• Registered: 2016-12-07
  • Posts: 4

Topic: change HDSP 9632 to what ?

Hello,

I have HDSP 9632 for years, with extension board AO4S-192 AIO to have 6 analog outputs to a 5.1 monitors system (5 x Yamaha HS50M + 1 Yamaha HS10W). My only use is to compose music with Cubase and many (orchestral) VST instruments (mainly VSL and Kontakt) in MIR. In a PC Windows.

I'm totally happy with it, but I have to change my CPU, so my motherboard. And new motherboards don't have PCI slots anymore (at least the ones I want, in the X99 series, probably the Asus X99-A II).

So I read many forums, including this one. I know about the PCIe to PCI adapter trick, with a PCI extension cable in order to put the 9632 in an other slot, but I saw that it's not a reliable solution, many people having problems (like the analog outputs mute), actually I never saw a testimony of a working adapter for the 9632.

Question 1 : does a PCIe to PCI adapter really works with HDSP 9632 ?

Another solution would be to change to the HDSPe AIO, which is the exact copy of the 9632, but with a PCIe connection.
But sorry, it really upsets me to spend so many money just to have the exact same thing, in order to adapt myself to the mess of motherboards manufacturers.
So, with the same amount of money or a little more, I could get a used Fireface or Multiface. I would have additionnal features like the possibility to record some things with microphones, on my homestudio or elsewhere thanks to the portability (USB or Firewire) of the card. But it's probably only a dream, since my home studio is not meant to record anything in a proper way, and anyway the probability that I will need to record something one day in the future is weak. But who knows ?

Question 2 : if I don't use recording features, is there an advantage to switch from HDSP 9632 / HDSPe AIO to a Fireface or Multiface ?
I fear the only advantages would be to have a volume knob, a nice look and less cables behind my PC...
I read that the latency in external card would be more or less the same (at least with RME cards).

Question 3 : if I choose an external card, is it really ok through a Firewire extension card (with Texas Instruments chip, as I read) ?

Question 4 : another advice ?

Sorry for this long post and all these questions !
Any help would be very very much appreciated.
Thanks,

Matthieu

  • garry
  • S/Mux specialist
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  • From: Wales, UK
  • Registered: 2007-05-12
  • Posts: 251

Re: change HDSP 9632 to what ?

MatthieuL wrote:

Hello,

I have HDSP 9632 for years, with extension board AO4S-192 AIO to have 6 analog outputs to a 5.1 monitors system (5 x Yamaha HS50M + 1 Yamaha HS10W). My only use is to compose music with Cubase and many (orchestral) VST instruments (mainly VSL and Kontakt) in MIR. In a PC Windows.

I'm totally happy with it, but I have to change my CPU, so my motherboard. And new motherboards don't have PCI slots anymore (at least the ones I want, in the X99 series, probably the Asus X99-A II).

So I read many forums, including this one. I know about the PCIe to PCI adapter trick, with a PCI extension cable in order to put the 9632 in an other slot, but I saw that it's not a reliable solution, many people having problems (like the analog outputs mute), actually I never saw a testimony of a working adapter for the 9632.

Question 1 : does a PCIe to PCI adapter really works with HDSP 9632 ?

Another solution would be to change to the HDSPe AIO, which is the exact copy of the 9632, but with a PCIe connection.
But sorry, it really upsets me to spend so many money just to have the exact same thing, in order to adapt myself to the mess of motherboards manufacturers.
So, with the same amount of money or a little more, I could get a used Fireface or Multiface. I would have additionnal features like the possibility to record some things with microphones, on my homestudio or elsewhere thanks to the portability (USB or Firewire) of the card. But it's probably only a dream, since my home studio is not meant to record anything in a proper way, and anyway the probability that I will need to record something one day in the future is weak. But who knows ?

Question 2 : if I don't use recording features, is there an advantage to switch from HDSP 9632 / HDSPe AIO to a Fireface or Multiface ?
I fear the only advantages would be to have a volume knob, a nice look and less cables behind my PC...
I read that the latency in external card would be more or less the same (at least with RME cards).

Question 3 : if I choose an external card, is it really ok through a Firewire extension card (with Texas Instruments chip, as I read) ?

Question 4 : another advice ?

Sorry for this long post and all these questions !
Any help would be very very much appreciated.
Thanks,

Matthieu

There are other threads on here you could search...
But I use the Asus z170-a motherboard with i7 6700k... Has 1 x PCI slot and works perfectly with my HDSP 9652.

_

RME HDSP9652 | | RME Digiface USB
  • Registered: 2016-12-07
  • Posts: 4

Re: change HDSP 9632 to what ?

Thanks for your answer.

But, as i said, I already read many forums, and this one in the first place of course. I didn't find the solution, nobody tells that an adapter worked for the 9632 (it worked for other cards, mainly the small PCI cards for the Digiface or Multiface or something like that).
Even the RME support is not able to confirm me if it could work : their answer is it "might" work. That's why I'm searching a testimony of a working solution.

Concerning your motherboard, yes I know some LGA 1151 motherboards like yours still have PCI slots, but this is not my question as I want a LGA 2011-3 motherboard (X99) and as far as I know no x99 motherboards have PCI slots.

4 Reply by MatthieuL (edited by MatthieuL 2017-02-17 12:41:17)

  • Registered: 2016-12-07
  • Posts: 4

Re: change HDSP 9632 to what ?

I take the time to answer my own question (Question 1), for those like me who could have the same problem.

I finally bought the PCI expansion board StarTech PEX1PCI1.

I connected it on a PCIe slot and of course on an internal power cable, then connected my HDSP 9632 on it. The expansion board shifts the audio card by few centimeters, so :
- I can not screw the card on the back of the computer case, but it's not a problem, it's stable enough and I'm careful
- the output for the digital breakout cable is inside the computer case and is unusable, but I have the chance to not need it anyway

It totally works ! At least for my use : the analog stereo outputs (2 XLR from the optional balanced breakout cable), the headphone output, the MIDI input (from a keyboard) and all the 4 outputs of the expansion board AO4S-192. All that with a 5.1 set of Yamaha speakers (5xHS50M and 1xHS10W) and for a use of audio production with Cubase 7.5 and VSL stuff.

I tested that with 2 different motherboards and OS, each one during about 1 month without any problem :
- Asus P7P55D + i7 860, Windows 7 Premium 64bit
- Asus Strix x99 Gaming + i7 6800k, Windows 10 Family 64bit

I hope this testimony of a working solution will help somebody !

  • vinark
  • DAW Mastermind
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  • Registered: 2009-06-05
  • Posts: 2,857

Re: change HDSP 9632 to what ?

MatthieuL wrote:

I take the time to answer my own question (Question 1), for those like me who could have the same problem.

I finally bought the PCI expansion board StarTech PEX1PCI1.

I connected it on a PCIe slot and of course on an internal power cable, then connected my HDSP 9632 on it. The expansion board shifts the audio card by few centimeters, so :
- I can not screw the card on the back of the computer case, but it's not a problem, it's stable enough and I'm careful
- the output for the digital breakout cable is inside the computer case and is unusable, but I have the chance to not need it anyway

It totally works ! At least for my use : the analog stereo outputs (2 XLR from the optional balanced breakout cable), the headphone output, and all the 4 outputs of the expansion board AO4S-192. All that with a 5.1 set of Yamaha speakers (5xHS50M and 1xHS10W) and for a use of audio production with Cubase 7.5 and VSL stuff.

I tested that with 2 different motherboards and OS, each one during about 1 month without any problem :
- Asus P7P55D + i7 860, Windows 7 Premium 64bit
- Asus Strix x99 Gaming + i7 6800k, Windows 10 Family 64bit

I hope this testimony of a working solution will help somebody !

Thank you! Really good to know.

Vincent, Amsterdam
https://soundcloud.com/thesecretworld
BFpro fs, 2X HDSP9652 ADI-8AE, 2X HDSP9632

6 Reply by MatthieuL (edited by MatthieuL 2017-02-17 13:11:40)

  • Registered: 2016-12-07
  • Posts: 4

Re: change HDSP 9632 to what ?

My PCI expansion board StarTech PEX1PCI1 died suddenly, after only 2 months !

I phoned the customer service of StarTech, and they told me to do a "Cross Ship" : I filled a RMA form on their website, then I ordered a new board to them. I paid an express port to have it quickly : I received it the day after my order !
Now, I have to return the defective one, then I will be refunded (note that the express port by UPS will not be refunded, but a normal port would have been free).

So, the customer service is extremly good and working (at least in my country, France).

BUT, even if the new board is perfectly working, I can not trust it anymore as I fear it could die in few months too...
My only solution at mid-term is to finally change my soundcard !

[ Again, it's a shame I have to change a working card which perfectly covers my needs, only because the PCI slot is now obsolete. I believe the HDSPe AIO released only few months after I bought my HDSP 9632, bad luck... But maybe I wouldn't have buy it anyway, as HDSPe AIO is inexplicably far more expensive than HDSP 9632, while as far I know it's the same thing except the slot format...
I bought my HDSP 9632 339€ in 2008.
It is today at 379€ !! (it's hallucinating it's still sold while it's obsolete...)
And the HDSPe AIO is at 579€. Extra cost of 200€ for the same features, seriously ??

Maybe I didn't understand something...]

7 Reply by jackyloup (edited by jackyloup 2017-02-19 14:57:57)

  • Registered: 2017-01-29
  • Posts: 24

Re: change HDSP 9632 to what ?

I am not sure what is the trouble, but I picked up an old dell inspiron pc running  i5,almost out of trash it was packed to be donated. my husband replaced the power supply with a silent one, added a passive cooler and everything was up and running in few hours.

There is a german or austrian dude that owns an autoshop install hitches and stuff.

if processor gets too hot, he cuts openings in my computer covers and puts mosquito grills in it to help ventilation he drills holes in top and bottom and made  4U rack ears and thats it. I inserted the minitower sidewise on the bottom of the rack rail leave 2U for ventilation  and voila.

took one afternoon.  it all costed about the same than the cake i picked  from swet lady jane this afternoon and  HDSP card  looks  fine and happy there.

  • ramses
  • DAW Mastermind
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  • Registered: 2012-10-14
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Re: change HDSP 9632 to what ?

Well done, sometimes even the older stuff does it well if somebody takes some time to optimize things.

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub14

9 Reply by jackyloup (edited by jackyloup 2017-02-20 02:08:36)

  • Registered: 2017-01-29
  • Posts: 24

Re: change HDSP 9632 to what ?

thank you, Ramses,

All I needed was one compatible PCI slot to run and power the mixer. I5 with 8G of ram provides plenty of computing power for 8-track input in pro tools 11 and total mix. I am not even sure if total mix uses multiple cores to do the job, since I am new to RME. Slider control is a simple task and it is probably not necessary.

I will be able to keep RTL below 5ms with PT11 stock VST without clicks and pops and that is all that matters to me.

this was an interesting conclusion (last two pages) i skipped the calculus part:

http://lavryengineering.com/pdfs/lavry- … theory.pdf

10 Reply by Timur Born (edited by Timur Born 2017-02-21 22:14:21)

  • Registered: 2008-01-01
  • Posts: 3,025

Re: change HDSP 9632 to what ?

The Startech card uses a Pericom Semiconductor PI7C9X113 PCI Express to PCI-X Bridge. This is a good thing, because I had good experience with the PI7C9X111 in another adapter. Both the Startech card and the other adapter allow me to drive RME PCI cards down to 32 samples buffer. Even if your card broke early I would give it a go. You already paid for it, you got a new one and there always is a chance of you just having bad luck with that single unit in the past.

On the other hand I had a bad experience (as in did not work at all) with a PCI adapter card that looks similar to the Startech, but used an Asmedia based chipset. That being said, I think it was more a thing of these cards being cheap (10+ EUR compared to 40+ EUR for the Startech) than a problem of the chipset. Asus/Asrock boards usually use a current revision of the Asmedia ASM1083 chipset, which in the past I tested to be working properly, but older revisions caused trouble for some people. My Z87 Gigabyte board uses a IT8892E.

One drawback of the Startech card is that you absolutely need to use the power-cable, even though there should be enough power from the PCIe bus. My Pericom based adapter even drives two (2) PCI cards from the PCIe bus alone. It does provide an extra power-plug (SATA based), but I don't need to use it for the RME cards.

My PC case offers a single vertical slot opening. This allows me to combine the Startech card with an extender cable and then have a RME card properly installed in the case. You need to be careful with these extender cables, because the quality is not so great. I had one solder pin bent to its neighboring pin, which I noticed before using the cable and then fixed with a soldering iron.

If your RME card doesn't work then this can be a sign that the card itself has some defect, too. The DSP MADI shown in the image sometimes causes my PC not to boot when it's used with the Startech + extender cable, a AES works without problems. In this case I happen to know that my MADI card has some defects for some time (aka needs repair), so the adapter problems are just a symptom of those card based defects.

http://i.imgur.com/lymly7O.jpg?1

My other mentioned Pericom based adapter is this Sintech one (bought via Ebay from China):

http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/3GYAAMXQrhdTVPhS/s-l500.jpg

They also sell a 5.1/4" slot/external chassis based solution:

http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/ITQAAOSwxCxT9xse/s-l500.jpg

11 Reply by Timur Born (edited by Timur Born 2017-04-11 20:36:55)

  • Registered: 2008-01-01
  • Posts: 3,025

Re: change HDSP 9632 to what ?

Because someone asked I measured both the Sintech and StarTech adapter. The important part is that pin B1 should provide -12 V, as in *negative*.

The Sintech adapter provides -11.7 V on pin B1 of both slots and also provides 5 V on the respective pins. There is no need to connect an extra SATA power cable for that.

The Startech adapter only provides -11.5 V on pin B1 and 5 V on the respective pins when the extra power cable is connected.

Both should work.

  • JohnG
  • New member
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  • Registered: 2017-05-05
  • Posts: 4

Re: change HDSP 9632 to what ?

Hi all,

There is a new ASRock motherboard (new to me anyway) that has a PCI slot.  The board is the ASRock Motherboard Z270 PRO4.    It's not an adapter, but a regular PCI slot.

http://www.asrock.com/MB/Intel/Z270%20Pro4/index.asp

2 PCIe 3.0 x16, 3 PCIe 3.0 x1, 1 PCI, 1 M.2 Socket (Key E)

I don't work for ASRock or anything like that -- I'm a composer.  The board is not weird -- not a server board or otherwise odd for music.  It can take up to 64GB of RAM and has USB 3.0 and all that.

Kind regards,

John

  • Registered: 2021-12-09
  • Posts: 14

Re: change HDSP 9632 to what ?

I'm facing a similar issue with my very old RME Digi9636. My PC died, so I lost the PCI connector since I had to get myself a new machine.

I got myself a PCIe adapter with the ASM1083 chip on it. It works a little. When I start jackd on Linux (kernel 5.4.0-91-lowlatency), the PC freezes after about one minute with the symptoms of a memory leak. This issue is hard to debug, since there are no error messages anywhere.

The Digi9636 is very old but still in working condition and has active driver support on Linux. Why should I throw it away?

I might have to get myself the more recent HDSPe RayDat. But apart from the money, the standard version doesn't have WordClock, so I wouldn't be able to use several OctacMics with it since the card wouldn't be able to be clock master. (of which I currently own one). So I'd need to spend even more on the WordClock module just to get back the very same functionality I had before. Very sad.

Unfortunately my new PC doesn't seem to be very talented with low-latency USB audio stuff, so the Digiface USB is likely not to be an option. Apart from the fact that the HDSP series has mixer support on Linux, while the TotalMix cards don't.