Download
Share
Print this page
  1. Manuals
  2. Brands
  3. Prism Sound Manuals
  4. Recording Equipment
  5. Titan
  6. Operation manual

Prism Sound Titan Operation Manual

Hide thumbs Also See for Titan:

Advertisement

Quick Links

Download this manual
Titan
Operation Manual

Advertisement

loading
Need help?

Need help?

Do you have a question about the Titan and is the answer not in the manual?

Questions and answers

Related Manuals for Prism Sound Titan

Summary of Contents for Prism Sound Titan

  • Page 1 Titan Operation Manual...

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    Prism Sound Titan Operation Manual Table of Contents General Information ............................5 Introduction to Titan ............................7 Features ............................... 7 System requirements ........................... 8 Quick start guides ............................. 9 Quick start for Mac............................9 Quick start for Windows ..........................9 Installation procedures ...........................
  • Page 4 Prism Sound Titan Operation Manual Stability and latency ........................... 39 Clocking and jitter ............................40 Dither and noise-shaping ..........................42 Verifile ............................... 46 Analogue interconnections ......................... 47 Digital interconnections ..........................50 Specifications ..............................52 ©2013 - 2023 Audio Squadron Limited...

  • Page 5: General Information

    Web: http://www.prismsound.com Or contact your local Prism Sound distributor as detailed on the website. WARNING! TO PREVENT FIRE OR SHOCK HAZARD DO NOT EXPOSE THIS EQUIPMENT TO RAIN OR MOISTURE. DO NOT REMOVE THE COVER. NO USER-SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE. REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED SERVICE PERSONNEL.
  • Page 6 Prism Sound Titan Operation Manual Statements of conformity This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against interference in a residential area.

  • Page 7: Introduction To Titan

    Prism Sound Titan Operation Manual Introduction to Titan Titan is a USB multi-channel audio interface for Windows PC and Mac. As well as eight analogue line inputs and outputs, Titan provides four high-quality microphone preamplifiers, two high-impedance instrument inputs, as well as a host of advanced synchronization and monitoring facilities.

  • Page 8: System Requirements

    System requirements Titan will work with any modern host PC or Mac with a suitable operating system and a port that supports USB 2.0. Macs must be running OS X 10.12 Sierra or later; PCs must be running Windows 10 or 11 (32-bit or 64-bit).

  • Page 9: Quick Start Guides

    Quick start for Windows To install the Titan software, your PC must be running Windows 10 or 11 (32-bit or 64-bit) or later. You will need a port that supports USB 2.0 (this can include but is not limited to USB-C, USB3.x, USB4, Thunderbolt3 and Thunderbolt4).

  • Page 10: Installation Procedures

    Mac installation The Titan Control Panel app can be installed on Macs running macOS 10.12 Sierra or higher (see the download page for up to date details). You will need a port that supports USB 2.0 (this can include but is not limited to USB-C, USB3.x, USB4, Thunderbolt3 and Thunderbolt4).
  • Page 11 Prism Sound Titan Operation Manual • A copy of the EULA will appear, which you should read: • Agree to the EULA by clicking 'Continue'. • Having selected an install destination if required, click 'Install' to perform the installation: •...
  • Page 12 When software installation is complete, close the dialogue box. • Connect your Titan to the mains supply and to a USB port on your Mac with the cables provided. The Titan device's inputs and outputs should now be visible in Audio/MIDI Setup as Core Audio ports.

  • Page 13: Windows Installation

    Windows installation The following procedure installs the Titan ASIO and WDM audio drivers, and the Titan Control Panel app, on your Windows PC. Your PC must be running Windows 10 or 11 (32-bit or 64-bit). You will need a port that supports USB 2.0 (this can include but is not limited to USB-C, USB3.x, USB4, Thunderbolt3 and Thunderbolt4).
  • Page 14 Prism Sound Titan Operation Manual • Confirm your user name and organisation, and click 'Next': • Choose 'Complete' to perform a default installation. To change the installation location or which components will be installed, you can choose 'Custom' (not recommended). Click 'Next':...
  • Page 15 Prism Sound Titan Operation Manual • Final check. To proceed with installation, click 'Next': • Installation will then proceed: • You may then be prompted to confirm that you would like to install the device drivers. Click 'Install'. • Installation will then complete, and you will see a message suggesting that you can connect your device.

  • Page 16: Operating Multiple Units

    Prism Sound UAC2 Windows driver. It is possible to operate multiple Titan units connected to a single Mac via USB by 'aggregating' them. This is done by creating an aggregate device in the Mac's Audio MIDI Setup dialogue box, and adding the Titan units to it.
  • Page 17 Lyra may not have this module, but Atlas and Titan can. If your computer is attached to a network that is being used for Dante and some Prism Sound devices are detected across the Dante, they will also show in this window along with their status and connection details.

  • Page 18: Software And Firmware Updates

    MDIO-Dante module and operation under Dante. Software and firmware updates From time to time, new versions of the Titan Control Panel app, the Windows driver, or the Titan firmware itself will be made available. To view the latest versions available, please visit www.prismsound.com/titan_downloads.

  • Page 19: Titan Hardware

    The figure above is a simplified block diagram of the Titan audio signal paths. Titan is basically a sound card, with all inputs made available to the host computer via the USB host bus, and all outputs likewise driven from the USB host bus. However, Titan's signal paths contain a range of enhanced processing and mixing functions, which are described in the following sections.

  • Page 20: Digital Inputs

    - the gain steps of the Titan microphone preamplifiers are fine and precise. In line input mode, no fine gain adjustment is available, so if the Titan MS matrix is used with external preamplifiers, these must have fine and accurate gain control if width adjustment is required.

  • Page 21: Analogue Outputs

    This can be achieved either by synchronizing Titan to the source (by using DI or ADAT sync source), or by synchronizing the source to Titan's S/PDIF, ADAT or Wordclock output. Titan also has a Wordclock sync input for synchronization to Wordclock-equipped sources or house syncs.

  • Page 22: Digital Outputs

    In normal operation, the S/PDIF digital outputs are fed directly with individual signals from the host PC or Mac; however, it is possible to feed the outputs from local digital mixers within the Titan hardware if desired - this is...

  • Page 23: Output Mixers And Routing Matrix

    DO Synchronization Note that it is necessary to ensure that the sample clock of any digital audio device to which Titan's digital outputs are connected is synchronous with Titan's own sample clock. This is usually achieved by synchronizing the receiving equipment to Titan's S/PDIF, ADAT or Wordclock output, but can be achieved by synchronizing Titan to the receiving device's clock or house sync (by setting DI or Wordclock as Titan's sync source).

  • Page 24: Assignable Level Control

    Host's audio at all. Having set up such mixes using the Titan Control Panel app, it is possible to stand-alone mode to retain the mix features with no computer connected.

  • Page 25: Metering System

    Titan behaves as a class compliant UAC2 (USB Audio Class 2.0) device, and operates in asynchronous mode. This means that the sample clock is always controlled from within the Titan unit, and is NEVER locked to the USB bus or the host computer.
  • Page 26 In the former case, the SRC simply converts any incoming digital signal of whatever sample rate to the sample rate of the Titan unit. If the SRC is in the digital output, it is necessary to specify what the output sample rate must be;...

  • Page 27: Front Panel

    Prism Sound Titan Operation Manual Front Panel Titan's front panel contains a limited number of physical controls and indicators. A greater degree of control is available using the Titan Control Panel app software provided. The front panel also contains the instrument input and headphone output jacks.
  • Page 28 • Host indicator: this indicator is normally lit green, to show that Titan is connected to the host computer via the USB interface; however, when lit red, it indicates that the unit is using the MDIO (multi-channel digital IO) expansion module to connect to a non-USB host, as described in MDIO expansion slot section.

  • Page 29: Rear Panel

    Prism Sound Titan Operation Manual Rear Panel Titan's rear panel contains all Titan's connections, except for the instrument inputs and headphone output, which are on the front panel. From left to right (viewed from rear): • 6A IEC inlet (regional power cord supplied): adjacent is the mains fuse holder.

  • Page 30: Fuses And Ratings

    Stand-Alone Operation It is possible to operate Titan without a connection to a host computer. This is done by setting up the unit as required using the Titan Control Panel app whilst it is connected to a host computer via its USB interface, then placing the unit in standby by pressing the standby button, before disconnecting the unit from the host and power source.

  • Page 31: Titan Software

    This section describes the software supplied with Titan. Titan Control Panel App The Titan Control Panel app is a program which can be used to adjust Titan's settings and view its metering and status indicators, from the screen of the Mac or PC.

  • Page 32: Unit Settings

    NOTE: It may not be possible to change the sample rate whilst any of Titan's ports are in use by an audio application (e.g. a DAW). In this case it is necessary to disconnect the ports from the application before changing the sample rate, or (where possible) to change the rate from within the application.
  • Page 33 Synchronization section. The LED Level control allows the brightness of the LEDs on Titan's front panel to be adjusted to suit ambient lighting conditions. In Windows ASIO systems, the audio delay through the input and output buffers is set by the Buffer control and is entered in samples.

  • Page 34: Inputs Tab

    Microphone mode, indicated by a pink 'MIC' or 'PAD' legend, is selected if neither instrument or line jack is detected. Inputs 5-8 are fixed in line mode for Titan. Line input sensitivity is switched between +4dBu and -10dBV nominal by the '+4/-10' radio buttons, whereas microphone and instrument input gains are adjusted in 1dB steps by the slider controls, and indicated by the number beneath, which can also be directly entered if required.

  • Page 35: Outputs Tab

    Prism Sound Titan Operation Manual lit when the incoming carrier is not locked to Titan's selected sync source. In ADAT modes, ULOK and ASNC indicators are also provided for the ADAT/SMUX inputs. All inputs have high-resolution peak metering, with overload indication 0.05dB below clipping; the analogue input meters also have Overkiller-active indicators which light dynamically when the Overkillers are limiting.

  • Page 36: Mixer Tabs

    Titan drivers For Windows systems, Titan is supplied with a driver which provides ASIO and WDM connectivity. This driver is installed when the initial installation is performed. Thereafter, this connectivity is permanently available. It ©2013 - 2023 Audio Squadron Limited...

  • Page 37: Verifile Checker App

    Prism Sound Titan Operation Manual is not necessary to run the Titan Control Panel app for applications to be able to use Titan, but the app is needed for any but the most basic control of Titan's functions. The same is true in Mac systems, except that no driver is installed because OS X is able to operate Titan directly as a USB Audio Device Class 2.0 device to obtain Core Audio functionality.
  • Page 38 Prism Sound Titan Operation Manual files must be dragged into the logging box. In batch mode, the channel count, wordlength and sample rate of each selected file are listed in the logging box, plus an indication of whether the files are Verifile encoded. If any of the selected files are Verifile encoded, they can be checked with the 'Verify' button;...

  • Page 39: Technical Topics

    Technical topics The following sections contain detailed discussions of various relevant technical issues. The content of these sections is not required to operate Titan, but is provided merely as background information. Stability and latency Ever since audio production has found its way inside the computer, new problems concerning issues of stability and latency have arisen.

  • Page 40: Clocking And Jitter

    Incoming audio to the mix doesn't have to go in and out of the computer at all - the mix is handled within the Titan hardware itself.
  • Page 41 Prism Sound Titan Operation Manual Prism Sound's unique CleverClox technology breaks these traditional constraints, allowing a low jitter clock to be re-created from any reference sync, no matter how much jitter it has and no matter what its frequency. But why is clock jitter so important?

  • Page 42: Dither And Noise-Shaping

    Titan and CleverClox Titan is designed to source clocks which are as stable and accurate as possible, and also with the aim of being insensitive to the quality of incoming clocks. It is designed to remove jitter from any selected reference sync source before it is used as a conversion timebase, so as to eliminate any audible effects of sampling jitter, whatever sync source is used.
  • Page 43 Titan provides a comprehensive choice of dithering and noise-shaping processes. These comprise ‘flat’ dithering, plus a selection of four Prism Sound ‘SNS’ (‘Super Noise Shaping’) algorithms. All produce high- quality 16 bit output: the choice of which one to use is purely subjective. The four SNS algorithms are designated SNS1 to SNS4, in increasing order of the degree of shaping.
  • Page 44 SNS2 is a good starting point for most situations. The Prism Sound SNS logo shown above is found on many of the world’s finest CDs, and is recognised as a standard of technical excellence. The logo, and accompanying sleeve note, is available by contacting sales@prismsound.com.
  • Page 45 Prism Sound Titan Operation Manual ©2013 - 2023 Audio Squadron Limited...

  • Page 46: Verifile

    Prism Sound Titan Operation Manual Verifile What is Verifile? Verifile is a new technology from Prism Sound which allows audio streams and recorded files to be reliably checked for any sort of data corruption. Ever since the adoption of computer recording of audio, issues of reliability have arisen to the consternation of users who had been used to the reliability of dedicated audio recorders.

  • Page 47: Analogue Interconnections

    Verifile was first made commercially available in a firmware release for Prism Sound's Atlas, Titan and Lyra interfaces in 2018. In these interfaces, Verifile encoding is applied to all of the unit's ADCs, and can be checked at all of the unit's DAW outputs. In addition, an offline Verifile Checker app is supplied, for both Mac and Windows, which can check the integrity of recorded files in a variety of formats.
  • Page 48 EMC environment inside a typical computer is likely to be the limiting factor governing the audio quality of an internal analogue sound card. A solution to this is the use of external 'sound cards', such as Titan, with their own enclosures and power supplies allowing adequate space, power and electromagnetic peace and quiet for the well-being of studio-quality analogue circuits.
  • Page 49 Vinyl decks Titan is equipped with an RIAA de-emphasis filter in analogue inputs 1 and 2 to allow direct connection of a vinyl deck, as described in the Analogue inputs section.

  • Page 50: Digital Interconnections

    Even though Titan is insensitive to incoming clock jitter, and even though it transmits very low jitter at its digital audio and clock outputs, the question of cable quality may still be relevant if Titan is transmitting to...
  • Page 51 Prism Sound Titan Operation Manual equipment which itself has poor jitter rejection capabilities. Note that audio quality degradation by cable- induced jitter is just as much a problem at low sample rates as at high sample rates. Interference issues A properly designed copper AES3 or S/PDIF interface will not cause audio-frequency ground continuity between the connected equipments, so hum loops should not occur.

  • Page 52: Specifications

    Core Audio device Windows audio driver: ASIO or WDM device Control Panel app: Graphical user interface for control of Titan unit under Mac OS X or Windows Analog Line Inputs Configuration: Electronically balanced, with fully-balanced analog signal path, Verifile enabled Input sensitivity: Switchable ‘+4dBu’...
  • Page 53 Prism Sound Titan Operation Manual HF roll-off: fs=44.1kHz: -0.05dB at 21.1kHz; -3dB at 22.0kHz fs=48kHz: -0.05dB at 23.0kHz; -3dB at 23.9kHz fs=96kHz: -0.05dB at 32.0kHz, -3dB at 47.9kHz fs=192kHz: -0.05dB at 32.0kHz, -3dB at 78.0kHz CMRR: 20Hz..20kHz: >70dB Inter-channel cross-talk: 1kHz: <-140dB;...
  • Page 54 Channel Status: Full implementation, Consumer (S/PDIF) or Professional (AES3) Word-length: 24 bits, or reduction to 16 bits using flat TPDF dither or Prism Sound SNS (Super Noise-Shaping - four alternative shapes available) AES3 operation: Via S/PDIF RCA, using a suitable RCA-XLR adapter Sample-rate converter (SRC): Selectable at S/PDIF output;...
  • Page 55 Prism Sound Titan Operation Manual Performance Plots ©2013 - 2023 Audio Squadron Limited...
  • Page 56 Prism Sound Titan Operation Manual Except where otherwise stated, audio performance data are typical, RMS, unweighted, 20Hz..20kHz figures, measured at 997Hz, using fs=96kHz and '+4dBu' sensitivity settings. In keeping with our policy of continual development, specifications are subject to amendment without notice.
  • Page 57 Prism Sound Titan Operation Manual INDEX -20dB mic pads, 34 Faders, 23 256x clock, 25 Features, 7 ADAT inputs, 20 Firmware updates, 18 ADAT mode, 32, 34, 35, 36 Firmware version, 32 ADAT mode control, 32 Foldback mixers, 36 ADAT outputs, 22...
  • Page 58 Phono cartridges, 20, 47 Unlocked (ULOK) indicator, 20, 34 Prism Sound, CleverClox, 40 Updating software, 18 Prism Sound, SNS (Super Noise-Shaping), 23, 42 Verifile, 27, 35, 37, 46 Quick Start, 9 Verifile Checker app, 32, 37 Quick start guide, Mac, 9...

This manual is also suitable for:

Atlas