2-in/4-out FireWire Recording Interface User’s Guide
ESI - Copyright © 2007 Revision 1, November 2007 www.esi-audio.
DuaFire ESI INDEX 1. Introduction.................................................................................................................................. 4 1.1 Key Features ........................................................................................................................................................ 4 2. Description of DuaFire ................................................................................................................ 5 2.1 Front Panel...............
DuaFire ESI 1. Introduction Thank you for choosing the ESI DuaFire. DuaFire is an ideal mobile recording interface for both laptops and desktop computers. It offers 2 input and 4 output channels. DuaFire is also the world’s first FireWire audio interface that perfectly supports the EWDM technology from ESI. ESI has finally adopted the famous EWDM technology to a FireWire Audio interface. Now you can use driver interfaces like ASIO 2.0, GSIF 2.
DuaFire ESI 2. Description of DuaFire 2.1 Front Panel The front panel has the following connectors and controls from left to right: Input 1: the first input channel is provided as balanced XLR input (MIC IN) for microphones and 1/4"-input (LINE IN) for line level signals. You can only use one of the two input connectors at a time. The input level is controlled by the GAIN knob with peak LED next to it.
DuaFire ESI Power Switch: the power switch has three positions. If the switch is in the middle position (OFF), DuaFire is turned off. If the switch is set to BUS., DuaFire will take its power from the computer (bus powered operation). This requires a 6-pin to 6-pin FireWire cable. If the switch is set to EXT., DuaFire gets powered by an external power supply connected to the DC IN port. Output 1 / 2: the first output pair is provided with 1/4" TRS connectors.
DuaFire ESI 3. Installation Before installing the drivers of DuaFire, we recommend to check on the download section of www.esi-audio.com for updated drivers. 3.1 Windows XP Switch off DuaFire via the power switch on the rear panel before you install the driver (put the switch in the middle position). Then launch setup.exe from the Windows XP folder of the included driver CD or from a download of a recent driver from our website. Make sure the driver you are about to install is intended for Windows XP.
DuaFire ESI You will now be prompted to switch on the hardware on the next dialog that is shown below on the left. Plug in DuaFire and switch on the unit with the power switch. Do not click Next yet. The Found New Hardware Wizard will appear after DuaFire gets detected (as shown on the right). Keep the selection on Install the software automatically (Recommended) and click Next.
DuaFire ESI 3.2 Windows Vista Switch off DuaFire via the power switch on the rear panel before you install the driver (put the switch in the middle position). Then launch setup.exe from the Windows Vista folder of the included driver CD or from a download of a recent driver from our website. Make sure the driver you are about to install is intended for Windows Vista. When launching the installation, Windows Vista might prompt a security message. Make sure to allow the installation.
DuaFire ESI You can now finally click Next on the ESI DuaFire Audio Driver Setup dialog. The installation is now finished. To confirm this, please check if the ESI icon is displayed in the taskbar notification area as shown below. If yes, the driver installation has been completed successfully. 3.3 Mac OS X Mac OS X already provides support for class compliant FireWire audio devices such as DuaFire. This means that no software or driver needs to be installed to use DuaFire under Mac OS X.
DuaFire ESI 4. DuaFire Control Panel This chapter describes the DuaFire Control Panel under Windows. Under Mac OS X no special Control Panel is required for DuaFire. If you are using DuaFire under Mac OS X, please check section 5.3 with more details. To open the control panel double click on the ESI icon in the task notification area. The following dialog will appear: This control panel is divided into an Input Monitor, Output and Master section.
DuaFire ESI different mono input sources, like a microphone on MIC IN (input 1) and a guitar on HI-Z IN (input 2). The two buttons, labeled INPUT 1 and INPUT 2 on top of the Input Monitor section, allow you to enable (purple color) and disable (gray color) the monitoring and at the same time allow you to generate a mono down mix of each input signal in case you want to monitor a single mono source on both speakers.
DuaFire ESI 4.4 Config controls The Config menu contains additional important controls for DuaFire: Mouse Wheel The faders of the DuaFire Control Panel can be changed with the mouse wheel when you move your mouse over each fader. This menu option allows you to define how many steps each mouse wheel step generates in fader movement. Latency With the Latency menu entry, you can change the latency of the ASIO and GSIF driver of DuaFire in ms. Depending on the typical application (e.g.
DuaFire ESI DirectWIRE Panel Click on DirectWIRE on the DuaFire control panel. The DirectWIRE panel window as shown below will appear. The number on the row represents the input or output port. The columns represent ins and outs (on and off) of the respected drivers. Patch the virtual cables from one point to another as you drag your mouse point. INPUT section: It's used to route signals from the card's hardware inputs. MME section represents general application's I/O: Ex.
DuaFire ESI EX2. Recording from WinAmp (MME) to SONAR (WDM) EX3. Recording from WinAmp (MME) to Cubase, Logic, Nuendo (ASIO) EX4. Recording from GigaStudio (GSIF) to SONAR (WDM) EX5.
DuaFire ESI 5. Audio Applications This chapter contains basic configuration examples for some popular software applications. Please also refer to the manual of the audio software you use for detailed information. 5.1 Windows Multimedia setup The Windows Multimedia setup is required if you want to use your DuaFire as the main sound device for Windows multimedia applications. Go to My Computer-> Control Panel -> Sounds and Audio Device Properties -> Audio.
DuaFire ESI If you want to change settings of DuaFire, you need to select it under Properties For as shown in the picture above. You can change the default sample rate under Audio Input -> Format or Audio Output -> Format or you can change the main playback volume under Audio Output -> Volume Slider -> M. Default Output Sometimes it might be required to playback signals by default not through the master output 1/2 but through output 3/4.
DuaFire ESI the look is slightly different but the functions are identical), select VST Audio System on the tree structure on the left part of the window. Make sure to select ESI DuaFire ASIO as ASIO Driver entry. You can verify your selection by selecting the ESI DuaFire device on the left. The dialog (as shown above on the right), now lists all input and output channels. Note that the Control Panel button has no effect. Confirm your changes by clicking OK.
DuaFire ESI As with inputs, your output busses can also be mono or stereo. The example above lists two stereo output busses, of which the first one would typically be used as your master output. Under Device Port you can assign the physical hardware output channel to each bus. You can now start using Cubase LE 4 by opening an existing project or creating a new project. The input and output busses you have created can be assigned to the individual tracks of your project. 6.
DuaFire ESI Disclaimer All features and specifications subject to change without notice. Parts of this manual are continually being updated. Please check our web site www.esi-audio.com occasionally for the most recent update information.
