M2TECH HiFace User manual

M2TECH
HI FACE
192 K H Z /24BIT DIGITAL AUDIO INTERFACE
USER MANUAL
REV. 1.0 – 11/2010

hi F ce
192 k H z /24bit digit l udio interf ce
REVISION 1.o – NOVEMBER 2010
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Warning!
Changes or modifications not authorized by the manufacturer can invalidate the
compliance to CE regulations and cause the unit to be no more suitable to use. The
manufacturer refuses every responsibility regarding damages to people or things
due to the use of a unit which has been subject to unauthorized modifications or to
misuse or to malfunction of a unit which has been subject to unauthorized
modifications.
This unit is compliant with the following CE regulations when an SB cable less than 3m is used: CEI EN
55022:2009 Class B (Radiated Emissions), CEI EN 55024:1999, CEI EN 55024:A2/2003, CEI EN
55024:IS1/2008 (Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Fields, 50Hz Magnetic Field Immunity Test and
Electrostatic Discharges – ESD).
Recycling
The label above, printed on the product case, indicates that the product, when no more usable, can’t be
treated as generic garbage, but must be disposed of at a collection point for recycling of electrical and
electronic equipment, in compliance with the WEEE regulation (Waste of Electrical and Electronic
Equipment).
By making sure that this unit is correctly recycled, you will help preventing potential damages to environment
and human health, which could be caused by a wrong treatment of this product as generic garbage.
Materials recycling helps saving natural resources. For more in-depth information about recycling this
product, please contact M2Tech Snc di Manunta & Marino.
WARNING: the information contained in this manual are considered to be reliable and accurate.
2Tech reserves the right to change or modify the information any time, without prior advice. It’s up
to the customer to ensure that the manual being consulted is the latest version.

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REVISION 1.o – NOVEMBER 2010
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Dear customer,
thank you for purchasing hi F ce. What you have is a first-rate SB-to-S/PDIF converter
with many unique features conceived to obtain the best audio performance out of a music
file.
Even if getting digital music out of a PC or a Mac is nowadays quite simple, much harder is
to obtain the best sonic performance from it, due to intrinsic limits in SB 1.1 audio
standard and the implementation of digital audio interfaces in computers. Please visit
M2Tech website (www.m2tech.biz) to find extensive literature about this topic.
hi F ce overcomes all the limits of usual SB-to-audio interfaces by implementing
proprietary drivers and by using asynchronous data transfer, along with a sophisticated
electronic design.
hi F ce is available with either RCA or true 75 Ohms output connector which suites virtually
all DAC’s and A/V receivers around.
We feel that your expectations will be fulfilled by hi F ce: you’ll hear your DAC and your
music files in a way like never before, prepare for a whole new experience!
Nadia Marino, CEO
Please annotate here your hiFace purchase date for future reference:
Date of purchase: _________________________

hi F ce
192 k H z /24bit digit l udio interf ce
REVISION 1.o – NOVEMBER 2010
Copyright © 2010, M2Tech Snc di Manunta & Marino
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M2Tech
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INDEX
1. Connections.....................................................................................................................5
2. Connection to the host.....................................................................................................6
3.1. Obtaining the driver ...................................................................................................7
3.2. Installing the driver on a Windows-based PC............................................................7
3.2.1. Automatic (guided) installation...........................................................................7
3.2.2. Manual installation ..............................................................................................9
3.3. Installing the driver on a Mac ..................................................................................10
3.4. nistalling the driver................................................................................................12
3.4.1. ninstalling the driver on a Windows-based PC after installation with
setup32.exe or setup64.exe .......................................................................................12
3.4.2. Manually uninstalling the driver on a Windows-based PC ................................12
3.4.3. ninstalling the driver on a Mac........................................................................13
4. Configuring the computer to use hiFace ........................................................................14
4.1. Configuring a PC with Windows XP ........................................................................14
4.1.1. Configuring for Direct Sound with Windows XP................................................14
4.1.2. Configuring for Kernel Streaming with Windows XP .........................................15
4.1.3. sing hiFace in both Kernel Streaming and Direct Sound mode. .....................15
4.2. Configuring a PC with Windows Vista or Windows 7...............................................16
4.2.1. Configuring for Direct Sound with Windows Vista or Windows 7 ......................16
4.2.2. Configuring for Kernel Streaming with Windows Vista or Windows 7 ...............17
4.2.3. Configuring for WASAPI with Windows Vista or Windows 7.............................17
4.3. Configuring a Mac ...................................................................................................17
5.1. FooBar ....................................................................................................................18
5.2. Winamp and MediaMonkey.....................................................................................18
6. Configuring the player for WASAPI: an example ...........................................................20
6.1. FooBar ....................................................................................................................20
7. Interface special features...............................................................................................21
7.1. Output voltage.........................................................................................................21
7.2. Sampling frequency coding in the bitstream............................................................21
7.3. Output connector choice .........................................................................................21
8. Technical Specifications ................................................................................................22

hi F ce
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REVISION 1.o – NOVEMBER 2010
Copyright © 2010, M2Tech Snc di Manunta & Marino
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M2Tech
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1. Connections
Figure 1
1) USB input. Connect directly to the SB 2.0 port of a PC or Mac, or use an SB
extender (A male to A female). In the latter, the extender must be compliant with SB 2.0
an less than 4m, otherwise the bus performance will decrease and the correct operation of
the interface will not be guaranteed. SB type A male connector
2) S/PDIF output. Connect to the DAC input with a 75 Ohms digital cable. RCA male
connector or BNC 75 Ohms male connector.
1
2

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2. Connection to the host
Please refer to section 1, “Connections”.
Connect the hiFace to the host SB 2.0 port by inserting its SB plug (Figure 1, 1) into the
host socket. If straight insertion is difficult or when in need of avoiding straight insertion, an
SB 2.0 extender cable (A male to A female) can be used. Please avoid using extenders
more than 4m, to avoid invalidating the bus performance.
If a driver hasn’t been installed on your computer, an automatic driver installation wizard
may appear.
Note: If you want to avoid the automatic driver installation, please connect hiFace to
the computer after manually installing the driver (see section 3).

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3. Driver installation
3.1. Obtaining the driver
The drivers for hiFace are available on the M2Tech website, in the download page
(www.m2tech.biz/download.asp). Download the driver you need for your computer and
operating system. Windows drivers are contained in zip files, Mac drivers are contained in
dmg files.
3.2. Installing the driver on a Windows-based PC
Create a temporary folder in the hard disk of your computer (you can even create it on the
desktop). Then, double-click on the zip file to open it. Select and drag all files in the
temporary folder: this automatically unzips all files.
3.2.1. Automatic (guided) installation
Connect hiFace to the PC. Following the negotiation process, the driver installation wizard
is automatically launched. Select the option “Not now”, as in Figure 2.
Figure 2

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Click on the button to proceed. A window appears as shown in figure 3:
Figure 3
Choose automatic installation (as recommended) and proceed to next step. Indicate the
folder where you have previously unzipped the driver and proceed to installation. The
window shown in figure 4 will appear:
Figure 4

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Click on Continue. The installation will proceed to the end. The window shown in figure 5
will appear. Click on Finish to complete the driver installation.
Figure 5
Note: the wizard appearance and the guided installation procedure may slightly vary
from XP to Vista to Windows 7.
3.2.2. anual installation
Sometimes it’s necessary or advisable to install the driver manually. The installation
package offers two installation utilities, “setup32.exe” and “setup64.exe”. The former is for
32 bits operating systems, while the latter is for 64 bits operating systems. Without
connecting hiFace to the PC, double-click on either “setup64.exe” or “setup32.exe”,
depending on your operating system: the driver will be installed in your PC.

hi F ce
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3.3. Installing the driver on a ac
Double-click on the zip file to open it. It contains a single dmg file. Extract it from the zip
and double-click on it to open it. It only contains a pkg file. Double click on it to start driver
installation. The window shown in figure 6 will appear.
Figure 6
Click on the Continue button. The installation process will go on and the window in figure 7
will appear.
Figure 7