The SiXPack 5.1 + Control Panel.
The description of the SiXPack 5.1 + Control Panel applies to the Control Panel that is installed under Windows 98Se, Windows Me and Windows 2000.
The Playback Window.
Here you can set – who would have thought? – the volume for the various speakers. This is pretty self-explanatory– the front slider is the one that usually wears out the fastest from being used so much ;-) and controls the front speakers, etc... All speakers can be muted immediately by clicking on the MUTE option.
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The Sources Menu.
Here you can set the volume for the specific source signals.
All sources can be muted immediately by clicking on the MUTE option. These sources will still be recorded when chosen for recording, as we are in the source - and not the recording menu.
The stereo positioning can be adjusted using the panorama controller located under the volume sliders.
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The Record Menu.
In the Record menu you can choose which source the SiXPack 5.1 + recording driver will be recorded in an application.
The microphone input has two other additional functions:
AEC
This is an abbreviation for 'Acoustic Echo Cancellation' and suppresses echoes. It is particularly practical for use with voice recognition and Internet telephony applications.
Sorry, what was that? Boost!
A weak signal level can be raised by activating the "Boost" function, which raises the signal level +20dB.
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The Digital Menu.
In the digital menu you can set the parameters for the digital In and Out.
To be able to work with the digital input, you should first ensure that this has also been activated. In the field "Digital Input" choose either:
"Always on" – in this case, the digital input is always active, regardless of whether or not a signal is actually present or
"Automatic sensing" – the signal input is only activated when data is actually present.
The boxes "Sample rate", "Copyright" and "Pre-emphasis" show the current status of the digital input.
For the digital Out there are three modes to chose from.
· Digital In Source Direct – permits you to forward 1:1 data present at the digital input to the digital output, i.e. in this mode, the frequencies 32 kHz and 44.1 kHz are also output at the digital output. It is not possible to adjust the volume.
· Digital Mix / DVD – with this setting all the digital sources (Wave, MIDI, Digital In) are played over the digital output at 48kHz. This setting is also used when you want to send encoded AC3 streams to an external decoder– please pay attention that the DVD software documentation should clearly state its compatibility to the SiXPack 5.1 +: either explicitly as
"SiXPack 5.1 +", as "Crystal Soundfusion" or also as "CS4624 / CS4630".
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The Equalizer Menu.
In the equalizer window, you can switch the equalizer on and off, load or overwrite predefined settings or save your own settings.
The MIDI Menu.
Under "MIDI" we have organized all the relevant functions for the SiXPack 5.1 + synthesizer.
You can determine the number of voices to be processed in the hardware and/or software and whether these voices should be allocated dynamically (recommended) or according to the DLS specification. Furthermore you have the option of loading the sample-set into RAM (recommended) and and you have the possibility to load your own DLS 1.0 compatible sample-sets instead of the included standard set, but no larger than 8MB!
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3D Settings.
Under "3D Settings" you will find the options for 3D support using the SiXPack 5.1 +. Particularly important is the speaker configuration, as only a proper speaker configuration will guarantie that the correct 3D algorithms are used. In addition, there is the option of deactivating Direct-
Sound hardware acceleration. This is useful for some games which allocate any number of hardware buffers without any prior check, which may sometimes cause the game to crash. You can also prevent the use of "Sensaura and EAX", switch "MacroFX" on/off or put a simple "Stereo Enhancement" on the output signal. If a 3D-sound application is running (DirectSound 3D,
EAX or A3D), you should ensure that the "3D Stereo Enhancement" has been deactivated. Another option offered here is the possibility to test all the speakers independently (Speaker Test) by clicking on them in the shown menu (The activated speakers are represented differently than the deactivated speakers by their color). By clicking again the test is stopped.
The next option that we would like to introduce you to is the positioning - "Source Positioning".
You can position one stereo source and up to 16 MIDI voices wherever you want in the room. A cathedral orchestra can easily be realized in this way.
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Miscellaneous.
Under "Misc." (Miscellaneous) we have organized the functions that don't have any direct connection to the SiXPack 5.1 +, rather options that control the Control Panel. Loading and saving mixer settings belong in this category, as well as activating the global hotkeys and the display of the taskbar Icon, and the option to change the colors.
Loading and Saving.
You can conveniently save and correspondingly restore settings that have already been made via Load and Save. For example, it is possible to save specific settings for the digital inputs and outputs based on an application and then to load them accordingly in the application. The settings are saved with the file suffix * .msp. If you call up the "Color Setup", you are faced with a new menu where you can adjust the colors of the Control Panel to please your individual taste.
But be careful not insult your own taste......;-)
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Ouch!– the Hotkeys.
For you specialists, we have assigned a shortcut key (hotkeys) to nearly all functions to enable quicker navigation through the software. However, this is not the case if you use voicerecognition software for control purposes.
Volume Control.
Ctrl + space = front volume up
Ctrl + Shift + space = front volume down
Ctrl + R = rear volume up
Ctrl + Shift + R = rear volume down
Muting (playback).
Ctrl + Alt + space = master (front/rear) un/mute
Ctrl + Alt + R = rear un/mute
Ctrl + Alt + W = Wave un/mute
Ctrl + Alt + S = MIDI un/mute
Ctrl + Alt + A = AUX un/mute
Ctrl + Alt + L = Line un/mute
Ctrl + Alt + C = CD un/mute
Ctrl + Alt + M = Mic In un/mute
Ctrl + Alt + D = Dig In un/mute
Ctrl + Alt + G = Mic Boost on/off
Change recording source.
Ctrl + Shift + L = select Line In
Ctrl + Shift + C = select CD In
Ctrl + Shift + A = select Aux In
Ctrl + Shift + M = select Mic In
Ctrl + Shift + X = select Stereo Mix
Other functions.
Ctrl + Alt + E = equalizer on/off
Ctrl + Alt + 0 = headphone mode
Ctrl + Alt + 2 = 2 speaker mode
Ctrl + Alt + 4 = 4 speaker mode
Ctrl + O = load mixer settings (Control Panel must be open and active)
Ctrl + S = save mixer settings (Control Panel must be open and active)
By using the F5-F11 keys, or the key combination Alt + "x", where "x" is the letter underlined in the tab, you have direct access to the desired page of the Control Panel.
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