Anyone used an ASUS xonar for 24-192 recording from analogue source?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by JonP, May 22, 2008.

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  1. JonP

    JonP Active Member Thread Starter

    Hi,

    I am just wondering if anyone has tried using this card for high resolution 24-192 recording from an analogue input source such as audiophile LP / open reel, etc?
     
  2. Robert C

    Robert C Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    I just bought the Asus Xonar U7 external USB sound card, which can record up to 24/192. I intend to use it for making needledrops and will post back with my experiences :)
     
  3. vinylvark

    vinylvark Forum Resident

    Hi Robert,

    Did you get the Xonar U7? What's it like?

    I see one for sale right now I'm wondering if I should get it.

    Thanks!
     
    Robert C likes this.
  4. Robert C

    Robert C Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    I am very pleased with the performance of the U7, it's much better than what I was using before, the Creative X-Fi HD.

    Here's what I like about the U7:
    • The software and drivers run flawlessly. Every time I connect the soundcard it's recognised instantly (Windows 7, 32 bit) and it's really easy to set the rec/play sample rate in the Asus software.
    • You can set the line level rec gain to whatever you want using Asus' software. I have it set to -6 dB, which I've read is a good level for needledrops. I've compared some new 'drops with older ones of the same title, and I'm getting more dynamic range with the U7 than I was previously with the Creative.
    • There's no noise or hum or anything annoying going on in the background.
    • The recordings sound very clean and transparent. I record at 24 bit / 192 kHz and there's a lot of airiness to the sound.
    Here is a sample I've posted elsewhere of David Bowie's Win: https://www.sendspace.com/file/pg7ghl. Chain is: Technics SL-1210MK2 > AT440MLa > Technics SU-V9 > Asus Xonar U7 > Audition.

    So far, there's nothing I don't like about the U7 and it's giving me the best results I've ever had for needledrops. It retails at around £60, so it's cheaper than the X-Fi. I believe it's recording quality and ease of use is better than the X-Fi.

    I'll be taking the U7 out on the road with me tomorrow night, got a DJ gig and I'll be using the U7 between my laptop and the club's mixer. This will be my first time properly testing the U7's ability as a player, rather than a recorder.
     
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  5. adamdube

    adamdube Forum Resident

    Location:
    Elyria, OH USA
    I use the Xonar Essence STX @ 24/192. Previous was the SB Live! USB....it's not even close. The Asus has tons more range and depth to it. I use goldwav to record and the drivers worked perfectly. Highly recommended.

    Here is a chunk of Evenflow from a recent rip of Ten from Pearl Jam......Thorens TD-166MKII - Rega RB250 (Cardas Incognito, Stainless Stub and Weight), B&K Pro 10 MC Pre, Asus, Goldwav @ 24/192.

    In case anyone is interested, Forum member DDarch, of Vinyl Nirvana fame, was the guy who mounted this arm for me....did a fantastic job. If you have a Thorens or AR table and need some help...Dave is the man!

    http://www.filefactory.com/file/23gnn21utwv9/PJ-E.rar
     
  6. jmobrien68

    jmobrien68 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toms River, NJ
    Just pulled the trigger on the ASUS Xonar U7 (amazon $78.75). I also had a Creative X-fi HD but I would always get a low level hum in the right channel when I did vinyl rips. Couldn't get any help from Creative... I think it was defective, but they wouldn't give me a new one. I recently gave it to my son to use with his laptop and he stepped on it, so we tossed it. I have a Creative Titanium X-Fi HD internal card in the living room with my SL1200MK and it does great needledrops, but since it's in the 'family' room, it's hard to find the right time to do them. I've been looking for a reasonably priced alternative to the X-fi HD USB but couldn't find anything until I came across this thread a few weeks ago. I have a large collection of Christmas music on vinyl (a lot of which never made it to CD) so this is the time of year that I get the urge to rip some vinyl. Now I have a second system set up in a bedroom upstairs, so I'm looking forward to doing some ripping this weekend with the U7 when I get it on Friday. Funny thing is that it took me almost a week to find this thread again after looking at it initially... and instinctually I know robertzombie seems like a name you can trust.
     
    Robert C likes this.
  7. Robert C

    Robert C Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    :righton:

    Still very happy with the U7 for recording. I compared its playback to the Creative X-Fi HD over my main system and I preferred the sound of the X-Fi for playback. This also holds true at the nightclub I DJ at. The X-Fi has more bass and a wider soundstage, it can also play a lot louder before distorting.

    The Asus U7 is still leaps ahead in terms of recording quality, however :D
     
  8. jmobrien68

    jmobrien68 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toms River, NJ
    I am also very happy with the U7. Had to work out a few kinks with the old Dell laptop that I'm using, but so far I have been very happy with the needle drops I have been doing.
    Thanks robertzombie!
     
    Robert C likes this.
  9. Robert C

    Robert C Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    Be sure to share some in the needledrops thread! :D
     
  10. vinylvark

    vinylvark Forum Resident

    I've had some quality issues recording with the Xonar U7, most notably dynamic range was too low for some reason. I was using Line In settings and in Audacity, set to Line In as well. To prevent clipping, I have to lower the recording gain to 0.8.

    I noticed that I could set Audacity to Mic as well, but I had to lower the recording gain to 0.4 to prevent clipping. But dynamic range was 2 to 4 dB greater than on Line In.

    Another thing is that in Audacity, you really need to use DirectSound if you're on Windows and make sure you use the Asus Xonar Control Panel to set bit depth and sampling frequency to whatever you want to record to. Using DS allows Audacity direct control over the device. MME goes through the Windows sound mixer.

    So basically,
    - Set recording settings in Asus CP
    - Use Mic, not line in using DirectSound (not MME) on Windows
    - Lower the recording volume to prevent clipping

    Other things I do is amplify with a limit of -1.3 dB and high pass at 20 Hz / 24 dB.

    This gives me the best results, hope this helps someone else.
     
  11. Robert C

    Robert C Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    I haven't had these problems using Adbobe Audition. Are you setting the line-in gain in the Xonar software first? I set it to -6 dB in the Xonar software, then record as normal in Audacity (with input set to Xonar line in) and I never get any clipping, I also get a much greater dynamic range than I did with my previous soundcard :)
     
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  12. Robert C

    Robert C Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    I've since changed my mind about the X-Fi's playback, mainly due to its inability to play natively at 44.1 kHz! It'll only do 48 and 96 :( I'm experimenting with the U7 as a temporary DAC at the moment and I'm happy with its sound. Not as strong as my CDP, but decent for now.
     
  13. vinylvark

    vinylvark Forum Resident

    The gain bar in Audacity adjusts the recording volume in Xonar's control panel. At 0.4 in Audacity it shows 40 on the slider and -2.33dB on Xonar CP. On Line in, I record at the same level as you, -6 dB.

    Give it a try, use DirectSound, configure Mic and Line for 24/96 and record on Mic and Line In at 0.4 and 0.65 respectively, and run them through a DR checker. Jriver MediaCenter audio analysis or Foobar DR plugin both can do that. I get a 2 to 4 dB difference in favor of the Mic input.
     
  14. quicksrt

    quicksrt Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    How strange that mic input would be preferable using a line-in source with this card.

    Besides the DR, does it actually sound better?
     
  15. vinylvark

    vinylvark Forum Resident

    I haven't actually sat down to listen to it carefully yet, but on the headphones there is no real sonic difference. Spectograph looks good too and there doesn't seem to be any added noise from the extra amplification.

    But like I said, I need to actually sit down and compare.
     
  16. rl1856

    rl1856 Forum Resident

    Location:
    SC
    Thanks all for this thread. I have been looking for an affordable solution for a usb box capable of 24/192 ripping. I had used Audacity in the past, but I am now convinced that Audacity is natively incapable of recording at full 24bit depth, regardless of how the encoding software is configured. Thankfully the xonar box includes recording software that will at least get me started in the right direction. I will bookmark this thread for future reference- and I just pulled the trigger via Amazon.

    I also did a cursory web search and I found very few objective reviews of the box. Most of the links are to PR material based reviews for general consumption media. Probably why this box has such a low profile.

    Again- Thank You !
     
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  17. vinylvark

    vinylvark Forum Resident

    How are you convinced Audacity is incapable of recording in full 24-bits?

    There once was a bug in the Windows version, but that was years ago. If you know more please share the details.
     
  18. Antares

    Antares Forum Resident

    Location:
    Flanders
    Here's a trick I picked up from @Thurenity here on the forum a while back: record a few seconds of low level noise (just a line input from your amp without anything playing for example) and check for samples below -96dB. If you see those, you should be recording in true 24-bit resolution.

    [​IMG]
     
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  19. vinylvark

    vinylvark Forum Resident

    Thanks Antares, I'll give that a try over the weekend!
     
  20. vinylvark

    vinylvark Forum Resident

    I've been busy.

    I've been having issues with both the Asus Essence ST internal PCI card and with the external USB Asus U7. As I mentioned above the U7 input clipped using Line in, on Mic it was better but still not good. I considered using attenuators to lower the output volume but both cards suffered from a relatively high noise floor which I confirmed was not in the output. The Essence ST also suffered from computer interference, mouse movement and hard disk activity was quite audible on recordings. I found all these issues unacceptable and I wanted something better.

    So I sold both these cards and I bought a Tascam UH-7000. This is a professional/studio mic/line pre-amp with USB DAC, fully balanced in- and outputs which my preamp has also. The noisefloor with this device dropped to -96 dB, compared to -60 dB on the other 2. The recording quality is absolutely top notch.

    I'll post a sample in the appropriate topic for needle drops.
     
  21. Paul H

    Paul H The fool on the hill

    Location:
    Nottingham, UK
    Hi @robertzombie, I've just bought an Asus U7 and I'm interested in how you adjusted the settings I've highlighted above. I've installed the drivers and I don't see any options to make these changes. Is there an additional piece of software I've not installed beyond the setup.exe file?

    Regarding the third point I've bolded, I notice that the info with the card says the Line-in only works at 48KHz and no higher and the software I'm looking at seems to confirm this.

    Any help you can offer to get this thing working as I want it would be gratefully appreciated. Thanks.
     
  22. Paul H

    Paul H The fool on the hill

    Location:
    Nottingham, UK
    Update: found 'em on rebooting my laptap. All seems good :)
     
  23. Robert C

    Robert C Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    Did you manage to get higher than 48 khz? I've never had an issue recording at higher sampling rates.
     
  24. Paul H

    Paul H The fool on the hill

    Location:
    Nottingham, UK
    Yes, I did. Once I rebooted the laptop I was able to find all of the menus that allowed me to select 24/96. Turns out that the restrictions I quoted upthread only apply to the use of USB 1.0 connections.
     
  25. 500Homeruns

    500Homeruns Peaceful Punk

    Location:
    Lehigh Valley, PA
    I'm trying to record with my Xonar U7 and I haven't been able to go any higher than 16/48. The line in setting are showing up and I can click on 24/192, but when I try to check the volume levels in Vinyl Studio, I just get a bunch of static/interference. When I switch it back to 16/44 or 16/48 it works fine.

    I've restarted my laptop, but I still have not been able to get it set right.:shrug:
     
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