Table of Contents
Related Manuals for Antex electronics SX-34
Summary of Contents for Antex electronics SX-34
- Page 1 SX-5e SX-6 SX-34 SX-36 Digital Audio Adapter User's Manual September 17, 1999 Rev. E ANTEX ELECTRONICS CORPORATION 1125 W. 190 STREET GARDENA, CALIFORNIA 90248 info@antex.com www.antex.com Toll Free: 1-800-338-4231 Fax: 310-532-8509 9000-2351-7006...
- Page 2 Declaration of Conformity Standards to which Conformity is Declared: EN55022 (Class A) 1994, EN 50082-1 1992 This equipment has been verified to comply with the limits for a class A computing device, pursuant to FCC Rules. In order to maintain compliance with FCC regulations, shielded cables must be used with this equipment.
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Page 3: Table Of Contents
JUMPER SETTINGS & CONNECTIONS ... 2 I/O ADDRESSES AND INTERRUPTS ... 3 MAKING CONNECTIONS TO THE CARD ... 3 SX-35/36 CONNECTOR DESCRIPTION ... 5 SX-34 CONNECTOR DESCRIPTION ... 8 SX-6 CONNECTOR DESCRIPTION ... 11 SX-5e CONNECTOR DESCRIPTION ... 13 BALANCED AND UNBALANCED SIGNALS ... 13 IMPEDANCE AND SIGNAL LEVELS ... - Page 4 SX-34 MIXER AND BLOCK DIAGRAM... 34 SX-6 MIXER AND BLOCK DIAGRAM... 36 SX-5e MIXER AND BLOCK DIAGRAM... 39 ANTEX METER ... 42 TROUBLESHOOTING ... 46 TECHNICAL/ORDERING INFORMATION: ... 49 APPENDIX ... 50 Connectors for Male Headers ... 50 Terms ... 50 Specifications...
- Page 5 Figure 9. SX-36 Mixer... 32 Figure 10. SX-36 Block Diagram ... 33 Figure 11. SX-34 Mixer... 34 Figure 12. SX-34 Block Diagram ... 35 Figure 13. SX-6 Mixer... 37 Figure 14. SX-6 Block Diagram ... 38 Figure 15. SX-5e Mixer... 39 Figure 16.
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Page 6: Introduction
INTRODUCTION The Antex SX-5e, SX-6, SX-34 and SX-36 family of cards are ISA bus audio “add-in” cards for the PC. They all incorporate DSP’s (Digital Signal Processors), which allow the cards to do a variety of audio formats. (MPEG, PCM16, MSADPCM, etc.) All cards are dual device, which means they can operate on 2 hard drive files at the same time. -
Page 7: Jumper Settings & Connections
Set the board number with jumpers as shown below. If only one board is being used, leave the jumpers off (sets to board number one). When using more than one card in a computer, each board must be given a different number by setting the jumpers differ- ently on each card. -
Page 8: I/O Addresses And Interrupts
I/O ADDRESSES AND INTERRUPTS SX-5e, 6, 34, 35 & 36 I/O addresses and interrupts are software selectable. The valid I/O addresses are: 180h, 220h, 280h, 300h, 320h and 380h The valid interrupts are: 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 11 and 12 Note that interrupts 3 and 4 are normally used by the computer’s COM ports and will not be available. - Page 9 balanced connections and shielded coax cable for unbalanced connections. See the section “Balanced and Unbalanced Sig- nals”.
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Page 10: Sx-35/36 Connector Description
SX-35/36 CONNECTOR DESCRIPTION SX-35/36 Assignment Ground Right In - Balanced Analog I /O Connector Left In- Right Out - Left Out - DB-9 Right In + Female Left In + Right Out + Left Out + Balanced In - XLR male shell, female pins Left Unbalanced In - Female RCA Right... - Page 11 LINE I/0 (JP8) Right Line Input + Right Line Input - Left Line Input + Left Line Input - Right Line Output + Right Line Output - Left Line Output + Left Line Output - 2,4,6,8,10,12,14,16 Ground This connector duplicates the function of the DB9 connector. It might be used with a custom “Industrial Rack Mount PC”...
- Page 12 AUX IN (JP9) Right Aux Input + Right Aux Input - Left Aux Input + Left Aux Input - 9,11,13,15 No connection 2,4,6,8,10,12,14,16 Ground The Auxiliary inputs are balanced inputs, the same as the Line In and can be used in the same way; as a record source or analog feed-through to the Line Out.
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Page 13: Connector Description
SX-34 CONNECTOR DESCRIPTION JP6 JP7 JP4 SX-34 Figure 3. SX-34 Connections 1. SPx Header - JP1 JP1 is a 40-pin, dual-row, 2mm spaced header the provides connections for an SPx module. 2. Output Header - JP5 JP5 is a 5-pin, 0.100" spaced header that provides connec- tions for the left and right output signals. - Page 14 3. AUX Header - JP6 JP6 is a 5-pin, 0.100" spaced header that provides connec- tions for left and right auxiliary input signals. These are the same connections provided by the AUX jack on the bracket. Signals present at JP6 are switched in only when there is no plug in the AUX jack.
- Page 15 5. Mono Header - JP4 JP4 is a 2-pin, 0.100" spaced header that provides a mono in- put connection. This input is not currently supported. Ground Mono Input...
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Page 16: Connector Description
SX-6 CONNECTOR DESCRIPTION SX-6 Assignment Ground Balanced Analog I /O Connector Right Out - DB-9 Left Out - Female Right Out + Left Out + Left Right Balanced Out - XLR female shell, male pins SX-6 Balanced I/O to XLR Figure 4. - Page 17 LINE OUT (JP2) 1,3,5,7 No connection Right Line Out + Right Line Out – Left Line Out + Left Line Out – 2,4,6,8,10,12,14,16 Ground This connector duplicates the function of the DB9 connector. It might be used with a custom “Industrial Rack Mount PC” with a special cable harness that brought the connections out to the front panel.
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Page 18: Sx-5E Connector Description
There are no other connectors on the card. BALANCED AND UNBALANCED SIGNALS The SX-5e and the SX-34 have unbalanced signals only. The SX-6 and SX-36 have balanced signals, which can be wired to be connected to unbalanced equipment if desired. (Note that in this discussion, “balanced”... -
Page 19: Impedance And Signal Levels
Antex cards are “active”; transformers are not used. Normally, one should not ground the output of an active driver. However the drivers used on the Antex cards are specifically designed to do this and behave identically to a transformer. The main difference between grounding or not grounding the minus output is that grounding the output will boost the output level by 6dB (double the voltage level of the signal). -
Page 20: Playback And Record Devices
This is because the input amplifier stages of the card have been overloaded. Also, recording from a source with too low a signal level, such as plugging a microphone directly into a line level in- put, will result in a very noisy recording. Good signal to noise performance can only be achieved by using a record source with sufficient signal level to register high on the VU meter. -
Page 21: Compression, Data Rates, And Networks
externally, there must be 2 cards installed in the computer, so that there is one physical output for each device. COMPRESSION, DATA RATES, AND NETWORKS The amount of data (the size) of a sound file is affected by several factors. The most obvious is the sample rate. A file recorded at 22.05 KHz will take up half as much disk space as a file recorded at 44.1 KHz. -
Page 22: Iso/Mpeg-1 Bitrates
SX-36 can record a 32 KHz MPEG file and play an- other 32 KHz file back at the same time, but not 44.1 or 48 KHz MPEG files. The SX-34 or SX-36 can simultaneously record and play back 48 KHz PCM16 files. - Page 23 tained for a given output bitrate therefore changes with sample rate. In the Antex software the bitrate is specified on a per-channel ba- sis. Therefore, requesting 64 kbits/s and stereo will result in a 128 kbits/s compressed MPEG stream. Supported bitrates (per channel) and compression ratios are as follows: Layer I 32 KHz...
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Page 24: Driver Installation
DRIVER INSTALLATION WINDOWS 95 1. After installing the card, power up the system. 2. Open Control Panel-Add New Hardware applet. 3. Press “Next”. 4. Select “No”. Press “Next”. 5. Select “Sound, video and game controllers”. Press “Next”. 6. Select “Have Disk”. 7. -
Page 25: Setup Tips (Upgrade Driver, Win 98)
5. Select “Driver” tab. 6. Select antexwav.vxd, click on “Change Driver”. 7. Select "Have Disk" 8. Point to location of driver files. Click “OK”. Click “OK”. 9. Select antex.drv, click on “Change Driver”. 10. Select "Have Disk" 11. Point to location of driver files. Click “OK”. Click “OK”. 12. -
Page 26: Windows Nt
8. Make sure “Search for a better driver…” is selected. 9. Select the location of the new driver. 10. Click “Next”. Click “Next”. Click “Next”. Click “OK”. 11. Point to location of driver files again. 12. Click “OK”. Click “Finish”. 13. -
Page 27: Antex Application Software Installation
ANTEX APPLICATION SOFTWARE INSTALLATION The Antex Demo, Mixer, and Meter programs are on a separate floppy disk. The same disk is used for Windows 95/98 and NT. The software installs in the usual manner. 1. Insert the disk into the floppy drive. 2. -
Page 28: Using Windows Demonstration Software
USING WINDOWS DEMONSTRATION SOFTWARE Figure 5. Antex Demo Program The Antex Demo program allows basic recording and playback of .WAV files in any of the compression formats available on the Antex audio board you have installed in your system. Sample Rate This list box selects specific sample rates for recording, and displays the sample rate of the file that is currently playing. -
Page 29: Figure 6. Mpeg Bitrates
Compression: This list box selects specific compression formats for re- cording, and displays the compressed format of the file currently playing. Note that the Sample Rate and Com- pression for recording can only be changed when the card is in “Stop” mode. If the card is in “Paused Record”, or is recording, the Sample Rate or Compression will not actu- ally change, even though the dialog box allows you to change them. -
Page 30: Figure 7. File Open Dialog Box
Channels: These buttons select mono or stereo recording, and dis- play the number of channels of the current file. VU Meters: The VU meters show the relative signal level of the current file that is being recorded or played. Wave Device: If your driver is configured for dual devices or your com- puter has more than one Antex audio board, this drop down list box will allow selection of the specific de-... -
Page 31: Figure 8. Auto Repeat
File: This button selects a filename for recording or playback. Once this button has been pressed the dialog box in Figure 7 will appear. If you hold down the “Alt” key while clicking on File, the dialog box shown below in Figure 8 will appear. -
Page 32: Installing And Using Multiple Cards In A System
Volume: These controls allow changing the volume of the playback only. INSTALLING AND USING MULTIPLE CARDS IN A SYSTEM When using more than one card in a system, each card must have a different adapter number. This is set by using the jumpers on top of the card. -
Page 33: Mixer And Block Diagrams
Simultaneous Record and Playback MPEG MSADPCM SX-34 22.05 KHz SX-35 22.05 KHz SX-36 32 KHz 32 KHz Dual Device Playback MPEG MSADPCM SX-5e 48 KHz 32 KHz SX-6 48 KHz 32 KHz SX-34 44.1 KHz 32 KHz SX-35 44.1 KHz... -
Page 34: Mixer And Block Diagram
and right channels of a stereo signal. Also, only one record device is shown. The small circles with a letter inside correspond be- tween the Mixer Diagram and the Block Diagram. For example, referring to the SX-36 diagrams, the Line In On/Off control, la- beled “G”... - Page 35 “Radio pushbutton” controls G, H, I, and J determine the record source. Only one button on at a time is allowed. It may seem strange that button J will set the record source to Line Out. This is done to allow the use of attenuators C, D, or E to control the record level.
- Page 36 down if the output signal from the Antex card is too loud. One ex- ception to setting both sliders at maximum is when playing 2 files simultaneously. In this case, it may be necessary to lower the sliders slightly to prevent clipping from occurring when peaks of both files occur at the same time.
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Page 37: Figure 9. Sx-36 Mixer
Figure 9. SX-36 Mixer... -
Page 38: Figure 10. Sx-36 Block Diagram
Figure 10. SX-36 Block Diagram... -
Page 39: Mixer And Block Diagram
SX-34 MIXER AND BLOCK DIAGRAM The SX-34 diagrams are the same as the SX-36, with the excep- tion that the SX-34 does not have the Input or Output Trim Con- trols. Figure 11. SX-34 Mixer... -
Page 40: Figure 12. Sx-34 Block Diagram
Figure 12. SX-34 Block Diagram... -
Page 41: Mixer And Block Diagram
SX-6 MIXER AND BLOCK DIAGRAM Output Trim Control B determines the level of the output signal on Line Out which corresponds to digital clipping. If the control is set to +8, the maximum output signal level is +8 dBu. If the control is set to +20, the maximum output signal level is +20dBu. -
Page 42: Figure 13. Sx-6 Mixer
Figure 13. SX-6 Mixer... -
Page 43: Figure 14. Sx-6 Block Diagram
Figure 14. SX-6 Block Diagram... -
Page 44: Sx-5E Mixer And Block Diagram
SX-5e MIXER AND BLOCK DIAGRAM Due to the simplicity of the SX-5e, the Antex Mixer does not add control of any features that are not accessible through the Antex Demo. The Play 1 and Play 2 Sliders duplicate the function of the sliders in the Antex Demo program. - Page 45 and controlling the volume using the master volume control on the external amplifier or mixing board the Antex Card is connected to. One exception to setting both sliders at maximum is when playing 2 files simultaneously. In this case, it may be necessary to lower the sliders slightly to prevent clipping from occurring when peaks of both files occur at the same time.
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Page 46: Figure 16. Sx-5E Block Diagram
Figure 16. SX-5e Block Diagram... -
Page 47: Antex Meter
ANTEX METER The figure below shows a typical Antex Meter window. This can be opened by running “meter.exe” or double-clicking on the meter icon. The size of the window can be changed by dragging the side, bottom or corner of the window. The meter is similar to the meter in the Antex Mixer or Antex Demo, but is much more flexi- ble. -
Page 48: Figure 18. Antex Meter Pull-Down Menu
If you right-click or double-click on the meter window, the following window will pop-up: Figure 18. Antex Meter pull-down menu... -
Page 49: Figure 19. Antex Meter Options
Clicking on “Options” will open the following window: Figure 19. Antex Meter options “Visible Lines” allows you to select which devices have VU meters displayed. “Mode” allows you to select whether the meter is peak reading or averaging (VU). “Peak Hold Level” will keep the peak level lit for the time indicated. “Headroom Indicator”... - Page 50 “Meter Update Interval” determines how often the meter program reads the level data from the Antex Card. Note that even if the meter is in peak mode, peaks which occur in between the update intervals will be missed. To avoid this, the update interval should be 5 ms or less.
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Page 51: Troubleshooting
TROUBLESHOOTING I get an error message when trying to run the Antex Demo program. 1. Card did not install correctly because of an I/O or interrupt conflict. In Win NT, go to “Start”, “Settings”, “Control Panel”, “Multimedia”, “Devices”, “Audio Devices”, “Audio for Antex Digital Audio Driver”, “Settings”. - Page 52 Files I record sound “dull”. 1. Use a higher sample rate. Lower sample rates reduce the high frequency content, making recordings sound dull. There is a lot of noise or hum, even when the Antex Card is idle. 1. There may be a wiring problem. Make sure the shields are grounded, especially with unbalanced connections.
- Page 53 too hot. To see if this is the problem, does the Line Out sound distorted when just listening to the record source as a feed- through? Files recorded are of poor quality. 1. Some formats, bitrates, and sample rates do not sound as good as others.
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Page 54: Technical/Ordering Information
If using several cards in a system, try just playing one file on one card. If this solves the problem, your system may not be fast enough to handle as many cards and files at once as you want. Using compressed file formats will re- duce the amount of data required by each card. -
Page 55: Appendix
APPENDIX Connectors for Male Headers For connecting to the auxiliary connectors on the Antex Card, there are 2 types of connectors to use. One type is the individual crimp type, such as the Molex C-Grid series. For single row headers, the part number would be 50-57-900X, where X is the number of contacts. - Page 56 milliwatt into 600 ohms, which is .775 volts RMS. dBV uses 1 volt RMS as the reference. Digital Clipping Digital clipping is the point where the Analog to Digital converter becomes saturated. The signal is “all ones”. For a 16 bit system, this is a value of +32768 or –32768.
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Page 57: Specifications
Specifications Unless otherwise noted, THD+N and Dynamic Range measure- ments are done at 1KHz, A weighting, 48 KHz sample rate. Maximum input and output levels are for digital full scale. All Cards (as applicable): Sample rates ... 8, 11.025, 16, 22.05, 44.1, 48 KHz Frequency Response ...20Hz to 20KHz, +/- .5dB Mic input level...10mV RMS Mic input impedance... - Page 58 SX-34: THD+N ..02% max Dynamic Range ... 80dB min Line Out level ...1V RMS Line Out load impedance (90Hz to 20KHz, -3dB) ...8 ohms min Line Out load impedance (20 Hz to 20 KHz)... 2K ohms min Line In/ Aux In level ...1V RMS Line In/ Aux In input impedance...
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Page 59: About Digital Audio
SX-5e: THD+N ...02% Dynamic Range ... 85dB min Line Out level ...2VRMS Line Out output impedance... 50 ohms Line Out load impedance... 2K ohms min About Digital Audio In professional circles, digital audio has been with us for over 10 years. - Page 60 In essence, digital audio is a technological process whereby an analog audio signal (produced when sound waves in the air excite a microphone) is first converted into a continuous stream of num- bers (or digits). Once in digital form, the signal is extremely im- mune to degradation caused by system noise or defects in the storage or transmission medium (unlike previous analog sys- tems).
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Page 61: Figure 20. Analog-To-Digital
Figure 20. Analog-to-Digital To visualize the analog-to-digital conversion process, refer to Figure 20. At the top is one cycle of an analog input signal wave. We've used a simple sine wave to make visualization easier. In this example, the signal has a peak-to-peak amplitude of 20 units, measured by the scale on the left. -
Page 62: Figure 21. Digital-To-Analog
Digital-to-analog conversion (used in playback) is the exact oppo- site of the analog-to digital conversion process and is illustrated in Figure 21. In digital-to-analog conversion, the PCM bitstream is converted at the sampling frequency to a continuously changing series of quantization levels which are individual "steps"... - Page 63 The foregoing is a very brief and, of necessity, oversimplified ex- planation of how digital audio works. For the interested reader, the book Principles of Digital Audio by Ken C. Pohlmann, copy- right 1985 by Howard W. Sams, is highly recommended.
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