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In December, I've upgraded to a Ryzen 5800X and an Asus TUF Gaming x570 Plus (without WiFi). So far, there have been no forced restarts when using audio or switching between speakers and headset with an Asus Essence STX II. The sound of this card is simply amazing and detailed.
However, very rarely when watching videos, it can happen that the card produces a continuous and annoying sound. However, I can quickly get rid of that by causing other sounds.
Hello guys,
after one hour of trying around, I have successfully gotten the Asus D2X to work on a MSI Tomahawk X570 WiFi mainboard.
What worked for me was the following:
1) Install the Asus D2X in the PCIE_E3 Slot of the mainboard (the second PCIe port for a GPU, yes, the "large" one!). I left everything on Auto in BIOS/PCI settings.
2) Install UNi-Xonar-W10-1825-v1.81a-r2.exe drivers under Windows 10.
When the card was installed in PCI_E4 slot (bottom "small" PCIe slot), I got constant reboots when trying to install the driver. I did not test if it works with the PCI_E2 slot (the "small" PCIe slot connected to the CPU).
Also wanted to confirm Xonar D2X to work with Gigabyte B450 Aorus Pro with latest 1.2.0.0 based AGESA F60 BIOS with Ryzen 5 3600 and 32 GB DDR4 3600 MHz RAM @CL14. Just as a sidenote: Creative Labs Sound Blaster Z had the known issues in this system since I upgraded to 3600 MHz RAM Kit.
I'm on latest Windows 10 Pro 20H2 Build 19042.870 with 1.81a r2 drivers.
Gaming and listening to music works great.
Hey CarvedInside,
I build a new PC and only the ASUS STRIX 1080 and ASUS Essence STX II stayed. I run Win10 Pro with an ASUS TUF X570-Plus. I thought getting an ASUS motherboard would assure compatibility... well.. it did NOT.
My system first rebooted yesterday when I joined a Discord voice channel (VC). I figured quickly that my soundcard is the problem. I get reboots when switching in the STX II software from headphones to speakers and vice versa. Also when switching VCs in Discord. Win10 is freshly installed. The BIOS and motherboard drivers are up to date. What I tried to solve the problem:
- Switched to another PCI slot, but unfortunately I can't put it in a x16 slot as I need them for a SSD and the graphics card (no onboard graphics). I also can't switch the graphics card without rebuilding the whole tower.
- Set the PCIe slot to Gen 3, 2 and 1.
- Installed your soundcard drivers
I don't have an M2 adapter and I need that one for another SSD. I also need the recording devices so I did not turn them off and test it.
The problem is still the same. Sometimes it directly reboots when starting Discord. Two times I could switch in the software between headphones and speakers 100 times without a crash, after that I joined Discord and it crashed after 10 VC switches. Sometimes it crashed on the 6th time of when switching between headphones and speakers. Once it crashed while installing the drivers.
I will definitely return the motherboard. Not only because of this problem but also the fact that the chipset fan is covered by 100% by the graphics card, which is a total stupid constellation. Also the chipset fan can not be controlled by BIOS or whatsoever... it runs in idle mode with 3375 rps (!!!) right now without any need and is the loudest part. What were they thinking? Also the problem with the soundcard and AM4 chipset is known since 3+ years or something? Last drivers update is from 2015. They don't give a **** about solving this obviously. I don't think I will buy ASUS producs in the near future.
If there would be an AM4 motherboard that I know that runs 100% free of errors with the Essence STX II I would buy it. But I also read some comments here from people claiming that it runs without problems and I'm afraid of that some didn't test it enough to be sure. Like I said it worked two times for 100 switches, but still remained.
Thank you for your info and help. I hope this helps you.
What BIOS version are you running, from previous reports it seems like most of the issues stem from the AGESA versions which are dated. I personally haven't had the time to upgrade my BIOS to the newest AGESA (i'm actually behind like 5 BIOS versions at this point). For now, my sound card is on standby and I'm using a FiO K5, not as good as the STX E II but it's what it is for now.
Hello Abue. I'm running BIOS Ver. 3603. My RAM is btw 32 GB of DDR4 G-Skill RipJaws V 3600 @16CL running on 3600 if that's of interest.
If you don't need the Features of the X570 Chip whats mostly more Pcie4 Lanes you may want to go with a B550 since they are almost all passive cooled.
I'm on a B550 Aorus Pro v2 and the STX II is kinda working, but not good enough to recommend it. I also running in the Loud Noise out of nowhere which will damage your hearing Problem again after i've switched to that Platform. This may or may not get fixed with new AGESA Versions but ultimatly it seems that Asus just don't give a f*ck and let us Customers behind. I recommand to get in contact with them to put some pressure on this hole Topic tho.
Im going to replace mine in the Future and going for an external DAC + AMP Combo what is sad, cause i've liked the STX II and would like to keep useing it. But with all this issues it's just not worth it and im not happy about it. I have payed 200 Bucks for this and it's got a universal Pcie port and now this... Great Asus... just great
Hi,
Just wanted to update that the Essence STX II 7.1 works just fine on ASUS X570 VIII Dark Hero running the latest BIOS.
Tested on two different builds (one with Ryzen 5950X and one with Ryzen 5800X, both X570 Dark Hero), Windows 10 Pro fully patched.
Best,
DDRRE
Hi. Thanks for information. In which PCIe slot the STX II was placed on each system?
Used the PCIEx16 slot on the 5800x build, and the PCIEx1 slot on the 5950x build.
Also note that I'm running "UNi Xonar STXII 11.5 v1.80b r3". I'm using the C-Media control panel but I think I also used the ASUS media center in the first test (with the 5800x).
Which PCIEx16 slot, the 2nd or 3rd?
Hi,
can you tell me how and how often you tested its stability?
It's been running for several days now. Running in 8CH mode and never switch modes but I did it for testing, several times - no issues. Disabling mic & line in - no issues, switching to headphones - no issues. Had several-hour-long gaming sessions (several games) - no issues.
Ok, thanks for the info. I also could sometimes switch 100 times between headphones and speakers without crashing. And then again it crashed after 7 switches. So switching several times is unfortunately not meaningful. Also hour-long gaming sessions do not trigger the problem but switching Discord voice channels does. In my case it crahed after 6 to 40 switches of voice channels, also on starting Discrod. Once you can start Discord and join a voice channel without crash it is stable and you can play without problems.
It depends on how intensive you use the hardware switching of your soundcard and how much you use Discord. I did not use it so often in the last 4 days and it only crashed once yesterday on Discord startup.
Either you have been lucky so far or you are very lucky and it is stable with you motherboard, in which case I am very happy for you =).
I have an Asrock X470 Taichi running the 4.60 BIOS from https://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/X470%20Taichi/index.asp#BIOS while having issues with the Essence STX II card with both 1.8 & 1.81 UNi Xonar drivers. During the install process a crash occurs which restarts the computer. Tried with the driver uninstall option ticket off as well.
The weird thing was, I had an Essence STX I before this and that worked fine, had also Xonar DGX cards which worked fine with the latest drivers regarding both STX I & DGX. But now if I try to install the UNi or even the ones provided by Asus themselves for the STX II, the system crashes as the installer tries to install the drivers.
Used Driver Fusion to clean out all possible driver information. But still no luck. Disabled Driver Signature Enforcement during installations.
I installed the UNi-Xonar-STXII-11.5-v1.80b-r3 drivers for the STX II solely and installation went fine. Driver cleaning does cause the setup to crash during install though. But the install process works fine without even without having to disable driver signature enforcement.
I however seem to be getting the "Can't find any device" error from the Xonar Audio Center, UNi Xonar Audio and the C-media audio panel. Tried even disabling onboard audio. Nothing seems to work unfortunately. The card is in a PCIe 16x slot currently on my Asrock Taichi X470 with the 4.60 BIOS.
For some reason my AsRock Taichi X370 didn't have many problems with the Asus Essence STX II in 2017-2018 with early BIOS versions. I could run it without problems.
But once I updated the BIOS the problems started. Constant restarts when I try to shut down the PC and constant restarts when I change the microphone, start an audio player, switch the channel in Discord or while I play a video game. Therefore I disconnected the sound card and switched to onboard sound again.
Lately I upgraded my CPU from a Ryzen 1700X to a 3800XT and updated the BIOS to the latest (and probably last) version 6.40 with AGESA 1.0.0.6.
I wanted to know if the problems with this sound card are fixed by now so I pluged it in again and started the installation of the latest ASUS driver - instant crash at the installation. After several attempts I gave up and tried the UNI Xonar 1.81a and 1.80a drivers. The installation worked but I suffered from constant crashes while trying to switch the headphone and microphone IN/OUTputs. Therefore I uninstalled all drivers and switched to onboard sound again.
My AsRock Taichi 370 doesn't work with this sound card. Too bad that ASUS doesn't care.
In which PCIe slot did you placed the STX II card? Could it be that prior to the new bios update you had the PCIe slot where the card was placed set to Gen 2/1 and with the new BIOS those settings where reset?
I actually tried changing the settings of the PCIe slot back in 2018 when I found this site but for me it didn't change anything. I still got constant crashes so I doubt that it will be different this time.
In which PCIe slot did you placed the STX II card?
Works with Ryzen 1700 and Crosshair VII Hero, all drivers tested
Which Xonar sound card? In which PCIe slot it is plugged?
ASUS Essence STX, PCIex1_2
Some of the issues seem to be power delivery related. Switching outputs does trigger one or few relays, which either makes for a power surge, either back emf, tho I suppose the relay coils have diodes across them.
Is there anyone using a separately powered riser/adapter pcie board that still has issues? I suppose the relay coils are powered by the PCIE bus/digital side, while the whole analog part is powered by the additional PS cable?
Still this doesn't explain the random restarts some people are having without changing the output. There can be other random "power surges", so maybe try to disable anything that could put the card in a "power save" mode of sorts. Or the PCIE bus. Maybe also other devices that share the same lanes. GPU power savings as well if it uses the same power delivery circuit.
Anyone knows how much power the PLX chip needs?
I'll report back after I get some time to play with mine.
Seems that my board (Xonar DX) works with MSI B550-A Pro. I noticed that my board had a missing inductor from the backside, towards the PS connector. I think it's marked L17. I put a 10uH inductor and seems to work. Do check if yours is missing. I saw another photo online with a missing one. I think it's in series between a 2.5V reg and the PLX chip.
Did anyone manage to get a SPDIF Out for coaxial? I see there's an unpopulated connector that should have SPDIF out.
Did you had problems before placing the 10uH inductor? What kind? And to make things as clear as possible, you placed the inductor on the Xonar DX not the motherboard, right?
I didn't test it before. Seems to be filtering the output of an onboard voltage regulator, so most probably it wouldn't work without it. I got my DX second-hand and previous owner must have ripped it off while cleaning the dust off the pcb.
I looked at some online photos that have a clearer shot of that inductor and I think the value was 5.something uH, and I put a 10uH one I found on some random hdd pcb. Make sure it has a low resistance, like sub 1ohm. Probably shorting it would also work. It's after a linear regulator, I don't think it's critical, but without it the circuit is broken.
To be clear, yes, the inductor was missing from the Asus DX card. I also saw a different second hand DX online that also had that inductor missing. It has a small footprint but it's tall, might be the reason why it drops easily.
Also on another note, DX card owners that want a coaxial spdif connection can easily drill the bracket and install a RCA connector, and just tap the spdif signal from the integrated toslink audio jack. Works great.
MSI B550 A PRO + 5900X + BIOS v 7C56vA6 works fine with Windows 10 64 bit. Xonar Essence STX II.
Updated to Gigabyte AORUS B550 Pro with Ryzen 7 5800X
Xonar Essence STX --> Works perfect 🙂
The D2X doesnt work with Asus X570-E Gaming, only in the first M.2 with an adapter..
I bought a STX I with PLX Chip and it works very well.
I dont know why, because the D2x has a PLX to.
There is another version of the STX I with asmedia, like on the STX II, dont know if it works.
I still can say the STX I with PLX works
I instaled UNi Xonar 1816/1821 v1.71.1 for my Xonar DX and everything is working fine, no bugs or any kind of problems. My config is Gigabyte AX370 Gaming 3/R5 1600 with W10 Pro 21H1 in latest updates. I have to say that this card sounds pretty much better than my old SBZ, waaaaaaaay better than my oldest SB0880 Titanium Fatal1ty.
Xonar DX on a Asus X570 Tuf Pro works perfectly on all bios versions. Currently on bios 4002. Also had a Xonar STX but that card had random reboots on the original release bios 0314. I sold the Xonar STX so I can't test it on the new bios. But the Xonar DX works perfectly. Also I used the Asus drivers for both cards not the UNI drivers.
Hi..
I am having D2X with MSI X570 Tomahawk wifi .
My problem is when fast skipping youtube video using right arrow key (fast skip 5 sec, in firefox or chrome) the system will auto restart without BSOD, after restart check event viewer i got WHEA -18 and Critical error Kernel Power Event ID 41.
For all the D2X user that have NO PROBLEM with X570 system, can you guys please help me test it ? please try fast skipping youtube video from start to end .. see if the restart problem is fix?
i was testing the system with ALL BIOS setting "Default". with Asus beta driver. i also try to install UNi Xonar W10 1825 v1.81a r2 but the system restart in the middle of the driver installation. the restart problem also hapen with asus beta driver, but after syste restart and remove the driver then install again .. it will install fine..
Also when the system is over 30-50% load , like open a game in window mode running at background, then i can fast skipping youtube video what ever and the restart problem NEVER happen once when a game running in background..... weird.. seem like CPU vcore power can effect the PCIE signal with the Sound card...
Once i remove the D2X card and use onboard Realtek sound, problem FIX.... but the onboard sound is weak compare with D2X... i miss D2X sound...
thanks.
my spec:
MSI X570 Tomahawk wifi V17 bios
Ryzen 7 3700X
Deepcool AS500 plus Cooler
kingston HyperX HX436C17FB3K2/32 DDR4 3600 16GBX2 (runing at 3600)
Radeon RX 460
Asus Xonar D2X sound card
Razer Viper mini mouse
Ducky keyboard.
Corsair MP510 nvme SSD
Seasonic gold 750X PSU
Windows 10 64bit 21H1