Digigram ALP222e-Mic User manual

User Manual – ALP222e & ALP222e-Mic
User Manual
ALP222e &
ALP222e-Mic
Professional stereo sound cards
May 2023
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User Manual – ALP222e & ALP222e-Mic
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION 4
2 IMPORTANT NOTICE 5
3 BOX CONTENTS 6
4 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS 7
4.1 Main hardware characteristics 7
4.2 Main software characteristics 7
4.3 Routing audio streams in the card 7
5 REQUIRED CONFIGURATION 9
5.1 Required hardware configuration 9
5.2 Necessary software configuration under Windows 11
5.3 Necessary software configuration under Linux 11
6 HARDWARE INSTALLATION 12
6.1 Preparing the card 12
6.2 Installing the card 12
6.3 State of internal LED 12
7 SOFTWARE INSTALLATION UNDER WINDOWS 13
7.1 Very first installation 13
7.2 Updating the driver version 15
7.3 Updating the firmware 15
7.4 Verifying the card installation 15
7.5 Adjusting the internal latency of the card 18
7.6 Replacing a card 19
7.7 Changing the order of installed cards 19
8 UNINSTALLING THE DRIVER UNDER WINDOWS 21
9 CONFIGURING THE CARD UNDER WINDOWS VIA THE ALP-X MANAGER APPLICATION 22
9.1 Sampling clock management 23
9.2 Managing input and output levels 24
9.3 Managing the routing and mixing of input signals 28
9.4 Display of GPIOs and control of GPOs 31
9.5 Creating, saving and loading setting sessions 32
9.6 Firmware update procedure 32
9.7 Keyboard shortcuts 34
10 ASIO CONTROL PANEL for Windows 35
11 SOFTWARE INSTALLATION UNDER LINUX 37
11.1 Automatic installation 37
11.2 Building and installing the driver manually 37
12 CONFIGURING UNDER LINUX VIA AMIXER 38
12.1 Diagram of the inputs towards outputs chain 38
12.2 Description of controls 39
12.3 Setting the parameters from amixer 45
13 SPECIFICATIONS 59
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User Manual – ALP222e & ALP222e-Mic
13.1 Configuration 59
13.2 Inputs 60
13.3 Outputs 61
13.4 Audio characteristics 62
13.5 Analog performances 62
13.6 Sample rate converter performance (SRC) 62
13.7 Connectors 63
13.8 Development environment 63
14 APPENDICES 64
14.1 ALP222e functional diagram 64
14.2 LED 65
14.3 Connectors and switches 66
14.4 Breakout cable diagram 67
14.5 Pinout of the breakout cable connector 68
14.6 How to use GPI’s and GPO’s 70
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User Manual – ALP222e & ALP222e-Mic
1 INTRODUCTION
This document describes the installation and use of the PCI Express DIGIGRAM ALP222e &
ALP222e-Mic sound cards under Windows and Linux.
These two stereo cards are part of the ALP-X professional sound cards range, which also includes
multi-channel cards (4, 8 channels).
Copyright 2022 Digigram. All rights reserved.
No part of this manual may be reproduced without the prior consent of Digigram. This reservation includes
photocopying, translating and/or reformatting the information contained in this manual.
Everything possible has been done to ensure the greatest accuracy, however Diagram cannot be held liable
for any error or omission and reserves the right to make modifications and improvements without prior
notice.
Digigram and the Digigram logo, and ALP222e are trademarks or brand names of Digigram Digital. All other
marks are owned by their respective companies.
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User Manual – ALP222e & ALP222e-Mic
2 IMPORTANT NOTICE
Certifications
The product is currently being certified.
This product has been designed in accordance with the following standards:
●EMC Directive 2014/30/EU.
●FCC Rules Part 15, Subpart B.
To ensure compliance with the standards listed above, the following rules must be followed:
●The cable supplied must not be modified.
●The additional cables used must have their respective shielding connected at each end.
Caution
An electrostatic discharge (ESD) can damage the card components. Take the
following precautions to avoid such damage when handling the card:
Connect the card and everything entering into contact with it to the earth potential by providing a
conductive surface and discharge paths. Take these precautions as a minimum:
●Unplug all power and signal sources.
●Place the card on an earthed conductive work surface.
●Connect to the earth potential using an anti-static strap or by holding an earthed object.
●Earth all the tools entering into contact with the card.
Given the shortened length of the PCI EXPRESSTM connector and the resulting lack of
mechanical stability, we strongly advise against transporting the cards installed in a
computer, unless its chassis or case has a device for holding the card firmly in place to avoid
material damage.
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User Manual – ALP222e & ALP222e-Mic
3 BOX CONTENTS
Thank you for purchasing a DIGIGRAM sound card in the ALP-X range.
The box contains:
●an ALP222e or ALP222e-Mic sound card equipped with a standard height bracket (full
height: 120 mm),
●a low-profile bracket (79.2 mm) that can be fitted instead of the full-height bracket,
The breakout cable that bears the XLR and BNC connectors is available as an option.
Please contact your card supplier to acquire the Digigram-certified cable.
To download the most recent card driver, please visit the digigram website at:
www.digigram.com/support/drivers-firmware-downloads/
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User Manual – ALP222e & ALP222e-Mic
4 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
ALP222e and ALP222e-Mic are PCI EXPRESSTM x1 sound cards. They can be inserted into and
therefore operate in PCIe® x1, x2, x4, x8 or x16 slots.
4.1 Main hardware characteristics
●2 balanced analog inputs (can be used unbalanced) with software-adjustable analog gain
and a maximum input level of +24 dBu.
Mic/Line level selection and switchable 48V phantom power on ALP222e-Mic.
●2 electronically balanced analog outputs, with a maximum output level of +24 dBu.
(Electronically balanced outputs can process either balanced or unbalanced lines without
loss of level).
●1 stereo AES3 digital input, 32 kHz to 192 kHz, with high quality hardware sample rate
converter (SRC).
●1 AES11 synchronisation input (up to 192 kHz)
●1 AES3 digital stereo output (up to 192 kHz)
●1 mini jack stereo headphone output, which replicates the analog outputs.
●1 word clock input/output (up to 192 kHz)
●2 GPI dry contacts and 2 GPO relays
●Inter-card synchronisation
4.2 Main software characteristics
●Low latency multi-card drivers
●Wasapi/DirectSound and ASIO application programming interfaces under Windows, and Alsa
and libgpio for Linux
●Simultaneous acquisition and playback in PCM (8, 16 and 24 bit)
●On-board mixing of physical audio inputs and software "playback" devices to physical audio
outputs and software recording devices.
●"ALP-X Manager" application installed with the driver, to control the card settings:
- clock source
- frequency of the fallback internal clock
- input and output gains, phantom power (ALP222e-Mic), RMS VU-meters with peak-meters
- routing of inputs to outputs
●API for implementing the management of the card settings in a software application.
4.3 Routing audio streams in the card
The ALP card incorporates an on-board mixer in an FPGA component. This is a mixer with 8 mono
inputs (4 stereo) and 8 mono outputs (4 stereo).
The mixer captures the 4 physical input channels of the card (2 analog channels and 2 AES3
channels) and the 4 channels of the playback devices.
The mixer restores 8 audio channels, respectively to the 4 physical outputs of the card (2 analog
channels and 2 AES3 channels) and the 4 recording device channels.
The mixer can therefore be configured to perform the mixing and the routing of the 8 input
channels to the 8 output channels (8 mix sums).
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User Manual – ALP222e & ALP222e-Mic
Principle of the ALP222e on-board mixer
Note: the stereo headphone output replicates the analog outputs.
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User Manual – ALP222e & ALP222e-Mic
5 REQUIRED CONFIGURATION
5.1 Required hardware configuration
There are no particular hardware restrictions in terms of PC on using the ALP card and its driver. The
PC can have standard height or low profile PCIe card slots. The ALP card can in particular be used in
2U racks or reduced size PCs, by using the smaller bracket instead of the standard height bracket
that is fitted by default.
A PCI EXPRESSTM (PCIe®) x1, x2, x4, x8 or x16 slot must be available to plug in the card.
The processor power and memory required depend mainly on the operating system and the
applications used on the PC.
Note: The driver of the card reports to the OS that it does not manage the Sleep mode. As a
consequence, the PC should not go to sleep mode.
In case the PC goes to sleep mode under Windows, please proceed as follows to disable the sleep
mode.
The sleep mode for the PCIe bus must be disabled.
Go to Windows Settings, System, and select “Power & sleep”.
Select Never” for the option “Put the computer to sleep”.
On the same window, click on “Additional power settings”.
Click on “Change plan settings” in
front of “Balanced
(recommended)”
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User Manual – ALP222e & ALP222e-Mic
Select “Change advanced power
settings”.
Select “PCI Express”, “Link State
Power Management”, and select
“Off” for the setting.
Click on Ok to validate
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User Manual – ALP222e & ALP222e-Mic
5.2 Necessary software configuration under Windows
ALP222e and ALP222e-Mic operate under Windows from 64-bit versions of Windows 10 (from
version 20H2).
To use your ALP-X card, you must install the driver included in the installation kit “ALP-X Kit”.
Download the latest version from the digigram website from the ALP222e card support page or from
the ALP222e-Mic support page (these two pages point to the same driver kit).
The "ALP-X Kit" installer is used to install the following components:
●a 64-bit WDM driver offering the WASAPI and DirectSound application interfaces,
●an ASIO driver (64 bits and 32 bits), with its "ALP-X ASIO Settings" configuration interface.
Installing this component is optional,
●the "ALP-X Manager" application, which serves to adjust the ALP-X card settings and display
the vu-meters. Installing this component is optional.
Note for Windows Server operating systems
Under Windows server, it is necessary to allow the applications to access the input audio devices of
the sound cards.
Please proceed as follows:
●Go to the Windows Settings, and select Privacy.
●Select “Microphone”
●Activate the option “Allow apps to access your microphone”
5.3 Necessary software configuration under Linux
ALP222e and ALP222e-Mic operate under Linux from the 64-bit Kernel 4.1x onwards.
The Alsa driver for Linux is available for downloading. It is supplied as a DKMS package, which can
therefore be used to compile the driver for the target Linux distribution used.
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User Manual – ALP222e & ALP222e-Mic
6 HARDWARE INSTALLATION
Given the shortened length of the PCI EXPRESSTM connector and the resulting lack of mechanical
stability, we strongly advise against transporting the cards installed in a computer, unless it has a
device for holding the card firmly in place to avoid material damage.
The card(s) must be inserted in the computer before installing its driver.
6.1 Preparing the card
Before fixing the card in the computer, make sure you install on the card the bracket matching the
PCIe slot into which it is going to be inserted.
To install the card in a standard height PCIe slot, remove the low profile bracket by loosening the
two screws on the sides of the cable connector, position the standard height bracket and retighten
the two screws.
6.2 Installing the card
Insert the card in the available PCIe slot and press to position it firmly.
Tighten the screw fixing the bracket to the chassis or lock the card using the device provided for this
purpose on your computer.
Several ALP cards can be installed in a computer.
6.3 State of internal LED
The ALP card has two in ternal LEDs on the top channel
strip. The state of these LEDs can be seen when the PC cover is open.
If the card and its on-board firmware are initialised correctly, LED 1 must be lit solid green, and LED
2 must flash every second (1 Hz).
If LED 2 flashes faster (twice per second - 2 Hz), this means that the firmware version that has been
uploaded to the card is corrupted, and the card is running the backup factory firmware version. It is
then necessary to re-install the appropriate firmware version.
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User Manual – ALP222e & ALP222e-Mic
7 SOFTWARE INSTALLATION UNDER WINDOWS
IMPORTANT
To install the software, you must have administrator rights on the computer.
Please visit the Digigram website at www.digigram.com to obtain the most recent driver.
Should you use a specific application developed or installed by a Digigram partner, this may mean
using a specific driver version. In this case, confirm with your application supplier which driver
version to use.
Any driver downloaded from our website has to be unpacked before installing it. Double click on the
downloaded file to start the auto-extraction utility. You can choose the default destination
(temporary Windows folder) or select another one.
7.1 Very first installation
●Switch off the computer and insert the ALP card(s) in the available PCIe slot(s).
●Restart the computer.
●Click on Cancel if the "New device detected" wizard appears.
●Double click on the ALP driver installation file "ALP-X Kit vxx.exe"
Click on Next to continue with the
installation.
Click on "I agree” to continue with the
installation.
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User Manual – ALP222e & ALP222e-Mic
In this window, select the components to be
installed in addition to the card driver.
●ALP-X Manager: application used to
configure the settings of the ALP card(s)
installed.
Some software programs may have been
designed with the ALP card settings
controls built in. In this case, it may be
recommended not to install the ALP-X
Manager application.
●ALP-X ASIO Settings: this application is
used to configure the ASIO driver
settings. There is no need to install it if
no application reliant on the ASIO
interface is used.
The driver is installed by default in the folder
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Digigram\ALP-X".
To change this folder, click on Browse and
select a new destination.
Click on Install to continue with the
installation.
The driver and selected components are
being installed.
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User Manual – ALP222e & ALP222e-Mic
7.2 Updating the driver version
If a driver version for the ALP card has already been installed, and you want to install another
version, first uninstall the current driver version (see chapter “Uninstalling the driver under
Windows”), and then install the new version by double clicking on the driver installation file "ALP-X
Kit vxx.exe" (see the detailed procedure in the hereinabove chapter “Very first installation”).
7.3 Updating the firmware
The ALP card on-board firmware may have to be upgraded, and updates can be supplied by
Digigram and prove necessary.
Updating the firmware can be done from the ALP-X Manager GUI (see chapter “Firmware update
procedure”).
7.4 Verifying the card installation
Once the driver and card have been installed as per the process described hereinabove, you can
verify that the card is installed correctly and working properly.
7.4.1 Presence of playback and recording devices
The audio devices exposed by the card driver are visible on the Windows Sound panel. To open it,
right click on the loudspeaker icon in the Windows taskbar and select "Sounds":
.
The audio devices exposed by the ALP driver are visible from the "Play" and "Record" tabs.
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User Manual – ALP222e & ALP222e-Mic
If the card devices are not listed in the Windows Sound control panel:
●Make sure that the card is inserted correctly in the PCI slot and screwed to the computer
chassis.
●Try to uninstall the ALP-X Kit (from the Windows control panel, Applications) and re-install it.
Playback to a device can be tested by right clicking on it and selecting "Test". The VU-meter must
then show modulation and the sound must be heard on the card output(s) according to the
routing and levels configured in the ALP-X Manager application.
If several cards of the same model are installed, their devices have the same name (ALP PLAY
and ALP REC), but the name of the card associated to each device differs from an index (no
index for the first card, and index starting from 2 for the following cards of the same model).
In the example below, the first card in the PCIe slot enumeration order is an ALP222e, the
second card is an ALP222e-Mic, and the third card is an ALP222e.
First card: ALP222e
Second card: ALP222e-MIC
Third card: ALP222e
ALP PLAY 1-2
Digigram ALP222e
ALP PLAY 3-4
Digigram ALP222e
ALP PLAY 1-2
Digigram ALP222e-MIC
ALP PLAY 3-4
Digigram ALP222e-MIC
ALP PLAY 1-2
2-Digigram ALP222e
ALP PLAY 3-4
2-Digigram ALP222e
Note
The output WDM device level setting, accessible from the Windows Sound control panel, is
coupled to the corresponding input level setting of the card's onboard mixer, and impacts left
and right channels.
Note that after the first installation of the card, the default gain settings are as follows:
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User Manual – ALP222e & ALP222e-Mic
●Input analog gains are set to 0 dB (+24 dBu-> 0 dBfs).
●Digital input and output gains are set to 0 dB
7.4.2 Card detected by the Digigram ALP-X Manager
application
The ALP-X Manager application, installed with the driver, is used to control the ALP card settings
via a graphic interface. This application can be launched from the shortcut created on the
desktop or from the start menu, Digigram group. The card must appear as below if it and its
driver are installed correctly. Note that a maximum of eight ALP cards can be displayed and
handled in ALP-X Manager.
Note: When the ALP Manager application is started, if the driver detects that the firmware version
on the ALP Card is too old, a message like the following one is displayed.
If several ALP cards are running in the PC with a too old firmware version, one message per card is
displayed.
From the list of ALP cards displayed in the ALP Manager, a firmware to be updated is displayed in
red colour as shown below.
Please refer to the firmware update procedure.
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User Manual – ALP222e & ALP222e-Mic
7.4.3 Card availability under ASIO
If the ASIO driver for the card has been installed (option to be selected during the installation
procedure), then the card must be detected and displayed in the ASIO control panel.
This control panel can be started from the ASIO application to select the appropriate audio
devices.
All cards present must be listed in the "ACTIVE CARDS GROUP" selection list.
7.5 Adjusting the internal latency of the card
The following describes advanced settings that may impact the proper functioning of data
exchanges between the card and the PC. It is recommended that you do not change these settings.
The internal latency of the card is determined by the duration of sample buffers the card exchanges
with the PC for playback and recording audio streams. By default, this duration is 32 sampling clock
periods (0.67ms at 48 kHz).
The lower the internal latency, the lower the global latency of the card. However, a very low latency
may lead to “choppy” audio on slow PCs. In this case it is necessary to increase the internal latency.
The internal latency of each ALP card can be changed by selecting the properties of the card, from
the Windows Device Manager:
Right click on the ALP card, and select Properties, Advanced.
The following window is displayed:
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User Manual – ALP222e & ALP222e-Mic
Internal buffer: number of sampling clock periods of
the buffers exchanged between the card and the
driver.
Event quantity: This parameter should not be
modified without having technical advice from
Digigram.
Select the new latency value, and click on “Ok”.
This operation has to be done for each installed ALP card whose internal latency has to be changed
(ALP cards in the same PC may have different latencies, depending on the application needs).
The PC must be restarted to take the changes into account.
7.6 Replacing a card
If an ALP card has to be replaced by another one, it is strongly recommended to proceed as follows:
●Turn off the PC.
●Remove the card to be replaced.
●Restart the PC.
●Go to the Windows Device Manager, and select “Sound, video and game controllers”.
From the “View” menu, select “Show Hidden devices”.
Select the ALP card that was hidden and select “Uninstall”.
●Turn off the PC.
●Insert the new card.
●Restart the PC.
7.7 Changing the order of installed cards
If several ALP cards are installed, and you want to move cards from a slot to another, it is strongly
recommended to proceed as follows:
●Turn off the PC.
●Remove the cards to be moved.
●Restart the PC.
●Go to the Windows Device Manager, and select “Sound, video and game controllers”.
From the “View” menu, select “Show Hidden devices”.
Select the ALP cards that were hidden and select “Uninstall”.
●Turn off the PC.
●Insert the cards in the appropriate slots.
●Restart the PC.
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User Manual – ALP222e & ALP222e-Mic
8 UNINSTALLING THE DRIVER UNDER
WINDOWS
Proceed as follows to uninstall an ALP driver version.
Please note that uninstalling a version must be done prior to the installation of another version.
From Windows Start menu, open the ”Settings” panel
Click on the “Apps” icon.
From the list of installed Apps & features, select ALP-X Kit.
Click on Uninstall.
This will remove all the ALP-X ... components
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