Metric Halo 3d Upgrade Board Set, Руководство пользователя

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Welcome to Metric Halo 3d!
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Introduction
The following is a “Start Here” readme for those of us who prefer to just connect a new gadget and start
exploring right away. Unintentional cliché aside, 3d really does add a new dimension beyond yesterday‘s
traditional audio interfaces and audio networking solutions. The difference with 3d is, it’s as easy as you
want it to be but as powerful as you need it to be.
So, here’s this whole MHLink thing in a nutshell:
When you connect one 3d box to another 3d box with MHLink, you get a bigger box. That’s what happens.
That’s it. If you stop reading here, you’ve got the basic concept.
Connect via MHLink and start listening. Live, while running audio through the first box, connect a second
box to the first, power it up and get double the DSP processing and immediate access to all the added
audio I/O with no added latency and with no interruption of your currently-playing audio .
The new box automatically shows up in the MIOConsole3d System Status, and all new ports immedidately
appear in the routing windows. No glitches, no manual registration, literally plug and play.
Your computer and DAW still see them as “one box”, even if you daisy-chain ten of them. Plus, since
they’re running on Gigabit Ethernet, your “one box” can include analog and digital I/O in another room
or on a stage 100 meters away. Since all Gigabit Ethernet jacks are transformer-coupled, all connections
are galvanically isolated - which means no ground loops, wherever you want to plug them in.
Try that with USB3 or Thunderbolt.
The way MHLink works is very simple: The computer is connected to one 3d device - the first box in the
MHLink chain. We call this the "Root" box. All other 3d boxes are connected, in turn, from the Root box.
Audio applications
(on Host computer)
MHLink Driver
(on Host computer)
MHLink Root Box
(Box #1)
MHLink
Box #2
MHLink
Box #3
more 3d
boxes
Audio applications see this Audio apps do not see this
(MHLink ethernet cable shown violet)
Figure 1: MHLink connections
The Root box is the only thing the computer can see, and it is the Root box that manages all other 3d
boxes in the MHLink chain. So, as far as the computer (and your DAW) is concerned, there literally is only
ever that one physical audio device: the Root box. Everything that happens on the other side of the Root
box is managed entirely by the Root box itself, and remains hidden from the computer operating system
and your DAW. Since the routing management system in every 3d device is smart enough to manage its
own domain, any 3d device can serve as a Root box at the full 128 channel bandwidth and 192kHz max
sample rate.
New boxes synchronize their DSP and I/O, and lock to the system clock of the Root box automatically
upon connection. Adding boxes does not add system latency - ten boxes act and respond the same as
one. MHLink provides more channels at higher sample rates with less latency (and way less setup) than
audio-over-IP solutions. ...And of course, truly superior sound quality all the way through.
There is a lot more to love than just ease of use, and the next few pages will help you get a handle on how
it all comes together. So even if you are a single-box user, please take the time to read through this brief
summary of terms to take best advantage of your 3d system right from the start.
It is a bit of an info-dump and we apologize for that, but keeping these concepts in mind when connecting
the boxes and clicking around MIOConsole3d will definitely help get you into your comfort zone much
faster.