F. A. Q. - Frequently Asked Questions

Product | DMX 6fire 24/96 DMX 6fire LT DMX 6fire basic
Status | 18.05.2005
Version | 1.4
Questions and Answers | 27

Please ensure that you are using the latest driver versions. You can obtain these from our web page or from the TerraTec FTP-Server.

Internet | TerraTec Electronic GmbH
http://www.terratec.com | Herrenpfad 38
ftp://ftp.terratec.de | D-41334 Nettetal, Germany

An Overview of the Questions

Question 1:
Which hardware configuration do you recommend, and how high must the data transfer rate of the hard drive be to take full advantage of the card?
Question 2:
Which operating systems are supported? What additional support is planned for the future?
Question 3:
The video and audio signal of Cyberlink PowerDVD is disturbed, what went wrong?
Question 4:
Is it possible to play and/or record analog and digital signals with different sample rates simultaneously?
Question 5:
Does the MIDI port need an extra interrupt?
Question 6:
DMX 6fire 24/96: why do I have to install the TT-RIAA Plug-In for WaveLab Lite 2?
Question 7:
How 'clean' is the synchronisation by recording and playback in general?
Question 8:
Is it possible to add an XG-Wavetable module to the card?
Question 9:
Can the card be cascaded with more DMX 6fire cards?
Question 10:
Can the DMX 6fire be synchronized (hardware-side) with other cards, e.g. EWS64 digital /XL or EWS88 MT/D?
Question 11:
How large is the control parameter for the Input signal on the DMX 6fire?
Question 12:
Can an internal CD audio output from a CD-ROM drive be connected to the DMX 6fire?
Question 13:
How many resources are used by the DMX 6fire after installation in my system?
Question 14:
How good is the signal to noise ratio on the DMX 6fire?
Question 15:
Can I use the GigaSampler/Studio at the same time that I use an audio sequencer program like Cubase VST or Emagic Logic?
Question 16:
Do the drivers work with the software CoolEditPro?
Question 17:
Does the DMX 6fire work together with Cubase VST from Steinberg?
Question 18:
Are there any special points to consider by the installation of the DMX 6fire under Windows 2000 or XP?
Question 19:
How much sensitivity do the analog In and Outputs have?
Question 20:
The recorded Signal is distorted, what went wrong?
Q uestion 21:
Which device driver has to be used for which application?
Question 22:
Can I connect the EWS64 extensions, e.g. the microWAVE PC, to the DMX 6fire?
Question 23:
Why can't I hear any Midi sounds?
Question 24:
How good does the system work together with the sequencer program Sonar?
Question 25:
Can I always leave Sensaura3D switched on?
Question 26:
Why don't I hear any signal from the digital input or why is the signal distorted?
Question 27:
Can I use a standard IDE cable to connect the modules DX6F or MXR?

Question 1:

Which hardware configuration do you recommend, and how high must the data transfer rate of the hard drive be to take full advantage of the card?

Answer 1:

The minimum system requirements are:

- Pentium II 450 MHz or faster
- Windows 98SE, ME, 2000 or XP

The required data transfer rate can be calculated as follows:

((((Number of tracks X resolution in bits X sampling rate in Hz) / 8) / 1024) / 1024) = MB/s

Thus 4 tracks at 32 bits / 96 kHz require a hard drive and controller that can handle a data transfer rate of 1.5 MB/s.

Regarding the 32 bits in the formula (rather than 24 bits): All of the cards drivers are capable of forwarding 24-bit audio data to the recording software as 32-bit data.
This feature reduces the CPU load substantially, as 24-bit data doesn't need to be "stacked" to pass through the 32-bit wide bus, as in the conventional "packed-byte" process.

When selecting components for a hard-drive recording system based on the DMX 6fire, we recommend the following hard-drive controllers in descending order:

- UDMA IDE
- SCSI (as PCI controller)
- IDE

Please note that additional PCI cards affect the performance of the PCI bus and thus the operation of the DMX 6fire. This effect is naturally more pronounced at 24-bit / 96 kHz
than at lower settings. When assembling a system to be 'tuned' exclusively for hard-drive recording performance, we recommend avoiding the use of S3 graphics cards
(VIRGE and TRIO series), or an Adaptec AHA-2940UW PCI SCSI controller. Needless to say, the DMX 6fire will still work in conjunction
with these components.

y

Question 2:

Which operating systems are supported? What additional support is planned for the future?

Answer 2:

The card supports driver models as follows :

- ASIO 2.0
- GSIF, Nemesys GigaStudio
- Microsoft MME
- Microsoft DirectSound
- Microsoft DirectSound3D
- Sensaura A3D
- Sensaura EAX 1/2
- Sensaura MacroFX

The supported operating systems are:

- Windows 98SE
- Windows ME
- Windows 2000
- Windows XP

- y

Question 3:

The video and/or audio signal of Cyberlink PowerDVD is disturbed, what went wrong?

Answer 3:

Please make sure the DMA transfer option has been activated within the Windows Device-Manager for the hard-disk(s) and DVD player.

y

Question 4:

Is it possible to play and/or record analog and digital signals with different sample rates simultaneously?

Answer 4:

Yes, with the exception of ASIO or WDM kernel streaming applications.

y

Question 5:

Does the MIDI port need an extra interrupt?

Answer 5:

No, an additional interrupt is not required.

y

Question 6:

DMX 6fire 24/96: why do I have to install the TT-RIAA Plug-In for WaveLab Lite 2?

Answer 6:

A standard hi-fi amplifier with dedicated phono input will always make a RIAA equalisation. This option can be de-activated for the DMX 6fire 24/96 phono input. Anyway, mostly every vinyl record needs an equalisation according to the RIAA standard so this EQ can be added to the program WaveLab Lite 2 as a VST Plug-In. Please refer to the document "From Vinyl to CD in 5 Steps", which can be found on the product CD.

y

Question 7:

How 'clean' is the synchronisation by recording and playback in general?

Answer 7:

The synchronization of the channels is absolutely sample-synchronous.

y

Question 8:

Is it possible to add an XG-Wavetable module to the card?

Answer 8:

Yes, a hardware wave-table module can be connected within the DMX 6fire 24/96 front-module DX6F.

y

Question 9:

Can the card be cascaded with more DMX 6fire cards?

Answer 9:

A direct sync-connection is not present. Nevertheless, you can manage a synchronisation: refer to answer no.10.

y

Question 10:

Can the DMX 6fire be synchronized (hardware-side) with other cards, e.g. EWS64 digital /XL or EWS88 MT/D?

Answer 10:

Yes, if the concerning card has an optical digital-I/O. Other hardware synchronization options are not available.

y

Question 11:

How large is the control parameter for the Input signal on the DMX 6fire?

Answer 11:

Gain analog: 0 to + 18 dB analog
Attenuation: -45 dB to 0 dB digital
Mic Gain: 9mVolt to 500mVoltl
Headphone volume: 60mWatt max.

y

Question 12:

Can an internal CD audio output from a CD-ROM drive be connected to the DMX 6fire?

Answer 12:

Yes, the appropiate connector is located on the DMX 6fire board. Please refer to the manual for more information about how this input can be activated.

y

Question 13:

How many resources are used by the DMX 6fire after installation in my system?

Answer 13:

The DMX 6fire only requires one interrupt and a variety of memory blocks.

y

Question 14:

How good is the signal to noise ratio on the DMX 6fire?

Answer 14:

The signal-to-noise ratio (S/NR) for AD is 100 dB(A) and for DA 104 dB(A).

y

Question 15:

Can I use the GigaSampler/Studio at the same time that I use an audio sequencer program like Cubase VST or Emagic Logic?

Answer 15:

Yes. Since driver version Build 121. In addition now a special ASIO/GSIF multi-client mode is included which allows to use both applications at the same time with the DMX 6fire hardware.

y

Question 16:

Do the drivers work with the software CoolEditPro?

Answer 16:

Yes.

y

Question 17:

Does the DMX 6fire work together with Cubase VST from Steinberg?

Answer 17:

Yes. Especially by using the ASIO 2.0 driver very low latency time will be possible.

y

Question 18:

Are there any special points to consider by the installation of the DMX 6fire under Windows 2000 or XP?

Answer 18:

It is strongly recommended that you log on these systems as "Administrator". Otherwise it may be that speaker configuration can not be changed.

y

Question 19:

How much sensitivity do the analog In and Outputs have?

Answer 19:

24/96 analog in | 2,2 Vrms
24/96 analog out | 2,0 Vrms

y

Question 20:

The recorded Signal is distorted, what went wrong?

Answer 20:

In most cases you can solve this problem by changing the interrupt assigns for your hardware. Check in the "Device Manager" if there is another hardware component using the DMX 6fire interrupt (the DMX 6fire should have its own interrupt).
If you find such a problem, try to use either your BIOS to change the interrupt-slot combination or try to use the DMX 6fire in a different slot.
In addition, the DMA option of the HD-drive has to be activated within the device manager.

y

Question 21:

Which device driver has to be used for which application?

Answer 21:

WaveLab Lite -> DMX 6fire Wave

Arturia Storm -> DMX 6fire Wave

Emagic Logic (inkl.MicroLogic) -> DMX 6fire ASIO

Steinberg Cubase VST -> DMX 6fire ASIO

Cakewalk Sonar -> DMX 6fire Wave

Nemesys GigaSampler/Studio -> DMX 6fire GSIF

y

Question 22:

Can I connect the EWS64 extensions, e.g. the microWAVE PC, to the DMX 6fire?

Answer 22:

Yes, but since driver version Build 120. Please take into consideration that such an extension module can only work alternatively to the standard DMX 6fire 24/96 front-module.

y

Question 23:

Why can't I hear any Midi sounds?

Answer 23:

Because the DMX 6fire is a pure I/O-card for HD-recording and software synthesizers arenīt able to generate Midi sounds from its hardware
on its own. To play Midi sounds you'll need to use a virtual synthesizer (softsynth) or hook-up a Midi hardware device to the Midi-Out port.
In addition you can connect a hardware wavetable module to the card (within the front-module).

y

Question 24:

How good does the system work together with the sequencer program Sonar (TM)?

Answer 24:

Sonar uses a special WDM-kernel-streaming option to get a very good audio latency performance. WDM-kernel-streaming is fully supported by the DMX 6fire.
Please also read the document "Tips for Sonar" which can be found on the product CD.

y

Question 25:

Can I always leave Sensaura3D switched on?

Answer 25:

Only switch Sensaura3D on when you want to play with a certain game. For DVD 6 channel audio and AC3 digital you should switch Sensaura3D off. In addition, it has to be switched off when you want to use WDM-kernel-streaming e.g. with Sonar(TM).

y

Question 26

Why don't I hear any signal from the digital input or why is the signal distorted?

Answer 26:

This can happen if you switch the card's synchronisation to "External" but no external device has been connected. In this case please connect the external device, switch back to "Internal" and then back to "External"

y

Question 27

Can I use a standard IDE cable to connect the modules DX6F or MXR?

Answer 27:

NO, you have to use the special ribbon cable which is added to the product package. If you are going to use an IDE cable (as used for e.g. hard disks) you can damage the DMX 6fire hardware!

y

TerraTec Electronic GmbH
Herrenpfad 38
D-41334 Nettetal, Germany
tel: +49-2157-81790
fax: +49-2157-817922
hotline: +49-2157-817914
ftp://ftp.terratec.de
http://www.terratec.com