M-AUDIO NRV10 User Manual

NRV

NRV

8x2 Analog Mixer with 10 x 10 FireWire Digital Audio Interface and Effects

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User Guide

English

Table of Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

What’s in the Box

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About the NRV10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Features and Technical Specifications

System Requirements

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Controls and Connectors Overview

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Controls and Connectors Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Global Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Meters View Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Settings Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Meters Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Hardware Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

About Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Using the Analog Mixer

Project Studio Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Live Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Live Performance Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

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Using the Cue Buss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Using the FireWire Connection

Routing and Monitoring with Your DAW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Sending Tracks to Your DAW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Using the Pre/Post-EQ Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Monitoring Audio Live While Recording to Your DAW: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Local Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Tape Return Monitoring – Individual Mixer Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Tape Return Monitoring – Summed Return Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Monitoring an Independent Mix Using Aux Send 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Returning Tracks from Your DAW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

The Digital Effects Processor

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Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Warranty

Warranty Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Warranty Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

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Appendix - Block Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Contact Us

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NRV10 User Guide | 3

Introduction

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ongratulations on your purchase of the M-Audio NRV10 FireWire mixer. The NRV10 is a high-quality analog mixer with
an integrated 10-in/10-out FireWire digital audio interface. The NRV10’s FireWire interface allows you to record up to

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ten channels of audio directly into your computer-based DAW, as well as bring audio from your DAW back to its analog mixer
channels. Its low-latency FireWire drivers support high-resolution sample rates of up to 96kHz and bit-depths of up to 24 bits, and
its compact footprint makes it ideal for the home and project studio, or for live use.

The NRV10 has been designed with a host of professional features, including XLR inputs with great sounding microphone preamps
and switchable phantom power, flexible headphone monitoring capabilities, and an integrated digital effects processor for adding
reverb, delay, chorus and other effects to your mix. The NRV10 is also equipped with eight line-level inputs, two mono effects
sends, two stereo effects returns, three-band EQ on each input channel, and a separate control room output with its own
dedicated fader.

What’s in the Box

Before you begin setting up your NRV10 mixer, please check that the following equipment was included in your box:

< M-Audio NRV10

< Pro Tools M-Powered Demo CD

< 6-Pin-to-6-Pin FireWire Cable

< 6-Pin-to-4-Pin FireWire Cable

< External Power Supply

< M-Audio FireWire Series CD-ROM (includes drivers, documentation, and NRV10 interFX software)

< Printed Quick Start Guide

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NRV10 User Guide | 4

About the NRV10

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he NRV10 combines the best of analog and digital, offering you a great sounding, highly versatile analog mixer and a
professional quality FireWire digital audio interface for your computer-based DAW, integrated into a single, compact unit.

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The NRV10 is the perfect front end for your project studio or live recording setup, giving you eight analog line inputs and five XLR
microphone inputs with switchable phantom power, as well as two mono aux sends and two stereo aux returns. Its mixer section
offers four mono and two stereo input channels, each with three-band EQ, pan, monitor and FX sends. Its integrated DSP section
gives you a wide range of great sounding digital effects to add to your mix, including reverbs, delays, chorus, flange and more, all
accessible via two front panel rotary switches. The NRV10’s rear panel gives you balanced or unbalanced analog mix outputs on
XLR and 1/4 inch TRS connectors, as well as a pair of independent control room outputs. And the NRV10’s headphone output can
easily switch to monitor your main mix, monitor mix or cue mix for ultimate flexibility.

The NRV10 is also an ideal front end for your computer-based Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), giving you a professional quality
high-resolution FireWire interface with great sounding analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters that can stream up to ten
channels of audio into your DAW, as well as bring up to ten channels from your DAW into the NRV10’s input channels. A single
IEEE 1394 cable connects the NRV10 to your computer’s FireWire port. (If your PC is not equipped with a native FireWire port,
you may purchase a FireWire PCI card at any computer electronics retailer.)*

*

NOTE

: Please check the Product Support page at www.m-audio.com for a list of compatible 1394A PCI and PCMCIA adapters.

The NRV10’s easy-to-use software control panel gives you instant monitoring levels for its inputs and outputs, as well as the ability
to change buffer sizes and control latency (Windows only*).

Also included with the NRV10 is the NRV10 interFX software application, which allows you to use your computer with the NRV10
as a real-time effects processor. Refer to the electronic user guide found in the application’s help menu for more information on
this software.

IMPORTANT

six-pin-to-six-pin cable and a six-pin-to-four-pin cable. Determine whether your
computer is equipped with a six-pin or four-pin interface and choose the appropriate
cable for connecting the NRV10 to your computer. We strongly suggest you use one of
the enclosed cables (or one of equal quality) for optimum audio performance. Also note
that the NRV10 requires the included external power adapter; it will not function using
only FireWire bus power.

: We’ve enclosed two high-quality FireWire cables with your NRV10—a

NOTE

: Some computer manufacturers may use a different nomenclature to refer to their

FireWire connections, such as Sony’s “iLink,” or simply “1394.”

Features and Technical Specifications

< Eight 1/4” balanced TRS line inputs

< Five balanced XLR mic inputs

< Integrated digital effects processor with 256 settings

< Two mono effects sends

< Two stereo effects returns

< Balanced XLR and 1/4” main outputs

< Headphone output with flexible source assignment

< Full stand-alone mixer operation

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System Requirements

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Important

Windows 98 or Windows Me. Visit the Windows update web pages to make certain you have the most current updates and fixes
supplied by Microsoft.

On the Mac, the NRV10 is supported under Mac OS X version 10.3.9 as well as 10.4.7 or later. Apple Macintosh operating system
versions earlier than Mac OS X 10.3.9 are not supported.

: The NRV10 is supported under Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or later. It is not supported under Windows 2000,

Windows*

< Pentium III – 800MHz or higher

(may be higher for laptops)

< 512 MB RAM
< Windows XP (SP2)
< DirectX 9.0c or higher
< Available FireWire port or FireWire expansion

card

Mac OS*

< Macintosh G3** 800MHz or G4** 733MHz

higher (may be higher for laptops)

< 512 MB RAM
< Mac OS X 10.3.9 / 10.4.7
< Available FireWire port

*G3/G4 accelerator cards not supported

*Please check the minimum system requirements for your software, as they may be greater than the above specifications.

**G3/G4 accelerator cards are not supported.

Before you begin the driver or hardware installation, please confirm that your computer meets or exceeds all of the specifications
listed above. If your computer does not meet all of these requirements, the NRV10 may not function properly (or at all) with it.
We also recommend that you check the minimum requirements of your DAW software as they may be higher.

NRV10 User Guide | 6

Controls and Connectors Overview

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Controls and Connectors Descriptions

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1. Mic Inputs: Balanced XLR inputs featuring high-quality mic preamps. These inputs are wired in parallel with their
associated Line Inputs (2), and selected with the channel Mic/Line switches (4). To use the XLR jack as the input
source for a channel, the corresponding MIC/LINE switch will need to be in the up position. Phantom power for the
mic inputs is activated by the rear-panel switch (35).

2. Line Inputs: Balanced/unbalanced line-level 1/4” analog inputs. Line inputs 1 through 5 are wired in parallel with
their associated MIC INPUTS (1), and selected with the channel MIC/LINE switches (4). To use the Line Input jack
as the input source for a channel, the corresponding MIC/LINE switch must be in the down position. Line inputs 5
through 8 appear as Left and Right channels of stereo inputs 5/6 and 7/8.

3. Channel Inserts: These four 1/4” TRS jacks allow external signal processors to be inserted into the signal path of
input channels 1 through 4. The insert point is immediately after the input gain stage. The digital audio streams from
the computer routed to channels 1 through 4 will not pass through the insert jacks.

4. Mic/Line Selector: Channels 1 through 5 each have a dedicated MIC/LINE input switch which selects between
the XLR (mic level) input (1) or the 1/4” (line-level) input (2). When the MIC/LINE switch is in the “up” position,
the XLR mic input will be selected. When the MIC/LINE switch is in the “down” position, the 1/4” line input will be
selected.

5. Channel Input Gain: These analog level control knobs determine the input level of the corresponding channel’s
mic (XLR) or line input. The gain stage is after the Mic/Line Selector (4), therefore both the mic and line inputs will
be controlled.

6. Channel Source Buttons: These buttons select the audio source for each channel. When the button is in the

NOTE

: The best signal-to-noise ratios are achieved by maximizing the level of analog inputs at the A/D converters.
For best results, levels should be adjusted while paying close attention to not only to your audio software’s meters,
but also to the input channels’ PEAK LEDs (10).

“up” position, the analog input for the channel will be selected (as determined by the channel’s Mic/Line Selector
(4)). When the button is in the “down” position, the associated digital audio stream from the FireWire input will be
selected.

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7. EQ Section: These three knobs control the three bands of EQ on their respective channels. The Low band is a
low-shelf starting at 80Hz. The Mid band is a bell-curve centered at 2.5kHz. The Hi band is a high-shelf starting at
12kHz. Each knob has a center detent at 0 (unity) gain.

8. Aux Sends: These two knobs control the Auxiliary buss send level from their respective channels.

Aux 1 is labeled “Mon” and is a pre-fader send to the monitor buss; that is, its level is unaffected by the position of

the channel’s level fader (12). The summed output of all Aux 1 signals is sent to the Aux 1 Send output jack (15), and
may be assigned as a headphone source when selected by the Phones Source switch (29).

Aux 2 is labeled “DFX” and is a post-fader send; that is, its level is directly affected by the position of the

channel’s level fader (12). The summed output of all Aux 2 signals is sent to the Aux 2 Send output jack (15), while
simultaneously being sent to the input of the NRV10’s internal digital effects processor.

9. Pan/Balance: On mono channels 1 through 4, this control pans the output of the channel between the left and
right Main Mix busses. On stereo channels 5/6 and 7/8, this knob acts as a balance control to determine the amount
of input signal sent to the left and right Main Mix busses.

10. Peak LED: When a channel’s input signal exceeds its headroom, the Peak LED will light red. When this happens,
lower the input level at the source or lower the Channel Input Gain knob (5) until the Peak LED stays off to avoid
distorting the signal.

11. Mute LED: The MUTE LED will light when that channel’s Mute/Cue button (13) is pressed, thereby muting that
channel’s input signal to the Main Mix buss. All muted channels will be routed to the Cue buss instead.

12. Channel Level Faders: These 45mm faders determine the output level of the respective channel, which is fed to
the Main Mix bus or the Cue bus, depending on the position of the Mute/Cue button (13).

13. Mute/Cue buttons: The position of these buttons determine the output destination for the associated channel.
When the button is in the “up” position, the channel’s output signal is routed to the Main Mix buss. When the
button is in the “down” position, the channel’s output signal is muted in the Main Mix and routed to the Cue buss
instead, which may be monitored in the headphones when selected by the Phones Source switch (29).

14. Stereo Aux Returns: These 1/4” TRS jacks are used for connecting the outputs of external effect processors
so they may be blended into your mix. If only the left jack of either Aux Return is connected, the signal will be
distributed equally between the left and right busses.

The NRV10’s internal digital effects unit is internally hard-wired to Stereo Aux Return 2. If an input is connected to

the 1/4” jacks for Aux Return 2, the output of the integrated digital effects processor will no longer be audible, and
the external effect processor will be heard in its place.

15. Aux Sends: These 1/4” TRS jacks contain the summed output signal from the channel Aux Sends (8). Connect
these outputs to the inputs of external effects processors.

The input of the NRV10’s integrated digital effects processor is internally wired to Aux Send 2. Signal will still be

sent to the digital effects unit even if a device is connected to the Aux Send 2 jack.

16. Headphone Output: Connect a pair of stereo headphones to this 1/4” TRS jack. The headphones’ output
source is determined by both the Phones Source switch (29) and the FW 9/10 to Phones control (27), and the
overall volume is controlled by the Phones fader (30).