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User Guide

18

ProFire 2626

It is important to note that any changes made to the DSP Mixer will only affect what is audible from the mixer’s  
outputs—the DSP Mixer does not affect the signals that are sent to the audio application for recording   For example, 
if you are recording a vocalist and he/she tells you to turn up the vocal track so they can hear themselves better, you 
can increase the vocalist’s microphone channel in the DSP Mixer   This will make the vocal part louder in the vocalist’s 
headphones, but it will still be recorded into the audio application at the volume determined by the front panel Gain 
Adjustment Knob (4)  

The DSP Mixer is set up like a standard mixing console: There are 18 input channels, each with its own volume fader, pan 
and aux send knobs, solo ( 

 ), and mute (   ) buttons, as well as a master output section with its own pair of faders, 

and mute buttons   

A pair of channels can be linked together by clicking the link icon (   ) 
between the two channels   Linking channels allows you to adjust mute, solo, 
aux, and fader settings simultaneously by modifying parameters on either one 
of the linked channels 

The DSP mixer features multi-segment meters to show input channel levels 
(directly above each channel) and main mixer output levels (at the top right of the mixer)   The peak hold indication time as 
well as pre/post fader metering operation can be set from the Settings tab of the Control Panel   Finally, the clip indicators 
can be reset by clicking on the meter itself 

The signal source for each of the DSP Mixer’s 18 input channels can be selected from 52 possible signal streams  
(26 input streams and 26 software return streams)  Click the downward arrow (   ) and make a selection from the  
drop-down menu that appears   If an exclamation point ( 

 ) is displayed in place of a downward arrow, the currently 

selected stream is disabled because of S/MUX operation or by user preference  Grayed out and italicized drop-down 
selections are also disabled and will not stream audio 
if selected   To resolve this issue, select another input 
source that is not deactivated, reduce the sample rate 
of the interface, or increase the number of active input 
ports or software returns if possible (the reduction of 
input ports and software returns is covered in detail in 
the “Why are channels disabled?” text box on the next 
page 

As stated earlier, setting or adjusting the DSP Mixer 
will not affect the signal that is recorded into the audio 
application   For example, you’ll still be able to record 
a channel while its corresponding DSP Mixer channel 
is muted   You won’t hear the part through the DSP 
mixer as it is being recorded, but it will still record into 
your audio application and play back properly 

    

Useful Tips and Shortcuts:

• The input channel numbers (listed along the bottom 
of the mixer) can be renamed by clicking on them.  For 
example, if a bass guitar is routed to input channel 8, you 
can click the “8” at the bottom and rename the channel to 
“Bass.”  Note that changing a channel name only affects 
the labeling in the DSP Mixer and does not affect the 
way that input appears in your computer’s audio software.
• By alt-clicking (option-click for Mac users) the mute, 
solo, or link buttons, you can quickly mute, solo, or link 
all of the DSP Mixer’s 18 input channels at once.  This is 
also a handy feature in situations where you have muted/
soloed/linked multiple channels and need to quickly 
unmute/unsolo/unlink them.   Note that the mute buttons 
for the input channels (just above the faders) and the 
mute buttons for the aux sends (on the right side of the 
mixer) operate independently of each other.
• A fader or aux send knob can be set to unity gain by 
either double-clicking or alt-clicking it (option-click for 
Mac users).

NOTE

:  Linking two channels will 

not have any effect on their pan 
or channel input selection.  These 
settings are always made on a 
per-channel basis.

Summary of Contents for PROFIRE 2626

Page 1: ...User Guide...

Page 2: ...ire 2626 10 ProFire 2626 Operation at High Sample Rates 12 About S MUX II and S MUX IV modes 12 MAC OS X 88 2 96 kHz Operation 13 MAC OS X 176 4 192 kHz Operation 14 Windows XP Vista 88 2 96 kHz Opera...

Page 3: ...d Output Connections 40 Configuring the Mixer Router and Settings tabs 42 Setting up the DSP Mixer 42 Routing the DSP Mixer outputs 42 Configure the Master Volume Knob to Control Your Studio Monitors...

Page 4: ...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 u...

Page 5: ...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...

Page 6: ...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...

Page 7: ...ac 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 M Audio recommends that you check your software...

Page 8: ...tion to engage a 20dB pad or leave the knob in the in position to allow signals to bypass the pad 6 Setting Gain Levels To set gain levels for an analog input begin by turning the Gain Adjustment Knob...

Page 9: ...omputer before turning on the interface Hot plugging i e connecting the FireWire cable while the interface is powered on may have adverse effects on your ProFire 2626 and or your computer Please refer...

Page 10: ...ut cable provides MIDI Word Clock and coaxial RCA S PDIF input and output connectors 15 1 4 TRS Line Outputs These eight jacks output balanced line level signals for monitoring mixing or external effe...

Page 11: ...w X 30 IXER 2OUTER 3ELECT SOURCE FOR EACH HARDWARE OUTPUT ARDWARE UTPUTS 3OFTWARE 2ETURNS ARDWARE NPUTS NALOG NALOG 4 4 3 0 4 4 3 0 K Z PERATION AC 0 AC 0 UDIO PPLICATION Hardware Inputs These are the...

Page 12: ...format mixing consoles routed to multi track reel to reel tape machines for recording and then returned to the mixing desk This allows the recording engineer to hear the recorded signal from tape whil...

Page 13: ...rates Note that since Windows and OS X operating systems handle audio differently each operating system is described separately About S MUX II and S MUX IV modes An ADAT port is designed to transfer e...

Page 14: ...II mode As a result the number of available ADAT channels is reduced to four channels per port i e channels 5 8 are disabled on all ADAT I O ports and software return channels 19 26 are disabled Tip...

Page 15: ...n S MUX IV mode As a result the number of available ADAT channels is reduced to two channels per port i e channels 3 8 are disabled on all ADAT I O ports and software return channels 15 26 are disable...

Page 16: ...gure routing assignments each time Windows XP Vista Users Please note that certain input and output ports become unavailable at high resolutions such as ADAT 5 8 in S MUX II mode While the ports will...

Page 17: ...econfigure routing assignments each time Windows XP Vista Users Please note that certain input and output ports become unavailable at high resolutions such as ADAT 5 8 in S MUX II mode While the ports...

Page 18: ...in the system preferences window The Control Panel features four tabs across the top of the screen shown below Each tab focuses on a specific component or feature set of ProFire 2626 and is described...

Page 19: ...is disabled because of S MUX operation or by user preference Grayed out and italicized drop down selections are also disabled and will not stream audio if selected To resolve this issue select anothe...

Page 20: ...g place The DSP Mixer can be bypassed by either muting all of its input channels or by making sure that the Mixer s outputs are not routed to any hardware outputs in the Router see the following secti...

Page 21: ...2626 Router tab contains a variety of parameters affecting how audio is routed through the interface These parameters are grouped into categories as explained on the following pages Active Software Re...

Page 22: ...t active and the audio software will not receive any signal from this input until it is made active again Be sure to deactivate any ports that are not being used as this will reduce the demands placed...

Page 23: ...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 resu...

Page 24: ...de 23 ProFire 2626 Settings 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 d...

Page 25: ...l 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 ProFir...

Page 26: ...input and output buffers on ProFire 2626 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 var...

Page 27: ...l 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...

Page 28: ...s 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 externa...

Page 29: ...ing turns the peak hold function off 1 Second Peak levels are held for one second 3 Seconds Peak levels are held for three seconds Infinite Peak levels are held until the meters are cleared Standalone...

Page 30: ...is not necessary for A D or D A conversions at 44 1 48 kHz Optical port B can be used for A D D A operation at sample rates above 48 kHz NOTE This parameter only displays sample rates i e 44 1 kHz 48...

Page 31: ...PDIF Optical S PDIF Optical S PDIF Coaxial S PDIF 88 2 96 kHz when Optical Port B is set to ADAT Analog In 1 8 ADAT Out 1 8 ADAT In 1 8 Analog Out 1 8 88 2 96 kHz when Optical Port B is set to S PDIF...

Page 32: ...ADAT port A Out 1 4 Coaxial S PDIF Optical S PDIF Optical S PDIF Coaxial S PDIF 176 4 192 kHz Optical Port B can only be set to ADAT at this sample rate Analog In 1 4 Analog Out 1 4 ADAT port A Out 1...

Page 33: ...e to save various configurations i e a multi tracking setup a surround mixing setup etc so that you do not have to manually reconfigure your system each time you work on a different type of project Th...

Page 34: ...curate timing in sending and receiving those words is critical Each device in your interconnected digital world must share the same timing in order to communicate correctly that is their clocks must b...

Page 35: ...on that device In Figure 1 below digital multi track recorders with ADAT optical outputs are connected to optical ports A and B of the ProFire 2626 and a DAT machine is connected to the coaxial S PDIF...

Page 36: ...to ProFire 2626 to that master device In Figure 2 below a digital multi track recorder with an ADAT optical output is configured as clock master ProFire 2626 and other devices a DAT machine and anoth...

Page 37: ...Clock In A Out A 7 5 3 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 In B Out B Optical Line Outputs 3 5A Mic Line Inputs 1 8 6 4 2 MIDI S PDIF Word Clock In A In B Out A Out B S PDIF RCA Slave Master CD Player Slave ADAT B Slave...

Page 38: ...itten about this subject and are available online or through your local music retailer The diagram below demonstrates a scenario in which a controller keyboard and a sound module are connected to ProF...

Page 39: ...LOCK EYBOARD 4 IRE7IRE 0OWER 3UPPLY EADPHONES UITAR ASS IXING ESK MPLIFIER 0OWERED ONITORS 1 IXER IC EYBOARD 0LAYER 4 6 NST 0ULL D IC AIN LIP IC INE NST NST 0ULL D 0ULL D 0ULL D IC AIN LIP LIP LIP 0U...

Page 40: ...el of ProFire 2626 By combining the signals from both ADAT optical ports ProFire 2626 can send receive 16 channels of audio while operating at 44 1 48 kHz eight channels at 88 2 96 kHz in S MUX II mod...

Page 41: ...hones as well as playing a drum machine with a stereo output Hardware Input and Output Connections 6 3 0 7ORD LOCK N UT N UT PTICAL INE UTPUTS IC INE NPUTS NST 0ULL D IC AIN LIP IC INE NST NST 0ULL D...

Page 42: ...uitar direct Analog 2 rear combo XLR Vocalist Microphone Analog 3 rear combo XLR Percussion Microphone 1 Analog 4 rear combo XLR Percussion Microphone 2 Analog 5 rear combo XLR Percussion Microphone 3...

Page 43: ...side of the mixer to hide unnecessary Aux Sends i e Aux Sends 3 8 or to show the first two Aux Sends in case the Aux Send 2 knobs have been hidden If you would like to name your mixer input channels y...

Page 44: ...create the mix heard by the guitarist vocalist listening to Headphone Output 1 The Aux 2 knobs create the mix heard by the percussionist listening to Headphone Output 2 If your performers are doing o...

Page 45: ...plication must have provisions for multi channel surround mixing such as surround panners and a 6 channel master output Many DAW applications now include these features Hardware Input and Output Conne...

Page 46: ...interface is not necessary and should not be routed to any of the hardware outputs in the Router For this example only the surround mixing capabilities of your DAW application are used to create the m...

Page 47: ...e knob 8 on the front panel can be used to simultaneously raise or lower the levels of all six speakers Configuring and Using your DAW to create a Surround Mix Your audio hardware is now set up for su...

Page 48: ...g the computer c If there are PCI cards installed in your computer remove other PCI cards from your system one at a time to see if a FireWire resource conflict can be traced to a specific PCI slot or...

Page 49: ...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 acceler...

Page 50: ...ed as your audio device driver Problem Some parameters within the control panel are grayed out and inaccessible Possible Cause The computer is streaming audio which prevents certain settings from bein...

Page 51: ...gister online at www m audio com register to receive FREE product updates and for the chance to win M Audio giveaways ProFire 2626 Tested to comply with FCC standards FOR HOME OR STUDIO USE WARNING Th...

Page 52: ...r Assistance Technique PC 0 820 000 731 Mac 0 820 391 191 e mail PC support m audio fr email Mac mac m audio fr fax 33 0 1 72 72 90 52 Web www m audio com M Audio Germany Kuhallmand 34 D 74613 Ohringe...

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