MUTEC MC-6 User Manual

AES3 – AES3id – S/P-DIF DIGITAL AUDIO FORMAT

AND SAMPLING RATE CONVERTER

V1.2

MUTEC Part No. 8015-080

SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

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General instructions
To reduce the risk of fire or electrical shock, do not expose this appliance to rain or moisture, direct
sunlight or excessive heat from sources such as radiators or spotlights. No user serviceable parts are in­side. Repair and maintenance must be carried out by qualified personnel authorized by MUTEC GmbH!
The unit has been designed for operation in a standard domestic environment. Do NOT expose the unit
and its accessories to rain, moisture, direct sunlight or excessive heat produced by such heat sources as
radiators or spotlights! The free flow of air inside and around the unit must always be ensured.

C A U T I O N

R I S K O F

ELECTRICAL SHOCK!

Initi al operation

Prior to the initial operation of the unit , the appl iance, its accessories and p ackagi ng must be
inspecte d for any signs of phy sical d amage that may have occurr ed during transit. If th e unit has
been damaged m echanically o r if liqui ds have been spil led ins ide the enclosu re, the applian ce may
not be co nnected to the m ains or mu st be di sconn ecte d from th e mains im media tely! I f the unit i s
damag ed, ple ase do NOT return it to MUTEC GmbH , but noti fy your dealer a nd the shi pping com
pany immediat ely, othe rwi se claim s for dam age or replacement may not be granted.

If the device is left in a low-temperature environment for a long time and then is moved to a room­temperature environment, condensation may occur on the inside and the exterior. To avoid short­circuits and flashovers, be sure to wait one or two hours before putting the device into operation.

Power su pply

The device contains a self-adapting wide-range power supply supporting the majority of global stan­dard line voltages within a range of 90…250 V, with no need for making adjustments. Make sure that
your line-voltage source provides a supply voltage within the specified range. In addition, make sure
that the device is properly grounded via the local electric installation.

Pleas e use the enclos ed powe r cord (see pac kaging ) to conne ct the unit to the mains. S witch th e
unit of f before you attempt to c onnec t it to the m ains. C onnec t the po wer cord to the unit , then
to a standard 3 -pin mains outl et. To draw t he power cord, never pull o n the cab le but on t he mains
plug!

The uni t must b e ground ed durin g opera tion!

For information on the power-inlet wiring, refer to the »Wirin g of conne ctor s« section in the
appendix. Disconnect the device from the mains when not using it for an extended period!

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Decla ration of Conformity

We herewith confirm that the product complies with the European
Commission’s standards on electromagnetic compatibility.

Interference emission: EN 50081-1, 1992
Resistance to interference: EN 50082-1, 1992

Presupposed as operation condition is that all clock outputs are con
nected with high-quality and good shielded BNC 75 ohms cable.

This symbol, a flash of lightning inside a triangle, alerts
you to the presence of uninsulated dangerous voltage
inside the enclosure - voltage that may be sufficient to
constitute a risk of shock.

This symbol, an exclamation mark inside a triangle,
alerts you to important operating or safety instructions
in this manual.

WARRANTY REGULATIONS

§1 Warranty

MUTEC GmbH warrants the flawless performance of this product to the original buyer for a period of two (2) years from the date of purchase. If any failure occurs within
the specified warranty period that is caused by defects in material and/or workmanship, MUTEC GmbH shall either repair or replace the product free of charge within 90
days. The purchaser is not entitled to claim an inspection of the device free of charge during the warranty period. If the warranty claim proves to be justified, the product
will be returned freight prepaid by MUTEC GmbH within Germany. Outside Germany, the product will be returned with the additional international freight charges payable
by the customer. Warranty claims other than those indicated above are expressly excluded.

§2 Warranty transferability

This warranty is extended exclusively to the original buyer who bought the product from a MUTEC GmbH specialized dealer or distributor, and is not transferable to anyone
who may subsequently purchase this product. No other person (retail dealer, distributor, etc.) shall be entitled to give any warranty promise on behalf of MUTEC GmbH.

§3 Waranty regulations

The return of the completed registration card, or online registration on one of the websites specified below, is a condition of warranty. Failing to register the device before
returning it for repair will void the extended warranty.

The serial number on the returned device must match the one stated on the registration card or entered during online registration. Otherwise, the device will be
returned to the sender at the sender’s expense.
Any returned device must be accompanied by a detailed error description and a copy of the original sales receipt issued by a MUTEC dealer or distributor.
The device must be returned free of shipping expenses and in the original package, if possible; otherwise, the sender has to provide comparably protective packaging.
The sender is fully responsible for any damage or loss of the product when shipping it to MUTEC GmbH.

§4 Limitation of warranty
Damages caus ed by the f ollowi ng condi tions are not cove red by this warranty:

Damages caus ed by eve ry kind of normal wear and tear (e.g. displays, LE Ds, po tentio meter s, fad ers, s witc hes, button s, connecti ng elem ents , printe d label s, cove r
glass es, co ver prin ts, an d simila r part s).
Functional fa ilure of the produ ct cau sed by improper inst allati on (ple ase observ e CMOS components handling ins truc tions!), neglec t or misu se of
the pro duct , e.g. fai lure to op erate the unit in compliance with t he instruct ions gi ven in the u ser or s ervi ce manuals.
Damage cause d by any for m of ext ernal me chanical impa ct or mo dific ation.
Damage cause d by the us er’s failure to co nnec t and ope rate the unit in com plianc e with local safety regulatio ns.
Damage cause d by force majeure ( fire, e xplos ion, fl ood, li ghtning, war, vandalism, etc. ).
Consequent ial dama ges or de fect s in product s from ot her manu facturers a s well as any c osts result ing from a loss of p roduc tion.

Repair s carried out by personnel whi ch is not a uthorized from MUTEC GmbH will vo id the war ranty.
national, technical, or safety regulations in a country or of the customer do not constitute a warranty claim and should be set with MUTEC GmbH in advance.

§5 Repairs

To obtain warranty service, the buyer must call or write to MUTEC GmbH before returning the unit. All inquiries must be accompanied by a description of the problem and
the original buyer’s invoice. Devices shipped to MUTEC GmbH for repair without prior notice will be returned to the sender at the sender’s expense.
failure please contact:

Adaptations and modifications to the device made with regard to

In case of a functional

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MUTEC Gesellschaft fuer Sy steme ntwicklung u nd Komponentenvertrieb mbH
Siekeweg 6/8 • 12 309 Be rlin • Ge rmany • Fo n 030 -74688 0- 0 • Fax [phone] • Tec [e-mail] • www.MUTEC-net.de

JET and Jitter Elimination Technology are trademarks of TC Applied Technologies Ltd. The JET tech­nology is used under sublicense from TC Applied Technologies Ltd., and is the intellectual property of
Sonopsis Ltd. Applicable patents include WO2004088845.

MUTEC GmbH assumes no liability for any incorrect information given in this manual. Please note that
all software/hardware product names are registered trademarks of their respective owners. No part of
this manual may be reproduced, copied or converted to a machine-readable form or electronical media
without a written permission of MUTEC GmbH. We reserve the right to change or improve our products
without prior notice.

MUTEC GmbH 2012

©

CONTENT

INTRODUCTION

General Function Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

MC-6 Features

MC-6 Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Peripheral MUTEC Products

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

CONTROL ELEMENTS AND TERMINALS

MC-6 Front Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

MC-6 Rear Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

INSTALLATION

Content of the Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Placing the device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Wiring the AES/EBU, AES/EBUid and S/P-DIF Interfaces . . . 11

Wiring the Word Clock Interfaces

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

GENERAL OPERATION

Selecting Function Menus and setting Functions . . . . . . 13

Steps of Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

OPERATING THE MC-6

MODE + AUDIO IN + REFERENCE Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

General Operation Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Unidirectional Format Conversions

Unidirectional Format and Sampling Rate Conversions

Bidirectional Format Conversions

Bidirectional Format and Sampling Rate Conversions

X-SRC Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

STATUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

REF CLOCK IN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

. . . 17

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

. . . . 19

APPENDIX

Pin Assignment of the Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Switching-off the Termination of the Word Clock Input . . .

Technical Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

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B E D I E N E L E M E N T E

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B E D I E N E L E M E N T E

B E D I E N E L E M E N T E

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INTRODUCTION

Thank you very much for purchasing the MC-6, Digital Audio Format and

Sampling Rate Converter, from MUTEC!

General Function Description

The MC-6 is an extremely flexible, high-performance digital audio format
and sampling rate converter for AES3, AES3id and S/P-DIF. All digital audio
signals can be processed with sampling rates up to 192.0kHz, whereas
unidirectional and bidirectional conversion modes are available. Based on
latest FPGA designs, the MC-6 achieves levels of performance regarding
its signal quality, unique flexibility, clocking features and the 4 channel
sampling rate conversion engine (SRC), which are outstanding in today’s
industry!

Various operation modes enable the use of the MC-6 in many studio set­ups. Incoming digital audio signals are generally converted to all three
audio formats simultaneously, with or without samplimng rate conversion.
The SRC engine can be locked to Word Clock, AES11 and any digital audio
input in both, unidirectional and bidirectional operation modes.

Furthermore, the MC-6 offers an internal, low-jitter clock basis with high
accuracy to which the SRCs can be locked to, if no external reference is
available. This enables to run the MC-6 in set-ups where no separate master
clock system is available. Furthermore, in this operation mode the MC-6‘s
Word Clock output supplies a low-jitter reference clock signal which is of
same high accuracy as the internal clock basis. This can be used e.g. as mas­ter clock reference for the whole studio.

This all makes MC-6 for sure a unique and the most flexible digital audio
format converter in a 9.5“ case currently available in the market!

MC-6 Features

AES/EBU, AES/EBUid and S/P-DIF interfaces in one box.
Bidirectional format and sampling rate conversions
from 32.0 kHz to 192.0 kHz.
Converts standalone and bidirectionally with different sampling rates: X-SRC
Signal improvement through low-jitter clock recovery.
AES11, Grade 1, internal reference clock (<1ppm).
Word Clock output can be used as master clock reference.
Runs standalone without needing an external clock source.
4 channel SRC engine for bidirectional conversions.
Extremely flexible synchronization options.
Continuous signal supply in absence of the reference audio or clock signal.
Separate AES11 reference clock input.
Simultaneous conversions to all output formats.
Easy configurable.
User‘s settings will be stored after switching-off.
Rack space saving 1/2 19“ housing allowing for mounting two devices
in one rack unit.
Built-in international power supply.

The grey boxes contain supplementary
informationen for the corresponding
sections in the text columns. The content of
the individual box refers to the description
in the text column beside the box.

Boxes which contain a triangle with
an exclamation mark inside should

additional information which are of major
importance for the functional descriptions
in the text column.

be read carefully! These include

Register your MUTEC Product
for Warranty and Support!

your MUTEC product through our website
immediately after purchasing. This ensures
full warranty services over a period of two
years after purchasing the product. More­over, for all registered products we offer to
our customers technical support. We also
will inform you about product updates and
new products which may of interest for you
(on voluntary base, of course).

Please regsiter your product at:

www.MUTEC-net.

> SERVICES, > MUTEC Product Registration

We ask you to be so kind to register

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MC-6 Applications

Interconnection of consumer and professional digital audio devices.
AES3, AES3id and S/P-DIF format and sampling rate conversions.
Integration of non-synchronizable devices into digital studio
environments.
Clock recovery and digital audio signal regeneration.
Realtime bidirectional signal transfer between send/returns of digital
mixing consoles and effect processors.
Unidirectional or bidirectional interconnection of computer-based sound
cards with professional digital audio equipment.
Usable within small studio set-ups up to broadcast installations.

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I N T R O D U C T I O N

I N T R O D U C T I O N

I N T R O D U C T I O N

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Peripheral MUTEC Products

Reference Clocks and Master Clocks for Synchronization:

iCLOCK + iCLOCKdp
iCLOCK and iCLOCKdp are synchronizable, high-precision clock
generators which are designed to be the reference in digital audio and
video studios as well as broadcast and television stations. For further
details please visit:

www.iCLOCK-net.

MC-3
The MC-3 SMART CLOCK is an universal digital audio master clock
generator. The unit provides different high-stable and Ultra low-jitter
clock signals for synchronization of various digital audio devices.

MC-3.1
The MC-3.1 SMART CLOCK SD is an universal digital audio and SD video
sync master clock generator. The unit provides different high-stable
clock signals for simultaneous synchronization of digital audio and SD
video devices.

MC-3.2
The MC-3.2 SMART CLOCK HD is an universal digital audio and SD/HD
video sync master clock generator. The unit provides different high­stable clock signals for simultaneous synchronization of digital audio
and SD/HD video devices.

MC-2
The MC-2 is a high-performance digital audio and reference clock signal
distribution amplifier and format converter for AES3/11 and AES3/11id
signals.

MC-7
The MC-7 is a flexible, high-performance 8-channel Word Clock distribu
tion amplifier and audio clock converter.

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Cables for Digital Audio:

Optical cables in different lenghts from 0.5 m to 20 m for S/P-DIF and

TM

ADAT

transfers.

For all peripheral products please have a look on our website:
www.MUTEC-net.com

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