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ADA-8XR FAQ, Tips and Techniques

General FAQs
?	What is the difference between Path 1 and Path 2?
	Answer: There is no difference between Path 1 and Path 2. The ADA-8XR allows the user complete flexibility to configure each path to suit a particular setup, whether that be A to D, D to A or D to D format conversion. Find a more detailed description of the ADA-8XR path structure in the Operation Manual, chapter 4 "Philosophy of Operation". The manual is available from the Downloads page.

Hardware FAQs
?	Which digital formats are currently supported for the ADA-8XR?
	Answer: Different formats can be accommodated by the ADA-8XR using plug-in modules. For more information on the formats supported see this technical note.
?	Why are some of the buttons blue?
	Answer: These are menu short-cut buttons that enable the user to cycle through and change only the options available inside the box connected to each blue button. Find a more detailed description of the ADA-8XR short-cut buttons in the Operation Manual, section 2.2 "configuring the ADA-8XR". The manual is available from the ADA-8XR downloads page.
?	How many configuration stores can I have?
	Answer: There are four banks of stores with six stores in each bank giving a total of twenty four. The factory default stores pre-loaded into your ADA-8XR will depend on the plug-in boards fitted. Find a more detailed description of the ADA-8XR configuration stores in the Operation Manual, section 4.5 "Configuration / Stores". The manual is available from the downloads page.
?	How do I update the firmware?
	Answer: The ADA-8XR can be upgraded from a PC using the serial port. For full details of how to do this, see this technical note. A standard "null modem" serial cable is required. The pinout can be found here.
?	What is the AES squid pinout?
	Answer: Please refer to this technical note.
?	How much delay compensation do I apply on the Pro Tools HD Hardware Insert Delay feature?
	Answer: The amount of delay required varies depending on the sample rate. Please see this technical note.
?	How can I add another FireWire bus to my computer?
	Answer: Additional FireWire buses can be added to with FireWire expansion cards. We recommend that you use cards that have an OHCI compliant Texas Instruments chipset. Cards with S800 ports are not recommended because there are technical difficulties in manufacture that may cause them to be more unreliable than S400 cards. In any case, S800 cards are more expensive and provide more bandwidth than necessary for Orpheus.
?	How long can my FireWire cable be?
	Answer: The Firewire 400 (IEEE 1394-1995) standard specifies a maximum cable length of 4.5m. It is possible to extend this range by using active repeater cables, or to extend it to many hundreds of metres by using fibre-optic extenders.
?	Can I use my FireWire interface with an S800 firewire port?
	Answer: Yes, S800 is fully compatible with S400. However, the connectors are different. You will need to use a bilingual, 9-pin to 6-pin IEEE-1394 firewire cable.

Software FAQs
?	Which operating systems are supported for the FireWire module?
	Answer: The FireWire I/O Module type PREV039/10/1 can be used with both Apple Mac and PC. Mac: OS X 10.4.11 or higher required. Use Software Update to ensure that you have the latest system upgrades installed. Mac OS X Snow Leopard is fully compatible with 64-bit processors. You will need to download & install the FireWire module control panel for Mac in order to select sync sources correctly. PC: Windows NT, XP, Vista or Windows 7 required. 64-bit versions are fully supported. You will need to download & install the FireWire module driver and control panel for PC. As with any software, it is advisable to create a system back-up prior to installation and to back-up your data regularly.
?	Why can't my computer see the FireWire module?
	Answer: Ensure that the FireWire card is being detected by the ADA-8/ADA-8XR hardware by using the "Interrogate Modules" option in the ADA-8/ADA-8XR's menu. Next, ensure that the Source and Destination of both paths is set to the relevant slot which houses the FireWire card. If in doubt, re-load the factory FireWire store. Finally, check that your operating system is suitable and that your FireWire ports are functioning correctly. Windows users may have to re-install the FireWire drivers when adding a new FireWire card. If you still have problems, please contact tech.support@prismsound.com.
?	Which DAW can I use?
	Answer: Orpheus and ADA-8 can be used with any DAW or application that supports ASIO or WDM drivers (Windows), or Core Audio (Mac OS X).
?	Can I use Logic Pro?
	Answer: Yes. However, early versions of Logic Pro 8 had issues with FireWire audio interfaces. These issues were resolved in Logic Pro 8.0.2. We recommend using Software Update to ensure that you always have the latest Logic patches. For more information, please refer to the troubleshooting guides: Logic Pro 7 and Logic Pro 8 & 9.
?	Can I use FireWire interfaces with multiple Core Audio applications on OS X?
	Answer: It is not recommended to use FireWire interfaces with multiple Core Audio applications unless you are running Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6). Prior to Snow Leopard, OS X has a bug that results in audio degradation when a class-compliant FireWire audio device is connected to two or more Core Audio clients at the same time. For example, you could experience drop-outs in Logic Pro if iTunes is also being used in the background. We recommend that you only connect to a single Core Audio application at a time. Please also ensure that Orpheus/ADA-8 is not your default recording or playback device in order to prevent accidental connection. Apple have confirmed that this bug is fixed in Snow Leopard.
?	How do I connect my DAW to daisy-chained units?
	Answer: Windows WDM drivers still connect to channels pairs individually. The ASIO driver will automatically combine all audio channels into a single interface. You may need to re-start your DAW in order to detect the additional channels. OS X You need to ensure that all units are running at the desired sample rate using CSP sync before daisy-chaining them: Connect a single interface to your Mac and ensure that power is connected. Wait until it appears on the control panel. Ensure that it has the latest firmware installed Set the sync source to CSP (using control panel) and set the sample rate. Save all settings by putting Orpheus into standby, then back to normal. Disconnect the FireWire cable but keep your interface powered. Wait for control panel to go blank. Repeat above steps for every additional interface. Daisy-chain all of the units together. The first interface should be connected to your Mac, the second connected to the first one, and so on. If devices fall off the FireWire bus during the final step, disconnect power from all units, reboot your Mac and begin again from the top. In order to see channels from all interfaces in your DAW, you will need to create an aggregate device. Note that you need to set all units to the same sample rate otherwise some channels will not be available. Use the Orpheus control panel to change sample rate for all units, or use the aggregate device sample rate (which can be set from your DAW). Please also note that your interfaces must be used as the clock master because CSP sync is required. If you have external digital devices, you must synchronise them from wordclock or digital outputs.
?	How do I configure the output channels used on OS X apps such as iTunes?
	Answer: It is possible to use any available output of a FireWire Core Audio interface from within OS X. For example, if you wanted to play iTunes out from the Orpheus S/PDIF outputs, you would do this: Connect Orpheus and go into Audio MIDI Setup (AMS) in OS X Select 'Properties For: Orpheus' Go into 'Configure Speakers'. You should have a list of all the available outputs of Orpheus listed. Check the box next to SPDIF (outputs 9-10) Below this list is the speaker configuration, make sure you have stereo selected beneath each speaker you will be able to select the output depending on which outputs you checked in the above list. Select S9 for the left speaker and S10 for the right speaker. After making changes of this kind, you may find that you need to re-start your audio applications in order for the changes to take effect.
?	Can I use ADA-8XR with Pro Tools?
	Answer: There are three way that you can connect ADA-8XR to Pro Tools: Use a Pro Tools HD module to connect to a Pro Tools HD system. Use a Pro Tools MIX module to connect to a Pro Tools MIX system. Use a FireWire module to Pro Tools 9 software. _{For Windows 7, please ensure that you have installed the latest drivers}

Trouble Shooting FAQs
?	I am running Windows XP on a PC with a FireWire S800 port, but my FireWire interface is not detected. How can I resolve this?
	Answer: S800 ports suffer a performance decrease after installing SP2. This issue is known to affect XP running under Boot Camp on Apple hardware. You can resolve this by applying Microsoft Hotfix KB885222 If you upgrade to Service Pack 3 after installing Hotfix KB855222, you may also need to apply Microsoft Hotfix KB955408
?	How can I check that my PC is capable of streaming real-time audio over FireWire?
	Answer: You can use Thesycon's DPC Latency checker tool to analyse your PC's audio streaming capability. This tool will discover any 3rd party drivers that cause audio drop-outs on the FireWire bus. For more information, see the DPC Latency Checker Product Sheet The Buffer Time value must be set higher than the maximum DPC latency, otherwise there will be audio drop-outs.

My problem is not listed here - what should I try next?

You can do one or more of the following:

Download the ADA-8XR manuals for full product details.

Contact your local distributor for help.

Contact tech.support@prismsound.com for specific problems not found above.