Usage Guide of the New FiiO USB DAC Windows Driver
In this article, we will show you how to configure and use the new DAC driver for basic ASIO output as well as DSD ASIO output (with Foobar2000). Comparing to the old version, the new driver is more convenient to use. It can be installed without first connecting the player to the computer and is compatible with the X3, X5, X3 2nd gen, X5 2nd gen and X7. You need to only install it for once and have it work with all these models as well as the new players (with DAC function) that we will release in the future.
For more features of the new DAC driver, please check this link: http://www.fiio.net/en/story/426
Installation and Basic Use
1. First download the new generic USB DAC driver and installation guide from the link below:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/qqz14rnt6at8q1o/FiiO%20USB%20DAC%20Driver%20v3.34.0.zip
2. After downloading, unzip(extract) the DAC package and follow the installation guide to install the driver
3. Set the USB mode of the player to DAC then connect it to the computer with the supplied USB cable (if you are using a desktop computer, it's recommended to connect to the USB port at the back of the mainframe. USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 are both compatible) . The USB mode setting of the X3, X5, X3II, X5II can be found in the System Settings, and for the X7 it's in the Shortcuts menu (Swipe down from the upper-right of the screen then click the "STORAGE" icon to switch to "DAC")
4. On Windows, right click the Sound icon in the notification area and select "Playback devices".
5. Select the player in the Playback device list and set it as default.
Notes:
1.If there are multiple players connected as DAC at the same time, you can only choose one of them as output device. But you can easily switch between the devices through the sound panel or through the settings of the music player application (no need to reconnect the player). The ASIO driver can only work with one device at a time, so by default it will choose the player that's connected first as ASIO output device.
2.There's no driver required for Mac OS or Linux. You can use the DAC function right after connecting the player to the computer.
3.When using the output type KS or ASIO, the volume and sampling rates of the sound will not be affected by the settings in Windows. But when using Waveout or DS, it will be. So it's suggested to choose KS or ASIO as output type (in the settings of the music player application)
Configure ASIO and Install DSD components on Foobar2000
A. Configure ASIO
1.Download the latest version of the Foobar2000 installation package from this link: http://www.foobar2000.org/download
And you may also download other enhanced versions, such as function enhancement or UI enhancement versions from other websites.
2. Download the Foobar2000 ASIO components from this link: http://www.foobar2000.org/components/view/foo_out_asio
After downloading the components, follow the steps below to install it.
Step 1: Open the foobar2000 preferences dialog.
Step 2: Go to the Components page.
Step 3: Click the “Install…” button and select the component archive, or simply drag it to the list.
Step 4: Press “OK”, you will be prompted to restart foobar2000 in order to load the newly installed component.
3. In Foor2000, go to File->Preferences->Playback->Output, then select "FiiO ASIO Driver" as output device. After that you can play music on foobar2000 and listen to it with the player.
B.Install and configure DSD component
1.Download the SACD decoder for native DSD decoding from this link:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/sacddecoder/files/foo_input_sacd/
2.After the downloading, unzip (extract) the package.
3. Double click the "ASIOProxyInstall-0.7.1.2.exe" and follow the prompts to install it.
4.Install the " foo_input_sacd.fb2k-component" through foobar2000 (see A. Configure ASIO - Step 2 for the installation guide)
5.After that there will be a "foo_dsd_asio" listed in the playback devices in foobar2000, select it as the playback device
6.Go to File->Preferences->Playback->Output->ASIO, then find the " foo_dsd_asio" driver option and double click it to configure the ASIO proxy.
After the configuration, click the "X" icon to close the dialog
7. Go to File->Preferences->Playback->SACD, and set the Output Mode to "DSD", then click OK
After the above operations, the foobar will be able to play DSD files and output the DSD signals to the player for native decoding.
(If the player does not support DSD decoding, please set the Output mode to PCM and the driver application will automatically convert the DSD format to PCM.)
Reference Article:
http://www.exasound.com/Blog/tabid/74/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/61/Configuring-
Foobar2000-for-ASIO-DSD-DXD-Playback-with-exaSound-DACs.aspx
Notes:
1.The current firmware of the X7 does not support native DSD decoding in DAC mode, but we will add support to it in the future firmware.
2.For the X3 2nd Gen, it requires the firmware FW1.6 or above to work with the new USB DAC driver
