If your Digi8+ card is version A5 or above, dip switch 2 allows the AD-8000 to read certain parameters, including sample rate, from the Pro Tools session.

The latest version of firmware is 3.10. The latest revision of hardware is A6

It is possible to disengage the AD-8000's fan. If you look through the ventilation slots on the right side of the unit you will see a recessed slider switch. If the fan is switched off, it's essential that the AD-8000 is not installed in a rack enclosure.

In order to determine the actual firmware version for firmware 1.20 and after, it's necessary to remove the top cover of the AD-8000 and note the physical label on the EPROM chip. Due to technical reasons, the "hold SoftLimit" indication cannot distinguish between version 1.20 and version 2.0.

The AD-8000 has two modes of monitoring. The first is Source mode, in which the AD-8000 is monitoring the direct inputs to the unit. The second is Destination mode, in which the AD-8000 is monitoring the input from an AMBus card. The headphone stereo select button has two lights next to it and they are labeled Source and Dest (Destination). To monitor an AMBus card, press and hold the stereo select button until the light switches from Source to Dest. The headphone volume display will now display a letter which indicates the AMBus card being monitored. To change the AMBus card, you will need to press the headphone stereo select button and toggle the headphone volume switch either up or down. If you only have one AMBus card installed you can not change this. A is for AMBus Slot 1, B is Slot 2, C is Slot 3, and D is Slot 4.

The AD-8000's channels have two ways of monitoring a signal, analog or digital. To monitor the AMBus input, you must have the channels in digital input mode. Press the Digital In button to the left of the meters, and for each stereo pair of meters, press the select button and the DIG light will indicate you are now in digital input mode. To meter the desired AMBus card make sure that the Source mode matrix on the upper-right of the AD-8000 is set to that AMBus card.

Inside the AD-8000, on the power supply, there is a voltage dial which has voltages from 100 to 240 V. Power down the AD-8000, remove the lid, and turn the dial to the appropriate setting. The fuse ratings for each voltage are different, so you will need to change them. The fuses are found right above the power connector on the rear of the unit. This is a sliding fuse housing and can be pulled out to replace the fuses. For 100-120V, the AD-8000 should have two 2 amp slow-blow fuses. For 200-240 V, the AD-8000 should have two 1 amp slow blow fuses.

By default, the AD-8000 is calibrated for -16 dBFS. To change this, a +4 dB tone should be inserted into each channel. Press the calibration button on the right side and then select the desired input level for the analog inputs. You have a range of -20 to -12 dBFS. The meters on the AD-8000 will display a single line which indicates the level as compared to the calibration level you have selected. On the middle of each channel meter is a "0" which will be your target level. Use a small-tipped flat-head screwdriver to turn the trimpot clockwise to increase the gain or counter-clockwise to lower the gain.

The DAC-VIII card has a set of jumpers and switches on it to configure it for any type of application. For the levels, there is a small set of switches located on the rear end of the card (furthest away from the DB-25 connector). Switch #1 can be set for +4 or -10 operation. When set to the "off" position, it is set for +4 which is the default setting. When in the "on" position the output is set to -10 output. A set of jumpers is provided on the daughter board adjacent to the DB-25 output connector. There are two jumpers per channel. They are individually labeled with a number (JP1-16) and each pair is marked with the channel number (CH1-8). These jumpers define balanced and unbalanced operation and determine whether pin 2 or pin 3 is hot. For pin 2 hot unbalanced operation, remove the odd-numbered jumpers (JP 1, 3, 5, etc) on the channels you wish to set. For pin 3 hot unbalanced operation, remove the even-numbered jumpers (JP 2, 4, 6 etc) on the channels you wish to set. To select pin 2 balanced operation, look at the jumper labeling on the daughter card, so the labels are upright. All the jumpers on the required channels should be installed and set horizontally. To select pin 3 balanced operation, rotate each required channel's pair of jumpers 90 degrees, so that they are set vertically.

In the Hardware Setup of Pro Tools, select the 888/24 as the device to use for the selected card. This will make the AD-8000 act as if you were using an 888.

The BNCs on the Digi8+ card are used for Superclock, the 256x sample rate clock signal used by Digidesign on their hardware devices.