[DJINFERNO806]

Yea DTS Neo is also missing if the daughter board isn't connected which isn't only for "digital out" but another simulation of surround for stereo material and affects every sound played also out of the headphone jack. 

Didn't realize DTS neo worked through analogues too. Never tried this.

 

[Fegefeuer]

New Alchemy Version with dsound.dll from Dec 12th, 2013
 
https://mega.co.nz/#!VFADDS5C!tpP349WvoLe_v-bYATDwENEigvstKVhAPtLK8Opjhoo

 

[germanium]

Helmutcheese
 
Here is a link to review of the D2X from when it first came out.
 
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/asus_xonar_d2x_sound_card_review,9.html

 

[helmutcheese]

I would not touch an Asus card.
 
I use them for Mobos (all high end Rogs) and have done for past 13 years but their support sucks worst than Creative and that is saying something.
 
The 3rd party drivers do not seem to be supported by whoever made them as well as Creative's PAX.
 
I will go back my old X-Fi if need be.
 
I spent all day Sunday right to early Monday morning messing about and will do the same today.
 
I have made a few of my own discoveries and confirmed other peeps niggles.
 
I can tell you the new repacked driver (22) is worst sound and is the cause of my sound cutting out for 1 sec randomly or at times when I click a open Browser tabs on my taskbar that has been sitting idle, does not happen on (16).
 
Once I decide by Tuesday I will post some of my finding if you are interested but everything I am seeing can be backed up by at least a few others peeps posts with same issues that I have read on the card over the past weeks/months.
 
This is Creative not Nvidia so its not like we can say the hardware good but its need mature Drivers/Software as they are slow to release them and probably will never fix it 100%.
 
IMO a commitment to driver support and rewrite a proper Software Package like that standalone MB3 kit and it would be a good start, its lacking as it is.
 
 
http://software.store.creative.com/software.aspx

 

[NoOneLt]

helmutcheese ZxR quality without any mods way over X-Fi.
 
You "I would not touch an Asus card." though people telling You that their SQ is top out of the box... Both ZxR and ASUS is better out of the box then any X-Fi. Everyone's support sucks as You say.. Maybe there is something in Your set-up to blame? 
 
Try to RMA ZxR if it sound so awful, it can sound "awful" only if it is broken. Of course it is not perfect, but not awful. 

 

[helmutcheese]

I am not alone with my issues of sound quality, but I have no bugs or stuff like drivers not finding device some got so assume its working.
 
Remember I game also and Creative do that better but this ZxR lacks in games so far IMO.
 
I am not going to mess with every settings for each game I play, the default FPS profile is poor, Scout Mode sounds weird and its for MP play and gives you an advantage but I play mostly SP (campaigns).
 
TBH I can save £200 and a lot of time/hassle by keeping my "OK sounding" X-Fi.
 
Many prefer the X-Fi due to and positioning of CMSS-3D and EAX.
 
I have adjusted the rear speakers db using the other App so its now more surround as before the fronts were stealing from the rear and the centre was stealing from the fronts.
 
I seem to have a balance now where its like the X-Fi's better Stereo Surround/Xpand Modes.
 
Sound is very subjective but I cannot work out how this card gets great reviews by 99% of users, go to Creative forums and see its not the same story there.

 

[Radical_53]

As long as the card isn't defective, and set up right, it should sound very good. It might sound too "honest" in comparison to what you were using before but normally that's how the game works.
 
I'm using my card both with speakers (RCA outs) and headphones (headphone out), with Windows always being set to 5.1 speakers, and only SBX surround turned on (default value of 67%). No EQ, no other settings to mess with the sound.
 
What I must admit though is that I haven't tried surround speakers, in combination with my PC, for years. I connected it to my home theater setup once but, as I was using a HDMI connection, the sound card didn't play any role there.
Surround "simulation" is very good, especially very precise, and has been much better for me in comparison to the former CMSS-3D.

 

[NoOneLt]

helmutcheese 
 
For games:
SBX surround - should be used only for headphones or stereo speakers.
CMSS-3D vs. SBX surround - questionable, i prefer SBX @ 45% +/-
SBX pro studio - all other than surround - off
Scout mode - Should never be used
Profiles - if You are too lazy to spend 5 min. setting own profiles, well...
EQ - off
EAX - ZxR do support EAX, any other modern game does not, so what is the use of EAX then?... - don't write thing You don't understand, You can mislead someone!
 
In games this sound OK for most of people including me, but not for You.
 
For music music: all Off, again sounds good for most of us, that's why it gets positive reviews.
 
And noone told you to spend that £200, it seems like You blame people around here because You spent £200...
 
Your post just spreads negativity on product but it seems that not the product here to blame. And again, if You feel that it is sounding wrong - RMA it, it can not sound worse than X-Fi.

 

[helmutcheese]

Ok I am lazy in your opinion, let me make a new profile for every game I have just to sound half decent, no thanks.
 
I should not need to do as much work to get decent sound.
 
You really are the 1st member here to talk BS towards me.
 
When did I state the card cannot do EAX in games?
 
I know its EAX 5.0 HD, it cannot do so in music for effects like Live/Audigy/X-Fi can so do not read what you do not understand you can mislead someone. < right back at you.
 
I never blamed anyone so less of the lies, your input is zero help.
 
Creative have enough negativity without me needing to help, are you a fanboy of sort and cannot see by them?
 
There is no way I can tell if card is faulty unlike a Mobo or GPU, it works so that may be a waste of RMA.
 
Again sound is subjective and many do prefer the X-fi, so you need to learn to accept others do not have same view as you.

 

[NoOneLt]

Now i start to believe You are not lazy but just don't get it at all... One profile for all games and one profile for music, maybe one more for movies. If setting this is too hard, and ZxR still sound worse than X-Fi than just go back to X-Fi and stop telling people that ZxR is sooo sooo baaad...

 

[helmutcheese]

Why do you not crawl back under your rock as all you are doing is trolling and stop telling others what they can and cannot be happy with.
 
I came here for some real input and 2 or 3 peeps have given it but you add nothing so just ignore me.
 
I have not given up yet and messing with the card right now.
 
You are a liar as everything I have said is my own opinion (though can be backed up by reading other peeps input all over WWW), I do not talk for others.
 
I have blocked you (talk all the crap you like now I will never see it) and I ideally do not want to be the new guy causing trouble but you have not been here long either and have only talked BS towards me so far.
 
Sorry to the 2-3 who have helped me a little so far, I am still on the case.
 
Just listened to a album I ripped years ago (Tears For Fears -Tears Roll Down - Greatest Hits), wow every song sounded good and even though its only 192Kb, strange as most of my other albums including higher bitrate and CD's sound ok for some tracks and poor for others.
 
I need to get past the music and on to movies/games as that will determine my keeping card or not also, movies being less important out of the 3.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

People will be very defensive on head-fi in general trying to defend their purchases if you come off particularly aggressive/negative towards a product, that I've seen happen often. I met quite a bit resistance too when I said I prefer the sound of the onboard solution on the latest Intel series ASRock Extreme6 Z87 motherboard with Realtek ALC1150 + TI NE5532 opamps. I'm mostly following the thread in hope for a miracle config/hack/3rd party driver which may make me like the card again as long as I got the card on my bookshelf.

 

[NoOneLt]

I just leave this quotes here, if IMO means that one can talk everything after writing IMO, so IMO someone is lying telling multiple times all over the place that ZxR is crap. I do not have some golden ears but it is definately not a crap. And i do not defend Creative about any other product, their support or something else, had X-Fi Titanium, and now i have ZxR, IMO ZxR is better, and at every point it SHOULD sound better if it is not faulty.
 
Quote:

 
The card gives no errors just sounds crap IMO, I would still like to know what the early batches of ZxR were recalled for.
 
I really was excited (1st time with hardware in a long time) to order the card and was disappointed with it on day 1 but tried many different set ups to give it a chance.

 

  Just read all the raves about how good the Z series was after Creative being crap for years but IMO it sounds crap.

 
@RPGWiZaRD One can really say "that sound better", "this sound better" but not "this is a crap". Same was with my ATH-A900X, i hoped wonder's from it, but then just got DT-990 Prem. and found it sounds better, but i just know that this headphones sounds different (it is different headphones, even different types), not better or worse, and i don't go to ATH-A900X thread to tell it is crap

 

[helmutcheese]

Thanks for input, yes I know it was a choice of here or OC.net where a guy who did not like his Z series was accused of not owning one and being a troll lol.
 
I am open to suggestions and think I have sorted out some good movie settings for proper 5.1 and stereo sources upmixed.
 
Ned to see how my weekly TV Aps sound though, then sort out same for games.
 
I admitted at very start I was worried I had became some kind of junkie over the years with "just ok" artificial sound and I know the source matters so testing mainly with my own CD's (bought from 1986-present).
 
I remember reading your post as I did read this thread fully and others on other sites, took weeks/months.
 
Like myself you seem to expect it to sound better and want it to sound better ands are not here to simply wind others up with false BS.
 
AFAIK my Asus Z87 Rog has same sound as your Mobo but I have never use onboard since 2001 for my own builds but do so for others as they will not buy a soundcard and are not that quality orientated.
 
I stand by if Creative were Nvidia they could redo the software side and I bet it would be far better, I doubt the hardware is to blame especially on the ZxR.
 
I can assume my buddy above is talking more BS/Trolling with his broken English posts, he needs to grasp the fact all I have said is my own opinion/findings but many of my issues are the same for others, a sad case IMO.

 

[Radical_53]

It's not even (necessarily) a defensive position but the question at hand should, and can't, be between "crap" and "great". The scale would be totally wrong then. It *has* to be a nuissance, a question about details, a matter of taste. 
If the result is black & white though, simply put, there has to be something going on and something gone wrong in particular.