Focusrite VRM Box User manual

VRM Box
User Guide
FA0450-1

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ENGLISH
Important Safety Instructions
1. Read these instructions
2. Keep these instructions
3. Heed all warnings
4. Follow all instructions
5. Clean VRM Box only with dry cloth
6. DonotinstallVRMBoxnearanyheatsourcessuchasradiators,heatregisters,stoves,orotherapparatus(includingampliers)thatproduceheat
7. Onlyuseattachments/accessoriesspeciedbyFocusrite
8. Useonlywiththecart,stand,tripod,bracket,ortablespeciedbytheFocusrite,orsoldwiththeVRMBox.Whenacartisused,usecaution
 whenmovingthecart/VRMBoxcombinationtoavoidinjuryfromtip-over
9. Unplug the VRM Box during lightning stormsorwhenunusedforlongperiodsoftime
10. Referallservicingtoqualiedservicepersonnel.ServicingisrequiredwhentheVRMBoxhasbeendamagedinanyway,such as the
 headphone,USBorS/PDIFsocketsaredamaged,liquidhasbeenspilledorobjectshavefallenintotheVRMBox,theVRMBoxhasbeen
 exposedtorainormoisture,doesnotoperatenormally,orhasbeendropped
Nonakedames,suchaslightedcandles,shouldbeplacedontheapparatus
WARNING:Excessivesoundpressurelevelsfromearphonesandheadphonescancausehearingloss
WARNING:ThisequipmentmustonlybeconnectedtoUSB1.0,1.1or2.0typeportstoprotectagainsthazardintheeventofaproductfault
Environmental Declaration
Compliance Information Statement: Declaration of Compliance procedure
 ProductIdentication: FocusriteVRMBox
 Responsibleparty: AmericanMusicandSound
 Address:  5304DerryAvenue#C
Agoura Hills,
CA 91301
    Telephone:800-994-4984
This devicecomplieswithpart15oftheFCCRules.Operationissubjecttothefollowingtwoconditions:(1)Thisdevicemaynotcause
harmfulinterference,and(2)thisdevicemustacceptanyinterferencereceived,includinginterferencethatmaycauseundesiredoperation.
For USA - to the user:
1.Donotmodifythisunit!Thisproduct,wheninstalledasindicatedintheinstructionscontainedinthismanual,meetsFCCrequirements.
ModicationsnotexpresslyapprovedbyFocusritemayvoidyourauthority,grantedbytheFCC,tousethisproduct.
2.Important:ThisproductsatisesFCCregulationswhenhighqualityshieldedcablesareusedtoconnectwithotherequipment.Failuretousehigh
qualityshieldedcablesortofollowtheinstallationinstructionswithinthismanualmaycausemagneticinterferencewithappliancessuchasradios
andtelevisionsandvoidyourFCCauthorizationtousethisproductintheUSA.
3.Note:ThisequipmenthasbeentestedandfoundtocomplywiththelimitsforaClassBdigitaldevice,pursuanttopart15oftheFCCRules.
Theselimitsaredesignedtoprovidereasonableprotectionagainstharmfulinterferenceinaresidentialinstallation.Thisequipmentgenerates,uses
andcanradiateradiofrequencyenergyand,ifnotinstalledandusedinaccordancewiththeinstructions,maycauseharmfulinterferencetoradio
communications.However,thereisnoguaranteethatinterferencewillnotoccurinaparticularinstallation.Ifthisequipmentdoescauseharmful
interferencetoradioortelevisionreception,whichcanbedeterminedbyturningtheequipmentoffandon,theuserisencouragedtotrytocorrectthe
interferencebyoneormoreofthefollowingmeasures:
Reorient• or relocate the receiving antenna
Increasetheseparationbetweentheequipmentandreceiver•
Connecttheequipmentintoanoutletonacircuitdifferentfromthattowhichthereceiveris•
connected
Consultthedealeroranexperiencedradio/TVtechnicianforhelp•
For Canada - to the user:
ThisClassBdigitalapparatuscomplieswithCanadianICES-003
CetappareilnumériquedelaclasseBestconformeàlanormeNMB-003duCanada
RoHS Notice
Focusrite Audio Engineering Limited has
conformed,andthisproductconformswhere
applicable,totheEuropeanUnion’sDirective
2002/95/EConRestrictionsofHazardous
Substances(RoHS)aswellasthefollowing
sectionsofCalifornialawwhichrefertoRoHS,
namely sections 25214.10, 25214.10.2, and
58012,HealthandSafetyCode;Section42475.2,
PublicResourcesCode.

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Introduction
VRMBoxcontainsauniquetechnologythatallowsyoutomonitoraudioonapairofheadphones,asifyouwereinarealenvironmentlisteningtoreal
speakers.Therearethreeenvironmentsand15pairsofspeakerstochoosefrom,creatingatotalof24listeningscenarios.
VRMBoxhasatactilevolumecontrolwithaclassleadingheadphoneamplierandexternalS/PDIFinput,completewithbuilt-insample-rate
conversion,inapocket-sizedpackagethattsneatlyonyourdesk.
What’s in the box
1 VRM Box
1InstallerCD(includesinstallationlesforMacintoshandWindowsPC,andthisUserGuide)
1USBcable
1 Register Me Online card
1GettingStartedGuide
VRM Box hardware overview
1. Volumeknob
2. VRM “Active” LED
3. Headphonesocket
4. KensingtonLockport
5. USBsocket
6. S/PDIFinputsocket
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5 6
Contents
Important Safety Instructions ............................................................ 2
Environmental Declaration ................................................................ 2
Contents................................................................................................ 3
Introduction .......................................................................................... 3
What’s in the box.................................................................................. 3
VRM Box hardware overview .............................................................. 3
Operating system compatibility ......................................................... 4
Installing the software ......................................................................... 4
VRM Box hardware setup.................................................................... 4
VRM Box as the main audio interface ............................................... 4
VRM Box in conjunction with another audio interface .................... 5
VRM Box control panel software........................................................ 5
What is Virtual Reference Monitoring?.............................................. 6
The problem.......................................................................................... 6
The solution .......................................................................................... 6
The method........................................................................................... 6
VRM technical data .............................................................................. 6
Performance specications................................................................ 8
Latency and CPU information............................................................. 8
Copyright .............................................................................................. 8

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Operating system compatibility
Windows Macintosh
WindowsXP(SP3),Vista,7   OSX10.5Leopard(Intelonly,PPCnotsupported),OSX10.6SnowLeopard.
Formoreinformationoncompatibilityvisitwww.focusrite.com/vrm_box
Installing the software
TheVRMBoxisaclasscompliantdevice,meaningthatthereisnoneedtoinstalldriversforthedevicetoworkasanaudiooutput.However,you
mustruntheinstallertobeabletousetheVRMsoftware.
InserttheCDintothecomputerandclickontheinstallericon.FollowtheinstructionsonscreentoinstalltheVRMControlPanelsoftwareand
drivers.
Note for Windows users:Ifthismessageorsimilarappearsduringtheinstallationprocess,
press‘ContinueAnyway’tosuccessfullyinstallthedrivers.
VRM Box hardware setup
TheVRMBoxcanbeusedasthemainaudiointerface,orinconjunctionwithyourexistingaudiointerface,providingthisinterface
hasaRCAS/PDIFoutput.
VRM Box as the main audio interface
1. UsingtheUSBcableprovided,connecttheVRMBoxtotheUSBportofyourcomputer
2. SetuptheVRMBoxasyouraudioplaybackdevice
TousetheVRMBoxastheplaybackdeviceofyourDAWsoftwareyouwillneedtoselecttheVRM
ASIOdriver(Windows)orVRMCoreAudiodriver(Mac)intheaudiosettingsofyourDAWsoftware.
Formoreinformationpleaserefertopage8.
3. Withthevolumecontrolturneddown,connectyourheadphonestoVRMBox
4. LoadtheVRMsoftware.ThiscanbefoundinyourApplicationsfolder(Mac)orfromtheStartmenu>AllPrograms>Focusrite(Windows)
5. StartplayingaudiofromyourDAWsoftwareoranymediaplayer
6. Turn up the volume control on the VRM Box until you have a healthy level in your headphones
USB
USB / FireWire
USB
S/PDIF
OUT IN
Windows Mac

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VRM Box in conjunction with another audio interface
1. UsingtheUSBcableprovided,connecttheVRMBoxtothe
 USBportofyourcomputer
2. ConnecttheS/PDIFoutputonyouraudiointerfaceintothe
 VRMBoxS/PDIFinput
3. Inyouraudiointerface’scontrolpanel,ensurethataudiois
 senttotheS/PDIFoutputofyouraudiointerface
4. Withthevolumecontrolturneddown,connectyour
headphones to VRM Box
5. OpentheVRMsoftware,checktheiconinthebottomright
 corneroftheVRMsoftwarethattheVRMBoxhas
 lockedtotheS/PDIFsignal
 S/PDIFisunlocked
 S/PDIFislocked(VRMBoxissynchronisedto
 theincomingS/PDIFsignal)
6. StartplayingaudiofromyourDAWsoftwareoranymedia
player
7. Turn up the volume control on the VRM Box until you have
 therequiredlevelinyourheadphones
VRM Box control panel software
1. Currently selected monitor speaker
2. Monitor speaker selection drop down list:Clicktoselectthemonitorspeakers
3. S/PDIF input status:(seeaboveformoredetails)
4. VRM on / off:ClickthelogototurnVRMon/off.Whenon,thedotinVRMlogoandtheLEDonthehardwarewilllightgreen
5. Environment selection:Clicktochangethelisteningenvironment
6. Information button:Whenpressed,textinformationaboutthelisteningenvironment,monitorspeakers,andlisteningpositionisdisplayed
7. Input level buttons: Whenplayinglouderaudiomaterial(e.g.amasteredmp3),theadditionalprocessingfromVRMBoxmaycausetheoutputto
clip.Pressthe-6dBbuttontopreventthishappening.Conversely,whenplayingquieteraudiomaterial(e.g.anon-masteredrecordingsession),press
the0dBbuttontoachievemorelevelinyourheadphones
8. Environment display:Thisgivesagraphicalrepresentationofthelisteningenvironment,monitorspeakerplacementandlisteningposition
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USB
USB / FireWire
USB
S/PDIF
OUT IN

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What is Virtual Reference Monitoring?
DevelopedbyFocusrite,VRM(VirtualReferenceMonitoring)isaloudspeaker&roomsimulatordesignedforheadphonelistening.
The problem
Accuratemixinghasuntilnowrequiredexpensivemonitorsandacarefullydesignedandtreatedcontrolroom.Currently,bothprofessionalmusic
producersfacingbudgetarylimitations,plusprojectmusicmakerswithoutaccesstosuchfacilities,frequentlyencountermixingand“auditioning”
difculties.
The solution
VRMallowsyoutochoosefromtenpairsofindustrystandardneareldandmainmonitorsinanacousticallytreatedspace.
EngineersroutinelyassesstheirmixesbyburningCDsandtakingthemintountreatedroomstoreferenceonconsumerstereos.VRMeliminatesthis
processbysimulatingtwoextrarooms;alargelivingroomandasmallerbedroom.Youcanchoosebetweenarangeofspeakersincludingquality
hi-,computer,cheapstereoandtelevisionspeakers.Aswiththecontrolroomsimulation,youcanobservetheeffectsoftypicalroommodesonyour
mixes.
The method
VRMusesstandardheadphonestoreproducethedirectsound,togetherwithadigitalsignalprocessingsystemthatisusedtosimulatespecic
monitoringscenarios.TheroommodelsofVRMaremathematicalsimulationsofrealrooms,whichprovidegreaterexibilityinthepossible
combinationsofloudspeakersandlisteningpositions.Theloudspeakersimulationsarecreatedusingconvolutionsofimpulseresponsesmeasured
usingtheoriginalloudspeakers.Theaccuracyofthesesimulationsindifferentenvironmentsistakencareofbytheimpulseresponsesthemselves
and the way they are calculated and manipulated.
VRM technical data
Room Model AvailableSpeakerEmulations
ProfessionalStudio JapaneseWhiteClassic
KRKRP6G2
Auratone 5C
USPassiveNeareld
BritishStudio
Genelec 1031A
KRKVXT8
ADAMS2.5A
RogersLS3/5a
StirlingLS3/5a
Living Room British 90s Hi-Fi
British 80s Hi-Fi
Flat-screen Television
Genelec 1031A
StirlingLS3/5a
BedroomStudio KRKRP6G2
British 90s Hi-Fi
British 80s Hi-Fi
ComputerDesktop
BudgetMicroSystem
Flat-screen Television
Genelec 1031A
KRKVXT8
StirlingLS3/5a

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Listening environment data
Listening Environment Dimensions Volume ReverbTime
ProfessionalStudio 6.10 x 6.48 x 3.53 m 139.40 m³ 0.38 s
Living room 5.48 x 4.66 x 2.79 m 71.27 m³ 0.36 s
BedroomStudio 3.28 x 3.69 x 2.47 m 29.90 m³ 0.47 s
Loudspeaker emulation data
Description Based On Size(cm) Tweeter Woofer System
ADAMS2.5A ADAMS2.5A 45H,28W,30D Ribbon 8” Active2-waybassreex
USPassiveNeareld Alesis Monitor One 38H,22W,24D 1”silkdometweeter
w/ferrouidcooling
6.5”mineral-lled
polypropylene cone
Passive2-wayrearring
port
Auratone 5C Auratone 5C 17H,17W,14D (none) 4” Passivesingledriver
closedbox
British80’sHi-Fi B&WDM12 34H,22W,26D 1” polyester weave
dome
6”bass/midrange
driver
Passive2-wayclosedbox
ComputerDesktop CreativeS8S35 15H,8W,10D (none) 2.5” Active single driver rear
ringport
Genelec 1031A Genelec 1031A 49H,25W,29D 1” metal dome 8” poly composite
driver
Active2-wayventedbox
BudgetMicroSystem GoodmansMS188 28H,18W,19D 1” dome 3.5” Passive2-wayportedbox
British90’sHi-Fi KEF Q55.2 85H,21W,25D 1” 5” Passive2-wayrearported
boxwithpassiveradiator
KRKRP6G2 KRKRP6G2 33H,22W,27D 1”neodymiumsoft
domewithferrouid
6” glass aramid
composite
Active2wayfrontring
portedbox
KRKVXT8 KRKVXT8 44H,32W,30D 1”silkdomeferrite 8”wovenkevlar Active2wayfrontring
portedbox
Flat-ScreenTelevision PhocusLCD26TV 45H87W10D
(StereoTV)
(none) 2” x 4” oval-shaped
driver
Active single driver
BritishStudio QuestedS8R 42H,30W,35D 1”softdome 8” cone Active2-waybassreex
RogersLS3/5a RogersLS3/5a 30H,19W,16D 0.75” 5” KEF B110 Passive2wayclosedbox
StirlingLS3/5a StirlingLS3/5a 30H,19W,16D 0.75” 5” KEF B110 Passive2wayclosedbox
JapaneseWhite
Classic
YamahaNS-10MPro 38H,22W,18D 1.5” 7” cone Passive2wayclosed
bookshelf

8
ENGLISH
Performance specications
Headphone Outputs (Outputs 1-2)
• Outputimpedance:<10Ohms
• Poweroutputinto150R:15mV
• Poweroutputinto50R:30mW
• THD+N:-100dB(0.001%)(-1dBFSinput,20Hz/22kHz 
bandpasslter,150Rload)
• SignaltoNoiseRatio:>105dB
S/PDIF Digital Input
• AutomaticSampleRateconversion
• Supportedsamplerates:continuousfrom32kHzto192kHz
• THD+N:<-110dBanysamplerate
Crosstalk (Channel Isolation)
• Anyoutputtooutput:>100dB
Digital Performace
• D/ADynamicRange:120dB(A-weighted)
• MeasuredD/ADynamicRange:108dB(A-weighted)
• ClockSource:InternalClockonly
• Clockjitter<250picoseconds
• SupportedSampleRates:44.1kHz&48kHz.
• 2inputchannelstocomputer:S/PDIF(2).
• 2outputchannelsfromcomputer:Headphones(2).
Connectors and Controls
• StereoS/PDIFinputonRCA
• StereoHeadphoneOutputon¼”TRS
• HeadphoneOutputLevelcontrol(analogue)
• 4-pinUSB2.0compatiblesocket
Indicators
• 1GreenLEDIndicator:
  Flashing:Unitnotinstalledcorrectlyonhost
  Off:VRMeffectsturnedoff
  On:VRMeffectsturnedon
Power
• BuspowerfromUSBbus.
Weight and Dimensions
• Dimensions:68mmx25mmx68mm(WxHxD)
• Weight:123g
Latency and CPU information
TheVRMBoxprocessingtakesplaceatadriverlevelonyourcomputer.
Thisprocessincursa64samplelatency(about1ms).TheVRMprocessing
alsousesacertainamountofCPUresources.
The VRM Box driver will also add additional latency. This latency will
dependonhowyouusetheVRMBox:
WhenusingtheVRMBoxasyouraudiointerfaceinyourDAW,thelatency
youexperiencewillbedependantontheaudiobuffersizeyousetin
yourDAW,andinmostDAWstheactuallatencygureisdisplayedinthe
preferences.Iftheaudiobuffersizeissettolessthan64samples,thenthe
VRM processing does not have enough time to do the processing and no
audiowillpass.VRMCPUrequirementsaremuchhigherwhentheaudio
buffersizeissettoolow,soitisrecommendedthatabuffersizeof512
samples(Mac)or10ms(Windows)shouldgivethebeststartingpoint.
WhenusingtheS/PDIFinput(receivingaudiofromanotheraudiointerface),
thelatencygurewillbedependantontheaudiobuffersizeyousetinyour
DAWforthatinterface,PLUSadditionallatencyfromtheVRMBox.Inthis
case,therewillbelatencyincurredfromthetransferofS/PDIFaudiosent
fromtheVRMBoxviaUSBusingtheVRMaudiodriver,throughtheVRM
processing,thenbacktotheVRMBox.Thetotalroundtriplatencyislikely
tobeintheregionof20ms(dependingoncomputerspecs).
FormoredetailedinformationpleaserefertotheFocusriteanswerbase:
www.focusrite.com/answerbase
Copyright
FocusriteisaregisteredtrademarkofFocusriteAudioEngineeringLimited.
TheFocusritelogo,VRMVirtualReferenceMonitoringandtheVRMlogo
aretrademarksofFocusriteAudioEngineeringLimited.
Allotherproductnames,trademarks,ortradenamesarethemarksoftheir
respectiveowners,whichareinnowayassociated,connectednorafliated
with Focusrite or its VRM Box product. These other product names, trade
marks,andtradenamesareusedsolelytoidentifyanddescribethethird
partyloudspeakersystems,thesonicbehavioursofwhichwerestudiedfor
the VRM technology incorporated within the VRM Box, and to accurately
describeanelementoffunctionalitywithintheVRMBox.
The VRM Box is an independently engineered technology which utilises
Focusrite’sVRMVirtualReferenceMonitoring(Patentappliedfor)toac-
curatelymeasureexamplesofthesonicimpactoforiginalloudspeaker
systemsuponanaudiostream,soastoelectronicallyemulatetheperform-
anceoftheoriginalproductstudied.Theresultofthisprocessissubjective
andmaynotbeperceivedbyauserasproducingthesameeffectsasthe
loudspeakersystemsstudied.
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