User manual M-AUDIO PF2626

[. . . ] User Guide ProFire 2626 Introduction What's in the Box?About the ProFire 2626 FireWire Audio Interface ProFire 2626 Features System Requirements Minimum System Requirements/Specifications Compatibility Recommended System Specifications Hardware Controls and Connectors Front Panel Rear Panel Architecture of ProFire 2626 ProFire 2626 Operation at High Sample Rates About S/MUX II and S/MUX IV modes MAC OS X: 88. 2/96 kHz Operation MAC OS X: 176. 4/192 kHz Operation Windows XP/Vista: 88. 2/96 kHz Operation Windows XP/Vista: 176. 4/192 kHz Operation Control Panel Application Mixer Router Output Source Routing Active Input Ports Active Software Returns Input Channel Order Settings Sample Rate Master Volume Knob Mixer Peak Meters Standalone Mode User Guide 3 3 4 5 6 6 6 6 7 7 9 10 12 12 13 14 15 16 17 17 20 21 21 22 22 23 25 27 28 28 ProFire 2626 About Additional Functions File Help Digital Clocking Scenario 1: ProFire 2626 as Clock Master Scenario 2: ProFire 2626 Slaved to an Optical Input Scenario 3: ProFire 2626 Slaved to S/PDIF Input MIDI Connection Diagram and Example Scenarios Example Scenario #1: Recording a Duo Hardware Input and Output Connections Configuring the Mixer, Router, and Settings tabs Setting up the DSP Mixer Routing the DSP Mixer outputs Configure the Master Volume Knob to Control Your Studio Monitors Disabling unused input ports Using the DSP Mixer to create Cue Mixes Example Scenario #2: Mixing in Surround Hardware Input and Output Connections Configuring the Mixer, Router, and Settings tabs Configuring and Using your DAW to create a Surround Mix Troubleshooting Warranty User Guide 32 32 32 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 40 40 42 42 42 43 43 43 44 44 45 46 47 50 ProFire 2626 User Guide 3 1 Introduction Congratulations on your purchase of the ProFire 2626 audio interface ProFire 2626 is part of M-Audio's award winning series of FireWire-based digital recording solutions and features solid hardware design, robust driver technology, and a powerful Control Panel application--all designed to deliver professional connectivity, exceptional fidelity, and nextgeneration performance Even if you are experienced with digital recording, please take a moment to read through this guide It provides detailed information about the ProFire 2626 interface and will help you get the most out of your new purchase You may also want to refer to your audio software's documentation to better understand how ProFire 2626 can be integrated with the application Your experience with the interface will be greatly enhanced by a good working knowledge of your equipment 2 What's in the Box? Your ProFire 2626 package contains: ProFire 2626 interface 6-pin to 6-pin FireWire Cable 6-pin to 4-pin FireWire Cable Breakout cable with MIDI, Word Clock, and coaxial S/PDIF connectors 12V 3 5A Power Supply Printed Quick Start Guide FireWire Series CD-ROM containing drivers and documentation Ableton Live Lite CD-ROM ProFire 2626 User Guide 4 3 About the ProFire 2626 FireWire Audio Interface The ProFire 2626 interface is a super-highway of audio inputs and outputs for your computer Like a highway, there are a certain number of "audio lanes" going to and from your computer--these "lanes" are referred to as streams ProFire 2626 gets its name from the fact that there are 26 streams going into the computer and 26 streams returning from the computer This means you can record up to 26 separate audio channels while simultaneously playing back an additional 26 audio channels if you use all of the analog and digital connections available on the interface ProFire 2626 has a variety of audio connections on its front and back panels The back panel features eight analog combo jacks These multi-purpose jacks accept either XLR or 1/4" balanced/unbalanced inputs and can be used to record microphone or line-level sources The eight XLR inputs are routed to preamps featuring the same technology found in the award-winning M-Audio Octane with controls for gain, phantom power, and 20dB pad on the front panel Next to the combo jacks are eight 1/4" TRS line-level outputs These balanced outputs can be used in a number of ways including monitoring the outputs of your audio software or sending tracks to an external mixer or effects processor Since ProFire 2626 has eight analog outputs, it can also be used for surround mixing in formats up to 7 1 (seven satellites and one subwoofer) The Master Volume knob on the front of the interface can be configured to adjust the output level of any combination of output pairs (i e , 1/2, 3/4, 5/6, or 7/8) for stereo mixes or up to all eight outputs simultaneously--perfect for surround mixing On the front panel of ProFire 2626, you'll find two 1/4" (TS) instrument input jacks You have the option of using these two jacks as inputs instead of using the first two combo jacks on the rear of the interface These two jacks differ slightly from those on the rear of the interface since they are optimized for instrument-level signals and can be used to record the direct output of an electric guitar or bass Like the rear panel XLR connectors, these inputs can also be routed to the preamps The front panel also features two 1/4" headphone jacks with an independent volume knob for each output The first headphone output is sourced from audio routed to analog outputs 1/2 while the second headphone output is sourced from audio routed to analog outputs 3/4 The remaining inputs and outputs on the interface are for digital signals ProFire 2626 supports both coaxial (RCA) and optical S/PDIF formats as well as the multi-channel ADAT standard (including high resolution S/MUX II* and S/MUX IV* modes) The Control Panel software allows users to scale the active I/O channels to preserve system resources, determine the format and number of digital input and output channels that will be available to your audio software, as well as set the order of the input ports as they appear in your software The Control Panel also includes an 18-input, 16-output DSP mixer allowing you to create near-zero latency monitor mixes ProFire 2626 also includes MIDI and BNC Word Clock inputs and outputs for connecting external MIDI instruments and synchronizing multiple pieces of digital audio gear to the same clock * To use high resolution S/MUX II or S/MUX IV modes, the device connected to ProFire 2626 must also support S/MUX II or S/MUX IV operation. ProFire 2626 User Guide 5 4 ProFire 2626 Features 26-input, 26-output audio configuration Up to 24-bit/192 kHz operation Eight XLR/TRS combo jacks on rear panel supporting mic or line-level signals Two 1/4" (TS) front panel instrument input jacks Eight high-quality preamps with award winning OctaneTM technology Phantom power, 20dB pads, and signal/clip LED indicators for all mic preamps Two Stereo 1/4" headphone outputs with individual level controls Eight balanced 1/4" (TRS) line-level outputs Two optical inputs supporting ADAT, S/MUX II, S/MUX IV or S/PDIF** Two optical outputs supporting ADAT, S/MUX II, S/MUX IV or S/PDIF** Coaxial (RCA) S/PDIF input and output BNC Word Clock input and output User-assignable Master Volume knob MIDI input and output Comprehensive software-controlled 18x16 DSP Mixer and Router Jet PLL synchronization technology provides robust clocking between digital devices Windows XP/Vista drivers for ASIO, MME/WDM, DirectX and GSIF2 protocols Mac OS X drivers for Core Audio and Core MIDI Standalone operation as eight channel mic preamplifier, A/D, and D/A converter Compatible with Pro Tools M-Powered 7 4 and later*** ** S/PDIF optical format available on Optical Port B only *** with downloadable cs update ProFire 2626 User Guide 6 5 System Requirements Minimum System Requirements/Specifications* PC: Windows XP** (SP2) or Windows Vista (32-bit) Pentium 4 1 6GHz 512MB RAM (1GB RAM with Windows Vista) FireWire 400 (IEEE 1394a) port ** Home and Professional Edition only. Windows Media Center Edition is not currently supported. Mac: Mac OS X 10 4 10 Macintosh G4*** 1GHz, 512MB RAM FireWire 400 (IEEE 1394a) port ***G4 accelerator cards not supported/G5 required for sample rates above 96kHz. [. . . ] Windows Users: Software return channels always appear in your audio application even if they have been disabled. However, if your audio application's outputs are routed to disabled channels, these software outputs will not be played out of the interface's hardware output ports. If you have recently changed the sample rate of the interface and some of the outputs cease to play back, open the Router tab in the Control Panel and observe the Output Source Routing section: All disabled software returns will appear grayed-out and italicized. Make sure that your audio application's outputs are not routed to any of these disabled software returns. Input Channel Order This section determines the order of the input ports as they appear in your audio software application Groups of ports can be dragged and arranged in a left-to-right order (the left-most item appears first in the software's hardware input list while the right-most item appears at the end) For example, if you would prefer the coaxial S/PDIF ports to appear as the first entries in your audio application's list of inputs and outputs, drag the "S/PDIF COAX" icon to the left-most section of the Control Panel CAUTION: Do not change the input channel ordering while your audio application is open. This may result in unexpected performance from your computer hardware and/or audio software. Once a change is made to this parameter, you may need to "refresh" or "update" your audio application's input routing page to see the updated ordering. Refer to your audio application's documentation to learn more about this. NOTE: Changing the channel order in the ProFire 2626 Control Panel may require you to update the input routing settings within your audio application. ProFire 2626 Settings User Guide 23 The Settings tab contains several parameters that govern the operation of ProFire 2626 These options are grouped in the following categories: Windows only: Buffer Size drop-down menu. ProFire 2626 User Guide 24 Hosted Mode The parameters in this section of the Control Panel govern the operation of the interface when it is connected to a computer using a FireWire cable (i e , Hosted Mode) Sync Source This drop-down menu determines the clock source to which ProFire 2626 is synchronized If you are using ProFire 2626 by itself (i e , without other digital devices or an external clock), this parameter must be set to "Internal" for the interface to work properly If you have connected a S/PDIF, ADAT, or Word Clock device to your ProFire 2626 and would like to use that device's clock as the master clock source, select "ADAT A, " "ADAT B, " "Coax S/PDIF, " or "Word Clock" from this drop down menu This will make ProFire 2626 lock to the external device's clock About Clock: If you are using ProFire 2626 in conjunction with other digital devices in your studio, you will need to designate one device in your studio as the "clock master. " All other digital devices must be set to lock (or "slave") to the master device's clock. For example, if you have connected your ProFire 2626 and a DAT recorder using a pair of S/PDIF cables (i. e. , the S/PDIF output of ProFire 2626 has been connected to the S/PDIF input of the DAT recorder; the S/PDIF output of the DAT has been connected to the S/PDIF input on ProFire 2626), you must configure either ProFire 2626 or the DAT recorder to act as the clock master, while the other device must be set to "external" or "slave" mode. If your devices are not configured in this way, you may hear clicks, pops, and other unwanted glitches in your audio. If you wish to set ProFire 2626 as the master, set the "Sync Source" parameter in the Control Panel to "Internal. " If you would like ProFire 2626 to lock to another device connected using ADAT, S/PDIF, or Word Clock, select "ADAT A, " "ADAT B, " "Coax S/PDIF, " or "Word Clock" from the drop-down menu. In this scenario, you'll need to ensure that the external device is set as the clock master. Refer to the "Digital Clocking" section of this guide to learn more about clocking and to learn how to digitally synchronize multiple digital devices to one clock. ProFire 2626 Sample Rate User Guide 25 This drop-down menu sets the sample rate of ProFire 2626 Note that when using the interface with an ASIO or CoreAudio application, the sample rate can also be determined by your audio application This parameter may not be editable from within the ProFire 2626 Control Panel if your audio application is running In this case, any changes to the sample rate must be made through the audio application itself If the application does not provide a way to set the sample rate, quit the application, then change the sample rate through the ProFire 2626 Control Panel Attention Vista Users: When using the ProFire 2626 WDM/MME (i. e. , non-ASIO) drivers, the sample rate of the interface (and your audio software) is always determined by this drop-down menu. Your selection in this menu is the only item that will appear in your audio application. For example, if you select "44. 1kHz" in this menu, your audio application's control panel will only display "44. 1kHz" and you will not be able to select any other rates from within the application. When the sample rate is locked to an external digital clock source, the Power Indicator LED (10) remains continuously illuminated; when the sample rate is unlocked, the Power Indicator LED (10) blinks and a warning message appears in a red rectangle just below the Sample Rate menu Buffer Size (Windows only) This menu sets the size of the input and output buffers on ProFire 2626 Windows only: Buffer Size drop-down menu. Buffers are used to help keep audio hardware and software running smoothly by processing audio in groups of samples rather than one sample at a time Due to variations between computer hardware and software, it is impossible to recommend a single optimum setting for all systems It may be necessary to experiment with various settings until you find the best buffer size for your system The goal of setting a buffer size is to reduce it as much as possible without hearing any clicks, pops, or other glitches If the buffer size is too small, the computer will not be able to make all the required audio calculations on time and you will hear pops, clicks, and stuttering in your audio streams On the other hand, if the buffer size is set too high, your computer will process audio without incident, but your software will feel sluggish and unresponsive To find your system's optimum buffer size setting, begin with a high setting and gradually reduce the size until you begin to hear clicks, pops, or other audible glitches in your audio Then, raise the buffer size setting until these glitches disappear You may need to stop playing audio any time you change this setting and certain applications will require you to re-launch the program before the new buffer size settings become active NOTE: This menu only appears on Windows systems. Most Mac OS X applications allow to change the buffer size from within the audio application itself. Please see your audio application's user guide to learn how to change this setting. ProFire 2626 Optical Port B Mode User Guide 26 This portion of the Control Panel determines how the second pair of optical ports on the rear of the interface will operate Setting this parameter to "ADAT" will allow ProFire 2626 to receive or send 16 channels of 44 1/48kHz signals, eight channels of 88 2/96 kHz signals, or four channels of 176 4/192 kHz signals by using both optical ports in tandem Selecting "S/PDIF" will allow the second optical input and output ports to receive and send stereo S/PDIF signals Note that optical S/PDIF operates at a maximum sample rate of 96 kHz S/MUX Mode Each ADAT optical cable can carry eight channels of audio when operating at standard sample rates of 44 1 or 48 kHz, four channels when operating at sample rates of 88 2 or 96 kHz (S/MUX II Mode), or two channels while operating at 176 4 or 192 kHz (S/MUX IV mode) These high resolution modes are known as "S/MUX II" and "S/MUX IV" and are enabled when an ADAT source toggles a special bit in its output stream This bit tells the destination device to switch to the proper S/MUX mode in order to receive the high resolution signal correctly Unfortunately, some devices that are capable of S/MUX II or S/MUX IV operation do not set the S/MUX bit correctly and, as a result, the ProFire 2626 may be unable to automatically detect the desired sample rate The "S/MUX Mode" option resolves this issue: Auto­ This is the default setting and should work in most cases When this mode is selected, ProFire 2626 observes the S/MUX bit of an incoming signal and automatically switches between standard, S/MUX II, and S/MUX IV modes S/MUX II (88. 2-96 kHz) ­ This parameter sets the ADAT input ports to operate in S/MUX II mode Only use this option if the default "Auto Detect" setting does not correctly recognize the sample rate of the incoming signal S/MUX IV (176. 4-192 kHz) ­ This parameter sets the ADAT input ports to operate in S/MUX IV mode Only use this option if the default "Auto Detect" setting does not correctly recognize the sample rate of the incoming signal NOTE: This parameter only affects the ADAT inputs when the Sync Source parameter is set to "ADAT A" or "ADAT B. " ProFire 2626 Master Volume Knob User Guide 27 These checkboxes determine which analog output pair(s) will be affected by the Master Volume knob (8) on the front panel of the interface: If a box is checked, the volume level of its corresponding outputs will be controlled by the Master Volume knob; if a box is left unchecked, the outputs will play at full volume regardless of the position of the Master Volume knob This feature gives ProFire 2626 a great deal of flexibility in how it can be used For example, in multi-channel "surround" mixing scenarios, you can use the Master Volume knob to simultaneously set the level of all speakers by checking the outputs that are connected to your speakers On the other hand, if you are mixing in stereo using outboard equipment (i e , compressors, reverb modules, etc ), you can use the Master Volume knob to set the output level of the "main" outputs (connected to your speakers) while allowing the additional outputs (that are connected to your external equipment) to remain unaffected This will let you use the Master Volume knob to set the loudness level of your speakers without affecting your external gear WARNING: Unchecking one of the Master Volume Knob boxes allows its corresponding outputs to play at full volume (i. e. , without any attenuation). This may result in very loud signals being sent to your speakers, headphone amplifiers, or other equipment. Be mindful of your outgoing levels anytime you uncheck one of these boxes to avoid potentially damaging your equipment (or hearing). If you wish to leave these boxes unchecked in order to allow full, unattenuated signals to play through the interface, it is strongly recommended that you have an external provision for controlling your levels (such as a an external mixer). TIP: If you control your monitoring levels externally (i. e, through a mixing board or by using your speaker's own level control) then the Master Volume knob on ProFire 2626 can be used as an aux send knob: Connect ProFire 2626's analog outputs 3/4, 5/6 and 7/8 to your external effects processors' inputs. Configure your audio software so that audio signals that are to be processed by the external gear are routed to these outputs. Using the ProFire 2626 Control Panel, assign the Master Volume knob to control analog outputs 3/4, 5/6 and 7/8. [. . . ] Possible Cause: Your software is not configured to use ProFire 2626 as its audio interface Make sure that ProFire 2626 drivers are properly installed and verify that the audio application is configured to use ProFire 2626 See your software's documentation to learn how to do this Problem: Clicks, pops, and other glitches in audio streams. Possible Cause 1: Input levels are too loud and are resulting in clipping or distortion Lower the source's output level and/or the channel input gain on ProFire 2626 to avoid overloading the interface Use the Signal/Clip LED indicators on the front panel to ensure you are not distorting Possible Cause 2: The ProFire 2626 audio buffer size is set too low and must be increased Each audio application handles buffer settings differently, but the options for changing buffer sizes are usually found under the program's "setup" or "audio preferences" menus Refer to your audio application's documentation to learn how to increase buffer size Possible Cause 3: Windows Users: Some accelerated graphics cards use excessive amounts of system bandwidth, preventing the recording buffer of an audio interface from keeping up with demand This can cause clicks in the audio streams Reducing or turning off the graphics card's graphics acceleration feature often resolves this problem In Windows XP, go to Start > Settings > Control Panel > System > Advanced > Performance > Graphics and select "Adjust for best performance " NOTE: Some Windows applications require you to run a soundcard calibration routine (sometimes called "profiling") the first time you use the software with a new audio interface. This routine attempts to determine the optimum settings for the new interface's WDM driver. While ProFire 2626 does include a WDM driver, it is recommended that the ASIO driver is used instead to ensure best performance. [. . . ]