8. 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.
8.1. 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.
8.2. 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, unless you are using Amarra, Pure Music or Ayrewave.
For Mac, we recommend iTunes with software add-ons such as Amarra, Pure Music, or
Ayrewave to improve audio quality and eliminated manual intervention to select sample-
rates.
If you use iTunes alone, then select HiFace or Empirical AudioAsync 192 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.
9. Quick Start-up
9.1. Mac
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Put the supplied CDROM into your Mac and find the Mac driver folder.
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Open the folder and copy the driver software to your Mac hard disk for your OS.
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Execute the file and then execute the container (cardboard box ICON)
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The install will start and one of the steps will ask you for your password
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Power-on the Off-Ramp and connect the USB cable to the Mac and S/PDIF
digital coax cable to the DAC.
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Power on the DAC.
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Check in the Perferences/Sounds that you have Empirical Audio async 192
selected for output
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Start your music player application
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Check that and yellow LED is off on the Overdrive
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Play a track or playlist using your player application
9.2. PC
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Put the supplied CDROM into your PC and find the PC driver folder.
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Open the folder and copy all of the files for your OS to your C: hard disk.
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Execute the .exe file and follow the instructions.
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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.
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Power on the DAC.
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Check in the Control Panel/Sounds and audio devices that you have HiFace or
Empirical Audio async 192 selected for output
