it's sound. Can you actually turn off the orange LED with the latest drivers or not? I kinda like the package but I hate that orange lighting.


----------



## x7007

Can someone refresh my understanding

I just bought the Asus DLX Raid but it doesn't have built it microphone ?

The other thing do we need to use the Reverb option for headphones ? when using surround ? or without ?

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *xenocea*
> 
> Took the plunge and bought the Asus Strix Soar 7.1 Gaming Soundcard.
> 
> After installing the card, I immediately went onto the Asus website and downloaded the latest drivers from the site.
> 
> I configured my setup as 5.1 both in Windows 10 & the software. To my dismay, stereo sources doesn't get upmix to 5.1 at all, the sound only plays in two speakers out of the 5...
> 
> I have to manually turn on the upmix in the software which actually makes the sound a lot worse. Both my previous X-fi extreme music and onboard sound did a much better upmixing job than this. Did anyone else here experienced this problem?
> 
> For reference my speakers is the Logitech Z-5500.


I have the same problem , did you find a fix ? the upmix doesn't do anything , same Logitech 5500...


----------



## King Who Dat

So I cannot get this card to work. I keep getting a 0x80070463 error message when trying to install drivers. I've tried multiple different driver versions and it hangs at ASM installation. I'm on Win 7 Pro 64bit. I sprang for some new AD700x headphones and a nice modmic to get away from my gamer headset and now this sound card is giving me fits. I've tried multiple pci-e slots that are confirmed working and it's definitely plugged in. I can see the orange light. Any ideas ?


----------



## x7007

Could you guys post the Upmix 5.1 issues in the Rog forums so they will fix it ASAP ?

https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?92434-Asus-DLX-RAID-doesn-t-upmix

they still don't believe there is an issue.

Please post there so they know it's not just me troubleshooting forever...


----------



## x7007

Could you help me with the EqualizerAPO setting the Logitech 5500 Sub to 110 Hz ?

I have no idea how to set it , I only need to change the sub to 110 Hz .

If you have the same speakers and it's possible that you make the change and I could just import it it would be cool.

If anyone can help with it./

Thanks


----------



## DonDizzurp

Looking to get a Strix Soar and wanted to know if I plug in my headset into this, would I be able to play 2 different audio streams?

I want to be able to play music on my speakers while simultaneously playing a game with my headset.

I would also like to switch between outputs. For example, play music on my speakers then have it stop playing through speakers and instead play through my headset.

Is this possible?


----------



## DonDizzurp

Just bought this card.

I can switch between headset and speakers but I cannot have both active at the same time. Any way to get around this?


----------



## Mahigan

Based on everything that I've read on this card... it appears to be a flashy piece of junk. I was looking for a sound card for my audio recording rig... something with Microphone recording quality options and thought about getting the Soar... then I read user reviews and WoW! This thing sounds terrible.


----------



## x7007

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mahigan*
> 
> Based on everything that I've read on this card... it appears to be a flashy piece of junk. I was looking for a sound card for my audio recording rig... something with Microphone recording quality options and thought about getting the Soar... then I read user reviews and WoW! This thing sounds terrible.


I have the card, it's not bad at all, expect for no microphone built in on the box and no Bass Redirection, all the other things are great, the VSS - Virtual Surround, the Headphones AMP + ESS DAC , the quality is great.

the Creative AE-5 will have the best version on ESS DAC but all the other things are crap... LED ??! who needs it. DUAL AMP , I'm not so sure how it will do good things compare to other good things. still , the ASUS is not crap.

For now I use the Asus Strix RAID DLX card only for my 5.1 Logitech 5500 Speakers , the headphones Beyerdynamic DT990 600 Ohms is connected to Objective2 AMP + GSX 1000 .

If you want to run the card properly you need to do the following on the thread that I wrote how to fix the cutoff issues while using Asmedia official driver and no microsoft built in

https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?78464-Asus-Strix-Raid-DLX-Problem-with-sound-cutting&p=657619&viewfull=1#post657619


----------



## uncleshady

Just posting this here since it was bugging me for a bit, and I figured out how to fix it. I had that "buzzing in left earcup" on my headphones like some others have had. Basically I could hear my mouse in the left ear. Tried a couple of things ,one of which was to plug the headphones in the control port of my Logitech speakers, that eliminated the buzz, so I know its a grounding issue on the card somewhere. Its right on top of my GPU so I tightened it up a bit and allowed my GPU to sag a little to give it some distance. Stage two was I noticed that I was using a pig tail off of my PCI Express power cable that was also going into my GPU. I rewired my box to have three separate PCIe modular power cables going to each device. Put the case back together and presto, no more buzz. I suspect it was power crosstalk from the shared power connector, but I cant be sure. Just leaving this here in case somebody else on the internet is looking for an answer to this someday.


----------



## shaca

hello guys

is there any unofficial software for this?

like pax drivers for x-fi, for example...

tnls


----------



## Shardnax

I don't think there is. The person that maintains the UniXonar driver has said they won't make any alternate drivers for the Strix cards.

I'd get another card if you're on a budget (ie. Xonar Essence STX or Soundblaster Z) or possibly an external DAC/Amp if you don't have a hard budget.


----------



## shaca

damn...just bought this a couple weeks ago...but the sound and the software arent so good imo, sometimes i miss x-fi


----------



## x7007

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *shaca*
> 
> damn...just bought this a couple weeks ago...but the sound and the software arent so good imo, sometimes i miss x-fi


which one did you buy? and what's not good with the sound. the asus dlx raid sound perfect with the ESS dac. better than the Zxr


----------



## shaca

i bought this one 

dont get me wrong, sound quality is good, but i feel the software aint that good.
i play PUBG and sometimes i dont know if the enemy is on my front or in my back, and with the x-fi i could pinpoint my enemies...


----------



## wendigo4700

What is wrong with drivers for soar? Latest for soar from asus (w10), is only around 8 days old.
so I assume it cannot be the driver section of this card, that is "bad"?

Also any thoughts on this soar vs. soundblaster z?
I use a Sennheiser pc360 stereo headset. And I never use virtual surround feature.

EDIT: nvm. Soundblaster Z is on the way to me.


----------



## Vlada011

I would like to know difference between Strix RAID DLX vs Sound Blaster ZxR.
Strix RAID DLX is available in Europe for 160-165 euro now.
Sound Blaster AE-5 for 120 euro. I think people should install some dedicate sound card.

For me is stupid to check PC with premium GPU but onboard sound card.
If someone pat 500-1000$ for GPU. Should pay at least 500$ for Sound Card plus 2 Speakers + Central.
Good speakers for music and gaming to stay near monitor and maybe even on stands near TV later for Home Theater are 
Q Acoustic 3020 Front Left/Right + Q Acoustic 3090 Central. With premiums Sound Card you will never Enable Onboard Audio any more.


----------



## x7007

Vlada011 said:


> I would like to know difference between Strix RAID DLX vs Sound Blaster ZxR.
> Strix RAID DLX is available in Europe for 160-165 euro now.
> Sound Blaster AE-5 for 120 euro. I think people should install some dedicate sound card.
> 
> For me is stupid to check PC with premium GPU but onboard sound card.
> If someone pat 500-1000$ for GPU. Should pay at least 500$ for Sound Card plus 2 Speakers + Central.
> Good speakers for music and gaming to stay near monitor and maybe even on stands near TV later for Home Theater are
> Q Acoustic 3020 Front Left/Right + Q Acoustic 3090 Central. With premiums Sound Card you will never Enable Onboard Audio any more.


For me the Asus Raid DLX sounds better than creative. but I would go for the new Creative AE with the ESS Chip .


----------



## Vlada011

I have option to sell my sound card and buy new AE-5.
But is it worth or that's only new optimization for Win10_1709 and MS codes.

What make SB AE-5 better than RAID DLX or SBZxR?


----------



## x7007

Vlada011 said:


> I have option to sell my sound card and buy new AE-5.
> But is it worth or that's only new optimization for Win10_1709 and MS codes.
> 
> What make SB AE-5 better than RAID DLX or SBZxR?


First of all the DAC they use is one of the best. clearity and very little warm sound to natural which makes it good for everything , the rest depends on your headphones . the double AMP on for each sides of your headphones which makes it very high quality as it boosting 2 sides with equal AMP power . and not a single power, makes it higher quality in the sound. The surround I still can't decide which it has many factors . I need to have both of the cards to test it with a very natural headphones with a big sound stage like the Sennheiser HD800S which I'll receive soon, but I don't have the AE-5 so I can't give you comparison, nore the surround or the others . from what I saw in the reviews, those are the biggest factors in this card.


----------

