F. A. Q. - Frequently Asked Questions

Product | SoundSystem DMX XFire 1024
Status | 05.01.01
Version | 1.8
Questions and Answers | 19

Please ensure that you are using the latest driver versions. You can obtain the latest drivers from our BBS or from our webpage..

TerraTec ReActor BBS | Internet | TerraTec Electronic GmbH
+49 (2157) -817924 (analog) | http://www.terratec.net | Herrenpfad 38
+49 (2157) -817942 (ISDN) | ftp://ftp.terratec.de | D-41334 Nettetal Germany

The Questions in Overview ...

Question 1:
Do I have to move jumpers and change dip switch settings before I install the sound card?
Question 2:
I cannot change the IRQ of my DMX XFire 1024 in Device Manager.
Question 3:
There is no sound coming from the sound card.
Question 4:
How do I record from my hi-fi system?
Question 5:
Can I send the encoded AC-3 stream to a DVD via the digital output of an external decoder (e.g. Dolby Digital Receiver)?
Question 6:
Background noise is continuously coming over the speakers. What can I do?
Question 7:
Ever since I connected my sound card to my stereo system, I hear a constant hum.
Question 8:
Is the MIDI port on the sound card compatible with the Roland MPU-401 standard?
Question 9:
I can't get the MacroFX effect to work.
Question 10:
WAV files that are played with DMX XFire 1024 sound distorted.
Question 11:
A keyboard connected to the sound card does not react when I hit a key.
Question 12:
Where can I get new drivers and utilities for my sound card?
Question 13:
The force feedback of a ForceFeedback joystick connected to DMX XFire 1024 does not function.

Question 14:
The digital input cannot be synchronized to the digital output of the CD-ROM drive.

Question 15:
The DMX XFire 1024 Control Panel isn´t installed during the Driver Installation, What can I do to correct this?

Question 16:
Which sources can be regulated by the equalizer?

Question 17:
When I play games with A3D support I cannot activate the A3D function, what can I do?

Question 18:
When a signal is played from an Input (Aux, CD, and/or Line In), the sound isn´t heard from the Line Out 2. Changing the speaker settings has no effect either. When a wave (WAV) signal is played from the drive it can be heard from both Outputs. What can I do?

Question 19:
By various programs or games I encounter regular skips in the sound or graphic playback. What can I do to solve this?

Question 1:

Do I have to move jumpers and change dip switch settings before I install the sound card?

Answer 1:

To operate and install the card as such it is not necessary to move jumpers. But for reasons of flexibility there are two jumpers - the first jumper (JP1) enables the headphone amplifier at the first line output to be switched on/off, the second jumper (JP2) permits the signal level at the digital input to be changed over (TTL or S/PDIF). The card complies completely with the Intel/Microsoft specification. There are no jumpers or switches to be set for IRQs, DMA channels and addresses.

y

Question 2:

I cannot change the IRQ of my DMX XFire 1024 in Device Manager.

Answer 2:

PCI cards are configured automatically via the BIOS, Plug & Play or ACPI of the operating system. These mechanisms do not allow for the manual alteration of the IRQ via the Device Manager. If it were necessary to assign another IRQ to the card, it is possible to install the card into another PCI slot, possibly swapping the slots with another card. In addition, some BIOS versions offer the option of permanently assigning IRQs to individual PCI slots. In any event, get advice from the manual for your motherboard.

y

Question 3:

There is no

sound coming from the sound card.

Answer 3:

- If you are only using one pair of speakers, ensure that you have used the first Line output (Line-Out 1)

- Check the connections between sound card and loudspeakers.
- Are the active speakers or Hifi system turned on?
- Check the control settings of the DMX XFire 1024 mixer. Ensure in particular that none of the mute switches have been activated because this would turn off the sound output.

y

Question 4:

How do I record from my hi-fi system?

Answer 4:

- Connect the line-out socket on your hi-fi system to the line-in socket on the sound card.

- Use the Record Out socket or the Tape Play socket on the tape section of your hi-fi amplifier.

- Then you will have to specify LINE IN as the recording source in the DMX XFire 1024 mixer under “RECORD”.

- Then call up recording software, such as the supplied Wavelab Lite or the audio recorder in Windows 95/98.

y

Question 5:

Can I send the encoded AC-3 stream to a DVD via the digital output of an external decoder (e.g. Dolby Digital Receiver)?

Answer 5:

Yes, provided that you possess a corresponding Software-DVD decoder with which you can playback the DVD on your PC. The Ravisent Cinemaster 99 / 2000 and Cyberlink's PowerDVD Vers. 2.55 ( Windows 2000 requires PowerDVD Vers. 3.00 ) or higher support this DMX XFire 1024 function. Note that if you do not explicitly have the full version of a program of this kind, certain functions may be deactivated – if it came with your graphics card, for example. Look in the manual for the relevant software for the settings that have to be made. Connect the optical digital output of DMX XFire to the optical digital input of the decoder and activate the “Software DVD (AC-3)” in the DMX XFire 1024 mixer under “Digital I/O” for the digital output.

y

Question 6:

Background noise is continuously coming over the speakers, what can I do?

Answer 6:

When the sound card was being designed, value was placed on incorporating the best audio properties. Nevertheless, it is still possible that in certain computer configurations inserting graphics and video cards, hard drive controllers or even power supply units can have an effect on the audio signal. Generally, the built-in amplifier is very sensitive to this. Use active speakers or your hi-fi system on the line output. When installing the sound card in your computer, try to place it as far away as possible from the sources of interference mentioned above. Switch the microphone input to mute when not in use.

y

Question 7:

Ever since I connected my sound card to my stereo system, I can hear a constant hum.

Answer 7:

The hum (50 Hz) comes from the 220 V power supply. It is caused by a ground loop. This loop is created when two devices are grounded by a ground wire or other wire (e.g. antenna cable), and are also connected to an audio cable. The humming will disappear if the direct conducting connection is removed – either with a sheath current filter that is connected into the antenna line (in specialty stores, approx. US$ 10), or with an audio transmitter that eliminates the direct coupling of the audio output (PC) and the input (HiFi amplifier) (e.g. Conrad, Order No. 31 14 05 and in car HiFi stores). If you remove the antenna cable from the receiver/tuner and the hum disappears, then the sheath current filter will help. If the hum is audible even without the antenna cable, the cause of the problem is a doubled ground on the mains plugs and can be resolved using an isolating transformer.

y

Question 8:

Is the MIDI port on the sound card compatible with the Roland MPU-401 standard?

Answer 8:

The sound card supports both the Sound Blaster MIDI mode as well as the MPU-401 UART mode (not the SMART mode, this does not affect performance since most programs support MPU-401 UART mode). Programs which are set up for MPU-401 mode directly support your sound card when a wavetable is being used.

y

Question 9:

I can't get the MacroFX effect to work.

Answer 9:

Check the settings in the DMX XFire 1024 mixer. MacroFX operates with a volume increase. If you have set the controller to maximum, the card cannot increase the volume further and the effect is barely perceivable.

y

Question 10:

WAV files that are played with DMX XFire 1024 sound distorted.

Answer 10:

Check the setting of the WAVE controller in the DMX XFire 1024 mixer. If this controller is at the upper stop, this may cause the signal to be distorted. A recording level of 0dB for WAV playback is obtained if the controller is set to approx. 70%.

y

Question 11:

A keyboard connected to the sound card does not react when I hit a key.

Answer 11:

- First, make sure that the driver for communicating with the keyboard has been installed. The driver for this card is called 'DMX XFire 1024 External MIDI' and should be found in the Control Panel in System under Device Manager. If it is not there, reinstall the current Windows 95/98 drivers.
- If the driver is installed, it must be selected as the MIDI input device in the respective sequencer software. Please see your sequencer manual for details on this. Most sequencer programs have a menu item labeled “Setup/MIDI Devices”, where you can select MIDI input and MIDI output devices.
- If both these conditions are satisfied and the problem persists, in other words the software does not react when you hit a key or no sound is audible, the MIDI connecting cable is almost certainly the cause of the trouble. Experience has shown that there's an enormous number of different MIDI connector cables which unfortunately are all identical in appearance. These cables should contain a so-called optocoupler suitable for the sound card's levels. As it's not possible to check this from the outside, always use the sound card manufacturer's MIDI cable. As a result of this problem, our product range includes such a cable which you can obtain from your equipment retailer.

y

Question 12:

Where can I get new drivers and utilities for my sound card?

Answer 12:

You can always obtain current drivers and software versions from the ReActor BBS at +49 2157-817924 (analog) and +49 2157-817942 (ISDN). You also have access to them through our Internet sites (http://www.terratec.net). Here, you can obtain current information about our products and hot new tools for your sound card.

y

Question 13:

The force feedback of a ForceFeedback joystick connected the DMX XFire 1024 does not function.

Answer 13:

The MIDI lines for ForceFeedback transmission are usually used for another purpose. Ensure that the DMX XFire 1024 Game Device interface is given its own IRQ and always use the most up-to-date software for your ForceFeedback joystick.

y

Question 14:

The digital input cannot be synchronized to the digital output of the CD-ROM drive.

Answer 14:

- First ensure that you have properly connected the supplied cable to the CD-ROM drive.
- The digital output on the CD-ROM drive only outputs pure audio information, therefore it is essential that there is an audio CD in the drive and not an MP3 collection that you have burned yourself, for example.
- As standard, the DMX XFire 1024 digital input is set to TTL signal level via the jumper (JP2), which usually corresponds to the level of most CD-ROM drives. However, there are exceptions which mean that changing the jumper JP2 to S/PDIF level will result in success in these cases.
- If the Problem persists, ensure that the digital output of the CD-ROM drive is in fact supplying a signal.

y

Question 15:

The DMX XFire 1024 Control Panel isn´t installed during the Driver Installation, What can I do to correct this?

Answer 15:

If the Windows Control Panel is open during the installation then the DMX XFire 1024 Control Panel may not be installed. It is generally recommended to close all applications during the driver installation. You can, however, install the DMX XFire 1024 Control Panel aftwerwards. Copy the following files into the given paths.

File name | Path
mfc42.dll | c:Windows
XFire.cpl | c:Windows\System
XFireRes.dll | c:Windows\System

These files can be found on the driver CD. Of course the Windows Control Panel should be closed first.

y

Question 16:

Which sources can be regulated by the equalizer?

Answer 16:

Only digital sources can be regulated by the equalizer. These are MIDI, WAVE and DIG IN.

y

Question 17:

When I play games with A3D support I cannot activate the A3D function, what can I do?

Answer 17:

This problem will be fixed with the driver version 5.12.01.3041.

y

Question 18:

When a signal is played from an Input (Aux, CD, and/or Line In), the sound isn´t heard from the Line Out 2. Changing the speaker settings has no effect either. When a wave (WAV) signal is played from the drive it can be heard from both Outputs. What can I do?

Answer 18:

The problem is only with the VXD drivers. Use the WDM drivers if possible, they can be used on WIN98SE, WIN ME, and WIN 2000. The WDM drivers can send the signal to both Outputs.

y

Question 19:

By various programs or games I encounter regular skips in the sound or graphic playback. What can I do to solve this?

Answer 19:

It is generally recommended to disable all features that are not being used.

For example:

HW and SW voices under the MIDI options
The digital input in the Digital options
The equalizer in the EQ options

y

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