miniDSP U-DIO8 User manual

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U-DIO8
8-CHANNEL HIGH-RESOLUTION USB INTERFACE
WITH AES/EBU DIGITAL I/O
User Manual

miniDSP Ltd, Hong Kong / www.minidsp.com / Features and specifications subject to change without prior notice 2
Revision history
Revision
Description
Date
0.1
First draft
23 Oct 2017
0.2
Second draft
27 Oct 2017
0.3
SRC clarifications
09 Nov 2017

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Important Information...................................................................................................................................4
1Product Overview ....................................................................................................................................6
2Hardware Connectivity.............................................................................................................................7
2.1 Digital input and output .............................................................................................................................................7
2.2 DC Power..................................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.3 USB .............................................................................................................................................................................8
3Installation and Configuration – Windows ................................................................................................9
3.1 Before you start..........................................................................................................................................................9
3.2 Installation..................................................................................................................................................................9
3.2.1 Download the latest driver................................................................................................................................9
3.2.2 Connect your U-DIO8.........................................................................................................................................9
3.2.3 Setup the driver package.................................................................................................................................10
3.3 Configuration............................................................................................................................................................10
3.3.1 Driver info........................................................................................................................................................10
3.3.2 Buffer settings .................................................................................................................................................11
3.3.3 Firmware upgrade ...........................................................................................................................................11
3.3.4 Device configuration........................................................................................................................................12
3.3.5 Output channel volume control (playback).....................................................................................................12
3.3.6 Clock source.....................................................................................................................................................13
3.3.7 Stream formats................................................................................................................................................13
4Installation and Configuration – Mac OS X ..............................................................................................14
4.1 Installation................................................................................................................................................................14
4.2 Configuration............................................................................................................................................................14
5Additional Information...........................................................................................................................17
5.1 Specifications ...........................................................................................................................................................17
5.2 Firmware Upgrade ...................................................................................................................................................17
5.3 Obtaining support ....................................................................................................................................................17

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IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please read the following information before use. In case of any questions, please contact miniDSP via the
support portal at minidsp.desk.com.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
To configure your U-DIO8 audio processor, you will require a Windows or Apple Mac computer with the
following minimum specification:
Windows
•Intel Pentium III or later, AMD Athlon XP or later
•2 Gigabytes (GB) of RAM or higher
•Keyboard and mouse or compatible pointing device
•Microsoft• ® Windows® Vista® SP1/Win7/Win8/Win10
•One free USB 2.0 port
Mac OS X
•Intel-based Mac with 1 GHz or higher processor clock speed
•2 Gigabytes (GB) of RAM or higher
•Keyboard and mouse or compatible pointing device
•OS X 10.9 (Mavericks) to macOS 10.12 (Sierra)
•One free USB 2.0 port
DISCLAIMER/WARNING
miniDSP cannot be held responsible for any damage that may result from the improper use or incorrect
configuration of this product. Please read this manual carefully to ensure that you fully understand how to
operate and use this product, as incorrect use or use beyond the parameters and ways recommended in this
manual have the potential to cause damage to your audio system.
Please also note that many of the questions we receive at the technical support department are already
answered in this User Manual and in the online application notes on the miniDSP.com website. So please take
the time to carefully read this user manual and the online technical documentation. And if an issue arises with
your unit, please read through the Troubleshooting section first. Thank you for your understanding!
WARRANTY TERMS
miniDSP Ltd warrants this product to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for a period of one
year from the invoice date. Our warranty does not cover failure of the product due to incorrect connection or
installation, improper or undocumented use, unauthorized servicing, modification or alteration of the unit in any
way, or any usage outside of that recommended in this manual. If in doubt, contact miniDSP prior to use.

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FCC CLASS BSTATEMENT
This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions:
•This device may not cause harmful interference.
•This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired
operation.
Warning: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device,
pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection. This
equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance
with the instructions, may cause interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that
interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio
or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to
try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:
•Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
•Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
•Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected.
•Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.
Notice: Shielded interface cable must be used in order to comply with emission limits.
Notice: Changes or modification not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the
user’s authority to operate the equipment.
CE MARK STATEMENT
The U-DIO8 has passed the test performed according to European Standard EN 55022 Class B.
ANOTE ON THIS MANUAL
This User Manual is designed for reading in both print and on the computer. If printing the manual, please print
double-sided. The embedded page size is 8 ½” x 11”. Printing on A4 paper will result in a slightly reduced size.
For reading on the computer, we have included hyperlinked cross-references throughout the manual. In
addition, a table of contents is embedded in the PDF file. Displaying this table of contents will make navigation
easier.

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1PRODUCT OVERVIEW
Thank you for purchasing a miniDSP U-DIO8digital I/O. The U-DIO8 supports 8 channels of audio recording and 8
channels of playback at sample rates up to 192 kHz. Inputs and outputs are digital (AES/EBU x 4), provided on a
DB-25 connector. Sample rate converters on the AES-EBU input stream will be matched to the selected
recording sample rate on your PC/MAC.
The U-DIO8 is an ideal solution for:
•High-resolution multi-channel audio
•Computer-based (HTPC) home theater
•Surround-sound mixing and mastering
•Computer-based active loudspeaker systems
Figure 1. Typical application

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2HARDWARE CONNECTIVITY
2.1 DIGITAL INPUT AND OUTPUT
Up to eight channels can be connected to the U-DIO8 via the supplied DB-25 breakout cable. 4 AES/EBU digital
inputs and four AES/EBU digital outputs are present on the connector using the TASCAM pinout.
The supplied cable has the following channel assignment:
Channels
Color
In 1&2
Purple
In 3&4
Blue
In 5&6
Green
In 7&8
Orange
Out 1&2
Yellow
Out 3&4
Red
Out 5&6
Grey
Out 7&8
Brown
Input sample rate
All inputs have a stereo asynchronous sample rate conversion (ASRC) and accept sample rates
from 32 to 216 kHz. The sample rate converter will adapt the input sample rate to the selected
recording sample rate of your recording software (e.g. ProTools/Cubase). Each pair of channels
can have a different sample rate. (e.g. AES-EBU IN 1&2 @ 192k - > Converted to 96k recording
project).
Output sample rate
All outputs run at the sample rate selected in the playback software/OS. Only one sample rate
can be selected for all 8 output channels. The output sample rate ranges from 44.1~192kHz.

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The supplied 5 VDC power supply includes a set of interchangeable power pins. Fit the correct pins for your
country. Connect the DC plug to the 5 VDC power socket.
Apply power to the U-DIO8 only after all input and output connections have been made. The U-DIO8
uses little power and can be left powered on all the time.
2.2 USB
To play audio through the U-DIO8, connect the USB port of the U-DIO8 to a USB 2.0 port on your computer using
the supplied cable. The U-DIO8 should also be connected for initial driver installation under Windows.

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3INSTALLATION AND CONFIGURATION –WINDOWS
Please read and follow all steps in this section carefully.
3.1 BEFORE YOU START
64-bit editions of Microsoft Windows 8 and later require by default that software drivers be digitally signed. In
order to complete the installation steps below on these versions of Windows, you will need to change the
default behavior. Rather than describe all the steps here, we refer you to websites that explain the steps in
detail:
•http://www.howtogeek.com/167723/how-to-disable-driver-signature-verification-on-64-bit-windows-
8.1-so-that-you-can-install-unsigned-drivers/
•http://www.top-password.com/blog/how-to-disable-driver-signature-enforcement-in-windows-10-8-7/
3.2 INSTALLATION
The U-DIO8 is a USB Audio Class 2.0 device. For use with Microsoft Windows, driver installation is required.
3.2.1 Download the latest driver
When you receive notification that your order has shipped, your installation software download will be available
at the User Downloads section of the miniDSP website:
http://www.minidsp.com/userdownloads
(If you are unable to access this section of the website, please login first.)
Download the installation zip file under the USB Streamer Driver heading and unzip the folder on your PC.
3.2.2 Connect your U-DIO8
In order to automatically detect the U-DIO8 during driver installation, connect the U-DIO8 to your PC and power
it on before going to the following step.

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3.2.3 Setup the driver package
Click on the setup.exe application in the unzipped installation folder to start the installation process. The
installer will first check for the presence of the U-DIO8, then continue with installing the driver.
Installation will take several minutes. Accept the defaults for screens such as install location. If you receive a
warning that Windows cannot verify the publisher, click Install this driver software anyway.
3.3 CONFIGURATION
To configure the U-DIO8, open the USBStreamer Control Panel (from Start Menu -> miniDSP Ltd ->
USBStreamer). It has several panes, described below.
3.3.1 Driver info
This panel provides general information and the driver version.