This Step by step guide explains the steps necessary to install the new experimental exaU2I Windows drivers and the exaU2I Dashboard tray application.

 1. Overview

The second version of the evaU2I software Package - exaU2I Dashboard introduces support for native Windows players - Windows Media Player, Windows Media Center, VLC, MPC-HC, WinAmp etc. exaU2I Dashboard works with a third party native Windows driver - the Virtual Audio Cable from NTONYX.

 The exaU2I Dashboard setup package installs 2 components:

1.      ASIO Driver - exaU2I ASIO DB. The new driver will exist side by side with the exaU2I ASIO V1 driver. You can use either diver at any time. 

2.      exaU2I Dashboard - a Windows tray application used to display channel level indicators, sampling frequency, and operation mode information.  The exaU2I Dashboard also controls the settings for Virtual Audio Cable integration.

 

 To enable native Windows player support you will need to purchase and install the Virtual Audio Cable Driver.  There is a trial version that can be used for initial testing.

 2. Virtual Audio Cable Driver Installation and Configuration

1. Download the trial version of Virtual Audio Cable version 4.1 or higher from http://www.ntonyx.com/vac.htm. Later you can purchase the unrestricted version
2. Install Virtual Audio Cable and accept all default settings. Make sure to select the I am advanced user checkbox.
3. If prompted, restart Windows.
4. From the Windows Start menu select

Start -> All Programs -> Virtual Audio Cable -> Control Panel. You will see the following screen. Adjust all settings to match the screenshot. Click Exit.

5. Open the Windows Control Panel and Start the Sound applet.

6. Select the Recording tab.

7. Select the Virtual Audio Cable entry and go to the Advanced tab. Select sample rate and bit depth. Make a note of the selected mode. You will need to use the exact same mode on two other screens.  Select OK.

 

8. At this point you will see again the main screen of the Sound applet. Select the Playback tab.

9. Select the Virtual Audio Cable entry and go to the Advanced tab. Select the required mode of operation. Make sure you select the exact same mode used in the previous step.  Select OK.


10. You will be returned back to the main screen of the Sound applet.





11. Right-click Virtual Audio Cable and make it the default playback device. Select OK.
12. At this point Virtual Audio Cable is configured and you can proceed with the installation of the exaU2I Dashboard.

3. ASIO Driver and Dashboard Installation

1. Download the latest driver exaU2I setup package. By this time you should have received an email from us with username and password for forum.exaDevices.com.
2. Don’t connect the exaU2I device to the PC until the driver is installed. Following this rule makes troubleshooting easier. Don’t worry if you’ve connected the device already. Just disconnect it
3. Double-click on Install.exe to start the installation. Follow the instructions. In most cases you just need to accept the defaults on the following screens
4. Reboot the computer
5. Connect the exaU2I device. You should see the PWR LED on. You should see a pop-up message on the computer screen indicating that exaU2I device is installed successfully

6. You should find the exaU2I Dashboard icon on the system tray next to the clock. You may have to adjust the exaU2I Dashboard icon visibility settings as shown on the following screenshots

7. Click on the exaU2I Dashboard icon. You will see the exaU2I Dashboard window. Click on the Settings Icon

8. The Settings dialog is displayed. Select exactly the same settings used for the configuration of Virtual Audio Cable.

9. Check Windows Playback Enabled to activate native Windows playback

At this point you should be able to use Windows Media Player or Windows Media Center with exaU2I.

4. Using exaU2I Dashboard

The most important feature of exaU2I Dashboard is the switching between Windows Native Driver Mode and ASIO. Click on the exaU2I Dashboard tray icon to open the exaU2I Dashboard.

Switching between Windows Native Driver Mode and ASIO

By default the exaU2I Dashboard is in ASIO mode. Select the Windows Playback Enabled checkbox to enable playback with Virtual Audio Cable.

Uncheck the checkbox when you want to use ASIO players.

Using Auto ASIO On

Auto ASIO On switches automatically off the Windows playback when ASIO player starts playing. In Auto ASIO Mode you can keep Windows Playback Enabled checked all the time. ASIO players will take exclusive control over the exaU2I device every time you start playback.

At the present time Auto ASIO Mode is experimental. It works well with Foobar.

Adjusting the Sampling Rate for Windows Native Driver Mode

If you are using native Windows players like Windows Media Center, Windows Media Player, MPC-HC or VLC for watching movies, you should set the sampling rate to 48 kHz.

If you are using them primarily for playing CDs, you should set the sampling rate to 44.1 kHz.

Use the following procedure to change the sampling rate for Windows Native Driver Mode.

1. Repeat steps 5 to 12 from Virtual Audio Cable Driver Installation and Configuration
2. Repeat steps 7 to 9 from ASIO Driver and Dashboard Installation

Remember to use the exact same sampling rate and number of channels on all screens.

When using the Windows 7 sound system  automatic sampling rate switching is not available. There are several possible usage scenarios:

• exaU2I Dashboard / VAC can be set to set to 192 kHz. All sources will be up-sampled by Windows
• exaU2I Dashboard / VAC can be configured for the sampling rate that is most-important  in terms of sound fidelity.  All sources with different sampling rates will be re-sampled

5. Compatibility

exaU2I Dashboard Beta is tested with the following players:

1. Windows Media Center on 64bit Windows 7 - 2.0, 5.1 DVD, 2.0, 5.1, 7.1 audio (WMA, WAV)
2. Windows Media Player 12 on 64bit Windows 7 - 2.0, 5.1 DVD, 2.0, 5.1, 7.1 audio
3. MPC-HC x86 on 64bit Windows 7 - 2.0, 5.1 DVD, 2.0, 5.1, 7.1 audio, 2.0, 5.1, 7.1 MKV (AC3, DTS, FLAC)
4. VLC on 64bit Windows 7 - 2.0, 5.1 DVD, 2.0, 5.1, audio, 2,0, 5.1 MKV (AC3, DTS, FLAC)
5. Cyberlink PowerDVD 11 Trial - Blu-Ray - Mono (Center Channel :)