GMU:Tutorials/Performance Platform/Sound System Stereo

Instroduction

In the Digital Lab you could find two kind of sound playing system: 『Stereo Sound System』and 『Multi-Channels Sound System』. In this case, I will introduce how to set up and playing your sound with Stereo sound system and some about trouble-shooting.

Hardware Setup

There are totally four workstations in Digital Lab, and the right most one is used for dealing with sound playback. Location is shown below:

Equipments you will use

• RME Fireface UFX & Fireface 800 Audio Interface (Fireface UFX is a Audio Interface which support max. 30 signal inputs-outputs and 4Mics/Instrument and built-in preamps. To see more detail please visit the technical page.(RME Fireface UCX).

• Power supplier for multiple speakers.
• Sound workstation(The most right Mac Pro).
• Last but the most important! Your sound player.

Let's play the Sound

Step 1- Connect the 3.5 phone jack wire(already connected with workstation) to your sound player

Step 2- Turn on 『Power supplier for multiple speakers』
The power supplier is located behind the right sight of video wall.

power supplier

power supplier

Step 3- Turn on 『RME Fireface UFX, FireFace 800 Audio Interface and the right side MacPro 』.

Fireface UFX & Fireface 800

Mac Pro workstation

p.s.Make sure following the ordering of first turn on power supplier then audio interface, but turn off audio interface at first then power supplier. If you break this rule, the electrical peak will harm the audio system. We believe that this definitely is a bad news for all users.

Step 4- Setting up on RME Fireface UFX (For those who only want to play stereo sound, they don’t need to download the drivers and control panel. In the other word, you will need to install them if you want to play multiple sound tracks.)

• Download link:Fireface 800
  

Example of control panel: TotalMix(For signal manage and post-mix. Stereo playing is Channel 1/2)

TotalMix

- There are there main playback modes:

• Phones output 11/12(extra monitor using)

phone output

• Main output(What we use!)

Master output

• ADAT output 13/14(Only for digital Optical system)

Adat optical ouput

- You could press the Volume knob to switch between the above three modes, and spin it to adjust the volume as you wish.

Volume adjust

Trouble shooting

Situation 1: You've already plug in sound cable but nothing happened?

Answer:

• Check if you have turned both power supplier for speaker system and sound workstation(Mac pro)on.
• Check if you have already turned on the Fireface UFX and Fireface 800.
  

Situation 2: All are truned on but still no sound?

Answer:

• Check the Mac Pro and go to RME setting application(within the deck of desktop)to see if the sound card is selected to "Fireface 800" correctly.
• Open up the totalmix control panel, sending sound signal from your playing device, then check it there has signal in the stereo channal(Default is 1/2).
• Check if you have already chose the "Main out" as output mode correctly, and of course, volume up until you could listen somthing.