AUDIO INTERFACE MICROPHONE PRE-AMPLIFIER OWNER'S MANUAL Purebits http://purebits.com HARDWARE VR. 1.4 X4 Owner's Manual - Rev. 1.
Table of Contents Precautions and warnings............................................................. 2 Introduction................................................................................. 3 Key features................................................................................. 3 Product features........................................................................... 4 What's in the package................................................................... 5 Installation.................
Introduction X4 is an USB soundcard providing analog and digital input/output and a built-in microphone/line preamplifier. It has been designed and manufactured for acoustics measurement and Live Recordings purposes, but can be used also for general tasks. X4 is completely plug&play in PC, Mac and Linux/Unix environments, does not require any external power supply and is enclosed in a robust and light-weight aluminum case. Key features Fully Compliant with USB 1.
Product features 2 channel IN / 2 channel OUT USB soundcard (16 bit, up to 48 kHz (*) sample rate), compatible with all Windows versions (no driver required), Linux and Macintosh. High accuracy A/D and D/A converters from Burr-Brown: (*) The soundcard can operate also at a sample frequency of 96 kHz, but the audio bandwidth is limited to 22 kHz. No external power supply required. Powered from USB port. Very robust anodized aluminum enclosure.
What's in the package X4 audio device USB cable One stereo Jack to 2 RCA converter One stereo RCA-RCA cable X4 Owner's Manual - Rev. 1.
Installation Generic Windows drivers The X4 device does not require any additional driver to operate. Locate an USB port of your computer and connect, with the cable provided in the package, the X4 device. The blu led in the front panel of the X4 will light. The first installation from this point depends from your operating system. Windows XP and 2000 After the X4 connection the system will display the message “Found new Hardware” and will install automatically the required drivers.
Click Next and the following window will appear: Select the “Search for the best driver” option and click Next. The following window will appear: X4 Owner's Manual - Rev. 1.
Now the standard USB Audio windows driver must be installed: 1- Try deselecting all options and click Next. If no suitable drivers are found, repeat this step: 2a- Insert your Windows 98 CDROM, select the CD-ROM option and click Next. 2b- Alternatively (if your Windows 98 installation files are on the hard disk) use the “Specify a location” option, Browse for the Windows 98 cabs files (usually they are in C:\Windows\Options\Cabs location) and click Next.
USB Audio Device in the Sound, video and game controllers section: Composite USB Device in the USB Controller (Universal Serial Bus) section: USB Human Interface Device in the Human Interface Devices section: X4 Owner's Manual - Rev. 1.
ASIO drivers The X4 sound card is compatible with ASIO drivers. To use the X4 with ASIO, a generic ASIO driver can be used. There are some freeware ASIO drivers on internet. We suggest ASIO4ALL by Michael Tippach, that can be downloaded from here: http://www.asio4all.com/ Another free generic ASIO driver is ASIO2KS, by Tobias Erichsen. It can be downloaded from http://www.asio2ks.de/ Please refer to the respective webpages for instructions about the use of these drivers.
[1] Input 1 (Left channel) and 2 (right channel). - The gain of input 1 can be adjusted by means of the IN Level 1/3 knob [13]. - The gain of input 2 can be adjusted by means of the IN Level 2/4 knob [14]. - The signal in input 1 is sent to the left input channel of the soundcard and to the left channel of the Preamplifier output [11]. - The signal in input 2 is sent to the right input channel of the soundcard and to the right channel of the Preamplifier output [11].
[7] Input 1 (Left channel) and 2 (right channel). - Wired to IN 1/2 RCA inputs. See note [1] for a functionality description. [8] Line/Mic selector - It limits the gain input of the Preamplifier from about 34 dB (Mic position) to about 14 dB (Line position). [9] Stereo OUT - Output of Left and Right channels of the Soundcard. - The Left channel is wired to OUT left [3], The Right channel is wired to OUT right [3]. - It can drive an Headphone. [10] Phantom power supply for Input 1/2 - A low current 3.
Rear Panel [15] Digital Output Standard S/PDIF digital output (coaxial) of the Soundcard output signal. [16] Digital Input Standard S/PDIF digital input (coaxial) of the Soundcard input signal. [17] Coaxial/Optical IN This switch allows the selection of Coaxial or Optical digital input. [18] USB USB connector. It allows to connect the soundcard to the PC by means of an USB cable. [19] Digital Output Standard S/PDIF digital output (optical) of the Soundcard output signal.
Using the X4 Playing When the USB device is connected to the computer, a new audio device will be automatically available in the system. If some other audio devices are present (such as a built-in soundcard on the motheboard or another soundcard), the USB audio device can be selected as preferred audio device in Windows from Control Panel / Multimedia properties. Alternatively, the USB audio device can be selected, among all other soundcards, from your audio software.
In Windows XP: write SNDVOL32 in the next window: X4 Owner's Manual - Rev. 1.
The Windows mixer will be shown. If more than one soundcard is installed in your computer, the USB Audio Device must be selected in the Windows mixer. To do this, simply select the Options/Properties menu item: and in the next window select USB Audio Device and the Playback section. Enable the “Master Out” and “Wave” checkboxes and disable all other ones. X4 Owner's Manual - Rev. 1.
NOTE: the “Master Out” and “Wave” names could be different depending on your Windows operating system language settings. NOTE: There is no Recording section available in the mixer for the X4. The input gain can be adjusted only using the knobs [13] and [14] in the X4 front panel. Now the mixer will look as follows: To obtain the best audio results it is recommended to keep always the Wave slider at the maximum level and to use the Master Out to adjust the output level.
The output level can be adjusted also by connecting the soundcard in loopback. In this configuration the output signal is taken from the Preamplifier output Jack and its level is displayed on the 2 VU-Meter bars. Loopback configuration: The picture above shows a loopback connection obtained by using the provided stereo RCA-RCA cable.
Recording, Microphone preamplifier, Phantom power The USB soundcard gets the audio signals for recording from the inputs 1/2 [1], 3/4 [2] and Stereo IN [7]. Inputs 1/2 and 3/4 are mixed (1 and 3, 2 and 4) and can be used simultaneously. The Stereo IN [7] and inputs 1/2 [1] are wired and must not be used at the same time. Examples of use: - Live music recording: inputs 1 and 2 connected to 2 microphones (phantom power supply [10] ON), inputs 3 and 4 connected to PA mixer (phantom power supply [12] OFF).
VU-Meters The VU-meter [4] can monitor the Input signal 1 and Input signal 3 or the left channel of the Stereo IN signal. It can monitor the left channel output signal, in loopback configuration. The VU-meter [5] can monitor the Input signal 2 and Input signal 4 or the right channel of the Stereo IN signal. It can monitor the right channel output signal, in loopback configuration.
END USER WARRANTY Purebits and its owner, Paolo Guidorzi, warrants the X4 unit audio interface against defects for a period of one year from the date of purchase. This warranty is nontransferable and is applicable only to the original purchaser. Purebits will replace or repair any product recognized as defective. This warranty cannot be applied to damages that are consequence of misuse or modifications. The device does not contain user-serviceable parts. Opening of the unit voids the warranty.
