Illusonic Immersive Audio Processor User manual

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Owner’s ManualImmersive Audio Processor

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Illusonic Immersive Audio Processor Owner’s Manual 1

2 Illusonic Immersive Audio Processor
Version 1.1.0
Published by Illusonic GmbH
Illusonic GmbH, registered offices:
Bahnstrasse 23, 8610 Uster, Switzerland
www.illusonic.com
Illusonic is a registered trademark of Illusonic GmbH
Copyright c �Illusonic GmbH, 2011–2012
All rights reserved
Printed in Switzerland

Illusonic Immersive Audio Processor 3
Important Information
FCC Notice
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:
– Adjust or relocate the receiving antenna.
– Increase the separation between the equipment and the receiver.
– Connect the equipment into a mains outlet on a circuit different from that
to which the receiver is connected.
– Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.
Disposal – Environmental Care
Directive 2002/96/EG of the European Parliament requires
consumer electro-technical appliances to be disposed sepa-
rately and have to be indicated with the symbol on the left.
Should you dispose this component, please do so in confor-
mity with local and global legal and environmental regulations
and according to best practices. We strongly encourage you to
recycle any batteries used with this component.

4 Illusonic Immersive Audio Processor
Safety Notice
Make sure to respect the following rules:
– Install the Processor on a stable base.
– Do not install the Processor near water.
– Do not expose the Processor to any kind of liquid.
– Do not install the Processor near any heat source
or in direct sun light.
– Do not install the Processor in a confined space and make
sure sufficient air can flow around it.
– Do not operate the Processor under high (>35◦C) or low (<5◦C)
ambient temperature. See operating conditions in Chapter 11.1.
– Do not operate the Processor under extremely high humidity.
See operating conditions in Chapter 11.1.
– Do not open the Processor nor try to service it by yourself.
Always refer to a qualified technician for service and maintenance.
Failure to do so will void the warranty.
– Make sure to use 3 terminals (phase, neutral, and earth) power cables
with ground conductor. Make sure your local AC voltage matches
the voltage printed next to the Processor’s AC power connector.

Illusonic Immersive Audio Processor 5
Contents
Important Information 3
FCC Notice .............................................. 3
Disposal – Environmental Care .............................. 3
Safety Notice ............................................. 4
1 Introduction 7
1.1 Welcome! ........................................... 7
1.2 How To Use This Manual .............................. 8
1.3 Immersive Audio ..................................... 9
Introduction ....................................... 9
Goals ............................................ 10
Loudspeaker Positions and Benefits ................... 11
2 Getting Started 13
Step 1: Unpacking ........................................ 13
Step 2: Installing the AC Power Cable ........................ 13
Step 3: Choosing a Loudspeaker Setup ....................... 14
Step 4: Connecting Audio/Video Devices ..................... 14
Step 5: Using the Immersive Audio Processor .................. 15
Advanced Setup .......................................... 16
3 Usage 17
3.1 Front Panel and Remote Control ........................ 17
3.2 Back Panel .......................................... 18
3.3 Common Usage ...................................... 21
3.4 Immersive Audio Settings .............................. 22
3.5 Menu Mode ......................................... 24
3.6 Cleaning ............................................ 26
3.7 Maintenance and Service .............................. 26
4 Menu: Speaker Setup 27
4.1 Choosing and Connecting a Loudspeaker Setup ........... 27
4.2 Configuring the Immersive Audio Processor ............... 39
5 Menu: Inputs 41

6 Illusonic Immersive Audio Processor
6 Menu: Outputs 45
7 Menu: Bass Management 47
7.1 Introduction ......................................... 47
7.2 Bass Management Use Cases .......................... 48
7.3 Bass Management Menu .............................. 50
8 Menu: Equalizer 53
8.1 Introduction ......................................... 53
8.2 Equalizer Menu ...................................... 53
8.3 Equalizer Types and Parameters ......................... 55
9 Menu: System 57
10 Using an External D/A Converter 59
11 Specifications 61
11.1 Technical ........................................... 61
11.2 Factory Settings ..................................... 62
Index 63

Illusonic Immersive Audio Processor Chapter 1 Introduction 7
1
Introduction
1.1
Welcome!
Thanks and congratulations for purchasing the Immersive Audio Processor!
Unique in three ways:
–Immersive Audio
Breathtaking multi-channel sound for all content (see next pages
for more information).
–Freedom
Choose a loudspeaker setup optimal for you and your venue
(168 variations, 2 to 16 loudspeakers).
–Quality
High-quality D/A converters and other components, otherwise only
found in 2-channel high-end audio equipment. No unnecessary parts
and features. Swiss Made.
We have put a great deal of effort into this revolutionary product. Reaching
excellence of sound requires proper setup of the Immersive Audio Processor.
This manual will guide you through this process. Get started easily by follow-
ing Chapter 2.
I hope you’ll enjoy countless hours of quality listening and entertainment!
Yours truly,
Christof Faller
Founder and Owner of Illusonic

8 Illusonic Immersive Audio Processor Chapter 1 Introduction
1.2
How To Use This Manual
– The manual is structured to be read through from beginning to end.
– In case you read the manual only punctually, there are many pointers
within the text, referring to related information and chapters. Detailed
contents in the beginning and an index in the end help you find desired
information quickly.
– You will find text and figures with additional information and insights
placed in the info margin.11This text is in the info margin.
This symbol indicates important information.
General knowledge and tutorial information is indicated with this symbol.

Illusonic Immersive Audio Processor Chapter 1 Introduction 9
1.3
Immersive Audio
Introduction
The Immersive Audio Processor reproduces audio signals taking advantage
of the specific loudspeaker setup in use. A decade of man-years research,
dedication, and implementation has lead us to a unique sound solution. The
Processor converts audio signals – be it music or movies – stereo or sur-
round – optimally for each of the supported 168 loudspeaker setups (using
from 2 to 16 loudspeakers).
Music and movies are reproduced in a breathtakingly spatial manner:
–Center
Dry sound is reproduced at its original position, maintaining timbre and
intention of the mix. Dialogue and solo artists are reproduced on a center
loudspeaker, giving them a precise location in space.
–Depth/3D
Musical instruments and the sound image are reproduced with volume
and depth in three dimensions.
–Immersion
You are immersed into the sound, away from your local room,
into the environment defined by the recording you are listening to.
Center Immersion Depth/3D

10 Illusonic Immersive Audio Processor Chapter 1 Introduction
Goals
The human auditory system has remarkable abilities in terms of hearing spa-
tial aspects of sound. A listener can precisely localize sound sources in terms
of direction and distance. Further, a listener can distinguish sources of differ-
ent sizes. He does not only hear properties of sound sources, but also gets
a good idea about the environment in which he hears sound. A listener can
distinguish whether he is outside or in which type of room he is in.
A good stereo recording contains remarkably much information about a
sound stage and associated environment/room. But only optimal listening
conditions unleash all of this information:
– The listener needs to be located precisely in the sweet spot of
a standard stereo system (the listener and both loudspeakers form
an equilateral triangle).
– The listener needs to look straight forward (a head rotation of just 30
degrees results in that immersion is vanishing, making way to perceiving
the local room as opposed to the environment defined by the recording).
– The room may need to be acoustically treated to prevent timbral/temporal
artifacts and stereo image distortions, due to strong early reflections and
room resonances.
Most people virtually never listen to music in conditions necessary for un-
leashing all of the beauty of good recordings. Similar limitations exist for many
surround recordings. The additional loudspeakers are mostly only used for ef-
fects, instead of creating an improved perception of an environment/space.
The goal of the Immersive Audio Processor is to reproduce recordings
over a given loudspeaker setup, such that the remarkably much spatial infor-
mation in recordings is unleashed as robustly as possible. With robustly we
mean a large listening area in which the beauty of recordings is unleashed
(versus a small sweet spot). The more loudspeakers with diverse positions
are used, the more robust is the listening experience.

Illusonic Immersive Audio Processor Chapter 1 Introduction 11
While the best solution to address acoustical problems of a room is by acous-
tic treatment, the Immersive Audio Processor has several means to adapt to
given room acoustics:
– More reproduction channels result in more diverse and weaker early
reflections, reducing timbral artifacts.
– Bass management (Chapter 7) and good subwoofer placement can
reduce issues with room resonances.
– The available five parametric equalizers per channel (Chapter 8) can be
used for attenuation of room resonances and adjustment of the sound
in general.
Loudspeaker Positions and Benefits
The figure below illustrates the different loudspeaker positions supported
by the Immersive Audio Processor. 168 different loudspeaker setups with
2 to 16 loudspeakers are supported. In the following, it is explained how
the Immersive Audio Processor reproduces music and movies optimally for a
given loudspeaker setup.
RLC
RL
FLW
FL FC FR SUB
RC
RRC
RR
FRW
RLCH
T
RLH
FLWH
FLH FRH
RCH
RRCH
RRH
FRWH

12 Illusonic Immersive Audio Processor Chapter 1 Introduction
The Immersive Audio Processor extracts from music and movie-sound-tracks
separate signals, representing dry sound (e.g. direct sound), ambience and
early reflected sound, and diffuse sound (e.g. late reflected sound). These
three signals are reproduced differently to take advantage of the chosen
loudspeaker setup:
–Dry sound is not modified to maintain the original quality and timbre.
If a front center (FC) loudspeaker is used, the signal representing
phantom center is removed from front left (FL) and front right (FR) and
given to front center.1A front center loudspeaker stabilizes the frontal 1The degree to which phantom center is converted
to real center can be adjusted.
sound image for listeners not in the center of the loudspeaker setup.
–Early reflected sound is reproduced at a position above the
corresponding direct sound position, using height loudspeakers.22If no height loudspeakers are used, Blauert
equalized early reflected sound is added to the
horizontal channels.
The distinctly reproduced early reflections result in a sound image
with volume and depth in three dimensions.
– The extracted diffuse sound is converted to a distinct diffuse sound
signal for each loudspeaker, for reproducing it from as many directions as
available. The higher the number of loudspeakers is, the more natural and
robust is the perceived immersion. Diffuse sound reproduction benefits
from rear, height, and top loudspeakers.
Chapter 4 presents the supported loudspeaker setups and guides you through
the details of choosing a specific loudspeaker setup.

Illusonic Immersive Audio Processor Chapter 2 Getting Started 13
2
Getting Started
Step 1:
Unpacking
Unpack the Immersive Audio Processor. Store the packaging for future
transportation. The package contains:
– Immersive Audio Processor unit
– AC power cable
– Remote control
– This user manual
Step 2:
Installing the AC Power Cable
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1. Make sure that the label next to the AC power connector matches
your local AC voltage.
2. Make sure that the main power switch on the back is set to off (0).
3. Install the AC power cable.1
1Make sure to use 3 terminals (phase, neutral,
and earth) power cables with ground conductor.

14 Illusonic Immersive Audio Processor Chapter 2 Getting Started
Step 3:
Choosing a Loudspeaker Setup
Follow Chapter 4 to:
– Learn about the supported loudspeaker setups.
– Decide how many loudspeakers and which setup to use.
– Install and connect the loudspeakers.
– Tell the Immersive Audio Processor which loudspeaker setup you use.
Step 4:
Connecting Audio/Video Devices
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Connect audio and video devices to any of the above shown connectors:
1. Connect HDMI sources, such as Blu-ray players, game consoles,
and set top boxes.
2. Connect digital audio sources, such as CD players.
3. Connect analog audio sources.
4. If you want to watch video, connect a TV or projector.11If you use the Immersive Audio Processor only
for enjoying audio, then there is no need to connect
a TV or projector. All necessary information is shown
on the built-in display.

Illusonic Immersive Audio Processor Chapter 2 Getting Started 15
Step 5:
Using the Immersive Audio Processor
2
4
3
1
5
1. Push the rotary to switch the Immersive Audio Processor on.
2. Select an input source, using the <>buttons below the display.
3. Adjust the volume by turning the rotary control on the right.
4. Play sound with the selected input source.
5. Once you are done, push the rotary control for two seconds to put
the Processor to standby.1
1When you set the main power switch to off or
disconnect the main AC power, without going
to standby first, the Immersive Audio Processor
does not save its current settings.
To get more familiar with the usage of the Immersive Audio Processor,
continue with Chapter 3.
Advanced setup of the Immersive Audio Processor is outlined
on the next page.

16 Illusonic Immersive Audio Processor Chapter 2 Getting Started
Advanced Setup
For reaching excellence of sound, it is often necessary to consider room
acoustics and to adapt the Immersive Audio Processor to the room and loud-
speakers:
– If necessary, acoustically treat your room.
– Configure bass management (Chapter 7) for the specific loudspeakers
you are using.
– Calibrate the loudspeaker setup for your central listening position by
applying gain and delay trim to the loudspeaker signals (Chapter 6).
– If desired, apply equalizers (Chapter 8) to the loudspeaker signals to:
– Attenuate overly strong low frequencies from loudspeakers
positioned near walls or corners.
– Calibrate loudspeakers behind a video screen.
– Attenuate room resonances.
– Adapt the sound to the spectral response of the room.

Illusonic Immersive Audio Processor Chapter 3 Usage 17
3
Usage
3.1
Front Panel and Remote Control
Select
(Rotary Push)
><
Rotary (Turn)
Menu
IR Receiver Standby LED
Display
The Immersive Audio Processor’s front panel has a display, showing the cur-
rent state of the device, and a number of controls:1
1The same controls, and a Mute button, are available
on the remote control:
MENU
Select
Rotary (Turn)
Rotary (Turn)
>
Mute
<
Menu
–<>: Input Select, Menu/Value Select.
–Rotary (Turn): Volume, Menu/Value Select.
–Select (Rotary Push): Select, Immersive Audio Settings, On/Standby
(long push).
–Menu: Enter Menu mode, exit menus, directly return to normal operation
mode (long push).
Remember this simple rule:
<> always modifies the menu or value in the middle of the display and
Rotary (Turn) modifies the menu or value on the bottom:
PR ESE T 1
HDMI 1
-4 0 dB
< >
Rotary (Turn)

18 Illusonic Immersive Audio Processor Chapter 3 Usage
3.2
Back Panel
Power and Control Connectors
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1. AC Power
Before connecting a power cable here, make sure that the voltage sticker
next to the AC power connector corresponds to your AC power voltage.11Make sure to use 3 terminals (phase, neutral,
and earth) power cables with ground conductor.
2. Power On/Off
If you do not use the Immersive Audio Processor for a longer period
of time, it is recommended that you switch the main power switch
to off (0).22When you set the main power switch to off
or disconnect the main AC power, without going
to standby first, the Immersive Audio Processor
does not save its current settings.
3. External Control (USB)
With appropriate software, a personal computer can be used to control
the Immersive Audio Processor and update its software.