Echo Audio Mona Owner's Manual

1 MONA Owner’s Manual Version 1.0 for Mac Mona is designed and manufactured in the U.S. by Echo Corporation

10 Mona card to the computer’s rear panel. On some older Macs, the locking mechanisms used to hold down the PCI cards cause difficulties properly sea

11 Caution: Never connect the rack-mount interface to the computer while either the interface or your computer is turned on. 9. You can now attach

12 Connecting to Mona’s Rack-mount Audio Interface The front and back panels of Mona’s rack-mount audio interface contain a wide variety of connecti

13 Mona provides 48 volts of phantom power for microphones that require it. To enable phantom power press the button labeled +48V (the LED next to it

14 Mona’s Guitar Input (1/4” Plug, Impedance: 100K, Trim: 10 – 50 dB) An input impedance of 10K is too low to record non-active guitar pickups so

15 Each of Mona’s six outputs has one RCA and one XLR connector for your convenience. The RCA jack outputs a –10dBV (unbalanced) signal, while the

16 ADAT / S/PDIF Optical I/O Next to the COMPUTER connector is a pair of connectors labeled OPTICAL, IN and OUT. These connectors are used to trans

17 When connecting devices to the S/PDIF jacks on Mona, the use of standard analog RCA audio cables is not recommended. For reliable S/PDIF operation

18 Running the Echo24 Card Installer Now that you have completed the hardware installation, you need to run the installer for Mona to interact prope

19 4. Installation completed. You will now see a message telling you that the installation was successful. Go ahead and click the Quit button. If

2 Important Safety Instructions 1. Read Instructions - Be sure to read all of the safety and operating instructions before operating this product.

20 ASIO Driver Installation & Configuration Now that you’ve run the Echo24 Card Installer program, you will need to manually install the ASIO E

21 The Echo Console Included with your Mona is a “virtual control surface” application called the Echo Console. The Console allows you to control th

22 Input Levels The Input Levels are located in the upper portion of the Console surface. Here you will find level meters for all of Mona’s analog a

23 The Echo Console will keep track of the settings for all sets of monitor controls, but is only able to display the settings for one output pair at

24 Remember that all of the monitor controls remain in effect even when they’re not displayed. The degree of attenuation (or muting) of each level i

25 aware that operating alongside another product is not the same as operating with it. In order for accurate synchronization to occur, the other aud

26 ADAT – The Alesis ADAT optical interface can send and receive up to 8 simultaneous channels of digital audio data over fiber optic cables. Unlik

27 using compatible clocks. One device will operate as the source of the master clock, with each successive device using that clock to sync. Digi

28 Show ADAT Controls While you are in the ADAT optical digital mode, you can view the Console ADAT controls at any time by checking the “Show ADAT

29 The Options Menu The first option General…, is grayed out because it is not currently supported. It will be used in future driver releases for su

3 10. Servicing - Do not attempt to service this unit yourself, as opening the case will expose you to hazardous voltage or other dangers. All servic

30 ASIO Based Software and the Echo Console Depending on what software you use, you will have different options for monitoring your audio inputs. T

31 I want to use software monitoring Run the Echo Console and mute all the monitors. This will disable hardware monitoring. Using hardware and sof

32 ASIO Control Panel In all ASIO programs you can access a special window that lets you control certain hardware settings for your Echo24 card. Ea

33 Contacting Customer Service If you experience any trouble with your Mona system please go to the support area of our website at www.echoaudio.com

34 Appendix A: General Troubleshooting Guide Problem: You can’t get Sound Manager to recognize your Mona. Solution: The current driver does not su

35 difference between the two modes is in the implementation of the SCMS copy protection bit, which, in the consumer format, prevents the user from m

36 Mona’s rack mount interface. Just because multiple devices are connected to the same computer doesn’t mean they are synchronized. Next, be sure th

37 Solution: You may have a bad audio cable. Try using a different cable in the problem channel. Problem: There is no sound unless I pull the audi

38 Appendix B: ASIO Audio Software FAQ ASIO Software Compatibility List – 11/06/2000 Cubase 4.0 (or higher) Digital Performer 2.61 (or higher) Metr

39 Q: What does ASIO 2.0 support do for me? For our purposes, ASIO 2.0 adds ASIO Direct Monitoring. ASIO Direct Monitoring lets you control the mon

4 Sending in your registration card – or registering online at http://www.echoaudio.com/register.html - allows us to register key information so that

40 Appendix C: An Introduction to Digital Recording Converting Sound into Numbers In a digital recording system, sound is represented as a series

41 Sample Size The more bits that are used to store the sampled value, the more closely it will represent the source signal. In an 8-bit system, th

42 Sample Rate The rate at which the ADC generates the numbers is equally important in determining the quality of a digital recording. To get a high

43 Storing Digital Data Once the waveform has been transformed into digital bits, it must be stored. When sampling in stereo at 48kHz using a 20-bit

44 1.0, converting dBV levels into dBu levels is as simple as subtracting 2dB (2.21 to be exact). Signals are also occasionally represented with u

45 Unbalanced and Balanced Inputs and Outputs An unbalanced signal, commonly used for guitars and consumer electronics, contains two components, a g

46 Dynamic Range Dynamic range represents the difference between the maximum signal that can be recorded and the “noise floor”, or level of noise wi

47 Appendix D: Specifications Audio Performance Analog Inputs (x4): !"Frequency Response: 10Hz – 22kHz, ±0.25dB !"Dynamic Range: 110dB A

48 !"-10dBV Outputs (RCA): !"Nominal Output Level: -10dBV !"Maximum Output Level: +8dBV Hardware !"Host Interface: PCI bus mas

49 Index 9 96kHz recording, problems · 36 A ADAT · 11, 16, 26, 27, 28, 36, 38 analog resolution · 41 analog-to-digital converter · 40 ASIO · 8,

5 Table of Contents Introduction 6 What You Should Have Received in the Mona Box 6 System Requirements 6 Mona Installation 7 Checking y

50 interface cable · 6 Internal input clock · 26 L latency · 30, 32 level meters · 14 line input · 13 M memory · 7 mic preamps · 12 microphone i

51 U unbalanced · 45 universal inputs · 12 W website · 33 word clock · 17, 25 word clock cabling · 17 X XLR · 12

6 Introduction Thank you for choosing the Mona 24/96 Digital Studio. We think you’ll find Mona to be an extremely flexible, high-performance tool fo

7 Mona Installation Complete Mona installation consists of performing a system check, installing ASIO based multitrack recording software, installin

8 Install ASIO-based Multitrack Recording Software If you haven’t already, we recommend that you install your ASIO based software now. Mona current

9 Installing the Mona Hardware Once you have checked your system requirements, verified that there are no problems with your system, and installed y