F. A. Q. - Frequently Asked Questions

Product EWX 24/96
Status 14. February 2002
Version 1.4
Questions and Answers 25

Please ensure that you are using the latest driver versions. You can obtain these from our webpage 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:
What should I pay attention to when I install the WDM driver in Windows2000 if I already have installed the NT4 based drivers before?

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:
How is the EWX 24/96 MIDI port to be used?

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 EWX 24/96 cards?

Question 10:
Can the EWX 24/96 be synchronized (hardware-side) with other cards, e.g. EWS64 digital /XL or EWS88 D?

Question 11:
How large is the control parameter for the Input signal on the EWX 2496?

Question 12:
Can an internal CD audio output from a CD-ROM drive be connected to the EWX 24/96?

Question 13:
How many resources are used by the EWX 24/96 after installation in my system?

Question 14:
How good is the signal to noise ratio on the EWX 24/96?

Question 15:
Can I use GigaSampler LE 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 EWX 24/96 work together with Cubase VST from Steinberg?

Question 18:
Under Windows NT I can’t stop or delete the EWX 24/96 driver. What can I do?

Question 19:
How much sensitivity do the analog In and Outputs have?

Question 20:
The recorded Signal is distorted, what went wrong?

Question 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 EWX 24/96?

Question 23:
Why can't I hear any Midi sounds?

Question 24:
Which operating systems are supported by the WDM driver?

Question 25:
How well does the program Sonar from Cakewalk (Twelve Tone Systems) work with the EWX 24/96?

 

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:

The required data transfer rate can be calculated as follows:

((((Number of tracks * resolution in bits * 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 EWX 24/96, we recommend the following hard-drive controllers in descending order:

Please note that additional PCI cards affect the performance of the PCI bus and thus the operation of the EWX 24/96. 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 EWX 24/96 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 is supplied with the following drivers:

y

Question 3:

What should I pay attention to when I install the WDM driver in Windows2000 if I already have installed the NT4 based drivers before?

Answer 3:

The WDM driver can be installed over the NT4 based driver and used, but it is recommended that you first remove all fragments of the NT4 driver from your system. Here's how: go to the folder WINNT\INF and search for files beginning with "OEM" (you may have to choose "Show all files" in the menu "Extras\Folder options\View\ ") open the first file with name OEM*.inf and check if the following header appears in the document:
;===================================
; TerraTec EWS Connect Series
; Windows 2000 Driver Installation Script
;---------------------------------------------------------------
Search through all OEM*.Inf files until you find the one with this header. Delete this OEM_XX.Inf file and the accompanying OEM_XX.pnf file. By using the search function of the Windows explorer search the file "ICE1712K.sys" and delete this file as well. This method guarantees that Windows2000 doesn't try to re-install the old NT4 based driver in case you should need to re-install the drivers at some time, which would otherwise leaded to a system crash.


y

Question 4:

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

Answer 4:

The EWS hardware always syncs itself to one sample frequency so that only one frequency is playable at a time. However, DirectSound applications use an integrated sample rate converter from Direct X. When using the WDM driver it is now possible to use this sample rate conversion even for MME applications. This allows the playback with differing sample rates at the same time.


y

Question 5:

Does the MIDI port need an extra interrupt?

Answer 5:

No, an additional interrupt is not required.


y

Question 6:

How is the EWX 24/96 MIDI port to be used?

Answer 6:

Additionally, you will need a standard MIDI adapter cable, like the TerraTec MIDI-Master-Kit.


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:

No, this card is designed strictly as a recording/playback solution and does not contain audio generation components of its own, nor can it be upgraded with a wavetable.


y

Question 9:

Can the card be cascaded with more EWX 24/96 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 EWX 24/96 be synchronized (hardware-side) with other cards, e.g. EWS64 digital /XL or EWS88 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 EWX 2496?

Answer 11:

Gain: 0 to + 18 dB analog
Attenuation: -45 dB to 0 dB digital


y

Question 12:

Can an internal CD audio output from a CD-ROM drive be connected to the EWX 24/96?

Answer 12:

Yes, the concerning connector (J9) is located on the EWX 24/96 board. Please refer to the manual how this input can be activated.


y

Question 13:

How many resources are used by the EWX 24/96 after installation in my system?

Answer 13:

The EWX 24/96 only requires one interrupt and a variety of memory blocks.


y

Question 14:

How good is the signal to noise ratio on the EWX 24/96?

Answer 14:

The signal-to-noise ratio (S/NR) for AD is 100 dB(A) and for DA 109 dB(A).


y

Question 15:

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

Answer 15:

The VxD driver for Windows 9x/ME (driver version 4.02.25 Build 112, or higher) has a "GSIF/ASIO multi-client" mode. In addition this mode is available with WDM drivers since driver version Build 121. With this mode active, both programs are allowed to access the hardware at the same time. Depending on the PC power real-time re-sampling of the GigaSampler in ASIO applications is possible..


y

Question 16:

Do the drivers work with the software CoolEditPro?

Answer 16:

Yes.


y

Question 17:

Does the EWX 24/96 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:

Under Windows NT I can’t stop or delete the EWX 24/96 driver.What can I do?

Answer 18:

Before disabling or removing the drivers under Windows NT, click "Settings" in the Multimedia Panel for any EWX 24/96 device.
The driver can then be removed or disabled.
Please be sure to close the ControlPanel when disabling, removing or updating drivers, otherwise the drivers themselves will not be closed.


y

Question 19:

How much sensitivity do the analog In and Outputs have?

Answer 19:

 

24/96 analog in +4 dBu 1.94 Vrms
  - 10 dBV 0.50 Vrms
24/96 analog out +4 dBu 2,02 Vrms
  - 10 dBV 0.54 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 EWX 24/96 interrupt (the EWX 24/96 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 EWX 24/96 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:

GigaSampler LE -> EWX 2496 GSIF

FruityLoops Express -> EWX 2496 DirectSound Analog Out

WaveLab Lite -> EWX 2496 WavePlay

Arturia Storm -> EWX 2496 DirectSound Analog Out

Emagic Logic (inkl.MicroLogic) -> EWX 2496 ASIO

Steinberg Cubase VST -> EWX 2496 ASIO

Cakewalk Sonar -> WDM


y

Question 22:

Can I connect the EWS64 extensions, e.g. the microWAVE PC, to the EWX 24/96?

Answer 22:

No.


y

Question 23:

Why can't I hear any Midi sounds?

Answer 23:

Because the EWX is a pure I/O-card for HD-recording and virtual 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.


y

Question 24:

Which operating systems are supported by the WDM driver?

Answer 24:

Generally WDM drivers can be used with Win98 SE, Win ME, Win2000 and in XP as well. The WDM driver, when used in Win98 SE, except for the integrated sample rate conversion for MME audio streams (see question no. 4), is seen rather as a limitation compared to the VxD drivers. For Win2000 and XP the WDM driver is the best choice.


y

 

Question 25:

How well does the program Sonar from Cakewalk (Twelve Tone Systems) work with the EWX 24/96?

Answer 32:

Sonar uses the "WDM-kernel-streaming" technology to deliver an optimal latency. The hardware only needs to support the standard WDM architecture, a special driver like ASIO or GSIF is not necessary. Naturally the hardware manufacturer can optimize the performance. The EWX 24/96 WDM driver has been optimized for using Sonar so that a latency of down to 2 msec can be realized.


y

 

 


TerraTec Electronic GmbH
Herrenpfad 38
D-41334 Nettetal, Germany

tel: +49-2157-81790
fax: +49-2157-817922
hotline: +49-2157-817914

ftp: ftp://ftp.terratec.de
web: http://www.terratec.com