FAQ: SoundTrack Digital 4DWave NX

Note: we recommend to check the General FAQ section as well.

hardware and driver related topics

1. Does the card work under Windows NT 4.0?

Yes. The NT 4.0 driver is supplied with the card (check the included CD-ROM) and can be downloaded on our website.

2. Does the card work under Windows 2000?

Yes, Hoontech offers a WDM driver for this chipset. The WDM driver supports the S/PDIF output and has been developed by Hoontech after Trident discontinued the support for the 4DWave chipets. The file has been released after the production of the card has stopped. You can only find it on the download page of this website, not on the driver CD-ROM. You can also use this driver under Windows XP on most systems.

3. Does the card work under Linux?

Yes - perfectly! We recommend to use the ALSA driver (which you can download on www.alsa-project.org) to use the card under Linux. This driver has been developed by ALSA with hardware support from our side. It is hard to find a soundcard that is supported better under Linux than the 4DWave NX.

4. Does the card work under Windows ME?

Yes. The driver for Windows 98 can be used under Windows ME as well without any limitations.

5. Do I need amplified speakers or a separate amplifier to use this soundcard?

Yes. Like most modern soundcards, there is no amplifier on the card itself (because of the audio quality). This means that you need active powered speakers to use the card properly. Passive speakers without an amplifier will not give you enough output volume.

6. Can I record to MD with this card? I heard that MD works with 44.1kHz and the card with 48kHz?

Yes, MD works with 44.1kHz. This seems to be a problem as the SoundTrack Digital 4DWave NX sends signals by default with 48kHz, but don't worry: all modern MD recorders and also most older models have a built in SRC function (sample-rate-conversion) that changes the 48kHz to 44.1kHz. The resulting change in the signal quality is much lower compared to the compression used for MD so this is no practical limitation at all. Some older MD-recorders do not have a SRC function so please check this in the documentation for your MD recorder.

7. Can I output AC-3 signals with this card?

Yes. You need a software that supports the playback of AC-3 streams (e.g. PowerDVD 2.55 and newer) that is compatible with the Trident 4DWave NX chip.

8. Is it possible to install this card in a system with onboard-sound or another soundcard?

Usually yes. As long as the other soundcontroller is not from Trident, there should be no problems. You should make sure that both devices do not share their IRQ. It is not possible to install several SoundTrack Digital 4DWave NX cards in the same system.

9. Does this card support S/PDIF?

Yes. The optical and coaxial digital output connectors on the supplied NX DB I sound out a S/PDIF signal.

10. Is it possible to add a digital input to the card?

Yes. With the optional NX DB II and the SoundTrack Digital Bracket II or III you can a second digital output and a digital input. Please note that the SoundTrack Digital Bracket II / III have been discontinued.

software and usage related topics

1 .I am using the card under Windows NT 4.0 but there is no support for the digital output.

Please install revision 2035 of the NT 4.0 driver or higher. You can find updated drivers on our download page.

2. What is the pin-layout of the Aux and Video inputs?

From left to right: R G G L (right, ground, ground, left). Please note that since hardware revision A2 (printed on the card), the Video input has just three pins (R, G, L).

3. I am not able to output any signal via the optical or coaxial S/PDIF output.

Please make sure that the cable between the NX DB I pcb and the soundcard is installed properly. Also the output must be enabled in the 'PCI Audio' Control Panel applet (unless you are using the Windows 2000 driver, the digital output is automatically enabled then).

4. I want to output AC-3 signals when watching DVDs. Do I need to connect the DVD-ROM drive with the soundcard in some way?

No. The signal is transfered by the DVD player software via the normal DVD-ROM data cable (IDE, SCSI). A connection to the souncard is not needed.

5. Is it possible that my MD is creating new tracks automatically when I am recording several WAV- or MP3-files via the digital output of the card?

Yes and no. Sadly there is no standard for applications and drivers to control a function like this. In most applications you can use a special method to create new tracks: just add (around) 3 sec. of silcence in the playlist between each track in the playlist. You could use this mp3-file for example. Some applications (e.g. WinAMP) have special functions or plugins to support this. Of course the breaks won't be on your final MD recordings!

6. I want to use a game that supports A3D. Can I use it with the NX card?

Yes. The SoundTrack Digital 4DWave NX supports the A3D 1.0 standard under Windows 9x/Me.

7. I want to use a game that supports EAX. Can I use it with the NX card?

Yes. The SoundTrack Digital 4DWave NX the EAX standard v1.0 under Windows 9x/Me.