4. Software
Software drivers must be loaded to support the USB interface for both PC and Mac before
connecting the USB cable. For operation on a PC, Kernel Streaming is recommended to
bypass Kmixer on XP machines and WASAPI on Vista and Win7 machines.
4.1. USB Drivers
Drivers are located on the included CDROM disk. Load the appropriate driver for your
machine and OS and execute it on the computer before powering the Off-Ramp 4 or
connecting the USB cable to the computer for the first time.
4.2. Player Software
For PC, the latest version of Foobar2000 is recommended as a player. Install this first.
For XP, a Kernel Streaming plug-in is included on the CDROM. Copy this plug-in to the
“components” folder under C:\Program Files\Foobar2000. Then start Foobar2000 and
select the File pull-down. Then select Preferences. In the Preferences window, go to
Playback – Output – select HiFace Kernel Streaming or Empirical Audio async 192.
With XP, the sample-rate will be selected automatically. With Vista and Win7, you must
change the sample-rate manually on the computer in control-panel/sounds and audio
devices/advanced.
For Mac, we recommend iTunes with software add-ons such as Amarra or Pure Vinyl to
improve audio quality and eliminated manual intervention to select sample-rates.
If you use iTunes alone, then select HiFace in Preferences/Audio and use Utilities/Midi
options to select the sample-rate. Using iTunes alone requires you to manually select
the sample-rate each time you change to playback of a different sample-rate.
5. Quick Start-up
5.1. Mac
•
Put the supplied CDROM into your Mac and find the Mac driver folder.
•
Open the folder and copy the driver software to your Mac hard disk.
•
Execute the driver installation and follow the instructions.
•
Power-on the Off-Ramp and connect the USB cable to the Mac and S/PDIF
digital coax cable to the DAC.
•
Power on the DAC.
•
Check in the Perferences/Sounds that you have HiFace or Empirical Audio
async 192 selected for output
•
Start your music player application
•
Check that both the red and yellow LEDs are off on the Off-Ramp
•
Play a track or playlist using your player application
5.2. PC
•
Put the supplied CDROM into your PC and find the PC driver folder.
•
Open the folder and copy the correct driver software to your PC hard disk.
•
Execute the driver installation and follow the instructions.
•
Power-on the Off-Ramp and connect the USB cable to a USB 2.0 port on your
PC and S/PDIF digital coax cable to the DAC.
•
Power on the DAC.
•
Check in the Control Panel/Sounds and audio devices that you have HiFace or
Empirical Audio async 192 selected for output
•
Install Kernel Streaming in your player application
•
Start your music player application
•
Select HiFace Kernel Streaming or Empirical Audio 192 async Kernel Streaming
for output
•
Check that both the red and yellow LEDs are off on the Off-Ramp
