Please note that the mandatory device activation procedure requires an active internet connection on your computer. Activating an Antelope Audio device offline is not possible. Your Discrete 4 must be activated online to work. This chapter contains the necessary instructions:
1. Connect the Discrete 4 to a Windows or macOS computer.
2. Open your internet browser and navigate to https://en.antelopeaudio.com/login/
3. Log in to the Antelope Audio user area with your email and password. If you don't have an account, visit https://en.antelopeaudio.com/sign-up/ to create one.
4. Click on the "Activate New Device" button.
5. Click on "Discrete 4" from the device list.
6. Download and install the Antelope Launcher application for Windows or macOS.
7. Open the Antelope Launcher application and click on the "Log-in" button (marked with red below):
Enter the email and password you used to login into the Antelope Audio user area in the website and click "Log in".
8. Click on "Activate".
9. Upon successful activation, the final window will read:
"You have successfully activated your device. Software is required to be installed and up to date for the device to be used".
Click on "Software Installation" to go through the rest of the setup process or if you would like to, click on "Install Later" if you prefer to postpone this step. The installation step is available later in the Antelope Launcher’s Manage Device section that you can find under your "DEVICE ID" (3rd box from left to right).
The following warning message advises to power off or unplug any devices connected to the interface to avoid any potential damage during the firmware installation process. Click on "Continue" when ready and go through the instructions that follow.
After the installation is complete, you can proceed with the instructions for your operating system and configure the interface for use with your Windows or macOS computer.
Note: The Discrete 4 will be listed on the "My Hardware" page of the Antelope Audio user area with it's serial number and activation date.
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Configurating Discrete 4 over USB for Windows 10
Configuring for Windows 10 needs a few tweaks to get the Discrete 4 up and running.
1. Right-click the speaker icon in the system tray and choose "Open Sound settings".
2. Make sure the Discrete 4 is chosen under "Output" and "Input"
- Under "Output", the device should be listed as "Discrete 4 USB Audio Driver Playback". Note that this choice means you will only hear computer audio from the Discrete 4's monitor and headphone outputs. If you would like to use another audio device for playback (listening), choose that one instead.
- Under "Input", the device should be listed as "Discrete 4 USB Audio Driver Recording 1/2".
3. Select the device and click "Device Properties" under "Output" and then click to "Additional device properties".
Go to "Advanced" tab and make sure Default Format is set at the same sample rate as your DAW.
* If your DAW is at 48000kHz that would be 48kHz, 2 Channels, 24-bit.
* Make sure you have selected 2 channels for Windows Audio Output settings of Default Format
4. Go to the "Supported Formats" tab and place checkmarks next to all the available sample rates except 32kHz.
5. Enter the "Enhancements" tab and disable all enhancements.
6. Back in Sound settings, click "Device Properties" -> "Input" -> "Additional device properties" and select the same sample rates for "Default Format" in "Advanced" Tab.
After go to the "Enhancements" tab and disable all enhancements. Click "OK" to save the adjustments and close the window.
Tips:
- If you are experiencing interruptions or failure when using your DAW and trying to playback audio from your OS (system audio like an audio file/YouTube video/Spotify) at the same time, make sure that the device sample rate matches the one of your DAW session.
- In some cases, disabling the "Exclusive mode" functionality from the "Advanced" tabs might help when running multiple playback applications at the same time.
- Disabling the 32kHz sample rate isn’t mandatory, but it might help in general.
For further instructions and optimization please refer to this guide:
Windows 10 Sound Settings and Optimization
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Configurating Discrete 4 for macOS
Configuring for macOS (10.14 and later):
The security settings in macOS (10.14 and later) may result in no input signal reaching your DAW, despite having everything set up correctly. These steps apply when you are using the Discrete 4 in a DAW for the first time.
1. Launch your DAW and choose "Discrete 4" as the input device. The following dialog box will appear (if using Ableton Live 10 Suite, for example):
2. Click "OK" and your DAW should function normally.
If the events above did not occur for some reason, or you are using multiple DAWs, you must manually adjust the settings for each in "Security & Privacy":
Click the "Apple" icon at the top-right corner of your display and choose "System Preferences". Head to the "Security & Privacy" settings menu. Then Click "Privacy" tab. In the column on the left, choose "Microphone". Make sure there is a checkmark next to any DAW you want to use.
You may have to click the padlock symbol in the bottom left corner and enter your password to make changes.
If you are using MacOS Big Sur, you would need to follow this guide to install the Antelope Unified driver correctly.
How to install Antelope Unified Driver on MacOS Big Sur and M1 computers.
Please refer to this Playlist with video guidance on how to setup your Antelope Audio interface.
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DAW setup with Antelope Devices
This guide shows how to setup your DAW with your Antelope device
Please follow one of the videos below for your desired DAW
Guide for Pro Tools
Guide for Ableton Live 10
Guide for Studio One
Guide for Logic Pro X
Guide for Cubase 10
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Routing, Tracking and Monitoring
This video tutorial explains in depth how to route, track and monitor with Zen Go Synergy Core, Zen Q Synergy Core, Discrete 4, Discrete 4 Synergy Core, Discrete 8 and Discrete 8Synergy Core