NTI Audio DIGIRATOR DR2 Operating Manual

OPERATING MANUAL

DIGIRATOR DR2

NTi Audio Contact Details

Head Office

NTi Audio AG
Im alten Riet 102
9494 Schaan
Liechtenstein, Europe

Tel.: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-Mail: [e-mail]
Web: www.nti-audio.com

NTi Audio is an ISO 9001:2008
certified company.

© All rights reserved.
All information subject to change without notice
Version 1.10 / Feb. 2010 / Software 1.10

® Ministruments, Minirator and Minilyzer are registered trademarks of NTi Audio.
™ Digilyzer, Acoustilyzer, Digirator, MiniSPL and MiniLINK are trademarks of NTi Audio.

Americas

NTI Americas
PO Box 131027
Tigard, Oregon 97281
USA

Tel.: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-Mail: [e-mail]
Web: www.ntiam.com

China

NTI China
Room 722, 7F, Building 6-3A,
No 1388, Bin He Rd.
215000 Suzhou, China

Tel.: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-Mail: [e-mail]
Web: www.nti-audio.com/cn

Japan

NTI Japan
Ryogokusakamoto Bld. 1-8-4
Ryogoku, 130-0026 Sumida-Ku
Tokyo, Japan

Tel.: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-Mail: [e-mail]
Web: www.nti-audio.com/jp

Inhalt

1. Digirator Basics ...............................................................4

Introduction .................................................................... 4

Notes .............................................................................. 5

Items included in the package ......................................... 6

Accessories .....................................................................6

2. Overview of the Instrument ..........................................7

Connections ....................................................................7

Buttons and operating elements ......................................8

The screen display ........................................................... 9

The main menu ...............................................................9

Power supply ................................................................11

Characteristics of the outputs .......................................12

Characteristics of the SYNC input ..................................13

3. Getting Started .............................................................14

Inserting the batteries ...................................................14

Fitting the protective shock jacket .................................15

Attaching the hand strap ..............................................16

Connecting the Digirator ...............................................17

4. Operation ......................................................................18

Switching Digirator on and off ......................................18

Navigation in the menu bar ..........................................18

Selecting a test signal ....................................................19

Setting the parameter ...................................................20

Setting the sampling frequency ..................................... 22

Setting the Channel Status ............................................23

Configuring the output channels ...................................23

System settings .............................................................25

Configurations .............................................................. 26

Table of contents

5. Linear PCM Test Signals ................................................28

Signal generation .......................................................... 28

Sine ..............................................................................29

Sweep ...........................................................................29

Chirp ............................................................................31

Delay Test ......................................................................32

Pink Noise ..................................................................... 33

White Noise ..................................................................34

Polarity ..........................................................................34

Wave File Player ............................................................35

6. Dolby / DTS Signals .......................................................38

Signal generation .......................................................... 38

Test signals and formats ................................................40

7. Measuring Functions DR2 ............................................. 43

Channel transparency testing ........................................ 43

I/O Delay test (Latency) ..................................................46

8. Updating the Instrument ..............................................48

Firmware update ...........................................................48

9. Tips and Trouble Shooting ...........................................49

Faults and their correction .............................................49

Resetting to the factory settings .................................... 51

Reloading Wave files ..................................................... 51

10. Technical Data .............................................................52

11. Further Information .................................................... 53

Warranty conditions ......................................................53

Declaration of Conformity .............................................54

Information regarding disposal / recycling ......................54

3

Basics

4

1. Digirator Basics

Introduction

Thank you for purchasing the Digirator. The Digirator DR2 is a
reference grade digital audio generator with AES3, S/PDIF and
ADAT outputs.

As an extension to the common stereo audio test signals, DR2
also supports surround sound sequences for setup and testing
of professional Dolby Digital, Dolby E, ProLogic II and DTS instal­lations. The ultra stable internal clock generator can be synchro­nized to AES3, DARS, Word Clock as well as video signals. It
further supports the measurements of channel transparency and
I/O delay (latency) as well as clock frequencies.

5

Basics

Notes

Damage to equipment connected

The Digirator is a test generator and thus al­lows creating exceptional signals that do not
appear in normal audio operations.

Such generated signals may damage or de­stroy systems and loudspeakers if not oper­ated carefully.

Danger of electric shock

Never connect the instrument to a power
output!

Non-compliance could result in injury to
persons and/or damage to property that is
not covered by the warranty guarantee.

Damage from moisture

Do not use the instrument in damp
environments!

The instrument can be permanently
damaged by penetration of water, moisture
or any fluid.

Damage caused by opening the
instrument

Never open the instrument.

The instrument can be damaged if the
housing is opened and your warranty will be
invalidated.

Basics

6

Items included in the package

•  Digirator DR2

•  Protective shock jacket

•  Test signal backup DVD

•  Operating manual

•  XLR - BNC adapter (Neutrik NA2MBNC)

•  RCA - BNC adapter

•  USB cable

•  Hand strap

Accessories

•  Pouch                NTi Audio #  600 000 302

•  System case           NTi Audio #  600 000 020

•  EU - power supply        NTi Audio #  600 000 301

•  US - power supply        NTi Audio #  600 000 301US 

•  Calibration certicate      NTi Audio #  600 000 323

You can find further additional information on the website
www.nti-audio.com

7

Overview

2. Overview of the Instrument

Connections

The Digirator provides the following connections:

1 2 43

5 6

1

S/PDIF and AES3-id

output 75 Ω

2

AES/EBU output 110 Ω

3

Optical output

4

DC power socket

5

Sync input (AES3, Word

Clock, Video)

6

USB connection

Overview

8

wave

sens

mute

freq

esc

level

Buttons and operating elements

1 2 3

9

8

1

ESC Terminates an entry and

7

jumps to the top menu level.

2

Rotary

wheel

Slow rotation:
Precise setting of the value.
Fast rotation:
Setting the value in larger steps.

3

Enter Confirming a selection.

4

6

4

Wave Selection of the test signal.

5

Freq Setting the output frequency. Also directly

jumps to the „PARAM“ menu with the
„SWEEP“ and „CHIRP“ test signals; and to file
selection „WAVE”, „DOLBY” and „DTS” .

6

5

Mute When pressed, it illuminates to indicate you

have switched off (Muted) the output signal.
The button also lights up during the cycle
pauses of the „PNoise” and „Chirp” signal
waveforms.

7

On / Off Switches the instrument Power off if held down

for one second. Also switches the back-lighting
on and off with a shorter press.

8

Sens Changes the sensitivity of the frequency and

level settings.

9

Level Setting the output level. You can set up the

output signal in the units dBF or %.

The following signals have a fixed output level:
DTS, DOLBY, TRANSPAR, I/O DELAY.

9

Overview

The screen display

The main menu

1 2

34

1

Menu bar

2

Battery symbol:

If the battery symbol lights

up the batteries are almost
completely discharged and
must be replaced.

3

Settings of the interface car-

rier signal

4

Settings for the audio signal

generation.

Menu bar

1 2

3

1

Function selection

2

Save and Recall instruments

configurations

3

Select and configure output

channels (individual mute
and inverrt)

Overview

10

Settings for signal generation

1 2 3

4

567

1

Test signal

2

Start / Stop for certain test
signals

3

Setting up the parameter

4

Single / continous mode for
certain test signals

5

Output frequency

6

Units for the output level

7

Output level

Settings for interface carrier signal

1

3

1

2

3

2

Settings and display of

sampling frequency and
clock source

Configuration and status

display of the optical out­put

Settings for the the chan-

nel status

11

Overview

Power supply

Battery operation

In order to be always able to use the Digirator flexibly, we recom­mend the use of batteries.

Only use 3x AA, LR6 batteries.

The battery consumption increases at
higher level setting as well is based on the
connected load.

Operation using mains power supply

You can also connect the Digirator to mains power with a
DC power supply unit. To do this, you will need the correspond­ing DC power supply accessory unit, which you can order from
NTi Audio.

During operation, the battery temperature
may increase noticeably. This is not a defect.

The instrument can also be used with
rechargeable batteries.

We recommend you use only the NTi Audio
DC supply. But if you want to make use of
a different DC power supply unit, you must
observe the following:

Use an electrically-isolated, non-earthed
linear DC power supply unit with

2.1 x 5.5 x 9.5 mm plug and connection
. Only use DC power supply units

with a voltage from 5 to 8 volts and a
current of at least 500 mA.

Do not use a switching power supply.
Unbalanced connections in combination
with a switching power supply can lead to
noise interference and an unpleasantly high
interference level when plugging in and out.

Damage caused by using an inappropriate
external DC supply is not covered by
warranty.

Overview

12

1

3

2

AES / EBU

XLR - 110 Ω

AES3-id

S/PDIF

RCA - 75 Ω

1

3

2

110

75

75

Word Clock,
Blackburst
Video

AES3,
DARS

Clock
Processing

Digital Audio
Transmitter

fs

Characteristics of the outputs

Electrical Outputs (AES3, S/PDIF)

The Digirator features two electrical outputs that are equipped
with a shared high quality transformer. Both outputs are earth­free and resistant to externally applied Phantom Power.

The outputs feature interface carrier levels with fixed levels:
AES3 : 6.0 Vpp (open) 3.0 ±0.2 Vpp (into 110 Ω)
S/PDIF, AES3-id: 2.0 Vpp (open) 1.0 ±0.2 Vpp (into 75 Ω)

Do not use both outputs in parallel.

The concurrent use of both electrical outputs
leads to reduced interface carrier levels that
can lead to malfunction.

AES3id

Pin assignments of the XLR Output:

3

1

2

For generating an AES3id compatible signal
please use the supplied RCA to BNC adapter.
The output signals are meeting the AES3-id
standard and work well for S/PDIF signals.

1

PIN 1

2

PIN 2

3

PIN 3

Optical output

The optical output may be used concurrently with one of the
electrical outputs. It can be configured either for „2 Channel“ or
for „ADAT“ format.

13

Overview

1

3

2

110

75

75

Word Clock,
Blackburst
Video

AES3,
DARS

SYNC IN

XLR - 110 Ω,

75 Ω, High-Z

Clock
Processing

fs

Characteristics of the SYNC input

The sampling frequency of the Digirator can be synchronized and
locked to external devices. In order to do this, the sync signal is

connected to the universal sync  input circuitry via a female XLR 

connector to the DR2. An adaptor for connecting a BNC cable to

the XLR input is also included as a standard accessory item with 

the DR2.

Supported sync / clock formats

The Digirator recognizes clock sources automatically as they are
connected. There is no need for a manual selection of the sync
format. The following formats are supported:

•  AES3 / DARS  20 kHz to 216 kHz (continuous)

•  Word Clock   32 kHz (+/- 100 ppm)

44.1, 48 kHz (x1, x2 , x4) (+/- 100 ppm)

•  Black Burst    PAL (25 Hz) and NTSC (29.97 Hz)
fs = 48 kHz

Input impedance

AES3 as well as Word Clock signals are separated by an electrical­ly isolated transformer terminated with the nominal impedances
of 110 ohm or 75 ohm. But Hi-Z mode is also supported, allowing
trial operation of the DR2 in parallel with other devices.

Jitter suppression

The extracted sampling frequency is fed into a clock recovery
stage with high jitter attenuation. This ensures stable and opti­mized signals at the DR2 output. With input sampling frequen­cies that deviate more than 100 ppm from the AES standard
sampling frequencies, no clock recovery will be executed. Under
special circumstances this might lead to suboptimal stability of
the output signal .

DARS (Digital Audio Reference Signal)

... is an AES3 Signal, intended for synchroniz­ing equipment. Its channel status data are
marked accordingly by setting the DARS Bits.

Getting Started

14

1.

2.

3. Getting Started

Inserting the batteries

Only use AA, LR6 batteries. You will need
3 AA batteries.

The batteries may significantly warm up
during operation. This is not a malfunction.

The Digirator can also be operated with
rechargeable batteries.

For best battery performance only use new

1. Open the battery cover.

2. Insert three AA, LR6 batteries with the same state of charge,
paying attention to the +/- marking in the battery compart­ment.

3. Close the battery cover once the batteries have been insert­ed.

batteries of the same type and manufacturer.

15

Getting Started

Fitting the protective shock jacket

1.

2.

The shock jacket protects the instrument against light impacts
without impairing its easy operation. It is recommended to leave
it mounted.

1. Push the lower end of your Digirator into the lower end of the
protective shock jacket.

2. Push the upper end of the Digirator into the protective hous­ing.

Damage through impacts / shocks

The protective shock jacket shields your
Digirator against reasonable impacts that
could occur in normal use.

But protect the instrument from extreme
stress, exposure to liquids, and from
extremes of heat or cold.

Please do not drop the instrument!

Damage caused by dropping or impact is not
covered by warranty.

Getting Started

16

2.

1.

3.

Attaching the hand strap

To prevent you from accidentally dropping the DR2, a hand strap
is supplied with the instrument. You can also fit the hand strap
when the protective shock jacket of the DR2 has been fitted.

1. Pull the hand strap through the opening.

2. Pull the rear part of the hand strap through the loop of the
front part.

3. Pull the hand strap tight.

17

Getting Started

Connecting the Digirator

1.

2.

XLR-connection

Connect the  Digirator to  your digital  audio device  using an  XLR 
cable. Note that the locking pin of the XLR connector will then be

located on the lower side of the instrument!

RCA connection

Connect the Digirator to the digital input of the unit to be tested
using a good quality RCA cable. Please note that not all RCA
cables will be suitable for digital audio use.

Optical connection

Connect the Digirator to the optical input of the unit to be tested
using an optical TOSLINK cable. The cover flap of the output
opens automatically with the insertion of the cable.