Digigram PCX924E Users Manual

D i g i g r a m

PCX924e

PCX924e-Mic

PCX22e

Professional Stereo Sound Cards

User’s manual

D i g i g r a m

For technical support,

please contact your system supplier

Tel: [phone] • Fax: [phone] • E-mail: [e-mail]

Parc de Pré Milliet, 38330 Montbonnot - FRANCE

2000 North 14th Street - Suite 530, Arlington, VA 22201-USA

Tel: [phone] • Fax: [phone] • E-mail: [e-mail]

350 Orchard Road - #19-07 Shaw House Singapore, 238868-SINGAPORE

Tel: [phone] • Fax: [phone]• E-mail:

Digigram S.A.

Digigram Inc.

Digigram Asia Pte Ltd.

[e-mail]

2

PCX924e & PCX924e-Mic, PCX22e

User’s Manual

Table of Contents

INFORMATION FOR THE USER
IMPORTANT NOTICE
CONTENTS OF THIS PACKAGE
FEATURES

PCX924e & PCX924e-Mic Main hardware features......................................................6

PCX924e-Mic Additional hardware features......................................................................7

PCX22e - Main hardware features .......................................................................................7

PCX924e, PCX924e-Mic, and PCX22e Main software features................................. 8

REQUIREMENTS

Minimum hardware requirements .........................................................................................9

Software requirements ..............................................................................................................9

Supported operating systems .................................................................................................. 9

HARDWARE INSTALLATION

Installing the card ....................................................................................................................... 9

Interrupt and memory address...............................................................................................9

SOFTWARE INSTALLATION

Standard installation under Windows XP, Server 2003, and Windows Vista........ 10

Removing the driver under Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 .................... 13

Removing the driver under Windows Vista.......................................................................13

HOW TO CHECK THE INSTALLATION
THE ‘DIGIGRAM HARDWARE SETTINGS’ (‘DHS’)
CONTROL PANEL
SPECIFICATIONS

..................................................................................................................................6

Parameterizing the ASIO driver .................................................................................. 12

Parameterizing the Wave driver................................................................................. 12

Configuration.................................................................................................................... 15

Inputs ................................................................................................................................. 15

Additional functionalities – PCX924e-Mic............................................................... 16

Outputs.............................................................................................................................. 16

Connectors........................................................................................................................ 16

Audio specifications........................................................................................................ 17

Analog audio performance........................................................................................... 17

Sample rate converter performance.......................................................................... 17

Analog mono microphone input features - PC924e-Mic ..................................... 18

AES42 microphone input features - PCX924e-Mic.............................................. 18

Development environments ......................................................................................... 18

.....................................................................................................6

...................................................................................................................9

............................................................................................................ 14

.............................................................................................................. 15

...........................................................................5

...........................................................................6

.................................................................................9

................................................................................. 10

....................................................... 13

3

D i g i g r a m

APPENDICES

PCX924e - Schematic Diagram..................................................................................19

PCX924e-Mic - Schematic Diagram ......................................................................... 19

PCX22e - Schematic Diagram ....................................................................................19

PCX924e & PCX924-Mic - Layout ...........................................................................20

PCX22e - Layout.............................................................................................................20

PCX924e - analog cable diagram: ............................................................................. 21

PCX924e-Mic - analog cable diagram:..................................................................... 21

PCX924e - Wiring Diagram - analog cable ............................................................ 22

PCX924e-Mic - Wiring Diagram - analog cable....................................................22

PCX924e & PCX924e-Mic digital cable with GPIOs............................................23

PCX924e & PCX924-Mic- digital cable without GPIOs..................................... 23

PCX924e & PCX924e-Mic - Wiring Diagram

- digital cable with GPIOs.............................................................................................24

PCX924e & PCX924e-Mic - Wiring Diagram

- digital cable without GPIOs.......................................................................................24

PCX22e - analog cable diagram.................................................................................25

PCX22e - Wiring Diagram - analog cable...............................................................25

PCX22e - digital cable with GPIOs.............................................................................26

PCX22e - digital cable without GPIOs.......................................................................26

PCX22e - Wiring Diagram - digital cable with GPIOs..........................................27

PCX22e - Wiring Diagram - digital cable without GPIOs.................................... 27

PCX924e - cable pinout................................................................................................28

PCX924e-Mic - cable pinout .......................................................................................28

PCX22v2 - cable pinout................................................................................................ 29

Copyright 2007 Digigram. All rights reserved.
No portion of this manual may be reproduced without prior written consent from Digigram. The copyright protection

claimed here includes photocopying, translation and/or reformatting of the information contained in this manual.
While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, Digigram is not responsible for errors and omissions, and

reserves the right to make improvements or changes in the products and programs described without notice.
Digigram and the Digigram logo, PCX924e, PCX924e-Mic, and PCX22e are registered trademarks or trademarks of

Digigram S.A.. All other trademarks are property of their respective holders.

.........................................................................................................................19

4

PCX924e & PCX924e-Mic, PCX22e

User’s Manual

INFORMATION FOR THE USER

This device complies with part 15 of FCC rules. Operation is subject to the following
two conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) This device
must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired
operation.
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a CLASS B
digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to
provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation.
This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not
installed and used in accordance with the instructions contained in this data sheet, may
cause harmful interference to radio and television communications. However, there is
no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation.
If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which
can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to
correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:

* reorient or relocate the receiving antenna
* increase the separation between the equipment and the receiver
* connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that of the receiver
* consult the dealer or an experienced audio television technician.

Note: Connecting this device to peripheral devices that do not comply with CLASS B

Due to the reduced length of the PCI EXPRESSTM bus connector and the
resulting lack of mechanical stability, we strongly advise against transporting
the card(s) installed in a computer, unless its chassis or case provides a
dedicated support to keep the card securely in place in order to avoid physical
damage.

requirements or using an unshielded peripheral data cable could also result in
harmful interference to radio or television reception. The user is cautioned
that any changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party
responsible for compliance could void the user’s authority to operate this

equipment. To ensure that the use of this product does not contribute to
interference, it is necessary to use shielded I/O cables.

Warning:

Electrostatic discharge (ESD) can damage several components on
the board. To avoid such damage in handling the board, take the
following precautions:

Bring the device and everything that contacts it to ground potential
by providing a conductive surface and discharge paths. As a
minimum, observe these precautions:

• Disconnect all power and signal sources.

• Place the device on a grounded conductive work surface.

• Ground yourself via a grounding wrist strap or by holding a grounded

object.

• Ground any tool that will contact the device.

5

D i g i g r a m

IMPORTANT NOTICE

This card has been tested and found to comply with the following standards:

• International: CISPR22 Class B.

• Europe: EMC 89/336/CEE (1992) specifications, RoHS compliant.

• United States: FCC Rules-Part 15-Class B (digital device).

In order to guarantee compliance with the above standards in an installation, the
following must be done:

• the provided cable must not be modified.

• additional cables used must have their respective shield connected to each

extremity.

CONTENTS OF THIS PACKAGE

Thank you for purchasing a Digigram PCX card.
The package consists of the following components:

• a PCX924e, PCX924e-Mic, or PCX22e sound card,

• the User’s Manual at hand.

The breakout cables to connect the card’s I/Os are not part of this package.
They are delivered separately.

FEATURES

PCX924e-Mic, PCX924e, and PCX22e are audio cards for PCI EXPRESSTM
(PCIe®) bus. They are in PCI EXPRESSTM x1 format and can thus be plugged
into any PCIe

®

slot (x1, x2, x4, x8, x16, x32).

PCX924e & PCX924e-Mic
Main hardware features

• 2 balanced∗ analog mono line inputs, with software adjustable gain and a
maximum Input level of +24 dBu

• 2 servo-balanced
gain and a maximum output level of +24 dBu

∗

can be used with unbalanced signals

∗∗

electronically servo-balanced outputs provide automatic level adjustment to accommodate

either balanced or unbalanced lines

6

∗∗

analog mono line outputs, with software adjustable

PCX924e & PCX924e-Mic, PCX22e

User’s Manual

∗∗∗

• 1 AES/EBU

This input features a hardware sample rate converter (for details see
chapter ‘Specifications’)
The selection of the digital input for recording excludes the selection of
the analog inputs.
It is possible to use the signal on the digital input as reference clock.

• 1 AES/EBU Sync input

• These two AES/EBU inputs allow:

- recording of a digital signal on the AES/EBU data input; this input is
also used as source of synchronization with a digital clock

- recording of a digital signal on the AES/EBU data input, synchronized
on a digital clock connected to the AES/EBU synchronization input;

- the synchronization of analog recording and playback on an AES/EBU
clock connected to the AES/EBU Sync input.

• 1 AES/EBU
Always transmits the digital version of the analog outputs 1 and 2.

• 1 LTC (Linear Time Code) input

• 1 mini jack stereo headphone output

This output is in parallel of the analog outputs 1 and 2.

• 2 General Purpose inputs and 2 outputs (GPIOs)

• Inter-card synchronization connector

PCX924e-Mic
Additional hardware features

• 1 analog microphone input with

- high-quality preamplifier

- switchable 48 V phantom power

- analog expander/compressor/limiter
This input is mixed with the two line inputs before A/D conversion.

• The AES/EBU input is AES42 compatible (for details see chapter
‘Specifications’)

Note: AES42 is an extension of the digital audio standard of interface AES3 providing for

interfacing digital microphones.

stereo input

∗∗∗

stereo output

PCX22e - Main hardware features

• 2 servo-balanced∗ analog mono line outputs, with software adjustable
gain and a maximum output level of +24 dBu

∗∗∗

can be used as S/PDIF interface as well

∗

electronically servo-balanced outputs provide automatic level adjustment to accommodate

either balanced or unbalanced lines

7

D i g i g r a m

∗

• 1 AES/EBU

clock

• 1 AES/EBU
(Always plays the digital version of the analog outputs 1 and 2)

• 1 LTC (Linear Time Code) input

• 1 mini jack stereo headphone output

(This output is in parallel of the analog outputs 1 and 2)

• 2 General Purpose inputs and 2 outputs (GPIOs)

PCX924e, PCX924e-Mic, and PCX22e
Main software features

• Real-time, simultaneous record and playback in PCM (8, 16 and 24 bits)
as well as in MPEG Audio Layer I, Layer II and Layer III
conversion supported (with 24-bit fixed-point dynamic range)

• When using the np SDK, real-time mixing of several PCM and MPEG
audio streams, direct monitoring, level adjustment, panning, cross-fades,
punch-in/punch-out, scrubbing, time-stretching, pitch-shifting, 3-band
parametric equalizer, maximizer, format and frequency conversions

• Low latency DirectSound, ASIO, and Wave
and ASIO, the cards operate in PCM mode only (nevertheless, an
application can integrate coders/decoders on the host PC). Under Wave,
the boards can operate in both PCM and MPEG (layer 1 and layer 2).

L

MPEG Layer III play-only on DSP;

MPEG Layer III recording on the host computer is available through
Digigram's PC Codec option using the np SDK

Note: the HR Runtime package for Windows Vista does not include a Wave driver.

In case your audio application explicitly requires a Wave interface, a Wave
driver is available on request. In this case, please contact

synchronization input, for synchronization on an external

∗

stereo output

L

, Float IEEE754

∗∗

drivers. Under DirectSound

Digigram.

∗

can be used as S/PDIF interface as well

∗∗

Windows XP and Server 2003 only

8

PCX924e & PCX924e-Mic, PCX22e

User’s Manual

REQUIREMENTS

Minimum hardware requirements

PC with one free PCI EXPRESSTM (PCIe®) slot (x1, x2, x4, x8, x16 or x32).
CPU power and memory required depend on the operating system and on the
audio application used.

Software requirements

To use your PCX924e, PCX924e-Mic or PCX22e, install the driver from the
np Runtime HR package version 1.70 or higher.
This package includes:

• a Digigram np driver enabling OEM applications to best capitalize on the

boards

• a WDM DirectSound driver

• an ASIO driver (installation optional)

• a Wave driver

Supported operating systems

PCX924e, PCX924e-Mic, and PCX22e cards run under Windows XP∗∗,
Windows Server 2003∗∗ and Windows Vista∗∗.

HARDWARE INSTALLATION

Due to the reduced length of the PCI EXPRESSTM bus connector
and the resulting lack of mechanical stability, we strongly advise
against transporting the card(s) installed in a computer, unless its
chassis or case provides a dedicated support to keep the card
securely in place in order to avoid physical damage.

The card has to be installed in the computer prior to installing its driver.

Installing the card

Gently plug the card in a free PCIe
firmly. Tighten the screw.

Interrupt and memory address

Hardware interrupt and addresses are automatically set up at start-up by the
PCI PnP BIOS.

∗

(installation optional)

®

slot and press it down to position it

∗

Windows XP and Server 2003 only

∗∗

32-bit version

9