DARLA by ® Owner’s Manual Version 1.6 for PC 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 5 5 5 Darla Installation Running the Echo Reporter Software The ECHODEL Program System Sounds Installing the Darla Hardware Installing the Darla Software Drivers Darla Audio Input & Output Devices 6 6 10 11 12 13 16 The Echo Console The File Menu The Edit Menu The Session Menu The Monitors Menu Console Controls Monitor Controls Output Controls Adjusting Record and Playback Levels Synchronizing Multiple Dev
Table of Contents Appendix A: The Reporter Troubleshooting Guide Appendix B: General Troubleshooting Guide Appendix C: Resolving Interrupt Conflicts Appendix D: Introduction to Digital Recording Appendix E: Specifications 34 36 37 42 46 Index 47 4
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 using the Echo Reporter software, installing the Darla PCI card, connecting the audio interface to the card, installing the Darla Windows drivers into your system and, if necessary, installing a multitrack audio recording/editing application.
After the test is completed you’ll see a results screen. Many of the parameters on the screen are interactive; you can change them to see how your disk performs under different conditions. For example, in the upper right corner of the screen you can see how large your hard disk is and how many minutes of recording time it will provide for a mono track recorded at 44.1kHz with 16-bit resolution. (Times are expressed in Hours: Minutes: Seconds.
You can adjust the parameters on the Hard Disk Performance screen to view your disk’s record and playback capabilities at various sample rates and bit-resolutions. You can also change the Size (bit-resolution), Rate (sample rate), and Number of Tracks fields. Though the original test was performed with default values of 16-bit 44.1kHz, you can easily see your disk’s performance reading and writing, say, 24-bit 48kHz data simply by selecting those values in the appropriate fields.
Similarly, by lowering the number of playback tracks, you’ll see the number of record tracks increase. • The readouts will generally show that you have fewer record tracks available than playback tracks. This is because writing data to a hard disk is a slower process than reading it back (due to the verify routines used when writing to disk). • The values you see should not be taken as absolute.
The Summary screen tells you if your system can support multitrack audio recording as well as alerting you to potential problems. If your system passed the Echo Reporter test, it’s time to move on to the next phase of installation. The ECHODEL Program If you have previously installed an Echo audio card, such as a Darla, Gina, or Layla, it will be necessary to remove the old drivers before adding your Darla.
program anytime you add an Echo audio card to your system, even if you are merely exchanging one card for an identical one (such as during a warranty exchange). Be sure to restart Windows after you run the ECHODEL program. System Sounds There is one final step to perform before installing the Darla hardware. We suggest that you turn off your Windows system sounds prior to installing Darla.
Installing the Darla Hardware Once you have run the Reporter software, have verified that there are no problems with your system, and have removed any old driver software with the ECHODEL program, it is time to install Darla into your computer. IMPORTANT - Unplug your computer and detach all peripherals before proceeding with the following steps. 1. Remove your computer’s cover. This operation differs from computer to computer.
5. 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. 6. Replace the computer’s cover and secure it. Reattach its power supply cord and reconnect any peripherals that you may have removed prior to beginning the Darla installation. 7. Locate the Darla audio breakout box.
will now prompt you for the location of the driver files. These files are located in the root directory of the Darla CD-ROM. Click the Browse button in the Install Wizard; this will cause the “Install From Disk” window to appear. In the field labeled “Copy manufacturer’s files from:”, enter the path D:\ (depending on your system configuration, your CD-ROM drive may use a letter other than “D”). Click on OK to complete the installation. Now turn to page 15.
Begin by clicking on the Windows Start button. Then select Settings, followed by Control Panel. Now double-click on the icon labeled System. At the top of the System window, you will see a tab labeled Device Manager; click on the tab. Now locate the line labeled Sound, Video, and Game Controllers. Double-clicking on the “+” to the left of the line’s associated icon should reveal the line Darla by Echo; double-click on that line.
window, locate the Multimedia icon and double-click on it. This will bring the multimedia Properties window into view. Select the Audio tab to see a list of available playback and recording devices in the Preferred Device fields. Darla Audio Input & Output Devices The Darla driver installs into your computer as a series of stereo .WAV devices. Pulling down the Preferred Device menu in the Control Panels/Multimedia/Audio Playback section will reveal the available Darla devices.
You can view the Darla input and output devices in the Multimedia Properties/Audio windo w. You’ll find these same input and output options available when using your audio record/editing software, with the devices assignable on a per-track basis. See your software owner’s manual for details on how to make these device assignments. Instructions for making these assignments in Cool Edit Pro Special Edition can be found on page 29 of this manual.
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 and clocking functions of Darla, and it brings these controls to a single easy-touse location. From the console you can control input and output levels as well as adjust input monitoring. The Echo Console software was automatically installed at the same time that you installed the Darla drivers for Windows 95/98.
selection buttons, a slider, and other controls and displays as determined by the function. The File Menu At the top left of the Console window you will find the File menu. By selecting the File menu, several configuration options become available to you. The first menu option is “New Console”. The New Console option allows you to create an additional iteration of the console program. In this way, multiple devices (Laylas, Ginas or Darlas) may be controlled using their own dedicated console.
The Session Menu Users now have the ability to save and restore any number of different console states. A console state contains the state of each user-selectable console setting excluding color scheme and font. The “Open” option, first on the Session menu, lets you open a previously saved session. The “Save” option, second on the Session menu, lets you save any changes made to the current session.
the list. For those who like using the keyboard, pressing the corresponding number (displayed with an underline before the session name) also works. The Monitors Menu The “Group Mode” option, first on the Monitors menu, is not available for Darla. The “In-Line” option, second on the Monitors menu, is not available for Darla. Console Controls Let’s take a look at the control surface. The input controls are located in the upper left portion of the console surface.
the bottom. In addition, a pair of slider controls is available for setting the levels of the monitor signals. Instead of level meters, the monitor control has a series of numbered buttons. These buttons allow you to select which output channel pair controls are displayed, so you can adjust them. The monitors are one of the most powerful functions of the console.
Remember that all of the inputs are continuously monitored by all of the outputs at some level. The degree of attenuation (or muting) of that level is set by the monitor controls. The console program constantly maintains a level setting for each of the 8 monitor paths it controls. Clicking on an output selection button simply selects the settings that are displayed. Output Controls The right hand side of the console is dedicated to the controls for output channels one through eight.
Clock. Without such synchronization, the individual pieces of equipment will act independently of each other. This scenario may be fine for some musical applications; however, it is not appropriate for situations where sample-accurate synchronization is required. Console Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts To navigate between control groups: Ctrl + Tab Move to next control group. Ctrl + Shift + Tab Move to previous control group. To navigate between controls within a control group: Tab Move to next control.
found on the Windows Control Panel. To access these controls, begin by pressing the Windows Start button. Select Settings, then Control Panel. In the Control Panel window, locate the icon for System, and double-click on it. Click on the tab titled Device Manager. Now locate the line titled Sound, video and game controllers. Finally, locate the line titled Darla by Echo, and double-click. This will bring up the Darla Properties window, which we saw briefly at the conclusion of Darla installation.
when performing punch-in recording, it may be desirable to have the input signal muted until Record is enabled. In the Darla Properties window that appears you’ll see a checkbox labeled Monitor During Playback. Uncheck the box to disable input monitoring; recheck it to once again enable input monitoring. Monitoring controls are also available on the Echo Console.
ASIO Driver Installation The ASIO driver is automatically installed on your system at the same time the Echo Layla/Gina/Darla driver is installed. To use it: 1. If you already own a copy of Steinbergs’ VST program, skip to step 3. 2. On the installation CD, run the program: \Audio Software Demos\Steinberg\CubaseVST demo\VSTdemo.exe which will install a fully functional demo of this program.
problem has been corrected. Therefore, you cannot use VST with multiple Darlas because they do not support external synchronization. 10.When running VST selecting menu Options - Reset Devices followed by pressing the Play button results in no sound. Simply press the Stop button twice to reset the position pointer to the beginning of the buffer. Then press Play and sound will resume.
Installing Cool Edit Pro Special Edition Included with your Darla system is a special version of Syntrillium Software’s Cool Edit Pro, a powerful multitrack audio recording and editing application. To install the software: 1. Insert the Darla CD-ROM. 2. Press the Start button, and select Run… from the menu. Now select Browse… At the top of the window that appears, you will see a box labeled Look In:. Clicking on this box will result in a list of your disk drives to appear. Select your CD-ROM drive.
Cool Edit Pro: Assigning Darla’s Inputs & Outputs Darla’s inputs and outputs are assigned to tracks in two different ways, depending on the viewstereo waveform or multitrackin which you are working. In the stereo waveform view, select Options/Settings/Devices; in the window that appears you can define the Waveform Playback and Waveform Record devices. Simply highlight the Darla inputs and outputs you wish to use in the appropriate fields.
Cool Edit Pro: Optimizing Multitrack Performance Background mixingthe process Cool Edit Pro uses to allow a large number of tracks to play simultaneouslyrequires significant processing power from your computer. With larger sessions, your computer may become so occupied with mixing that you experience audio dropouts in multitrack playback. This will usually happen because the background mixing is not sufficiently complete (watch the Mix Gauge) before playback is initiated.
output devices vary, so may the settings you’ll need to use to maximize performance. Use the Multitrack Settings shown above as a starting place when adjusting your system to optimize the performance of Cool Edit Pro. Cool Edit Pro will take more time performing background mixing when you have your tracks assigned to multiple sets of Darla’s outputs. In this scenario, Cool Edit Pro creates a separate mix for each output device (each Darla channel-pair).
Contacting Customer Service If you experience any trouble with your Darla system please go to the support area of our website at www.echoaudio.com and check out the troubleshooting FAQ’s we have there. If you can’t find a solution to your problem there, please fill out the provided technical support email form. This form will be sent to our technical support staff and they will respond to you quickly. Please fill out the form completely.
Appendix A: The Echo Reporter Troubleshooting Guide After you run the Reporter program, your summary may contain one or more of the following problem/error messages. Consult the table below for suggestions on interpreting the messages and finding solutions. Message... Problem... What to do... * The Echo line of sound cards require Windows 95 or Windows 98 Your computer is using a Windows 3.xx or Windows NT operating system The Echo Reporter and Darla will only operate in Windows 95 or Windows 98.
*The Echo Reporter has found that none of the hard drives that were tested meet minimum performance standards with respect to transfer rate. Though your system supports the Echo line of sound cards, we recommend that you upgrade your hard drive(s), as your existing drive(s) are not capable of sustaining the minimum transfer rates required for reasonable performance Your computer has no physical hard drives that test at a transfer rate better than 500Kb/second.
Appendix B: General Troubleshooting Guide Problem: After installing Darla, one or more of your peripheral devices no longer functions properly. Solution: During the installation of your Darla, it is possible that an interrupt conflict was created. Please see Appendix C: Resolving Interrupt Conflicts for more information on this topic. Problem: You installed Darla and restarted Windows. Now Windows indicates that it has found new hardware and wants you to install a driver for it.
Appendix C: Resolving Interrupt Conflicts While Plug-and-Play is often called “Plug-and-Pray,” it actually works quite well most of the time. We estimate that 95% of Darla installations will go without a hitchthat Plug-and-Play will properly assign resources to your card without any conflicts. The other 5% of you will likely experience interrupt problems caused by older, non-Plug-and-Play cards that are installed in your system.
wired to them. Older ISA cards (also called “legacy” cards) have you select which interrupt is used by configuring jumpers on the card. Newer Plugand-Play ISA cards have their interrupts selected by either the computer’s BIOS (the built-in program that starts the computer) or by Windows 95/98. The newer PCI (Peripheral Connect Interface) bus transfers data faster than ISA and was designed to support Plug-and-Play from the start. PCI connectors have only four interrupts wired to them (A, B, C, and D).
and use your MIDI card or play back audio via Darla, neither device will function properly. Or, maybe you have a SCSI card that had previously been assigned to IRQ 10. The BIOS may now decide to assign IRQ 10 to Darla, and move the SCSI card to IRQ 9. An interrupt conflict now exists between the SCSI card and the older MIDI card. In this case, you’re probably cursing at your new card (and possibly us) for messing with your SCSI interfaceafter all, everything worked fine before the new card was installed.
If you have lost your manuals and are having trouble figuring out which card may be causing a problem, you can try the brute force approach. Remove all legacy ISA cards from your system and then re-install them one at a time until the system quits working. The card that makes the computer stop working correctly will be the one that needs to be dealt with. Once the offending card has been identified you have a few different options. One option is to simply remove the card from your system.
Reserving an IRQ within Windows 95/98 Windows 95/98 also allows you to reserve interrupts for legacy use. In most cases this works just as well as reserving the IRQ in the BIOS. However, you may still have problems if you boot up an older version of DOS from a floppy where Windows 95/98 can’t do its Plug-and-Play magic. To reserve an IRQ within Windows 95/98 do the following: 1. Click on the Start button and select Control Panel under the Settings option. 2. Double click on the icon labeled System. 3.
Appendix D: 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.
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 E: Specifications Audio Performance Analog in to analog out Frequency Response: 10Hz – 22kHz, ±0.5dB Dynamic Range: 98dB THD+n: <0.
Index A H adjusting record and playback levels · 23, 24 analog resolution · 43 analog-to-digital converter · 42 appearance command · 19, 20, 21 ASIO · 3, 27 available devices · 16 hardware installation · 12 I input controls · 21 interrupt conflicts · 36, 37, 38, 39 L B legacy · 41 legacy cards · 38, 39, 40 Background Mixing · 31 Background Mixing Priority Level · 31 M BIOS version · 6, 34 mixer device command · 19 monitor controls · 21 Monitor During Playback · 26 C compact disk, contents · 5 co
SAW compatibility mode · 26 selecting a slot · 12 software Installation · 13 static electricity, discharging · 12 summary screen · 9 system requirements · 5 R Record Device · 30 REPORTER program errors · 34 resolving interrupt conflicts · 37 S T sample rate · 42, 44 sample size · 43 troubleshooting guide · 34, 36 48
