2 cards= 4 or 8 output busses

[Xavier]

Hello. Have added second card but only getting 4 output busses. Have the Asio SW + DS WDM drivers loaded but each card always
shows 5.0.2164.1 instead of 1.01.0014. Thank you.



2 DSP 2416 cards
ASUS CUV4XDLS
2 Pentium III @ 866mhz
1 Ultragain Pro 8
AX 16

[Henry]

Hi Xavier,

What software do you use, and is it 4 stereo busses? I seem to remember that some older versions of Logic had a limitation that prevented all the busses from being used...

Anyhow, when the cards are cross-connected in the normal way, the 8 busses (4 stereo pairs) from each card are fed into eachother. Although you can record from both cards, their busses will sound exactly the same. In other words, you still effectively have only 8 busses to record from, but they can now be fed by inputs on both cards, and hence carry signals from both cards. Essentially, you now have a 48+8+2 mixer, instead of 24+8+2 with a single card.

Using modified cables, on the other hand, parts of the connection can be cut off. Removing the bus connections will enable the busses of both cards to operate independently, and you will then be able to record all 16 busses. The downside is that you can't route input signals from one card to a bus on the other card, so it's still not a true 48+16+2 system.

You can also make a "hybrid" system, disconnecting only busses 1-4 or 5-8. This will result in 4 independent busses on each card, plus 4 common busses, 12 in total.

These modifications involve carefully cutting one or two conductors on each ribbon cable, and is covered in DspCtrl's help-file. Done correctly, it should be quite safe, and a lot of users have been using this modification with success.

If you decide to go in this direction, please download the DspCtrl help-file (http://www.xpi-software.net/help/DspCtrlHelp.zip), and study the details well. Be careful!

Best of luck,

- H -

[Xavier]

Yes, four stereo busses. I connected the cards with the "hybrid" shorty cable( pins 1 and 3 disconnected). Am using Cubase Le.

[Henry]

Hi,

Did you connect with a pair of these cables (cross-connection)?

Using Sonar and the WDM KS driver, I can select any of the 16 busses, regardless of how the cards are connected. However all the wave inputs and outputs have to be activated from Sonar's audio driver menu after installation, before they appear in the track input list. Does Cubase have a similar setup that you might have forgotten?

If not, I'm thinking there has to be a limitation within either Cubase or the ASIO driver that causes this.

- H -

[Xavier]

Just one "shorty cable". Yes, as stated above, when I go through the proper order as per the instructions, the
WDM seem to be only drivers Windows shows as available. Am I wrong, or are the WDM not the same as the
ASIO SW + WDM drivers. Even though the ASIO SW+WDM drivers show up in 'Control Panel', they either won't open,
or are not in the list of available drivers during the setup procedure . thanks

[Henry]

Hi again,

You are correct; the WDM and ASIO drivers are different:

The WDM driver is the one that shows up in Windows' device manager. When Windows detects the new hardware (your second card), this is the driver you would install.

The mixer driver (needed for both WDM and ASIO operation) and the ASIO driver have to be installed manually. You do this by running the Ds Check Setup.exe and asiosetup.exe that came with the drivers (Download driver package here: http://www.xpi-software.net/Drivers/Win2K_XP.zip).

If you haven't already, I suggest you uninstall and re-install the ASIO drivers to make sure both cards are included.

Does the Check utility report both cards OK?

- H -

[Xavier]

Yes, I have the Win2K_XP.zip unzipped to my desktop. Yes, checkup shows both cards. The second one says 'disable' at the
end, but when checking the VST output routing dropdown, it shows two columns signifying two cards. Does where I 'unzip'
the Win2K_XP.zip files to have any bearing? I have followed the instructions to the letter for about 25 times and only the WDM
drivers show up in the list of available drivers or if I use the 'browse' and find the ASIO drivers, they won't open. thanks

[Henry]

Hi,

If the second card reads "disabled" in the check utility, it's probably due to some sort of hardware (e.g. IRQ) conflict. Can you move that card into another PCI slot, install the drivers over again, and see if the reading changes?

Alternatively, you could have a look at Windows' device manager, and see if your DS2416s share their IRQ with other devices. If they do, reboot to BIOS, and change the PCI IRQ settings from there. This might cause other devices to change IRQs too, so you might have to try several times to get it right.

- H -

[Xavier]

Well, moving the cards got rid of 'disable' on DSP checkup. Instructions say to "manually install" the Yamaha ASIO drivers
after clicking out of 'new hardware found' on startup. I go to Control Panel,System,Hardware,Device Manager,Mutimedia
Audio Controller, right-click, Properties, Update Driver. Am I to click on 'Search for suitable drivers'..or..'Display list of
known drivers'? The 'Search...' takes me to the dialog box that allows "Browse'. I go to Program Files and click on the
'Yamaha ASIO SW +DS WDM folder and nothing happens. If I use 'Browse' and click on the dsp2416 folder located in the ASIOsetup
on my desktop, a dialog box always says...'Windows found a closer match', and guides me to reinstall the Yamaha DS 2416 WDM.
If I click on 'Display list of known drivers' ,the choices include only the Yamaha DS2416 WDM or the Yamaha SW1000XG WDM.
thanks for your help.

[Henry]

Hi again,

That solved the most critical problem, and the rest should be a matter of driver installation.

The mixer driver (needed for both WDM and ASIO operation) and the ASIO driver have to be installed manually. You do this by running the Ds Check Setup.exe and asiosetup.exe that came with the drivers (Download driver package here: http://www.xpi-software.net/Drivers/Win2K_XP.zip).

The ASIO drivers (and the mixer driver) can not be installed from the device manager, or the "found new hardware" dialogue. Instead, they use dedicated installer executables, like regular software applications do. After installing the WDM drivers and rebooting, simply open the downloaded folder containing the asiosetup.exe file and double-click it. The installer should then start, and you'll be able to specify the install path. When you have done this, you should run the Ds Check Setup.exe in the same way, and you should be ready to go!

- H -