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ESU1808 

ESI

 

 

4

1. Introduction

 

Thank you for choosing the ESI ESU1808. 

ESU1808 shows the latest audio interface technology for external usage on notebook and desktop 
computers. The USB 2.0 Hi-Speed audio interface for Mac & PC shows what is really possible with 
USB 2.0. ESI's new USB 2 Xtreme technology boosts USB audio to a new level, providing better 
performance for better results. 

The 1U rack unit comes with not less than 18 input channels, 2 of them are high quality microphone 
preamps with balanced XLR inputs and +48V phantom power, 2 of them allow a direct connection 
of instruments (Hi-Z), 4 line inputs on the front for unbalanced and 8 line inputs on the rear for 
balanced signals and there is a coaxial S/PDIF input. There are 8 balanced analog output channels, 
one channel pair is also provided as coaxial S/PDIF output. Last but not least ESU1808 comes with 
a MIDI I/O port providing 16 input and 16 output channels. 

All this makes ESU1808 a product that defines new standards for USB audio for professional 
applications. Never before you have seen this number of I/O channels on a USB audio product in 
this price range. 

1.1 What’s in the box 

- ESU1808 USB audio interface as 1U rack device 
- Steinberg Cubase LE 4 DVD-ROM 
- ESI ESU1808 Driver CD-ROM (incl. additional bundle software) 
- User’s Guide 
- USB cable 
- external power supply 
- cable for external power supply 

1.2 Key Features 

- 18-in / 8-out multi purpose USB 2.0 audio interface 
- 2 microphone inputs with gain control, +48V phantom power, peak LEDs 
- 2 Hi-Z inputs for direct instrument recording, peak LEDs, gain control 
- 4 unbalanced (or balanced) line level inputs on front (1/4" TRS, -10dBv/+4dBu, ADC 107dB[a]) 
- 8 balanced (or unbalanced) line level inputs on back (1/4" TRS, +4dBu/-10dBv, ADC 107dB[a]) 
- 2 channel coaxial S/PDIF input / 2 channel coaxial S/PDIF output 
- 1 MIDI input with 16 channels / 1 MIDI output with 16 channels 
- 8 balanced/unbalanced line level outputs on back (1/4" TRS, +4dBu/-10dBv, DAC 112dB[a]) 
- headphone output with level control (1/4" stereo phone jack) 
- independent analog monitoring control with mono mix function 
- 18 channel recording and 8 channel playback at the same time – Full Duplex 
- supported sample rates: 44.1kHz, 48.0kHz, 88.2kHz, 96.0kHz 
- WDM, MME, ASIO 2.0, GSIF 2.0, CoreAudio and DirectSound support 
- bundled with Cubase LE 4 DVD-ROM 
- compatible with Windows XP (SP2; 32-bit), Windows Vista 32-bit and Mac OS X 10.4 

Summary of Contents for ESU1808

Page 1: ...18 in 8 out USB 2 0 Hi Speed External Recording Interface User s Guide...

Page 2: ...ESI Copyright 2007 Revision 1 November 2007 www esi audio com...

Page 3: ...Windows 15 5 4 Pull Down Menu Mac OS X 15 6 Hardware Monitoring Mix Out 15 6 1 Enable Monitoring MIX button 15 6 2 Monitoring volume for input channels 16 6 3 Monitoring volume for playback channels 1...

Page 4: ...nels on a USB audio product in this price range 1 1 What s in the box ESU1808 USB audio interface as 1U rack device Steinberg Cubase LE 4 DVD ROM ESI ESU1808 Driver CD ROM incl additional bundle softw...

Page 5: ...t is shown by the peak LEDs above the gain knob Input 3 4 Hi Z instrument inputs Input 3 4 are provided as high impedance HI Z inputs with individual GAIN control and a peak LED next to each input Use...

Page 6: ...put enabled or the signal from output channel 1 2 only disabled A detailed description of monitoring signals with ESU1808 is provided in chapter 6 Headphone Output The headphone output is provided as...

Page 7: ...turning ESU1808 on off use the POWER switch located here at the rear panel MIDI I O The MIDI IN and OUT connectors are provided on the rear panel Use these connectors to connect ESU1808 to a controlle...

Page 8: ...this output works as mix and monitoring output If disabled this output works as balanced unbalanced line output 7 8 Output 1 6 analog line outputs Output 1 6 are provided as balanced unbalanced line l...

Page 9: ...e LE 4 installation internet connection for Cubase LE 4 activation Mac OS X 10 4 4 or higher 3 2 Installation After unpacking ESU1808 connect the power supply to the special connector on the rear pane...

Page 10: ...picture below Click Next The installer now informs you that the driver installation will start as shown on the right picture below Confirm this with Next During the following process you will see a d...

Page 11: ...n completed successfully Uninstallation If you are not intending to use ESU1808 for a longer time on your Windows computer we recommend to uninstall the driver To do this go to My Computer Control Pan...

Page 12: ...on by clicking Install After the files have been copied to your hard disk the following confirmation dialog appears After clicking Restart your Mac will reboot Congratulations the installation is fini...

Page 13: ...con in the task notification area To open it under Mac OS X launch the ESU1808 Panel application in your Applications folder if you use it frequently you might want to move it to your dock 5 1 Informa...

Page 14: ...ed in 0 5dB steps With the mute button M under each channel playback can be muted or unmuted again The LINK button under a channel pair links the left and right volume slider allowing you to control t...

Page 15: ...e rather than in the ESU1808 Control Panel 6 Hardware Monitoring Mix Out ESU1808 provides extensive features for hardware monitoring You can monitor signals via the MIX OUT output located on the rear...

Page 16: ...l time This is especially a problem when monitoring with headphones The solution is a mono down mix that can be enabled with this button When activated both signals from input 1 2 are audible on left...

Page 17: ...at startup or shutdown If this bothers you please disable the Windows system sounds completely or use your internal onboard soundcard for them rather than ESU1808 7 1 Windows Multimedia setup The Win...

Page 18: ...ks or small drop outs when Mac OS X system sounds are played We recommend to play these signals via built in audio instead If you want to change settings of ESU1808 you need to select it under Propert...

Page 19: ...ubase LE 4 for more than 15 days you need to activate it with this software via the internet This means that you need an active internet connection on the computer you are installing Cubase LE 4 We re...

Page 20: ...With Add Bus you can add a new Mono or Stereo bus The screen shot above shows several mono busses which allows you use each single channel as a separate mono input in your projects In the Device Port...

Page 21: ...dB Microphone Preamplifier Type Balanced XLR 48V Phantom Power support Max Input Level 5dBu max PAD OFF 15 0dBu max PAD ON Gain Range 20 0dB min 68dB max PAD OFF 0dB min 48dB max Equivalent Input Nois...

Page 22: ...aution Any changes or modifications in construction of this device with are not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the user s authority to operate equipment Note Thi...

Page 23: ...ESU1808 ESI 23 Parts of this manual are continually being updated Please check our web site www esi audio com occasionally for the most recent update information...

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