TerraTec EWS MIC8 Manual
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TerraTec EWS MIC8 Manual

Enhanced 24 bit/96 khz recording system
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Version: 11.11.02

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Summary of Contents for TerraTec EWS MIC8

  • Page 1 English Manual Version: 11.11.02...
  • Page 2 Electronic GmbH, 1994-2002. All rights reserved (11.11.02). Meticulous care has been exercised 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 any errors or the consequences of such errors.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    WDM kernel streaming....................29 The ControlPanel........................ 29 The “Digital Mixer” page....................30 The “Settings” page......................31 Wave playback/record mode..................34 The “Settings Mic2/8” page....................34 Signal routing of the EWS MIC8(2)+ systems ..............36 MIC 2/8 (English)
  • Page 4 Useful information about digital cables (optical waveguides and AES/EBU)...... 47 Appendix ..........................48 Block diagram: EWS MIC2 analog section ................48 Block diagram: EWS MIC8 analog section ................49 Technical Details ....................... 50 EWS MIC2 / MIC8 ......................50 EWS88 Version 2.0 PCI card ....................51...
  • Page 5 Welcome! We're pleased that you have chosen a TerraTec AudioSystem and would like to congratulate you on this decision. You've purchased a sophisticated product representing the state of the art of studio technology, and we're convinced that our product will prove extremely useful to you in the coming years and provide you with a great deal of entertainment.
  • Page 6 We're convinced that even experienced users will profit from this guide. Thanks for your attention and here's to your creativity..your TerraTec Team MIC 2/8 (English)

  • Page 7: From Opening The Package To Installation

    Appendix of this documentation. Scope of delivery. Start by making sure that the contents of the package are complete. The scope of delivery of the EWS MIC2 and EWS MIC8 AudioSystems includes at least the following: ·...

  • Page 8: Setups - Short And To The Point For Busy Pros

    46. EWS MIC2+ and EWS MIC8+: with PC using the included PCI card. The AudioSystems EWS MIC2+ and MIC8+ are supplied with an EWS88 MT Version 2.0 (or higher) PCI card. The sys- tem-specific PCI card supports a wide range of routings that would not be possible in stand- alone use or in combination with ADAT interfaces from other manufacturers.

  • Page 9: The Following Is A Brief Description Of The Pci Card Installation For Experienced Users

    Ensure that the computer and the EWS MIC module are switched off before plugging or unplugging the 4 Meter connector cable. · You will need one (1) IRQ. Installing multiple audio systems of the TerraTec EWS family is no problem - the cards will run in IRQ-sharing mode. ·...

  • Page 10: Important Notes For Ews88 Mt Owners

    EWS MIC module. In the event that you have an older board version (this information can be found on the component side of the board, near the edge) please contact TerraTec technical support BEFORE INSTALLING (see page 55). A board version 2.0 or later is required when using 4 meter cables.
  • Page 11 · To ensure the optimal function of your AudioSystem, look for an expansion slot that is not immediately next to an already-installed card. Some cards, such as video or SCSI/RAID adapters, can send out signals which can interfere with the sound card. We also recommend a slot as close to the bottom of the computer as possible, as you can / must connect several cables directly to the card itself.

  • Page 12: Installing The Driver Software

    If Windows requests a second driver file, please refer to the aforementioned directory on the EWS MIC8 (2)+ CD-ROM. It is also possible (e.g. if this is the first sound card installation in your system) that some additional Windows extensions have to be installed. Please have your Windows CD ready for this purpose.

  • Page 13: Driver Installation Under Windows Me

    Installed drivers should look like this. After a successful driver installation, you should verify the correct condition of your Windows 98SE system. The Device Manager presents an overview of installed and recognized hardware components of your computer. The Device Manager can be found on the Control Panel under “System.”...
  • Page 14 Follow the instructions on the screen to install the various bundled software programs. A par- ticular bundled software can also easily be removed from your system. For this purpose, call up “Control Panel -> Software” and locate the programs to be removed. Select the various programs and click “Add/Remove Programs...”.

  • Page 15: Installation Under Windows 2000

    If Windows requests a second driver file, please refer to the aforementioned directory on the EWS MIC8 (2)+ CD-ROM. It is also possible (e.g. if this is the first sound card installation in your system) that some additional Windows extensions have to be installed. Please have your Windows CD ready for this purpose.
  • Page 16 up “Control Panel -> Software” and locate the programs to be removed. Select the various programs and click “Add/Remove Programs...”. Installed drivers should look like this. After a successful driver installation, you should verify the correct condition of your Windows 2000 system.

  • Page 17: Installation Under Windows Xp

    If Windows requests a second driver file, please refer to the aforementioned directory on the EWS MIC8(2)+ CD-ROM. It is also possible (e.g. if this is the first sound card installation in your system) that some additional Windows extensions have to be installed. Please have your Windows CD ready for this purpose.
  • Page 18 Installed drivers should look like this. After a successful driver installation, you should verify the correct condition of your Windows XP system. The Device Manager presents an overview of installed and recognized hardware components of your computer. The Device Manager can be found on the Control Panel under “System”...

  • Page 19: The Ews 19" Module

    The EWS 19" module. A full range of connections in only one 19" rack height unit (1U) - that's the heart of the EWS MIC system. On the following pages we will be covering the purpose of the individual connec- tors and controls in detail.
  • Page 20 (only part of the EWS MIC2/8 + version). This card is included with the EWS MIC2+ and EWS MIC8+ products. Please ensure that the connector strips are firmly screwed onto the 19" module and PCI card, as the weight of the cable can otherwise cause it to come unplugged.

  • Page 21: The Front Panel

    The front panel. As the name suggests, the only difference between the EWS MIC2 and MIC8 modules is the number of available microphone channels. On the EWS MIC2 module, only channels 7 and 8 are available for microphone signals. As a result, there are fewer buttons on the front panel for channels 1 to 6.
  • Page 22 Subsonic filter. Unpleasant impact sounds and associated signal peaks - such as those caused by an over-athletic singer - can be filtered out for the most part prior to the conversion. Just press the button and enjoy. Phase switch. Reverse the phase position of a microphone signal with this switch. This can be helpful to prevent signals from canceling one another out (interference).

  • Page 23: The Connectors Of The Pci Card

    The connectors of the PCI card. If you've purchased the Plus version of the AudioSystem MIC2 or MIC8, you can look forward to a flexible system for routing a variety of signal sources. In addition to the connections on the 19" module, the following connections are available on the included PCI card: EWS88 MT PCI Card Version 2.0 EWS88 MT PCI Card Version >...
  • Page 24 Windows system sound comes between you and your se- quencer. Tip: TerraTec's product range also includes economical and visually pleasing speaker solutions for entertainment applications. Maybe a reason to have a closer look at our consumer solutions as well.

  • Page 25: The Drivers

    The drivers. Note: The driver designations are based on the PCI card of the complete system and are thus called “EWS88 MT”. This does not have any effect on the interaction of the modules, how- ever. The AudioSystem EWS MIC2+/MIC8+ features a range of drivers for a variety of applications. The drivers support all bit rates between 8 and 32 bits with all common sample rates between 8 and 96 kHz .

  • Page 26: The Asio Driver

    Its counterpart, “EWS88 MT System WaveRec” lets you record signals from your connected CD drives. However, we recommend reading the CD audio data out digitally for quality reasons. The ASIO driver. Programs that support Steinberg's ASIO (or ASIO 2.0) interface will display the ASIO driver of the AudioSystem EWS MIC2+/8+ in the relevant dialogs.

  • Page 27: The Gsif Driver

    The GSIF driver. The GSIF driver by AudioSystems is also visible only in certain programs. The GigaStudio sampler application and other Nemesys products can also access the hardware in a very fast and direct manner. The outputs available in the individual programs are also called “EWS88 MT/D GSIF (n)”...

  • Page 28: In Detail - Special Properties Of The Drivers

    Installing the driver software., page 12). In detail - special properties of the drivers. The following contains in-depth information for those with the need to know. Less experi- enced users won't encounter any problems if they skip over this section. 32-bit data transfer.

  • Page 29: Wdm Sample Rate (Sr) Interpolation

    (multi-client, a “luxury” that faithful TerraTec customers have enjoyed since 1997). WDM sample rate (SR) interpolation. The multi-client capability of the WDM architecture also permits the simultaneous playback of multiple audio data streams with differing sample rates. The sampler frequency used for all streams is based on the file called up first.

  • Page 30: The "Digital Mixer" Page

    The “Digital Mixer” page. The AudioSystem EWS features an internal digital mixer which you can bypass if you don't need it. The digital mixer mixes all of the signals output by the drivers as well as those present at the physical inputs.

  • Page 31: The "Settings" Page

    Internal resampling. As described above, the mixed signal can also be recorded again! The recording driver pro- vided particularly for this purpose (“Dig. Mix Record”) can be selected in all commonly-used Windows audio applications. The “Settings” page. The Master Clock. Here we're dealing with the sample rate used by the AudioSystem EWS MIC 2/8.
  • Page 32 been modified in real time by the sample rate converter. The quality thus suffers under this converter - which is otherwise quite practical. As the AudioSystem EWS is not a sound card in the conventional sense, and you would probably hit the ceiling if it came to light that half of your tracks were accidentally recorded with an interpolated sampler rate, we have chosen not to provide a sampler rate converter.
  • Page 33 The DMA buffer transfer latency. A long term, but a very useful one. Here you can determine the speed with which an applica- tion such as a software synthesizer can access the Windows drivers (with the exception of the SystemOut driver, see page 25). You might think faster is better, but there's a catch. The set- ting is system-dependent and - if the system is too slow - an excessively low value will result in audible dropouts during recording and playback.

  • Page 34: Wave Playback/Record Mode

    Wave playback/record mode. · Multi Track If this function is enabled, the driver optimizes all input and output devices (WavePlay (Rec) 1/2, 3/4, etc.) for use under a single software application. Multi track mode thus ensures that all channels are absolutely synchronized during recording and/or play- back.
  • Page 35 But first the relevant terms: · Line/Mic refers to the numbered analog input pair. · Digital In either stands for the numbered channels of an 8-channel ADAT or a (“ste- reo”) S/PDIF signal which can be applied to the optical input alternatively to the ADAT. If an S/PDIF signal is present, no signal will be available at the “Digital In”...

  • Page 36: Signal Routing Of The Ews Mic8(2)+ Systems

    Signal routing of the EWS MIC8(2)+ systems MIC 2/8 (English)

  • Page 37: The Mixer Icon On The Windows Taskbar

    The “About” page. The “About” page contains - in addition to a silkscreen-like impression of our headquarters in Nettetal, Germany - important system information that may prove useful when contacting our hotline or prior to driver updates. Hover over the info area with the mouse cursor for addi- tional information.

  • Page 38: Multiple Card Mode And Managing Cascaded Cards

    Managing scenes. In modern digital mixers it's known as “total recall” - PC users would call it “load” and “save”. The “Scene” button at the right-hand edge of the EWS ControlPanel lets you save all of the card's settings as a scene, or to load or delete previously-saved scenes. Use “Cancel” to exit the dialog without saving.

  • Page 39: Asio & Gsif

    Once saved, you can find your personal color settings in the dropdown menu, which already contains a number of examples. The “Windows System” color set uses only colors that dis- play correctly at an 8-bit color depth. ASIO & GSIF Programs that support Steinberg's ASIO or Tascam's GSIF (GigaStudio) feature dialogs con- taining special settings for these drivers.
  • Page 40 the number of input and output channels which can also access directly from most Windows applications. A fully loaded system containing four EWS models thus features a total of 40 inputs and outputs - and all of that with virtually the same low latency! Before installing the individual PCI systems, you should give some thought to their future use.
  • Page 41 Master/slave operation - synchronizing multiple EWS systems MIC 2/8 (English)
  • Page 42 MIC module will synchronize itself with it. If a WordClock signal is applied to the input of the EWS MIC8(2) system by an external device, the system will synchronize itself with it. If both WordClock and ADAT (or S/PDIF) clock information is available, the WordClock sig- nal will be given priority.

  • Page 43: Practical Section

    Practical section. Sample applications. In the following section we would like to describe a number of sample applications that may help you in planning your recording setup, or which might present you with new application perspectives. Set A - Studio recording. Our first example is based on the use of a mid-sized mixing desk as can be found in most home recording studios.

  • Page 44: Setup B - Live Recording Without A Pc

    The EWS MIC 8 rack is also very suitable for live recordings without a PC or mixer(!). In this case, the high-quality microphone preamps of the EWS rack module are used in conjunction with a stand-alone multitrack system (ADAT). Setup B - The EWS MIC8 system as a high-quality mixer replacement for live recordings. MIC 2/8 (English)

  • Page 45: Set C - The Pc As A Digital Mixer

    [1] Up to eight microphones can be connected to an EWS rack. The gain can be adjusted indi- vidually and the signals are available in digital form at the ADAT output of the module (see connection [2]). When the DIRECT switches on the EWS rack front panels are pressed, the channels are switched additionally (!) to the analog outputs.

  • Page 46: Multiple Audio Cards In A Single System

    In addition PCI AudioSystems of the EWS series (at the time of printing: EWS88 MT, EWS88 D, EWS MIC2+ and EWS MIC8+) can be synchronized via an internal cable connection or Word- Clock and can be configured using a shared ControlPanel application. In an ASIO environ- ment, the system is then displayed as a single device with up to 40 inputs and outputs.

  • Page 47: Useful Information About Digital Cables (Optical Waveguides And Aes/Ebu)

    S/PDIF standards (S/PDIF-Out to “Non-Audio”). Various manufacturers of software DVD play- ers support the playback of DVD audio material via the audio systems by TerraTec. Signals in Dolby AC3 or DTS format can therefore also be transferred using the digital interfaces.

  • Page 48: Appendix

    Appendix Block diagram: EWS MIC2 analog section MIC 2/8 (English)

  • Page 49: Block Diagram: Ews Mic8 Analog Section

    Block diagram: EWS MIC8 analog section MIC 2/8 (English)

  • Page 50: Technical Details

    Technical Details EWS MIC2 / MIC8 General · 19" rack mounted external module for EWS88 MT PCI interface or ADAT interface cards · 2 XLR/TRS combo plugs on front side, alternatively to input 7 and 8 on back side (auto priority) ·...

  • Page 51: Ews88 Version 2.0 Pci Card

    Digital · Integrated ADAT interface (Light-Pipe) · TOS-Link interface for ADAT or S/PDIF · 44,1 kHz / 48 kHz setting for stand alone operation · Auto-Slave when external clock is detected in stand-alone operation mode · Auto-Priority when external clock is detected in stand-alone operation mode (1.
  • Page 52 System Requirements · Pentium II 450 or higher · VGA graphic card, 800x600 / 256 colours · 128 MB RAM · Windows 98SE/ME/2000 or Windows XP System Recommendation · Intel Pentium III 1 GHz, Celeron 900 MHz or AMD K7 Athlon 1 GHz ·...
  • Page 53 THD+N (Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise) – D/A conversion, WavePlay at 48 kHz Frequency Response – D/A conversion, WavePlay at 96 kHz Line/Instrument Input Dynamic Range – A/D conversion, WaveRec at 48 kHz MIC 2/8 (English)
  • Page 54 Microphone Input Dynamic Range – A/D conversion, WaveRec at 44,1 kHz Microphone Input THD + N – A/D conversion, WaveRec at 44,1 kHz MIC 2/8 (English)

  • Page 55: Service At Terratec

    Service at TerraTec. Sometimes, no matter how good the weather is, things do not always work as they should. Problems can arise in the best computer systems. In such a case, the TerraTec Team is always ready to provide service and support.

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