M-Audio FireWire 1814 User manual

M-Audio FireWire 1814 - Users Manual

1 Introduction

2 What’s in the Box

3 About the FireWire 1814

4 FireWire 1814 Features

5 Minimum System Requirements

• Windows

• Mac OS

6 Controls and Connectors

• Front Panel Diagram

• Front Panel Descriptions

• Rear Panel Diagram

• Rear Panel Descriptions

7 Driver Installation

• Windows XP

• Windows 2000

• Mac OS X

• Mac OS 9

8 Hardware Connections

• Audio

• MIDI

9 The Software Control Panel

• Global Menus

• Mixer Page

• Output Page

• Hardware Page

• About Page

10 Using the FireWire 1814

• Monitoring Live Playback

• Using the Headphone Source Selector

• Setting Up Your Recording Levels

• Monitoring Your Inputs for Recording

• General Recording Instructions

• Setting the Sample Rate

• Adding Effects While Direct Monitoring

• Using the Aux Send as a Separate Monitor Mix

• Using the Level Controller Assignments

11 Troubleshooting

12 Contact Us

13 Product Specs

14 Default Mixer and Output Configuration Settings

15 Warranty Terms & Registration

1 Introduction

Thank you for choosing the M-Audio FireWire 1814. The FireWire 1814 has been

designed to give you a professional, portable audio and MIDI interface for your laptop or

desktop computer. Using the convenience and dependability of the IEEE 1394

(FireWire) bus, the FireWire 1814 provides your computer with a high-performance,

high-resolution multi-channel interface, as well as sixteen channels of MIDI in and

out—all in a rugged, lightweight, and highly portable design.

The FireWire 1814 was created with the home or portable studio enthusiast in mind. Two

high-quality microphone/instrument preamps, a total of eight analog inputs, plus ADAT

Lightpipe and S/PDIF I/O give unprecedented recording and playback capacity that can be

configured for your particular setup. Its front-panel headphone outputs boast high

efficiency, low distortion amplifiers that deliver the power and volume you need in the

studio or on stage. Dedicated level controls for monitors and headphones help you stay on

top of your mix no matter what is going on around you. Selectable headphone monitoring

sources make the FireWire 1814 a perfect choice for the mobile DJ setup as well.

Even if you’re an experienced sound recordist, please take some time to read through

this owner’s manual and familiarize yourself with the FireWire 1814’s features and

operation. You may also want to refer to your audio software’s documentation to better

understand how the FireWire 1814’s features may be integrated with the program. Your

experience and enjoyment of your FireWire 1814 will be greatly enhanced by a good

working knowledge of your audio software.

2 What’s in the Box

Your FireWire 1814 package contains the following:

 FireWire 1814 mobile recording interface

 Breakout cable for MIDI, coaxial S/PDIF and word clock I/O

 CD-ROM containing driver software and user manual in PDF format

 Printed QuickStart Guide

 CD-ROM containing Reason Adapted software

 CD-ROM containing Delta Live 2.1.2 software

 Pro Sessions Sampler CD-ROM

 1 meter 6-pin to 6-pin IEEE 1394 (FireWire) cable

 1 meter 4-pin to 6-pin IEEE 1394 (FireWire) cable

 2 screws for rack tray mounting

 12VDC 1000mA power supply

3 About the FireWire 1814

A single IEEE 1394 cable connects the FireWire 1814 to your computer’s FireWire port.

If your PC is not equipped with a native FireWire port, you may purchase a FireWire PCI

card at any computer electronics retailer (On Macs, the FireWire 1814 should only be

used with native FireWire ports).

IMPORTANT: The FireWire 1814 comes with both a high quality six-pin to six-pin

FireWire cable and a four-pin to six-pin FireWire cable. We strongly suggest that you

use one of these cables, or one of equal quality, for optimum audio performance. Your

computer is equipped with either a six-pin or a four-pin interface, while the connector

on the FireWire 1814 is six-pin. The FireWire 1814 requires a six-pin FireWire

connection in order to receive bus power; if your computer has a four-pin connection,

you will need to use the supplied power adapter.

(NOTE: Some computer manufacturers may use a different nomenclature to refer to

their FireWire connections, such as Sony’s “iLink,” or simply “1394” — when in doubt,

consult the owner’s manual for your computer.)

IMPORTANT - IEEE 1394 “FireWire” Users :

Reports have come to our attention of isolated problems when hot-plugging IEEE

1394 (aka “FireWire”) devices. Hot-plugging refers to making 1394/FireWire

connections when one or more of the devices is turned on (including the computer).

There are rare occurrences when, after hot-plugging, either the FireWire peripheral or

the host computers FireWire port are rendered permanently inoperable. While M-Audio

products adhere rigidly to the FireWire industry standard and pass stringent internal

testing, the possibility remains that hot-plugging your M-Audio FireWire interface to

some computers may result in the this type of problem.

We strongly encourage you to protect your equipment by refraining from hot-

plugging any bus-powered FireWire device, including the M-Audio family of

FireWire products. Connect your FireWire device while both the computer and

FireWire device are powered off. Power on the FireWire device, then turn the

computer on last. If you are using bus power (system with IEEE1394 6-pin connectors)

make sure you make the cable connection first, then turn the FireWire device power

switch on, and turn the computer system on last.

M-Audio is being proactive in investigating any issues that may adversely affect our

customers. Please consult the Knowledge Base in the Support section at

www.m-audio.com for updates on this important issue.

In case your M-Audio FireWire device is not detected by your computer on startup, try

one or more of the following troubleshooting steps instead of hot-plugging it:

1. Turn your M-Audio FireWire device off, wait 30 seconds then power it on.

2. Put your computer into hibernation mode, wait 30 seconds then reactivate it.

3. Restart the computer (don’t turn it off) while the M-Audio FireWire device remains

connected and powered on.

The FireWire 1814 is equipped with eight analog inputs on unbalanced 1/4” TS jacks

and four analog outputs on balanced/unbalanced 1/4” TRS jacks. Optical TOSLink

connectors are capable of handling 8-channel ADAT Lightpipe format signals, 4-channel

S/MUX signals, or 2-channel PCM signals. 2 channels of PCM S/PDIF are also available

on coaxial connectors. That makes the FireWire 1814 a sixteen-input, twelve-output

audio interface capable of high-quality analog and digital I/O in full 24-bit resolution, at

sampling rates up to 192kHz for recording and playback. The S/PDIF digital output also

supports pass-through of AC-3 and DTS encoded multi-channel digital audio (Windows

and Mac OS X 10.3 only). Two standard MIDI connectors also give you sixteen channels

of MIDI I/O, while word clock I/O on standard BNC connectors gives you additional

synchronization options for your digital audio transfers.

NOTE: Only analog inputs 1 & 2 provide 192kHz recording. All other inputs are capable

of 96kHz recording. All analog outputs will play back up to 192kHz sampling rate. Digital

PCM audio over coaxial S/PDIF I/O can record and playback at up to 96kHz sampling

rate. Digital PCM audio over optical S/PDIF I/O can record and playback at up to 48kHz

sampling rate.

The FireWire 1814’s easy-to-use software Control Panel provides you with powerful

routing and mixing control, creating a virtual twelve-channel output matrix for your audio

software. You can route any combination of inputs to the analog outputs, while each

mixer channel supports a virtual aux send for unprecedented flexibility. You can take

advantage of ultra-low latency software monitoring with built-in ASIO drivers, and near-

zero-latency direct hardware monitoring.

Alternative to the ADAT capabilities, the optical input and output can also be configured

individually as S/PDIF ports via your software Control Panel. This allows you to

customize your FireWire 1814 specifically for the devices that you will be connecting to

it. The available channels in your mixer respond to the setup you have chosen, adjusting

from the simplest setup to the most complex.

Two headphone outputs are provided on the front panel with dedicated rotary level

controls. The front panel A/B selector switch is designed to give you control over your

input monitoring, or give you immediate access to selectable stereo monitor

sources—you make the choice from the software Control Panel. The main front panel

rotary encoder can be assigned via the Control Panel to adjust a variety of software or

hardware levels, while the FireWire 1814 can be powered via the FireWire bus for total

portability.*

*Bus powered six-pin FireWire connection only. Use the DC power adapter for four-pin FireWire operation.

Mounting the device to a rack drawer

Holes are located on the left and right of the bottom of the FireWire 1814. You can use

the included screws to mount this device to a rack tray as shown below. The FireWire

1814 is mountable on either the left or right side of the drawer. If you choose to mount the

device to a rack tray, you must first remove the rubber pads from the base of the unit.

4 FireWire 1814 Features

 8 unbalanced analog 1/4” TS inputs

 4 balanced/unbalanced analog 1/4” TRS outputs

 1 x 1 ADAT Optical Lightpipe I/O; ADAT Optical is S/MUX-compatible for 4-

channel 96kHz operation

 1 x 1 Coaxial or Optical S/PDIF operation. Output signal will be mirrored on both

S/PDIF ports

 high-quality mic/instrument preamps on XLR/1/4” Neutrik jacks have individual

gain control, signal/clip LEDs and 20dB pad, with global phantom power

 main output Level controller is assignable to various groups of channel faders via

the Control Panel

 independent headphone outputs with rotary encoder level controls

 front panel A/B selector switch with status indicator LED; can be assigned as a

direct monitor on/off switch (default) or headphone source switch

 versatile mixer/router Control Panel provides near-zero latency hardware direct

monitoring

 extremely low-latency hardware/drivers

 MIDI I/O on standard 5-pin DIN connectors

 word clock I/O on standard BNC connectors

 DE15F connector and sturdy breakout cable for word clock, MIDI, and coaxial

S/PDIF

 Signal present LED indicators for analog I/O

 Valid data LEDs for optical and coaxial S/PDIF I/O, plus ADAT valid data LEDs

 two 6-pin FireWire ports

 power on/off switch with indicator LED

 frequency response: 192kHz: +/- 1 dB, 22Hz – 80kHz; 96kHz: +/- 0.5 dB, 22Hz –

40kHz; 48kHz: +/- 0.1dB, 22Hz – 22kHz

 Max. SNR and dynamic range (A-weighted): 105dB ADC, 107dB DAC

 THD + N: <0.00301% (-90.5dB)

 analog sampling rates – 44.1kHz to 192kHz for analog input 1/2 and all analog

outputs (44.1kHz to 96kHz input on channels 3-8)

 digital sampling rates (kHz) – 44.1, 48, 88.2, and 96 for coaxial S/PDIF in and

out, 44.1 and 48 for optical S/PDIF I/O; ADAT I/O is 44.1, 48, or 88.2, 96 in

S/MUX mode

 driver support for ASIO 2.0, MME, WDM, GSIF 2.0, Sound Manager, Core

Audio and MIDI

 bus-powered* or powered via included DC power adapter

*6-Pin FireWire port required for bus-powered operation. (Note that some 6-Pin PCMCIA

cards do not supply power)

5 Minimum System Requirements*

IMPORTANT: The FireWire 1814 is supported under Windows XP and Windows 2000 —

it is not supported under Windows 98, 98SE or Windows ME. Also, when running under

Windows 2000, you must be running Service Pack 4 (SP4) or later. For Windows XP, you

must be running Service Pack 1 (SP1) or later. Visit the Windows update web pages to

make certain you have the most current updates and fixes supplied by Microsoft.

On the Mac, the FireWire 1814 is supported under Mac OS 9.2.2, and Mac OS X version

10.2.8 or later. Earlier versions of Mac operating systems are not supported.

Windows:

 Pentium 3 – 800 MHz (higher speed CPU may be necessary for Laptops)

 256 MB RAM

 DirectX 9.0b or higher

 Windows XP (SP1); Windows 2000 (SP4) or higher (Windows 98, 98SE, Me &

NT not supported)

Mac OS:

 Macintosh G3** 800 / G4** 733MHz (higher speed may be necessary for

Laptops)

 OS 9.2.2 w/ 256MB RAM

 OS X 10.2.8 w/ 256MB RAM

 OS X 10.3 or greater w/ 512MB RAM

* M-Audio suggests that you also check the minimum system requirements for your

software, as they may greater than the above.

** G3/G4 accelerator cards not supported; native FireWire ports required.

6 Controls and Connectors

Front Panel

Front Panel Descriptions

1. Mic/Inst Inputs – These Neutrik hybrid connectors will accept a low-impedance

mic level signal on a standard three-pin balanced XLR or TRS plug, or a high-

impedance instrument level signal on an unbalanced 1/4” TS plug.

2. Mic/Line Selector – This switch toggles the unit between the front panel Mic/Inst

inputs and the rear panel Line Inputs. Set to the OUT position, the Mic/Inst inputs

are selected and active, and the Line Inputs are defeated; Set to the IN position,

the Line Inputs are selected and active, and the Mic/Inst Inputs are defeated.

3. Pad – With this switch in the IN position, a 20dB pad is inserted into the input

circuit, lowering the mic or instrument input level. Use this PAD when the input

level of your analog signal is too hot – as indicated by illumination of the CLIP LED

– even with the INPUT GAIN LEVEL at or near minimum.

4. Input Gain Level – This potentiometer controls the input level of its associated

analog Mic/Instrument input. When the Mic/Instrument Input is in use, the variable

gain range is >40dB.

5. Signal and Clip Indicator LEDs – The Signal LED indicates the presence of an audio

signal at the associated Mic/Inst input, and will light when signals reach levels of

–30 dB or higher. The Clip LED will light when the signal is 1dB below the clipping

point. If the Clip LED lights often or stays lit for any period of time, lower the Input

Gain Level on that channel.

6. Headphone Outputs 1 & 2 – These jacks accept standard 1/4” stereo TRS headphone

plugs. Each headphone output has an associated level controller to control listening level.

Only headphone output 1 will respond to the A/B source selection, when the A/B selector

switch is configured for headphone source selection (see the “Hardware Page” section, “A/B

Source Switching” for more information, and also “Using the A/B Selector Switch”). When

using at 192kHz sampling rate outputs 1 & 2 are monitored in Headphone 1 while outputs 3

& 4 are monitored in Headphone 2.

7. Headphone Output Level 1 & 2 – These rotary encoders control the levels of the

individual headphone outputs. These controls are independent of output levels.

8. S/PDIF Input and Output Indicator LEDs – The green S/PDIF In LED will glow

steadily to indicate the presence of a valid S/PDIF signal at the active S/PDIF

input. The green S/PDIF Out LED will glow steadily to indicate the presence of a

valid S/PDIF signal at the S/PDIF output(s). The active S/PDIF input is selected in

the Control Panel, with coaxial S/PDIF being the default selection.

NOTE: When S/PDIF is selected for the digital output port, S/PDIF signals will be sent to

both the optical and coaxial outputs.

9. ADAT Input and Output Indicator LEDs – The green ADAT In LED will glow

steadily to indicate the presence of a valid ADAT signal at the optical input. The

green ADAT Out LED will glow steadily to indicate the presence of a valid ADAT

signal at the optical output.

10. Line Input and Output Indicator LEDs – The green Line Input LEDs will light at -

30dB and above. The green Line Output LEDs will light at -60dB and above.

11. A/B Status Indicator LED – This LED indicates the currently selected mode of the

A/B Switch. LED off = A, and LED on = B. In its default setting, the A/B switch

controls Direct Monitoring On/Off, but may be configured as a headphone source

switch (see the “Hardware Page” section, “A/B Source Switching” for more information, and

also “Using the A/B Selector Switch).

12. A/B Selector Switch – This momentary switch turns Direct Monitoring on and off, and may

be used manually or controlled by ASIO Direct Monitoring (see your audio application’s

documentation). LED off (A) = DM off, and LED on (B) = DM on. This switch can also be

programmed to select the monitor source sent to the headphone outputs, in conjunction with

the Headphone Source settings on the hardware page of the Control Panel.

13. Level Controller – The Level controller is a rotary encoder that is set by default to

control the output level of the FireWire 1814’s analog outputs. It can be assigned to

any group of mixer or output faders in the FireWire 1814’s software Control Panel.

The available selections are:

A. SW Return Bus – Levels of sw rtn 1-4

B. Output – Levels of analog 1/2 out; this is the default selection

C. Input – Levels of the eight analog, eight ADAT, or L/R S/PDIF digital inputs

D. Aux Send – Levels of the L and R virtual Aux Send buses

14. Power LED – The Blue Power LED glows steadily when power is applied to the

FireWire 1814.

15. Power Switch – This push-on, push-off power switch turns the FireWire 1814 on

and off.

16. Phantom Power LED – The red phantom power indicator LED will light solid when the

Phantom Power Switch is in the “in” position, sending phantom power to both XLR mic input

channels 1 & 2.

17. Phantom Power Switch – This push-on, push-off switch turns the phantom power on

and off.

Rear Panel

Rear Panel Descriptions

18. Power Supply Connector – Connect the 12VDC 1000mA power supply to this

jack when using the FireWire 1814 with a four-pin FireWire connection. Use only

the power supply provided with the unit or a power supply of an equivalent quality,

with a positive center pin.

19. MIDI – S/PDIF – Word Clock Connector – Connect the 15-pin male end of the

breakout cable included with your FireWire 1814 to this DE15F female connector.

This will provide you with the necessary connections for MIDI (standard 5-pin DIN

connectors), coaxial S/PDIF (RCA jacks), and word clock (BNC connectors).

20. FireWire Connectors – Dual FireWire (IEEE 1394) ports allow you to connect one

to your computer and the other to an external device. We recommend connecting

only self-powered devices to these inputs. Bus-powered devices may affect your

audio performance.

NOTE: The FireWire 1814 provides two 6-pin FireWire ports for your convenience. One port is used

for connection to the host computer. The second port allows other peripheral devices to connect to

the host through the FireWire 1814. The FireWire 1814 can receive bus-power from the host

computer, but cannot supply bus-power to an additional FireWire device using the secondary

FireWire port. You must use a power supply with your secondary FireWire device.

21. ADAT - S/PDIF Optical In and Out Connectors – ADAT Optical or S/PDIF digital

input and output are provided on optical TOSLink connectors. ADAT vs. S/PDIF

operation can be controlled from the software Control Panel.

22. Line Outputs 1–4 – These are balanced/unbalanced analog outputs on 1/4” TRS

jacks with signal up to 2.0dBV unbalanced and 8.0dBV (10.2dBu) balanced line

level. When two-channel stereo audio, the signal being monitored are routed

outputs 1 and 2 by default; any or all analog output pairs may be selected in the

FireWire 1814’s Control Panel. You may also use the four outputs to send

individual or grouped channels to a mixing console.

23. Line Inputs 1–8 – These are unbalanced analog inputs on 1/4” TS jacks operating

at signals up to 2.1dBV line level. Line inputs 1 and 2 are active only when the front

panel “Mic/Line” selector switches are set to “Line.”

24. Kensington® Lock Connector – This connector is compatible with Kensington®

security cables to protect your device from theft.

7 Driver Installation

Windows XP & 2000

NOTE: Do NOT connect the FireWire 1814 to your computer before you have run the

installer application and shut down your computer. If you are going to use bus power, we

recommend that you connect the FireWire cable before turning on the power button.

For the FireWire 1814 to function properly, you need to have installed Service Pack 1 or

higher if using Windows XP, or Service Pack 4 if using Windows 2000. To install a

Service Pack, please consult http://www.microsoft.com for instructions.

Additionally, you’ll need Direct X 9.0b or higher. The FireWire 1814 driver installer will

detect whether or not you have the proper version of Direct X installed. If you need to

upgrade, you will be prompted to do so. DirectX 9.0b can be found on the included

driver CD-ROM.

During the course of installation, messages about the Microsoft Digital Signature for the

driver will appear. Microsoft tests drivers to ensure they work properly with their

operating systems. While driver signing makes installation and operation more

streamlined, it is not a necessity for a device to function properly with the operating

system. Currently, M-Audio’s FireWire drivers are not digitally signed. However, M-Audio

is committed to providing the best possible drivers for our products and we constantly

evaluate and test our drivers to ensure that they work properly. As a result, there is no

need to worry about the driver not being signed.

Insert the Driver CD-ROM into your computer’s CD-ROM drive. From the Start menu,

select “Run…” then click the Browse button. Browse to the CD drive, locate the

“FireWire 1814” folder, then select the FireWire 1814 installer from within that folder.

Double click on the installer icon to begin the installation.

Verify that you have no other programs running, and then click “Next” to begin the installation.

After you’ve read the license agreement, please click the “I accept...” circle if you agree

to the terms. Then click “Next” to continue.

Click “Install” to continue.

The installer will prompt you to enable DVD/CD performance enhancement settings. In

most cases, you should leave these in their default (selected) settings. While Windows is

most likely already configured in this way, these settings will ensure that you will be able

to hear your DVD/CD player’s playback through the FireWire 1814. Click “Next.”

During the installation, you will be prompted with a message warning that the driver

software has not passed Windows Logo testing. Select “Continue Anyway” and proceed

with the installation.

Once the installer has finished copying the files, you will see the Installation Complete

screen. You will then be prompted to shut down your computer. Click “Finish” to proceed.

After the computer has powered off, connect the FireWire 1814 to your computer’s

FireWire port and power it on. Once the FireWIre 1814 is connected, turn on your

computer. Once Windows has loaded, the New Hardware Wizard will open. Choose the

default selection, “Install the software automatically.” Click “Next.” Windows will locate

and install the FireWire 1814 Bootloader files.

During the installation, you will be prompted with a message warning that the driver

software has not passed Windows Logo testing. Select “Continue Anyway” and proceed

with the installation.

The New Hardware Wizard will run a second time to install the FireWire 1814 driver

software. Choose the default selection, “Install the software automatically.” Click “Next.”

You will again be prompted by the “Windows Logo testing” notice. Again, click “Continue

Anyway” and proceed with the installation.

Click “Finish” to complete the installation. Your FireWire 1814 is now ready to use.

You will see the M-Audio FireWire 1814 control panel icon in your system tray (lower

right corner of your desktop). Click on the icon to open the control panel.

Mac OS X

Never connect or disconnect the FireWire 1814 while the computer is on. Also, if you’re

going to use bus power, we recommend that you connect the FireWire cable before

turning on the FireWire 1814’s power button.

Installation NOTE: There are differences in administrator authorization between OS

10.2.X, and OS 10.3.X. For 10.2.8 or higher, you may be prompted for your

administrator password at the beginning of the installation. For 10.3 or higher, you may

be prompted for the password just before the installation begins.

1. Insert the Driver CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive and browse to the CD-ROM to

view its contents. Locate and open the “FireWire 1814” folder, then open the folder

for OS X.

2. Double click the M-Audio FireWire 1814 Installer.dmg file. An icon labeled

”FireWire 1814” will appear on your desktop.

3. Double click on the FireWire 1814 icon. The file named M-Audio FireWire 1814

Installer.mpkg will appear. Double click on the installer file.

4. The introduction screen will now appear. Click “Continue” to proceed.

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M-Audio FireWire 1814 User manual

M-Audio FireWire 1814 User manual

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