F. A. Q. - Frequently Asked Questions

Product

PHASE 22

Status

01.10.2006

Version

1.2

Questions and Answers

18

Please make sure that you are using the latest driver version.

You can find them on our web pages or you can obtain them from the Terratec Support Department by sending an envelope stamped with €1.44 in postage.

Internet

TerraTec Electronic GmbH

http://www.terratec.com

Herrenpfad 38

ftp://ftp.terratec.de

D-41334 Nettetal

Overview of questions...

Question 1:
What operating systems are supported?

Question 2:
What resources does the PHASE 22 audio system use after installation in my system?

Question 3:
Does the MIDI Interface require its own IRQ?

Question 4:
Can the board be fitted with a Wavetable?

Question 5:
How much can the input regulation of the PHASE 22 audio system be regulated?

Question 6:
What products can be cascaded or synchronized with the PHASE 22 audio system?

Question 7:
What is the signal-noise ratio of the PHASE 22 system?

Question 8:
What is the max. level of the analog inputs and outputs?

Question 9:
Does the PHASE 22 system support Suspend to “Disk“ or “Standby“?

Question 10:
Why is the circuit board red?

Question 11:
What programs can the PHASE 22 audio system be used with?

Question 12:

What computer configuration is recommended and how high must the through-rate of the hard disks be to make full use if the board?

 

Question 13:

Is it possible to replay different channels simultaneously with different sampling frequencies?

Question 14:
Can an internal CD audio output from a CD-ROM drive be connected?

Question 15:
How does DirectMonitoring work in connection with an ASIO 2.0 audio sequencer in the PHASE 22 audio system?

Question 16:
Can I run the PHASE 22 audio system for an ASIO application and GigaStudio (GSIF) simultaneously?

Question 17:
The recorded audio signal crackles.

Question 18:
I have cascaded several PHASE systems and find that not all audio devices (WavPlay, WaveRec,...) are listed when using the WDM driver.

 

 

Question 1:

What operating systems are supported?

Answer 1:

·         Windows 2000

·         Windows XP

·         MAC OSX


y

Question 2:

What resources does the PHASE 22 audio system use after installation in my system?

Answer 2:

The PHASE 22 system requires an IRQ and various memory ranges. Please read the section "About IRQs and other interrupts“ in the manual.


y

Question 3:

Does the MIDI Interface require its own IRQ?

Answer 3:

No, the MIDI interface does not require a separate IRQ.


y

Question 4:

Can the board be fitted with a Wavetable?

Answer 4:

No, this is not possible.


y

Question 5:

How much can the input regulation of the PHASE 22 audio system be regulated?

Answer 5:

Gain: 0 to +18 dB analog


y

Question 6:

What products can be cascaded or synchronized with the PHASE 22 audio system?

Answer 6:

The PHASE 22 system can be synchronized with the following products over the EWS Connect terminal:

 

·         PHASE 22

·         PHASE 28

 

and the audio system can also be operated in parallel with other sound cards in a PC or Mac without any problems (cascading). However, note that internal synchronization is not possible.

     y

Question 7:

What is the signal-noise ratio of the PHASE 22 system?

Answer 7:

24 bit/96 kHz A/D converter with 100 dB (A) SNR*

24 bit/96 kHz D/A converter with 110 dB (A) SNR*

 

*)   This information depends on the specifications of the converters used


y

Question 8:

What is the max. level of the analog inputs and outputs?

Answer 8:

2.1Vrms @ 1kHz


     y

Question 9:

Does the PHASE 22 system support Suspend to “Disk“ or “Standby“?

Answer 9:

Yes, all modern system states are spported.


y

Question 10:

Why is the circuit board red?

Answer 10:

Red is the color for life force, energy, action, love and hate, rage, happiness and anger. Red increases blood circulation and is used for all circulatory disorders. It is used in color therapy where life force must be strengthened or renewed; it tends to increase the flow in blood vessels to allow blocked life energy to flow harmoniously. Red encourages speech, makes people excited, cheerful, ambitious and passionate. Our PHASE 22 also has these characteristics. That is why it is red.


y

Question 11:

What programs can the PHASE 22 audio system be used with?

Answer 11:

The PHASE 22 audio system is basically compatible with all standard programs. The comprehensive driver support, such as ASIO 2.0, GSIF, WDM, MME and DirectSound, covers virtually all standards. The PHASE 22 audio system has been tested with the following programs:

 

·         Steinberg Cubase SX 1.x

·         Steinberg Cubase VST 5.x

·         Emagic Logic 5.x/6.x

·         Ableton Live

·         Steinberg Wavelab 4.x

·         Cool Edit Pro 2.x

·         Nemesis Giga Sampler/Giga Studio

·         Cakewalk Sonar 2.x

·         Magix Samplitude 7.x

·         Magix Sequoia

 

And of course with the standard little helpers like Winamp, Windows Media Player, Intervideo WinDVD, Cyber Link PowerDVD, etc.


y

Question 12:

What computer configuration is recommended and how high must the through-rate of the hard disks be to make full use if the board?

Answer 12:

System requirements PC:

 

System recommendation PC:

 

System requirements MAC:

 

System recommendation MAC:

 

 

The average required data throughput is calculated as follows:

 

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

 

Therefore, 8 tracks (full system equipment) at 32 Bit / 96 kHz yields a data throughput of 3 MB/s, which the hard disk and the controller must manage. Fast UDMA hard disks will have no problems.

For explanation with 32 bits in the formula (instead of 24 bits): All drivers of the board can transfer 24-bit audio data as 32-bit data to the recording software. This feature greatly reduces the load on the main processor, because unlike the conventional "packed byte" process only 24-bit data are sent in "stacked" form through the 32-bit wide bus.

When selecting components for a hard disk recording system with the PHASE 22 Audio Interface following hard disk controllers are recommended in descending order:

·         UDMA IDE

·         SCSI (as PCI controller)

·         IDE

In general, note that other PCI boards can influence the performance of the PCI bus and therefore the operation of the PHASE 22 system. The influence is of course greater at 24 Bit / 96 kHz that at lower settings.


y

Question 13:

Is it possible to replay different channels simultaneously with different sampling frequencies?

Answer 13:

The PHASE 22 hardware is basically always synchronized with the same sampling frequency, so playback is only ever possible at one frequency. However, DirectSound applications use the integrated DirectX sampling rate conversion. Now, when using the WDM driver, sampling rates can also be converted for MME applications. This allows playback with different sampling frequencies.


y

Question 14:

Can an internal CD audio output from a CD-ROM drive be connected?

Answer 14:

No, this is not possible.


y

Question 15:

How does DirectMonitoring work in connection with an ASIO 2.0 audio sequencer in the PHASE 22 audio system?

Answer 15:

ASIO 2.0 allows direct "monitoring" over suitable audio hardware like the PHASE 22 system. If this function is enabled inside the audio application (e.g. Emagic Logic: Disabling the "Soft monitoring" option, in Cubase VST: Enable the "DirectMonitoring" option in the system settings), the corresponding channel of the PHASE 22 ControlPanel is "demuted" as soon as recording is enabled. Volume and panorama settings are also continuously sent from the sequencer mixer to the PHASE 22 audio system. The playback path (not the recording path) no longer runs over the sequencer. Instead the incoming input signals are sent to the output 1/2 and/or S/PDIF. Because the signals are sent directly to the PHASE 22 hardware, absolutely latency-free monitoring is possible.


y

Question 16:

Can I run the PHASE 22 audio system for an ASIO application and GigaStudio (GSIF) simultaneously?

Answer 16:

Because there are only 2 channels on the PHASE 22 system it is not possible to run the ASIO and GSIF driver simultaneously with only one PHASE 22 system. But if you own another PHASE 22 or 28 system you can choose in the ASIO Control Panel the cards which will be used by the ASIO driver. The card which will not be used is then available for the GSIF driver.

 

y

Question 17:

The recorded audio signal crackles.

Answer 17:

In most cases this problem is the result of the assignment of the interrupts (IRQ). For more information and suggestions for solutions see the manual in "On IRQs and other interrupts“.

If the problem is not the result of a resource conflict, increase the buffer sizes in the ASIO ControlPanel or in the host applications (Wavelab, Cool Edit Pro, etc.).

 

.
     y

Question 18:

I have cascaded several PHASE systems and find that not all audio devices (WavPlay, WaveRec,...) are listed when using the WDM driver.

Answer 18:

Unfortunately the Windows WDM driver concept for audio still has some problems. Among other difficulties there is a basic restriction of the maximum possible device classes. For example, a maximum of only 10 audio input devices, 10 audio output devices, etc. is possible and only the first 10 devices are displayed. This restriction is less of an issue for Windows XP, because the maximum number of device classes has been increased to 32. Fortunately this restriction does not influence the operation of ASIO or "WDM kernel streaming" applications. In this case all inputs and outputs of cascaded systems can be used simultaneously.


y


TerraTec Electronic GmbH
Herrenpfad 38
D-41334 Nettetal

tel: +49-2157-81790
fax: +49-2157-817922
hotline: +49-2157-817914
ftp: ftp://ftp.terratec.de
web: http://www.terratec.com