FBT QUBE SP27 User Manual
QUBESP27-AudioManagementSystem
www.fbt.it
www.qubeaudio.com
FBTELETTRONICAS.p.A
SP27 QuickReference
Editingchannels:GAIN
pressaccessesthatchannel'sgain.Toscrollthrough
channel'sparameters,usetheandkeys.
Secondpressaccesseslastviewedparameter.Third
presswilldropbacktothedefaultscreen.
Accessingmenus:MENU
BACKNEXT
andenterthesub-menuusingthekey.This
appliestoalllevelsofmenu.alwaysconfirms
selections.
TheMenusandtheirContents
GLOBALMEMORY
crossoversettings,orcombinationsof.
INPUTSECTION
GEQ'Q'setting.
CROSSOVER
design,includingroutingandautolimitersetting.Alsoset
upoutputganging.
INTERFACE
(RS232),G.P.I.interfaceconfiguration,andwireless
interface.
SYSTEM
selectvariousglobaloptionssuchasPEQ'Q'or
bandwidthunits,delayunits,andoutputmeteringpoint
(pre/postmute).
SECURITY
operationsoftheunit,usinga4digitcode.
AES/EBU
inputsareswitchedviarearpanel.)
andkeystoselectthesub-menurequired,
Sub-menu:Setuporadjustcrossover
Sub-menu:Commsinterfacesetup
Sub-menu:Usedtoviewunit'sstatus,and
Sub-menu:Usedforlockingvarious
Sub-menu:monitorAESinputstatusinfo.(AES
presschannel'skey.First
BACKNEXT
pressthekey.Usethe
ENTER
ENTER
Sub-menu:Recall/Store/Eraseinput,
Sub-menu:Setupinputganging,and
Notes
Thecrossover(output)settingsmaybestored
independentlyoftheinputsettings,usingthe
Memory
Theoutputmetersshow level,indBfromthelimiter
threshold,andtheinputmetersshowlevelfrom
clippingtheA-Dconverters,
pre-gainandallEQ.
Thehighandlowpasscrossoverfiltersaredefined
independentlyoneachoutputchannel.
Toaccessthelimiterattackandreleaseparameters,
select“AutoLimiterTimeCst:No”whendesigninga
crossover.
Toswapparametricfilterunitsbetweenbandwidth
('BandW')and'Q',enterSub-menu,select
'FilterQ/Bandwidth',andselectrequiredreadout
units.
Toswapdelaytimeunits,enterSub-menu,
select'DelayTime/Distance',andselectrequired
readoutunits.
sub-menu.
System
System
Global
Pressingankeyflashescorrespondingchannels
routedto/fromthatchannel.
EDIT
1
Contents
ImportantSafetyInformation
2
4
Unpackingtheunit
Introduction
Features
FrontPanelFamiliarisation
RearPanelConnections
OperatingtheSP27
NoteaboutoperationwithAudioCoresoftware
Start-upprocedure
PreliminarySet-up
InputChannelMakeup
OutputChannelMakeup
PresetRoutingConfigurations
FreeAssignRouting
InputGain
BaseDelay
InputParametricEQ
OutputGain
OutputPolarity
OutputDelay
OutputHighPassFilter
OutputLowPassFilter
OutputParametricEQ
OutputLimiter
Output“D-Max”(Clip)Limiter
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6
7
8
9
9
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9
10
10
10
12
13
13
13
14
14
14
15
15
15
16
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InputGangingandOutputGanging
MenuSystemOverview
MenusinDetail
MemoryStructure
RemoteControlInterfaceOperation
RS232Interface
RS232Connection(singleunit)
LoadingNewSoftwareviaaPC
AESInputsandOutputs
AESInput
AESDiagnosticsandStatusInformation
17
18
19
21
23
23
23
23
24
24
25
SecurityandLocking
EnteringthePasswordtoCompletetheLockingOperation
26
3
UnlockingtheUnit
ForgottenthePassword?
26
27
27
AdvancedAudioFeatures
ProgramLimiterand“D-Max”Limiter
ProgramLimiter
“D-Max”ClipLimiter
SettingAccurateLimiterThresholds
CrossoverFilterSlopes
TimeAlignment
ParametricFilterTypesandTheirUses
StandardParametricEQ
ShelvingEQ(HighShelfshown)
CreatingaFlat-toppedEQResponse
Low/HighPassVariable“Q”Filter(LowPassshown)
Specifications
Index
AppendixI-DefaultCrossoverConfigurations
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29
31
32
32
33
33
34
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35
36
37
39
AnexampleofthisequipmenthasbeentestedandfoundtocomplywiththefollowingEuropeanand
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internationalStandardsforElectromagneticCompatibilityandElectricalSafety:
RadiatedEmissions(EU):EN55013-1(1996)
RFImmunity(EU):EN55103-2(1996)RFImmunity,ESD,BurstTransient,Surge,Dips&Dwells
ElectricalSafety(EU):EN60065(1993)
ImportantSafetyInformation
DonotremoveCovers.
Nouserserviceablepartsinside,referservicingtoqualifiedservicepersonnel.
Thisequipmentmustbeearthed.
CAUTION
RISKOFELECTRICSHOCK
DONOTOPEN
DONOTEXPOSETORAIN,MOISTURE,
DRIPPINGORSPLASHING
ATTENTION
RISQUEDECHOCELECTRIQUE
NEPASENLEVER
NEPASEXPOSERALAPLUIENIAL'HUMITE
Objectscontainingliquids,suchasvases,mustnotbeplacedonthisequipment.
Itshouldnotbenecessarytoremoveanyprotectiveearthorsignalcableshieldconnections.
Donotdefeatthepurposeofthepolarizedorgrounding-typeplug.Apolarizedplughastwobladeswithonewider
thantheother.Agroundingtypeplughastwobladesandathirdgroundingprong.Thewiderbladeandthethird
prongareprovidedforyoursafety.Whentheprovidedplugdoesnotfitintoyouroutlet,consultanelectricianfor
replacementoftheobsoleteoutlet.
Onlyusethisequipmentwithanappropriatemainscord.
IntheUSAthecordshouldcomplywiththerequirementscontainedintheStandardforCordSetsandPower
SupplyCords,UL817,bemarkedVW-1,andhaveanampacityratingnotlessthanthemarkedratingofthe
apparatus.
Unpackingtheunit
Afterunpackingtheunit,pleasecheckitcarefullyforanydamage.Ifanyisfound,immediatelynotifythe
5
carrier
concerned-you,theconsignee,mustinstigateanyclaim.Pleaseretainallpackagingincaseoffuturereshipment.
Introduction
TheSP27arepowerfulDSPbasedaudioprocessors,ideallysuitedforinstallapplications,wherethey
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combinethefunctionsofamultitudeofconventionalproductsinacompact1Uunitwithextensiveremote
controlcapabilities.Toachievethis,theunitshaveuptofourinputsandeightoutputswhichcanbeconfigured
inaselectionofbasiccrossovermodes-4x2way;2x3way+2Aux;2x4way;and1x8way(asapplicable
toi/oconfigurations).Theyalsooffera"freeassign"mode,whichallowscompletelyflexibleroutingofany
outputfromanycombinationofinputs.
Eachinputhasagaincontrol,variabledelayandafurthereightbandsoffullyparametricequalisation.The
parametricfilterbandshavealargeselectionofdifferentfiltertypesavailable,includingshelving.
Eachoutputhasagaincontrol,variabledelay,highandlowpasscrossoverfilters,ninebandsoffully
parametricequalisation,polarityswitchingand,additionally,afullyfeaturedlimiter,andafinalcliplimiter.The
crossoverfiltersofferslopesofupto48dB/Octave.,withavarietyofresponsesavailable.
AGPIinterfacemayalsobefittedtoallowremotememoryrecallsusingsimpleswitch closureapparatus.
Securitylock-outisavailableforallcontrols.
TheSP27arealsoequippedwithAES/EBUdigitalinputsandincludeasamplerateconverter,capableof
acceptinganythingfrom32kHzuptp192kHz.
Features
Superbaudioquality-carefullyoptimiseddoubleprecisionsignalprocessingcoupledwith24bitconversion
ensureadynamicrangeinexcessof117dB.Thehighsamplingrateof96kHzmeansminimalfiltering
providingexceptionalsonicpuritywithabandwidthinexcessof32kHz.
Aflexibleinput/outputmulti-modeformatcatersforanyconfiguration,regardlessofscale.
Bothroutingofinputstooutputs,andganging(forediting)arecompletelyflexible.
AcompletelynewSHARCTMbasedDSPplatformsuppliesphenomenalcomputationalpower,allowingthe
unittoprovidenotonlymultiplebandsofstandardparametricequalisationoneveryinputandoutput,butan
additionalfullspectrumgraphicequaliseroneachofthefourinputs.Thisadditionalpoweralsopermitsboth
programlimitersandnoovershootcliplimitersoneachoutput.
Delayofupto650mSmaybeindependentlysetforeachoutput,withanexceptionallyfineminimumincrement
of300nS,whichcorrespondstoadistancechangeof0.1mm!
Thecomprehensivestandardspecificationalsoincludesupto255memories.
XTA'snewproprietaryComplexUnifiedNyquistTruncationalgorithmensuresthatnomatterhowmuch
equalisationisappliedtoachannel,therewillalwaysbesufficientheadroomavailabletocaterforit.
FrontPanelFamiliarisation
7
ControlKeys:
NEXT
BACK
MENU
selectsthelastmenuitem.Inthisway,threepressesonfromthedefaultscreenwill
jumpbacktothelastparameteradjusted.Selectionofdifferentmenusisaccomplishedusing
theandkeys,orwiththeencoder.
BACKNEXTFREQ
ENTER
sections.
BYPASS
tobypassthehighandlowpassfiltersections.
QUIT
keyentersthechosenmenu,confirmsselections,andchangesfiltertypeswheneditingparametric
willflattenthecurrentlyselectedparametricsections.Notethat,forsafetyreasons,itisnotpossible
exitsmenusbacktothedefaultscreen.
keymovesforwardthroughlistofparameters.
keymovesbackwardsthroughlistofparameters.
keyactivatesthemainmenu-asecondpressselectsthelastmenuedited-athirdpress
Selectionandadjustmentofparameters.
LCDScreen:
recalledmemoryonthebottomlineofthescreen,and
thecurrentroutingonthetopline.Alsousedtoshowall
parametersastheyareedited,andallmenuselections.
Shows,bydefault,thenameofthelast
MENU
RotaryEncoders:
displayedonthescreen.
StatusLEDs:
(flashingifnotlocked);
InputSections:
Redbuttonsilluminatewhenpressedandmuteaudioforthatchannel.
MUTE
buttonsilluminateyellowwhenpressed,andaccessgainonfirstpress,thenlast
EDIT
viewedparameteronsecondpress,thenexitonthirdpress.
InputmetersshowdBfromclippingpointoftheanaloguetodigitalconverters.Red
LEDmayilluminateindependentlyfromtherestofthemetertoshowdigital
CLIP
overflow.AlltwoLEDsilluminatingindicatesinternalclippingaftertheADC.
TheredLEDilluminatesattheonsetoflimiting.
Threevelocitysensitiveencodersadjusttherelevantparametersas
ThetwostatusLEDsshow,fromlefttoright,AESinputsselected
Controlandmonitorinputsignalpaths.
CLIP
Error................................
OutputSections:
paths.
Redbuttonsilluminatewhenpressedand
MUTE
muteaudioforthatchannel.
buttonsilluminateyellowwhenpressed,and
EDIT
accessgainonfirstpress,thenlastviewed
parameteronsecondpress,thenexitonthirdpress.
OutputmetersshowdBfromlimiting.
Controlandmonitoroutputsignal
RearPanelConnections
PowerSwitch:
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MainsFuse:
fuseisalsolocatedinthisholder.
MainsInlet:
Alwaysreplacethefusewiththecorrecttypeandratingasshownontherearpanellegend.
turnstheunit'smainssupplyoffandon.
locatedinafinger-proofholderadjacenttothemainsinlet.Aspare
connectedviaastandardIECsocket.
RS232:
RS485standardandrelayedtoslaveunitsviatheRS485sockets.
RS232standardviaa9pinD-typeconnector,forconnectiontoaPC.Dataisconvertedto
AudioOutputs:
providedforeachchannel.Allarefully
balanced,pin2hot,3cold,1screen.
AESInputSwitch:
inputs.RedLEDwillilluminateintheholewhenAESinputs
areselected,alongwiththecorrespondingfrontpanel
indicator.
AudioInputs:
channel.Allarefullybalanced,pin2hot,3cold,1screen.
RecessedswitchtoselectAESdigital
3pinXLRsocketsareprovidedforeach
3pinXLRsocketsare
OperatingtheSP27
NoteaboutoperationwithAudioCoresoftware.
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ThefollowingoperatinginformationcoverssetupandcontroloftheSP27viathefrontpanelcontrolsonly.
Pleaseconsultthemanualsuppliedwiththissoftwareforinformationregardingfullcomputercontrol.
Start-upprocedure
Switchingontheunitwilldisplayabriefmessagedetailingtheunittypeandsoftwareversionrunning
==AudioCoreDP4XX==
==SoftwareV1.00==
andallLEDswillbrieflyilluminate.Theunitwillthenbeginitscountdowntothewake-upprocedure,during
2
whichtimetheaudiowillfadeuptothelevellastset.Meteringwillbegintooperatewhenthefade-upstarts.
PreliminarySet-up
TheprocedurebelowshouldbefollowedwhenfirstinstallingaSP27unit.
-Designyourcrossover!Todothis,press,andusetheorkeytoselect'
menu'ENTERBACKNEXT'Designacrossover'
ENTERBACKNEXT
andthenpress.Usetheorkeytoselectandthenpress
.Finally,usetheorkeytoselectthedesiredroutingandfollowtheset-upwizardto
MENUBACKNEXTCrossoversub-
3
finaliseyourdesign.
-Notethatwheninamenu,isalwaysusedtoconfirmselections.Thecurrentselectionismarkedwith
ENTER
anasterisk'*'.
-Usethekeysoneachoutputchannelwiththeandkeystoselectthehighpassfilters,low
EDITBACKNEXT
passfilters,parametricsetc.Notethatwhendesigninganewcrossover,thehighandlowpassfilterswillbe
settodefaultvalues.
-Usethekeysoneachinputchannelwiththeandkeystoselectthegain,delayand
EDITBACKNEXT
parametricsavailableoneachinput.
NOTE
2
Thewake-uptimecountdownmaybeadjustedintheSYSTEMmenu-seepage23fordetails.
3
Fordetailsaboutadjustingtheroutingifoneofthestandardconfigurationsdoesnotsuit,seepage15.
Notethatifnoactionistakeninmenumode,theunitwillreturntonormal'default'modeafter
abouttwenty(20)seconds.Repeattheabovedirectionstoreturntomenumode.
RoutingOptionsandProcessingBlocks
10
DuetothecompletelynewDSPplatform,theroutingpossibilitieswithinthehavebeenmadecompletely
flexible,withamatrixavailableallowinganycombinationofinputstoberoutedtoanyoutput.Theadditional
DSPpowerhaspermittedtheinclusionofmoreprocessingblocks,evenconsideringtheextrainputsand
outputs,andthedoublingofsamplerate.
Toreduceset-uptimeandaidusability,severalstandardconfigurationsareavailableasdescribedinalater
section.
Thissectionwilloutlinetheprocessingblocksavailableinrelationtothesignalpath,andexplainthevarious
optionsforrouting,includingthe"FreeAssign"mode,whichopensupcompletelyflexiblechannelrouting.
InputChannelMakeup
Thediagrambelowshowstheprocessingavailableoneachofthefourinputchannels,beforeroutingtothe
matrix.
SP27
OutputChannelMakeup
Thediagrambelowshowstheprocessingavailableoneachoftheeightoutputchannels,afterroutingfromthe
matrix.
PresetRoutingConfigurations
Inadditiontotheabilitytoassignanycombinationofinputstoanyoutput,anumberofpresetconfigurations
areprovided,forusewhendesigningacrossoverfromscratch.Thesehavetheadvantageofsuggested
settingsforthehighandlowpassfilterstousefulbasicstartingpoints,tofilterthedifferentoutputsas
appropriateforthechosenconfiguration.Thesemay,ofcourse,befreelymodifiedafterwardsshouldtheynot
suittherequirementsexactly.
Thediagramsonthefollowingpagesshowtheconnectionsmadebetweeninputsandoutputs.
2x3waycrossover 1x6waycrossover
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2x2way+mono
FreeAssignRouting
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Ifnoneofthepresetconfigurationsareappropriatetotherequiredsystemsetup,itispossibletomanually
selecttheroutingofthecrossover.Thisisachievedthroughthe.
CrossoverMenu->DesignACrossover
Pressingwillstartthecrossoverdesignwizard,withthefirstoptionbeingtochoosetherouting.
Thedisplaywillshow
orwhateverthecurrentconfigurationissetto.Pressuntilthedisplayshows
Andthenpress.Thekeywillilluminate
foroutput1,aswillanyrelevantinputkeys,
showingwhichinputsarefeedingoutput1.Thedisplay
willalsodetailthecurrentcombinationofinputsfeeding
thisoutput.Tochangetheroutingforanyoutput,press
itskey,andthenchoosetherequiredinput
EDIT
channelcombinationbyjustpressingtheinput
keysasappropriate.Theinputcombinationscanalso
besteppedthroughinturnbypressing,or
BACK
Tocompletetheprocedure,press.Thewizard
willcontinue,andiftheroutinghasbeenchanged,all
outputswillbemutedonexit.
.
ENTER
DesignACrossover->
Routing=2X4WAY*
BACK
DesignACrossover->
Routing=FreeAssign
ENTEREDIT
EDIT
EDIT
NEXT
ENTER
2
PressEDITinputkeysto
select/deselectinputs
1
PressEDITtoshowinput
routingselection....
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