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Beyerdynamic
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459038
User Manual
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User Manual
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Beyerdynamic 459038, 490970, 470.368 User Manual

Headzone PRO OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS
Mobile Headphone Monitoring System with virtual 5.1 Reproduction
Table of Contents
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1. Important safety information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2. Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3. Accessories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.1 Supplied components. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4. The Headzone technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4.1 The idea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4.3 Virtual loudspeakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4.4 The virtual control room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
5. Headzone hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
5.1 Base station. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
5.3 Headzone rail and clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
6. How to install the Headzone software - Windows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
7. How to install the Headzone software - Mac . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
8. How to use the Headzone software control panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
8.1 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
8.2 How to connect your hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
8.3 Room set-up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
8.3.1 Virtual speaker set-up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
8.3.2 Room settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
8.4 Volume controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
8.4.1 Input peak LEDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
8.4.2 Surround channel level meters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
8.4.4 Muting channels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
8.4.5 LFE filtering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
8.4.6 LFE phase reverse ø . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
8.4.7 Output level meters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
8.4.8 Master volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
8.5 Control / status panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
8.5.2 Bypass head tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
8.5.3 Selecting an audio input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
8.5.7 Viewing and customising the head tracker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
8.6 ASIO driver control panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
8.6.1 Opening the ASIO driver control panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
8.6.2 Checking version numbers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
8.7.1 Storing set-ups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
8.7.2 Loading set-ups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
8.8.1 Updating the Headzone Software Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
8.8.2 Updating Audio Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
9. Using the head tracker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
10. Typical set-ups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
10.1.1 Headzone as mobile Firewire audio interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
10.1.2 Headzone integrated in a professional studio set-up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
10.2 Multimedia PC set-up. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
10.2.1 Headzone as Firewire sound card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
10.2.2 Headzone in combination with a 5.1 sound card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
10.3 Home entertainment set-up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
11. Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Table of Contents
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12. Technical specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
13. Block diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Contact. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Safety Information
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Thank you for selecting Headzone, the mobile headphone monitoring system with 5.1 reproduction from beyerdynamic. Please take some time to read through this manual carefully before using this product.

1. Important safety information

Headzone HBP 1 base station and HR 1 rail
• READ these instructions.
• KEEP these instructions.
• HEED all warnings.
• Follow all instructions.
• Do not use this apparatus near water.
• Clean only with a dry cloth.
• Do not block any ventilation openings. Install in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.
• Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators, heat registers, stoves or other apparatus (including amplifiers) that produce heat.
• Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarised or grounding-type plug. A polarised plug has two blades with one wider than the other. A grounding type plug has two blades and a third grounding prong. The wide blade or the third prong are provided for your safety. If the provided plug does not fit into your outlet, consult an electrician for
replacement of the obsolete outlet.
• Protect the power cord from being walked on or pinched particularly at plugs, convenience receptacles, and the point where they exit from the apparatus.
• Only use attachements/accessories specified by the manufacturer.
• Use only with the cart, stand, tripod, bracket or table specified by the manufacturer or sold with the apparatus. When a cart is used, use caution when moving the cart/apparatus combination to avoid injury from tip-over.
• Unplug this apparatus during lightning storms or when unused for long periods of time.
• Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel. Servicing is required when the apparatus has been damaged in any way, such as power-supply cord or plug is damaged, liquid has been spilled or objects have fallen into the apparatus, the apparatus has been exposed to rain or moisture, does not operate normally, or has been dropped.
• The equipment must be set up so that the mains switch, mains plug and all connection on the rear of the device are easily accessible.
• The equipment must be connected to a mains socket that has an earth contact.
• Never expose the equipment to rain or a high level of humidity. For this reason do not install it in the immediate vicinity of swimming pools, showers, damp basement rooms or other areas with unusually high atmospheric humidity.
• Do not use the device/s outside. To reduce the risk of fire or electric shock, do not expose this/these device/s to rain or moisture.
• Never place objects containing liquid (e.g. vases or drinking glasses) on the equipment. Liquids in the equipment could cause a short circuit.
• Lay all connection cables so that they do not present a trip hazard.
• Check whether the connection figures comply with the existing mains supply. Serious damage could occur due to connecting the system to the wrong power supply. An incorrect mains voltage could damage the equipment or cause an electric shock.
• This equipment needs adequate ventilation. Do not cover ventilation grilles. If the heat it generates cannot be dissipated, the equipment could be damaged or flammable materials in its immediate vicinity could be ignited. Take care to ensure that the air can circulate freely through the ventilation grilles and keep flammable materials away.
• Never place naked flames near the equipment.
• If the equipment causes a blown fuse or a short circuit, disconnect it from the mains and have it checked and repaired.
• Do not open the equipment without authorisation. You could receive an electric shock. Leave all service work to authorised expert personnel.
• Do not hold the mains cable with wet hands. There must be no water or dust on the contact pins. In both cases you could receive an electric shock.
• The mains cable must be firmly connected. If it is loose there is a fire hazard.
• Always pull out the mains cable from the mains and/or from the equipment by the plug - never by the cable. The cable could be damaged and cause an electric shock or fire.
• If the power cable is connected, avoid contact of the unit with other metallic objects.
• Do not insert objects into the ventilation grilles or other openings. You could damage the equipment and/or injure yourself.
• Do not use the equipment if the mains plug is damaged.
• When installing the device into a 19" rack, make sure that the mains switch, mains plug and all connection on the rear of the device are easily accessible.
DT 770 PRO HT / DT 880 PRO HT headphone
• When connecting the headphone please ensure that the volume is turned down to minimum. Adjust the volume after putting on the headphone. Do not set the volume too high, as you could permanently damage your hearing.
• With wired headphones you should avoid sharp movements, which could cause the headphone to fall off your head. You could be seriously injured especially if you are wearing pierced earrings, spectacles etc. The cable could wind around your neck and cause strangulation.
Application / Supplied Components
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3. Accessories

3.1 Supplied components

• Quick Installation Guide
• CD-ROM
• HBP 1 Headzone Base PRO
Base station (9,5"), incl. external power supply and desk top frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Order # 490.989
• DT 880 PRO HT Studio Headphone
250 Ω, semi-open, integrated ultrasound exciters for Headzone head tracker,
single-sided coiled cable with stereo mini jack, 1/4" adapter (6.35 mm) . . . . . . . . . . . Order # 490.938
• HR 1 Headzone Rail
Headzone Headtracker receiver bracket with two ultrasound receivers,
incl. connecting cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Order # 490.954
• HC 1 Headzone Clip
Flexible clip to mount the Headzone rail HR 1 receiver bracket on computer screens
or to use as stand or wall mounted adapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Order # 490.962
• Bag Headzone Bag
Handy transport bag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Order # 491.179

3.2 Optional accessories

• DT 770 PRO HT Studio Headphone
250 Ω, closed, integrated ultrasound exciters for Headzone head tracker,
single-sided coiled cable with stereo mini jack, 1/4" adapter (6.35 mm) . . . . . . . . . . . Order # 492.752

2. Application

Headzone PRO is a mobile headphones system for professional monitioring with a virtual 5.1 reproduction. Headzone has been developed for use in mobile recording applications, broadcast vehicles or for surround studio monitoring. Headzone is also ideal for game software sound design.
Headzone Technology
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4. The Headzone technology

4.1 The idea

Headzone emerged from the idea of remodelling the effective parameters of an ideal auditory space with a certain loudspeaker set-up (up to 5.1) as convincingly and exactly as possible and to make this available in a compact and lightweight transportable de­vice like an external sound card. With the help of the lastest DSP-enabled signal processing, Headzone processes the audio channels in such a way that they are heard in the headphones exactly as they would in an actual room: outside the head, in fixed positions and with a realistic sound
impression. In contrast to other surround simulations using headphones, which produce an impressive but very diffuse “spatial effect” due to stereoscopic image widening and reverberation effects, Headzone performs just like a real 5.1 loudspeaker system in a high-quality control room. Each surround channel is reproduced as a separate, virtual loudspeaker and can be positioned exactly as required by the user. Headzone places key emphasis on the maximum accuracy of reproduction.

4.3 Virtual loudspeakers

For example, if a mono audio signal is reproduced via a loudspeaker at a distance of 3 m and an angle of 30° to the left of the listener, this signal reaches the listener with the characteristics specific to each of the two ears (frequency response, run time, space component etc.). The brain evaluates this information and thereby determines the position of the loudspeaker. Headzone imprints this information on the audio signal using digital signal processing and can thereby generate the same spatial impression with the headphones. This makes it possible to position an audio signal virtually anywhere in the space around the listener and thus generate a “virtual loudspeaker”.

4.2 Surround on stereo headphones… how to trick your brain

The Binaural Environment Modelling® technology, which is the heart of Headzone, basically works on the principle that your perception is what you hear… and if you hear nothing else than the signals played through two speakers close to your head, i.e. headphones… why shouldn’t it be possible to generate any perception you like?
In fact, humans always hear in stereo – using the left ear and the right ear. The fact that with two ears we can also hear spatially is due to the ability of our brain to evaluate the available signals in relationship to each other. This not only creates the left/right information but also a genuine 3D effect. The actual processes are too complex to describe in a few sentences, but we would like to mention a few, but critical factors:
1. Head Related Transfer Function (HRTF): describes various parameters of the sound signals at both ears, via: a. Run time differences: sound arriving at the listener from the right will be heard first at the right-hand ear and will arrive at the
left-hand ear a short while later.
b. Differences in level: sound arriving first at the right-hand ear will travel around the human head and then be heard at the
left-hand ear with an attenuated level and a different frequency spectrum.
2. Relationship between direct sound and diffuse sound: a sound source close by will have a higher proportion of direct sound than
a distant sound source.
3. Typical patterns of early reflections in a room: a sound source that is very close typically generates different reflection patterns
(speed and angle of the reflection incidence) compared to one that is far away. Interestingly, for a human listener, some of these reflections are used to define the apparent sound source distance, while others will have a more prominent effect on the percei­ved room size of the surrounding room.
4. And finally head tracking: in a natural environment humans unconsciously use the ability to turn their head in order to find out
exactly where a sound source is located. These are just minute head movements, which nevertheless are extremely important for natural hearing. It is due to these head movements that we are able to distinguish clearly between front and back (particularly in spatial hearing). With Headzone, this natural hearing has also been realised in the headphones, since Headzone constantly tracks the head movements of the listener and incorporates them in the audio reproduction.
If we can succeed in replicating all these factors through digital signal processing (which we do), we can model any required room information that the human brain perceives as realistic. In other words: we can trick the brain!
Headzone Technology
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4.4 The virtual control room

After being able to create “virtual loudspeakers”, the next question will be how to place these loudspeakers in a room, as the actual sound image is composed by the loudspeaker itself and the acoustic characteristics that are added by the room it is standing in. With other words, your “virtual control room”.
For quite a long time the recording industry has been defining the characteristics of a listening control room. These are defined in today’s standards such as: OIRT E86/3, IEC 268-13, N 12-A, EBU 3276-2, ITU-R BS.1116, SMPTE 202M, ISO 2969,THX 1138, etc.
The main thing that we learn from of the different standards is that THE perfect control room does not exist, as everyone defines it a little bit differently. But we also learn what the qualities of a good reference listening room are, namely: :
• Reverberation time 250 – 400 ms
• Defined room geometry
• Low background noise level
• No strong reflections that alter the sound color
• Highly diffuse reverberation tail
When modelling a virtual control room for the Headzone system, we could have measured out some “legendary” control rooms and put them into Headzone, but what would the benefit be for you if you were able to work in the virtual “Abbey Road Studios” ? You have probably never worked there and perhaps never will in your lifetime… and even if you did… perhaps you would not like the sound of the control room at all.
For the “Headzone Virtual Control Room” we decided to take a different approach: If THE perfect control room doesn’t exist, but we know the qualities of a good reference listening room... why not allow you to adjust the listening room and create your OWN perfect control room? In our opinion a good sounding control room is quite a personal thing and therefore flexible within certain limits. It is perfect when you feel at home and comfortable with the room response and the distance perception. In other words, when the room sounds plausible to you.
Most importantly, you should always be able to use the same listening conditions, even outside your studio, while recording, or during listening sessions while travelling. This gives you all the benefits of a true reference listening room, where a sound engineer can easily judge the quality of a recording. The more you work in that specific room, the easier you will be able to tell how this would sound in any other environment. In addition, with Headzone, you are only a few mouse clicks away from listening to your production in different environments to double check that what you have mixed for “living-room” conditions will also sound right in a small car!
The Headzone virtual control room is therefore based on the qualities of a good reference listening room as described above, but Headzone also allows the user to custom-design the sound characteristics of a loudspeaker system in a control room with just a few mouse clicks. Adjustable parameters include all those effects that additionally affect the sound image in a real room and that are omitted in conventional stereo headphones: the size of the room, the distance of the loudspeaker to the listener and the characteristics of the control room.
We deliberately incorporated all parameters into just 3 sliders (Room Size, Distance and Ambience), which are easy to understand and operate within a range of 0 to 100. In fact, when adjusting your personal control room, we want to encourage you to do what you can do best: use your ears!
Just start playing around with the room parameters in your virtual control room. As soon as you feel that your setting sounds realistic and convenient, you’ve made it! You’ve created your own reference control room, which you can now take with you anywhere in the world.
Headzone Technology
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4.5 Why head tracking?

1. Loudspeakers do not move!
Loudspeakers are installed at fixed positions within a room and provide a sound impression that is spatially stable. The loudspeaker does not change its position with the listeners’ every movement, but will sometimes be in front of them, next to them or behind them, depending on their movements/position. In contrast, headphones are attached to the user’s head, which means that a signal coming from the right-hand earpiece of the headphones will always remain to the right of the user because the headphones also turn when the listener turns his head. Since we are not used to „moving loudspeakers“, our brain is constantly reminded of the fact that we are just wearing headphones.
Headzone solves this problem with the development of new, patented technology. With the help of an ultrasonic head tracker, the system continuously tracks the head position of the listener and adjusts audio reproduction accordingly. For example, if the user pla­ces a virtual loudspeaker in the front right-hand corner of the room, it will always remain in that position. The user can turn towards or away from the loudspeaker… no matter how he moves, the loudspeaker does not move and remains at the same virtual location. This allows for a striking degree of reality in surround reproduction, which could not be achieved until now, as at a certain point the brain forgets that the person is wearing headphones. You feel as though your virtual listening control room is real, but even better, as you can easily take it with you.
2. Perfect out-of head localisation
As already mentioned above (see chapter 4.2 “Surround on Stereo Headphones… how to trick your brain”), we unconsciously turn our heads in order to localise a sound source. During this movement, headphones without head tracker will, of course, also turn the sound image by the same degree, whilst headphones with head tracker ensure that the brain will once again receive the additionally required space information – just as in real life.
Loudspeakers installed at fixed positions
Surround simulation without headtracking - loudspeakers follow the head movements
Surround simulation with head­tracking - Headzone head tracker tracks the head position and adjusts the audio reproduction accordingly. The loudspeakers remain at fixed positions in the virtual room.
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5. Headzone hardware

5.1 Base station

Front
6.35 mm jack socket Tip = Audio Left Ring = Audio Right Sleeve = Ground
Note:
Please never connect more than one pair of headphones to the phones jack (using Y adaptors) as this will prevent proper operation of the head tracker system and could permanently damage your hardware.
Headtracker Status LED Off = Headtracker inactive Green = Headtracker active Red = Headtracker out of range Blinking slowly red/off = Device is in upload mode (please refer to chapter 8.8.3 “Updating the DSP”)
Bypass Button Although Headzone is designed to simulate a virtual 5.1 control room, there might be situations where you want Headzone to operate like a “normal” headphones amplifier when checking a stereo mix or a CD. By pressing the “Bypass” button Headzone will deactivate all processing (including head tracking) and put out a stereo downmix of all surround signals. Headzone then works as a reference stereo headphones amplifier. In this mode, the “Processing” LED on the status panel (refer to chapter 8.5 “Control / Status Panel”) and the “Bypass processing” LED on the front of the Headzone base will both turn red. The “Bypass” button has the same function as the “Bypass processing” tick box in the Headzone software control panel (refer to chapter 8.5 “Control / Status Panel”) and is therefore interactive.
Note:
Although the surround processing is completely disabled in “Bypass” mode, the playback volume will still be influenced by the ”Distance” and “Ambience” parameters as described in chapter 8.3.2 “Room settings”. This is because switching between processing and bypass could otherwise lead to a dramatic increase of volume and therefore damage your hearing. Locking the playback volume to the ”Distance” and “Ambience” parameters will always provide a convenient volume balance between by­pass and processing mode.
Status LED Off = Headzone processing active Red = Bypass mode
Input select button By pressing the “Input Select” button you can switch between the analog (RCA jacks) or digital (Firewire IEEE1394) audio inputs on the rear panel of the Headzone base station. The selected input will be displayed by the “Audio input” LEDs in the “Status” panel of the Headzone software control panel (refer to chapter 8.5 “Control / Status Panel”) and by the “Input select” LEDs on the front of the Headzone base. The “Input Select” button is interactive with the “Input select” control element in the Headzone software control panel (refer to chapter 8.5 “Control / Status Panel”).
Input select LEDs Analog LED Green = Analog inputs are selected Analog LED Red = Analog inputs are selected, but at least one input is close to clipping Digital LED Green = Digital input is selected Digital LED Red = Digital input is selected, but at least one input is close to clipping
Note:
The clipping LEDs will light up when less than 6dB of headroom is left for at least one audio input. Separate clipping LEDs for every audio channel are displayed in the Headzone software control panel.
Volume knob Master headphone volume. When working with Headzone, set the master volume to minimum first and then slowly increase to a suitable volume.
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Rear
Digital audio input (IEEE1394) The digital IEEE1394 (Firewire) port provides input for 6 digital audio streams up to a sample rate of 96kHz. Furthermore, the Firewire connection is used for exchanging configuration data between the Headzone hardware and Headzone software control panel. Headzone utilizes a standard 6-pin Firewire connector and supports the IEEE1394-A standard. Use an appropriate adaptor cable to connect a 4-pin Firewire port (common on notebooks) or an 8-pin Firewire port (IEEE1394-B standard).
Note:
- The labelling of the Firewire connection can differ, e.g. it can also be “iLink” or “1394” etc
- Headzone does not support bus power via Firewire1394 and can only be powered by the beyerdynamic power supply included.
Power switch Switches power on or off while the power supply is plugged in. Please always plug in the power supply before turning Headzone on and turn the Headzone device off before unplugging the power supply.
Power connector Connector for providing 5V DC power supply. Connecting any power supply other than the beyerdynamic device included can damage your hardware.
Input sensitivity switch Switches the input sensitivity of the analog audio inputs (RCA) between -10dBV and +4dBU.
Analog audio inputs
- Analog, unbalanced audio inputs (RCA). Use these jacks for feeding in analog 5.1 surround signals.
- Use the input sensitivity switch for adapting Headzone to the output level of your 5.1 playback device.
- Please take care not to overload the analog inputs by levelling the output signals of your playback device in a way that the clipping LED on the Headzone front will shortly light up when signal peaks occur.
Headzone can use the digital or analog audio inputs. Both serve as inputs for the surround processing. The analog inputs can not be routed to be fed into a PC via Firewire (to be used as recording inputs). Headzone is a playback device that replaces surround speakers, not a recording device.
Head tracker connector Connector for the “Headzone rail” (head tracker receiver).
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5.2 DT 770 PRO HT / DT 880 PRO HT Headphones

• In addition to conventional headphones, the DT 770 PRO HT or DT 880 PRO HT is equipped with a head tracker exciter rail containing the ultrasonic transmitters.
• The head tracker exciter rail has a small integrated button on the rear that resets the head tracker when defining a new “front” position. To reset, press the reset button for about two seconds. During this time, do not move your head. Also make sure not to obscure the ultrasonic transmitters with your arm or hand.
• The reset button on the exciter rail is interactive with the “Reset” button in the Headzone control panel. The control panel also provides additional information regarding the current position of the head tracker and the “front” position (refer to chapter
8.5.7 “Viewing and customising the Headtracker” for details).
• The DT 770 PRO HT or DT 880 PRO HT provides a gold-plated mini stereo jack plug (3.5 mm) with a 1/4" adapter (6.35 mm) and can also be used as normal stereo headphones.

5.3 Headzone rail and clip

• The “Headzone Rail” represents the counterpart to the exciter rail of the DT 770 PRO HT or DT 880 PRO HT, i.e. it contains the ultrasonic receivers for the head tracker.
• The Headzone rail comes with a 3/8" thread to be mounted on any standard microphone stand.
• The aluminium hinge can be removed from the plastic rail for easier transportation. Just slide the rail from the aluminium part.
• The “Headzone Clip” allows versatile positioning of the Headzone rail, e.g. placing on flat surfaces, TFT screens or wall-mounting. Use a coin or similar object to attach the Headzone clip to the Headzone rail with the provided screw.
• It is also possible to feed the connecting cable of the Headzone rail through the opening in the Headzone clip (separate the Headzone clip into its two plastic parts by removing the knurled screw, feed through the cable and reassemble the parts in reverse order). This is especially suitable for mounting the Headzone rail on a wall.
Reset Button
for mounting onto TFT screens
for placing on flat surfaces or tube screens
Front View Back View
for wall mounting
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6. How to install the Headzone software - Windows

Important:
Before installing the Headzone audio drivers, please check if your workstation meets the minimum system requirements for Headzone (refer to chapter 12. “Technical specifications”).
Headzone is delivered with a CD-ROM containing an installation package for the Headzone software control panel, as well as appropriate ASIO and WDM drivers for Windows XP and Windows 2000.
• Start Windows, log on as Administrator.
• Insert the Headzone CD-ROM in your drive, and go to set-up.exe.
• Double-click on this to start the Headzone set-up wizard.
1. Read carefully the instructions on the welcome screen. Continue by clicking “Next”. To cancel the installation, click “Cancel”.
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2. Please read the beyerdynamic software license agreement carefully. To accept and continue select “I accept the terms of the
license agreement” and select “Next”.
3. Select a destination on your hard drive where you wish the Headzone software to be installed. Continue by clicking “Next”.
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