TerraTec EWX 24/96 Manual
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TerraTec EWX 24/96 Manual

Mastering soundcard
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The Mastering Soundcard
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Summary of Contents for TerraTec EWX 24/96

  • Page 1 The Mastering Soundcard Manual (English)
  • Page 2 Meticulous care has been taken in the preparation of all text passages and illustrations in this manual. TerraTec Electronic GmbH and its authors, however, accept no liability, legal or otherwise, for errors or the consequences of such errors. We reserve the right to technical modifications.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    Signal Routing through the EWX 24/96 ..................34 Connecting and Recording from a Record Player............. 34 Microphone........................35 The Digital Connectors on the EWX 24/96................. 36 Connection and Settings in the EWX Control Panel............36 Stuff Worth Knowing....................... 38 The Internal Digital Input.
  • Page 4 About Hard-drives and Necessary Space................ 58 The DMA Buffer Transfer Latency..................59 Differing Sample Rates / SR Conversion................59 Appendix............................61 FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions and their Answers..............61 EWX 24/96 Technical Specifications..................62 AudioSystem EWX 24/96...

  • Page 5: Welcome

    AudioSystem EWX 24/96 In, out, super. AudioSystem EWX 24/96 is the result of long-term experience in the PC- Audio field and reflects the progressive continual development of audio software on the PC. The AudioSystem does without all the multimedia “whoopla” like 3D-Sound, Wavetable sound-sets or connecters for (frequency) distorting CD audio cables.
  • Page 6 24 Bit converter chip with a resolution of up to 96 kHz. This allows the EWX 24/96 to obtain a signal to noise ratio of fat 110 dB(A) on the analog outputs! Recording and playback of audio material on a purely digital level. The AudioSystem EWX 24/96 places both an optical stereo Input and Output in 24 Bit S/PDIF format at your disposal.

  • Page 7: Installation

    Thank you For the professionals who want to get started ASAP, here is a short overview: The AudioSystem EWX 24/96 uses the PCI card format. It should be installed as far away as possible from graphics cards or SCSI controllers.

  • Page 8: The Ewx 24/96 Layout

    J2, Internal Digital Source Format: Open CD-ROM audio, TTL level Closed S/PDIF electrical J9, Internal Digital Input (CD-ROM audio, TTL level) J10, Internal Digital Output (S/PDIF electrical) Connector for MIDI adapter kit or TerraTec phono PreAmp (both optional) AudioSystem EWX 24/96...

  • Page 9: Installing The Card

    First check to ensure that the package is complete. The AudioSystem EWX 24/96 Package Contents: 1 TerraTec AudioSystem EWX 24/96 PCI sound card 1 Adaptor connector for the MIDI kit and TerraTec phono PreAmp 1 Audio cable RCA jack RCA jack 1 Optical cable (TOS link) 1 Installation &...

  • Page 10: And Here's What To Do, Step By Step

    SCSI adapters emit signals that can cause distorting effects. Carefully remove the EWX 24/96 from its packaging and pick it up by the edges with one hand while your other hand is resting on the metal of the PC case.

  • Page 11: Driver Installation

    Driver Installation. Currently, the AudioSystem EWX 24/96 comes with drivers for the following operating systems: Windows 95 (incl. different Service releases), Windows 98 (incl. SE), Win- dows ME, Windows 2000 and Windows NT4. Before installing, you must determine which operating system you are using.

  • Page 12: Installation In Windows 98 (Se)

    Installation in Windows 98 (SE). When the AudioSystem EWX 24/96 is installed, Windows 98 recognizes the card as a new hardware component and displays the following screen. Click “Next”. Choose “Search for the best driver for your device (Recommended)” and click “Next”.
  • Page 13 Mark “Specify a location:”, enter the path <CD>:\Drivers\Win9x\ and click “Next”. Alternatively you can select the path to the best driver for your EWX 24/96 by clicking on “Browse...” . You should also click “Next” when this screen is reached.
  • Page 14 Enter key. If Windows asks for a driver file again, re-enter the EWX 24/96 CD-ROM folder given above. It may also be the case that a few other Windows features need to be installed...
  • Page 15 Windows CD at hand. After successful driver installation the software installation set-up should start auto- matically. If this is not the case then start the set-up from the EWX 24/96 CD. <CD>:\Applications\Windows9x_ME\EWX 2496\Controlpanel.exe Follow the instructions on the screen. There shouldn’t be any problems. In any case you must install the EWX Control Panel in order to gain anything from reading this book further.

  • Page 16: Uninstalling The Driver In Windows 95 And 98

    If you would like to remove the drivers from your system, it is best to do so in the De- vice Manager before removing the card from your PC. Mark the AudioSystem EWX 24/96 and Remove it - that’s it. The software can be removed from your system just as easily. Call up “Add/Remove Programs”...

  • Page 17: Driver Installed - This Is What It Looks Like

    This is how the window should look if everything has been installed properly. In the picture, the header “Sound, video and game controllers” is opened. You can do this by clicking the small “+” symbol on the left hand side. AudioSystem EWX 24/96...

  • Page 18: The Multimedia Settings

    (e.g. system sounds) playback correctly in the Windows Wave-Mapper. Open the Multimedia Properties (Windows Control Panel > Multimedia) and choose AUDIO. For audio playback the EWX 24/96 places several drivers at your disposal. If you would like to use the cards analog outputs, then choose “EWX 24/96 WavePlay Analog”...
  • Page 19 If you would like to use another card with a wavetable synthesizer or a software wave- table for MIDI playback (usually MIDI files) together with the EWX 24/96, then take a look at the so-called MIDI Mapper properties (MIDI). If the MIDI output settings have been changed to the EWX 24/96 MIDI interface during the driver installation, then choose the preferred settings here again.

  • Page 20: Installation In Windows Nt 4.0

    Installation in Windows NT 4.0. When installing the AudioSystem EWX 24/96 under Windows NT please remember that you must have administrator privileges. Please open “Multimedia Properties” and ..click “Add...”. AudioSystem EWX 24/96...
  • Page 21 Then select “Unlisted or Updated Driver” and click “OK”. Enter the path <CD>:\Driver\WindowsNT4_2000\ and click “OK”. You can also use the mouse to select the path by clicking “Browse”. Here you should select “TerraTec AudioSystem” and then click on “OK”. AudioSystem EWX 24/96...
  • Page 22 After adding the device you will be requested to restart the system. Restart your Win- dows NT system now. After successfully installing the drivers start the setup for the software installation. Start the setup from the EWX 24/96 CD. <CD>:\Applications\WindowsNT_2000\EWX 2496 ControlPanel.exe AudioSystem EWX 24/96...

  • Page 23: Installation In Windows 2000

    As it is going to take some time still before all drivers have been certified, we recommend changing the Windows 2000 settings to “Ignore” (Windows Control Panel\System\Hardware\Driver signing). After the first boot with the EWX 24/96, the “Found New Hardware Wizard” is auto- matically started. Click “Next”.
  • Page 24 In this menu you should choose to search for a suitable driver and confirm this with “Next”. Choose “Specify a location” and click “Next”. AudioSystem EWX 24/96...
  • Page 25 Here you need to enter the path <CD>:\Driver\WindowsNT4_2000 and then click “Next”. Click “Next”. AudioSystem EWX 24/96...
  • Page 26 If the driver signature recognition was not deactivated as described above, the fol- lowing screen will be shown: Choose “Yes”. Click “Finish”. And to wrap it up restart the PC – that’s it. AudioSystem EWX 24/96...

  • Page 27: Installation In Windows Me

    Installation in Windows ME. When the AudioSystem EWX 24/96 is installed, Windows ME recognizes the card as a new hardware component and displays the following screen. Click “Next”. Choose “Search for the best driver for your device. (Recommended)” and click “Next”.
  • Page 28 Click “Next”. Click “Next”. AudioSystem EWX 24/96...
  • Page 29 Windows CD handy. After successful driver installation the software installation set-up should start auto- matically. If this is not the case then start the set-up from the EWX 24/96 CD. <CD>:\Applications\Windows9x_ME\EWX 2496\ControlPanel.exe Follow the instructions on the screen. There shouldn’t be any problems. In any case you must install the EWX Control Panel in order to gain anything from reading this book further.

  • Page 30: The Card Connections And Their Application

    – the connection of usable devices and their matching software settings. One thing to mention first: The goal in the development of the EWX 24/96 was to cre- ate a soundcard with the least amount of extras allowing the focus to be placed on the sound quality.

  • Page 31: The Analog Outputs Of The Ewx 24/96

    The Basics. The AudioSystem EWX 24/96 is equipped with 2 high quality analog outputs in RCA jack form (RCA). They are mentioned in the software as 1 stereo pair, but can be regu- lated separately.

  • Page 32: Analog Inputs Of The Ewx 24/96

    But should you hear frequent distortion during playback then the EWX 24/96 output level needs to be reduced: first by switching to -10 dBV in the EWX Control Panel software, and then reducing the master volume if necessary. Continual exposure to level overload can cause damage to connected devices.
  • Page 33 This is to avoid the danger of an electric shock - even a weak one - it also protects your speaker membranes and your hearing from sudden signal spikes. For digital devices, the volume of your playback system should at least be turned to low. AudioSystem EWX 24/96...

  • Page 34: Signal Routing Through The Ewx 24/96

    You cannot directly connect a record player to an audio card such as EWX 24/96 be- cause record players – technically limited by the system – send out a useful signal that is too low and extremely unbalanced.

  • Page 35: Microphone

    If you would like to use the EWX 24/96 in connection with a Speech Recognition Sys- tem, then you need to have a microphone with it’s own amplifier. There are also sepa- rate, battery-powered amplifiers you can connect between a microphone and the EWX 24/96 input.

  • Page 36: The Digital Connectors On The Ewx 24/96

    If you would like to digitally transfer audio to other devices or record audio data with your PC, then you’ll be using the digital interface from the EWX 24/96. There is an optical port for recording as well as one for playback. Normally these ports (IN and OUT) can both be found on most modern devices.
  • Page 37 Keep in mind, that as a safety feature, the EWX 24/96 only plays audio signals syn- chronized externally if the signal sample rate corresponds to the settings (for example no WAV files can be played with 22,05 kHz, while the Minidisk recorder is set at 44,1 kHz).

  • Page 38: Stuff Worth Knowing

    The digital interface of the AudioSystem as well as the accompanying software cannot be used for backup on DAT. In principle, this can be done, however - cheaper backup options such as CDs are common today and are less time intensive. AudioSystem EWX 24/96...

  • Page 39: The Internal Digital Input

    CD ROM drive output. The Basics. On the EWX 24/96 board there is a pin connector with accompanying jumper. With this jumper you can set an external S/PDIF signal with the so-called TTL level, which most CD ROM drives send in. This jumper determines which digital port on the card is active –...

  • Page 40: The Software

    No fooling and (almost ...) no fluff. That, by the way, you find additionally on the AudioSystem EWX 24/96 CD. In the folder “HOTSTUFF” – which is a TerraTec tradition – we have gathered what we con- sider to be the best and most useful audio share- and freeware programs in order to give you enough stuff for hours of fun and practical tools to work with.

  • Page 41: The Drivers

    The AudioSystem EWX 24/96 offers you a whole range of somewhat different drivers to record and play audio material. All driver names start with “EWX 24/96” and end with a number in parenthesis. The drivers support all bit rates between 8 and 24 Bit and all common sample rates between 8 and 96 kHz.
  • Page 42 Using the “32 Bit unpacked” method the rest of the 24 data-bits are filled with zeros by the hardware and sent by the driver as an appropriate 32 Bit packet. Most of the software on the market today supports this resource saving method (diagram bottom). AudioSystem EWX 24/96...

  • Page 43: The Most Important: Waveplay And Waverecord

    But now let’s take a look at the individual drivers, the so-called “Devices”. The Most Important: WavePlay and WaveRecord. Really those worthy of first mention are the “EWX 24/96 WavePlay” device for audio playback and “EWX 24/96 WaveRec” which is responsible for recording. Both drivers exist in 2 versions –...

  • Page 44: The Gsif Driver

    The GSIF Driver. Equally at a first glance hidden is the GSIF driver for the AudioSystem EWX 24/96. The sampler software GigaSampler (and other products from the producer Nemesys) can also access the hardware extremely fast and direct. The outputs in the different Neme- sys programs available appear under the driver “EWX 24/96 GSIF”...

  • Page 45: The Ewx Control Panell

    24/96, switching and sliding, controlling the sensitivity and the volume. How does the EWX Control Panel work? The EWX Control Panel, or the routing (signal flow inside the card) of your EWX 24/96 is quite simple to understand. You have already been exposed to many of the possible settings in the capital concerning the card connections –...

  • Page 46: The Mixer Area (Above)

    -1 dB and -3 dB then the yellow light warns you. Should the red light appear then you are clipping the signal because it has reached the limit ( -1 dB). You have found the right setting when the LED blinks yellow now and then. AudioSystem EWX 24/96...

  • Page 47: The Settings (Below)

    (External, e.g. a Minidisk recorder), or the value can be set (Internal) and forwarded to other devices. When a valid S/PDIF signal is sent to the digital input the sample rate is shown in the EWX Control Panel and the EWX 24/96 sample rate can be synched to the (External) signal.

  • Page 48: Color- Coding The Display

    Microsoft are being called on here. “Get System Colors” uses the currently applied Windows color palette. Eventual pres- entation problems can be dealt with in this manner. “Get Default Colors” resets the display colors back to the default settings. AudioSystem EWX 24/96...

  • Page 49: Digital Out

    A click on the gently shimmering company logo informs you about the audio drivers and system settings. This information can be very useful if you ever have to contact our Customer Service department. Close..or Alt+F4. Out. Over. Finished. The end. Finito. AudioSystem EWX 24/96...

  • Page 50: Gigasampler Le

    Source concerns itself with the digital signal flow settings. GigaSampler LE. Adding just the right touch to your AudioSystem EWX 24/96 sound is without a doubt achievable - take a look at the “GigaSampler” from Nemesys. This software turns your system into a full value sampler with support for countless sounds in GIG, WAV and AKAI format! Also in the packet: the MegaPiano –...

  • Page 51: Wavelab Lite

    Open the “Options” menu, choose “Preferences” and switch to the settings menu for the Soundcard (You can also push CTRL+P). Select a playback and record driver from the EWX 24/96: analog or digital for your desired source. Close this dialog with “OK”.

  • Page 52: Fruityloops Express

    MicroLogic AV, like for example the complete support for recording, real-time effects and steering in 24 Bit/96 kHz. New in this version, by the way, is the EWX 24/96 ASIO driver support, as well as the possibility to use the “Logic Audio Device Setup” manager to create your own driver combinations for MicroLogic.
  • Page 53 A more in-depth description of how to use the MicroLogic Fun software can be found in the accompanying online documentation. The original handbook from Emagic can furthermore be printed out – the documentation is found on the EWX 24/96 CD in PDF format for the Acrobat Reader.

  • Page 54: Buzz - The Tracker

    (here: “genera- tor”) and program “patterns”. A pattern consists of a string of 1 or more notes. These patterns are then arranged in a track list to compose a complete song (arrangement). AudioSystem EWX 24/96...
  • Page 55 (and songs and generators and and and ...). Once you’ve gotten a taste of BUZZ then you’ll want to check out the many BUZZ pages on the web, for example: english www.buzz2.com english welcome.to/buzzards/ english buzz.lotek.org/ german www.terratec.net/panorama AudioSystem EWX 24/96...
  • Page 56 There is no handbook in the sense of the word. But as a seasoned (or newborn?) freak you wouldn’t want to read one anyway ;-). The TerraTec team has included a German language tutorial. The file TUTORIAL DEUTSCH.BMX can be opened with BUZZ. Simply push the F10 button in the program.

  • Page 57: The Hotstuff Directory

    The HOTSTUFF Directory. On the CD-ROM for the AudioSystem EWX 24/96 we have collected together a large number of other programs, tools and files. It’s well worth a look. Many of the programs we present here are shareware. Please support the shareware principle and pay the amount that the authors ask if you like the programs.

  • Page 58: Tips And Valuable Information

    In many cases the difference between 48 kHz and 96 kHz isn’t really such a major factor. “Give it everything ya got!” doesn’t always have to be. ;-) AudioSystem EWX 24/96...

  • Page 59: The Dma Buffer Transfer Latency

    Differing Sample Rates / SR Conversion. The AudioSystem EWX 24/96 utilizes no sample rate converter. This typical soundcard component normally ensures that signals in different sample rates can be played together, because the sample rates are all “interpolated” to one frequency.
  • Page 60 – as good as it may be. With the AudioSystem EWX 24/96 we are not dealing with a normal soundcard in its common form, and this shouldn’t freak you out. Don’t be shocked should it prove to be the case that half of your songs are “accidentally”...

  • Page 61: Appendix

    Appendix. FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions and their Answers. A FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) list to help solve potential problems can be found on the installation CD and in the Inter- net @: www.terratec.de/support. AudioSystem EWX 24/96...

  • Page 62: Ewx 24/96 Technical Specifications

    EWX 24/96 Technical Specifications. Frequency Response Dynamic Range THD + Noise AudioSystem EWX 24/96...

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