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soundscape mixpander
DSP-Powered PCI Audio Card
for PC based Audio Workstations
Installation &
QuickStart Guide
Version 4.3
English Version
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Soundscape Mixpander Table of Contents Welcome to the SSL Soundscape Mixpander ............................................................................ 4 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 5 How to use the manuals ............................................................................................................................................. 5 Reading conventions .
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Soundscape Mixpander Using the WDM/KS drivers ..................................................................................................................................... 33 Using the Multimedia (MME) drivers.................................................................................................................... 34 Using the SSL Soundscape ASIO-2 driver ............................................................................................................. 35
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Soundscape Mixpander Welcome to the SSL Soundscape Mixpander Congratulations for your purchase of an SSL Soundscape Mixpander PCI audio card. This user guide describes the use of the SSL Soundscape Mixpander DSP-powered audio card in conjunction with the XLogic Alpha-Link Converter series. For more information on using the SSL Soundscape Mixpander as a DSP expansion card with the Soundscape 32 DAW, please refer directly to the Soundscape Editor manual. Please be assured tha
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Soundscape Mixpander 1. Introduction How to use the manuals The SSL Soundscape product range has been designed from the ground up to be easy to use. If you are familiar with the Windows environment, installing PCI cards and the basics of recording and playing back digital audio, you could probably just set the system up and feel comfortable running a session within an hour. However, the SSL Soundscape Mixer offers a wealth of powerful and helpful features that you will only d
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Soundscape Mixpander configuration is different, because you are using a different version of Windows, because you are using different Windows settings, or because the look of the SSL Soundscape Mixer can vary (e.g., the Toolbar can be moved around the main window). The screenshots themselves were not always made using the SSL Soundscape Mixer’s default settings. Disclaimer These manuals have been written with great care and attention to detail, and we have attempted to cover
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Soundscape Mixpander Software drivers The SSL Soundscape Mixpander comes with Low-latency MME drivers, WDM drivers, ASIO-2 drivers, DWave drivers and GSIF drivers for Windows 2000 and XP. It can be used with any PC based MIDI+Audio sequencer, recording and editing software or other audio applications. All SSL Soundscape native systems are truly multiclient. This means that you can share your SSL Soundscape audio hardware between several different applications. You could for ins
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Soundscape Mixpander When using a native MIDI+Audio sequencer in parallel with the SSL Soundscape Mixer, you can use VST and/or DirectX (depending on your choice of sequencer) and DSP-powered effects at the same time. In situations where the computer runs out of power, when the audio quality suffers or the MIDI timing becomes so poor that you cannot work with it, the SSL Soundscape hardware can take some of the work off the computer, allowing it to perform at its best and giving y
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Soundscape Mixpander 2. Technical Specifications SSL Soundscape Mixpander SSL Soundscape Mixpander/9 • Motorola 56301 80MHz DSP for Bus Master PCI interfacing and up to 36 channel full duplex 24-bit audio streaming via 36 buses. The Multi-client SLL (Super Low Latency) drivers are fully Bus Mastering for minimal load on the host PC. • 8 x Motorola 56362 100MHz DSP, 6 with 384kB and 2 with 1.5MB of fast SRAM. The total processing capability is up to 2.6 GIPS (Giga Instruc
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Soundscape Mixpander 3. Installation In order to run the SSL Soundscape Mixer software you need: - The drivers, SSL Soundscape Mixer software, and any plug-ins you own a password for. Please always use the latest software, downloadable from our website. - One or more SSL Soundscape Mixpander cards. Minimum system requirements The minimum specifications for running the SSL Soundscape Mixer software are as follows: • A PC running Windows 2000 or Windows XP. • One free
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Soundscape Mixpander This makes the Soundscape platform more efficient than others, since the "native" PCI Burst Speed can be used for an Interrupt (PCI Latency Timer set to 64), whereas other cards may use different values like for instance 255, making them more tolerant but also making it difficult for other devices to get CPU attention. Generally speaking, if you are specifying a PC for Soundscape, we recommend NForce chipsets for AMD processors and Intel chipsets for Intel p
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Soundscape Mixpander Common symptoms of unsuccessful IRQ sharing may include any of the following: - Low latency values are not possible without clicks in the audio. - Communication error messages from the Soundscape driver/application. - PC crashes or freezes. - CPU Load Spikes - Bad system performance with e.g. slow graphics or slow response, even with a low system load. Hardware and software installation overview For an easy installation please follow these ste
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Soundscape Mixpander Installing the SSL Soundscape Mixpander NOTE: The guidelines below are general and apply in most cases. However, since all PCs are different, it is advisable to check your computer’s instruction manual for specific information. For example, for some PCs, the front panel needs to be removed first in order the access the cover mounting screws. NOTE: If possible, use an anti‐static wristband when installing the SSL Soundscape Mixpander. If not, touch the co
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Soundscape Mixpander Connecting the SSL Soundscape Mixpander to the XLogic Alpha-Link The SSL Soundscape Mixpander features a single Expansion Bus connector (or “expansion port”): Expansion Bus connector Use the supplied Expansion Bus cable to connect the SSL Soundscape Mixpander’s Expansion Bus port to the XLogic Alpha-Link’s Expansion Bus port: Page 14 of 59
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Soundscape Mixpander Installing the SSL Soundscape Device Drivers The driver installation procedure is similar under Windows 2000 and Windows XP Windows needs to find the “Ssdev.inf” file which is part of the Soundscape Device Driver installation files. For the WDM/KS driver, the file is named “Sswdm.inf”. Installing hardware drivers is in itself a Windows procedure and is described in the Windows documentation. The installation procedure under Windows XP is described here
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Soundscape Mixpander Installing the SSL Soundscape Device Drivers under Windows XP The SSL Soundscape Mixpander card is “Plug and play”, and is automatically detected by Windows when the computer is started after installing the card in a PCI slot. Then a dialog box is displayed which lets you choose between an automatic or a manual installation procedure. Select “No, not this time” and click “Next”: Page 16 o
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Soundscape Mixpander Windows will then invite you to insert the installation CD for your hardware. Insert the SSL Soundscape Mixpander Installation CD. Windows will normally detect it automatically and find the driver files (otherwise you will just need to click “Next” for the installation to start): Page 17 of 59
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Soundscape Mixpander Further windows will be displayed while Windows copies the driver files. Depending on the specificities of your system, this could take a few seconds or a few minutes. Page 18 of 59
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Soundscape Mixpander Eventually, the dialog box below confirms that the installation has been completed. Clicking “Finish” closes the Wizard: Device Manager After a successful installation, the SSL Soundscape Mixpander appears in the “SSL Soundscape Devices” category in the Windows Device Manager: Page 19 of 59
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Soundscape Mixpander Preparing Windows Plug and Play If you prefer, you can also prepare the Windows Plug and Play system to recognize your SSL Soundscape Hardware automatically. In order to do this, before physically installing the hardware, run the SSL Soundscape Driver Setup program (DrvSetup.exe) located in the “DRIVER” folder of the SSL Soundscape Mixpander installation CD (or in the Ssdrvxxxx folder, where xxxx is the driver version number, if you have downloaded the dri
