RME Audio HDSPe MAD User Manual
RME Audio HDSPe MAD User Manual

RME Audio HDSPe MAD User Manual

Hammerfall dsp system hdspe madi
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User's Guide
Hammerfall
DSP System
®
HDSPe MADI
TotalMix
24 Bit / 192 kHz
®
®
®
SyncAlign
ZLM
SyncCheck
SteadyClock
PCI Express Digital I/O Card
64 Channels MADI Interface
24 Bit / 192 kHz Digital Audio
Stereo Analog Monitoring
128 x 64 Matrix Router
2 x MIDI I/O
MIDI embedded in MADI
Quick Boot

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Summary of Contents for RME Audio HDSPe MAD

  • Page 1 User's Guide Hammerfall DSP System ® HDSPe MADI ™ TotalMix 24 Bit / 192 kHz ® ® ® SyncAlign SyncCheck ™ SteadyClock PCI Express Digital I/O Card 64 Channels MADI Interface 24 Bit / 192 kHz Digital Audio Stereo Analog Monitoring 128 x 64 Matrix Router 2 x MIDI I/O MIDI embedded in MADI...
  • Page 2: Table Of Contents

    12.4 Multi-client Operation ...........21 12.5 Digital Recording ..........23 Operation under ASIO 13.1 General ..............24 13.2 Known Problems ..........24 Operation under GSIF..........25 Using multiple HDSPe MADI ........25 DIGICheck ..............26 Hotline – Troubleshooting 17.1 General ..............27 17.2 Installation ............27 User's Guide HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 3 24.7 Quick Access Panel ..........51 24.8 Presets ..............51 24.9 Monitor Panel ............53 24.10 Preferences............53 24.11 Editing the Names..........54 24.12 Hotkeys .............. 55 24.13 Menu Options............. 56 24.14 Level Meter ............57 User's Guide HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 4 29.3 Digital ..............72 29.4 MIDI..............72 Technical Background 30.1 MADI Basics............73 30.2 Lock and SyncCheck ...........74 30.3 Latency and Monitoring........75 30.4 DS – Double Speed ..........76 30.5 QS – Quad Speed..........77 30.6 SteadyClock ............78 30.7 Terminology ............79 User's Guide HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 5: General

    User's Guide HDSPe MADI General User's Guide HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 6: Introduction

    • TotalMix: 8192 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 HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 7: Hardware Installation

    The included breakout cable is connected to the 9-pin Mini-DIN connector and provides two MIDI inputs and outputs via four 5-pin DIN connectors. Note: If neither word clock I/O nor MIDI I/O is required, it is not necessary to install the Expan- sion Board at all. User's Guide HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 8: Internal Connectors

    Slave has to be set to Sync In under Pref. Sync Ref, the Clock Mode must be set to AutoSync. Supported since firmware version 17. 7. Accessories RME offers several optional components. Additionally parts of the HDSPE MADI, 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 HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 11: Driver Installation And Operation - Windows

    User's Guide HDSPe MADI Driver Installation and Operation - Windows User's Guide HDSPe MADI © 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 further in- structions which appear on your computer screen. The driver files are located in the directory \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 Hdspe Madi

    Input activates redundancy operation. If the current input signal fails, the other input will be used immediately, provided a valid signal is found there. Input also works as automatic input selec- tion, in case only optical or coaxial is present as input signal. User's Guide HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 15 • Sample rate (measured) • Active input (optical or coaxial) Clock Mode The unit can be configured to use its internal clock source (Master), or the clock source pre- defined via Pref. Sync Ref (AutoSync). User's Guide HDSPe MADI © 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

    28 and 200 kHz. Even the word clock input, which most users will use in varispeed operation, allows any frequency between 28 kHz and 200 kHz. User's Guide HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 18 With SyncCheck, finally anyone can master this common source of error, previously one of the most complex issues in the digital studio world. User's Guide HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 19: Operation And Usage

    Since Vista the audio application can no longer control the sample rate under WDM. Instead the user has to work himself through numerous settings (up to 32 with a MADI card!), and to set the sample rate to the exact same value per stereo device. User's Guide HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 20: Dvd-Playback (Ac-3/Dts)

    The DVD software's audio properties now show the options 'SPDIF Out' or similar. When select- ing these, the software will transfer the non-decoded digital multichannel data stream to the HDSPe. Naturally a successful decoding also requires a MADI to AES converter like the RME ADI-642, converting the playback signals to stereo AES3 or SPDIF.
  • Page 21: 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 22 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 23: 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 24: Operation Under Asio

    At the time of print the option 'Use System Timestamp' should be activated. The HDSP MADI supports both MME MIDI and DirectMusic MIDI. It depends on the used applica- tion which one will work better. User's Guide HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 25: 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 HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 26: 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 27: 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 28 User's Guide HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 29: Driver Installation And Operation - Mac Os X

    User's Guide HDSPe MADI Driver Installation and Operation – Mac OS X User's Guide HDSPe MADI © 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 HDSPe. Installation works automatically by a double-click on the file HDSPe.pkg.
  • Page 31: Configuring The Hdspe Madi

    Defines the format of the MADI output signal. MADI can be a 56 or 64 channel signal. 96 kHz Sample rates higher than 48 kHz can be transmitted using the normal 48K Frame, or using a native 96K Frame at the card's output. User's Guide HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 32 SyncCheck indicates whether there is a valid signal (Lock) for the inputs Word Clock, TCO and MADI, or if there is a valid and synchronous signal (Sync). The AutoSync Reference display shows the input and frequency of the current sync source. User's Guide HDSPe MADI © 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

    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 36: Supported Sample Rates

    20.3 Supported Sample Rates RME's Mac OS X driver supports all sampling frequencies provided by the hardware. Besides 96 kHz this also includes 32 kHz and 64 kHz. But not every software will support all the hardware's sample rates. The hardware's capabilities can easily be verified in the Audio MIDI Setup.
  • Page 37: Hotline - Troubleshooting

    21. Hotline – Troubleshooting The newest information can always be found on our website www.rme-audio.com, 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 HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 39: Connections And Totalmix

    User's Guide HDSPe MADI Connections and TotalMix User's Guide HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 40: Connections

    Redundancy operation is displayed in the Settings dialog. The BNC output is built according to AES10-1991. The output's impedance is 75 Ohm. The output voltage will be 600 mVpp when terminated with 75 Ohm. User's Guide HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 41: Midi

    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 42: Technical Description And Background

    The slow PLL works like a filter for induced and modulated frequencies above several kHz. As the Superclock is used without any filtering such a kind of jitter and noise sup- pression is missing. User's Guide HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 43: Cables And Termination

    T-adapter, but to use the card's word clock output instead. Thanks to SteadyClock, the input signal will both be freed from jitter and - in case of loss or drop out – be reset to a valid frequency. User's Guide HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 44: General Operation

    In the line Freq., the AutoSync Ref shows the frequency of the reference signal, measured by the hardware. In this case the frequency of the current word clock signal is measured and dis- played. User's Guide HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 45: 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 46 User's Guide HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 47: 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 HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 48: 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 HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 49 61 and 62. 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 HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 50: 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 HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 51: 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 52 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 HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 53: Monitor Panel

    Therefore it is not necessary to select <NONE>, in case one of both shall be deacti- vated. MIDI Controller, Full LC Display Support See chapter 27.3 and 27.4 for details. User's Guide HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 54: 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 HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 55: 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 HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 56: 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 HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 57: 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 unweighted, A-weighted and DC).
  • Page 58: Totalmix: The Matrix

    3 will make all vertically activated levels move at once (for example 63/64, analog output). A gain field marked orange indicates activated mute status. Mute can only be changed in the mixer view. User's Guide HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 59: 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 HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 60: 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 HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 61: 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 HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 62: Using External Effects Devices

    1 is sent by TotalMix to any output, to the Compressor, back from the Compressor to any input. This input is now selected within the record software. User's Guide HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 63: 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 HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 64: 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 HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 65: 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 HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 66: 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 HDSPe MADI). User's Guide HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 67: 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 HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 68 User's Guide HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 69: Technical Reference

    User's Guide HDSPe MADI Technical Reference User's Guide HDSPe MADI © 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 the Tech Infos on our 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

    • 2 x BNC, separated driver stage • Max. output voltage: 5 Vpp • Output voltage @ 75 Ohm termination: 4.0 Vpp • Output impedance: 10 Ohm • Frequency range: 28 kHz – 200 kHz User's Guide HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 72: Digital

    • MIDI state machine in hardware for reduced interrupt request load • Invisible transmission via User bit of channel 56 (up to 48 kHz) • Invisible transmission via User bit of channel 28 (up to 96 kHz) User's Guide HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 73: Technical Background

    64 channel format, but offer still no more than 56 audio channels. The rest is being eaten up by control commands for mixer settings etc. RME's devices of the MADI series show that this can be done in a much better way, with an invisible transmission of 16 MIDI channels and the MADI signal still being 100% compatible.
  • Page 74: Lock And Synccheck

    In practice, SyncCheck allows for a quick overview of the correct configuration of all digital de- vices. So one of the most difficult and error-prone topics of the digital studio world finally be- comes easy to handle. User's Guide HDSPe MADI © 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

    64 to 32. As the transmission of double rate signals with 48K Frame is done at standard sample rate (Single Speed), the MADI ports still operate at 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz. User's Guide HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 77: Qs - Quad Speed

    MADI channels. This reduces the available channel count from 64 to 16. As the transmission of quad rate signals with 48K Frame is done at standard sample rate (Sin- gle Speed), the MADI ports still operate at 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz. User's Guide HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 78: 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 79: Terminology

    Note: All conversions of the described methods are lossless. The existing samples are just spread or re-united between the channels. 48K Frame Most often used MADI format. Supports up to 64 channels at up to 48 kHz. User's Guide HDSPe MADI © RME...
  • Page 80 Frame using S/MUX: the receiver can detect the real (double) sample rate on its own and im- mediately. With 48K Frame and S/MUX, the user has to set up the correct sample rate in all involved devices manually. User's Guide HDSPe MADI © RME...

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