RME Audio Hammerfall Multiface II, User Manual

Page 1: ...st compact professional multitrack recording system ever PCI Busmaster Digital I O System PCI and CardBus Interface 8 8 2 Channels Analog ADAT Stereo Interface Hi Power Hi End Headphone Output 24 Bit...

Page 2: ...er Installation 16 10 2 Driver Update 16 10 3 Deinstalling the Drivers 16 10 4 Firmware Update 17 11 Configuring the Multiface II 11 1 Settings Dialog 18 11 2 Clock Modes Synchronization 20 12 Operati...

Page 3: ...m Channel Routing at 96 kHz 42 Disconnect Mode Connections and TotalMix 24 Disconnect Mode 44 25 Analog Connections 25 1 Line Inputs 44 25 2 Line Outputs 45 25 3 Phones 45 26 Digital Connections 26 1...

Page 4: ...ernal Effects Devices 67 31 TotalMix MIDI Remote Control 31 1 Overview 68 31 2 Setup 68 31 3 Operation 68 31 4 Mapping 69 31 5 Simple MIDI Control 70 31 6 Loopback Detection 70 Technical Reference 32...

Page 5: ...User s Guide HDSP System Multiface II RME 5 User s Guide Multiface II General...

Page 6: ...o hard ware 2 Package Contents Please check your Hammerfall DSP component s package to include each of the following PCI Interface PCI card HDSP Rev 1 9 Quick Info guide RME Driver CD Cable IEEE1394 4...

Page 7: ...er cable is disconnected from the mains supply Inserting or removing a PCI card while the computer is in operation can cause irreparable damage to both motherboard and card 1 Disconnect the power cord...

Page 8: ...1 25 A included with the CardBus card but also available separately 6 First Usage Quick Start 6 1 Connectors and Front Panel The front of the Multiface II features a MIDI input and output a stereo he...

Page 9: ...a thread therefore can be turned and even completely removed 6 2 Quick Start After the driver installation see chapter 10 19 connect the TRS jacks with the analog signal source The input sensitivity...

Page 10: ...CardBus card it usually is detected automatically by the notebook hardware and then by the Mac OS A CardBus icon will appear on the top menu A mouse click on the icon opens a drop down menu showing t...

Page 11: ...M 5 m 16 4 ft 36010 Firewire cable IEEE1394 6M 6M 10 m 32 8 ft Firewire cable for the HDSP system both sides 6 pin male Cable longer than 16 ft is not al lowed for FireWire therefore hard to get in co...

Page 12: ...ronik GmbH Leipziger Strasse 32 D 09648 Mittweida Trademarks All trademarks registered or otherwise are the property of their respective owners RME DIGI96 SyncAlign ZLM SyncCheck DIGICheck and Hammerf...

Page 13: ...her electronic devices This equipment generates radio frequencies and if not installed and used according to the instructions in the User s Guide may cause interference harmful to the operation of oth...

Page 14: ...14 User s Guide HDSP System Multiface II RME...

Page 15: ...User s Guide HDSP System Multiface II RME 15 User s Guide Multiface II Driver Installation and Operation Windows...

Page 16: ...ver Update RME s driver updates often include a new hdsp32 inf file Also the revision number of the hardware might change after a flash update To prevent Windows 2000 XP from using an old hdsp32 inf o...

Page 17: ...us failure the card s second BIOS will be used from the next cold boot on Secure BIOS Technology Therefore the card stays fully functional The flash process should then be tried again on a different c...

Page 18: ...of digital I Os Synchronization behaviour State of input and output Any changes made in the Settings dialog are applied immediately confirmation e g by clicking on OK or exiting the dialog is not requ...

Page 19: ...a valid and syn chronous signal Sync The Auto Sync Reference display shows the input and frequency of the current sync source Options TMS activates the transmission of Channel Status data and Track M...

Page 20: ...ock or Slave see AutoSync Ref 11 2 Clock Modes Synchronisation In the digital world all devices are either the Master clock source or a Slave synchronized to the master Whenever several devices are li...

Page 21: ...d simultaneously in a system they not only have to operate with the same sample frequency but also be synchro nous with each other This is why digi tal systems always need a single de vice defined as...

Page 22: ...t to an analog or digital ADAT SPDIF port depending on which has been selected as playback device Increasing the number and or size of audio buff ers may prevent the audio signal from breaking up but...

Page 23: ...elected PowerDVD sends the decoded analog multichannel data to the HDSP The device selected as Preferred Playback Device defines the first playback channel Choosing ADAT 3 4 and 6 channel mode playbac...

Page 24: ...your system and software allows Some motherboards with insufficient PCI bandwidth like older VIA boards suffer from crackling at settings below 512 Be sure to set the buffer size to 512 or higher in...

Page 25: ...n s audio attributes or similar dialog The screenshot to the right shows a typical dia log used for changing basic parameters such as sample frequency and resolution in an audio application Any bit re...

Page 26: ...gs dialog see chapter 10 20 Configuration Hammerfall DSP supports ASIO Direct Monitoring ADM Please note that currently Nuendo Cubase and Logic either do not support ADM completely or error free Using...

Page 27: ...ected for ASIO operation This can cause performance prob lems on slower machines when using GSIF and ASIO at the same time Please note that the W2k XP driver fully supports multi client operation incl...

Page 28: ...arallel to any software be it MME ASIO or GSIF with both inputs and outputs The following is a short summary of the currently available functions Level Meter High precision 24 bit resolution 2 8 18 ch...

Page 29: ...ys tems s clock mode to Master Crackle during record or playback Increase the number and size of buffers in the Settings dialog or in the application Try different cables coaxial or optical to rule ou...

Page 30: ...com section FAQ Hardware Alert about incompatible hardware The dialog New hardware component found does not appear Check whether the CardBus card is completely inserted into the PCMCIA slot or the PCI...

Page 31: ...ignal paths in ASIO double speed mode 88 2 96 kHz The devices available via the ASIO driver have been designed to avoid conflicts in normal operation Re cord and playback are identical Device The devi...

Page 32: ...hs in MME double speed mode 88 2 96 kHz The devices available via the MME wave driver have been designed to avoid conflicts in normal operation which is why channels 5 6 7 and 8 of the ADAT device hav...

Page 33: ...User s Guide HDSP System Multiface II RME 33 User s Guide Multiface II Driver Installation and Operation Mac OS X...

Page 34: ...x from the Login Items and delete both files from your hard drive This driver version did not have the features AutoLoad Dock Lock and AutoRemove There fore one has to make sure that both programs hav...

Page 35: ...n the hammer icon in the dock The mixer of the Hammerfall DSP System TotalMix can be opened by clicking on the mixer icon in the dock The Hammerfall DSP s hardware offers a number of helpful well thou...

Page 36: ...ng power Detected The interface has found an I O box and tries to load the firmware Connected Communication between interface and I O box operates correctly Disconnected Communication between interfac...

Page 37: ...merfall DSP AutoSync may cause feedback in the digital carrier so synchro nization breaks down To remedy this switch the HDSP s clock mode over to Master Remember that a digital system can only have o...

Page 38: ...ay of checking whether all digital de vices connected to the system are properly configured With SyncCheck finally anyone can master this common source of error previously one of the most complex issu...

Page 39: ...es Nonetheless this driver file can be removed by simply dragging it to the trash bin This can be helpful in case a driver installation fails An incomplete installation can currently 10 3 2 only be de...

Page 40: ...ge the current Hammerfall DSP systems can be used in any PCI slot of all G4 and G5 models In case additional PCI cards of any manufacturer are used it might happen that the RME card is no longer found...

Page 41: ...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 devic...

Page 42: ...iagram Channel Routing at 96 kHz This diagram shows the signal paths in double speed mode 88 2 96 kHz The last four chan nels of the ADAT port have no function anymore in Core Audio but are used by th...

Page 43: ...User s Guide HDSP System Multiface II RME 43 User s Guide Multiface II Disconnect Mode Connections and TotalMix...

Page 44: ...in a servo balanced design which handles unbalanced mono jacks and balanced stereo jacks correctly automatically adjusting the level reference When using unbalanced cables with TRS jacks be sure to c...

Page 45: ...cast usage At 10 dBV a headroom of 12 dB is common practice each mixing desk op erating at 10 dBV is able to send and receive much higher levels Lo Gain is best suited for professional users who prefe...

Page 46: ...is required Pins 2 and 3 of a female XLR plug are connected indi vidually to the two pins of a phono plug The cable shielding is only connected to pin 1 of the XLR not to the phono plug The ground fre...

Page 47: ...type not terminated 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...

Page 48: ...nals are usually distributed in the form of a network split with BNC T adapters and terminated with resistors We recommend using off the shelf BNC cables to connect all devices as this type of cable i...

Page 49: ...d and a valid word clock signal is present The signal at the BNC input can be Single or Double Speed the Hammerfall DSP automatically adapts to it As soon as a valid signal is detected the green WC LE...

Page 50: ...complete implementation of the ADM functions Integration of external devices Use TotalMix to insert external effects devices be it in the playback or in the record path Depending on the current appli...

Page 51: ...User s Guide HDSP System Multiface II RME 51...

Page 52: ...own from an Inline desk so that the row Software Playback equals the Tape Return of a real mixing desk Top row Hardware inputs The level shown is that of the input signal i e fader independ ent Via fa...

Page 53: ...ica tion for the first time a default file is loaded sending all playback tracks 1 1 to the correspond ing hardware outputs with 0 dB gain and activating phones monitoring Hold down Ctrl and click on...

Page 54: ...n channels 7 and 8 The present pan value is also being dis played below the fader Please carry out the same steps for Out 2 now in order to route it to output 8 as well In short While editing the Subm...

Page 55: ...entering Double Speed mode 96 kHz The display is adjusted accordingly and all fader settings remain stored 28 5 Submix View Such a wide range of possibilities make it difficult to maintain the overvie...

Page 56: ...ete input monitoring a stereo and mono mix and various submixes without any problem Also here RME s love for details can be seen If any parameter is being altered after loading a preset e g moving a f...

Page 57: ...aybacks to the analog Phones output Level display set to RMS 3 dB View Submix active Note This preset is Default offering the standard functionality of a I O card Preset 2 Description All channels rou...

Page 58: ...djusted with the channel s input fader Monitor Phones 1 2 3 Use the drop down menu to select the hardware outputs where the submixes are sent to These submixes are usually phones mixdowns for the musi...

Page 59: ...d A right mouse click on the white name field brings up the dialog box Enter Name Any name can be entered in this dialog Enter Return closes the dialog box the white label now shows the first letters...

Page 60: ...ime TotalMix also supports combinations of these keys If you press Ctrl and Alt at the same time clicking with the mouse makes the faders jump to 0 dB pairwise and they can be set pairwise by Shift Al...

Page 61: ...ASIO Direct Monitoring Windows only When de activated any ADM commands will be ignored by TotalMix In other words ASIO Direct Monitoring is globally de activated Link Faders Selecting this option all...

Page 62: ...sine signal shows 0 dBFS on both Peak and RMS meters This setting also yields directly readable signal to noise values Otherwise the value shown with noise is 3 dB better than it actually is because t...

Page 63: ...g Black gain field Shows the current gain value as dB Orange gain field This routing is muted To maintain overview when the window size has been reduced the left and upper labels are floating They won...

Page 64: ...o output 4 at 9 dB Each time you set up the right channel 2 4 the change in pan destroys the gain setting of the left channel 1 2 A real hassle In Matrix view you simply click on the corresponding rou...

Page 65: ...same way on all headphones Select input 1 open the menu Edit It shows Copy In 1 Now select the desired new input for example In 8 The menu now shows Paste In 1 to In 8 Click on it done If you are fam...

Page 66: ...nput signal to any hardware output Using the subgroup recording the input can still be recorded on a different channel Note Because of a technical limitation the input s level meter no longer shows th...

Page 67: ...0 dB and the panorama fully to the right Adjust the input level at the reverb unit to an optimal setting Next the output of the reverb unit is connected to a free stereo input for example 5 6 Use the...

Page 68: ...standard Control Change Volume via MIDI channel 1 With this the main volume of the Multiface is controlable from nearly any MIDI equipped hardware device 31 2 Setup Open the Preferences dialog menu Op...

Page 69: ...een both applications TotalMix also supports the 9th fader of the Mackie Control This fader labeled Master will control the stereo output faders lowest row which are set up as Main Monitor outputs in...

Page 70: ...F 63 D 3 Monitor Phones 2 40 64 E 3 Monitor Phones 3 41 65 F 3 Preset 1 36 54 F 2 Preset 2 37 55 G 2 Preset 3 38 56 G 2 Preset 4 39 57 A 2 Preset 5 3A 58 A 2 Preset 6 3B 59 B 2 Preset 7 3C 60 C 3 Pres...

Page 71: ...User s Guide HDSP System Multiface II RME 71 User s Guide Multiface II Technical Reference...

Page 72: ...tions Driver updates Hammerfall DSP Lists all changes of the driver updates DIGICheck Analysis tests and measurements with RME audio hardware A description of DIGICheck including technical background...

Page 73: ...DA 44 1 kHz 0 5 dB 5 Hz 20 9 kHz Frequency response DA 96 kHz 0 5 dB 5 Hz 45 8 kHz Output 6 3 mm TRS jack servo balanced Output impedance 100 Ohm Output level switchable Hi Gain 4 dBu 10 dBV Output l...

Page 74: ...ed by DC offsets within the network Signal Adaptation Circuit signal refresh through auto center and hysteresis Overvoltage protection Level range 1 0 Vpp 5 6 Vpp Lock Range 28 kHz 105 kHz Jitter when...

Page 75: ...te stereo 8 bytes 33 7 General Power supply external switching power supply 100 240 V AC 15 Watt Current at 12 Volt operating voltage unloaded 720 mA 8 6 Watt Current at 12 Volt operating voltage load...

Page 76: ...us slightly higher or lower than the Multiface s internal sample rate Result When reading out the data there will fre quently be read errors that cause clicks and drop outs Also when using multiple in...

Page 77: ...ncy range as far as possible This typically generates a delay of one millisecond A playback and re record of the same signal via DA and AD loopback then causes an offset of the newly recorded track of...

Page 78: ...ries one channel whose odd and even samples are being distributed to the former left and right channels By this you get the double amount of data i e also double sample rate Of course in order to tran...

Page 79: ...ble in principle because the audio information is stored in the same place in the data stream However there are blocks of additional information which are different for both standards In the table the...

Page 80: ...80 User s Guide HDSP System Multiface II RME 35 Diagrams 35 1 Block Diagram Multiface II...

Page 81: ...balanced with no loss in level This is the same as when using a TRS jack with ring connected to ground TRS Phones jack The analog monitor output on the front is accessible through a stereo TRS jack Th...