General Recording Instructions; Setting The Sample Rate; Troubleshooting - M-Audio FireWire Solo User Manual

General Recording Instructions

The FireWire Solo's analog and digital inputs will appear as inputs in your audio software. Depending on your chosen application, these may be
labeled as ASIO inputs, WDM inputs or CoreAudio inputs. Typically, for example, in an ASIO-based application (e.g., Cubase, Nuendo, etc.) the
FireWire Solo's inputs will appear as:
< FireWire Solo Analog input 1
< FireWire Solo Analog input 2
< FireWire Solo S/PDIF input L
< FireWire Solo S/PDIF input R
If you're using analog in 1 or 2, activate the input labeled as Analog Inputs in your audio software's input mixer. If you're using the S/PDIF inputs,
you must choose the correct S/PDIF input in the control panel's Hardware page. Then choose an available track in your audio software and route
the input signal to it. Refer to your audio software's documentation for further information.

Setting the Sample Rate

In most cases, you will want to set the sample rate from within your audio software. When the sync source in the Hardware page of the FireWire
Solo's control panel is set to Internal, it will receive the sample rate from your audio application. If, however, you are recording a digital source via
the S/PDIF inputs, you will want to set the sync source to External. This will allow the incoming digital source to control the sample rate.

Troubleshooting

The FireWire Solo has been designed to give you high performance and professional quality audio. It has been tested under a wide range of
systems and operating conditions. In the real world, however, there are a nearly infinite number of possible operating scenarios, any of which
could affect your system's performance. Much like owning an automobile, "your mileage may vary." This section cannot begin to cover all possible
issues you may encounter, however we want to give you some basic suggestions on common problems you may experience.
One thing to avoid is connecting too many devices. The computer's FireWire bus is a dependable, high-speed, high-bandwidth protocol which is
ideally suited for digital audio. Nonetheless, it's important to remember that audio and multimedia streaming place considerable demands on
your processor and the available bandwidth of the FireWire bus. Although it is theoretically possible to chain many multiple FireWire devices in
series, doing so may potentially degrade your audio performance.
Generally, FireWire devices do not suffer from the IRQ conflicts sometimes encountered with PCI cards. If you are having trouble getting audio into
or out of your FireWire Solo, please check the following.
If you have no sound:
< Check to see if the FireWire Solo drivers are properly installed. In WindowsXP, go to the Control Panel and double-click the System icon
(under Performance and Maintenance if you're in Category view). Select the Hardware tab and click the Device Manager button. Click the
plus sign ("+") next to Sound, Video and Game Controllers," and locate the FireWire Solo listing. If you see a question mark or exclamation
point next to it, or if you don't see it listed, you may need to reinstall the driver software.
< Make sure your audio software has been set up to use the FireWire Solo. Open your application's audio settings page and check to see if
the FireWire Solo's ASIO or WDM drivers have been correctly selected.
< If you're certain the FireWire Solo is correctly installed and configured for your audio software, check your signal path. Make sure your inputs
are routed correctly by verifying that your application is receiving audio signal. Make sure your outputs are routed correctly so that your
signal is sent to your headphones, amp and/or monitors.
< Check your audio connections to make sure everything is plugged in correctly.
If you are trying to record a digital input to the FireWire Solo and have no sound:
< You may have a valid signal but at the wrong input. Open the FireWire Solo control panel and select the correct input on the hardware
page.
< Make sure your audio software is configured to receive digital input, and that the input source is set as clock master for external sync.
< Be sure to use a true S/PDIF cable, not a standard RCA (audio) cable. Though they share the same type of connector, they are electrically
different enough to be a cause of transmission problems if the wrong cable is used.
If you are experiencing clicks and pops in your recordings:
< Make sure your input levels are not too hot, as this can cause distortion and clipping. Check the input level meters in your audio
application.
< If you are recording a digital input source, make sure the FireWire Solo's sync source, as well as the sync source in your audio software, is
set to external.
< You might want to try using a larger buffer size. Larger buffer sizes can increase input latency time, but if you're mixing, for example, this is
not an issue. Increasing the buffer size can be helpful, particularly in the case of older or lower-powered computer systems.
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