Version: AP-050103 Table Of Contents

Hardware InstallationFind a convenient spot near your computer for the Audiophile USB.With theAudiophile’s power switched “Off,” plug the included power supply into yourwall socket, and plug its 2.5mm plug into the Audiophile’s 9V AC 1000 mAPower Jack.Then, simply connect the USB cable to your computer and to theAudiophile USB.Please follow the Driver and Software installation carefully.Apply power tothe Audiophile USB, switching the unit “On” ONLY when prompted.Audiophile USB Driver & Software InstallationThe Audiophile USB system includes a “Software Drivers CD” forWindows and Macintosh, containing all Windows and Macintosh drivers(including ASIO drivers), and Audiophile USB Control Panel software. Toinstall on your system, please follow these steps:Windows InstallationAn “Installer” program is provided for Windows operating systems. TheAudiophile USB Installer greatly simplifies the work that the WindowsNew Hardware Wizard has to do, and helps to ensure a trouble-free andsimplified installation.You may also notice that a “Windows Driver Signing” dialog box will popup a few times during the installation, and you will be asked to press“Continue Anyway.” This dialog box indicates that this is a relatively newproduct. While we are going through the driver certification procedurewith Microsoft, we assure you that your Audiophile USB drivers are of thehighest quality, and will cause no problems in your system.1. Insert the Drivers CD into your CD ROM drive. Locate and open theAudiophile USB folder. Double click on the Audiophile USB Installerprogram in that folder.2. As the Installer loads the Audiophile USB drivers, a “Windows DriverSigning” (XP and 2000 Users only) dialog box may pop up a few timesduring the installation. Click, “Continue Anyway.”3. When asked to switch “On” lation1. Insert the Audiophile USB Driver CD into your CD-ROM Drive andopen the CD to view its contents.2. Double click "M-Audio Audiophile USB Installer.dmg" file. An Icon willappear on your desktop marked " Audiophile USB."3. Double click the " Audiophile USB " icon on your desktop.4. Now double click on the "M-Audio Audiophile USB Installer.mpkg."5. You will need your Administrator Password for the next step. Tocontinue, click the lock icon in the lower left corner of the window thatstates, “Click The Lock To Make Changes."6. Enter your password and click "OK."7. The next window "Welcomes You." to the installation process.Click "Continue."8. Select your OS X hard drive. Click "Continue."9. When prompted, click "Upgrade" to continue.10. When prompted, click "Continue Installation."11. When prompted, click "Restart" to finish the installation.12. After the computer has restarted, now plug the Audiophile USB intoyour computer’s USB Port.8

13. Go to "System Preferences" in the Apple Menu. Select the "Sound"preference panel, and click the "Output" tab. Select "M-Audio AudiophileUSB" to choose the Audiophile USB as your default output device.Mac OS X Installation is now complete. Proceed to the next section,“Hardware Installation”.Verifying Windows Driver InstallationWindows displays the Audiophile USB driver status in the Device Managerpage of the System Properties dialog box.The Device Manager page can beopened by right-clicking on “My Computer,” either from the Start menu oryour desktop (depending on your operating system), and selecting“Properties” from the list. Select “Hardware,” then “Device Manager.” Withthe Device Manager displayed, click on the “ ” next to “Sound, video andgame controllers” to open a list of devices, the Audiophile USB being adevice of that nature. You will also see an entry for the Audiophile USBunder “Universal serial bus controllers.” Below is an example view of theDevice Manager.This example shows the M-Audio Audiophile USB entries in the WindowsDevice Manager device list. The Audiophile USB is properly installed withno conflicts. If you do not see your M-Audio Audiophile USB in yourDevice Manager in this fashion, please jump ahead to the “Troubleshooting”section of this manual.Verifying Control Panel Installation, PC/MacintoshOn the PC: Once the Audiophile USB is properly installed, an “M-AudioAudiophile USB” icon will be displayed in your Windows Control Panel, whichcan be accessed from the Start menu. By double-clicking on that icon, you willlaunch the Audiophile USB Control Panel software. Once the Audiophile USBControl Panel software has been opened, you will see the various controls forenabling inputs and outputs and for setting other parameters.With the control panel open, you will see in the lower left hand corner acheckbox that states, “Place Audiophile icon in the task bar.” You maycreate a shortcut on your Windows taskbar by clicking on this checkbox.Upon closing the control panel, the M-Audio logo will appear in yourtaskbar. Double-clicking this icon will then open the Audiophile USBControl Panel. Unchecking the control panel checkbox will remove theM-Audio logo from the taskbar upon closing the control panel. Note thatthe M-Audio logo will only appear on the taskbar when the Audiophile isattached and powered “On.”9

On Macintosh: During the driver installation, a dialog box will ask you ifyou wish to place a shortcut to the control panel on your desktop. Clickingthis checkbox will, upon completion of the driver software installation,place a shortcut to the Audiophile USB Control Panel on your computer’sdesktop.The control panel program itself will install to your system’s harddrive. In OS 9, the Audiophile USB Control Panel will be placed in theControl Panel folder, which allows it to be accessed from the AppleControl Panel drop-down list. In OS X, the control panel is installed intothe System Preferences folder.If you choose not to place a shortcut icon on your desktop during theinstallation process, you may create an alias by highlighting the AudiophileUSB Control Panel on the hard drive and pressing the Command Key M.The alias may then be dragged to the desktop. The control panel can belaunched from any of the above locations. Once the Audiophile USBControl Panel software has been opened, you will see the various controlsfor enabling inputs and outputs and for setting other parameters.NOTE: When using a music software program that is ASIO capable,launch the Audiophile USB Control Panel software from within thatprogram. If you need to change the master clock settings, forinstance (in other words, change from the Audiophile’s internal clockto an external clock by selecting “S/PDIF In” from the control panel),it is desirable to launch the music program first, and then theAudiophile USB Control Panel from the program’s “launch” or“control panel” button. Without the music program open however, itis okay to open the Audiophile USB Control Panel from your desktopor other location.The Audiophile USB Control PanelCertain audio settings are made in the USB Audiophile Control Panel, andare important to the way the Audiophile performs.You may never need tochange them for your particular purposes, but it’s good to know how thesesettings affect what you do and how they interact.When the Audiophile USB driver and control panel software are firstinstalled, a “default” setting is created that will work for you in mostcircumstances. The analog inputs are active, as well as the analog outputsand the S/PDIF output. The S/PDIF Input is left unchecked. The “16-bit”radio button is selected, but can be switched to 24-bit if you wish torecord at that bit depth from your music program. The Audiophile iscapable of recording at sample rates up to and including 48000Hz.You should only check the S/PDIF Input port if you are recording audiofrom the S/PDIF Input, or otherwise wish to synchronize to an external10

sampling clock. Continue reading this section for more information onmaking selections in the Audiophile USB Control Panel.Active Channels & Sample Depth: Activation of the Analog andS/PDIF inputs and outputs is done with a set of four check boxes.Two radiobuttons allow selection between sample bit depths of 16-bit or 24-bit.These settings will interact with each other, either expanding or limitingyour Active Ports, Sample Depth, and/or Maximum Sample Rate settings.Using the full USB bandwidth will allow for 4x4 audio streams at 16 bitswith a sampling rate of 48kHz or below.A higher bit depth or sampling ratewill demand a trade-off from your system, which can be achieved bydisabling your Active Ports.On the right side of the control panel there are two columns labeled“Active Channels” (Analog and S/PDIF inputs and outputs) and “SampleDepth” (16-bit and 24-bit). Choosing the 24-bit setting will allow yourmusic program to record at any bit depth up to 24-bit, depending on thevariety of selections within that program.With any combination of three stereo pair “Active Ports” enabled, theAudiophile USB is capable of 48kHz or 44.1kHz (or lower) sampling rates ateither 24- or 16-bits.When you uncheck and deactivate any one of the ActivePorts, the 24-bit option will become available. If you select the 24-bit radiobutton, and then activate all four Active Ports, the control panel willautomatically switch back to the 16-bit setting and gray out the 24-bit option.NOTE: Please exit any audio applications running before switchingbetween bit depths.The Audiophile USB will perform at 96kHz sampling rate with any one ofthe stereo pairs enabled, and with the 24-bit Sample Depth selected. Thisis most useful if your CD/DVD player is capable of playing “audiophile”96kHz recordings.The Audiophile USB will not operate at 96kHz when thecontrol panel is set to 16-bits. In the example below, Output 1&2 is enabledand 24-bit Sample Depth is selected, with the Maximum sample rateshowing 96kHz.11

If you activate both sets of input and output channels, you will notice thatthe 24-bit setting in the Sample Depth column is grayed out and the“Maximum sample rate” is shown as 48000 Hz.NOTE: Whenever S/PDIF Input is selected as an Active Port, theAudiophile is expecting a digital signal at that port and to lock tothe sample rate of that signal. When S/PDIF Input is selected andthere is no signal present at the S/PDIF Input port, or the S/PDIFsignal is not recognized or invalid, the Audiophile USB will notoperate properly. Most likely, you will hear audio from theAudiophile, but it will be running at an odd sample rate and soundlike it is playing at the wrong speed.DD/DTS Pass-Thru: Just below the Sample Depth column, you will seea checkbox labeled,“DD/DTS Pass-Thru.” If you are using a Software DVDplayer and wish to send encoded multi-channel audio such as Dolby Digitalor DTS to the Audiophile USB’s S/PDIF output port, then check this box.If you are only sending stereo audio (standard PCM—not encodedsurround) to the S/PDIF output port during normal operation, then leavethis box unchecked.If you have this box checked, you can still send stereo digital audio to theS/PDIF port without any problems. However, you will notice that when theDD/DTS Pass-Thru box is checked, ONLY the S/PDIF port is active in theActive Ports column. Unchecking the DD/DTS Pass-Thru box will restorethe port selection to the previous configuration.Latency: Driver “Latency” can be selected from a range of values shownin a drop-down list located just below the “Maximum Sample Rate.” Thedefault setting when the Audiophile is first installed is “Very High.” Becauseslower computer systems require larger sample buffers to avoid dropoutsin the audio stream, a higher latency value is often necessary.How low you will able to set the Latency will depend on several factors,such as your system’s performance and the performance of the musicprogram itself. To test your system for lower Latency, try the “very low”setting first (as shown in the previous screenshot), and if your systemstutters or performance falters, try the next higher setting until the systemperformance stabilizes. Once you are satisfied with any of the control panelsettings, click OK to close the Audiophile USB Control Panel.Version Numbers: The lower left corner the Audiophile USB ControlPanel page displays the ASIO Driver Version, USB Driver Version, and theFirmware Version numbers currently in use. This is useful when checkingfor driver updates on the M-Audio website, or in the event that you needto call tech support and give them your system information.12

Windows Sound System and the Audiophile USBWindows may be set up to use the Audiophile as its default audio device,allowing system sounds to be played through the Audiophile. This alsoenables you to use the Audiophile with the sound applets included withWindows.To set this up, go to Control Panel Sounds and Audio Devices(or, “Multimedia” in Windows 98). In the Audio Properties page, set thePlayback and Recording devices to the Audiophile USB input and outputdevices of your choice.Windows may also use the Audiophile USB as its default MIDI device.Thisallows the Audiophile USB to be used with the MIDI applications includedwith Windows. To set this up, go to Control Panel Sounds and AudioDevices Audio. (Or, go to Control Panel Multimedia MIDI in Windows98.) Set the Audiophile MIDI driver as the default Windows MIDI driver byclicking on the “Out USB Audiophile” entry in the drop-down list, thenselecting “OK” or “Apply”.Macintosh Sound Manager and the Audiophile USBThe Macintosh Sound Manager will allow you to select the Audiophile USBas the system’s audio input and output device. Open the Apple menu andselect “Sound” from the Control Panels list. Then choose Audiophile asboth input and output driver. However, you may also leave the Soundcontrol panel set to “Built-in” if you wish to use the Audiophile only withyour music program and use the internal audio for system sounds.Audiophile USB Inputs & OutputsThe Audiophile USB Digital Recording Interface’s analog inputs and outputsare compatible with a variety of audio products. The Audiophile USB hasboth female RCA and female 1/4” TS (tip-sleeve) input jacks, and femaleRCA output jacks. These jacks allow connection to unbalanced (typicallyconsumer or semi-pro) line level equipment.Only one pair of analog inputs can be used at any given time.When a 1/4”TS plug is connected to the 1/4” line inputs, the corresponding RCA inputjack is defeated. If you have RCA cables connected to the Audiophile andthen connect 1/4” plugs to the 1/4” jacks, the Audiophile will then get itssignal from the 1/4” line inputs.NOTE: In order to preserve its high dynamic range and minimizedistortion, the Audiophile USB does not have microphonepreamplifiers built into it. Therefore, directly connecting a13

microphone is not recommended. Instead, pass the microphone signalthrough a microphone pre-amp (such as the M-Audio TAMPA ,DMP3 , or Audio Buddy ), and then connect the pre-amp outputto the input of the Audiophile USB. Some additional cable and/orcable adaptors may also be needed to ensure proper connectivity.The Audiophile USB also has digital inputs and outputs in S/PDIF format.These are available on RCA connectors, as stereo pairs.These jacks receiveor transmit a digital audio stream that is independent of the analog audiostreams. However, because of the bandwidth limits of USB there can be atradeoff between the number of inputs and outputs that are active and thesampling rate and bit depth of the audio being processed.Also, you shouldONLY activate the S/PDIF Input if you are connecting an active digital audiodevice to this input.This is detailed in the previous section,“The AudiophileUSB Control Panel.”Also detailed in the previous section is the use of the S/PDIF Output forsending encoded surround sound signals. Checking the “DD/DTSPass-Thru” box in the Audiophile USB Contr

female RCA,compatible with common male RCA cables. 4. S/PDIF In: This RCA connector receives a S/PDIF signal from your coaxial S/PDIF digital source such as a DAT,MiniDisc player or external A/D converter.Use a quality digital cable,rated at 75 Ohms. 5. S/PDIF Out:This RCA