M2TECH hiFace User Manual

M2TECH

HIFACE

192KHZ/24BIT DIGITAL AUDIO INTERFACE

USER MANUAL

REV. 1.0 – 11/2010

hiFace 192kHz/24bit digital audio interface

REVISION 1.o – NOVEMBER 2010

M2Tech

www.m2tech.biz

Warning!

Changes or modifications not authorized by the manufacturer can invalidate the compliance to CE regulations and cause the unit to be no more suitable to use. The manufacturer refuses every responsibility regarding damages to people or things due to the use of a unit which has been subject to unauthorized modifications or to misuse or to malfunction of a unit which has been subject to unauthorized modifications.

This unit is compliant with the following CE regulations when an USB cable less than 3m is used: CEI EN 55022:2009 Class B (Radiated Emissions), CEI EN 55024:1999, CEI EN 55024:A2/2003, CEI EN 55024:IS1/2008 (Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Fields, 50Hz Magnetic Field Immunity Test and Electrostatic Discharges – ESD).

Recycling

The label above, printed on the product case, indicates that the product, when no more usable, can’t be treated as generic garbage, but must be disposed of at a collection point for recycling of electrical and electronic equipment, in compliance with the WEEE regulation (Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment). By making sure that this unit is correctly recycled, you will help preventing potential damages to environment and human health, which could be caused by a wrong treatment of this product as generic garbage. Materials recycling helps saving natural resources. For more in-depth information about recycling this product, please contact M2Tech Snc di Manunta & Marino.

WARNING: the information contained in this manual are considered to be reliable and accurate. M2Tech reserves the right to change or modify the information any time, without prior advice. It’s up to the customer to ensure that the manual being consulted is the latest version.

hiFace 192kHz/24bit digital audio interface

REVISION 1.o – NOVEMBER 2010

Dear customer,

thank you for purchasing hiFace. What you have is a first-rate USB-to-S/PDIF converter with many unique features conceived to obtain the best audio performance out of a music file.

Even if getting digital music out of a PC or a Mac is nowadays quite simple, much harder is to obtain the best sonic performance from it, due to intrinsic limits in USB 1.1 audio standard and the implementation of digital audio interfaces in computers. Please visit

M2Tech website (www.m2tech.biz) to find extensive literature about this topic.

hiFace overcomes all the limits of usual USB-to-audio interfaces by implementing

proprietary drivers and by using asynchronous data transfer, along with a sophisticated electronic design.

hiFace is available with either RCA or true 75 Ohms output connector which suites virtually all DAC’s and A/V receivers around.

We feel that your expectations will be fulfilled by hiFace: you’ll hear your DAC and your music files in a way like never before, prepare for a whole new experience!

Nadia Marino, CEO

Please annotate here your hiFace purchase date for future reference:

Date of purchase: _________________________

M2Tech

www.m2tech.biz

hiFace 192kHz/24bit digital audio interface

REVISION 1.o – NOVEMBER 2010

M2Tech

www.m2tech.biz

INDEX

1. Connections.....................................................................................................................5

2. Connection to the host .....................................................................................................6

3.1. Obtaining the driver ...................................................................................................7

3.2. Installing the driver on a Windows-based PC............................................................7

3.2.1. Automatic (guided) installation...........................................................................7

3.2.2. Manual installation ..............................................................................................9

3.3. Installing the driver on a Mac ..................................................................................10

3.4. Unistalling the driver................................................................................................12

3.4.1. Uninstalling the driver on a Windows-based PC after installation with

setup32.exe or setup64.exe .......................................................................................12

3.4.2. Manually uninstalling the driver on a Windows-based PC ................................12

3.4.3. Uninstalling the driver on a Mac........................................................................13

4. Configuring the computer to use hiFace ........................................................................14

4.1. Configuring a PC with Windows XP ........................................................................14

4.1.1. Configuring for Direct Sound with Windows XP ................................................14

4.1.2. Configuring for Kernel Streaming with Windows XP .........................................15

4.1.3. Using hiFace in both Kernel Streaming and Direct Sound mode. .....................15

4.2. Configuring a PC with Windows Vista or Windows 7...............................................16

4.2.1. Configuring for Direct Sound with Windows Vista or Windows 7 ......................16

4.2.2. Configuring for Kernel Streaming with Windows Vista or Windows 7 ...............17

4.2.3. Configuring for WASAPI with Windows Vista or Windows 7 .............................17

4.3. Configuring a Mac ...................................................................................................17

5.1. FooBar ....................................................................................................................18

5.2. Winamp and MediaMonkey.....................................................................................18

6. Configuring the player for WASAPI: an example ...........................................................20

6.1. FooBar ....................................................................................................................20

7. Interface special features...............................................................................................21

7.1. Output voltage.........................................................................................................21

7.2. Sampling frequency coding in the bitstream............................................................21

7.3. Output connector choice .........................................................................................21

8. Technical Specifications ................................................................................................22

hiFace 192kHz/24bit digital audio interface

REVISION 1.o – NOVEMBER 2010

1. Connections

M2Tech

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Figure 1

1) USB input. Connect directly to the USB 2.0 port of a PC or Mac, or use an USB extender (A male to A female). In the latter, the extender must be compliant with USB 2.0 an less than 4m, otherwise the bus performance will decrease and the correct operation of the interface will not be guaranteed. USB type A male connector

2) S/PDIF output. Connect to the DAC input with a 75 Ohms digital cable. RCA male connector or BNC 75 Ohms male connector.

hiFace 192kHz/24bit digital audio interface

REVISION 1.o – NOVEMBER 2010

M2Tech

www.m2tech.biz

2. Connection to the host

Please refer to section 1, “Connections”.

Connect the hiFace to the host USB 2.0 port by inserting its USB plug (Figure 1, 1) into the host socket. If straight insertion is difficult or when in need of avoiding straight insertion, an USB 2.0 extender cable (A male to A female) can be used. Please avoid using extenders more than 4m, to avoid invalidating the bus performance.

If a driver hasn’t been installed on your computer, an automatic driver installation wizard may appear.

Note: If you want to avoid the automatic driver installation, please connect hiFace to the computer after manually installing the driver (see section 3).

hiFace 192kHz/24bit digital audio interface

REVISION 1.o – NOVEMBER 2010

M2Tech

www.m2tech.biz

3. Driver installation

3.1. Obtaining the driver

The drivers for hiFace are available on the M2Tech website, in the download page (www.m2tech.biz/download.asp). Download the driver you need for your computer and operating system. Windows drivers are contained in zip files, Mac drivers are contained in dmg files.

3.2. Installing the driver on a Windows-based PC

Create a temporary folder in the hard disk of your computer (you can even create it on the desktop). Then, double-click on the zip file to open it. Select and drag all files in the temporary folder: this automatically unzips all files.

3.2.1. Automatic (guided) installation

Connect hiFace to the PC. Following the negotiation process, the driver installation wizard is automatically launched. Select the option “Not now”, as in Figure 2.

Figure 2

+ 15 hidden pages

M2TECH hiFace User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual