background image

 

 
78                            

User's Guide HDSPe AIO

 © RME

 

 

30.6 Noise level in DS / QS Mode 

 
The outstanding signal to noise ratio of the HDSPe AIO's  AD-converters can be verified even 
without expensive test equipment, by using record level meters of various software. But when 
activating the DS and QS mode, the displayed noise level will rise from -109 dB to -104 dB at 96 
kHz, and –60 dB at 192 kHz. This is not a failure. The software measures the noise of the whole 
frequency range, at 96 kHz from 0 Hz to 48 kHz (RMS unweighted), at 192 kHz from 0 Hz to 96 
kHz. 
 
When limiting the measurement's frequency range to 22 kHz (audio bandpass, weighted) the 
value would be -109 dB again. This can be verified even with RME's Windows tool 

DIGICheck

Although a dBA weighted value does not include such a strong bandwidth limitation as audio 
bandpass does, the displayed value of –108 dB is nearly identical to the one at 48 kHz. 

 
The reason for this behaviour is the noise shaping technology of the analog to digital convert-
ers. They move all noise and distortion to the in-audible higher frequency range, above 24 kHz. 
That’s how they achieve their outstanding performance and sonic clarity. Therefore the noise is 
slightly increased in the ultrasound area. High-frequent noise has a high energy. Add the dou-
bled (quadrupled) bandwidth, and a wideband measurement will show a siginificant drop in 
SNR, while the human ear will notice absolutely no change in the audible noise floor. 
 
 

30.7 SteadyClock 

 
The SteadyClock technology of the HDSPe AIO guarantees an excellent performance in all 
clock modes. Thanks to a highly efficient jitter suppression, the AD- and DA-conversion always 
operates on highest sonic level, being completely independent from the quality of the incoming 
clock signal. 
 
SteadyClock has been originally de-
veloped to gain a stable and clean 
clock from the heavily jittery MADI data 
signal (the embedded MADI clock 
suffers from about 80 ns jitter). Using 
the input signals SPDIF, ADAT or word 
clock, you'll most probably never ex-
perience such high jitter values. But 
SteadyClock is not only ready for 
them, it would handle them just on the 
fly. 
 
Common interface jitter values in real 
world applications are below 10 ns, a 
very good value is less than 2 ns. 
 
The screenshot shows an extremely jittery SPDIF signal of about 50 ns jitter (top graph, yellow). 
SteadyClock turns this signal into a clock with less than 2 ns jitter (lower graph, blue). The sig-
nal processed by SteadyClock is of course not only used internally, but also used to clock the 
digital outputs. Therefore the refreshed and jitter-cleaned signal can be used as reference clock 
without hesitation.

 

 

Summary of Contents for Hammerfall HDSPe AIO

Page 1: ...stem HDSPe AIO PCI Express Digital I O Card 2 2 8 2 Channels AES SPDIF ADAT Analog Interface 24 Bit 192 kHz Digital Audio 24 Bit 192 kHz Stereo Analog Monitor MIDI I O TotalMix 24 Bit 192 kHz 9 SyncAl...

Page 2: ...alling the Drivers 14 10 4 Firmware Update 15 11 Configuring the HDSPe AIO 11 1 Settings Dialog 15 11 2 Settings Dialog DDS 17 11 3 Clock Modes Synchronization 18 12 Operation and Usage 12 1 Playback...

Page 3: ...dio 38 20 5 Repairing Disk Permissions 38 20 6 Various Information 39 21 Hotline Troubleshooting 39 Connections and TotalMix 22 Analog Connections 22 1 Line Inputs 42 22 2 Line Outputs 43 22 3 Phones...

Page 4: ...27 TotalMix MIDI Remote Control 27 1 Overview 65 27 2 Mapping 65 27 3 Setup 66 27 4 Operation 66 27 5 Simple MIDI Control 67 27 6 Loopback Detection 68 Technical Reference 28 Tech Info 70 29 Technica...

Page 5: ...User s Guide HDSPe AIO RME 5 User s Guide HDSPe AIO General...

Page 6: ...pin Internal cable 3 core 1 optical cable TOSLINK 3 System Requirements Windows 2000 SP4 or higher Mac OS X Intel 10 4 8 or higher PCI Express Interface one free PCI Express slot 1 Lane version 1 1 4...

Page 7: ...AT optical input and output a 9 pin and a 15 pin D sub socket The included breakout cables provide all the analog and digital connec tions The ADAT I O can also be used as optical SPDIF I O if set up...

Page 8: ...AT output carries the same audio data as the optical output ADAT in ADAT mode Connecting an AEB4 O or AEB8 O the highest sample rate is 48 kHz Connecting a TEB the highest sample rate is 96 kHz the 4...

Page 9: ...RCA BO9632 XLRMKH Breakout cable Analog XLR 8 Warranty Each individual HDSPe AIO undergoes comprehensive quality control and a complete test at IMM before shipping The usage of high grade components...

Page 10: ...rademark of Alesis Corp Microsoft Windows 2000 and Windows XP are registered trade marks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp Steinberg Cubase and VST are registered trademarks of Steinberg Media Technolog...

Page 11: ...to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver Connect the equipment...

Page 12: ...12 User s Guide HDSPe AIO RME...

Page 13: ...User s Guide HDSPe AIO RME 13 User s Guide HDSPe AIO Driver Installation and Operation Windows...

Page 14: ...e Also the revision number of the hard ware might change after a flash update To prevent Windows 2000 XP from using an old hdsp inf or to copy some of the old driver files be sure NOT to let Windows s...

Page 15: ...ctions given in chapter 10 2 11 Configuring the HDSPe AIO 11 1 Settings Dialog Configuration of the HDSPe AIO is done via its own settings dialog The panel Settings can be opened by clicking on the ha...

Page 16: ...8 channel devices see chapter 12 3 TMS activates the transmission of Channel Status data and Track Marker information from the SPDIF and AES input signals SPDIF Out The SPDIF output signal is constant...

Page 17: ...Clock System is based on a Direct Digital Synthesizer DDS This superior circuitry can generate nearly any frequency with highest pre cision DDS has been implemented into the HDSPe AIO with regard to...

Page 18: ...nchronous with each other This is why digital systems always need a single device defined as master which sends the same clock signal to all the other slave devices Remember that a digital system can...

Page 19: ...rise in studio prac tice setting Pref Sync Ref is essential One example An ADAT recorder is connected to the ADAT input ADAT immedi ately becomes the sync source and a CD player is connected to the SP...

Page 20: ...on which has been se lected as playback device Increasing the number and or size of audio buff ers may prevent the audio signal from breaking up but also increases latency i e output is delayed For sy...

Page 21: ...ialized to play back system sounds and shouldn t be disturbed by system events To prevent this be sure to re assign this setting after usage or to disable any system sounds tab Sounds scheme No audio...

Page 22: ...d sample rates of up to 192 kHz using a standard ADAT recorder For this to work single channel data is spread to two or four ADAT channels using the Sample Multiplexing technique This reduces the numb...

Page 23: ...ck channels already occupied Therefore DIGICheck is able to analyse and display playback data from any software no matter which format the software uses Multi Client and Multi Channel using WDM The WD...

Page 24: ...hardware and the software Even if the input signal is 24 bit the application can still be set to record at 16 bit reso lution The lower 8 bits and therefore any signals about 96dB below maximum level...

Page 25: ...rom 8 to 4 At a sample rate of 176 4 and 192 kHz the ADAT optical input and outputs operate in S MUX4 mode so the number of available channels per port is limited to 2 Please note that when changing t...

Page 26: ...System Timestamp 14 Operation under GSIF Gigasampler Interface Windows 2000 XP The GSIF interface of the Hammerfall DSP allows direct operation with Gigastudio with up to 18 channels 96 kHz and 24 bi...

Page 27: ...functions Level Meter High precision 24 bit resolution 2 8 18 channels Application examples Peak level measurement RMS level measurement over detection phase correlation measure ment dynamic range and...

Page 28: ...nput signal Check that cables devices have not been connected in a closed loop If so set the systems s clock mode to Master Crackle during record or playback Increase the number and size of buffers in...

Page 29: ...ebsite www rme audio com section FAQ Hardware Alert about incompatible hardware The dialog New hardware component found does not appear Check whether the PCI Express interface is correctly inserted in...

Page 30: ...30 User s Guide HDSPe AIO RME...

Page 31: ...User s Guide HDSPe AIO RME 31 User s Guide HDSPe AIO Driver Installation and Operation Mac OS X...

Page 32: ...removed Reboot the computer when installation is done 18 2 Driver Update In case of a driver update it s not necessary to remove the old driver first it will be overwritten during the installation 18...

Page 33: ...ause unwanted noises The status displays at the bottom of the dialog box give the user precise information about the current status of the system and the status of all digital signals AEB TEB ADAT In...

Page 34: ...its own clock or Slave see AutoSync Ref 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...

Page 35: ...Minimum step size 1 Hz Fine Fader for fine modification of the basic sample rate Click Active to activate it Minimum step size 1 Hz Notes on the faders A mouse click within the fader area above or bel...

Page 36: ...rise in studio practice setting Pref Sync Ref is essential One exam ple An ADAT recorder is con nected to the ADAT input ADAT immediately becomes the sync source and a CD player is connected to the SP...

Page 37: ...heless this driver file can be removed by simply dragging it to the trash bin This can be helpful in case a driver installation fails An incomplete installation can currently 10 3 2 only be detected i...

Page 38: ...wo or four ADAT channels using the Sample Multiplexing technique This reduces the number of available ADAT channels from 8 to 4 or 2 per ADAT port It is not possible to change the number of CoreAudio...

Page 39: ...ls 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...

Page 40: ...40 User s Guide HDSPe AIO RME...

Page 41: ...User s Guide HDSPe AIO RME 41 User s Guide HDSPe AIO Connections and TotalMix...

Page 42: ...uts to the three most often used studio levels The standardized studio levels do not result in a often desired full scale level but take some additional digital headroom into consideration The amount...

Page 43: ...B is common practice each mixing desk op erating at 10 dBV is able to send and receive much higher levels Hi Gain is best suited for professional users who prefer to work balanced and at highest level...

Page 44: ...d cables with XLR plugs Input and Output are transformer balanced and ground free Besides the audio data digital signals in SPDIF or AES EBU format contain a channel status coding The incoming channel...

Page 45: ...disappear The AIO s SPDIF channel status has been implemented according to IEC60958 32 44 1 48 kHz 64 88 2 96 kHz 176 4 192 kHz depending on the current sample rate Audio use Non Audio No Copyright Co...

Page 46: ...te implementation of the ADM functions Integration of external devices Use TotalMix to insert external effects devices be it in the playback or in the record path Depending on the current application...

Page 47: ...User s Guide HDSPe AIO RME 47...

Page 48: ...from an Inline desk so that the row Software Playback equals the Tape Return of a real mixing desk Top row Hardware inputs The level shown is that of the input signal i e fader independ ent Via fader...

Page 49: ...cation for the first time a default file is loaded sending all playback tracks 1 1 to the corresponding hardware outputs with 0 dB gain and activating phones monitoring Hold down Ctrl and click on pre...

Page 50: ...hannels 7 and 8 The present pan value is also being dis played below the fader Please carry out the same steps for Out 2 now in order to route it to output 8 as well In short While editing the Submix...

Page 51: ...Double Speed mode 96 kHz The display is adjusted accordingly and all fader settings remain stored 24 5 Submix View Such a wide range of possibilities make it difficult to maintain the overview Becaus...

Page 52: ...distribution complete input monitoring a stereo and mono mix and various submixes without any problem Also here RME s love for details can be seen If any parameter is being altered after loading a pr...

Page 53: ...f all playbacks to the analog output Level display set to RMS 3 dB View Submix active Note This preset is Default offering the standard functionality of a I O card Preset 2 Description All channels ro...

Page 54: ...usted with the channel s input fader Monitor Phones 1 2 3 Use the drop down menu to select the hardware outputs where the submixes are sent to These submixes are usually phones mixdowns for the musici...

Page 55: ...ht mouse click on the white name field brings up the dialog box Enter Name Any name can be entered in this dialog Enter Return closes the dialog box the white label now shows the first letters of the...

Page 56: ...alMix also supports combinations of these keys If you press Ctrl and Alt at the same time clicking with the mouse makes the faders jump to 0 dB pairwise and they can be set pairwise by Shift Alt in fi...

Page 57: ...de activated any ADM commands will be ignored by TotalMix In other words ASIO Direct Monitoring is globally de activated Link Faders Selecting this option all faders will be treated as stereo pairs a...

Page 58: ...is usually corrected by 3 dB so that a full scale sine signal shows 0 dBFS on both Peak and RMS meters This setting also yields directly readable signal to noise values Otherwise the value shown with...

Page 59: ...s the current gain value as dB Orange gain field This routing is muted Blue field Phase 180 inverted To maintain overview when the window size has been reduced the left and upper labels are floating T...

Page 60: ...set up routings which would be nearly impossible to achieve by fiddling around with level and pan Let s say you want to send input 1 to output 1 at 0 dB to output 2 at 3 dB to output 3 at 6 dB and to...

Page 61: ...ay on all headphones Select input 5 open the menu Edit It shows Copy In 5 Now select the desired new input for example In 8 The menu now shows Paste In 5 to In 8 Click on it done If you are familiar w...

Page 62: ...channel is no longer sent to the recording software but still passed through to TotalMix Therefore TotalMix can be used to route this input signal to any hardware output Using the subgroup recording t...

Page 63: ...dB and the panorama fully to the right Adjust the input level at the reverb unit to an optimal setting Next the output of the reverb unit is connected to a free stereo input for example 5 6 Use the To...

Page 64: ...annel represents L R During record the monitoring needs to be done in conventional stereo As TotalMix can invert the phase it also offers the functionality of a M S decoder The menu Options includes a...

Page 65: ...e elements Element Meaning in TotalMix Channel faders 1 8 volume Master fader Main Monitor channel s faders SEL 1 8 DYNAMICS reset fader to Unity Gain V Pots 1 8 pan pressing V Pot knobs pan center CH...

Page 66: ...ture causes heavy overload of the MIDI port when ganging more than 2 faders In such a case or when using the Behringer BCF2000 turn off this option When Full LC Display Support is turned off only a br...

Page 67: ...1 Talkback 5E 94 A 5 Monitor Phones 1 3F 63 D 3 Monitor Phones 2 40 64 E 3 Monitor Phones 3 41 65 F 3 Preset 1 36 54 F 2 Preset 2 37 55 G 2 Preset 3 38 56 G 2 Preset 4 39 57 A 2 Preset 5 3A 58 A 2 Pr...

Page 68: ...ol protocol requires feedback of the received commands back to the hard ware controller So usually TotalMix will be set up with both a MIDI input and MIDI output Un fortunately any small error in wiri...

Page 69: ...User s Guide HDSPe AIO RME 69 User s Guide HDSPe AIO Technical Reference...

Page 70: ...sts all changes of the driver updates DIGICheck Analysis tests and measurements with RME audio hardware A description of DIGICheck including technical background information ADI 8 Inside Technical inf...

Page 71: ...Gain 19 dBu Input level for 0 dBFS 4 dBu 13 dBu Input level for 0 dBFS 10 dBV 2 dBV DA Line Out Resolution DA 24 Bit Signal to Noise ratio SNR 116 dB RMS unweighted 119 dBA 44 1 kHz unmuted THD 104 d...

Page 72: ...bit up to 48 kHz Double Speed S MUX 16 channels 24 bit 96 kHz Quad Speed S MUX4 8 channels 24 bit 192 kHz Bitclock PLL ensures perfect synchronisation even in varispeed operation Lock range 31 5 kHz 5...

Page 73: ...30 dB 2 4 kHz Effective clock jitter influence on AD and DA conversion near zero PLL ensures zero dropout even at more than 100 ns jitter Digital Bitclock PLL for trouble free varispeed ADAT operation...

Page 74: ...display will show LOCK immediately but usually the mixing desk s sample rate is generated internally it is Master too and thus slightly higher or lower than the HDSPe AIO s internal sample rate Result...

Page 75: ...er chips operate with 64 or 128 times over sampling plus digital filtering in order to move the error prone analog filters away from the au dible frequency range as far as possible This typically gene...

Page 76: ...able that could receive or transmit more than 48 kHz Therefore a work around was used instead of two channels one AES line only carries one channel whose odd and even samples are being distributed to...

Page 77: ...called S P DIF SONY Philips Digital Interface is described by IEC 60958 Type AES3 1992 IEC 60958 Connection XLR RCA Optical Mode Balanced Un balanced Impedance 110 Ohm 75 Ohm Level 0 2 V up to 5 Vss 0...

Page 78: ...High frequent noise has a high energy Add the dou bled quadrupled bandwidth and a wideband measurement will show a siginificant drop in SNR while the human ear will notice absolutely no change in the...

Page 79: ...User s Guide HDSPe AIO RME 79 31 Diagrams 31 1 Block Diagram HDSPe AIO...

Page 80: ...ected to the tip the right channel to the ring of the TRS jack plug Pin assignment of the 9 pin D sub connector breakout cable SPDIF AES Note The digital breakout cable is identical to the one used in...

Page 81: ...ion Boards Card I Expansion Boards AES SPDIF Analog ADAT I ADAT O AI AO AEB I AEB O TEB X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X AES AES On Board SPDIF SPDIF On Board Analog 2 cha...

Reviews: