Ok . . well there is SOME sort of connection being made.

I just turned on my external USB harddrive to copy some files. When I got back to messing with WMP, I tried playing a file and I heard a "POP POP POP POP POP POP Graaaawwwrpppp" from the speakers.

When I disconnected the HD from XP (by right clicking the icon in the system tray and "disconnecting" I got another single "POP".

Since Toslink isnt electrical I imagine it was something being transmitted from the PCI interface.

These are the only things I can think:
One or more bridge is messed up on the MOBO

or

The RME card is messed up. (But then why does the D-A show a lock)

Might be an IRQ conflict, they've given me problems with PCI devices in the past. Try moving the PCI card to another slot.

Thats funny you suggest that. I just got done moving the card and reinstalling drivers.

Now I dont get a "lock" from the D/A on Toslink (even after moving it back to the original slot), but I do on Coax.

:x

What's the MB make and model, just out of curiosity?

If it's Foxconn, blow it up. They suck. Mine has 2 PCI slots, I mean wtf can you do with those! The slot for the system fan is too far to the front and therefore no fan I've tried can reach so I have to leave my case side off. The PCIe slot also isn't placed well, putting a new graphics card in was like trying to put an XLR lead into a 1/8" jack. Speaking of which, their Realtek audio drivers are absolutely diabolical, and the front headphone jack buzzes like an 11kV transformer.
Yes, I hate Foxconn mobos.

I have an Intel D865GRH desktop board P4 2.6ghz

I think i am going to reference the sound card on a friends computer later today, just to make sure my mobo isnt damaged. This will also rule out some sort of incompatibility issue.

This wouldnt be an awful thing, I was planning to get a new mobo for my DAW anyway, and turn this one into a gaming/media/internet PC.

You may be looking too deep. Did you set the preferences in windows sounds and multimedia settings? Since you are testing using Winamp, you will need to make sure that the RME is the designated default playback/recording device. If not, you will hear nothing from those monitors.

Have you tried it with your DAW yet? If you are using an ASIO based software like Cubase, Samplitude, Tracktion and you have set the AUDIO engine to RME ASIO, you should hear sound. If however you are using Sonar, you will hear nothing until you designate the RME as your default Record/Playback device in Windows.

hey hueseph,
The list of outputs below is a reference to the multimedia settings in the XP control panel. Ive tried them all in varying combinations with the physical outputs on the soundcard to the D-A.

I am testing using windows media player, but have also tried itunes. The Digi card is set to default in the control panel, and WMP is set to use the default device.

I have not tried my sequencer yet. The card works with ASIO as well as MME so I figured if I cant get it to work even for system sounds, it may not work in the sequencer.

I thought of maybe hooking up my LUCID A/D to see if I can record some audio. This would mean that the D/A I purchased is hurtin'. But, it would also mean the soundcard is probably fine.

Other things to consider:

From the manual:

We strongly recommend switching all system sounds off (via >Control Panel /Sounds<). Also Hammerfall should not be the Preferred Device for playback, as this could cause loss of synchronization and unwanted noises. If you feel you cannot do without system sounds, you should consider buying a cheap Blaster clone and select this as Preferred Device in >Control Panel /Multimedia /Audio<.

Also:

Unfortunately some newer UltraATA66 and UltraATA100 hard disk controller (also Raid controller) seem to violate against the PCI specs.
To achieve the highest throughput they hog the PCI bus, even in their default setting. Thus when working with low latencies heavy drop
outs (clicks) are heard. Try to solve this problem by changing the default setting of the controller (for example by reducing the 'PCI Bus Utilization').

I like the "cheap blaster clone" statement.

Intel shows that your MB has onboard audio.
It may be the cause of the problem.

From Intel:
The on-board audio can be disabled using the BIOS Setup program. Select the advanced menu, then the Peripheral Configuration screen. The menu offers options to enable or disable the audio if it is present on the desktop board.

What are you using as an A-D converter to go into the RME? Just curious.

That is definitely relevant my friend. I have a raid card I just installed last week, it is servicing a CD Rom drive. However, I have not installed the drivers.

I bought this unit used, and I couldn't find their website, so no manual. I will go take the Raid card out and install those drivers and see what!

bent,
Onboard audio drivers are not installed and had been disabled in the BIOS.

hueseph,
In my drawn out first post, I tried to explain that I was using both optical SPDIF and coax SPDIF to attempt the connection.

I haven't tested the A-D as of yet, but I am using a LucidAD9624

Which manual don't you have?
The raid controller, or one of the audio devices?

Ok . . .

Raid card is out

System sounds off

And regarding; "Hammerfall should not be the Preferred Device for playback"

In Control Panel/Sounds and Audio Devices/Audio
There are the options listed in my first post, and only those. There is no option to disable, so in effect I have to use one of the channels on the card as default.

I think maybe I should install Sonar and see if I can configure it from there

Oh yeah, I usually dont get much weight to Windows diagnostics, but this may be relevant;

In Control Panel/Sounds and Audio/Voice; there is an option to "test hardware" and the result is "this device cannot play sounds".

Curiouser and curiouser...

12characters wrote: hueseph,
In my drawn out first post, I tried to explain that I was using both optical SPDIF and coax SPDIF to attempt the connection.

I haven't tested the A-D as of yet, but I am using a LucidAD9624

Yeah I caught that a bit too late and edited my post. Sorry for the frustration.

In Window's device manager is there any info regarding the PCI card. Does it have an exclamation mark on it?

:!: It did temporarily when I disabled the audio function on the soundcard. Now shows enabled and "working properly",

I installed this on another mobo with onboard sound. I disabled the drivers and the sound hardware on the BIOS.

Tried with coax only. Same reaction, Lucid finds a "lock" I set SPDIF OUT as default playback device. Went to iTunes and I got an error message "itunes has detected something wrong with your audio setup" or something along those lines.

So unless I am really goofing the installation, these drivers arent very smart, or the soundcard is whack.

I really think you should try using it with a proper DAW (Sonar or whatever) before you dismiss it altogether.

I can't believe we're near the end of page two and we still can't solve this problem...

:?

You and me both man . ..

Ok, so I installed Sonar and imported a random .wav file.

I solo'd the track, selected SPDIF as the output for that track.

When I click the "play" button on the master control, the progress line/bar jumps to the beginning of the track. If I hit play again it jumps to the yellow start marker. (If that doesnt make sense I can clarify or try to upload an image)

Do you guys think I would get anywhere by contacting RME. Maybe they have a benchmark program where I can send in the card to be tested for problems.

Contacting RME would help resolve whether or not there is a problem in your CPU settings or in the card itself.

Going back to another question I asked and don't think you answered, which piece of this puzzle do you not have the manual for?

Also, do you have the RME set-up like this in it's control panel?
(From their website)

I assume you'd want card one to look like this, though the Clock Mode setting should probably be set to Master, and SPDIF Out: ADAT1 if you're using TOSLINK...

I have all the manuals, I was under the impression that RME didnt have one for the soundcard on their website, but I have it now.

Yeah, my card settings do look like that, although the word sync doesnt have much to do with playback. I have been switching it back and forth to be diligent.

I have a friend who has pro sound card for gaming. He probably has SPDIF, so maybe I could try this converter just to be sure that isnt the problem, although I dont think it is.

If that turns out well, I will probably just contact RME, see if I cant send them the card for repair or something. Although for as cheap as I got it . . . lol

It's probably something simple that we're not thinking of.

I'm sure RME can walk you through it and you'll be up and running in no time!

What I don't understand is, are you able to get Sonar to work to any degree? Is it playing the files but you're not hearing it? I'm starting to think the card is hooped if you can't get it to work on someone else's computer. But of course, it would help to contact support.

Ok so,
Just got back from my friends house. After playing Bioshock on his 3' wide widescreen monitor, we tried out the equipment.

The A-D works like a dream with audio streaming from a different card.

Tried to install this card on his PC, and we had the same results. I will contact RME in case there is, as bent says, some simple solution that they are probably well aware of.

However I am leaning the same way hueseph, the card is looking mighty bleak at this point, which is unfortunate. Sonar will NOT appear as if it is playing the audio. Even THO it recognized the card I/Os. This however is more of a function of the software rather then the sound card itself.

Ill make sure and fill you guys in either way. Any suggestions on which card I should replace it with if that ends up being the case?
I obviously dont need anything with super DACs, passable is all. And I also only need a Digital interface.

But I am thinking about getting something with some analog I/Os. With my current setup I can only get 2 channels at a time.

"It's probably something simple that we're not thinking of."

Basically there is a little chip called an EPROM on the soundcard. It is designed to communicate with a specific OS. I have the wrong one.

I find myself wondering if this EPROM thing is standard with all soundcards . . .

So can you not flash the ROM or are they going to give you a new card?

Well the chip is non soldered, so they want to sell me a new chip. But they want 30 dollars plus shipping. I almost want to just sell this to a mac user and buy a different card. (Primarily because there is no way to assure it will even work properly with the new chip).

Anyone have good resources for buying this type of thing? This is the best price I have been able to find.
(Dead Link Removed)

Basically there is a little chip called an EPROM on the soundcard.
It is designed to communicate with a specific OS.
I have the wrong one.

Doh!

:shock:

Oh man, that stinks!