Purebits X4 User manual

AUDIO INTERFACE
MICROPHONE PRE-AMPLIFIER
OWNER'S MANUAL
Purebits
http://purebits com
HARDWARE VR 1 4
X4 Owner's Manual - Rev. 1.4 - page 1

Table of Contents
Precautions and warnings............................................................. 2
Introduction................................................................................. 3
Key features................................................................................. 3
Product features........................................................................... 4
What's in the package................................................................... 5
Installation................................................................................... 6
Generic Windows drivers................................................................ 6
ASIO drivers............................................................................... 10
Controls and Indicators............................................................... 10
Front Panel................................................................................. 10
Rear Panel.................................................................................. 13
Using the X4................................................................................ 14
Pla ing...................................................................................... 14
Recording, Microphone preamplifier, Phantom power........................ 19
Digital input/output...................................................................... 19
VU-Meters.................................................................................. 20
CE Declaration of Conformity....................................................... 20
END USER WARRANTY................................................................. 21
Precautions and warnings
Please read carefull this manual before operating the unit!
This device uses low voltage (5V) power supply from the computer USB port
It must be used only on a CE compliant personal computer
All registered trademarks and brand names used in this document are the registered
propert of their respective owners.
X4 Owner's Manual - Rev. 1.4 - page 2

Introduction
X4 is an USB soundcard providing analog and digital input/output and a built-in
microphone/line preamplifier. It has been designed and manufactured for acoustics
measurement and Live Recordings purposes, but can be used also for general tasks.
X4 is completel plug&pla in PC, Mac and Linux/Unix environments, does not require
an external power suppl and is enclosed in a robust and light-weight aluminum
case.
Key features
Full Compliant with USB 1.1
Bus powered (does not require an external power suppl )
16-bit Delta-Sigma ADC and DAC
Sampling Rate:
- DAC: 32, 44.1, 48 kHz
- ADC: 8, 11.025, 16, 22.05, 32, 44.1, 48 kHz
Uses onl Burr-Brown Codec and Operational Amplifiers in the audio signal path.
For more information about specifications and performance see the Burr-Brown (Texas
Instruments) website http://www.ti.com and search for PCM2906 (codec) and
OPA2353 (Opamp).
Available in 2 color options:
Black anodized aluminum enclosure Natural anodized aluminum enclosure
X4 Owner's Manual - Rev. 1.4 - page 3

Product features
2 channel IN / 2 channel OUT USB soundcard (16 bit, up to 48 kHz (*) sample
rate), compatible with all Windows versions (no driver required), Linux and Macintosh.
High accurac A/D and D/A converters from Burr-Brown:
(*) The soundcard can operate also at a sample frequency of 96 kHz, but the audio bandwidth
is limited to kHz.
No external power suppl required. Powered from USB port.
Ver robust anodized aluminum enclosure.
Compact size: 103 x 53 x 120 mm
2 color options: Anodized black or anodized natural
2 x 10 Led VU-Meter bar graphs, for accurate input level adjustment.
Can be used as Preamplifier for Microphone and line levels.
Input and output stages based on state-of-the-art Burr-Brown operational amplifiers
4 inputs, RCA connectors, mixable with stereo input JACK connector. Input 1 and 3
are downmixed to USB input Left. Input 2 and 4 are downmixed to USB input Right.
Suitable for Live recording, using 2 or 4 microphones, and for acoustics
measurements.
Separate switchable phantom power for channels 1/2 and 3/4, optimized for
Panasonic WM6x series electret microphonic capsules (3,6 V).
Input level adjustment real ing on high accurac Cermet potentiometers. Separate
knobs for inputs 1/3 and 2/4.
Separate Preamplifier/Monitor JACK stereo output. It can drive Line/headphone
loads.
USB soundcard stereo JACK/2 x RCA output. It can drive Line/headphone loads.
Line/Microphone input gain switch.
Digital Input / Output, Coaxial and Optical.
Manual selector switch for Coaxial or Optical input (the digital input signal can onl
be recorded through USB, it is not buffered to monitor output).
X4 power consumption is 0.75W (all VU meter leds OFF); Peak: 1.75W (all VU
meter leds ON)
X4 Owner's Manual - Rev. 1.4 - page 4

What's in the package
X4 audio device
USB cable
One stereo Jack to 2 RCA converter
One stereo RCA-RCA cable
X4 Owner's Manual - Rev. 1.4 - page 5

Installation
Generic Windows drivers
The X4 device does not require an additional driver to operate.
Locate an USB port of our computer and connect, with the cable provided in the
package, the X4 device. The blu led in the front panel of the X4 will light. The first
installation from this point depends from our operating s stem.
Windows XP and 2000
After the X4 connection the s stem will displa the message “Found new Hardware”
and will install automaticall the required drivers.
After this step, the X4 will be read to use.
Windows Millenium
After the X4 connection the s stem will displa the message “Add new Hardware
Wizard”. Follow the instructions and enable (if asked) the option “Search for the best
driver”. After completing this procedure, the X4 will be read to use.
Windows 98 SE
After the X4 connection, the s stem will displa the message “Add new Hardware
Wizard”, that will refer to an USB Composite Device (the displa ed name could be
different depending on the local and language version of the operating s stem).
X4 Owner's Manual - Rev. 1.4 - page 6

Click Next and the following window will appear:
Select the “Search for the best driver” option and click Next.
The following window will appear:
X4 Owner's Manual - Rev. 1.4 - page 7

Now the standard USB Audio windows driver must be installed:
1- Tr deselecting all options and click Next.
If no suitable drivers are found, repeat this step:
2a- Insert our Windows 98 CDROM, select the CD-ROM option and click Next.
2b- Alternativel (if our Windows 98 installation files are on the hard disk) use the
“Specif a location” option, Browse for the Windows 98 cabs files (usuall the are in
C:\Windows\Options\Cabs location) and click Next.
After this operation, a new window will appear, informing that Windows is read to
install the best driver for this device.
The message will inform: Location of the driver C:\WINDOWS\INF\USB.INF (this
may vary depending on your Windows installation folder).
Click Next and the last screen will inform that Windows has finished installing the
software and an USB Composite Device is installed. Click Finish.
After this operation another “Add new Hardware Wizard” will be displa ed. Follow
exactl the same procedure described above and install the USB Human Interface.
The final dialog will give ou the information:
Location of the driver C:\WINDOWS\INF\HIDDEV.INF
After this installation, the last “Add new Hardware Wizard” will be displa ed. Follow
again the same procedure to install the USB Audio Device.
The final dialog will inform:
Location of the driver C:\WINDOWS\INF\WDMA_USB.INF (this may be different
depending on many factors)
Now the X4 is operative, and can be disconnected and reconnected to the pc at an
time without additional installation requirements.
The driver installed are the standard MME and/or the WDM drivers (backward
compatible with the MME drivers).
Verif ing the correct installation
In Windows XP and Windows 2000, right-click the My Computer icon on the
desktop, click Properties and S stem Properties, then the Device Manager button.
In Windows 98 SE and Windows Millenium, right-click the My Computer icon on
the desktop, click Properties and, in the S stem Properties screen, the Device
Manager tab.
If the X4 is installed correctl , 3 new devices should be listed:
X4 Owner's Manual - Rev. 1.4 - page 8

USB Audio Device in the Sound, video and game controllers section:
Composite USB Device in the USB Controller (Universal Serial Bus) section:
USB Human Interface Device in the Human Interface Devices section:
X4 Owner's Manual - Rev. 1.4 - page 9

ASIO drivers
The X4 sound card is compatible with ASIO drivers. To use the X4 with ASIO, a
generic ASIO driver can be used. There are some freeware ASIO drivers on internet.
We suggest ASIO4ALL b Michael Tippach, that can be downloaded from here:
http://www.asio4all.com/
Another free generic ASIO driver is ASIO2KS, b Tobias Erichsen.
It can be downloaded from http://www.asio2ks.de/
Please refer to the respective webpages for instructions about the use of these
drivers.
ASIO is a trademark of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH
Controls and Indicators
Front Panel
X4 Owner's Manual - Rev. 1.4 - page 10