Contents
2. ASIO playback doesn't work with some applications and it worked with the original drivers.
4. How to enable stereo upmix (2.0 channels signal to 5.1/7.1 speakers)? (updated 08.02.2019)
6. What is Panorama Enhancement in Dolby Pro Logic settings?
7. Does sample rate automatically change with ASIO 2.0 depending on audio files sample rate?
8. How to add/change sound delay to the rear speakers & center?
11. Why is GX (EAX emulation) bad?
12. My antivirus says that the UNi Xonar driver package has a virus or trojan?
13. When new drivers are going to be released?
14. Is there a Linux or Mac version of UNi Xonar drivers?
15. I'm receiving “Can’t find any device” message and I can't change any of the Xonar card settings.
16. Does the Xonar driver work in MSI (Message Signaled Interrupts) interrupt mode?
17. Can I automate the UNi Xonar driver setup (running silently without user intervention)?
22. I have two Xonar soundcards, how do I change change settings for each Xonar soundcard?
24. Does the StarTech PCI-e to PCI adapter work with Xonar PCI cards (DG, DS, D1, D2, ST)?
25. During driver installation or after driver installation completes I get blue screens (BSODs).
26. Right or left channel becomes muted, is there a fix?
27. Front panel jack auto-sensing is not working on Xonar DG, DGX, DS, DSX.
1. I get system crashes (BSODs), I get audio panel crashes, audio panel does not launch, some settings are missing or some settings do not work anymore. What can I do? (updated 4.10.2015)
Things to try:
- First make sure you have GX (Xear3D) is disabled in the audio panel.
- Try reinstalling (uninstall and install) of the audio drivers with the "Run driver cleaning before install" option selected in the UNi Xonar installer. Optionally you could do a extended driver clean (see below) before installing the drivers again.
- If you only got these issues after you've installed newer UNi Xonar drivers and the suggestions above did not work then try with older driver releases. You may have to go back to the drivers you previously had installed. If previous drivers are working please write a comment describing the situation in the main UNi Xonar page.
Extended driver cleaning guide:
- Uninstall any Xonar drivers (search for Asus Xonar and/or UNi Xonar) and restart after that.
- Download and run "UNi Xonar driver cleaner".
- (optional) Download and install Driver Sweeper or its successor, Driver Fusion. Launch it -> select ASUS Sound -> press Analyse -> press Clean -> Restart.
- Install UNi Xonar drivers.
2. ASIO playback doesn't work with some applications and it worked with the original drivers.
You need to reconfigure the ASIO device output in the preferences of the audio application you are using.
3. Using UNi Xonar with C-Media Audio Center and can't set the headphones gain, switch output to front panel or change sample rate? (updated)
The easiest way is to launch the Asus Xonar Audio Center (Start->All Programs -> Uni Xonar Driver) and change it from there.
Alternatively, you can download the Standalone Apps package listed in the main UNi Xonar Page, and use the applications you want to change the settings. This is recommended so that you don't get a increase in DPC latency or other system interferences with the launch of Asus Xonar Audio Center.
4. How to enable stereo upmix (2.0 channels signal to 5.1/7.1 speakers)? (updated 13 May 2020)
Check this page for information on this topic.
5. How to save your current Xonar settings? How to manually edit the Xonar settings in the registry? (updated 02.03.2012)
5.1. Finding settings path in the registry
1) Press Start -> Run or Search field and type regedit
2) navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet in the left pane
3) Press CTRL+F and type BassBasedBLevel and click find, this will jump you to Xonar driver registry settings path. This "folder" (0005\Settings or any other number) is where the Xonar settings are stored.
5.2 Exporting
Right click on Settings "folder" and click export. Type a name and click Save.
5.3 Editing
Before importing, check your current registry path for the Audio card settings, as they might be not stored in "0005"(or any other name) like it was when you saved the registry. If this is different, you need to edit the previously exported reg file (right click->edit) , and replace the old path with the new one (example: "...\0005\settings" to "...\0011\settings"). Save the file.
5.4 Importing
Double click on the saved registry file and press "Yes" when prompted. Note that you need to restart your PC or disable and enable your Xonar card in Device Manager in order for settings to apply.
TIP: By exporting and importing the Xonar registry settings, you can save your settings before uninstalling the drivers and installing a newer version. In this case, you have to import it after you've installed the driver. In order for them to apply you need to either restart your PC or disable/enable Xonar Card from Device Manager.
6. What is Panorama Enhancement in Dolby Pro Logic settings?
HunterZ: Panorama effects usually cause the sound to “wrap” around to the surround speakers, creating a larger and/or more immersive stereo stage. A lot of Dolby ProLogic II Music decoders have a similar effect when decoding in music mode.
7. Does sample rate automatically change with ASIO 2.0 depending on audio files sample rate?
Yes. You should usually hear a pop when you change to music with different sample rate.
8. How to add/change sound delay to the rear speakers & center?
- Navigate to the settings path ( see 5.1. Finding settings path in the registry paragraph)
- You have the following variables for adjusting delay LsRsDelay , CenterDelay , LbRbDelay - for side/rear , center , rear in 7.1 . If you don't have them you need to create them, Right-click on black space -> New ->Binary value.
- Double click on the variable you want to edit, and instead of 000000 type 050000.This should add a delay of 5 seconds to the channel you are editing. The settings are in hexadecimal form. Some examples: 9 ms is "09 00 00 00", 10 ms is "0a 00 00 00" , 11 ms is "0b 00 00 00", 15 ms is "0f 00 00 00" , 20 ms is "14 00 00 00"
- For new settings to apply you either need to restart, or disable and re-enable the Xonar card from Device Manager
9. What are best settings to achieve best audio quality, performance and functionality from my (Xonar) card? (updated 06.03.2014)
Check Xonar best audio settings guide.
10. Audio in Flash player (like from videos in youtube.com) is upmixed to 5.1 although stereo upmix is disabled. Why is that? (updated 19.07.2014)
It's a bug in the Adobe Flash Player (info1, info2) which might not be fixed by Adobe any time soon.
There is a user made fix but it might not work with newer flash versions and it does not seem to work on Win 8. You can find the fix here. Follow the instructions in the readme.txt file.
If you are mostly viewing clips on youtube.com, a possible workaround would be to watch the videos in HTML5 video player instead of Flash player. To do so, go to youtube html5 page and turn "HTML5 Video" on.
11. Why is GX (EAX emulation) bad?
In most cases, it doesn't even work, and the worse part is that while having GX enabled, any audio application that you use is prone to crashes or makes your whole system crash (BSOD).
ASUS/C-media emulation of EAX capabilities is disastrous and should have never been released in this state and marketed as a feature. If you want a reason to sue ASUS, this is it.
GX is labeled as Xear3D in C-Media Audio Panel.
12. My antivirus says that the UNi Xonar driver package has a virus or trojan.
If you've downloaded the drivers from the official links then the virus warning is a false positive. Possible causes are the packaging of the drivers or the presence of driver cleaner in the UNi Xonar installer which deletes the Xonar driver files from Windows folder.
While it's highly unlikely that UNi Xonar driver packages would be compromised and be infected with viruses, if you really want to be sure then you can submit the driver package for analysis to www.virustotal.com for a wider analysis.
Furthermore, UNi Xonar driver installer (again from the official links) does not contain any adware, spyware or PUP (Potentially Unwanted Program).
In such cases where your antivirus blocks the installation or the download of UNi Xonar drivers you need to either configure the antivirus to allow that action or temporary pause antivirus protection.
13. When new drivers are going to be released?
There is no time frame. UNi Xonar driver releases depend on one or two factors:
1. When new original audio drivers are made available (eg: when ASUS releases a new set of drivers for any of their Xonar cards or when ASUS releases a new Xonar card). As of Jan 2017, it seems that Asus/C-media are no longer interested in releasing new drivers, thus Xonar cards should be considered unsupported by card manufacturer and audio chip manufacturer.
2. When in my research for fixes or improvements I find something that can be implemented (eg: Stereo Upmix issue fix, the Rear and Center channel delays fix).
14. Is there a Linux or Mac version of UNi Xonar drivers?
No Linux or Mac version. UNi Xonar drivers are based on ASUS Xonar original drivers for Windows.
15. I'm receiving “Can’t find any device” message and I can't change any of the Xonar card settings.
This error is generated by Asus Audio Center. Other drivers, security programs or changes made by Windows updates might prevent Asus Audio Center from working correctly. If you can't find the problem you can use C-Media Panel or XonarSwitch to change the cards settings.
16. Does the Xonar driver work in MSI (Message Signaled Interrupts) interrupt mode?
No, switching to MSI mode will prevent the system from booting.
17. Can I automate the UNi Xonar driver setup (running silently without user intervention)?
Yes. You need to do the following:
- You need to keep the "installsettings.ini" file that's generated after the finish of a valid UNi Xonar driver installation with your desired installation options.
- The file needs to be in the same folder as the driver installer that we want to install silently.
- You need to add the "/silent" flag to the UNi Xonar driver setup command like this: “UNi Xonar 1823 v1.80a r3.exe” /silent
18. Occasionally, I get a loud white/static noise or screech. Why is that and is there something that can be done to prevent this?
Check this page for information and discussions on this topic.
19. Occasionally I get left or right speaker imbalance (volume drop). Why is that and is there something that can be done to prevent this?
There are two possible causes:
1. There is an issue with your sound system. To check if this is the case, when the volume drop occurs connect a different pair of headphones or different speaker system directly to the soundcard and see if you still have the issue.
2. An issue or incompatibility between the motherboard and the Xonar audio card. You should look into updating the motherboard BIOS to the latest version. If that does not solve the problem you either change the motherboard or buy a non Xonar audio card.
20. Sound output channels are switched between one another or I get noises/cracking/latency during 192kHz 4/5.1/7.1 channels playback.
Answer valid only for Xonar DX, D2X, HDAV 1.3 or HDAV 1.3 Deluxe audio cards:
If you card was manufactured before year 2009 you need to update its PLX(PCI-to-PCI-e bridge) firmware as the original firmware had some issues especially with some motherboards. To do so do the following: Go to ASUS download page, select Windows XP, go to Utilities, download "PLX firmware update Ver 1.1", extract and run it, then restart. The update utility will work on Windows 7 and probably Windows 8/8.1/10 OS versions as well.
21. I have hissing/buzzing/crackling noise coming from the speakers or headphones and/or people I talk to using the microphone complain that they hear buzzing noise coming from my end.
See this page.
22. I have two Xonar soundcards, how do I change change settings for each Xonar soundcard?
It's a little tricky as there is no perfect solution. If you have two different Xonar cards there are two options:
- Use the Asus Xonar Audio Center or C-Media Panel to change the settings of one card and use XonarSwitch with this guide to change the settings of the other one.
- Following this guide to control a specific Xonar card, you could make two separate XonarSwitch shortcuts, one for each card. Depending on which card XonarSwitch controls at a time, you could close XonarSwitch and start XonarSwitch again for the other card.
23. How to get a subwoofer working when it's connected directly to the card as part of a 2.1 speaker configuration?
Check Xonar configuration for 2 speakers and a standalone subwoofer guide.
24. Does the StarTech PCI-e to PCI adapter work with Xonar PCI cards (DG, DS, D1, D2, ST)?
Most likely it won't work properly and there is no solution to make it work. It's been reported that using these adapters make the cards work only for a couple of seconds after booting. If you are interested in reading more about StarTech PCI-e to PCI issues with Xonar cards then check here and here.
If you are still interested in a different adapter, ASMedia 1083 based PCI-e to PCI adapter might work (#1, #2).
25. During driver installation or after driver installation completes I get blue screens (BSODs).
Check that the auxiliary power connection to the card is properly plugged in.
26. Right or left channel becomes muted, is there a fix?
There is no permanent fix for this issue. The issues seems to be caused by a hardware malfunction. When it happens the issue can be remediated by either:
- Using Xonar Driver Restart application to restart the card.
- Putting the system to Sleep and resuming it afterwards. If sleep in not available in Start menu-> Shut Down options, you need to go in BIOS/UEFI and enable an option called something like Standby S3, Standby STR or Standby Suspend To RAM.
27. Front panel jack auto-sensing is not working on Xonar DG, DGX, DS, DSX.
This feature requires ASUS Audio Center to be running. In addition to that, check that ASUS Audio Center has the Main tab active, as there is a bug that prevents front panel jack auto-sensing from working if Main tab is not active.
- ASUS Xonar DG, Xonar DGX, Xonar DG SI, Xonar DS, Xonar DSX, Xonar D1, Xonar D2, Xonar DX, Xonar D2X, Xonar HDAV, Xonar HDAV Slim, Xonar Essence ST, Xonar Essence STX, Xonar Essence STX II, Xonar Xense.
- Other C-media CMI8786 and CMI8788 audio chipset cards:
- Auzentech: HDA X-Purity 7.1, X-Meridian 1G, X-Meridian 2G.
- HTOmega: Claro, Claro Plus, Claro II, Claro Halo, eClaro.
- Razer Barracuda AC-1.
- TempoTec HIFIER Serenade
On point 18: Occasionally, I get a loud white/static noise or screech. I have Asus x470 crosshair VII, Ryzen 3600x, and my Essence STX works, but I get strange microphone fade out and this loud banshee wail screech white noise, sometimes... and my workaround is to plug the microphone into the motherboard's onboard sound.
So headphone sound is perfect, MIC I use from motherboard onboard, no more issues.
I thought my soundcard had broken, then I found point 18.
I am now thinking of changing motherboards away from Asus. Strange, it's an Asus soundcard, but it tends to not work correctly, I see?
1. So when you get this loud white noise, at that moment you don't do anything like shutting down the PC or restarting the Xonar STX card, you just plug the microphone in the onboard audio card? Do you know if your Microphone (Realtek/SupremeFX...) is set as default then, basically if at that moment the microphone works in applications? Or, do you manually set it as default in Windows Sound (right-click on Windows Volume tray icon-> Sounds or if it's missing type in Windows search: "change system sounds")-> Select Recording tab)?
2. In those certain scenarios, do you use the microphone or it happens even when you don't use it?
3. Did you had the Xonar STX in a different PC previously and did you had this issue then? Tell me the CPU, motherboard, video card of that PC and if you have a different video card now.
4. I am interested in knowing if you ever get this issue if you always use the microphone with the onboard audio. If you haven't tested this or enough maybe you can let me know after a while.
The fact there are many more reports of that with ASUS motherboard could also be because ASUS motherboards are more popular. So we can't be sure that changing the motherboard would fix this. Not everyone has this issue, so it means there is something that causes this for some, either it's because of the motherboard or there is some other thing.
You should uninstall any ASUS motherboard software you may have installed.
You should check your system's DPC latency during different use cases, see if the "current measured interrupt to process latency" is consistently high.
I only had such an issue only 1 time in over 10 years on the same PC, a Core 2 Duo with a DFI P35 motherboard. At that moment my PC was under heavy load and I jumped to a different position on a youtube video. Currently, I'm thinking it had to do with some sort of big delay in processing the sound which caused the driver to go haywire.
1. If I get it, I restart. Scares the crap out of me. I have since read I could just restart the audio drivers, but since my workaround I have never had to deal with this again.
2. Don't remember me needing to use the microphone for it to happen, could be wrong.
3. Had it in three different motherboards, but unfortunately, can only remember it happening with my current one (Asus Crosshair VII x470 Hero). Not to say that it didn't, I just can't remember.
4. This is the interesting thing. Since I started using my onboard audio (SupremeFX S1220) of the motherboard(microphone recording set to onboard as default in Windows, not Essence STX) (for my microphone only, still use my headphone jack in the back of my Essence STX to run my Sennheiser PC 350 headset), zero, and I mean, no issues. Sound through my headset is perfect, nothing like the wail or fading ever happened again that even needed me to restart.
I suspect this is driver/software related with microphone only. Maybe IRQ conflicts? Something else strange? Who knows. I'm just happy I can still use the Essence STX as my soundcard, even if I have to use motherboard onboard for microphone.
Asus Crosshair VII x470 Hero, Ryzen 5 3600x (happened with 2600x too), MSI GTX 1080 Gaming X.
How long is it since you started using the onboard audio for the microphone? Before figuring this out, do you remember how often you would get the loud white noise?
Thank you for the information and keep us up to date with any developments.
I remember it happening a few times, so at least once every few weeks? And since I switched over to onboard audio for microphone 10 months ago... nothing. Not a single time.
im using front panel 3.5 inputs for mic and headphone since forever - is there any reason to use inputs on the sound card directly ? Any difference in quality of the sounds/ recording? better noise cancellation etc? Im using Xonar DX with latest win10 insider version.
Asking because i want to know if there's anyway to improve mainly my mic recording quality, better echo cancellation etc (tried AEC and things gets even worse)
Here is the thing. I can't get involved and spend considerable amounts of my time with everyone's problems for free. So, I need to know if you previously sent me donation. If so, send me an e-mail from that e-mail address. If you haven't and want my help with this and to answer your questions I have to ask you to make a donation $5 or more. Mention in the donation message your nickname so I know it is from you.
Of course, if someone else wants to help you, they are free to do so.
UNi drivers work with Xonar AE ?
No. As I stated here, the Xonar AE card is not and will not be supported. Please next time before asking something, do a google search or use the site search.
Hello,
I've just bought an Asus Xonar Xense and I've almost no sound through the jack. I'm using it with a Sennheiser PC 350, and I have to put the sound at 100% with Extra High Gain to have some sound, also the sound is completly unbalanced, i've got like 95% on the left and 5% on the right side.
I tried to change the OP-Amp with new ones but the issue remains the same, also tried to reinstall the drivers with low-dpc but again same issues..
Can you help me with this ? Is this sounds more like an hardware issue ? Possibly a known issue ? I can soldered a new jack but not sure that this is the issue ..
Note: the sounds work great if I used the 5.1 splitter, however I guess the sound would be better if I was using it through the jack so that's why I asking for help 🙂
Thanks
Most likely it's a hardware issue, either with the card (headphone output jack, op-amp connection or some other thing) or it could be the headphones or their cable. You should also try the front panel case connector.
FYI I've replicated your reply to Ahmed's correct comment from here and deleted the comment he made on this page. If you wish to subscribe for e-mail notifications on Ahmed's comment thread, write a reply there with something like "e-mail subscription" and check the e-mail subscription checkbox.
In case you are not subscribed to Ahmed's comment thread or follow it, I want to give you a heads up that he managed to find the issue and fix it and he detailed it here.
Hello! How can I make the Audio Center window automatically minimize at system startup?
The problem is that when you start the system the ASUS Audio Center interface window is opened instead of being minimized to tray?
Which Windows do you have? If it's Windows 10, tell me it's complete version and build number. Which UNi Xonar drivers do you have installed and tried?
Yes, that's the problem. I tried to fix this issue via GUI but did not find the options. My system is Windows 10 2004 (19041.388) and Xonar drivers version is v1.81a r2.
Did you always have this problem with UNi Xonar drivers installed with "Normal" panel configuration? Or, when did it start? Which Xonar card do you have?
I have an issue with xonar se: the output reverts to headphones after each reboot. Is there a registry key to change our another fix to avoid this from happening? Thank you.
LE: using Windows 10 20H2
In case you haven't noticed, on this website we don't really deal with issues specific to Xonar SE cards. The Xonar SE has a totally different driver than the other Xonar cards that are supported by UNi Xonar drivers, so it's unlikely you will find an answer here.
Perhaps you can find an answer on ASUS ROG soundcards subforum where it's more likely to connect with other Xonar SE owners.
I have an issue where the sound becomes loud and distorted, which only happens after the PC has been in sleep mode for a while (Doesn't happen EVERY time you leave sleep mode, but it ONLY happens after waking from sleepmode)
As to what the fix is, no clue.
Rewrite your comment under main UNi Xonar page. Mention your complete Windows version, your sound card, Xonar driver versions you have installed or tried, UNi Xonar panel configuration (Normal, Low DPC Latency, C-Media Panel).
Admin notice: comment moved by admin here.Rewrite the comment under the ASUS Xonar cards and AMD Ryzen AM4/AM5 motherboards compatibility report. Also read the page and try the possible solutions applicable to you and make an update comment if any of those worked or not for you.
Hi, I have a Xonar ST card and 2.0 studio monitors setup. Do I need option "Re-enable stereo upmix to 4, 5.1 & 7.1" ticked during installation?
I have cmicnfp file with EQ setting created with Asus Control Panel and now I want to switch to "Low DPC Latency". My custom EQ setting will be applied even without Asus Control Panel?
Thanks
1. No.
2. Your custom EQ setting will be applied even without ASUS Audio Center running, but you'll need enable it first in ASUS Audio Center after the driver installation.
Hello everyone,
Does anyone know a way to run Splendid? I have fond memories of years ago when I used it. There was a video tab on the Xonar control panel, and there was Splendid option. It was recently released for Windows Vista, but I remember that it still worked on Windows 7. My card is Xonar HDAV 1.3
Admin notice: comment moved by admin here.I moved your comment to the main UNi Xonar discussion page as that one is more appropriate for issues and replied to you there.