User's Guide Hammerfall® DSP System HDSPe MADIface ™ TotalMix 24 Bit / 192 kHz 9 ® SyncAlign ZLM ® ® SyncCheck ™ SteadyClock PCI Express Digital I/O System ExpressCard Interface 64 Channels MADI Interface 24 Bit / 192 kHz Digital Audio 128 x 64 Matrix Router MIDI embedded in MADI
General 1 2 3 4 5 6 Introduction ...............................................................6 Package Contents .....................................................6 System Requirements ..............................................6 Brief Description and Characteristics.....................6 Hardware Installation................................................6 First Usage 6.1 Connectors and Displays .......................................7 6.2 Notes on Laptops and ExpressCard......................
Driver Installation and Operation - Mac OS X 18 Driver and Flash Update 18.1 Driver Installation ................................................. 28 18.2 Driver Update....................................................... 28 18.3 Flash Update........................................................ 28 19 Configuring the MADIface 19.1 Settings Dialog..................................................... 29 19.2 Settings Dialog – DDS ......................................... 31 19.
24 TotalMix: The Matrix 24.1 Overview ..............................................................50 24.2 Elements of the Matrix View ................................50 24.3 Usage ...................................................................50 24.4 Advantages of the Matrix .....................................51 25 TotalMix Super-Features 25.1 ASIO Direct Monitoring (Windows only) ..............51 25.2 Selection and Group based Operation ................52 25.3 Copy Routings to other Channels .....
User's Guide HDSPe MADIface General User's Guide HDSPe MADIface © RME 5
1. Introduction Thank you for choosing the Hammerfall DSP MADIface. This unique audio system is capable of transferring digital audio data directly into a computer, from any device equipped with a MADI interface. Installation is simple, even for the inexperienced user, thanks to the latest Plug and Play technology. The numerous unique features and well thought-out configuration dialog puts the HDSPe MADIface at the very top of the range of digital audio interface cards.
6. First Usage 6.1 Connectors and Display The front of the I/O box has a push button acting as input selector, switching the MADI input from coaxial to optical. The currently active input is indicated by a LED. Identical signals are available at both the optical and the coaxial output. Therefore two devices can be connected, i.e. using the MADIface as a splitter (distribution 1 to 2).
7. Accessories RME offers several optional components. Additionally parts of the HDSPe MADIface are available separately. Part Number Description Standard FireWire 400 cable, both sides 6-pin male: FWK660100BL FireWire cable IEEE1394a 6M/6M, 1 m (3.3 ft) MADI cable optical: ONK0100 ONKD0300 ONKD0600 ONKD1000 ONKD2000 ONKD5000 MADI Optical Network Cable, 3.
Trademarks All trademarks, registered or otherwise, are the property of their respective owners. RME, DIGICheck and Hammerfall are registered trademarks of RME Intelligent Audio Solutions. HDSPe MADIface, TMS, SyncAlign, ZLM, SyncCheck and TotalMix are trademarks of RME Intelligent Audio Solutions. Microsoft, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 are registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp.
CE / FCC Compliance CE This device has been tested and found to comply with the limits of the European Council Directive on the approximation of the laws of the member states relating to electromagnetic compatibility according to RL89/336/EWG and RL73/23/EWG. FCC This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules.
User's Guide HDSPe MADIface Driver Installation and Operation - Windows User's Guide HDSPe MADIface © RME 11
10. Driver and Firmware 10.1 Driver Installation After the MADIface has been installed correctly (see 5. Hardware Installation), and the computer has been switched on, Windows will recognize the new hardware component and start its ‘Hardware Wizard’. Insert the RME Driver CD into your CD-ROM drive, and follow further instructions which appear on your computer screen. The driver files are located in the directory \WDM on the RME Driver CD.
10.3 De-Installing the Drivers A de-installation of the driver files is not necessary – and not supported by Windows anyway. Thanks to full Plug & Play support, the driver files will not be loaded after the hardware has been removed. If desired these files can then be deleted manually. Unfortunately Windows Plug & Play methods do not cover the additional autorun entries of TotalMix, the Settings dialog, and the registration of the ASIO driver.
11. Configuring the MADIface 11.1 Settings Dialog Configuration of the MADIface is done via its own settings dialog.
Buffer Size The setting Buffer Size determines the latency between incoming and outgoing ASIO and GSIF data, as well as affecting system stability (see chapter 13/14). GSIF and WDM can be set from 32 to 512 samples. Above 512, only ASIO is affected. WDM Devices Not before Vista the OS had been capable to handle more than 32 WDM stereo devices. Therefore under W2k/XP it often makes sense to intentionally limit their number. System Clock Shows the current clock state of the HDSP system.
11.2 Settings dialog - DDS Usually soundcards and audio interfaces generate their internal clock (master mode) by a quartz. Therefore the internal clock can be set to 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz, but not to a value in between. SteadyClock, RME's sensational Low Jitter Clock System, is based on a Direct Digital Synthesizer (DDS). This superior circuitry can generate nearly any frequency with highest precision.
DDS Activates all settings of this dialog. Value Shows the sample rate as adjusted in this dialog. The sample rate is defined by the basic setting (frequency), the multiplier, and the position of the activated fader. Frequency Sets a fixed basic sample rate, which can be modified by multiplier and fader. Freq. Multiplier Changes the basic sample rate into Single, Double or Quad Speed mode. Coarse Fader for coarse modification of the basic sample rate. Click Active to activate it. Minimum step size 1 Hz.
12. Operation and Usage 12.1 Playback The HDSP system can play back audio data only in supported modes (channels, PCM) and formats (sample rate, bit resolution). Otherwise an error message appears (for example at 22 kHz and 8 bit). In the audio application being used, HDSP must be selected as output device. This can often be found in the Options, Preferences or Settings menus under Playback Device, Audio Devices, Audio etc. We strongly recommend switching off all system sounds (via >Control Panel /Sounds<).
12.2 DVD-Playback (AC-3/DTS) AC-3 / DTS When using popular DVD software players like WinDVD and PowerDVD, their audio data stream can be sent to any AC-3/DTS capable receiver via the MADIface. For this to work an output wave device has to be selected in >Control Panel/ Sounds and Multimedia/ Audio< or >Control Panel/ Sound/Playback<. Also check 'use preferred device only'. The DVD software's audio properties now show the options 'SPDIF Out' or similar.
12.3 Notes on WDM The driver offers a WDM streaming device per stereo pair, like HDSP MADI (1+2). WDM streaming is Microsoft's current driver and audio system, directly embedded into the operating system. WDM streaming is hardly usable for professional music purposes, as all data is processed by the so called Kernel Mixer, causing a latency of at least 30 ms.
12.4 Multi-client Operation RME audio interfaces support multi-client operation. This means several programs can be used at the same time. Also all formats (ASIO, WDM, GSIF) can be used simultaneously. The use of multi-client operation requires to follow two simple rules: • Multi-client operation requires identical sample rates! I.e. it is not possible to use one software with 44.1 kHz and the other with 48 kHz. • Different software can not use the same channels at the same time.
12.5 Digital Recording Unlike analog soundcards which produce empty wave files (or noise) when no input signal is present, digital I/O cards always need a valid input signal to start recording. To take this into account, RME included a comprehensive I/O signal status display (showing sample frequency, lock and sync status) in the Settings dialog.
13. Operation under ASIO 13.1 General Start the ASIO software and select ASIO Hammerfall DSP as the audio I/O device. The 'ASIO system control' button opens the HDSP's Settings dialog (see chapter 11, Configuration). At a sample rate of 88.2 or 96 kHz (Double Speed mode), the number of channels available at the MADI input and output is halved. At a sample rate of 176.4 or 192 kHz (Quad Speed mode), the number of channels is reduced to 16. 13.
When using more than one HDSP system, all units have to be in sync, see chapter 15. Else a periodically repeated noise will be heard. Hammerfall DSP supports ASIO Direct Monitoring (ADM). Please note that currently Nuendo, Cubase and Logic either do not support ADM completely or error-free. A well known problem is the wrong operation of a stereo channel’s panorama function.
15. Using multiple MADIfaces The current driver supports operation of up to three HDSPe MADIface. All cards of the HDSP and HDSPe system use the same driver, therefore can be used at the same time. All units have to be in sync, i.e. have to receive valid sync information either via word clock or by using AutoSync and feeding synchronized signals.
17. Hotline – Troubleshooting 17.1 General The newest information can always be found on our website www.rme-audio.com, section FAQ, Latest Additions. The input signal cannot be monitored in real-time • ASIO Direct Monitoring has not been enabled, and/or monitoring has been disabled globally (for example in TotalMix). Playback works, but record doesn’t • Check that there is a valid signal at the input. If so, the current sample frequency is displayed in the Settings dialog.
User's Guide HDSPe MADIface Driver Installation and Operation – Mac OS X User's Guide HDSPe MADIface © RME 27
18. Driver and Flash Update 18.1 Driver Installation First fit the card (see 5. Hardware Installation), then switch on the computer and install the drivers from the RME Driver CD. The driver file is located in the folder HDSPe. Installation works automatically by a double-click on the file HDSPe.pkg. RME recommends to download the latest driver version from the RME website! If done, the procedure is as follows: Double-click on hdspe_x86_xxx.
19. Configuring the MADIface 19.1 Settings Dialog Configuring the MADIface is done via its own settings dialog. The panel 'Settings' can be opened by clicking on the hammer icon in the dock. The mixer of the MADIface, TotalMix, can be opened by clicking on the mixer icon in the dock. The HDSP’s hardware offers a number of helpful, well thought-of practical functions and options which affect how the card operates - it can be configured to suit many different requirements.
19.2 Settings dialog - DDS Usually soundcards and audio interfaces generate their internal clock (master mode) by a quartz. Therefore the internal clock can be set to 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz, but not to a value in between. SteadyClock, RME's sensational Low Jitter Clock System, is based on a Direct Digital Synthesizer (DDS). This superior circuitry can generate nearly any frequency with highest precision.
Application examples DDS allows for a simultaneous change of speed and tune during record and playback. From alignment to other sources up to creative effects – everything is possible.. DDS allows to intentionally de-tune the complete DAW. This way, the DAW can match instruments which have a wrong or unchangeable tuning. DDS allows to define a specific sample rate. This feature can be is useful in case the system randomly changes the sample rate – for unknown reasons.
20. Mac OS X FAQ 20.1 Round about Driver Installation The driver consists of a package file (pkg). A double click will start the OS X installer. The actual audio driver appears as a kernel extension file. The installer copies it to >System/ Library/ Extensions<. Its name is HDSP.kext. It is visible in the Finder, allowing you to verify date and driver version. Yet, in fact this again is a folder containing subdirectories and files.
20.3 Supported Sample Rates RME's Mac OS X driver supports all sampling frequencies provided by the hardware. Besides 96 kHz this also includes 32 kHz and 64 kHz. But not every software will support all the hardware's sample rates. The hardware's capabilities can easily be verified in the Audio MIDI Setup. Select Audio devices under Properties of: and choose the Hammerfall DSP. A click on Format will list the supported sample frequencies.
Playback can be configured freely and to any of the available playback channels. This is done via Speaker Setup. Even multichannel playback (Surround, DVD Player) can be set up easily. OS X supports more than one audio device. Since 10.4 (Tiger) Core Audio offers the function Aggregate Devices, which allows to combine several devices into one, so that a multi-device operation is now possible with any software.
User's Guide HDSPe MADIface Connections and TotalMix User's Guide HDSPe MADIface © RME 35
22. Connections 22.1 MADI I/Os The BNC input's ground-free design is built according to AES10-1991. The input impedance is 75 Ohm. It will operate error-free from about 180 mVpp on. The optical input and output uses a FDDI (ISO/IEC 9413-3) compatible optical module, according to AES10-1991. More information can be found in chapter 29.1, MADI Basics. The front of the I/O box has a push button acting as input selector, switching the MADI input from coaxial to optical.
23. TotalMix: Routing and Monitoring 23.1 Overview The MADIface includes a powerful digital real-time mixer, the Hammerfall DSP mixer, based on RME’s unique, sample-rate independent TotalMix technology. It allows for practically unlimited mixing and routing operations, with all inputs and playback channels simultaneously, to any hardware outputs. Here are some typical applications for TotalMix: • Setting up delay-free submixes (headphone mixes).
User's Guide HDSPe MADIface © RME
23.2 The User Interface The visual design of the TotalMix mixer is a result of its capability to route hardware inputs and software playback channels to any hardware output. The MADIface offers 64 input channels, 64 software playback channels, and 64 hardware output channels: 128 channels don't fit on the screen side by side, neither does such an arrangement provide a useful overview. The input channel should be placed above the corresponding output channel.
23.3 Elements of a Channel A single channel consists of various elements: Input channels and playback channels each have a mute and solo button. Below there is the panpot, realized as indicator bar (L/R) in order to save space. In the field below, the present level is displayed in RMS or Peak, being updated about every half a second. Overs (overload) are indicated here by an additional red dot. Next is the fader with a level meter.
As shown it is very easy to set up a specific submix for whatever output: select output channel, set up fader and pans of inputs and playbacks – ready! For advanced users sometimes it makes sense to work without Submix View. Example: you want to see and set up some channels of different submixes simultaneously, without the need to change between them all the time. Switch off the Submix View by a click on the green button.
You will certainly have noticed that the signal at the outputs 7/8 did not change while you were routing channel 4 to other outputs and setting different gain values for those. With all analog and most digital mixing desks, the fader setting would affect the level for every routed bus - not so for TotalMix. TotalMix allows for setting all fader values individually. Therefore the faders and the panpots jump to the appropriate setting as soon as another routing is chosen.
23.7 The Quick Access Panel This section includes additional options, further improving the handling of TotalMix. The Master buttons for Mute and Solo have already been described, they allow for group-based working with these functions. In the View section the single mixer rows can be made visible or invisible. If the inputs are not needed for a pristine playback mix, the whole upper row falls out of the picture after a click on the Input button.
Mouse: The original factory presets can be reloaded by holding down the Ctrl-key and clicking on any preset button. Alternatively the files described above can be renamed, moved to a different directory, or being deleted. Keyboard: Using Ctrl and any number between 1 and 8 (not on the numeric keypad) will load the corresponding factory default preset. The key Alt will load the user presets instead. When loading a preset file, for example 'Main Monitor AN 1_2 plus headphone mix 3_4.
23.9 The Monitor Panel The Monitor panel provides several options usually found on analog mixing desks. It offers quick access to monitoring functions which are needed all the time in typical studio work. Monitor Main Use the drop down menu to select the hardware outputs where your main monitors are connected to. Dim A click on this button will lower the volume of the Monitor Main output by an amount set up in the Preferences dialog (see below).
Monitor Main Dim: Amount of attenuation of the Monitor Main output in dB. Activated by the Dim button in the Monitor panel. Stereo Pan Law The Pan Law can be set to -6 dB, -4.5 dB, -3 dB and 0 dB. The value chosen defines the level attenuation in pan center position. This setting is useful because the ASIO host often supports different pan laws too. Selecting the same value here and in the ASIO host, ASIO Direct Monitoring works perfectly, as both ASIO host and TotalMix use the same pan law.
23.12 Hotkeys In many situations TotalMix can be controlled quickly and comfortably by the keyboard, making the mixer setup considerably easier and faster. The Shift-key for the fine mode for faders and panpots has already been mentioned. The Ctrl-key can do far more than changing the routing pairwise: • Clicking anywhere into the fader area with the Ctrl-key pressed, sets the fader to 0 dB. • Clicking anywhere into the pan area with the Ctrl-key pressed, sets the panorama to meaning Center.
23.13 Menu Options Always on Top: When active (checked) the TotalMix window will always be on top of the Windows desktop. Note: This function may result in problems with windows containing help text, as the TotalMix window will even be on top of those windows, so the help text isn't readable. Deactivate Screensaver: When active (checked) any activated Windows screensaver will be disabled temporarily. Ignore Position: When active, the windows size and position stored in a file or preset will not be used.
23.14 Level Meter The MADIface calculates all the displayed values Peak, Over and RMS in hardware, in order to be capable of using them independent of the software in use, and to significantly reduce the CPU load. Tip: This feature, the Hardware Level Meter, is used by DIGICheck (see chapter 16) to display Peak/RMS level meters of all channels, nearly without any CPU load. The level meters integrated in TotalMix - considering their size - cannot be compared with DIGICheck.
24. TotalMix: The Matrix 24.1 Overview The mixer window of TotalMix looks and operates similar to mixing desks, as it is based on a conventional stereo design. The matrix display presents a different method of assigning and routing channels, based on a single channel or monaural design. The matrix view of the HDSP has the looks and works like a conventional patchbay, adding functionality way beyond comparable hardware and software solutions.
A blue field indicates phase inversion. This state is displayed in the Matrix only, and can only be changed within the Matrix view. Hold down the Shift-key while clicking on an already activated field. Mute overwrites the phase display, blue becomes orange. If mute is deactivated the phase inversion is indicated again. 24.
25.2 Selection and Group-based Operation Click on the grey name label of channel 1 and 2 in TotalMix. Be sure to have channel 3's fader set to a different position and click on its label too. All three labels have changed to the color orange, which means they are selected. Now moving any of these faders will make the other faders move too. This is called 'building a group of faders', or ganging faders, maintaining their relative position.
25.5 Recording a Subgroup (Loopback) TotalMix supports a routing of the subgroup outputs (=hardware outputs, bottom row) to the recording software. Instead of the signal at the hardware input, the signal at the hardware output is sent to the record software. This way, complete submixes can be recorded without an external loopback cable. Also the playback of a software can be recorded by another software. To activate this function, click on the grey label in the third row while holding down the Ctrl-key.
Recording a Software's playback In real world application, recording a software's output with another software will show the following problem: The record software tries to open the same playback channel as the playback software (already active), or the playback one has already opened the input channel which should be used by the record software. This problem can easily be solved.
Unfortunately, very often it is not possible within the record software to assign a different input channel to an existing track 'on the fly'. The loopback mode solves this problem elegantly. The routing scheme stays the same, with the input channel 10 sent to any output via TotalMix, to the Compressor, from the Compressor back to any input. Now this input signal is routed directly to output 10, and output 10 is then switched into loopback mode via Ctrl-mouse. As explained in chapter 25.
26. TotalMix MIDI Remote Control 26.1 Overview TotalMix can be remote controlled via MIDI. It is compatible to the widely spread Mackie Control protocol, so TotalMix can be controlled with all hardware controllers supporting this standard. Examples are the Mackie Control, Tascam US-2400 or Behringer BCF 2000. Additionally, the stereo output faders (lowest row) which are set up as Monitor Main outputs in the Monitor panel can also be controlled by the standard Control Change Volume via MIDI channel 1.
26.3 Setup • Open the Preferences dialog (menu Options or F3). Select the MIDI Input and MIDI Output port where your controller is connected to. • When no feedback is needed (when using only standard MIDI commands instead of Mackie Control protocol) select NONE as MIDI Output. • Check Enable MIDI Control in the Options menu. 26.4 Operation The channels being under MIDI control are indicated by a color change of the info field below the faders, black turns to yellow.
26.5 Simple MIDI Control The stereo output faders (lowest row) which are set up as Monitor Main outputs in the Monitor panel can also be controlled by the standard Control Change Volume via MIDI channel 1. With this, the main volume of the MADIface is controllable from nearly any MIDI equipped hardware device. Even if you don't want to control all faders and pans, some buttons are highly desired to be available in 'hardware'.
Examples for sending MIDI strings*: - Set input 1 to 0 dB: B0 66 40 - Set input 17 to maximum attenuation: B1 66 0 - Set playback 1 to maximum: B4 66 7F - Set Output 16 to 0 dB: B8 75 40 *Note: Sending MIDI strings might require to use programmer's logic for the MIDI channel, starting with 0 for channel 1 and ending with 15 for channel 16. 26.6 Loopback Detection The Mackie Control protocol requires feedback of the received commands, back to the hardware controller.
User's Guide HDSPe MADIface © RME
User's Guide HDSPe MADIface Technical Reference User's Guide HDSPe MADIface © RME 61
27. Tech Info Not all information to and around our products fit in a manual. Therefore RME offers a lot more and detailed information in the Tech Infos on our website, section Support. These are some of the currently available Tech Infos: Synchronization II (DIGI96 series) Digital audio synchronization - technical background and pitfalls. Installation problems - Problem descriptions and solutions. Driver updates Hammerfall DSP – Lists all changes of the driver updates.
28. Technical Specifications 28.1 Inputs MADI • Coaxial via BNC, 75 Ohm, according to AES10-1991 • High-sensitivity input stage (< 0.2 Vpp) • Optical via FDDI duplex SC connector • 62.5/125 and 50/125 compatible • Accepts 56 channel and 64 channel mode, plus 96k Frame • Standard: up to 64 channels 24 bit 48 kHz • S/MUX: up to 32 channels 24 bit 96 kHz • S/MUX4: up to 16 channels 24 bit 192 kHz • Lock range: 25 kHz – 54 kHz • Jitter when synced to input signal: < 1 ns 28.
29. Technical Background 29.1 MADI Basics MADI, the serial Multichannel Audio Digital Interface, has been defined already in 1989 as an extension of the existing AES3 standard following several manufacturers' wish. The format also known as AES/EBU, a balanced bi-phase signal, is limited to two channels. Simply put, MADI contains 28 of those AES/EBU signals in serial, i. e. after one another, and the sample rate can still even vary by +/-12.5%. The limit which cannot be exceeded is a data rate of 100Mbit/s.
29.2 Lock and SyncCheck Digital signals consist of a carrier and the data. If a digital signal is applied to an input, the receiver has to synchronize to the carrier clock in order to read the data correctly. To achieve this, the receiver uses a PLL (Phase Locked Loop). As soon as the receiver meets the exact frequency of the incoming signal, it is locked. This Lock state remains even with small changes of the frequency, because the PLL tracks the receiver's frequency.
29.3 Latency and Monitoring The term Zero Latency Monitoring has been introduced by RME in 1998 for the DIGI96 series of audio cards. It stands for the ability to pass-through the computer's input signal at the interface directly to the output. Since then, the idea behind has become one of the most important features of modern hard disk recording.
29.4 DS - Double Speed When activating the Double Speed mode the MADIface operates at double sample rate. The internal clock 44.1 kHz turns to 88.2 kHz, 48 kHz to 96 kHz. The internal resolution is still 24 bit. Sample rates above 48 kHz were not always taken for granted, and are still not widely used because of the CD format (44.1 kHz) dominating everything. Before 1998 there were no receiver/transmitter circuits available that could receive or transmit more than 48 kHz.
29.5 QS – Quad Speed Due to the small number of available devices that use sample rates up to 192 kHz, but even more due to a missing real world application (CD...), Quad Speed has had no broad success so far. An implementation of the ADAT format as double S/MUX (S/MUX4) results in only two channels per optical output. Devices using this method are few.
29.6 SteadyClock The SteadyClock technology of the HDSPe series guarantees an excellent performance in all clock modes. Its highly efficient jitter suppression refreshes and cleans up any clock signal, and provides it as reference clock at the output. Usually a clock section consists of an analog PLL for external synchronization and several quartz oscillators for internal synchronisation. SteadyClock requires only one quartz, using a frequency not equalling digital audio.
29.7 Terminology Single Speed Sample rate range originally used in Digital Audio. Typical applications are 32 kHz (digital radio broadcast), 44.1 kHz (CD), and 48 kHz (DAT). Double Speed Doubles the original sample rate range, in order to achieve higher audio quality and improved audio processing. 64 kHz is practically never used, 88.2 kHz is quite rare in spite of certain advantages. 96 kHz is a common format. Sometimes called Double Fast.
96K Frame Frame format for up to 32 channels at up to 96 kHz. The advantage of this format against 48K Frame using S/MUX: the receiver can detect the real (double) sample rate on its own and immediately. With 48K Frame and S/MUX, the user has to set up the correct sample rate in all involved devices manually.
