The Control Panel; Mixer Page - M-Audio ProjectMix I/O User Manual

The Control Panel

Now we will begin working with the ProjectMix I/O Control Panel software that was installed on your computer as part of the driver
installation.
The Control Panel is a powerful tool that allows you to configure a number of the audio interface settings.
To access the Control Panel:
In Windows XP, double click on the red M-Audio icon in the system tray to open the Control Panel.
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In Mac OS X, open System Preferences in the Apple menu and select M-Audio FireWire control panel in the "Other" section.
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Mixer Page

The mixer page is where you will create a monitor mix of the incoming audio signals (click the mixer tab to open this page). The mix can then
be sent to the main output of the ProjectMix I/O and/or to the headphones outputs.
Each column in the mixer page represents a stereo channel of audio entering the mixer. These inputs come from two sources: audio being
fed into the analog and digital inputs of the ProjectMix I/O and audio from your computer's DAW application.
Software Returns
Audio from your computer's DAW software will appear at the software return inputs. There are three software returns in the ProjectMix I/O: sw
1/2 rtn, sw 3/4 rtn, and spdif rtn. Each of these will appear as outputs within your audio software and any audio tracks routed to these outputs
will appear on the corresponding return's meters. (For example, tracks routed to ProjectMix I/O LINE OUT 1 and 2 in your DAW software appear
on the sw 1/2 rtn meters on this page; tracks routed to ProjectMix I/O S-PDIF OUT will appear on the spdif rtn meters.)
You may then route this incoming audio to a number of outputs, including the four analog outputs, as well as its internal aux buses (more on
this in a moment). Select output destinations for the return channels using the buttons at the bottom of the channel (out 1/2 - 3/4). By default,
sw 1/2 rtn is routed to analog output 1/2, which is why the "1/2" button is blue. In the neighboring return channel, sw 3/4 rtn, the "3/4" box
is active by default. It is possible to activate more than one audio output at a time in a return channel. If you activate both the 1/2 and 3/4
buttons in the sw 1/2 rtn channel, any audio you send to output 1/2 from your DAW application will actually be output from both outputs 1/2
and 3/4.
You may also route these incoming signals to the ProjectMix I/O internal aux buses using the aux L and aux R knobs at the top of the return
channels. This aux bus signal shows up on the output page of the Control Panel, where it can be internally routed to the outputs.
As you send audio to the aux bus, keep your eye on the meters of the aux frame at the bottom of the window. If you send multiple channels
to the aux bus, it is possible to exceed the headroom of the bus, resulting in distortion.
The Control Panel
ProjectMix I/O User Guide
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