Echo Digital Audio Corporation

Check your motherboard’s "chipset" (chipset is different from the processor). Find out the brand of motherboard and chipset you have. You can check your manual or contact your computer vendor for this information. Also you can use a utility called Sandra to obtain this information. Echo cards should work fine with any processor; you may need to verify that you have a compatible chipset. Both Intel Pentium and AMD Athlon processors work very well with Echo Digital Audio hardware.

Click here for a link to the list of supported chipsets for AMD processors.

Also, check for IRQ conflicts. You can find a list of IRQs and devices by right clicking on the "My Computer” icon located on your desktop. Go to Properties>Device Manager. Then, double click on the computer located at the top of the device list. Click on the “View resources” tab and check the Interrupt Request (IRQ) button. In this list you can find out which IRQ your Echo hardware is using.

Echo’s VxD drivers support interrupt sharing; not every driver does. If your system is locking up or you have problems while playing or recording, then you may want to try to change your Echo hardware to a different IRQ.

So, how can you put your Echo hardware on another IRQ? One quick and easy way that sometimes works is to pull out the Echo PCI card and put it in another PCI slot. This may cause the Echo hardware to grab another IRQ. If you still have an IRQ conflict, then you may want to pull other PCI cards out and then put them back in one at a time. Another way is to reserve an IRQ in windows for a device, so when you install the Echo hardware it will have to pick an IRQ that is not reserved. You can also try changing an IRQ so it is not set to "Plug and Play." Echo hardware needs to take an IRQ that is "Plug and Play," but you can change this so an IRQ is set to “ISA” instead of “Plug and Play” in your BIOS. Check your Echo manual on how to reserve IRQs in Windows and in your BIOS.

Make sure your motherboard is not overclocked. Most boards do not come overclocked; it’s almost always something that you have to do deliberately. Do not overclock your processor, front side bus, or PCI bus.

Finally, try manually removing your Echo driver and reinstalling it. Follow the driver manual removal instructions, and then install the most current driver from the Echo Driver page.

2. My computer does not recognize my Echo hardware on startup

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Make sure the PCI card is seated in the slot correctly. In some cases people have bumped the cable in the back of the Echo PCI card causing the card to come slightly out of the PCI slot.

Try another PCI slot. Shut down your system and try moving the Echo PCI card to another PCI slot.

If you have installed the hardware and your computer does not seem to recognize it, then go to your device manager (right click on "My Computer" >Properties>Device Manager), and check to see if there is anything on your device list that says "unknown device" or “PCI multimedia device." (It may have a yellow question mark next to it.) If you see this, highlight it by clicking on it once. Go down and click on the "Remove" button. You will get a message that says "Warning: You are about to remove this device". Click OK. Next, you need to restart your computer. Windows should prompt you to install the drivers.

If you get an error message that says "unable to load DSP" then shut down your system and reseat the PCI card or try another PCI slot. If you still get this message then your Echo hardware may be defective.

3. Error message "Unable to load DSP" appears

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If you get an error message that says "unable to load DSP," shut down your system and reseat the PCI card, or try another PCI slot. If you still get this message, the hardware may be defective. We also encourage installing your Echo hardware in another computer to see if the problem persists.

4. Input meters on the console are not showing activity.

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(Gina 20 and Layla only) Make sure the inputs are not muted. If you have the "M" selected, then you will not be able to hear or see the input level.

Make sure the device going into the Echo hardware is actually sending a signal. Also, some instruments and devices may need a pre amp or a mixer with a pre amp to adjust the input level.

Make sure the cable from your breakout box to the Echo PCI card is attached.

Layla, Layla24 and Mona - Make sure the power is on. Make sure the cable is attached to its PCI card and not the printer port. We have seen this mistake made often.

5. Output meters on the console are not showing activity.

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Make sure you have the Echo hardware selected as the output in your audio application. Within an audio application, you should be able route the output of a track to an output of your Echo hardware. Make sure this is set up correctly; you can refer to your audio application's manual for instructions on setting up an audio device.

Make sure you do not have "M" (mute) selected on the outputs of either the console or the audio track you are trying to playback.

“Monitoring” is listening to your signal while it is being recorded. “Playback” happens after the file has been recorded. In multi-track recording, people often record while playing back. Echo’s console allows you to adjust the recording level (MONITORS) while adjusting the playback level (OUTPUT). For example, if you had a guitar track recorded, and you then wanted to play it back while recording your vocals, you would adjust the monitors and outputs so you could hear the guitar track while singing. The inputs also allow you to raise the monitoring volume but will also raise the input volume on your recording. If you have too high of an input level, then you may experience distortion.

While monitoring, make sure your outputs are not muted. Each input has its own monitoring section below it. If you are going into input #1 and you want to monitor out of outputs #3 and #4, drop directly below the input one and select the #3 button. This will show your monitoring output faders and allow you to monitor input#1 out outputs #3 and #4. Next, un-mute the 3/4 monitors by deselecting the "M's" (mutes) above the faders. Pull your faders up, and you should see meters on the 3 and 4 OUTPUT section. The output faders will have a meter, but you cannot adjust the output during monitoring using the OUTPUT faders. You need to adjust the monitor faders. The output faders are for playback, not for monitoring.

6. Input meters show activity but I do not hear anything

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While Monitoring, make sure your outputs are not muted. Each input has its own monitoring section below it. If you are going into input #1 and you want to monitor out of output 3 and 4, you would need to drop directly below the input one and select the #3 button. This will show your monitoring output faders and allow you to monitor your input out of 3 and 4. Next un-mute the 3/4 monitors by deselecting the "M's" above the faders. Turn your faders up and you should see meters over on the 3 and 4 OUTPUT section. The output faders will have a meter but you can not adjust the output during monitoring using the OUTPUT faders. You need to adjust the monitor faders. The output faders are for playing pack a file not monitoring.

For those confused about monitoring and playback - Monitoring is listening to your signal while it is being recorded. Playback is after the file has been recoded and you want to listen to it by pressing the "PLAY" button. In multi track recording, people often record while playing back. The Echo console allows you to adjust the recording level (MONITORS) while adjusting the playback level (OUTPUT). An example is if you had a guitar track recorded and you then wanted to play it back while recording your vocals. You would want to adjust the monitors and outputs just right so you can hear the Guitar track while you are singing real time. The input level will also allow you to raise the monitoring but it will also raise the input on your recording. If you have too high of an input level then you may experience distortion.

7. Output meters show activity, but I do not hear anything.

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Make sure you have your speakers connected to the same outputs that you have designated for playback in your audio application.

If you are using a mixer and not getting output, try taking the mixer out of the setup. Connect an amplifier or powered monitor speakers directly to your Echo Hardware to check for a signal. If there is a signal, the problem is the routing in your mixer or other outboard gear. Also, make sure the cable from your break-out box to the Echo PCI card is attached, and for Layla, Layla24 and Mona, make sure the power is on.

Finally, for Layla, make sure the cable is attached to the correct PCI card and not the printer port. We have seen this mistake often.

8. Red light is flashing on console

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This means you have a solo button selected. Check the inputs, outputs, and monitoring sections of the Echo console. If "S" is selected anywhere, then you need to deselect it.

9. My D,G,L, or M is not showing on my task bar (system tray)

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The driver is not installed correctly. Try reinstalling the driver.

10. Cannot get S/PDIF output

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Check to make sure your S/PDIF cable is working. Loop your S/PDIF cable from the S/PDIF out to the S/PDIF in on your Echo hardware (make sure your monitors are turned down to prevent feedback!) Now, check to see if you are able to select the S/PDIF clock button on the bottom of the console. If you are able to this, you are sending and receiving a S/PDIF signal. If you are unable to select the S/PDIF button, then try another cable and repeat the steps above. If a new cable does not do the trick then the S/PIDIF output may be bad.

11. Cannot get S/PDIF input

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Digital information is transmitted in either of two modes, "professional" or "consumer." The professional mode is usually implemented in devices that are likely to be used in professional recording environments, whereas the consumer mode is commonly implemented on equipment designed for home use in the consumer market. The primary difference between the two modes is in the implementation of the SCMS copy-protection bit, which, in the consumer format, prevents the user from making digital copies of a digital copy. In most professional equipment, this copy-protection bit can be turned off or on according to the user’s needs. In consumer products, the SCMS bit is always enabled.

Unfortunately, there is no way for the transmitting device to automatically detect which format the receiving device is able to accept. If you have a DAT deck that is not able to read the S/PDIF output from Echo hardware, chances are your Echo hardware is transmitting in the mode that the deck is not equipped to handle.

We have provided a software switch in the Echo driver that allows you to select which mode your Echo hardware transmits. To access this switch go to the console. Select “Preferences” under the File menu. In the window that appears you’ll see a pair of check boxes in an area labeled S/PDIF Out Format; one box is labeled “Consumer” and the other Professional. Select the appropriate format for your DAT (if you don’t know which one to use, simply select the one that is not currently checked). Now click the OK button and try recording to your DAT again.

12. My recording sounds slow or fast.

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Make sure the sample rate in your audio application is set to the same rate at which the sound file was recorded. If these two rates don’t match, the playback pitch will be higher or lower than desired.

13. The Layla, Layla24, or Mona LED is out.

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You may have a problem with your unit. Contact Echo technical support.

14. Everything was fine, and now my Echo hardware suddenly is not recognized [top]

Check to make sure your Echo PCI card did not come out of its PCI slot. You may want to try and reseat the PCI card. Check your monitors, inputs, and outputs on your audio application and the Echo Console. It is rare that the Echo hardware quits on its own. Try and figure out what hardware or software change you made most recently. That may have caused this problem.

15. I am getting a loud screeching sound

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Reset the sample rate of your Echo hardware. Windows always sets the sample rate to 11 kHz at startup. Because neither S/PDIF nor ADAT support this rate, you will have problems syncing until you reset your Echo harware’s sample rate to one within spec (like 44.1 or 48 kHz). You can do this by playing a wave file of the appropriate sample rate through your Echo hardware outputs. Then you will be able to sync properly.

16. I am getting click and pop noises.

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Make sure your input clock on the bottom of the console is set to internal unless you are syncing another clock to it. Install the latest drivers, and possibly, try moving the PCI card to another PCI slot.

17. I am unable to use more then one audio app at the same time.

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Multi-client audio lets you use different inputs and outputs on Echo hardware with different audio programs at the same time. Otherwise, you would have to use a different soundcard with each audio application. For example, suppose you own both Cubase VST (multitrack audio) and Reality (software synthesizer). You can now set Cubase VST to play out through outputs 1 through 6, and set Reality to play out through outputs 7 and 8. The default setting for multi-client audio is disabled. To enable it right click on my computer>properties>device manager>sound video and game controllers>(your card) by Echo>settings tab> put a check in multi client audio.

18. Gigastudio will not launch

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Make sure you have version 1.6 or higher. right click on my computer>properties>device manager>sound video and game controllers>(your card) by Echo>settings tab> put a check in multi client audio also click on the direct sound driver tab, and make sure direct sound is not enabled.

19. Cubase has lost communication with my Echo hardware

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Don’t use the ASIO Multimedia driver. In Cubase, go to Audio>System>Setup>Select your ASIO device as ASIO Echo Darla/Gina/Layla/etc. If you still have the same problem try reinstalling or downloading the latest driver.

20. I cannot get audio from my CD player to play through my Echo hardware

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We recommend using Windows Media Player, Winamp, Ultra Player, or some other application that can read the digital audio directly from your audio CD.