TacT Audio M-S - 2150 X User Manual

Owner ’s Manual

M/S - 2150 X

True Digital Amplifier

Blank Page

M/S-2150 XWARNING

WARNING

TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO
NOT EXPOSE THIS APPLIANCE TO RAIN OR MOISTURE.

CAUTION

RISK OF ELECTRIC

SHOCK DO NOT OPEN

CAUTION: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRICAL SHOCK,
DO NOT REMOVE COVER. NO USER-SERVICEABLE PARTS
INSIDE. REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED PERSONNEL.

The exclamation point within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert
the user to the presence of important operating and maintenance (ser­vicing) instructions in the literature accompanying the product.

The lightning with arrowhead symbol within an equilateral triangle is
intended to alert the user to the presence of “Dangerous Voltage”
within the product’s enclosure that maybe of sufficient magnitude to
constitute a risk of electrical shock to a person.

3T act Audio

M/S-2150 XSafety

Important Safety

Instructions

1. Read these instructions entirely before installing or operating this equipment.

2. Keep these instructions.

3. Heed all warnings.

4. Do not use this equipment near water or allow it to become wet.

5. Do not block any ventilation openings. Install in accordance with the

manufacturer’s instructions.

6. Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators, heat registers, stoves, or
other appliances (including amplifiers) that produce heat,; doing so may
damage the unit and present a fire hazard.

7. Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarized or grounding-type plug. A
polarized plug has two blades with one wider than the other. If the provided plug
does not fit into your outlet, consult an electrician for replacement of the outlet to
one that is polarized. To protect against electrical shock, match the wide blade
of the polarized plug to the wide slot in the outlet and fully insert the plug.

8. Protect the power cord from being walked on or pinched, particularly at plugs,
convenience receptacles, and the point where they exit the equipment. Do not
use this unit with a damaged cord or plug.

9. Only use attachments/accessories specified by the manufacturer .

10. Unplug this equipment during lightning storms or when unused for long periods of

time.

11. Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel.

CAUTIONCAUTION

Cleaning and

Maintenance

“Note” symbol

1. Always unplug the unit from the electrical outlet before cleaning.

2. Do not use abrasive cleaners. Simply wipe the exterior with a clean soft cloth. A

small amount of nonabrasive cleaner may be used on the cloth to remove
excessive dirt or fingerprints.

The >note< symbol indicates information very useful or essential to daily
operation.

4 T act Audio

M/S-2150 XAcknowledgments

Acknowledgments

© 2003 T act Audio Corporation. All rights reserved.
No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any

means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or other wise, without the prior
written consent of T act Audio Corporation.

TACT® is a registered trade mark of T act Audio Corporation.

DYNAMIC ROOM CORRECTION® is a registered trade mark of T act Audio Corpo-

ration.

The information contained in this document is subject to change without
notice.

IMPORTANT!

Registration

Please record your serial number here for future reference. Y ou will need this for
future upgrades or should you ever require service on your M/S 2150.

M/S - 2150 X serial number: _____________________

Optional modules installed:

ADC analog input ______________

5T act Audio

Table of contents

Safety instructions 4

Acknowledgments/Registration 5

Unpacking the M/S-2150 X 7

M/S-2150 X

Introduction 8

Dynamic Room Cirrection 9

M/S-2150 X Connections 12

Front Panel Controls 1 8

Remote Control 1 9

Front Panel Display 2 1

Main screen 21
MAIN menu 22
Saving Menu Settings 22
DELA Y menu 23
LEVEL menu 23
POL menu 24
InOut menu 24
RCS menu 25
MSR menu 25
CRO menu 2 6
P AREQ menu 27
MODE menu 29
OPT menu 29
DISPL menu 30
REM menu 30
COMM menu 31
ADDR menu 3 1
ADC menu 32
LOCK menu 32
GAIN menu 33
TRIG menu 33

CAUTIONCAUTION

6 T act Audio

TacT M/S-2150 X Software 34

Connect your M/S2150 XP
to your Computer 35

Specification 36

T acT M/S-2150 X Crossover Package 3 7

M/S-2150 XUnpacking

Unpacking the M/S-2150 X

Carefully remove the M/S-2150X and accessory kit from the carton and check for
shipping damage. Contact both the shipper and TacT Audio immediately if the unit
shows any sign of damage from rough handling. All TacT Audio equipment is carefully
inspected before leaving our factory .

KEEP SHIPPING CARTON AND PACKING MATERIALS for future use or in the
unlikely event that the unit needs servicing. If this unit is shipped without the original
packing, damage could occur and void the warranty .

Accessories

Operating voltage

Y ou should find the following items in the accessory kit:

- one AC mains cord

- RJ1 1 data cable

- RJ11-to-RS232 adapter

- 15’ RS232 cable

- CD-rom with software

- remote control

- 2 AAA batteries

- one manual

The M/S-2150 X amplifier is configured for either 1 10 or 220/240 volt operation. The
operating voltage is clearly marked on the outside of the box and also on the rear
panel beneath the AC mains connector.

BEFORE CONNECTING THE POWER, MAKE SURE THA T THE LABEL INDICA T­ING THE VOL T AGE MA TCHES THE VOL TAGE FOR YOUR COUNTR Y

The M/S-2150 X has three operating modes:

- OFF AC mains power is cut off, either via the front
panel mains switch, or by unplugging the amplifier from
the wall outlet.

- ST ANDBY The unit is powered but all outputs are muted and the
display is off. The amplifier uses very little current and
is “idling” or “sleeping”. Use the remote “ST ANDBY”
button to toggle between ON and ST ANDBY.

- ON Everything is powered and ready to use.

7T act Audio

M/S-2150 XIntroduction

Introduction

Congratulations on your purchase of your M/S 2150X. You have now acquired the
most advanced stereo amplifier ever developed!

How does it work?

The digital input is taken to the central processor where it is reformatted into a
pulse width modulated signal of extreme precision. The pulse rate is measured at
precisely 384,000 pulses per second. Each pulse can have 256 different widths,
with the narrowest pulse being a mere 10 nanoseconds wide. The clock frequency
therefore is 98 MHz. The central processor uses proprietary patented algorithms
(Equibit) to arrive at exactly the right combination of pulse widths produce a highly
accurate waveform. This is the most fundamental departure from conventional am­plifiers. TacT defines the waveform mathematically - we are not trying to follow or
emulate a waveform by using feedback or feed-forward.

Once the decision of the duration of the pulse is made the central processor con­trols FET-switches at the output with extreme precision. Voltage and current are
drawn from the power supply and fed to the speakers.

The level of playback is controlled by adjusting the voltage of the power supply . As
this voltage is switched directly to the speakers, it is of paramount importance that
the power supply be totally free of ripple and noise. For TacT digital amplifiers, a
switch mode power supply of extreme precision with ripple rejection of more than
135 dB has been developed. At full volume (voltage) the TacT M/S 2150 X delivers
58 volts, equivalent to 150 Watts into 8 ohms. To reduce the volume the voltage of
the power supply is reduced. This means that the volume control is no longer part
of an active circuit.

CAUTIONCAUTION

Why hasn’t anybody

thought of it before?

8 T act Audio

Features:

Why has this not been done before? - Well, try to switch 58 volts DC 384,000
times per second without creating even a whisper of noise at a distance of 1" from
the tweeter! Only in the past few years has it been possible to create a fully digital
“amplifier”.

- Ultra high precision DA conversion

- Upsampling to 384,000 Hz before conversion

- Full resolution at -30 dB

- Software upgradeable DSP section

- All floatinf point processing

- 192kHz/24bit AD converter

- Digital pre-amplification with 24-bit resolution at a playback level of -39 dB!

- Output of 2x300W into 4 Ohm load, with extreme load tolerance

- NO feedback or feedforward locally or globally is utilized in the signal path

M/S-2150 XDRC

Dynamic Room Correction

M/S-2150 X is designed to support full range and subwoofer Dynamic
Room Correction (DRC). All software necessary to perform this t ask is built into
each M/S-2150 X. However M/S-2150 X does not have built in microphone preamp
and it does require an external digital microphone preamp such as BOZ RCS-16M.
With RCS-16M up to 16 channels of DRC can be performed. Each M/S-2150 X
channel can be configured as main (full range) or subwoofer channel. After
measurements are completed RCS-16M is no longer needed and it could be
permanently disconnected from the system.

Dynamic Room Correction (DRC) ® is new technology developed by Tact
Audio Inc. over past two years. This groundbreaking brings the science and art of
Room Correction, and specifically Tact room correction products, to yet another
level.

When we introduced our first RCS system (the Tact-2.2 in the late 90’s)
we were fully aware that we were embarking on a long term research process in
the new exciting field of room acoustics correction. As a result of this research
effort we brought to the market products such as Tact-2.0 S two channel RCS
preamp, the Tact-2.2 X two channel preamp with RCS on two main and two
subwoofer channels, and the TCS MKII ten channel theater correction system. All
these systems offer RCS technology not found in any other product on the
market. Our continued research combined with enormously valuable feedback
from our customers has resulted in this new technology that we named Dynamic

Room Correction (DRC)®.

Why do we call it Dynamic Room Correction (DRC)?

The reason we call it DRC is that the target curve used to compute correction

filters dynamically changes with the master level control. In another words, for
every 0.1 dB of level change the system uses a new target curve to compute room
correction filters. What makes this dynamic is that all computations and
adjustments are done on the fly without any interruption to the music you listen to.

Why do we need Dynamic Room Correction (DRC)?

It is well known fact that humans do not here all frequencies at the same level. It
is also known that our ears are more sensitive to frequencies between 2000 and
5000 Hz than to frequencies bellow 2000 Hz and above 5000 Hz. In addition to this
our hearing sensitivity changes with sound pressure level (SPL). This human
hearing property was first discovered and experimentally confirmed by Fletcher
and Munson at Bell Laboratories in 1933 and later refined by Robinson and
Dadson in 1956. Their work resulted in a family of equal loudness curves
(contours), widely known as Fletcher-Munson equal loudness curves. A sample of
Fletcher-Munson loudness curves is shown in the figure bellow.

On the graph bellow there are 12 curves numbered from 0 to 1 10. These numbers
represent the loudness level in phons. A Phon is a unit used to describe the
loudness level of a given sound. The reason for introducing the loudness unit is
that two sounds with the same SPL (dB) do not necessarily have the same
perceived loudness. Phon is equal to SPL in decibels at 1000 Hz. For example,
80 phons means as loud as 80 dB, 1000 Hz tone.

9T act Audio

M/S-2150 XDRC

Equal loudness curves represent the SPL that different frequencies need to have in
order to be perceived as two tones of equal loudness. For example, a 200 Hz tone
at SPL of 50 dB will have the same perceived loudness as a 1000 Hz tone at SPL
of 40 dB. In this case both 200 Hz and 1000 Hz tones have a loudness of 40
phons, and they both belong to the 40 phons equal loudness curve.

CAUTIONCAUTION

Fletcher-Munson equal loudness curves

As it can be seen from the graph, in comparison to frequencies between 2000 and
5000 Hz, it is intrinsically harder for us to hear very low frequencies (below a few
hundred Hz) and to a lesser extent very high frequencies (above 7000 Hz). At
higher listening levels this difference gradually becomes smaller and smaller and
curves become flatter.

Traditional Tact room correction systems use one target curve that allows for full
range 20-20,000 Hz room corrections. Once selected, the same target curve
(same set of correction filters) was used at all listening levels. This approach did
not take in account the fact that our sound perception, as described by Fletcher­Munson curves, is frequency and level dependent. Many of our customers have
realized this fact and they have used the nine correction presets (available on all
our RCS products) to program 2.0 S, 2.2 X and TCS MKII with nine different target
curves each corresponding to a different listening level. In this way they were able
to take into account the equal loudness curve effect by switching to new target
curves as the master level changes.

Thus for a number of reasons it is clear that we need a room correction system
that will perform room acoustics correction and at the same time dynamically
change the target curve (correction filters) as the system listening level changes.

10 T act Audio

How does it work?

Dynamic Room Correction (DRC) offers a very sophisticated way of handling a
multi target curve approach to solving equal loudness curve problem. The system
is based on one reference target curve and eight additional target curves called
dynamic target curves. The reference target curve is used to perform basic
reference room correction. Dynamic target curves are labeled 0, -6, -12, -18, -24, ­30, -36 and –42 dB and are combined with the reference target curve to obtain the
final target curve used to calculate correction filters.

For example, if the master level reads –10.3 dB (89.6 on the relative readout) the
system will use the –6 dB and the –12 dB dynamic target curves and by
interpolation will calculate a target curve corresponding to –10.3 dB. After that the
system will combine the 10.3 dB target curve with the reference curve to obtain
the final target curve that is then used to calculate the correction filters. New
correction filters are loaded into the signal path as the music is playing and the
new correction takes effect in a split of a second. The same process repeats

again for any new master level setting.

What is the purpose of the computer interface?

With a DRC system, a computer is used only as a graphical user interface (GUI)
and serves no other purpose. All calculations are performed inside the DRC
processor. Target curves, measurements and other correction parameters are filed
inside DRC flash memory . This approach will allow us to of fer other GUI devices
besides window based personal computers.

After target curve modification is made how long does it take
for the new correction to be engaged?

Another main advantage of DRC technology is the elimination of the correction
filters calculation and programming step. If you are current Tact user you are
aware that, after the room measurement waod i .6 n nt waod 0.0006m basic

11T act Audio

M/S-2150 X Connections

M/S-2150 XConnections

Digital input

The M/S-2150 X amplifier has 5 digital inputs:

- three RCA (S/PDIF) ( D1, D2, D3)

- one AES/EBU (XLR) (D4)

- one T osLink (S/PDIF) (D5)

All of the digital inputs support PCM audio data with sampling rates from 32kHz to
96kHz /16-24 bits, however , the AES/EBU and RCA/coaxial inputs support up to

192kHz.

Digital Input Section

CAUTIONCAUTION

Analog input

(optional ADC module)

The M/S-2150 X amplifier has 3 stereo analog inputs whith the optional ADC module
installed:

- two analog stereo single ended (RCA) (A1, A2)

- one analog stereo balanced (XLR) (A3)

NOTE: A/D conversion is always performed at 24-bits/96kHz.

Analog Input Section

NOTE: The optional ADC module is required for analog inputs.

12 T act Audio

Connections

M/S-2150 X

Digital output

RS-232 interface

ports

The M/S 2150 X amplifier has a digital pass through. The digital input signal is passed
to the digital output without processing or volume control. The sampling rate is the
native sampling frequency of the input.

NOTE: that this output is not active when analog input is selected.

Digital Output

The M/S 2150 X has two RS232 interface ports:

- INPUT

- AUX

Use the INPUT port for communication with your Tact master controller or Personal
Computer.

Use the AUX port to connect to other TacT products. This port should always be
connected to INPUT port of another device.

RS-232 Interface Ports

13T act Audio

Connections M/S-2150 X

Trigger output s

AC mains input

The M/S-2150 X has a trigger “IN” and “OUT” to provide on and standby control
from a trigger device and to pass the trigger signal to another device.

Trigger Connectors

CAUTIONCAUTION

Connect the M/S-2150 X to the AC mains wall socket.

CAUTION: Use the supplied IEC mains cable, or a 3-prong grounded cable only.

Speaker output

(normal operation)

AC Main Input

The M/S-2150 X amplifier has one pair of high quality speaker terminals. These termi­nals will accept both spade- and banana-plugs. When connecting your speakers,
please make sure that the RED/HOT terminal is connected to your speakers’ POSI­TIVE terminal and the BLACK/COLD terminal is connected to your speakers’ NEGA­TIVE terminal.

RIGHT

SPEAKER

+ -

LEFT

SPEAKER

+ -

14 T act Audio

Connections M/S-2150 X

Speaker output

(Biamped operation)

Horizontal Biamping

If you are using two or more M/S-2150 X amplifiers, and your speakers allow for multi­amping, you can configure the system to run in biamped, tri-amped or multi-amp
mode. This type of setup allows for one amplifier channel to drive a specific driver or
frequency region. The most commonly used setup is biamped (two channels to each
speaker: high and low frequency range). The following are two examples of making a
biamped connection:

LEFT

SPEAKER

HIGH

LOW

RIGHT

SPEAKER

HIGH

LOW

RIGHT

SPEAKER

HIGH

+ -

LOW

+ -

LEFT

SPEAKER

HIGH

+ -

LOW

+ -

15T act Audio

Connections M/S-2150 X

Vertical Biamping

LEFT

SPEAKER

HIGH

LOW

RIGHT

SPEAKER

CAUTIONCAUTION

HIGH

LOW

16 T act Audio

RIGHT

SPEAKER

HIGH

+ -

LOW

+ -

LEFT

SPEAKER

HIGH

+ -

LOW

+ -

6

6

6

6

6

6

6

6

6

6

6

6

6

6

6

6

6

Connections

M/S-2150 X

Biamping - continued

When two or more M/S-2150 X amplifiers are configured in a bi-/tri-amped setup, both
the signal and the RS232 TacT System Bus must be daisy chained between the
amplifiers.

The same signal flow is applicable for both horizontal and vertical bi-amping.

From source

Digital signal (coax/SPDIF)
usually CD player output.

AMP-1

Digital signal
(coax/SPDIF)

AMP-2

From RCS2.0S, RCS2.2X or
TCS mkII *Optional

RS232

RS232

M/S-2150 X

Configurations

Digital signal
(coax/SPDIF)

23456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345

23456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345

23456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345

23456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345

23456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345

23456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345

23456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345

23456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345

23456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345

23456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345

23456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345

23456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345

23456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345

23456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345

23456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345

23456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345

23456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345

AMP-3 - ONL Y PRESENT IN TRI-AMPED SETUP

RS232

With its advanced DSP control, the M/S-2150 X can enable digital crossovers
package (high-pass, low-pass and band-pass) making it possible to configure M/
S-2150 X amplifiers to virtually fit any loudspeaker system.

Examples of how a T acT active system can be configured:

1) Active two-way. The M-2150 X operates as master amp (control unit) and the

S-2150 X operates as normal/slave amp. M-2150 X has a DSP-based high-pass
filter and drives the high-section of the 2-way loudspeaker system. S-2150 X has
a low-pass filter and drives the bass-section of both loudspeakers.

2) Active three-way. Amp 3, M-2150 X (master unit) is set to implement a high­pass filter and drives the tweeter section. Amp 2 (normal/slave), S-2150 X is set
to implement a band-pass filter and drives the midrange section. Amp 1 (normal/
slave), S-2150 X is set to implement a low-pass filter and drives the bass sec­tion.

17T act Audio

M/S-2150 XFront Panel

Front Panel Controls

The front panel controls on the 2150 X amplifier will allow you to control all of the
amplifiers main features. All secondary options are controlled with menus using the
remote control or the supplied software. The exclusive “TacT wheel” is the master
volume control. (The wheel is only available on the M-2150 X)

ON/OFF

Master volume

Mute

Analog Input Selector

ON/OFF Switch

Use the “ON/OFF” switch to toggle between ON and OFF operation.
(Standby mode can be selected only through the remote control)

The master volume is controlled by turning the large volume wheel. The green num­bers on the left side of the wheel will change as you turn the wheel - this is your
master volume level indicator. Master level is displayed on the Volume Level display
and on the Main Display. Volume Level display shows master level in relative
numbers with 99.9 corresponding to the maximum level and 0.0 corresponding to the
minimum level. Main Display shows master level in dB’s with 0 dB corresponding to
the maximum level and -99.9 dB corresponding to the minimum level. The wheel
sensitivity , maximum volume and other settings can be found in the “OPT” menu.
S-2150 X master volume can be controlled only by the supplied remote control. M/S­2150 X master volume can be controlled via RS232 connection.

Use the “MUTE” button to mute or un-mute during playback. The master level indica­tor will switch to “--” in Mute mode. You can still adjust the master volume while the
unit is in Mute mode - the master level indicator on the Main Display will show
current master level in dB’s.

Input Display

CAUTIONCAUTION

Main Display

Volume Level

MuteMaster VolumeDigital Input Selector

18 T act Audio

Digital

input selector

Analog

input selector

Press the “DIGITAL” button to select the digital input. This is a toggle switch, and
pressing it multiple times will toggle through all of the five digital inputs. The selected
input will be displayed in the input display portion of the display screen.

Press the “ANALOG” button to select the ANALOG input. This is a toggle switch, and
pressing it multiple times will toggle through all of the three analog inputs. The
selected input will be displayed in the input display portion of the display screen.

NOTE: The optional ADC module is required for analog inputs.