Important Hints to the Marc X driver version 2.10 for Windows 2000/XP

1. System Requirements
2. New Installation
3. Driver Update
4. What's new
5. MME, DirectSound and "Classic MME"
6. Software Sampler and Synthesizers

1. System Requirements

• Microsoft Windows 2000 SP3 or Windows XP
• Microsoft DirectX 9

2. New Driver Installation

2.1 Windows 2000

• Start your PC after installing your hardware.
• Log in using administrator privileges.
• Windows automatically recognizes at startup the newly installed device and starts the Hardware Wizard.
• During the start of Windows the Hardware Wizard searches for new drivers. Click "Next" to start the search.
• Enable the “Search for the best driver for your device” option and confirm by clicking "Next".
• Insert the supplied CD in your CD-ROM drive.
• Confirm the next dialog with „Next“
• Confirm the next window also with „Next“
• Ignore the message „Digital signature not found“ and continue the installation with „Yes“
• Windows copies the driver files and installs the MARC X.
• After finishing the installation click "Finish”.

2.2 Windows XP

• Start your PC after installing your hardware.
• Log in using administrator privileges.
• Insert the supplied CD in your CD-ROM drive.
• Windows automatically recognizes at startup the newly installed device and starts the Hardware Wizard.
• Enable the option „Install Software automatically“ and confirm by clicking „Next“.
• Ignore the next message and click „Continue“
• Windows copies the driver files and installs the MARC X.
• After finishing the installation the MARC X is ready to be operated without having to restart the system.

3. Driver Update

• Ensure you are logged on with administrator privileges
• Uninstall the driver software by using the program "mx_nt5_ui.exe". You can find the current version of this program in the driver setup folder.
• Restart Windows
• Logon with administrator privileges again. Now, the Windows Hardware Wizard starts with a new driver installation. Please refer 2. New Driver Installation

4. What's new

Version 2.10:

• Marc X Manager | Settings: Registry "Audio Synchronisation" is now the first registry prior "Audio". The registry "Audio" was renamed into "Audio Options".
• Previous version possibly does not switched automatically the optical Digital Output to S/PDIF when the Non-ADAT-Operation mode was selected. Fixed.
• The default sample rate (see Marc X Manager | Settings | Audio Synchronization) was possibly not set correctly after "Ok" or "Apply" if the set sample rate was greater than 48 kHz. Fixed.
• A digital input signal of 96 kHz was not processed correctly when this signal was already present before system boot. Fixed.
• Windows 2000: Stopping audio cd playback via DirectSound or Standard MME with WinAmp could cause a Blue Screen. Fixed.
• When terminating a recording process via Windows Task Manager during recording via DirectSound or Standard MME a Blue Screen occurred. Fixed.

Version 2.07:

• New option to control the sample rate when no audio application (including the Windows system) is using the Marc X. Now you can choose whether the card should keep the last used sample rate or it should switch to a standard sample rate. This sample rate is also used for mixing and monitoring. Please see the appropriate settings in the manager software at "Synchronization".
  We implemented this feature for some non ASIO/GSIF applications, who open/close the communication with the driver whenever recording or playback start/stops. In this case, switching back the sample rate to a default rate could cause a short click sound. Users of such kind of software should activate the option which keeps the last used sample rate.
• In the previous version, the GSIF driver under some circumstances used a higher latency than set in the Driver Manager Settings. Solved

Version 2.05:

• The Marc X Manager has two new function: "Load Setup" and "Save Setup". Using this functions, all audio and layout settings of the mixer and the output control can be saved and loaded using individual filenames.
• The Marc X Manager windows now can be set to "Always On Top" (see Manager Menu)
• MIDI Problem during midi device detection under Windows XP with Emagic Logic and Propellerhead Reason solved.
• ASIO Direct Monitoring Volume range now fits more in the volume range of the output channel
• The volume fader, the mute buttons and the routing of the output channels now feedback the appropriate settings when changed by another application (Windows Volume Control, ASIO Direct Monitoring ...)
• If the Analog Extender ANX is not connected, the appropriate mixer input channels and the appropriate channels in the output control windows are not shown anymore. Also the output routing options for the ANX are not shown, if the extender is absent.
• The level meters do not clip, if the signal of a mixer channel is overloaded more than +6db.
• The level of the left channel of an output is now shown correctly, if the Routing is AUX1 and other channels are muted.
• After a restart, the Digital Input Routing is now restored correctly.
• As default value, the AUX volume of a mixer channel is now off.
• SyncBus Clock Synchronization with Marc 8 Midi improved

Version 2.02a:

• FPGA changes for new revision of PCI bridge controller
• Adjustments for non-audio applications regarding bit-true data output at the digital output

Version 2.02:

• System requirements changed
  - Windows 2000 service pack 3 solves some problems with the Microsoft Kernel Mixer
  - DirectX 9 ensures that DirectSound devices are not shown as "emulated"
• Driver's setup procedure cleans some audio related registry keys. Thus, it prevents/solves some effects of a Windows Installer anomaly, which may cause some problems with audio/midi devices
• No IRQ usage anymore
  - The IRQ number still can be found in the windows device manager but it is not used by the hardware or driver.
  - The hardware IRQ can be used exclusively by other system components.
  - IRQ incompatibilities with any other system cannot appear anymore
• Support of WDM-Audio Kernel Streaming
  Thus, "real" WDM-Audio applications like Cakewalk Sonar are able to work with extremely low latencies.
  More details you can find at MME, DirectSound and "Classic MME"
• Support of DirectSound
• Support of Windows Volume Control (Windows Mixer Device)
• Support of Tascam GSIF
  You can use additional settings within the Marc X Manager software to setup the GSIF latency manually.
• CPU load during recording/playback reduced once again
• Solved MIDI problem in interaction with Magix Samplitude/Sequoia 7.x
• ASIO Error Messages reviewed/changed

Version 1.05:

• New: Solo State Display in Mixer Master Section
• New: Now, the level displays are equipped with a red range at theirs >bottom< end.
  If a red range illuminates, the level of this channel cannot be displayed because of improper clock settings.
• Master Level display now shows the level correctly even if the Master Output Level is decreased below 0 dB.
• Active Mute in the channels now also switches off the level display of the channel
• Level display in mixer and outputs are now more precise
• MME/DirectSound/ASIO
  - Output Volume limited to 0 dB (previously to +6dB which may cause distortions)
• ASIO Direct Monitoring:
  - Analog Output Volume is now controlled digitally by the DSP Mixer instead of the DA chip.
• If "Choose Clock Source automatically" (see Settings) is active, now the driver only switches the clock if necessary, when the mixer window opens.
• If the Clock Source is set manually (see Settings), the driver will not switch the clock in any case. If recording or level analysis from S/PDIF or ADAT Input is not possible with the current clock, the driver denies it.
• Multiple Card Support: several problems solved
• The settings for TOSLINK Output and Word clock Output are now restored correctly when the system restarts or an ASIO application start/ends.
• Uninstaller program "mx_nt5_ui.exe" included.

Version 1.04:

• Mixer now controls the input channels correctly
• Several level display issues solved
• ADAT input signals are now switched off, if "no lock" is detected
• Recording channels L/R now in the right order
• Manual clock source selection now works correctly even if the option "Every clock synchronized" is inactive.
• The analog extender channels (Analog 3-4, Analog 5-6) can now be used even if the extender is not installed. This way you have two additional stereo playback devices, whose signals are playback inputs in the Marc X Mixer, and the can be a part of a sum routed to any physical output. Recording from the analog extender channels without having the extender installed results in an "silence" track/wave.
• ASIO "Init failed in kernel mode" was caused by a very, very strict error handling of the driver, who checked the availability and validity of a recording/playback device before activation. This error handling is now more relaxed and therefore the following errors are ignored:
  - No lock at a digital input device (ADAT or S/PDIF)
  - Samplerate of an external clock (or digital input signal) does not match with the required clock.
  - Analog Extender should be activated but is not connected
  - Marc X is in use with another sample rate than the required sample rate.
  - Non-ADAT-Mode is active but an ADAT device should be activated
  
  The following errors will cause the ASIO driver to stop its work with the error message "Init failed in kernel mode".
  - A requested device is in use by another application.
  In this case end all audio applications and setup each single application that a single playback/recording device is used by one single application at the same time only.

Version 1.03:

• First public release

5. MME, DirectSound and "Classic MME"

5.1 MME und DirectSound:

Audio applications, who do not use ASIO, GSIF or direct WDM-Audio, now communicate with Microsoft MME or Microsoft DirectSound drivers instead of communicate with the MARIAN drivers directly. The Microsoft drivers in turn communicate with the MARIAN drivers.
For audio applications, who use these Microsoft drivers, apply:

• They can playback simultaneously using one playback device. The Microsoft Kernel Mixer mixes the playback signals of the applications into one stereo stream and routes it to one physical output device. If playback takes place with different samplerate, the Microsoft Kernel Mixer converts the samplerate of the playback streams to the highest samperate required.
  Hint: You can improve the quality of this conversion! (See Control Panel | Sounds and Audio Devices | Audio | Sound Playback | Advanced | System Performance)
• The described simultaneous playback of different applications fails, if the output device is already in use by ASIO, GSIF, "Classic MME" or direct WDM-Audio.
• The number of the available recording and playback devices is limited:
  - under Windows 2000 to 10 devices each (20 channels)
  - under Windows XP to 32 devices each (64 channels)
  This limitation applies to the number of all audio devices installed in the system.
  You can use "Classic MME" or ASIO to walk around this limitation.
• The minimum possible latency is limited to app.. 30ms through the Microsoft Kernel Mixer architecture.
  Use ASIO or GSIF to walk around this limitation.
• Some audio applications show additional audio devices with theirs names appended by "(3+4)" or "(5+6)". This is caused by an anomaly of the Microsoft MME/DirectSound system. Please ignore these devices and do not use them.
• Some audio applications require the MARIAN driver because of its additional hardware support functions:
  - Hardware Punch In Monitoring
  - Hardware Pitch Support
  - Hardware Audio Signal Routing
  - Hardware Audio Signal Level Measurement
  
  These functions are not supported by the Microsoft drivers. Please supply this audio applications with the "Classic MME" devices.

5.2 "Classic MME"

The MARIAN driver enables you to use the MME driver interface of the previous driver versions in addition to all other driver interfaces. From now, we call this interface "Classic MME". You can activate "Classic MME" within the Marc X Manager settings. If this driver interface is active, then you get additional recording and playback devices with the appropriate device lists. These devices have the name suffix "(MME)".
The "Classic MME" device have these advantages:

• The number of the recording and playback devices available is NOT limited (see above)
• These devices support the MARIAN hardware support functions (see above)

6. Software Sampler and Synthesizers

Software samplers and synthesizers normally supply MIDI output devices for other audio applications who want to use the software sampler as an instrument. If such an application starts, then normally this application opens the MIDI output devices and this in turn causes the software sampler to initialize its audio engine with the configured audio outputs.
THIS OCCURS EVEN IF YOU HAVE NOT STARTED THE SOFTWARE SAMPLER APPLICATION.

In the described situation the software sampler and the other audio application may conflict, if they use the same audio output. You can use the Marc X with different audio applications at the same time but never the same output device simultaneously.

Therefore this hint:

• First start the software sampler/synthesizer and setup an audio output device which will NOT be used by the other audio application. Start the audio application (sequencer) afterwards.
• If you start an ASIO or GSIF application the first time, then it will use the device "Marc X Analog 1-2" for recording and playback.

The Windows Multimedia System also supplies a software synthesizer called  "Microsoft GS Wavetable SW Synth". This synthesizer has also a MIDI output port with the same name. Since there is no explicit setup for the output device, the "Microsoft GS Wavetable SW Synth" always uses the standard playback device configured in "Control Panel | Sounds and Multimedia | Audio".

(c) MARIAN Digital Audio Electronics, Leipzig 03-03-2005