Darla by ® Owner’s Manual Version 2.2 for Mac Darla is designed and manufactured in the U.S.
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Table of Contents Introduction What You Should Have Received in the Darla Box System Requirements 4 4 4 Darla Installation Checking your Macintosh Install 3rd Party Multitrack Software Configuring your Macintosh System Installing the Darla Hardware Running the Echo Card Installer Darla Audio Input & Output Devices Custom Install: Additional ASIO Drivers ASIO Driver Configuration 5 5 6 6 11 13 15 16 17 The Echo Console Console Controls Monitor Controls Setting Clock Sources and Destinations 18 19 19 21
Introduction Thank you for choosing the Darla 20-bit Multitrack Digital Audio Recorder. We think you’ll find Darla to be an extremely flexible, high-performance tool for your computer-based hard disk recording system.
Darla Installation Complete Darla installation consists of performing a system check, installing any multitrack recording software, configuring your Macintosh for multitrack audio, installing the Darla PCI card, connecting the audio breakout box to the card, running Install Echo Card and, if necessary, installing additional ASIO drivers. Checking your Macintosh 1. Do you have enough Memory? With your mouse select Apple – About this computer. Look at the amount of Built-in Memory you have.
Configuring your Macintosh System 1. Check your Boot Disk. Most people only have one OS on their Mac, so they can ignore this section. If you have multiple hard drives with separate OS’s in your Mac, then you will have to install the Darla software separately for each OS. To check your boot disk, go to Apple – Control Panels – Startup Disk. Make sure that the drive you want to boot from is highlighted. If you have changed this selection, you will have to restart for it to take affect.
2. Turn Virtual Memory Off. Turn RAM Disk Off. Go to Apple – Control Panels – Memory. Where it says Virtual Memory, click Off. While you’re here, make sure that RAM Disk is also Off. These settings are necessary for the Darla software to work properly. 3. Make Alias for Sound Control Panel. Now you are going to install a helpful sound utility. Double click on your boot disk (if you have more than one hard drive and don’t know which one this is, see #1 above).
4. Set Sound In and Sound Out to Built-in. Open the Sound Control Panel. You can do this by double clicking the alias you just created and put on your desktop. Select Sound In from the drop down menu. Highlight Built-in by clicking on it. Now select Sound Out from the drop down menu. Highlight Built-in by clicking on it. Both of these settings may have already been set to Built-in, but it’s good to make sure. 5. Turn Off Folder/Menu Sounds. This is optional, but highly recommended.
6. Mute/Turn down Built-in Volume. This is also optional, but highly recommended. If you leave the Built-in volume on, the alert sounds could interfere with a live recording using an ASIO program. Open the Sound Control Panel by double clicking the alias on your desktop (The one you created in step 3). Select Volumes from the drop down menu. Move the slider for Built-in to the bottom, and make sure there is a check in the Mute box.
7. Create an Audio Extensions Set. You need a separate Extensions Set with certain Extensions disabled so that your audio program can perform at its best with the Darla system. First, select Apple – Control Panels – Extensions Manager, and click the Duplicate Set… button. Type in a name (like Audio Settings), and click OK. Now scroll down the list of Extensions and disable all of them that have to do with networking, printing, and any that say OpenTransport or OpenTpt.
Installing the Darla Hardware Once you have checked your system requirements, verified that there are no problems with your system, installed any 3rd party audio software, and have configured your Macintosh for multitrack audio, it is time to install Darla into your computer. Please refer to the section in your Mac manual for installing a PCI card. IMPORTANT - Unplug your computer and detach all peripherals before proceeding with the following steps. 1. Remove your computer’s cover.
5. Secure card to computer. If there was one, use the screw removed earlier from the protective backplate to attach the metal bracket at the back of the Darla card to the computer’s rear panel. On many Macs the locking mechanisms used to hold down the PCI cards cause difficulties properly seating the cards. We recommend checking the card and making sure it is well seated and liable to stay that way.
Running the Echo Card Installer Now that you have completed the hardware installation, you need to run the installer for Darla to interact properly with the MacOS and your audio recording application.
Now select where you want the Echo Card Folder to be installed. The default is to your desktop. You will get a message about restarting after installation – Press Yes to continue. Now you will see the installer working, and then you will be asked which ASIO folder you want to install the Darla ASIO Driver to. If you have more than one audio program that uses ASIO, then you will have to select one folder, and then come back later to install the ASIO driver to your other program(s).
You should now see a message saying ‘Installation was successful.’ Press Restart. It may be a good idea to turn down your mixer at this point, as there can be some noise when restarting. During restart, the red Echo Extensions Icon should appear on the lower left corner with your other extensions. If you don’t see the red icon, check to see if there is a space for that icon. Some video cards for the Mac have a problem where they repaint the screen, hiding our little icon from sight.
Custom Install: Additional ASIO Drivers If you have several audio programs that use ASIO, then you will need to install the Darla ASIO Driver to the corresponding ASIO folder for each program. You should have already installed the Darla ASIO Driver to one of these programs as part of the installation process above. Open the Darla Mac Install CD and start the Install Echo Card program just like you did earlier. Follow the instructions from before until you get to the part with the Easy Install.
ASIO Driver Configuration You have now finished installing the Darla ASIO Driver to all of your audio programs that use ASIO. You now need to select the Darla ASIO Driver from within your audio program. Please refer to your audio program manual for instructions on how to do this. This completes the installation of the Darla hardware and software.
The Echo Console Included with your Darla is a “virtual control surface” application called The Echo Console. The Console allows you to control the audio I/O functions of Darla, and it brings these controls to a single easy-to-use location. From the console you can control the input monitoring levels. The Echo Console software can be found in the Echo Card Folder that was created during installation. Double clicking on the Echo Console icon will activate the console program.
Console Controls Let’s take a look at the control surface. The Input Levels are located in the upper portion of the console surface. Directly below the Input Levels is a section called Input Trims. Unfortunately Darla does not support this function. This is only available in the Gina and Layla audio recording systems. Monitor Controls Below the Input Levels and Input Trims are the Monitor Channel controls.
buttons on the bottom left. These buttons allow you to select an output channel. When button 1 is selected, all of the monitor controls affect what goes to output 1. Note that it says Out 1 at the bottom of every channel. This will change according to whatever button is selected. The console will remember the changes you have made to each output even though you can only see one at a time. Take note that these controls are for the routing of audio signals from the Darla inputs to the Darla outputs only.
Setting Clock Sources and Destinations At the very top of the Console there are buttons that allow you to select the synchronization clocks that are used by Gina and Layla. The console program will sense which input clocking options are available, and automatically disable those that are unavailable. There are no clocking options available for Darla. Contacting Customer Service If you experience any trouble with your Darla system please go to the support area of our website at www.echoaudio.
Appendix A: An Introduction to Digital Recording Converting Sound into Numbers In a digital recording system, sound is represented as a series of numbers, with each number representing the voltage, or amplitude, of a sound wave at a particular moment in time. The numbers are generated by an analog-todigital converter, or ADC, which converts the signal from an analog audio source (such as a guitar or a microphone) connected to its input into numbers.
Sample Size The more bits that are used to store the sampled value, the more closely it will represent the source signal. In an 8-bit system, there are 256 possible combinations of zeroes and ones, so 256 different analog voltages can be represented. A 16-bit system provides 65,535 possible combinations. A 16bit signal is capable of providing far greater accuracy than an 8-bit signal. Figure B shows how this works. Figure B.
Sample Rate The rate at which the ADC generates the numbers is equally important in determining the quality of a digital recording. To get a high level of accuracy when sampling, the sample rate must be greater than twice the frequency being sampled. The mathematical statement of this is called the Nyquist Theorem. When dealing with full-bandwidth sound (20Hz−20kHz), you should sample at greater than 40,000 times per second (twice 20kHz). Darla allows you to sample at rates up to 48,000 times per second.
Storing Digital Data Once the waveform has been transformed into digital bits, it must be stored. When sampling in stereo at 48kHz using a 20-bit word size, the system has to accommodate 1,920,000 bits per second. Though this is a lot of data, it is well within the capabilities of personal computers. Most computer-based digital recording systems record the data directly to the computer’s hard disk.
Appendix B: Specifications Audio Performance Analog in to analog out !"Frequency Response: 10Hz – 22kHz, ±0.5dB !"Dynamic Range: 98dB !"THD+n: <0.
Index A H analog resolution · 23 analog-to-digital converter · 22 ASIO · 14, 17 ASIO install · 16 hardware installation · 11 I input controls · 19 input devices · 15 introduction · 4 B boot disk · 6 M C memory · 5 memory, virtual · 7 monitor controls · 19 checking your Macintosh · 5 configuring your Macintosh · 6 console · 15, 18 console controls · 19 contents, of box · 4 customer service · 21 O output devices · 15 D P Darla installation · 5 digital-to-analog converter · 22 PCI card, installat
