MONA Owner’s Manual Version 1.1 for PC Mona is designed and manufactured in the U.S.
Important Safety Instructions 1. Read Instructions - Be sure to read all of the safety and operating instructions before operating this product. 2. Retain Instructions - The safety instructions and owner's manual should be retained for future reference. 3. Heed Warnings - All warnings on Mona and in the Owner's Manual should be followed. 4. Follow Instructions - All operating and use instructions should be followed. 5. Moisture - Water and moisture are detrimental to the continued good health of Mona.
10. Servicing - Do not attempt to service this unit yourself, as opening the case will expose you to hazardous voltage or other dangers. All servicing should be referred to qualified service personnel. 11.
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Table of Contents Introduction What You Should Have Received in the Mona Box System Requirements 7 7 7 Mona Installation System Check System Sounds Installing the Mona Hardware Connecting to Mona’s Rack-mount Interface Installing the Mona Software Drivers Mona Audio Input & Output Devices 8 8 9 9 12 18 22 The Echo Console Console Controls Monitor Controls Output Controls Adjusting Record and Playback Levels Setting Clock Sources and Destinations Synchronizing Multiple Devices Digital Mode Switch View AD
Table of Contents Installing Cool Edit Pro Special Edition Cool Edit Pro: Assigning Mona’s Inputs & Outputs Cool Edit Pro: Optimizing Multitrack Performance 41 42 43 Contacting Customer Service 45 Appendix A: The Echo Reporter Software Appendix B: General Troubleshooting Guide Appendix C: Resolving Interrupt Conflicts Appendix D: DirectSound FAQ Appendix E: Multi-client audio FAQ Appendix F: Audio Software FAQ Appendix G: An Introduction to Digital Recording Appendix H: Specifications 46 53 57 63 65
Introduction Thank you for choosing the Mona 24/96 Digital Studio. We think you’ll find Mona to be an extremely flexible, high-performance tool for your computer-based hard disk recording system.
Mona Installation Complete Mona installation consists of performing a system check, disabling Windows system sounds, installing the Mona PCI card, connecting the rack-mount audio interface to the card, installing the Mona Windows drivers into your system and, if necessary, installing a multitrack audio recording/editing application. System Check The first thing you should do is check the display settings for your computer.
like to check it out, then turn now to Appendix A: The Echo reporter Software and follow the directions there. When you are done, return here. System Sounds There is one final step to perform before installing the Mona hardware. We suggest that you turn off your Windows system sounds prior to installing Mona.
3. Insure that you have fully discharged all static electricity from your body before handling the Mona card. This can be done through the use of a grounding strap or, more simply, by touching your bare hand to the metal casing of the computer’s power supply. (For this latter method to work, the computer must be plugged in, though not turned on. After you’ve discharged your static, unplug the computer before proceeding to the next step.) 4. Remove the Mona card from its protective anti-static bag.
and place one in each bottom corner of the interface unit. Then be sure to locate the rack-mount box in a secure location. Plug one end of the cable into the 9-pin connector on the Mona card that now protrudes through the back panel of your computer, and secure the cable using the built-in screws located on both sides of the connector. Attach the other end of the cable to the rear of the interface and fasten the cable securely with the screws.
Connecting to Mona’s Rack-mount Interface The back panel of Mona’s rack-mount interface contains a wide variety of connections that allow great flexibility in the operation of Mona. To achieve the optimal performance with Mona, it is critical that the appropriate cabling and connectors are used. Analog Inputs and Outputs Mona has four analog inputs on the front panel, and six analog outputs on the back panel. The universal input connections can accept balanced or unbalanced signals via ¼” or XLR connectors.
Mona provides 48 volts of phantom power for microphones that require it. To enable phantom power press the button labeled +48V (the LED next to it will light up) and phantom power will be provided to all microphone inputs. Note: Phantom power will not be applied to any line level equipment or guitars plugged in using ¼” connectors.
Mona’s Guitar Input (1/4” Plug, Impedance: 100K, Trim: 10 – 50 dB) An input impedance of 10K is too low to record non-active guitar pickups so each input also has its own “guitar” switch. When the guitar switch is pushed in (green indicator lit), the input impedance is increased to 107K and the trim knob has a range of 10 to 50 dB. The indicator will only light up if there is a ¼” connector plugged into the jack. This mode will still provide a balanced input when a TRS connector is inserted.
Each of Mona’s 6 outputs has one RCA and one XLR connector for your convenience. The RCA jack outputs a –10dBV (unbalanced) signal, while the XLR jack outputs a +4dBu (balanced) signal. Both connectors are active at all times, so the output signal will always go out of both jacks. The Computer Connector Next to the analog inputs and outputs is a connector labeled COMPUTER. This connector is known as a DB-9, and is similar to the serial port on a PC.
ADAT/S/PDIF optical I/O Next to the COMPUTER connector is a pair of connectors labeled OPTICAL, IN and OUT. These connectors are used to transmit digital data among digital audio devices via an optical signal. You can use this port for ADAT (8 channels) or for optical S/PDIF (stereo) I/O. NOTE: Mona is only capable of transmitting or receiving one type of digital signal at a time. You must choose either ADAT optical or S/PDIF (optical or RCA); you cannot use both simultaneously.
When connecting devices to the S/PDIF jacks on Mona, the use of standard analog RCA audio cables is not recommended. For reliable S/PDIF operation, 75ohm coaxial (RG59) video cables are recommended. Word Clock Next to the S/PDIF ports are the Word Clock connectors. These connectors allow you to synchronize one Mona to another Mona, Layla or Layla24 or to other digital audio devices. The word clock I/O uses a BNC connector.
Installing the Mona Software Drivers Now that you have completed the hardware installation, you need to install the software drivers that allow Mona to interact properly with Windows 95/98 and your audio recording application. Turn on the power to your computer’s CPU. After Windows 95/98 starts up, it will automatically sense the newly installed Mona card and indicate, via a pop-up Install Wizard window, that new hardware has been found. At this point, you should insert the Mona CD-ROM disc.
If you are using Windows 98: After you have inserted the Mona CD-ROM disc and clicked next, you’ll see the message, “What do you want Windows to do?” Below that are two radio buttons. If it isn’t already selected, select the one labeled “Search for the best driver for your device (Recommended)”. Click on the Next button and a dialog will appear with several check boxes indicating places where Windows will look. Since you are installing from your CD-ROM drive, click on the appropriate box.
After the drivers are installed, you should verify that Windows recognizes them. You can do this by checking in the Windows Control Panel as follows: 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.
If the message does not appear, check Appendices A, B and C for help in isolating the cause of your difficulties. You can now exit back to the Control Panel window to check the Mona audio input and output devices that are available. In the Control Panel 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.
Mona Audio Input & Output Devices The Mona 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 Mona devices.
The Echo Console Included with your Mona is a “virtual control surface” application called the Echo Console. Every time you start Windows you will see it flicker across the screen as it loads. Then it will minimize itself to the taskbar. The Console allows you to control the audio I/O and clocking functions of Mona, and it brings these controls to a single easy-to-use location.
The console functions are grouped into three areas: inputs (in the upper left corner), monitors (directly below the inputs that are being monitored), and outputs (on the right hand side). The controls for a particular function/stereo pair are then further grouped into a box that contains selection buttons, faders, and other controls and displays as determined by the function. Console Controls Let’s take a look at the control surface.
Monitor Controls Below the input channels are the input monitor controls. The input monitor controls allow you to monitor the input signal via any of the available outputs on your Mona. Each input channel pair has a corresponding monitor control pair directly below it on the console. At the top of each monitor pair are radio buttons that allow you to selectively mute (M) or solo (S) each channel. In the middle you will find a pair of faders that will allow you to set the levels of the monitor signals.
input signal will be monitored at each of the outputs, independent of the main output level control. When setting a monitor level, you must first select the input that will be monitored, and then select the output for which you will set the monitor level. Selection of the input is really just a matter of using the correct monitor control box. A monitor setting will always affect the input pair that is directly above it.
Output Controls The right hand side of the console is dedicated to the controls for analog output channels one through six (an output meter pair is included for the two S/PDIF output channels, but these levels are not adjustable). The output controls mirror those found on the monitor controls (Gang, Mute, Solo, & faders), except that there are no pan controls and you will find level meters in the middle area instead of the numbered buttons.
Setting Clock Sources and Destinations At the very bottom of the Console there are buttons that allow you to select the synchronization clocks that are used by Mona. The console program will detect which input clocking options are available, and automatically disable those that are unavailable. Depending on what external devices you have connected to Mona, you may have as many as four options here. Input clocks, Digital Mode Switch & View ADAT Ctrls are at the bottom of the Console.
For this reason, Mona supports many synchronization modes. Mona can slave to word clock, S/PDIF, and ADAT. In addition, Mona can also generate these synchronization signals and Esync, as well as perform translation of one clock to another, such as transmitting word clock while reading ADAT. Let’s take a brief look at the various synchronization types. Word Clock – This is a synchronization signal that connects to the BNC connector labeled Word Clock on Mona’s back panel.
Esync – Esync is a proprietary from of super clock that is used to synchronize two or more Echo 24-bit products like Mona, Layla24, Gina24, and Darla24. While Gina24 and Darla24 have both input and output connectors on their PCI cards, Mona and Layla24 only have the Esync output connectors. You will notice that there is no actual “Esync” setting on the Mona Console. This is because Mona is always generating Esync clock on its Esync output, but does not receive Esync input.
Digital Mode Switch To the right of the Input clocks is a dropdown menu labeled “Digital Mode Switch.” This menu allows you to select which digital inputs/outputs Mona will use at any given time. The options are S/PDIF RCA, S/PDIF Optical, and ADAT. Mona can only use one digital mode at a time. When one of the two S/PDIF modes is selected, the “View ADAT Ctrls” checkbox will be greyed out. You can only access the ADAT controls when the ADAT mode is currently selected.
The “View ADAT Ctrls” checkbox will display this window when checked. 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 “Preferences.” The Preferences option brings up the Console “Preferences Page” window. We’ll get to that window shortly, but first let’s go on to the rest of the File menu options.
also shut down the Console application and remove it from the system tray. Don’t worry, if you want to bring the Console back you can do it by disabling, then re-enabling the Show console on taskbar checkbox in the Mona by Echo Properties window (see below under “Additional Configuration Settings”). It will also come back when you restart Windows. The Preferences Page The Mona Echo Console Preferences Page contains controls in three different categories: Digital I/O, General and Sample Rate Lock.
Digital I/O - Selecting the S/PDIF Output Format Mona can transmit digital information in either of two formats, “professional” or “consumer.” The primary difference between the two is in the implementation of the SCMS copy protection bit, which, in the Consumer format, prevents the user from making digital copies of a digital copy. Mona’s S/PDIF output defaults to the Professional format.
General - Sync Wave Devices This is mainly for developers who are using tools like Visual Basic or Delphi and want the inputs and outputs to be totally independent. Unless you have a good reason to turn it off, you should leave this switch on. If you have a program that is telling you that our hardware isn't full duplex, chances are you can fix this by either disabling this switch or enabling Multi-client audio (see below).
Console Preferences Page and enable the check box labeled “External box warning.” Sample Rate Lock These controls allow you to enable or disable the Sample Rate Lock feature, as well as set the sample rate you want to lock to. While the sample rate is locked, all sample rate change requests from applications will be ignored and the card will remain at that sample rate no matter what. This feature is most useful in Multi-client audio mode (see below). Suppose you have locked the sample rate to 44100.
Additional Configuration Settings In addition to those settings that can be made using the Echo Console program, there are a number of other configuration options you can access. These are found in 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.
Show console on taskbar The first selection in the General section of the Settings screen allows you to determine whether the Echo Console program will occupy a space on the Windows taskbar (the “M” in the bottom right-hand corner of the Windows desktop). Checking this option enables this feature, while unchecking will disable it. Monitor during playback In the default mode, Mona allows you to monitor your input signal whether you are recording, playing back, or simply idle.
Multi-client audio Multi-client audio lets you use different inputs and outputs on Mona with different audio programs at the same time. Otherwise, you would have to use a different soundcard with each audio application. For example, suppose you own both Cubase VST (multitrack audio) and Reality (software synthesizer). You can now set Cubase VST to play out through outputs 1 through 4, and set Reality to play out through outputs 5 and 6. The default setting for Multi-client audio is disabled.
DirectSound Settings Click on the DirectSound tab. The window will change to look like this: The first checkbox is called “Enable DirectSound.” This allows you to enable or disable the DirectSound driver for Mona. For more information about DirectSound please refer to the appendix: DirectSound FAQ. The second checkbox is labeled “Lock DirectSound format.” This allows you to force the Mona DirectSound driver to playback files at a certain sample rate and bit depth.
Installing Cool Edit Pro Special Edition Included with your Mona 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 Mona 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 Mona’s Inputs & Outputs Mona’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 Mona 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 Mona’s outputs. In this scenario, Cool Edit Pro creates a separate mix for each output device (each Mona channel-pair).
Contacting Customer Service If you experience any trouble with your Mona 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 Software Running the Echo Reporter Software The Reporter is designed to provide you with an analysis of your computer system’s audio capabilities and its ability to work successfully with your Echo card. The program looks at such things as your BIOS version, your interrupt assignments, and your hard disk’s transfer rate. The Reporter will perform a limited series of compatibility tests. It cannot guarantee that your system will work with Mona.
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.
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 Mona will only operate in Windows 95 or Windows 98. You must update to one of these operating systems.
*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 Mona, one or more of your peripheral devices no longer functions properly. Solution: During the installation of your Mona, 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 Mona and restarted Windows. Now Windows indicates that it has found new hardware and wants you to install a driver for it.
environments, whereas the consumer mode is commonly implemented on equipment designed for home use in the consumer market. The primary difference between the two modes is in the implementation of the SCMS copy-protection bit, which, in the consumer format, prevents the user from making digital copies of a digital copy. In most professional equipment, this copy-protection bit can be turned off or on according to the user’s needs. In consumer products, the SCMS bit is always enabled.
Problem: Mona doesn’t seem to recognize the synchronization clock to which it is connected. Solution: Although it may seem obvious, the first thing to check is that there is a physical connection between the device generating the clock and Mona’s rack mount interface. Just because multiple devices are connected to the same computer doesn’t mean they are synchronized. Next, be sure that you have selected the desired input clock source in the Mona Echo Console.
Problem: I can’t get Mona to record at 96 kHz. Solution: Set the Digital Mode to one of the S/PDIF options. You can change this setting from the Echo Console. When the Digital Mode is set to ADAT you are limited to the sample rates that are within the ADAT spec (such as 44.1 and 48kHz). Please note that you can only record above 48 kHz through the analog I/O. We will add support for recording through S/PDIF at 88.2 and 96 kHz in a future driver release.
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 Mona installations will go without a hitchthat Plug-and-Play will properly assign resources to your card without any conflicts. The other 5% of you may experience interrupt problems (mostly caused by non-Plug-and-Play ISA cards or PCI cards that don’t like to share).
wired to them. Some 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 Mona, 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 Mona, and move the SCSI card to IRQ 9. An interrupt conflict now exists between the SCSI card and the older MIDI card. PCI Cards and Interrupt Conflicts Some plug & play PCI cards can also cause interrupt conflicts when they try to share an IRQ with another PCI card.
Once you know which interrupt Mona is trying to use, you need to locate which card is potentially causing the conflict. To do this you may need to dig out the manuals for whatever ISA cards are installed and examine the jumper settings to determine which interrupts, if any, are used. Hopefully, at this point you will find an offending card that was not listed by the Reporter software but is using an interrupt that Windows has assigned to another device.
you will need to enter the BIOS configuration screen when your computer first starts up. This is usually done by pressing the Delete key or F1 key right after the memory test during the boot-up routine. Once you’re in the BIOS control panel, check to see if you are given the option of manually configuring your interrupts. Some BIOS’s, such as those from Award, allow you to choose between “Plug-and-Play” and “legacy ISA” for each interrupt.
Hopefully, your system will now be functioning properly. If not, please refer to the “Contacting Customer Service” section of this manual. We’ll do our best to help you solve your problem. Reconfiguring an IRQ within Windows 95/98 - PCI Now that you have identified the offending card and the IRQ in contention, you will want to try to reconfigure its IRQ setting. To do this, you must open the Device Manager. Select Start – Settings – Control Panel – System, and click the Device Manager tab.
Appendix D: DirectSound FAQ Q: What is DirectSound? DirectSound is an alternate method for a Windows application to access audio hardware. Previous Echo card drivers (for Layla, Gina & Darla) only supported wave (or multimedia) and ASIO. DirectSound typically provides much lower latencies than wave mode. While DirectSound was designed to be used by games, a number of professional audio applications now take advantage of it.
Note that you must do this if you want to use Gigasampler (see the section on Gigasampler in the “Audio Software FAQ” below). Q: Does this mean I can play games through Mona? Sure. The only snag is that many games use CD audio for their background music. Since the Mona card does not have a CD audio connector, you won't hear the music.
Appendix E: Multi-client audio FAQ Q: What is “Multi-client audio”? Multi-client audio is a feature that lets you use different inputs and outputs on your Echo card with different applications at the same time. This way, you can use several different audio applications with just one Echo card. Otherwise, you would have to use a different soundcard for each audio application. For example, suppose you own both Cubase VST (multitrack audio) and Reality (software synthesizer).
Reality is now also coming out at 48 kHz, so all the sounds played out of Reality will sound higher in pitch. If you're planning to use multi-client audio, the best thing you can do is to sit down and plan it out. Make a chart of each input and output on the Echo card and write down what application is going to use what input or output. Go through all the applications you plan to use this way and set them all up for the same sample rate and set up their inputs and outputs correctly.
Q: What I really want to do is use a software synthesizer or sampler like Gigasampler, Reality, or Retro AS/1. What's the best way to use this with an audio and MIDI sequencer like Cubase VST or Cakewalk? The best thing you can do is run the synthesizer/sampler application first, then run the sequencer. Make sure that each application is set to use a different set of inputs and outputs. Cubase VST is somewhat harder to get going in multi-client mode.
Appendix F: Audio Software FAQ Cubase VST and ASIO 2.0 Q: Can I use all Echo cards together at the same time in Cubase? Not right now, but we will add this in a future driver update. Right now there are two different Echo ASIO drivers. One is for the Echogals cards (Layla, Gina, Darla & Darla24). The other is for the new Echo24 cards (Layla24, Gina24 & Mona). We will be updating our ASIO drivers later this year to accommodate all Echo cards in Cubase.
that is also set up to use our hardware. For more information on multi-client mode, please refer to the “Multi-client audio FAQ” in this manual. Q: OK, so how should I deal with this? Cubase VST comes with a program called “Setup MME”. You can find it if you select Start/Programs/Cubase VST. Run the “Setup MME” program. Look at the list of MME outputs. Disable each entry that does not represent an actual piece of hardware.
Now, before you run Cubase VST, make sure you run Gigasampler first. Then, make sure that Gigasampler is not using outputs 1 and 2 of your card. Cubase will always try to use outputs 1 and 2. If some other program is using these two outputs already, Cubase will not be able to start the ASIO driver and you will get many error messages. Once you've got Gigasampler running and set up properly, go ahead and run VST. If you want to use both Gigasampler and Reality, you'd better have a really good computer.
Gigasampler Q: I'm a Gigasampler user. Anything I should know about? Yes. Unfortunately, Gigasampler does not work with Mona, Layla24 or Gina24 at this time. Nemesys (makers of Gigasampler) will be releasing an update patch soon that will add support for Mona, Layla24 and Gina24. We will also be releasing a driver update at that time. Both the Gigasampler patch and the Echo driver update will be required to use Gigasampler with our new products.
Appendix G: 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). Mona allows you to sample at rates up to 96,000 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.
different. A 0 dBV signal has a voltage level of 1.0 volts. A 0 dBu signal has a voltage level of .775 volts. Since .775 is approximately 2 dB less than 1.0, converting dBV levels into dBu levels is as simple as subtracting 2 dB (2.21 to be exact). Signals are also occasionally represented with units of dBm. This is an older unit that measures power instead of voltage levels with 0 dBm representing 1 milliwatt.
Unbalanced and Balanced Inputs and Outputs An unbalanced signal, commonly used for guitars and consumer electronics, contains two components, a ground signal and a “hot” or active signal. The ground is the barrel of a ¼” connector and the shell of an “RCA” style connector. A balanced signal contains two active signals instead of one in addition to the ground. These are referred to as the “plus” and “minus” signals. A balanced input amplifier amplifies the difference between these two signals.
Balanced signals connect with either XLR connectors or TRS (tip, ring sleeve) connectors. Mona uses XLR connectors for connecting microphones and TRS connectors for connecting balanced line level signals. The three sections of a TRS connector are used to transmit the three components of a balanced signal (T = plus, R = minus, S = ground). Mona will also accommodate the two conductor unbalanced style connector.
necessary when recording to avoid clipping. The only way that 96 dB would be adequate is if all music were recorded so that the peaks were just under full-scale and no compressing or amplification was going to be applied after recording. Any time recorded music is amplified, so is the noise at the low end. Mona has enough dynamic range to allow sufficient headroom and post-processing to be applied while still keeping the noise either off the CD completely or down as far as possible.
Appendix H: Specifications Audio Performance Analog Inputs (x4): !"Frequency Response: 10Hz – 22kHz, ±0.25dB !"Dynamic Range: 115dB A-weighted !"THD+n: <0.001%, 20Hz–22kHz !"Nominal Input Level: +4dBu !"Maximum Input Level: +22dBu !"Microphone Input Level (balanced XLR): !"EIN: -129dBV !"Input Impedence: 1.
!"Maximum Output Level: +8dBV Hardware !"Host Interface: PCI bus card !"PCI bus master interface !"Four high quality mic preamps with phantom power (+48v) !"Four universal analog inputs with precision 24-bit 128x oversampling analog-to-digital converters !"Six analog outputs (both XLR & RCA) with high performance 24-bit 128x oversampling digital-to-analog converters !"S/PDIF digital I/O with up to 24-bit resolution !"ADAT optical digital I/O !"Trim control and level meter for each input !"Headphone output
Index dynamic range · 79 A E ADAT · 29, 31, 68 adjusting record and playback levels · 27 analog resolution · 73 analog-to-digital converter · 72 ASIO 2 · 68 audio software · 68 available devices · 22 Echo Console · 23 Echo Console controls · 24 Echo Reporter · 7, 46, 51, 52, 75 Esync · 30 G Gigasampler · 69, 71 B H Background Mixing · 43 Background Mixing Priority Level hardware installation · 9 · 43 balanced · 78 BIOS version · I 46, 51 input controls · 24 interface cable · 7 interrupt confli
S/PDIF output setting · 34, 54 S/PDIF recording · 53 S/PDIF resolution · 73 sample rate · 72, 74 sample size · 73 SAW compatibility mode · 38 SCMS copy-protection · 34, 54 selecting a slot · 9 settings · 37 software Installation · 18 specifications · 81 static electricity, discharging · summary screen · 49 system requirements · 7 P PCI · 59, 62 PCI card, installation · 10 PCI slots · 9 Playback Buffer Size · 43 Playback Device · 42 Plug-and-Play · 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62 Preferred Multitrack Devices · 42 P
