Digigram ALP442e User manual

User Manual for ALP442e & ALP442e-MIC, ALP882e & ALP882e-MIC
1
User Manual
ALP442e & ALP442e-MIC
ALP882e & ALP882e-MIC
Professional multi-channel sound card
March 2023
Author
Date
Status
SBT
15/11/22
En rédaction

User Manual for ALP442e & ALP442e-MIC, ALP882e & ALP882e-MIC
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION 5
2 IMPORTANT NOTICE 6
3 BOX CONTENTS 7
4 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS 7
4.1 Main hardware characteristics 7
4.2 Main software characteristics 7
4.3 Routing audio streams in the card 8
5 REQUIRED CONFIGURATION 11
5.1 Required hardware configuration 11
5.2 Necessary software configuration under Windows 13
5.3 Necessary software configuration under Linux 13
6 HARDWARE INSTALLATION 14
6.1 Preparing the card 14
6.2 Installing the card 14
6.3 State of internal LED 14
7 SOFTWARE INSTALLATION UNDER WINDOWS 15
7.1 Very first installation 15
7.2 Updating the driver version 16
7.3 Updating the firmware 16
7.4 Verifying the card installation 17
7.4.1 Presence of playback and recording devices 17
7.4.2 Card detected by the Digigram ALP-X Manager application 18
7.4.3 Card availability under ASIO 18
7.5 Replacing a card 20
7.6 Changing the order of installed cards 20
8 UNINSTALLING THE DRIVER UNDER WINDOWS 20
9 CONFIGURING THE CARD UNDER WINDOWS VIA THE ALP-X MANAGER APPLICATION 22
9.1 Sampling clock management 22
9.2 Managing input and output levels 24
9.3 Managing the routing and mixing of input signals 29
9.4 Display of GPIOs and control of GPOs 32
9.5 Creating, saving and loading sessions 32
9.6 Updating the firmware 32
9.7 Keyboard shortcuts 34
10 ASIO CONTROL PANEL for Windows 35

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11 SOFTWARE INSTALLATION UNDER LINUX 36
11.1 Automatic installation 36
11.2 Building and installing the driver manually 37
12 CONFIGURING ALP882e and ALP882e-Mic UNDER LINUX VIA AMIXER 38
12.1 Diagram of the audio inputs towards audio outputs chain 38
12.2 Description of the controls 42
12.2.1 Clock, SRCs, phantom power (ALP882e-MIC) 42
12.2.2 Gains on the physical inputs 45
12.2.3 Gains on the application DAW inputs (play from software applications) 47
12.2.4 Gains on the physical outputs 48
12.2.5 Gains on the DAW outputs (recording from software applications) 49
12.2.6 Gains in the matrix applied to a Play DAW input 49
12.2.7 Gains in the matrix applied to the signal from an analog input 52
12.2.8 Gains in the matrix applied to the signal from a digital input 54
12.2.9 Rules to calculate the gain values 55
12.2.10 Example of gains for the calibration of input and output signal levels 57
12.2.11 GPIOs 57
13 SPECIFICATIONS 58
13.1 Configuration 58
13.2 Inputs 58
13.3 Outputs 59
13.4 Audio characteristics 59
13.5 Analog performances 59
13.6 Sample rate converters (SRC) 60
13.7 Connectors 60
13.8 Development environment 60
14 APPENDICES 61
14.1 ALP442e & ALP442e-MIC functional diagram 61
14.2 ALP882e & ALP882e-MIC functional diagram 62
14.3 LED 63
14.4 Connectors and switches 63
14.5 How to use the GPIOs 64
14.5.1 GPIs 64
14.5.2 GPOs 64
14.6 Cables for ALP442e and ALP442e-MIC 65
14.6.1 Cable for analog I/Os 65
14.6.1.1 Diagram 65
14.6.1.2 Pinout 65
14.6.2 Cable for digital I/Os 67
14.6.2.1 Diagram 67
14.6.2.2 Pinout 68

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14.7 Cables for ALP882e and ALP882e-MIC 70
14.7.1 Cable for analog I/Os 70
14.7.1.1 Diagram 70
14.7.1.2 Pinout 71
14.7.2 Cable for digital I/Os 73
14.7.2.1 Diagram 73
14.7.2.2 Pinout 74

User Manual for ALP442e & ALP442e-MIC, ALP882e & ALP882e-MIC
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1 INTRODUCTION
This document describes the installation and use of the following Digigram multichannel PCI Express
cards under Windows and Linux: ALP442e, ALP442e-MIC, ALP882e, and ALP882e-MIC.
These cards are part of the ALP-X professional sound cards range.
Copyright 2023 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, ALP442e, ALP442e-MIC, ALP882e and ALP882e-MIC are trademarks or
brand names of Digigram Digital. All other marks are owned by their respective companies.

User Manual for ALP442e & ALP442e-MIC, ALP882e & ALP882e-MIC
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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.

User Manual for ALP442e & ALP442e-MIC, ALP882e & ALP882e-MIC
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3 BOX CONTENTS
Thank you for purchasing a DIGIGRAM sound card in the ALP-X range.
The box contains:
●The ALP442e, or ALP442e-MIC, or ALP882e, or ALP882e-MIC sound card equipped with a low-
profile bracket (79.2 mm),
●a standard height bracket (full height: 120 mm) that can be fitted instead of the low profile
one.
The two breakout cables that bear the XLR and BNC connectors are available as an option. One cable
supports the analog I/Os, the other one supports the digital I/Os and clocks.
Please contact your card supplier to acquire the Digigram-certified cables.
4 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
ALP442e, ALP442e-MIC, ALP882e and ALP882e-MIC are PCI EXPRESSTM x1 sound cards. They can be
inserted into and therefore operate in PCIe® x1, x4, x8 or x16 slots.
4.1 Main hardware characteristics
●4 (ALP442e/ALP442e-MIC) or 8 (ALP882e/ALP882e-MIC) balanced analog inputs with:
- software-adjustable analog gain and a maximum input level of +24 dBu.
- switchable 48V phantom power on each input (ALP442e-MIC and ALP882e-MIC)
These inputs can be used in unbalanced mode (“-” signal to be connected to the ground).
●8 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).
●2 (ALP442e/ALP442e-MIC) or 4 (ALP882e/ALP882e-MIC) stereo digital AES3 inputs, 32 kHz to
192 kHz, each with a high quality hardware sample rate converter (SRC).
●2 (ALP442e/ALP442e-MIC) or 4 (ALP882e/ALP882e-MIC) AES3 stereo digital AES3 outputs (up
to 192 kHz)
●1 AES11 synchronisation input (up to 192 kHz)
●1 word clock input/output (up to 192 kHz)
●8 GPI dry contacts and 8 GPO relays
●Inter-card synchronisation
4.2 Main software characteristics
●Low latency multi-card drivers
- Wasapi/DirectSound and ASIO application programming interfaces under Windows
- Alsa and libgpio for Linux
●ALP442e / ALP442e-MIC: 8 playback channels / 8 recording channels
ALP882e / ALP882e-MIC: 16 playback channels / 16 recording channels
●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

User Manual for ALP442e & ALP442e-MIC, ALP882e & ALP882e-MIC
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outputs and software recording devices.
●"ALP-X Manager" application installed with the driver, to control the card settings:
- clock source (internal, wordclock, AES11, AES3 input)
- frequency of the fallback internal clock
- input and output gains and VU-meters
- 48V phantom power switches (for -MIC cards)
- 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 cards incorporate an on-board mixer in an FPGA component.
On ALP442e and ALP442e-MIC, this is a mixer with 16 mono inputs (8 stereo) and 16 mono
outputs (8 stereo). The mixer captures the physical input channels of the card (4 analog
channels and 4 AES3 channels) and the 8 channels of the playback devices.
The mixer restores 16 audio channels, respectively to the 8 physical outputs of the card (4
analog channels and 4 AES3 channels) and the 8 recording device channels.
The mixer can therefore be configured to perform the mixing and the routing of the 16 input
channels to the 16 output channels (16 mix sums).
4 analog input
ch.
8 DAW playback channels
4 digital input ch.
16 x 16 on-board
mixer
(16 mix sums)
4 analog output
ch.
8 DAW recording channels
4 digital output
ch.
ALP442e & ALP442e-
MIC

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On ALP882e and ALP882e-MIC, this is a mixer with 32 mono inputs (16 stereo) and 32 mono
outputs (16 stereo).
The mixer captures the physical input channels of the card (8 analog channels and 8 AES3
channels) and the 16 channels of the playback devices.
The mixer restores 32 audio channels, respectively to the 16 physical outputs of the card (8
analog channels and 8 AES3 channels) and the 16 recording device channels.
The mixer can therefore be configured to perform the mixing and the routing of all the 32 input
channels to the 32 output channels (32 mix sums).
The following diagrams show a more detailed view of the workflows in the card, with the input
and output gains.
8 analog input
channels
16 DAW playback
channels
8 digital input
channels
32 x 32 on-board
mixer
(32 mix sums)
8 analog output
channels
16 DAW recording
channels
8 digital output
channels
ALP882e & ALP882e-
MIC

User Manual for ALP442e & ALP442e-MIC, ALP882e & ALP882e-MIC
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Rec
Playout
applicat
ion(s)
ANA
ANA
AES
AES
A
D
Acquis
ition
applic
ations
AES3
Analog
Playback
Playback
16 x
16
mixer
ANA
ANA
A
D
Analog
AES
AES
AES3
+
+
Rec
+
+
Anal
og
+
+
Anal
og
+
+
Digit
al
+
+
Digit
al
+
+
ANA
ANA
AES
AES
ANA
ANA
AES
AES
Playback
Playback
Rec
+
+
Rec
+
+
ALP442e and
ALP442e-MIC
48V
and
gain
:
ALP442
e only

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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, 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.
Rec
ordin
Playout
applica
tion(s)
ANA
ANA
AES
AES
A
D
Acqu
isitio
AES3
Analog
Playback
device
Playback
device
32 x
32
mixer
A
D
Analog
AES
AES3
+
+
Rec
ordin
+
+
Anal
og
+
+
Anal
og
+
+
Digit
al
+
+
Digit
al
+
+
ANA
ANA
ANA
AES
AES
48V
and
gain
:
ALP882
e only
ALP882e and
ALP882e-MIC

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The windows 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)”
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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5.2 Necessary software configuration under Windows
ALP cards operate under Windows from 64-bit versions of Windows 10 from version 20H2, and from
Windows Server 2019.
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 ALP882e card support page or from the
ALP882e-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 (32 bits and 64 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
ALP cards 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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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 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.
6.3 State of internal LED
The ALP card has two internal LEDs on the edge of its mother board, as shown below.. 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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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 an available PCIe slot.
●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.
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

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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.
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).
-

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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 card driver are visible from the "Play" and "Record" tabs.
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 ALP882e, the second
card is an ALP442e, and the third card is an ALP882e.
First card: ALP882e
Second card: ALP442e
Third card: ALP882e
ALP PLAY 1-2
Digigram ALP882e
ALP PLAY 3-4
Digigram ALP882e
...
ALP PLAY 15-16
Digigram ALP882e
ALP PLAY 1-2
Digigram ALP442e
ALP PLAY 3-4
Digigram ALP442e
...
ALP PLAY 7-8
Digigram ALP442e
ALP PLAY 1-2
2-Digigram ALP882e
ALP PLAY 3-4
2-Digigram ALP882e
...
ALP PLAY 15-16
2-DigigramALP882e

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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:
●Input analog gains are set to -24 dB (+24 dU -> 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.
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.

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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 48 sampling clock
periods (1ms at 48 kHz, 6ms at 8kHz, or 0.25ms at 192kHz).
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 the card can be changed by electing 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:
Internal buffer: number of sampling clock periods of
the buffers exchanged between the card and the
driver.
Select the new latency value, and click on “Ok”.
The PC must be restarted.

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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.
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.