ESI MaXiO 032 - Manual (Page 5)

MaXiO series System Manual
5
1. Introduction
Thank you for choosing the ESI MaXiO.
The MaXiO System Manual covers the MaXiO PCI host card, the PCIe version of it and all
extensions such as the EX8000 rack unit and the MaXiO 032 breakout box.
MaXiO is a complete 24-bit / 192 kHz recording system designed to handle up to 32 input channels
and 32 output channels simultaneously.
The basic MaXiO XD system consists of the MaXiO PCI host card and one EX8000, a 2U-rack
space unit with 8 analog input channels, 8 analog output channels, ADAT, and digital I/O. The
PCI/PCIe card is equipped with four FireWire-like E.D.I (ESI Digital Interface) ports, each capable
of individually supporting one breakout box with E.D.I connection like the EX8000.
There is also a single M.D.I (Multiple Digital Interface) multichannel connector on the PCI/PCIe
host card for future expansion. This gives the MaXiO XD system 32 input and 32 output channel
capability on one single interface card. By default, the M.D.I connection of the MaXiO PCI/PCIe
host card provides coaxial S/PDIF I/O, Word Clock I/O and a 1 in / 1 out MIDI interface.
Another member of the MaXiO series, the MaXiO 032’s 4 ADAT inputs and 4 ADAT outputs
provide 32 input and 32 output channels, via a single PCI/PCIe card and its breakout box. Now you
can connect your computer to up to 4 ADAT compatible devices and use them simultaneously for
multi track recording.
There is more: next to S/PDIF I/O and a full 16 channel MIDI interface MaXiO 032 provides a high
quality stereo analog input with microphone preamps (48V phantom power support), a high end
123dB[A] ADC, and 120dB[A] DAC. This turns MaXiO 032 into a reference audio hardware
providing audio quality at a level that has not been achieved before in this price range.
The MaXiO 032 can be expanded via its E.D.I (ESI Digital Interface) connectors into a full MaXiO
XD system by adding one or several EX8000 units.
On PC systems, MaXiO systems are equipped with ESI's unique and powerful EWDM driver for
perfect compatibility with Windows XP and 2000, offering ultra low-latency performance with all
popular digital audio software applications including Nuendo, Cubase, Gigastudio, Cakewalk,
Sonar, Logic, Samplitude and Sequoia.
1.1 About this manual
The MaXiO XD system and MaXiO 032 are very flexible and provides a huge number of features
and options. In order to use it to its full capabilities, you need to understand the usage and concepts.
We know that most users do not like to read long manuals such as this (we don’t like it either ...) –
because of that, we have tried to keep this manual as short as possible. Please take your time to read
it completely.