Mutec Mc-8, MC-8.1 Operating Manual

AES3-AES3id Digital Multichannel Audio Format

and 8-channel Sampling Rate Converter

+

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.

©

MUT EC GmbH 2 010

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 tra nsferability

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 reg ulations

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
Damage s caused by t he followin g condition s are not cover ed by this warra nty:

Damage s caused by e very kind of normal wear an d tear (e.g. di splays, L EDs, pote ntiometers, fader s, switch es, buttons, conne cting ele ments, pr inted labe ls, cover
glass es, cover p rints, and s imilar par ts).
Funct ional failur e of the produc t caused by imp roper ins tallation ( please ob serve CM OS componen ts handling instruc tions!) , neglect o r misuse of
the pro duct, e.g . failure to operate the unit i n complianc e with the ins tructio ns given in the u ser or ser vice manual s.
Damage c aused by any f orm of exte rnal mechan ical impac t or modification.
Damage c aused by th e user’s fail ure to connec t and operate th e unit in compl iance with lo cal safet y regulatio ns.
Damage c aused by fo rce majeure (f ire, explo sion, flood, lightning, war, vandali sm, etc. ).
Conse quential da mages or def ects in pr oducts f rom other man ufacture rs as well as any costs res ulting from a l oss of produ ction.

Repair s carried out by perso nnel which is n ot authorize d from MUTEC G mbH will void t he warranty.

Adaptations and modifications to the device made with regard to

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.

In case of a functional

failure please contact:

MUTEC G esellsc haft fuer Sys tementw icklung und Komponente nvertrieb mbH
Siekewe g 6/8 • 1230 9 Berlin • Ger many • Fon 030 -7468 80-0 • Fax [phone] • Tecsuppo [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.

SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

General inst ructions

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.

Initi al operatio n

Prior to t he initial op eration of th e unit, the ap pliance, it s accesso ries and pac kaging mus t be
inspe cted for an y signs of physical damag e that may have oc curred duri ng transit . If the unit ha s
been da maged mech anically or i f liquids hav e been spilled inside the e nclosure , the applian ce may
not be co nnected to t he mains or mu st be disco nnected f rom the mains i mmediately! If the unit i s
damag ed, please d o NOT return i t to MUTEC Gmb H, but notif y your dealer and t he shipping c om

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pany immediately, o therwis e claims for damage or repl acement may n ot be grante d.

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 encl osed power cord (see pa ckaging) to c onnect th e unit to the main s. Switch th e
unit of f before you a ttempt to co nnect it to t he mains. Co nnect the p ower cord to the unit, then
to a standard 3-pi n mains outlet. To draw the po wer cord, nev er pull on the ca ble but on the mains
plug!

The uni t must be grou nded during o peration !

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

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

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.

Decla ration of Con formity

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

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nected with high-quality and good shielded BNC 75 ohms cable.

!

R I S K O F

ELECTRICAL SHOCK!

C A U T I O N

!

CONTENT

INTRODUCTION

Main Differences between MC-8 and MC-8.1 . . . . . . . . . 7

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

MC-8 + MC-8.1 Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

MC-8 + MC-8.1 Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Peripheral MUTEC Products

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

CONTROL ELEMENTS AND TERMINALS

MC-8 + MC-8.1 Front Panel (both panels are equal) . . . . . . . 9

MC-8 Rear Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

MC-8.1 Rear Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

INSTALLATION

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

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

Wiring the Word Clock Interfaces

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

Wiring the AES/EBU and AES/EBUid Interfaces . . . . . . . . 12

GENERAL OPERATION

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

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

OPERATING THE MC-8 + MC-8.1

MODE and REFERENCE Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

General Operation Procedure

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Conversion from one Input to all four Outputs

. . . . . . . 16

Conversion from two Inputs to two Output pairs

. . . . . . 16

Conversion from four Inputs to four Outputs . . . . . . . . 16

Conversion from one Input to all four Outputs

including the Sampling Rate Conversion Function . . . . . . 17

Conversion from two Inputs to two Output pairs

including the Sampling Rate Conversion Function . . . . . . 17

Conversion from four Inputs to four Outputs

including the Sampling Rate Conversion Function . . . . . . 18

STATUS Menu

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

REF CLOCK IN Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

APPENDIX

Pin Assignment of the Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

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

20

Technical Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

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INTRODUCTION

Thank you very much for purchasing the MC-8 or MC-8.1, AES3-AES3id Digi-

tal Multichannel Audio + 8-channel Sampling Rate Converter, from MUTEC!

Main Differences between MC-8 and MC-8.1

This manual refers to both devices, the MC-8 and the MC-8.1, because of
their nearly identical functionalities. Both are unidirectional converters. The
main difference are their conversion directions:

The MC-8 converts from AES3 to AES3id
The MC-8.1 converts from AES3id to AES3

The whole remaining functionalities are totally identical!

General Function Description

The MUTEC MC-8 and MC-8.1 are extremely flexible, high-performance
8 channel AES3-AES3id digital audio and sampling rate converters.

The MC-8 converts and distributes unidirectionally AES3 to AES3id signals,
whereas the MC-8.1 works in the opposite conversion direction. Both
devices process digital audio signals up to 192.0kHz in all operation modes.
Based on latest FPGA designs, the MC-8 and MC-8.1 achieve levels of
performance regarding their signal qualities, unique flexibilities, clocking
features and their 8 channel sampling rate conversion engines (SRC), which
are outstanding in today’s industry!

Various operation modes enable the use of the MC-8 and MC-8.1 in many
applications. Apart from the standard function to convert four individual
AES3 or AES3id stereo signals into the appropriate other format, the de­vices can also work as a signal splitters and distributors.

All conversions can be carried out with or without SRC functionality. The
SRC engine is synchronizable to Word Clock, AES11, any digital audio input
and the internal, ultra low-jitter clock base in every operation mode. When
using the MC-8 or MC-8.1 with their SRCs locked to an external reference,
the built-in HOLD function secures interruption-free audio conversion even
in cases of an unstable or absent clock reference!

This all makes MC-8 and MC-8.1 for sure the most flexible and useful AES3
to AES3id digital audio converters allowing to handle any conversion appli­cation with ease.

MC-8 + MC-8.1 Features

Converts AES3 to AES3id (MC-8), or vice versa (MC-8.1), on 8 channels
Works also as signal splitter or distributor
Extracts and re-generates clock signals out of digital audio signals
Improves audio quality of connected devices
Accepts all Word Clock and AES11 clock references from

32.0kHz to 192.0kHz
Protects from reference signal dropouts and losses
Supplies interruption-free audio output signals in SRC mode
AES11, Grade 1, internal reference clock (<1ppm)
Easy to configure
Compact case size fits in every studio set-up
Built-in international power supply

MC-8 + MC-8.1 Applications

AES3 to AES3id, or vice versa, audio and sampling rate conversions
Conversions and signal splittings simultaneously
Audiophil clock recovery and signal regeneration
Interconnection of symmetrically and unsymmetrically AES/EBU
environments
Line extension for e.g. theatre or broadcast installations
Usable within small studio set-ups up to broadcast installations

7

Boxes which contain a triangle with
an exclamation mark inside should

be read carefully! These include
additional information which are of major
importance for the functional descriptions
in the text column.

!

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.