Solid State Logic MadiXtreme manual

MadiXtr eme. Hi-speed MADI I/O M ultichannel D igital Audi o Interface for PC and M acintosh based Digital A udio W or kstations Refer ence G uide MadiXtreme . This is SSL. www .solid-state-logic.com[...]

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T able of Contents 1. Introduction 1 H o w to use this manual 1 Reading convent ions 1 Key commands, key combinations and key sequences 1 Screenshots 1 Safety and Ins tallation Considerations 2 D isclaimer 2 T rademarks 2 W ebsite 2 2. MadiXtr eme Overview 3 Hardwar e 3 Software D rivers 3 PC 3 Macintosh 3 MADI 3 3. P ackage Contents 4 4a. Installa[...]

7. Audio and Clock Settings (M acintosh) 19 Accessing the A udio and Clock S ettings (Macintosh) 19 M adiXtreme P references P ane (Macintosh) 2 0 Clock Master 20 Sample Rate S election 20 M ADI Channel Count 2 0 MADI F rame Format 20 8. Driv er Settings (PC) 21 U sing the WDM/KS Drivers (W indows XP) 21 U sing the Multimedia (MME) D rivers (Window[...]

Magix S amplitude 39 Selecting the D river 39 A udio Conn ections and Clock Settings 3 9 Overview 40 Selecting an I nput for the T rack/Channel S trip 41 S electing an Output for the T rack/Channel Strip 4 1 Mo nitoring the Signal 41 Recordi ng 41 Apple Logic P ro 42 Selecting the D river 42 Audio Conn ections and Clock Settings 42 Creating a Logic[...]

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1. Introduction Congratulations on your pur chase of an SSL M adiXtreme PCI e audio card. Please be assured that the SSL M adiXtreme will pro vide you with many years of r eliable service and, in conjunction with the SSL XLogic Alpha-Link conv erter series, the pristine audio quality you expect fr om any SSL pr oduct. Should you ever need assistanc[...]

Safety and Installation Consider ations This section contains definitions, warnings, and practical infor mation to ensure a safe working envir onment. Please take time to read this secti on before installing or using this unit. Pl ease do not dispose of these instructions. Disclaimer This manual has been written with great car e and attention to de[...]

2. MadiXtreme Ov er view Har dware The MadiXtreme is av ailable in two versions; MadiXtreme 64 and M adiXtreme 128. • MadiXtr eme 64 features one MADI input and one MADI output, pro viding 56 or 64 simultaneous inputs and outputs at up to 48kHz, 2 8 or 32 simult aneous inp uts and outp uts at up to 96kH z, or 14 or 16 simu ltaneous i nputs and ou[...]

3. Package Contents Y our MadiXtr eme box shoul d contain: • The MadiXtreme car d ( M adiXtr eme 128 version shown her e ) • The MadiXtreme CD • Printed In stallation Guide P age 4 MadiXtreme. Hi-speed MADI I/O Installation Guide Installations-Handbuch Guide d’Installation Guia de Instalación Guida di Installazione MadiXtreme. This is SSL.[...]

4a. Installation (PC) Har dware and S oftware Installation O verview (PC) Befo re proc eed ing wi th th e hardw are in sta llat ion , plea se rea d and un der sta nd the Sa fet y and Ins tal lat ion Consid eration s on page 2 of t his manua l. In additi on to this, p lease en sure that the host c omputer meet s the minimum system requir ements list[...]

P reparing Windows Plug and Pla y (Windows XP and Vista) I n order to make driv er installation as easy as possible, we recommend that you pr epare the W indows Plug and Play s ystem to recognize y our SSL hardware automatically . T o do this, run the SSL S oundscape Driver S etup application ( Dr vSetup.ex e ) before physically installing the card[...]

Har dware installation (W indows XP and Vista) The gu idelin es bel ow are g eneral a nd app ly in mo st cases . Ho wev er , si nce all PC s ar e dif fere nt it is a dvisab le to ch eck your computer’ s instruction manual for specific informatio n. F or example, on some PC cases the front panel needs to be remo ved first in order the access the c[...]

• W i ndow s will t hen i nvit e you to i nse rt the inst allat ion CD f or your ha rdware an d let you cho ose a n auto mat ic or ma nua l inst all atio n. Havi ng pre -ins tal led th e dri ver as d escr ibe d earlier , just make sure that Install the softwar e automatically (R ecommended) is selected, and click Next . • F u rthe r win dows wi[...]

Installing the WDM/KS Driver (W indows XP) I mmediately after installing the main driv er files, the Found New Hardware Wizar d will start again. This time the WDM/KS d river will be installed. The series of dialogue boxes is almost identical to the one display ed for the main driver files, w ith the exception of a warning r egarding Windows L ogo [...]

• Further windows wi ll be displayed while W indows copies the WDM/KS driv er files. At one point, Windo ws will display a warning regar ding Windows L ogo testing . Click Continue Anyway : • Eventually , a dialog box confirms that the installation has been completed. Clicking Finish closes the W izard. Installing the SSL D rivers (Windows Vist[...]

Device Manager ( Windows XP and Vista) A fter a successful installation, the SSL M adiXtreme appears in the SSL Soundscape Devices category in the Windows D evice Manager . The SSL S oundscape WDM/KS Device is listed under Sound, video and game contr ollers . P age 11[...]

4b. I nstallation (Macintosh) Har dware I nstallation (Macintosh) Befo re proc eed ing wi th th e hardw are in sta llat ion , plea se rea d and un der sta nd the Sa fet y and Ins tal lat ion Consid eration s on page 2 of t his manua l. In additio n to this, pl ease ensu re that the ho st comput er meets t he min imum sys tem re quire men ts lis ted[...]

Softwar e Installation (Ma cintosh) L ocate and run the MadiXtr eme Macintosh Driver I nstaller . This applicati on can be found on the Installation CD that came w ith your card but, i f possible, please use the latest version that can be do wnloaded from our website. Click Continue or Install as necessary to continue the pr ocedure, and enter your[...]

5. Audio and Clock Connections Audio Connections The MadiXtreme 64 featu res one MADI input connector and one M ADI output connector . The M adiXtreme 128 (pictured below) featur es two MADI input connectors and two MADI output connectors. P ull out the protective plugs from the MADI ports on the M adiXtreme and Alpha-Link(s) to gain access to the [...]

Clock Connections D igital audio devices that ex change audio data must be synchronized to the same clock refer ence. This clock refer ence s ignal can either be a ‘Wor dClock’ signal, transmitted and received via dedicated coaxial connectors (BNC or R CA), or an e mbedded clock signal transmitted via a digital audio connection su ch as TDIF Cl[...]

6. Audio and Clock Settings (PC) Accessing the Audio and Clock Settings ( PC) F or Windo ws XP and V ista, the MadiXtreme audio and clock settings can be accessed via the Device M anager , or by using the TRack.ex e application which is included in the driver download package. • F rom the Device Manager : Open th e Device M anager , expan d SSL S[...]

• T he Ma diXtr eme P rop ertie s windo w is divide d into th ree se ctions. The top s ectio n ( Cloc k ) allo ws you to def ine the cl ock settings you requir e for your studio. The middle section ( F ormat ) controls the audio configuration. The bottom section ( Status ) shows whether the M adiXtreme is correctly synchroniz ed to a clock signal[...]

Sample Rate S election Menu W he n the car d is set as a M aster S ound sca pe devi ce an d the I nter nal clo ck s etting is selected, this menu allows a sample rate to be selected. The a vailable sample rates are 44100Hz, 48000Hz, 88200Hz, 96000H z, 1 76400Hz and 192000Hz. In all other cases, the Sample Rate m enu is greyed-out and cannot be used[...]

7. Audio and Clock Sett ings (Macintosh) Accessing the Audio and Clock Settings ( Macintosh) Click the Apple (  ) icon and select S ystem Prefer ences… . In the System P references window click the MadiXt reme icon to display the MadiXtreme Pr eferences pane. P age 19[...]

MadiXtr eme Pr eferences P ane (Macintosh) Clock Master U se this drop-down to set the master clock sour ce for the selected MadiXtr eme card: • Int ern al . If t his op tio n is sel ect ed, Mad iXt reme lo cks t o its own o n-b oard cl ock g ene rato r . A ddi tio nall y , the B NC connector operates as a W ordClock output suitable to pro vide a[...]

8. Driver S ettings (PC) U sing the WD M/KS Driv ers (Windo ws XP) The WDM/KS driv ers are loaded during log on. These drivers can be set up in the Windo ws Control Panel , Sounds and Audio Devices , Audio tab. The individual inputs and outputs are always li sted as pairs. Ho wever , multichannel audio can be used. N ote that MadiXtreme n WDM (wher[...]

U sing the Mul timedia (MME) Driv ers (Windo ws XP) T he legacy MME drivers ar e loaded during log on and are still av ailable for compatibility with certain applications: The def ault se tting is f or multi ple ste reo input an d output d evice s (ie., on e SSL Madi Xtreme 64 = t hirty -two ste reo devices). This setting ho wever can be changed in[...]

U sing the WDM/KS drivers (W indows V ista) I n W ind ows 20 00 and X P , m ult ich anne l aud io card s were t reated as s urround d evices. A 16 input/output audio car d such a s the Soundscape M ixtreme would be seen as a 16 channel s urro und de vic e, a 64 c hann el au dio ca rd (su ch as t he S oun dsca pe Mixp and er) w ould b e see n as a 6[...]

U sing the SSL Soundscape ASIO-2 Driv er (Windo ws XP and Vista) A SIO (A udio Str eaming Inpu t Output) i s a S teinber g specificat ion, orig inally dev eloped for C ubase VST and u sed ther eafter i n subs eque nt vers ions of Cub ase and Nuendo. This dri ver provide s a more di rect int erfa ce for m ulti- chan nel au dio s treaming than the le[...]

• T o access the Direct Monitoring option, select Device Setup under the Devices menu, then select SSL Soundscape ASIO under VST Audio System . The Direct Monitoring box should be checked to switch monitoring between the inpu t (for recor ding) and output (for playback) from C ubase or Nuendo . Please note that at the time of writing, D irect Mon[...]

M ultiple SSL Audio Car ds and ASIO-2 T he AS IO-2 d rive r spe cifi cat ion al lows f or onl y one au dio c ard to b e used a t any s ingl e tim e. However , th e curre nt i mplementation of the SSL Soundscape Device Driver allo ws multiple SSL audio car ds to be used simultaneously under A SIO-2 b y prese nting them to the applicat ion as a singl[...]

9. Driver S ettings (Macintosh) T o sel ect the M adiXtreme a s the defau lt Core Audi o input and/or o utput dev ice, cli ck the App le (  ) icon a nd select S ystem Prefer ences… . In the Sy stem P references win dow click the Sound icon to display the Sound P references pane. In the S ound P references pane, use the Output and Input buttons[...]

10. Driver Updates and Uninstalling Older Driver V ersions Windo ws XP and Windows V ista The description below sho ws the procedure in W indows XP . In V ista the procedure is similar but mor e warnings may be displayed. Always click the option that allo ws the procedur e to continue. N e w versio ns of the Soun dscape Device D river can be downl [...]

11. Firmware Updates U pdated MadiXtreme firmware will be available for do wnload from our website whenever necessary . T ypically , any new firmware will be included as part of a new driv er package. Windo ws XP and Windows V ista When the TRack softwar e is launched, the F irm ware Upda ter st art s up au toma tic ally i f a MadiXtreme wi th obso[...]

Macintosh T o update the Madi Xtreme firmware, open the M adiXtreme Pr eferences pane (click the Apple (  ) icon and select Syst em P refer ences… . then in the System Pr eferences window click the MadiXtr eme icon). In the MadiXtr eme Prefer ences pane, click the Update Firmware button and follo w the on-screen instructions. Y ou will be pro [...]

12. W orking With Y our Audio Applications In order to us e your MadiXtr eme effectively , you will need to be familiar with the operati on of your sequencer or other audio application(s). If necessary , please spend time reading the manual(s) for your application(s) of choi ce. In particular , if you a re usin g a seq uenc er , m ake s ure you un [...]

Steinber g Nuendo (Based on N uendo 4.1.2 Build 851 running under W indows XP) Selecting the D river F or this q uick-s tart e xamp le, we hav e chosen t o use th e ASIO dr iver ( De vices men u, click D evic e Setup , h ighlig ht VS T Audio System in the left-hand pane, sel ect SSL Soundscape A SIO in the ASIO Driver drop-do wn menu then click OK [...]

Overview T he N uendo Mixer is divided into three main sections (pr ess function key F3 t o display the Mix er): • Input channel strips (or ‘input busses ’), to the left of the mixer • Output channel strips (or ‘ output busses ’), to the right of the mixer • Audio channel strips (in the centre section of the mix er) Input and output c[...]

Input Channel S trips C lick th e VST c onnect ions butt on (bott om left of t he mixer) to o pen the VST Connec tions w indow . In the VST connections window , check that the Inputs tab is selected. Click the Add Bus button and use the resulting dialogue box to create input channel str ips as required. T o ass ign an e xis ting N ue ndo i nput bus[...]

Audio Channel S trips I n the Pr oject menu select Add T rack and click Audio . U se the resulting Add Audio T rack dialogue box to create audio tracks as required. The corresponding channel strips will be added to the mix er . The input and output channel strips that are curr ently connected to the audio channel strips are indicated in r outing bo[...]

Cakewalk Sonar (Based on S onar 7.0 P roducer Edition running under W indows XP) Selecting the D river The ASIO driver mode was chosen for this quick-start example ( Op tions menu, click Audio , click the Adv anced tab, select ASIO using the Driver M ode drop-down menu and click OK to co nfirm and close the window). Audio Connections and Clock S et[...]

Overview T he Sonar Console is divided into thr ee main sections (on the keyboard, press Alt & 3 t o display the Console). F or clarity , we have used the buttons on the left of the co nsole to hide the EQ Plot, EQ, FX and S end sections of the channel strips. • T racks Section: includes on e channel strip for each track in the project • Bu[...]

Selecting an Input for the T rack/Channel Strip I n order to hear the inpu t signal an input must be selected for t he channel strip. Cli ck the input field near the top of the track c hannel strip to display a selection menu. If you ar e receiving a stereo test signal via MadiXtreme inputs 1 and 2 , high lig ht SS L Soun dsc ape AS IO . A s ubm en[...]

Magix Samplitude (Based on S amplitude 10 P ro running under W indows XP) Selecting the D river The ASIO Driver S ystem was selected for this quick-start example ( Options menu, click System/Audio , select the ASIO option box. Click OK to confirm yo ur selection and close the window . Audio Connections and Clock S ettings It is assumed that the Mad[...]

Overview T he Samplitude M ixer is divided into thr ee main sections (on the keyboard, pr ess M t o display the Mix er). F or clarity , we have used the buttons on the left of the M ixer to hide the EQ Insert and Aux sections of the channel strips. The Samplitude M ixer featur es one audio channel strip for each audio track in the curr ent project.[...]

Selecting an Input for the T rack/Channel Strip I n o rd er to he ar an inpu t sign al the trac k inpu t must b e selecte d. Click th e input fiel d near the top o f the t rack channel strip to display a selection menu. If y ou are re ceiv ing a s tereo t est s igna l via M adi Xtrem e inp uts 1 an d 2, ma ke sure t hat 1 . SSL Soundscape ASIO In ([...]

Apple Logic P ro (Based on Logic P ro 8 running under M ac OS X 10.5.4) Selecting the D river Clic k the Logi c Pro menu he ader , hig hlig ht Prefere nces i n the me nu, cli ck Audio in th e subm enu to o pen the Logi c Prefer ences window . Click the Devices tab if necessary , and under Core Audio , select the M adiXtreme in the Device menu . Aud[...]

Cr eating a Logic P roject I n the Logic P ro File menu, select New . In the New wi ndow and click Empty Pr oject – you will be pr ompted to create new a udio tracks. Cre ate a single st ereo aud io track, ass igned to inputs and outputs 1 and 2. F inally , click on File again, select Save As… , name your trial pr oject and click Save . This wa[...]

Selecting an I nput or Output N ote that you can select any adjacent pair of MadiXtreme inputs or outputs for the ster eo track you have created by c licking the Input and O utput slots in the I/O section of the T rack channel strip and using the menu an d submenus that w ill thus be displayed. In this example, it is assumed that y ou are receiving[...]

13. T echnical Specifications Physical * D epth 168mm / 6.6" Width 1 slot (18.5mm / 0.7") H eight 99mm / 3.9" Boxed siz e 320mm x 220mm x 65mm 12.60" x 8.66" x 2.56" Boxed w eight 0.52kg / 1.15 pounds * All values are appr oximate Environmental T emperature Operating: +5 to 30 deg. C N on-operating: –20 to 50 deg. C [...]

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