Apogee PSX-100 User Manual

PPSSXX--110000

24-bit 2-channel

44.1–96kHz High Density

A/D-D/A Conversion System

Operating Manual and

UV22

®

License Agreement

Version 3b — July 2000

Firmware v 3.0.0 – inc. Single-Wire

Manual written by Doug Bell.
Edited by Julio Alvarez & Joe Raia.
Interconnection diagrams by Julio Alvarez.
Many thanks to Roger and Brigitte Robindoré for their exhaustive proffreadign.
Produced, edited and generally mangled for production by Richard Elen.

SoftLimit and UV22 are Registered Trademarks of Apogee Electronics Corporation. All other trademarks are
property of their respective holders.
Technology within the PSX-100, including the Low Jitter Clock, may be covered by one or more patents that are
the property of Apogee Electronics Corporation. Infringement of said patents may result in a plague of rhinos
being visited upon your firstborn, and/or other more conventional measures.

Registered User Customer Support:

Please call [phone] and ask for Tech Support, or email [e-mail].
Your unit should be registered to receive technical support.

Features and specifications subject to change without notice.

APOGEE ELECTRONICS CORPORATION
3145 Donald Douglas Loop South
Santa Monica,
California 90405-3210 USA
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email:

[e-mail]

Web: http://www.apogeedigital.com/
This manual is copyright ©1999 by APOGEE ELECTRONICS CORPORATION. All rights reserved. Under copy­right laws, this manual may not be duplicated in whole or in part without the written consent of Apogee.

PSX-100 User’s Manual

PSX-100 User’s Manual

PPSSXX--110000

24-bit 2-channel

44.1–96kHz High Density

A/D-D/A Conversion System

Operating Manual and

UV22

®

License Agreement

Version 3b — July 2000

Firmware v 3.0.0 – inc. Single-Wire

Warnings

CAUTION: To reduce the risk of electrical shock, do not remove the cover. No user serviceable parts inside;

refer servicing to qualified personnel. To change the operating voltage and install the video option card, it is
necessary to remove the cover of the unit. As a result, such operations must be carried out only by technically­qualified personnel.

WARNING: To reduce the risk of fire or electrical shock, do not expose this appliance to rain or moisture.

This symbol, wherever it appears, alerts you to the presence of uninsulated dangerous voltage inside
the enclosure—voltage that may be sufficient to constitute a risk of shock. Operations indicated with
this symbol should be carried out only by technically-qualified personnel.

This symbol, wherever it appears, alerts you to important operating and maintenance instructions in
the accompanying literature. Read the manual.

Environmental warnings

• Never touch the AC plug with wet hands.

• Do not use this unit in damp areas or near water.

• Avoid damaging the AC plug or cord and potentially causing a shock hazard.

• If liquids spill into or onto the PSX-100, disconnect the power and return to your dealer for servicing.

• This unit should only be connected to an AC power supply of the correct voltage. Check with your dealer

if in doubt.

• Precautions should be taken so that the grounding or polarization of the AC power is not defeated.

• Unplug the AC cord when the unit is unused for long periods of time.

• This unit should only be cleaned as recommended by the manufacturer, or damage to the finish may result.

• To avoid potential damage to your unit, only use in areas where proper ventilation and moderate tempera-

tures are assured.

Power warning

AC voltage ratings for electrical power vary from area to area. Severe damage to your unit is possible
if your PSX-100 is configured incorrectly for your local power. If in doubt, consult an Apogee dealer. A
label adjacent to the power connector indicates the voltage to which the unit was set on leaving the
factory.

Instructions for changing the power input voltage are provided. We strongly advise you to check that
the voltage label remains current and is updated if the input voltage setting is changed.

FCC warning

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device, pur­suant to Part 15 of the FCC rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against

harmful interference when operated in a commercial environment. This equipment generates, uses,
and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction manu­al, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. Operation of this equipment in a residential area
is likely to cause harmful interference, in which case the user will be required to take whatever measures may
be required to correct the interference at his own expense.

Copyright Notice

The Apogee PSX-100 is a computer-based device, and as such contains and uses software in ROMs. This
software, and all related documentation, including this Owner’s Manual, contain proprietary information which
is protected by copyright laws. All rights are reserved. No part of the software and its related documentation
may be copied, transferred, or modified. You may not modify, adapt, translate, lease, distribute, resell for prof­it or create derivative works based on the software and its related documentation or any part thereof without
prior written consent from Apogee Electronics Corporation, U.S.A.

PSX-100 User’s Manual

Page 4

Registration and Warranty Information

Be sure to register your PSX-100, either by filling in the enclosed Registration Card or
by completing our on-line registration form at our Web site: http://www.apogeedigi­tal.com/register.html. If you do so, Apogee can contact you with any update information. As

enhancements and upgrades are developed, you will be contacted at the registration
address. Firmware updates are free for the first year of ownership. Please address any
inquiries to your dealer or directly to Apogee at:

APOGEE ELECTRONICS CORPORATION, 3145 Donald Douglas Loop South, Santa Monica, CA 90405, USA.

TEL: [phone], FAX: [phone]

email: [e-mail]. Web: http://www.apogeedigital.com/

APOGEE ELECTRONICS CORPORATION warrants this product to be free of defects in material and manufac­ture under normal use for a period of 12 months. The term of this warranty begins on the date of sale to the
purchaser. Units returned for warranty repair to Apogee or an authorized Apogee warranty repair facility will be
repaired or replaced at the manufacturer’s option, free of charge. All units returned to Apogee or an autho-
rized Apogee repair facility must be prepaid, insured and properly packaged. Apogee reserves the right to
change or improve design at any time without prior notice. Design changes are not implemented retrospec­tively, and the incorporation of design changes into future units does not imply the availability of an upgrade
to existing units.

This warranty is void if Apogee determines, in its sole business judgment, the defect to be the result of abuse,
neglect, alteration or attempted repair by unauthorized personnel.

The warranties set forth above are in lieu of all other warranties, expressed or implied, and Apogee specifical­ly disclaims any and all implied warranty of merchantability or of fitness for a particular purpose. The buyer
acknowledges and agrees that in no event shall the company be held liable for any special, indirect, incidental
or consequential damages, or for injury, loss or damage sustained by any person or property, that may result
from this product failing to operate correctly at any time.

USA: Some states do not allow for the exclusion or limitation of implied warranties or liability for incidental or
consequential damage, so the above exclusion may not apply to you. This warranty gives you specific legal
rights, and you may have other rights which vary from state to state.

Service Information

If the PSX-100 is kept in a clean environment free of excess dust, moisture and heat, it will give years of trou­ble-free service.

The PSX-100 contains no user-serviceable components: refer to qualified service personnel for repair or
upgrade. Your warranty will be voided if you tamper with the internal components. If you have any questions
with regard to the above, please contact Apogee by phone at [phone], by fax at [phone], or via
email to [e-mail].

In the event your PSX-100 needs to be upgraded or repaired, it is necessary to contact Apogee prior to ship­ping, and a Return Materials Authorization (RMA) number will be assigned. This number will serve as a refer­ence for you and helps facilitate and expedite the return process.

Apogee requires that shipments be pre-paid

and insured — unless otherwise authorized in advance. IMPORTANT: Any shipment that is not pre-paid or is

sent without an RMA number will not be accepted.

PSX-100 User’s Manual

Page 5

Declarations of Conformity

Declaration of Conformity—FCC

Apogee PSX-100

This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions:
(1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and
(2) This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired opera­tion.

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits of a Class B digital device, pursuant to
Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful intefer­ence in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and,
if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio commu­nications. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be deter­mined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or
more of the following measures:

1. Re-orient or relocate the receiving antenna.

2. Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.

3. Connect the equipment into an outlet on a different circuit from that to which the receiver is connected.

4. Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.
NOTE: The use of non-shielded cable with this equipment is prohibited.
CAUTION: Changes or modifications not expressly approved by the manufacturer responsible for compliance
could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.

Apogee Electronics Corporation, 3145 Donald Douglas Loop South, Santa Monica, CA 90405.
Edward Pendyk, VP Engineering.

Industry Canada Notice

This Class B digital apparatus meets all requirements of the Canadian Interference-Causing Equipment
Regulations.

Cet appareil numérique de la classe B respecte toutes les exigences du Règlement sur le matérial brouilleur
du Canada.

Declaration of Conformity – CE

Apogee Electronics Corporation hereby declares that the product, the PSX-100 system, to which this declara­tion relates, is in material conformity with the following standards or other normative documents:

• EN50081-1/EN55022; 1995

• EN50082-1/IEC 801-2, 3, 4; 1992

following the provisions of:

• 73/23/EEC – Low Voltage Directive

• 89/336/EEC – EMC Directive

Declaration of Conformity – Japan

Apogee Electronics Corporation hereby declares that the PSX-100 system, to which this declaration relates, is
in material conformity with the VCCI Class A standard.

Declaration of Conformity – Australia

Apogee Electronics Corporation hereby declares that the PSX-100 system is in material conformity with
AN/NZS standard requirements.

PSX-100 User’s Manual

Page 6

Licensing and Legal Information

Carefully read the following legal agreement prior to using the UV22HR process provided in the PSX-100.

Use of UV22HR constitutes your acceptance of these terms. If you do not agree to the terms of the agreement,
promptly return the PSX-100 and the accompanying items, including written materials and containers to the
location where you obtained them for a full refund.

1. License Grant APOGEE ELECTRONICS CORPORATION (“Apogee”) hereby grants to you, the Purchaser
(either as an individual or entity), a personal, non-transferable, and non-exclusive right to use the UV22HR
Process provided with this license. You agree you will not copy the materials accompanying the PSX-100. The
material contained in this manual consists of information that is the property of Apogee and is intended solely
for use by the purchasers of the equipment described in this manual. Apogee expressly prohibits the duplica­tion of any portion of this manual or the use thereof for any purpose other than the operation or maintenance
of the equipment described in this manual without the express written permission of Apogee.

2. Copyright You acknowledge that no title to the intellectual property in the PSX-100 is transferred to you.
You further acknowledge that title and full ownership rights to the PSX-100 will remain the exclusive property
of Apogee, and you will not acquire any rights to the UV22HR process except as expressly set forth above.

3. Reverse Engineering You agree that you will not attempt (and, if you are a corporation, you agree to use
your best efforts to prevent your employees and contractors from attempting) to reverse compile, modify,
translate or disassemble the UV22HR Process Software in whole or in part.

4. Customer Remedies Apogee’s entire liability and your sole and exclusive remedy shall be, at Apogee’s
option, either to (a) correct the error, (b) help you work around or avoid the error or (c) authorize a refund or
replacement (at Apogee’s option), so long as the PSX-100, documentation and all accompanying items are
returned to Apogee according to the instructions on the Warranty Information page opposite, with a copy of
your receipts.

CAUTION

Any changes or modifications not expressly approved by APOGEE ELECTRONICS CORPORATION could void

your authority to operate this equipment under the FCC rules.

OWNER’S RECORD

The serial number is located on the rear of the side panel of the unit. We suggest you record the serial number
in the space provided below. Refer to it whenever you call an authorized APOGEE repair facility or the manu­facturer. Make sure that you return your completed warranty card immediately!

Model No. PSX-100 Serial No. ________________ Purchase Date __________________

Factory Firmware Revision ________________

Dealer____________________________________________________

Phone ____________________________________________________

Address ___________________________________________________

PSX-100 User’s Manual

Page 7

User’s Installation Notes

Space left blank for user tracking of factory modifications, option installations, software upgrades, manual revi­sions/ addenda, internal settings.

About This Manual

This manual was written for you, the user, to use this product to its fullest potential. The PSX-100 contains many
features that may not be obvious from the front panel. Therefore, reading this manual is necessary to unlock
the full value of this product.

This manual was also written to prevent misuse of this product. Should you run into a problem when oper­ating the PSX-100, the solution is hopefully contained in the following pages. We expect that this manual will
serve as the basis of your diagnosis of problems encountered and hope it will be used as such prior to any calls
to technical support at Apogee.

Remember — before contacting technical support at Apogee, you must register this product either by
sending in the registration card or by registering on the Apogee Web site (http://www.apogeedigital.com/). The
technical support specialist will almost certainly refer to the manual during your call and will expect you to have
read it and to understand the product to some degree.

If you have any suggestions on how to improve this user’s manual, please forward them to
[e-mail] or fax them to [phone].

PSX-100 User’s Manual

Page 8

Table of Contents

Warnings ...........................................................................................................................4

Registration & Warranty Information ...............................................................................5

Service Information...........................................................................................................5

Declarations of Conformity...............................................................................................6

Licensing & Legal Information ..........................................................................................7

Owner’s record .................................................................................................................7

User’s Installation Notes ...................................................................................................8

The Manual

Table of Contents..............................................................................................................9

Introduction ....................................................................................................................11

Features ..........................................................................................................................11

Getting Started...............................................................................................................11

Signal flow ......................................................................................................................12

Connections ....................................................................................................................14

Controls & Indicators ......................................................................................................14

Buttons............................................................................................................................14

A/D SYNC
OUTPUT RES
OPTICAL OUT
SOFT LIM
ABS
MUTE L, R
METER
DIG COPY
DA INPUT
MDM IN

Press & Hold Buttons......................................................................................................15

A/D SYNC
ABS
METER
D/A INPUT
MDM IN
OUTPUT RES
SOFT LIM
MUTE L, R
DIG COPY

Indicators ...................................................................................................................16

DIP Switches ...................................................................................................................18

External Settings ............................................................................................................19

Calibration Mode ............................................................................................................................................19

D/A calibration................................................................................................................................................19

A/D calibration................................................................................................................................................20

Using the AUX Output....................................................................................................20

Internal Settings (Qualified Service Personnel Only!) ....................................................21

Voltage setting................................................................................................................................................21

Fuses ...............................................................................................................................................................21

Soft Limit calibration on A/D..........................................................................................................................21

Common Mode Rejection adjustment on A/D ..............................................................................................21

PSX-100 User’s Manual

Page 9

DAC pin 3 hot jumpers...................................................................................................................................21

Optional video card installation .....................................................................................................................21

Operational Notes ..........................................................................................................22

Confidence Monitor Mode .............................................................................................................................22

Digital Copy Mode..........................................................................................................................................22

Analog Monitor Mode ....................................................................................................................................22

ABS (Apogee Bit Splitting) Processing – Outputs .........................................................................................22

ABS (Apogee Bit Splitting) Processing – Inputs.............................................................................................23

88.2/96 kHz Operation ...................................................................................................24

Single-Wire 88.2/96 kHz Operation................................................................................25

UV22HR Processing ........................................................................................................26

Optional Video Card .......................................................................................................26

Miscellaneous Features...................................................................................................26

Analog Processing ..........................................................................................................................................26

Nonvolatile memory .......................................................................................................................................26

Self clocking ....................................................................................................................................................26

Loopback muting ............................................................................................................................................26

WC out ............................................................................................................................................................26

Automuting .....................................................................................................................................................27

Lock timing......................................................................................................................................................27

Polarity inversion.............................................................................................................................................27

MDM Channel duplication..............................................................................................................................27

Error Indications .............................................................................................................27

About UV22HR Super CD Encoding ...............................................................................28

UV22HR Process Application..........................................................................................................................28

Application Notes ...........................................................................................................29

PSX-100 Specifications....................................................................................................32

PSX-100 User’s Manual

Page 10

Introduction

Overview

The PSX-100 is essentially two independent converters in one unit: a stereo 24-bit/96K analog to digital con­verter and a stereo 24-bit/96K digital to analog converter housed in a 1U rack unit. It is also a bit-splitting
device, a format converter, and has a rich set of features as described below:

Features

• A/D and D/A can be operated and clocked independently or cross-connected in several ways

• Dual Apogee Low Jitter Clocks (LJC) insure high-quality audio in any configuration

• UV22HR – the mastering standard for word-length reduction – allows 16 and 20-bit outputs without signif-

icant loss of detail

• Soft Limit provides maximum digital level to your recording system without overs

• High-density 24-bit 88.2 and 96 kHz sampling as well as conventional 44.1 and 48 kHz rates

• Metering of either A/D output or D/A input

• AES/EBU, S/PDIF, ADAT and TDIF I/O

• Optional video card allows sync to PAL, NTSC, or Black & White video signals

•‘Digital Copy Mode’ allows format conversion between AES/EBU, S/PDIF, ADAT, and TDIF

•‘Analog Monitor Mode’ monitors A/D output through the D/A converter

• ABS-96 operation allows recording of 24-bit/96kHz audio on 16-bit ADAT or TDIF machines

• ABS (Apogee Bit-Splitting) allows recording and playback of 24-bit audio on 16-bit machines – available on

ADAT, TDIF and AES I/O.

Getting Started

The unit is shipped configured as independent A/D and D/A converters. We call this “Confidence Monitor
mode”.

Basic A/D conversion is simple:

1. Connect your analog audio cables to the L/R ‘A/D inputs’.

2. Connect one of the digital outputs to the destination digital device (such as your DAT, ADAT, etc.).

3. Power the unit on. All front-panel LEDs will illuminate except every other meter segment for about 3 sec-

onds, and some LEDs may briefly flash at power up, as the unit configures itself and runs diagnostics. This

is normal. Hold down the OUTPUT RES button during the power-up sequence to restore factory defaults

(except DIP switches). Otherwise the previous settings will be recalled.

4. You can choose to calibrate the unit to a desired operating level (see section titled “Calibrating the PSX”).

The unit is calibrated from the factory so that +4dBu = –16dBFS and vice-versa for the D/A.

5. Play the analog sound source and check for metering at the destination device.

Basic D/A conversion is as follows:

1. Connect the digital output of your digital device to the appropriate digital input of the PSX-100.

2. On the front panel, select the appropriate digital input setting.

3. With your monitor volume turned down, connect the ‘D/A outputs’ of the PSX-100 to your analog mixer or

preamplifier.

4. Check for level from your speakers.

That’s it! You’re ready to begin recording.

For a more in-depth understanding of the PSX-100, we recommend that you examine the signal flow dia­gram below. You’re likely to understand more about the PSX-100’s three basic operational modes by carefully
studying the signal flow diagrams than by reading anything else in this manual.

PSX-100 User’s Manual

Page 11