Nappylady

Soundblaster SB0220, PCI slot 4 (which is immediately next to the AGP slot), IRQ 19, I/O range C000 - C01F
Soundblaster SB0220, PCI slot 6, IRQ 17, I/O Range C800 - C81F
Soundblaster CT4370, PCI slot 7, IRQ 19, I/O Range D000 - D01F
Soundblaster SB0102, PCI slot 8, IRQ 16, I/O Range D800 - D81F

This is how these cards appear in Device Manager in Windows 2000, and they all say they work fine--no trouble starting, no conflicts listed, no problems.

kX only recognizes 3 of them. The SB0220 in slot 6 is the one that's not appearing--I can see that it doesn't conflict with anything, so I don't understand why it shouldn't appear. Does kX have an upper limit of number of cards that can be supported simultaneously?

I just added the CT4370 to the computer. Before I added it, the other three cards all worked just as I expected them too. I *can* function with just 3 cards in there, but 4 would be really nice... Any suggestions? I'm about to go into the BIOS and start assigning IRQ's manually to see if that does anything.

Doug W

I am sure that I recall a thread or 2, where someone had successfully installed 4 cards. I only have 3 PCI slots in mine so I am at the end of the line. I am sure you have seen TravelRec's electroninc project. I guess that will be my next step if 3 cards aren't enough.

Let us know how it comes out.

Max M.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en...esign_2u5j.asp

Nappylady

A little bit more information: upon opening Winamp, I found that *ALL* of the Waveout devices for *ALL* of the cards show up. This corroborates Windows Device Manager which says that all 4 cards work.

So, if Windows can see all 4 cards, why can't I open up the mixer properties and DSP window for one of the cards? Something is wrong here.

(All I need from the CT4370 is Analog -> SPDIF conversion... if I can get that, I'm golden! But I can't access the DSP or mixer for it so it profits me nothing... )

dj_stick

i think the defaults for the DSP on the card when installed - sp/dif is enabled internally, and the input is usually heard from the speakers… so you may not need to change any settings for that one card

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Nappylady

I'd hoped that this was the case, but alas, this is not the case. There is nothing coming out the SPDIF outputs of the card--at least not that I can find.

Anyone seen Eugene lately? I've not run across a post of his for some time...

meroveus

It looks like Max M is right on the money.
Soln: upgrade to XP or downgrade to 98.
I wonder though, whether this 10 device limit is applicable to SP4?

All of this begs the question as to WHY you would want to run more than a single card unless they could be synchronized.
It is my understanding Lives and Audigies cannot accept external clocks, although they can drive others. ie. they can be master, but not slave.

There are two possible ways around this:
1. Run all cards off a single crystal/pair of crystals. I doubt this is possible.
2. Synchronize by using SPDIF timing signals. But it seems the cards are not capable of this.

Nappylady

What I'm doing, is using the SPDIF outputs of the 3 cards to feed the 1 card--the 1 card will have to resample these 3 SPDIF signals, so there is a small loss of quality--I suspect that it's not a big deal.

The limit Max M pointed to (and you're right--there's no way around it on 2K unless M$ decides to write a patch! But no way in hell I'm going to XP or back to 98!) is also correct--I can't, using the Windows model, access all 16 Waveouts, or all 16 MIDI devices.

However, since all I need is conversion of AC97 -> SPDIF, and I've proved that the hardware can be accessed, I don't understand why kX won't let me configure the DSP settings or mixer settings for one of the cards.

*sigh* Frustration...

Max M.

>I don't understand why kX won't let me configure the DSP settings or mixer settings for one of the cards.

Because mixer does not see any "mixer objects" created by driver for the last card...

meroveus

I am not alluding to resampling, but latency problems, due to the digital streams not being synchronized.
This may not be such a big problem with totally disparate sources. But can lead to 'phaser-type' effects with similar-sounding sources.

dj_stick

the phaser type issues can be solved byusing the phase plugin to invert the phase of one signal

as for eugene not posting often - he may not have the time, and the questions he would have answered may already be answered by someone else

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Doug W

Personally, I have never analyzed the wav files that are created when we record simultaneously from multiple sound cards but the final product just sounds like us singing and playing our instruments, however good or bad that might be.

TravelRec.

Hi!

If there´s such a hassle with so many cards (only for conversion thing) maybe it´s better to give external A/D conversion a try. This is not cheaper but you´ll save resources of your system and have the possibility to avoid all the noise and hum coming from the computer itself. Complete documetation and measurements are here. BTW: all signals going to SPDIF in are resampled inside of the card so you have this "issue" everytime, also with 4 cards. The question is: could you hear the difference between a clear or a resampled (48 to 48 kHz) signal?

Greetings!

TravelRec.

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Nappylady

Travelrec, your recommendation is awesome! I have read your site and I plan to (eventually) take on just such a project.

I'd like to know how many inputs you can actually get into one of these cards? There's a 3 SPDIF inputs, and also 3 I2S inputs--can all of these be used? Would that really mean 12 inputs?

If I do build one of these things, I'd also like my "breakout box" to have analog outputs, so I guess I need to do some research about AD and DA converters.

(hijack!)

What chip do you reccommend for A/D conversion? What chip do you reccommend for D/A conversion? What kind of support system will I need for these chips to do what I'm thinking here?

Thanks so much, everyone!

TravelRec.

Hi Nappylady!

All my experiences are tested with an AUDIGY 1, so all facts are shown for this (10k2) card:

You can have (all independent over ASIO) :

- 3 SPDIF (#0, #1, #2) ins (6 mono) digital
- 2 I2S (#0 and #2) ins (4 mono) digital

- 1 analog in (over AC97) (2 mono)
- 1 analog in (over Philips A/D at I2S#1) (2 mono) this is fixed on the card, but the A/D is good

Input summary: 7 stereo pairs or 14 mono ins

----

- 4 SPDIF (#0, #1, #2, #3) outs (8 mono) digital

- 3 analog outs (Front / Rear / Center, Sub)

Output summary: 7 stereo pairs or 14 mono outs


For input A/D conversion I recommend the chips that I used in my application (please download the Target-program from www.electricstart.de and get the part positioning layout - all details are therein).
For output D/A conversion I´ve not tested anything - this will follow next time. All my experiences are shown at my site and will be updated if I get news. There are also datasheets and functional descriptions. I think I´ll add some photos of the running devices. So please take a look and reply here or e-mail there if you have questions. There is also an own thread -> http://www.hardwareheaven.com/showthre...threadid=41219 with some info.

Good luck and greetings!

TravelRec.

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