Sonifex SE-DAW User Handbook Manual

ONIFEX

S

IGITAL

D

ORKSTATION

W

SER

U

H

SE-

A

ANDBOOK

DAW

UDIO

interstage

Phistersvej 31, 2900 Hellerup, Danmark

Telefon [phone], fax [phone]

www.interstage.dk

- pro audio with a smile

Sonifex Ltd, 2002
All Rights Reserved
Revision 1.00, February 2002

Sonifex Ltd, 61, Station Road, Irthlingborough,
Northants, NN9 5QE, England.
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
Website: http://www.sonifex.co.uk

The DAW products were designed by Sonifex Ltd under contract to the
Oxford Sound Company, for IBM contracted to the BBC Go Digital project.

Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does
not represent a commitment on the part of the vendor. Sonifex Ltd shall
not be liable for any loss or damage whatsoever arising from the use of
information or any error contained in this manual.

No part of this manual may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by
any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording,
information storage and retrieval systems, for any purpose other than the
purchaser’s personal use, without the express written permission of Sonifex
Ltd. Unless otherwise noted, all names of companies, products and persons
contained herein are part of a completely fictitious adaptation and are
designed solely to document the use of Sonifex products.

All trademarks are acknowledged.

Contents

ONTENTS

C

Warranty & Safety Information ................................................................. i

Warranty and Liability ....................................................................................i

Returning the Warranty Card ........................................................................ iii

Unpacking the DAW ..................................................................................... iii

Safety of Mains Operated Equipment ............................................................. iii

Fuse Rating ................................................................................................ iii

Power Cable and Connection ......................................................................... iii

1 Operation & Controls ............................................................................... 1

Introduction ................................................................................................. 1

Block Diagram.............................................................................................. 1

Connecting Power to the DAW........................................................................ 1

Monitoring ...................................................................................................3

Audio Inputs & Outputs ................................................................................. 3

Connections to & from the PC ........................................................................3

Internal Jumper Settings & Controls ............................................................... 4

Set the Right Headphone Output Anti-Phase .................................................4

2 Connection Details & Technical Specification ........................................... 5

Connection Details ........................................................................................5

Input........................................................................................................ 5

Output...................................................................................................... 5

Headphones Sockets ..................................................................................5

S/PDIF Digital Input ................................................................................... 6

S/PDIF Digital Output................................................................................. 6

PC Analogue.............................................................................................. 6

PC Digital.................................................................................................. 6

Technical Specification ..................................................................................8

Audio Specifications ................................................................................... 8

Connections ..............................................................................................8

Equipment Type ........................................................................................ 8

Physical Specifications ................................................................................ 8

Sonifex SE-DAW User Handbook

Contents

This page is deliberately blank.

Sonifex SE-DAW User Handbook

Warranty & Safety Information

ARRANTY

W

NFORMATION

I

& S

AFETY

Warranty and Liability

Important: the purchaser is advised to read this clause

(a) The Company agrees to repair or (at its discretion) replace Goods which are
found to be defective (fair wear and tear excepted) and which are returned to the
Company within 12 months of the date of despatch provided that each of the
following are satisfied:

(i) notification of any defect is given to the Company immediately upon its

becoming apparent to the Purchaser;

(ii) the Goods have only been operated under normal operating conditions and
have only been subject to normal use (and in particular the Goods must have
been correctly connected and must not have been subject to high voltage or to
ionising radiation and must not have been used contrary to the Company's
technical recommendations);
(iii) the Goods are returned to the Company's premises at the Purchaser's

expense;

(iv) any Goods or parts of Goods replaced shall become the property of the

Company;

(v) no work whatsoever (other than normal and proper maintenance) has been
carried out to the Goods or any part of the Goods without the Company's prior
written consent;
(vi) the defect has not arisen from a design made, furnished or specified by the

Purchaser;

(vii) the Goods have been assembled or incorporated into other goods only in
accordance with any instructions issued by the Company;
(viii) the defect has not arisen from a design modified by the Purchaser;

(ix) the defect has not arisen from an item manufactured by a person other than
the Company. In respect of any item manufactured by a person other than the
Company, the Purchaser shall only be entitled to the benefit of any warranty or
guarantee provided by such manufacturer to the Company.
(b) In respect of computer software supplied by the Company the Company does not
warrant that the use of the software will be uninterrupted or error free.
(c) The Company accepts liability:

Sonifex SE-DAW User Handbook i

Warranty & Safety Information

(i) for death or personal injury to the extent that it results from the negligence of

the Company, its employees (whilst in the course of their employment) or its

agents (in the course of the agency);

(ii) for any breach by the Company of any statutory undertaking as to title, quiet

possession and freedom from encumbrance.
(d) Subject to conditions (a) and (c) from the time of despatch of the Goods from
the Company's premises the Purchaser shall be responsible for any defect in the
Goods or loss, damage, nuisance or interference whatsoever consequential economic
or otherwise or wastage of material resulting from or caused by or to the Goods. In
particular the Company shall not be liable for any loss of profits or other economic
losses. The Company accordingly excludes all liability for the same.
(e) At the request and expense of the Purchaser the Company will test the Goods to
ascertain performance levels and provide a report of the results of that test. The
report will be accurate at the time of the test, to the best of the belief and knowledge
of the Company, and the Company accepts no liability in respect of its accuracy
beyond that set out in Condition (a).
(f) Subject to Condition (e) no representation, condition, warranty or other term,
express or implied (by statute or otherwise) is given by the Company that the Goods
are of any particular quality or standard or will enable the Purchaser to attain any
particular performance or result, or will be suitable for any particular purpose or use
under specific conditions or will provide any particular capacity, notwithstanding that
the requirement for such performance, result or capacity or that such particular
purpose or conditions may have been known (or ought to have been known) to the
Company, its employees or agents.
(g) (i) To the extent that the Company is held legally liable to the Purchaser for any

single breach of contract, tort, representation or other act or default, the

Company's liability for the same shall not exceed the Price of the Goods.

(ii) The restriction of liability in Condition (g)(i) shall not apply to any liability

accepted by the Seller in Condition (c).
(h) Where the Goods are sold under a consumer transaction (as defined by the
Consumer Transactions (Restrictions on Statements) Order 1976) the statutory
rights of the Purchaser are not affected by these Conditions of Sale.

ii Sonifex SE-DAW User Handbook

Returning the Warranty Card

Warranty & Safety Information

In order to register the date of purchase so that we can keep you informed of any
design improvements or modifications, it is important to complete the warranty
registration document that is enclosed with you and return it to Sonifex Ltd in the
UK.

For your own records you should write down the serial number (which can be found
on the rear of the DAW).

DAW Serial Number ……………………….

Unpacking the DAW

Each DAW is shipped in protective packaging and should be inspected for damage
before use. Where an item is found to have transit damage, notify your supplier
immediately with all the relevant details of the shipment. Packing materials should be
kept for inspection and also for if the product needs to be returned.

Safety of Mains Operated Equipment

This equipment has been designed to meet the safety regulations currently
advised in the country of purchase and it conforms to the safety regulations

The power supply is rated to 220-240V AC, 47-53Hz, fused 100mA, max 9W.

Warning : There are no user serviceably parts inside the machine. If you should ever
need to look inside the unit, always disconnect the mains supply before removing the
equipment covers.

specified by use of the CE Mark.

Fuse Rating

The DAW is supplied with a single fuse in the live conducting path of the power
infeed at the power supply. For reasons of safety it is important that the correct
rating and type of fuse is used. Incorrectly rated fuses could present a possible fire
hazard, under equipment fault conditions.

Power Cable and Connection

An IEC power connector is supplied with the DAW which has a moulded plug
attached – this is a legal requirement. If no moulded plug has been supplied with
your DAW, please contact your supplier, because an IEC connector is always supplied
from the Sonifex factory.

If for any reason, you need to use the DAW with a different power cable, you should
use the following wiring guidelines

Wire Colour Connection

Green, or green and yellow Earth (E)
Blue, or Black Neutral (N)
Brown, or Red Live (L)

Sonifex SE-DAW User Handbook iii

Warranty & Safety Information

This page is deliberately blank.

iv Sonifex SE-DAW User Handbook

PERATION

O

ONTROLS

C

&

1

Introduction

The SE-DAW is a digital audio workstation for use with a PC audio recorder/player. It
is used to take analogue and digital audio inputs to and from the PC and to monitor
either the analogue audio input to the PC, or the analogue audio output from the PC.
The unit has 2 headphone sockets, a headphone level control and a monitor select
push-button switch.

Block Diagram

1. Operations & Controls

S/PDIF Digital Input

RCA/Phono Rear Panel

S/PDIF Digital Output

RCA/Phono Rear Panel

Input XLR

Rear Panel

0dB Bal

Headphones

Front Panel

B Gauge

BBC Format

Line Output Stereo

XLR Rear Panel

0dB Bal

Headphone

Amp

Headphone Level

Front Panel

Monitor

PC/Input
Front Panel
(Default PC)

PC Digital

Input

15 Pin HD Sub D

Female

Rear Panel

PC Digital

Output

PC Analogue

Input

15 Pin Sub D

Female

Rear Panel

PC Analogue

Output

SE-DAW

Block Diagram

Figure 1-1 Block Diagram of the SE-DAW Circuitry

Connecting Power to the DAW

Plug the IEC mains lead into the rear of the unit and check that the blue POWER
LED on the front is illuminated. On power up, the unit is set to monitor audio from
the PC (i.e. the PC’s output).

Sonifex SE-DAW User Handbook 1

1. Operations & Controls

MONITOR

PC

2

LEVEL

1

HEADPHONES

SELECT

34

INPUT

PC DIGITAL

This product must be earthed

896

7

PC ANALOGUE

INPUT OUTPUT

S/PDIF

DIGITAL

OUTPUT

DAW-SE

STUDIO EDIT

POWER

FRONT

LR

INPUT
LR

REAR

Disconnect the mains supply before removing the equipment covers.

5

Figure 1-2 Front & Rear of SE-DAW

2 Sonifex SE-DAW User Handbook

1. Operations & Controls

Monitoring

The 2 HEADPHONES sockets are ¼” stereo jack sockets and have a

1

paralleled (i.e. the same) output. The outputs are suitable for headphones
with impedances from 80ohm to 1.5kohm.

Note : It is advised that level limited headphones should be used with
this product.

The headphone LEVEL control is a rotary knob used for altering the volume of
audio to the paralleled headphones. The headphone level operates from cut
(∞) to a maximum level which depends on the impedance and type of
headphones being used.

The Monitor Indicator is a LED showing the status of the MONITOR SELECT
button. Illuminated indicates PC mode, extinguished indicates input

3

monitoring.

The MONITOR SELECT button has two modes :

- PC mode, with the button raised, allows you to monitor audio from the PC,

4

i.e. for monitoring playback from the PC.

- INPUT SELECT mode, with the button depressed, allows you to monitor the
stereo analogue audio input.

Audio Inputs & Outputs

The INPUT consists of 2 (stereo) balanced XLR sockets which could take an

5

output from a professional DAT machine, flash-card recorder, or professional
cassette machine.

The stereo OUTPUT provides an output feed from the PC, regardless of the

6

status of the MONITOR SELECT button.

Connections to & from the PC

The PC ANALOGUE input/output connector is a 15 way D-type socket which

7

should be connected to the analogue input of the soundcard in the connected
PC (usually a Digigram PCX924 card).

The S/PDIF DIGITAL INPUT & OUTPUT consists of two phono sockets

8

which allow you to connect domestic digital equipment to the DAW, for
example, a CD player. The digital audio is routed directly to the digital input
of the PC card and is not affected by the DAW. Similarly the digital output
from the PC card is routed directly to the S/PDIF output on the DAW.

The PC DIGITAL input/output connector is a 15 way high density D-type

9

socket which should be connected to the digital input of the soundcard in the
connected PC (usually a Digigram PCX924 card).

Sonifex SE-DAW User Handbook 3

1. Operations & Controls

Internal Jumper Settings & Controls

Set the Right Headphone Output Anti-Phase

Fitting JP3 allows the right leg of the stereo output to be set as anti-phase. This is
set by default.

4 Sonifex SE-DAW User Handbook

ONNECTION

C

ETAILS

D

ECHNICAL

T

2. Connection Details & Technical Specification

&

2

PECIFICATION

S

Connection Details

Input

The INPUT consists of 2 (stereo) balanced XLR sockets which could take an output
from a professional DAT machine, flash-card recorder, or professional cassette
machine:

Pin 1: Screen
Pin 2: Phase
Pin 3: Non-phase

Output

The STEREO OUTPUT on the rear of the unit consists of 2 balanced XLR plugs which
can be wired unbalanced by grounding the non-phase signal, allowing you to feed
balanced and unbalanced equipment. They have the following connections :

Pin 1: Screen
Pin 2: Phase
Pin 3: Non-phase

The connector provides a line level output with an impedance and a maximum output
level as per the connected audio card.

Headphones Sockets

The 2 HEADPHONES sockets are ¼” stereo push-pull jack sockets and have a
paralleled (i.e. the same) output. The outputs are suitable for headphones with
impedances from 80Ω to 1.5kΩ.

Ring: Right Hot
Tip: Left Hot
Sleeve: Cold

Sonifex SE-DAW User Handbook 5

2. Connection Details & Technical Specification

S/PDIF Digital Input

The digital source stereo RCA phono inputs both have an impedance of 75Ω. The
digital audio is routed directly to the digital input of the PC card and is not affected
by the DAW.

S/PDIF Digital Output

The digital source stereo RCA phono outputs both have an impedance of 75Ω. The
digital audio is routed directly from the digital output of the PC card and is not
affected by the DAW.

PC Analogue

The PC Analogue connector is a 15 way D-type socket which should be connected to
the analogue input of the soundcard in the connected PC (usually a Digigram PCX924
card). The connection details make a pin to pin connection with the sound-card:

Pin 1: Right Input Phase from PC Right Output Phase
Pin 2: GRND
Pin 3: Left Input Non-phase from PC Left Output Non-phase
Pin 4: GRND
Pin 5: GRND
Pin 6: Right Output Non-phase to PC Right Input Non-phase
Pin 7: Left Output Phase to PC Left Input Phase
Pin 8: GRND
Pin 9: Right Input Non-phase from PC Right Output Non-phase
Pin 10: Left Input Phase from PC Left Output Phase
Pin 11: GRND
Pin 12: GRND
Pin 13: Right Output Phase to PC Right Input Phase
Pin 14: GRND
Pin 15: Left Output Non-phase to PC Left Input Non-Phase

PC Digital

The PC Digital connector is a 15 way high density D-type socket which should be
connected to the digital input of the soundcard in the connected PC (usually a
Digigram PCX924 card). The connection details make a pin to pin connection with the
sound-card:

Pin 1: N/C
Pin 2: N/C
Pin 3: N/C
Pin 4: From DAW S/PDIF IN- to PC S/PDIF IN1­Pin 5: From DAW S/PDIF IN+ to PC S/PDIF IN1+
Pin 6: N/C
Pin 7: N/C
Pin 8: N/C
Pin 9: GRND
Pin 10: N/C
Pin 11: N/C
Pin 12: N/C

6 Sonifex SE-DAW User Handbook

2. Connection Details & Technical Specification

Pin 13: N/C
Pin 14: From PC S/PDIF OUT+ to DAW S/PDIF OUT+
Pin 15: From PC S/PDIF OUT- to DAW S/PDIF OUT-

Sonifex SE-DAW User Handbook 7

2. Connection Details & Technical Specification

Technical Specification

Audio Specifications

Line Input Impedance As per the connected audio card
Output Impedance As per the connected audio card
Max Input Level As per the connected audio card
Max Output Level As per the connected audio card
H/phone Output Level Drives 80Ω to 1.5kΩ headphones
Frequency Response 20Hz to 20kHz ±0.1dB (600Ω load, ref 1kHz)
H/phone Volume Control -60dB to +6dB gain
Line Common Mode Rej >60dB typically
Noise -97dB unity gain ref +8dB
Distortion THD @ 1kHz +8dB 0.01%

Connections

Analogue Input 2 x XLR 3 pin socket (Balanced)
Output 2 x XLR 3 pin plug (Balanced)
Headphone Outputs 2 x ¼” stereo jack sockets (Balanced)
S/PDIF Digital Input 1 x S/PDIF RCA phono socket
S/PDIF Digital Output 1 x S/PDIF RCA phono socket
PC Analogue 1 x 15 way D-type socket
PC Digital 1 x 15 way high density D-type socket
Mains Input Filtered IEC, 220-240V AC, 47-53Hz, fused 100mA, max 9W

Equipment Type

SE-DAW Studio Edit Digital Audio Workstation, 230V (UK 3 pin to IEC)

Physical Specifications

Dimensions (Raw) 28cm (W) x 10.8cm (D) x 4.2cm (H)
Dimensions (Boxed) 36cm (W) x 20.5cm (D) x 6cm (H)
Weight 1.35kg (Gross) 0.9kg (Net)

interstage

Phistersvej 31, 2900 Hellerup, Danmark

Telefon [phone], fax [phone]

www.interstage.dk

- pro audio with a smile

8 Sonifex SE-DAW User Handbook