User's Guide Fireface 400 Portable FireWire® at its best! FireWire 400 Digital I/O System 8 + 8 + 2 Channels Analog / ADAT
10 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME 6. Hardware and Driver Installation 6.1 Hardware and Driver Installation To simplify installation it is
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME11 7. Configuring the Fireface 7.1 Settings dialog - General Configuration of the Fireface 400 is done via its
12 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME Enable MMCSS for ASIO activates support with higher priority for the ASIO driver. Note: At this time, act
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME13 Clock Mode Sample Rate Sets the currently used sample rate. Offers a central and comfortable way of configuri
14 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME 7.2 Settings Dialog – Analog Level Line In Defines the reference level of the rear analog inputs 5-8. Th
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME15 7.3 Settings dialog - Pitch Usually soundcards and audio interfaces generate their internal clock (master mo
16 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME 7.4 Settings Dialog - LTC The Fireface 400 can extract position information as APP (ASIO Positioning Pro
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME17 Under WDM the Fireface will (has to) set the sample rate. Therefore the error shown to the right can occur. A
18 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME 8. Operation and Usage 8.1 Playback In the audio application being used, Fireface must be selected as o
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME19 8.2 DVD-Playback (AC-3/DTS) When using popular DVD software players like WinDVD and PowerDVD, their audio da
2 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME General 1 Introduction ...6 2 Package Cont
20 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME 8.3 Notes on WDM The driver offers one WDM streaming device per stereo pair, like ADAT 1+2 (Fireface 400
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME21 8.4 Channel Count under WDM The Fireface’s ADAT optical interface offers sample rates of up to 96 kHz using
22 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME 8.6 Digital Recording Unlike analog soundcards which produce empty wave files (or noise) when no input
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME23 9. Operation under ASIO 9.1 General Start the ASIO software and select ASIO Fireface as the audio I/O devic
24 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME 9.3 Known Problems If a computer does not provide sufficient CPU-power and/or sufficient FireWire transf
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME25 • The driver has no control on the numbering of the WDM devices. Therefore it might happen that the WDM devi
26 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME 12. Hotline – Troubleshooting The newest information can always be found on our website www.rme-audio.co
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME27 User's Guide Fireface 400 Mac OS X – Installation and Operatio
28 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME 13. Hardware Installation • Connect computer and Fireface using the supplied 6-pin FireWire cable (IEEE
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME29 14.3 Firmware Update The Flash Update Tool updates the firmware of the Fireface 400 to the latest version. I
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME3 17 Using more than one Fireface ...35 18 DIGICheck Mac...
30 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME 15. Configuring the Fireface 15.1 Settings Dialog - General Configuring the Fireface 400 is done via it
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME31 Analog Inputs 1 Mic, 2 Mic Gain setting for the microphone preamps of input 1 and 2. The current gain is dis
32 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME Word Clock Out The word clock output signal usually equals the current sample rate. Selecting Single Spee
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME33 15.2 Clock Modes - Synchronization In the digital world, all devices must be either Master (clock source) or
34 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME 16. Mac OS X FAQ 16.1 MIDI doesn't work In some cases MIDI does not work after the installation of
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME35 16.5 FireWire Compatibility RME's Fireface 400 should be fully compatible to any FireWire port found on
36 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME 18. DIGICheck Mac The DIGICheck software is a unique utility developed for testing, measuring and analys
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME37 19. Hotline – Troubleshooting The newest information can always be found on our website www.rme-audio.com, s
38 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME39 User's Guide Fireface 400 Stand-Alone Operation, Connections
4 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME 27 TotalMix Super-Features 27.1 ASIO Direct Monitoring (Windows only) ...72 27.2 Copy a Sub
40 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME 20. Stand-alone Operation The Fireface 400 has an internal memory to permanently store all configuration
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME41 L.1 bis L.6, PH, SP, A.1 bis A.8 The output levels of these outputs can be defined in the range +6 dB down to
42 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME 21. Analog Inputs 21.1 Line Rear The Fireface has balanced line inputs as 1/4" TRS jacks on the ba
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME43 21.3 Instrument / Line Front The instrument inputs 3/4 of the Fireface 400 are exceptionally flexible. Sever
44 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME 22. Analog Outputs 22.1 Line The eight short circuit protected, low impedance line outputs are availabl
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME45 23. Digital Connections 23.1 ADAT The ADAT optical input of the Fireface 400 is fully compatible with all A
46 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME The Fireface’s new output header is optimized for largest compatibility with other digital devices: • 3
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME47 24. Word Clock 24.1 Word Clock Input and Output SteadyClock guarantees an excellent performance in all cloc
48 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME 24.2 Technical Description and Usage In the analog domain one can connect any device to another device,
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME49 24.3 Cabling and Termination Word clock signals are usually distributed in the form of a network, split with
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME5 User's Guide Fireface 400 General
50 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME51 User's Guide Fireface 400 TotalMix FX
52 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME 25. TotalMix: Routing and Monitoring 25.1 Overview The Fireface 400 includes a powerful digital real-ti
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME53
54 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME 25.2 The User Interface The visual design of the TotalMix mixer is a result of its capability to route h
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME55 25.3 The Channels A single channel can be switched between mono and stereo mode. The mode is set in the chan
56 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME The lowest field shows the current routing target. A mouse click opens the routing window to select a rou
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME57 A click on the tool symbol opens the channel’s Settings panel. Stereo. Switches the channel to mono or stere
58 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME 25.4 Section Control Room In the section Control Room the menu Assign is used to define the Main Out wh
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME59 25.5 The Control Strip The Control Strip on the right side is a fixed element. It combines different functio
6 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME 1. Introduction Thank you for choosing the Fireface 400. This unique audio system is capable of transferr
60 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME 25.5.1 View Options View Options - Show. This area combines different functions of routing, the level
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME61 25.5.2 Snapshots - Groups Snapshots. Snapshots include all mixer settings, but no graphical elements like w
62 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME Hidden channels in Mixer/Matrix are still fully functional. An existing routing/mixing/FX process-ing sta
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME63 The button Sub activates another useful special view. When in Submix view, Sub will cause all channels to dis
64 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME 25.6 Preferences The dialog Preferences can be opened via the Options menu or directly via F2. Level Me
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME65 25.6.1 Store for Current or All Users (Windows) TotalMix FX stores all settings, workspaces and snapshots fo
66 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME 25.7.2 MIDI Page The MIDI page has four independent settings for up to four MIDI remote controls, using
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME67 25.7.3 OSC Page The OSC page has four independent settings for up to four MIDI remote controls via Open Soun
68 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME 25.7.4 Aux Devices The RME OctaMic XTC is a highly flexible hi-quality 8-channel microphone, line and in
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME69 25.8 Hotkeys and Usage TotalMix FX has many hotkeys and mouse/hotkey combinations to speed up and simplify t
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME7 5. First Usage – Quick Start 5.1 Connectors and Front Panel The front of the Fireface 400 features instrumen
70 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME 25.9 Menu Options Deactivate Screensaver: When active (checked) any activated Windows screensaver will b
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME71 26. The Matrix 26.1 Overview The mixer window of TotalMix looks and operates similar to mixing desks, as it
72 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME The Matrix not always replaces the mixer view, but it significantly enhances the routing capabili-ties an
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME73 27.5 Recording a Subgroup (Loopback) TotalMix includes an internal loopback function, from the Hardware Outp
74 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME Mixing several input signals into one record channel In some cases it is useful to record several sources
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME75 28. MIDI Remote Control 28.1 Overview TotalMix can be remote controlled via MIDI. It is compatible to the w
76 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME 28.3 Setup Open the Preferences dialog (menu Options or F3). Select the MIDI Input and MIDI Output port
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME77 28.5 Standard MIDI Control The hardware output which is set up as Main Out can be controlled by the standard
78 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME Examples for sending MIDI strings: - Set input 1 to 0 dB: B0 66 68 - Set input 17 to maximum attenuation
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME79 28.8 Stand-Alone MIDI Control When not connected to a computer, the Fireface 400 can be controlled directly
8 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME Word Clock I/O (BNC): A push switch activates internal termination (75 Ohms). When termina-tion is activat
80 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME In stand-alone MIDI mode, the Mackie Control protocol also gives access to some settings of the Settings
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME81 User's Guide Fireface 400 Technical Reference
82 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME 29. Technical Specifications 29.1 Analog AD, Line In 5-8, rear • Resolution AD: 24 bit • Signal to No
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME83 DA, Line Out 1-6, rear • Resolution: 24 bit • Dynamic range (DR): 110 dB, 113 dBA @ 44.1 kHz (unmuted) • F
84 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME ADAT Optical • 1 x TOSLINK • Standard: 8 channels 24 bit, up to 48 kHz • Sample Split (S/MUX): 8 chann
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME85 30. Technical Background 30.1 Lock and SyncCheck Digital signals consist of a carrier and the data. If a di
86 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME 30.2 Latency and Monitoring The term Zero Latency Monitoring has been introduced by RME in 1998 for the
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME87 Therefore, in a digital loopback test a negative offset of about 3 ms occurs. This is no real problem, becaus
88 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME 30.4 Number of Channels and Bus Load As explained in chapter 30.3, FireWire Audio does not reach the sam
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME89 30.5 DS - Double Speed When activating the Double Speed mode the Fireface 400 operates at double sample rate
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME9 User's Guide Fireface 400 Installation and Operation - Windows
90 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME 30.7 AES/EBU - SPDIF The most important electrical properties of 'AES' and 'SPDIF' c
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME91 30.8 Noise level in DS / QS Mode The outstanding signal to noise ratio of the Fireface's AD-converters
92 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME 31. Diagrams 31.1 Block Diagram Fireface 400
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME93 31.2 Connector Pinouts TRS jacks of analog input / output The stereo 1/4" TRS jacks of the analog inpu
94 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME95 User's Guide Fireface 400 Miscellaneous
96 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME 32. Accessories RME offers several optional components for the Fireface 400: Part Number Description
User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME97 34. Appendix RME news, driver updates and further product information are available on our website: http://
98 User's Guide Fireface 400 © RME 35. CE / FCC Compliance CE This device has been tested and found to comply with the limits of the Europe
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