User manual RME FIREFACE UFX

[. . . ] User's Guide Fireface UFX The most powerful FireWire® and USB audio interface ever! TotalMix 24 Bit / 192 kHz SyncAlign TM TM ZLM TM SyncCheck TM TM SteadyClock USB 2. 0 / FireWire 400 Digital I/O System 12 + 16 + 2 Channels Analog / ADAT / AES Interface 24 Bit / 192 kHz Digital Audio 60 x 30 Matrix Router 2 x MIDI I/O Full Stand-Alone Operation MIDI Remote Control Important Safety Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 General 1 2 3 4 5 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Package Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Brief Description and Characteristics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 First Usage - Quick Start 5. 1 Connectors ­ Controls - Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 5. 2 Quick Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Installation and Operation - Windows Hardware Installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Driver and Firmware 7. 1 Driver Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 7. 2 Driver Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 7. 3 De-installing the Drivers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 7. 4 Firmware Update. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 8 Configuring the Fireface 8. 1 Settings Dialog ­ General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 8. 2 Settings Dialog ­ Pitch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 9 Operation and Usage 9. 1 Playback. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 9. 2 DVD Playback (AC-3 / DTS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 9. 3 Notes on WDM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 9. 4 Channel Count under WDM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 9. 5 Multi-client Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 9. 6 Analog Recording. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 9. 7 Digital Recording. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 9. 8 Clock Modes - Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 10 Operation under ASIO 10. 1 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 10. 2 Channel Count under ASIO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 10. 3 Known Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 11 Using more than one Fireface UFX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 12 DIGICheck Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 13 Hotline ­ Troubleshooting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 6 7 Installation and Operation - Mac OS X Hardware Installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Driver and Firmware 15. 1 Driver Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 15. 2 Driver Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 15. 3 Firmware Update. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 16 Configuring the Fireface 19. 1 Settings Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 19. 2 Clock Modes - Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 17 Mac OS X FAQ 17. 1 Round about Driver Installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 17. 2 MIDI doesn't work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 17. 3 Repairing Disk Permissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 17. 4 Supported Sample Rates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 17. 5 Channel Count under Core Audio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 17. 6 Various Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 14 15 2 User's Guide Fireface UFX © RME 18 19 20 Using more than one Fireface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 DIGICheck Mac. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Hotline ­ Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Inputs and Outputs Analog Inputs 25. 1 Line Rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [. . . ] The jitter of a word clock is typically 15 times higher as when using a quartz based clock. The end of these problems should have been the so called Superclock, which uses 256 times the word clock frequency. This equals the internal quartz frequency, so no PLL for multiplying is needed and the clock can be used directly. But reality was different, the Superclock proved to be much more critical than word clock. A square wave signal of 11 MHz distributed to several devices - this simply means to fight with high frequency technology. Reflections, cable quality, capacitive loads - at 44. 1 kHz these factors may be ignored, at 11 MHz they are the end of the clock network. Additionally it was found that a PLL not only generates jitter, but also rejects disturbances. The slow PLL works like a filter for induced and modulated frequencies above several kHz. As the Superclock is used without any filtering such a kind of jitter and noise suppression is missing. The actual end of these problems is offered by the SteadyClock technology of the Fireface UFX. Combining the advantages of modern and fastest digital technology with analog filter techniques, re-gaining a low jitter clock signal of 22 MHz from a slow word clock of 44. 1 kHz is no problem anymore. Additionally, jitter on the input signal is highly rejected, so that even in real world usage the re-gained clock signal is of highest quality. User's Guide Fireface UFX © RME 45 24. 3 Cabling and Termination Word clock signals are usually distributed in the form of a network, split with BNC T-adapters and terminated with resistors. We recommend using off-the-shelf BNC cables to connect all devices, as this type of cable is used for most computer networks. You will find all the necessary components (T-adapters, terminators, cables) in most electronics and/or computer stores. The 75 Ohms components used for word clock are part of video technology (RG59). Ideally, the word clock signal is a 5 Volt square wave with the frequency of the sample rate, of which the harmonics go up to far above 500 kHz. To avoid voltage loss and reflections, both the cable itself and the terminating resistor at the end of the chain should have an impedance of 75 Ohm. High frequency reflection effects can cause both jitter and sync failure. Unfortunately there are still many devices on the market, even newer digital mixing consoles, which are supplied with a word clock output that can only be called unsatisfactory. If the output breaks down to 3 Volts when terminating with 75 Ohms, you have to take into account that a device, of which the input only works from 2. 8 Volts and above, does not function correctly already after 3 meter cable length. So it is not astonishing that because of the higher voltage, word clock networks are in some cases more stable and reliable if cables are not terminated at all. Ideally all outputs of word clock delivering devices are designed as low impedance types, but all word clock inputs as high impedance types, in order to not weaken the signal on the chain. [. . . ] The usage of high grade components allows us to offer a full two year warranty. If you suspect that your product is faulty, please contact your local retailer. The warranty does not cover damage caused by improper installation or maltreatment - replacement or repair in such cases can only be carried out at the owner's expense. Audio AG does not accept claims for damages of any kind, especially consequential damage. [. . . ]