RME Audio Hammerfall HDSP AES-32 User Manual
RME Audio Hammerfall HDSP AES-32 User Manual

RME Audio Hammerfall HDSP AES-32 User Manual

Hammerfall dsp system
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User's Guide
Hammerfall
DSP System
®
HDSP AES-32
TotalMix
24 Bit / 192 kHz
®
®
®
SyncAlign
ZLM
SyncCheck
SteadyClock
PCI Busmaster Digital I/O Card
32 Channels AES/EBU Interface
24 Bit / 192 kHz Digital Audio
32 x 16 Matrix Router
2 x MIDI I/O
Quick Boot

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Summary of Contents for RME Audio Hammerfall HDSP AES-32

  • Page 1 User's Guide Hammerfall DSP System ® HDSP AES-32 ™ TotalMix 24 Bit / 192 kHz ® ® ® SyncAlign SyncCheck ™ SteadyClock PCI Busmaster Digital I/O Card 32 Channels AES/EBU Interface 24 Bit / 192 kHz Digital Audio 32 x 16 Matrix Router 2 x MIDI I/O Quick Boot...
  • Page 2: Table Of Contents

    12.4 Multi-client Operation ...........20 12.5 Digital Recording ..........22 Operation under ASIO 13.1 General ..............23 13.2 Known Problems ..........23 Operation under GSIF..........24 Using multiple HDSP AES-32.........25 DIGICheck ..............25 Hotline – Troubleshooting 17.1 General ..............26 17.2 Installation ............27 User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 3 24.7 Quick Access Panel ..........52 24.8 Presets ..............52 24.9 Monitor Panel ............54 24.10 Preferences............54 24.11 Editing the Names..........55 24.12 Hotkeys .............. 56 24.13 Menu Options............. 57 24.14 Level Meter ............58 User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 4 Technical Background 30.1 AES/EBU - SPDIF..........73 30.2 Lock and SyncCheck ...........74 30.3 Latency and Monitoring........75 30.4 DS – Double Speed ..........76 30.5 QS – Quad Speed..........76 30.6 SteadyClock ............77 30.7 Terminology ............78 30.8 Connector Pinouts..........79 User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 5: General

    User's Guide HDSP AES-32 General User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 6: Introduction

    • TotalMix: 512 channel mixer with 42 bit internal resolution • SteadyClock: Jitter-immune, super-stable digital clock • Quick Boot technology for immediate loading of the hardware settings • Optional Time Code module (TCO) for external Video-/SMPTE synchronization User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 7: Hardware Installation

    Note: If neither AES I/O 5-8 nor MIDI I/O is required, it is not necessary to install the Expansion Board at all. Optional TCO The optional Time Code Option is connected to the main board with a 10-pin flat ribbon cable. Further details can be found in the TCO manual. User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 8: Internal Connectors

    PCB (see printed label on the PCB), the word clock input is terminated with 75 Ohms. 7. Accessories RME offers several optional components. Additionally parts of the HDSP AES-32, like the spe- cial breakout cables, are available separately. Part Number...
  • Page 9: Appendix

    RME does not accept responsibility for any misleading or incorrect information within this guide. Lending or copying any part of the guide or the RME Driver CD, or any commercial exploitation of these media without express written permission from RME Intelligent Audio Solutions is prohibited. RME reserves the right to change specifi- cations at any time without notice.
  • Page 10 For this the device has to be sent free to the door to: IMM Elektronik GmbH Leipziger Straße 32 D-09648 Mittweida Germany Shipments not prepaid will be rejected and returned on the original sender's costs. User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 11: Driver Installation And Operation - Windows

    User's Guide HDSP AES-32 Driver Installation and Operation - Windows User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 12: Driver And Firmware

    Windows will recognize the new hardware component and start its ‘Hardware Wizard’. Insert the RME Driver CD into your CD-ROM drive, and follow fur- ther instructions which appear on your computer screen. The driver files are located in the di- rectory \WDM on the RME Driver CD.
  • Page 13: De-Installing The Drivers

    Settings dialog, and the registration of the ASIO driver. Those entries can be re- moved from the registry through a software de-installation request. This request can be found (like all de-installation entries) in Control Panel, Software. Click on the entry 'RME Hammerfall DSP (WDM)'.
  • Page 14: Configuring The Hdsp Aes-32

    SyncAlign activated. TMS activates the transmission of Channel Status data and Track Marker information from the AES/EBU input signal. User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 15 As the settings are always loaded from the registry when starting the computer, this method provides an easy way to define a specific initial state of the HDSP system. User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 16: Settings Dialog - Dds

    Therefore the internal clock can be set to 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz, but not to a value in be- tween. SteadyClock, RME's sensational Low Jitter Clock System, is based on a Direct Digital Synthesizer (DDS). This superior circuitry can generate nearly any frequency with highest pre- cision.
  • Page 17: Clock Modes - Synchronization

    A playback of 192 kHz can easily be synchronized via a 48 kHz word clock signal. User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 18: Operation And Usage

    Remember that a digital system can only have one master! If the HDSP AES clock mode is set to Master, all other devices must be set to Slave. RME’s exclusive SyncCheck technology (first implemented in the Hammerfall) enables an easy to use check and display of the current clock status. The SyncCheck field indicates whether no signal (No Lock), a valid signal (Lock) or a valid and synchronous signal (Sync) is present at each of the digital clock source inputs.
  • Page 19: Dvd Playback (Ac-3 / Dts)

    (tab Sounds, scheme 'No audio'). Note 2: The DVD player will be synced backwards from the HDSP card. So when using Auto- Sync and/or word clock, the playback speed and pitch follows the incoming clock signal. User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 20: Notes On Wdm

    Information on multichannel WDM is found in chapter 12.4. 12.4 Multi-client Operation RME audio interfaces support multi-client operation. This means several programs can be used at the same time. Also all formats (ASIO, WDM, GSIF) can be used simultaneously. The use of multi-client operation requires to follow two simple rules: •...
  • Page 21 Once again the same inputs can be used simultaneously. RME's sophisticated tool DIGICheck is an exception to this rule. It operates like an ASIO host, using a special technique to access playback channels already occupied. Therefore DIGICheck is able to analyse and display playback data from any software, no matter which format the software uses.
  • Page 22: Digital Recording

    Unlike analog soundcards which produce empty wave files (or noise) when no input signal is present, digital I/O cards always need a valid input signal to start recording. To take this into account, RME included a comprehensive I/O signal status display (showing sample frequency, lock and sync status) in the Settings dialog.
  • Page 23: Operation Under Asio

    At the time of print the option 'Use System Timestamp' should be activated. The HDSP AES-32 supports both MME MIDI and DirectMusic MIDI. It depends on the used applica- tion which one will work better. User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 24: Operation Under Gsif

    Note: TotalMix is part of the hardware of each HDSP system. Up to three mixers are available, but these are separated and can't interchange data. Therefore a global mixer for all units is not possible. User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 25: Digicheck

    • Completely multi-client. Open as many measurement windows as you like, on any chan- nels and inputs or outputs! To install DIGICheck, go to the \DIGICheck directory on the RME Driver CD and run setup.exe. Follow the instructions prompted on the screen.
  • Page 26: Hotline - Troubleshooting

    17. Hotline – Troubleshooting 17.1 General The newest information can always be found on our website www.rme-audio.com, section FAQ, Latest Additions. The input signal cannot be monitored in real-time • ASIO Direct Monitoring has not been enabled, and/or monitoring has been disabled globally (for example in TotalMix).
  • Page 27 User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 28 User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 29: Driver Installation And Operation - Mac Os X

    User's Guide HDSP AES-32 Driver Installation and Operation – Mac OS X User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 30: Driver And Flash Update

    First fit the card (see 5. Hardware Installation), then switch on the computer and install the driv- ers from the RME Driver CD. The driver file is located in the folder HDSP MADI AES32. Instal- lation works automatically by a double-click on the file hdsp_madi_aes32.mpkg.
  • Page 31: Configuring The Hdsp Aes-32

    The unit can be configured to use its internal clock source (Master), or the clock source pre- defined via Pref. Sync Ref (AutoSync). System Clock Shows the current clock state of the HDSP system. The system is either Master (using its own clock) or Slave (see Pref. Sync Ref). User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 32 Used to pre-select the desired clock source. If the selected source isn't available, the unit will change to the next available one. The current clock source and sample rate is displayed in the System Clock field. User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 33: Settings Dialog - Dds

    Therefore the internal clock can be set to 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz, but not to a value in be- tween. SteadyClock, RME's sensational Low Jitter Clock System, is based on a Direct Digital Synthesizer (DDS). This superior circuitry can generate nearly any frequency with highest pre- cision.
  • Page 34: Clock Modes - Synchronization

    Master, all other devices must be set to Slave. RME’s exclusive SyncCheck technology (first implemented in the Hammerfall) enables an easy to use check and display of the current clock status. The SyncCheck field indicates whether no signal (No Lock), a valid signal (Lock) or a valid and synchronous signal (Sync) is present at each of the digital clock source inputs.
  • Page 35: Mac Os X Faq

    20. Mac OS X FAQ 20.1 Round about Driver Installation The driver with the file suffix gz provided by RME is a compressed TAR archive. TAR bundles multiple files and folders into one file, but does not save memory space nor download time.
  • Page 36: Midi Doesn't Work

    MIDI port. The reason for this is usually visible within the Audio MIDI Setup. It displays no RME MIDI device, or the device is greyed out and therefore inactive. Mostly, removing the greyed out device and searching for MIDI devices again will solve the problem.
  • Page 37: Hotline - Troubleshooting

    21. Hotline – Troubleshooting The newest information can always be found on our website www.rme-audio.de, section Sup- port, Macintosh OS. Playback works, but record doesn’t: • Check that there is a valid signal at the input. • Check whether the Hammerfall DSP has been selected as recording device in the audio application.
  • Page 38 User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 39: Connections And Totalmix

    User's Guide HDSP AES-32 Connections and TotalMix User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 40: Connections

    Pinout of the D-sub connector, Inputs Signal 1/2+ 1/2- 3/4+ 3/4- 5/6+ 5/6- 7/8+ 7/8- D-Sub GND is connected to pins 2, 5, 8, 11, 16, 19, 22, 25. Pin 13 is not connected. User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 41: Aes/Ebu Outputs

    GND is connected to pins 2, 5, 8, 11, 16, 19, 22, 25. Pin 13 is not connected. Connecting devices with coaxial SPDIF ports to the HDSP AES-32 outputs is accomplished by a simple cable adapter XLR/phono, as described above. Just use a female XLR connector. User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 42: Midi

    The MIDI In port is available for both GSIF (GSIF-2 Low Latency) and standard WDM MIDI simultaneously. The third software-only MIDI port, HDSP MIDI In 3 (1), provides MTC, in case the TCO has been connected and receives a valid input signal. User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 43: Word Clock

    Quad Speed, the HDSP AES-32 automatically adapts to it. As soon as a valid signal is detected, the Settings dialog shows either Lock or Sync (see chapter 30.2). Thanks to RME's Signal Adaptation Circuit, the word clock input still works correctly even with heavily mis-shaped, dc-prone, too small or overshoot-prone signals. Thanks to automatic signal centering, 300 mV (0.3V) input level is sufficient in principle.
  • Page 44: Technical Description And Background

    If termination is necessary (e.g. because the card is the last device in the chain), change the blue jumper on the main board to the position shown printed on the PCB for 75 Ohms termination. User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 45: Cables And Termination

    In Slave mode, the provided frequency is identical to the one present at the currently chosen clock input. When the current clock signal fails, the AES switches to Master mode and adjusts itself to the next, best matching frequency (44.1 kHz, 48 kHz etc.). User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 46: Totalmix: Routing And Monitoring

    TotalMix provides the means to mix and monitor these on a single stereo output. • Mixing of the input signal to the playback signal (complete ASIO Direct Monitoring). RME not only is the pioneer of ADM, but also offers the most complete implementation of the ADM functions.
  • Page 47 User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 48: The User Interface

    Bottom row (third row): Hardware outputs. Here, the total level of the output can be adjusted. This may be the level of connected loudspeakers, or the necessity to reduce the level of an overloaded submix. The following chapters explain step by step all functions of the user interface. User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 49: Elements Of A Channel

    Click into the area above the fader and drag the green bar in order to set the panorama between left and right. The level meters of the third row display the level changes in real-time. User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 50 9 and 10. You can continue like this until all entries have got a checkmark, i. e. you can send the signal to all outputs simultaneously. User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 51: Submix View

    As soon as one Solo button is pressed, the Solo Master button lights up in the Quick Access area. With this all selected Solos can be switched off and on again. You can comforta- bly make solo-groups or activate and deactivate several Solos simultaneously. User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 52: Quick Access Panel

    Windows' hidden directory Documents and Set- tings, <Username>, Local Settings, Application Data, RME TotalMix. On the Mac the location is in the folder User, <Username>, Library / Preferences / Hammerfall DSP. The first number indi- cates the current preset, the second number the current unit.
  • Page 53 Menu File, Save All Presets as and Open All Presets (file suffix .mpr). After the loading the presets can be activated by the preset buttons. In case the presets have been renamed (see chapter 24.11), these names will be stored and loaded too. User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 54: Monitor Panel

    Therefore it is not neces- sary to select <NONE>, in case one of both shall be deactivated. MIDI Controller, Full LC Display Support See chapter 27.3 and 27.4 for details. User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 55: Editing The Names

    The preset button names are not stored in the preset files, but globally in the registry, so won't change when loading any file or saving any state as preset. But loading a preset bank (see chapter 24.8) the names will be updated. User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 56: Hotkeys

    Further hotkeys are available to control the configuration of the Level Meter (see chapter 24.14): Key 4 or 6: Display range 40 or 60 dB Key E or R: Numerical display showing Peak or RMS Key 0 or 3: RMS display absolute or relative to 0 dBFS User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 57: Menu Options

    Lock Mixer: Opens a dialog box for password entry. Changes on the mixer have no effect any- more until the mixer is unlocked in the same way, by entering the password a second time. The password is stored unencrypted in the registry (Windows: Software, RME, hdspmix, Password). User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 58: Level Meter

    Thus it can be a valuable tool for sound optimization and error removal in the studio. Measuring SNR (Signal to Noise) is best done with RME’s free software DIGICheck. The function Bit Statistic includes three different RMS meters for exactly this purpose (RMS un- weighted, A-weighted and DC).
  • Page 59: Totalmix: The Matrix

    Matrix view. Hold down the Shift-key while clicking on an already activated field. Mute overwrites the phase display, blue becomes orange. If mute is deactivated the phase inversion is indicated again. User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 60: Advantages Of The Matrix

    Example: you have lowered the output level of a submix, or just a specific channel, by some dB. The audio signal passed through via ADM will be attenuated by the value set in the third row. User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 61: Selection And Group Based Operation

    The fastest way to delete complex routings: select a channel in the mixer view, click on the menu entry Edit and select Delete. Or simply hit the Del-key. Attention: there is no undo in To- talMix, so be careful with this function! User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 62: Recording A Subgroup (Loopback)

    A software monitor- ing on the subgroup record channels is only allowed as long as the monitoring is routed in both software and TotalMix to a different channel than the active subgroup recording one. User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 63: Using External Effects Devices

    1 sent to any output via TotalMix, to the Compressor, from the Compressor back to any input. Now this input signal is routed directly to output 1, and output 1 is then switched into loopback mode via Ctrl-mouse. User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 64: Ms Processing

    Low Cut, Expander, Compressor or Delay. The most basic application is already available di- rectly in TotalMix: Changing the level of the side channel allows to manipulate the stereo width from mono to stereo up to extended, stepless and in real-time. User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 65: Totalmix Midi Remote Control

    1 - 8 select Main Monitor F10 - F12 Monitor Phones 1 - 3 *Tested with Behringer BCF2000 Firmware v1.07 in Mackie Control emulation for Steinberg mode and with Mackie Control under Mac OS X. User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 66: Setup

    TotalMix also supports the 9th fader of the Mackie Control. This fader (labelled Master) will con- trol the stereo output faders (lowest row) which are set up as Main Monitor outputs in the Moni- tor panel. Always and only. User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 67: Simple Midi Control

    16 Controller numbers are used: 102 up to 117 (= hex 66 up to 75). With these 16 Controllers (= faders) and 4 MIDI channels each per row, up to 64 faders can be controlled per row (as required by the HDSP MADI). User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 68: Loopback Detection

    MIDI output. As soon as it detects this special note at the input, the MIDI functionality is disabled. After fixing the loopback, check Enable MIDI Control under Options to reactivate the TotalMix MIDI. User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 69: Technical Reference

    User's Guide HDSP AES-32 Technical Reference User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 70: Tech Info

    28. Tech Info Not all information to and around our products fit in a manual. Therefore RME offers a lot more and detailed information in additional Tech Infos, found on the RME website, section Support. These are some of the currently available Tech Infos: Synchronization II (DIGI96 series) Digital audio synchronization - technical background and pitfalls.
  • Page 71: Technical Specifications

    Word Clock • 1 x BNC • Max. output voltage: 5 Vpp • Output voltage @ 75 Ohm termination: 4.0 Vpp • Output impedance: 10 Ohm • Frequency range: 28 kHz – 204 kHz User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 72: Digital

    • 2 x MIDI I/O via breakout cable • PCI bus based hi-speed operation • Separate 128 byte FIFO for input and output • MIDI state machine in hardware for reduced interrupt request load User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 73: Technical Background

    The table shows that a Professional-coded signal would lead to malfunctions for copy prohibi- tion and emphasis, if being read as Consumer-coded data. Nowadays many devices with SPDIF input can handle Professional subcode. Devices with AES3 input almost always accept Consumer SPDIF (passive cable adapter necessary). User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 74: Lock And Synccheck

    PLLs and data buffers. Therefore there can be a random error of ± 1 sample difference between the stereo pairs. The HDSP AES-32 exclusive SyncA- ® lign technology avoids this effect and guarantees sample synchronicity among all four stereo channels. User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 75: Latency And Monitoring

    30.3 Latency and Monitoring The term Zero Latency Monitoring has been introduced by RME in 1998 for the DIGI96 series of audio cards. It stands for the ability to pass-through the computer's input signal at the inter- face directly to the output. Since then, the idea behind has become one of the most important features of modern hard disk recording.
  • Page 76: Ds - Double Speed

    (Quad Wire), 96K frame (Double Wire), and as native 192K frame. In 48K frame Quad Speed mode, the HDSP AES-32 distributes the data of one channel to four consecutive AES channels. This reduces the number of available channels from 16 to 4. User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 77: Steadyclock

    Latest circuit designs like hi-speed digital synthesizer, digital PLL, 100 MHz sample rate and analog filtering allow RME to realize a completely newly developed clock technology, right within the FPGA at lowest costs. The clock's performance exceeds even professional expectations.
  • Page 78: Terminology

    S/MUX4. With MADI S/MUX4 is used as well, to transmit up to 192 kHz although the 48K Frame format is used. Note: All conversions of the described methods are lossless. The existing samples are just spread or re-united between the channels. User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 79: Connector Pinouts

    Signal 1/2+ 1/2- 3/4+ 3/4- 5/6+ 5/6- 7/8+ 7/8- D-Sub Signal 1/2+ 1/2- 3/4+ 3/4- 5/6+ 5/6- 7/8+ 7/8- D-Sub GND is connected to pins 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 22, 23, 24, 25. User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...
  • Page 80 AES/EBU and SPDIF are biphase modulated signals, therefore polarity doesn't matter. Pins 2 and 3 are neither hot nor cold, they carry the same signal. But as AES3 uses a balanced trans- mission they are inverted in polarity. User's Guide HDSP AES-32 © RME...

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