M-Audio Delta DiO 2496 [8/24] Delta theory of operation

This example shows the M Audio Delta DiO and Midiman WINMAN 4x4/S (anoth-

er product shown here only as an example) entries in the Windows Device Manager

device list. The Delta DiO is properly installed with no conflicts, as is the WIN-

MAN 4x4/S. If you do not see your M Audio Delta DiO in your Device Manager in

this fashion, please jump ahead to the "Troubleshooting" section of this manual.

Delta Theory of Operation

The Digital Monitor Mixer

The Delta DiO 2496 has a hardware digital audio mixer built into its PCI controller

chip. It accepts digital audio streams from the active digital input and outgoing

software audio devices, mixes them with 36-bit internal resolution and then provides

the mixed output to one or more locations. The output of the mixer may be routed

to the Delta DiO’s analog outputs and/or digital outputs for the purpose of monitor-

ing, or it may be used as a stereo mix-down device and recorded by the user’s appli-

cation software. The digital audio mixer is configured and controlled by the includ-

ed Delta Control Panel Software.

Synchronization

All Delta DiO outputs (and the onboard digital mixer) are synchronized to one mas-

ter clock. Therefore they always operate at the same sample rate. Most of the time,

the master clock is taken from the Delta DiO’s internal crystal oscillators. However,

the S/PDIF In may be receiving a data stream that is completely asynchronous to

(not in sync with) the internal crystals. Therefore when recording or monitoring the

S/PDIF inputs, the board must be set up to get its master clock from the S/PDIF input

stream. This will force the digital mixer and all outputs to sync to the sample rate

of the active S/PDIF input.

Using Delta DiO 2496 with your Software

Application

Once the Delta DiO is installed and the driver software properly loaded, it is ready

for use with your music application software. Some of these applications will

require that you highlight or enable the Delta DiO drivers within the program, and

others may have a utility that analyzes or profiles the audio cards in your system and

enables the drivers.

Within your software application(s), the names of the Delta DiO input devices are 1)

Delta-DiO S/PDIF In, and 2) Delta-DiO Monitor Mixer. These two input devices

are stereo and allow you to record either directly from an S/PDIF input, or record a

mix of input and output that is setup within the Delta Control Panel software (see

Delta DiO Control Panel Software section). Because each of these devices is stereo,

you may see them as "Left Delta-DiO S/PDIF In, Right Delta-DiO S/PDIF In", or