Anyone using ESI ESP1010

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nobody is perfect
Member Since: Oct 15, 2004

Hi all,

i just bought ESP1010 last saturday. latency is superlow, noise floor is low also. but i have problem with gain...

anyone already using ESP1010 in here? i would like to discuss lot of things..

thanks guys.

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Administrator
Since: Apr 03, 2002


Oct 19, 2005 06:48 am

Noize2u uses a 1010...I'll try to point him to this thread.

Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Oct 19, 2005 07:03 pm

Hello gelay, What kind of problem with gain are you having? Also what recording software are you using?

Also, if you can check your driver version number as well as teh control panel version and let me know that would be great.

I should be on all night and will keep checking this thread for your response.

Noize

OK, I saw you use Sonar 3 XL so that answers one of em.

nobody is perfect
Member
Since: Oct 15, 2004


Oct 19, 2005 09:27 pm

Thanks dB..and also Noize.

actually it is not a real 'problem'. it just that the gain is not high enough as it was before when i use my old yamaha game soundcard.

i use SONAR 4, and my ESI driver version is 1.1.1 (i think). i use the driver from the CD that came with it.

i have a behringer tubegain100 mic preamp, and i have this setting on the knobs (3 oclock in, 12 oclock out) that can push the gain around -6dB to -3dB with my old card.

but when i use ESP1010, on channel 3/4, and i use the same setting with the preamp, i can not even have -10dB. it was too low.

this is my first jump from game soundcard to a digital converter... so i would like to know wether this is a normal thing with a converter or not.

and even, on channel 1/2, i have to maximize the digi gain, and it is barely moving above -10dB (on L setting).

kindly advise me man...

Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Oct 19, 2005 09:52 pm

gelay, the current driver is 1.15. Go here and choose the ESP1010 for Windows. www.esi-pro.com/download.php

Next I'll give ya my settings and you can check to see if you are set up corectly.

Open you ESP1010 control panel, which should have installed with the driver set-up. Next check and make sure you have the PRO button lit up and not the CON button. These will be near the digital control portion of the panel.

Next make sure you have the input selected for LINE not MIC as this can cause the channel to have a cut on input. Also make sure in the input section you have the ANA button lit up and not the DIG as again this will allow the analog inputs to cut low on the input level.

Also make sure you set the Master Clock to INT as this will use the 1010 internal crystal for audio timing and not the PC's chipset clock. This will run much more stable for audio timing.

Lastly you will want to go ahead and adjust your imput faders on the 1010 control panel up to the max. I find this works best as I will make any input level adjustments in Sonar itself giving me much better control on what goes in.

Let me know how it works out. And for sure you will want to get the latest drivers as they have made a few very good changes. The DirectWire function is now quicker to use as well as the drivers fixed a small bug with the optical input.

nobody is perfect
Member
Since: Oct 15, 2004


Oct 20, 2005 12:13 am

Thanks Noize.

i think i download it first and then i'll get back 2 u.

nobody is perfect
Member
Since: Oct 15, 2004


Oct 20, 2005 09:32 pm

hai noize.

i have download and installed the driver for ESI ESP1010 v 1.15... but i can not find what you said about "ANA" button and "DIG". is it on the control panel or someplace else?

about the MIC or LINE, it is the small button M and L on the leftside, right?

Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Oct 20, 2005 10:04 pm

gelay, my bad. On the 1010 you dont need to make the selection for ana or dig. It is able to run both simultainiously. On the Waveterminal you could turn the digital off if so desired, but there is ow need to on the 1010.

And yes the m stands for mic and the L stands for line. Make sure you have the L selected when using an instrment level input.

These selections are on the Control Panel portions of the panel, and the regular mixer pane accessed by selecting the mixer panel.

Make sure you check that the mixer panel is set up as you would like. The default settings are usually set up good, other then as I stated you might want to max out the input level controls.


nobody is perfect
Member
Since: Oct 15, 2004


Oct 21, 2005 12:23 am

ok Noize. so we are talking the same unit again. :)

so is it true with digital converter like this, the gain is always that small?

may i know how low is your noise floor with all the fader in the panel all up?

mine -90dB.(bad!)

Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Oct 22, 2005 01:24 am

gelay, is your master fader in the 1010 panel set too low?

I know there will be aslight differance but it shouldnt be something that would keep you from getting more then -10dB max of input level. I checked my input in Sonar 3, 4 and 5 all Producer edition and I can clip mine without any trouble.

Maybe try going into the windows control panel and check to see if for some reason windows is showing the controls set lower. This shouldnt be happening but I did have this happen on my Waveterminal and it was simply a matter of going into the windows volume control and setting them all to max.

As for the noise floor, -90dB is very acceptable. Make sure you dont have any cable's plugged in when you test it for noise floor. As well you will want to make sure your cable to the breakout box is not running near any AC power cords or power supplies for any other devices.

My actual noise floor is approximately -98.9dB.
My unit is mounted right above an FX processor as well so that might be adding to the noise floor. But -90dB FS is not even going to be noticable at all. You wouldnt even see a wave form in most audio editors for anything that small.

nobody is perfect
Member
Since: Oct 15, 2004


Oct 24, 2005 02:53 am

Noize, all my faders all are full up.

with my old yamaha card, i can clip easily with my behringer mic preamp setting (3 oclock in, 12 oclock out)..even on the windows mixer, the record level is set quite low (25%).

but with this 1010, on channel 3/4, i have to drive my mic preamp almost full gain (and the fader in 1010 panel is full up), just to have a decent above -10dB.

well, i guess i have to accept that. thanks Noize.

Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Oct 26, 2005 07:17 pm

gelay, I will mess around a bit this weekend and see if i can figure out what might be happening. I know I can come srtraight out of my Behringer desk with the pre's on it set at about 9:00 and the desk fader at unity as well as the sub outs at unity and I can peg my input meters in Sonar.

But now that you are talking about this, I do recall my SB card did bring in a much hotter signal with say the same settings. I remember having to set some of my hardware synths up to full output volume after changing over to an M-Audio Delta 44. But I know my Delta and the ESI units both have about the same input level matched.

nobody is perfect
Member
Since: Oct 15, 2004


Oct 28, 2005 06:22 am

thanks Noize.

so whats the comparison between ESI and M-Audio? is there any significant better sound quality?

sorry..is M-Audio delta 44 is 24 bit, 96Khz ready rite?

one more thing. i want to know which setting comes out with best result and gain:
i set my preamp input gain low and the output gain high. or the other way around?

Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Oct 28, 2005 07:58 pm

Well honestly both M-Audio and ESI are about the same sound quality wise. In my case running tons of software synths I seem to get better performance with the ESI products.

Yes, the Delta is 24/96. Although it seems to burden the system more then the ESI does running at those settings.

If I am using an external pre-amp I will usually set the input gain for whatever bit of warmth I need. Then set the output gain as high as possible without it overloading the input of my mixer, or sound card. In my case everything goes through the desk before it hits the audio interface.

A rule to remember for gain staging is the first device in the chain should have the highest output level, then each succesive piece of gear will have its output set a bit lower as the chain progresses. That rings true for any outboard gear. IN the case of say one of my hardware synths, I run the synth output level at full, then the desk gain is a bit lower, and finally my interface will be just a bit lower. Some circumstance require the output levels to be almost the same all the way depending onthe equipment. But a general rule is the first piece of gear in the chain is always the highest output level. This helps reduce noise as it moves down the chain.

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