MINDPRINT AN/DI PRO User manual

Bedienungsanleitung
MANUAL
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MindPrint-AN/DI PRO
Dear Recording Specialist,
WearepleasedthattheMindPrint®AN/DIPROisthetoolofchoice
inyourquestforhigh-qualitysound.
TheAN/DIPROisastereoanalog/digitalconverterdesignedspecificallytomeetthe
discerningdemandsofprofessionals.Signalsareconvertedataresolutionof24bitswitha
dynamicrangeofupto116decibels.Theseimpressivespecsdeliverexcellentconversion
results,givingyouthebestpossiblesignaltoworkwithinsubsequentaudioprocessing
stages.What'smore,whatevertypeofsourcesignalyouaredealingwith—lineor
microphone—theAN/DIPRO'shigh-endmicrophonepreampsensurethatyouendupwith
ahigh-qualitysignal.Withhighsamplingratesofupto96kHz,thedeviceisreadytodayfor
thedigitaltechnologyoftomorrow.
EachoftheengineersontheAN/DIPROdevelopmentteamarespecialistsintheir chosen
fields—audio,mixingconsolesanddigitaltechnology.TheAN/DIPROistheproductofall
theirmanyyearsofexperienceandtheirinsightintotheneedsofhomeandprofessional
recording.Overthepastfewyears,modernrecordingequipmenthasachievedanextremely
highstandardatevermoreaffordableprices.Unfortunately,thepotentialofhigh-definition
audioisrarelyexploitedtomaximumbenefit—poorqualityinputsignalsanddeficient
convertersgiveprocessinggearinadequaterawmaterialtoworkwith.
TheAN/DIPROremediesthisveryproblem.Itempowersyoutomakethemostofyourskills
andyourrecordingequipment’spotential.You'llbeamazedatthedifference-yourtracks
willsoundmorevivid,moretrulynaturaland,aboveall,moremusical.
St.Wendel,June1999

MindPrint-AN/DI PRO
1.Layout of theAN/DI PRO
1.1 Input Section
TheAN/DIPROisequippedwithacompleteinputsectioncomprisingastudio-levelline
input,amicrophoneinputwitha-20dBdampingswitch,andswitchablephantompower
forcondensermicrophones.ThediscretemicrophoneinputstagefeaturesClass-A
engineeringanddeliversthefinesthigh-endqualityforprofessionalapplications.
Withitssensiblyarrayedfrontpanelinputs,theAN/DIPROisahighlyversatileconverter,
auniversaltoolthatenablesyouworkwithanytypeofsignalsourceandistherefore
ideallysuitedtoeveryprojectstudio.
Theinputsectionactuallyconsistsoftwoindependentcircuits,whichallowsyouto
handleandprocessthetwostereochannelsseparately.Withthebenefitofthesedual
circuits,youarefreetousetheAN/DIPROforstereosignalsaswellastwoseparate
monauralchannels.
TheMic/Lineinputselectorswitchesbackandforthbetweenthemicrophoneandline
input.Separategainknobsforthemicrophoneandthelinesignalsallowyoutoseta
suitablelevelforeach.The12-segmentLEDmeterisavisualreferencethatwill makeit
easierforyoutosettheideallevel.Forsomeapplications,youmayfindthatits"hot-
swap"optioncomesinhandywhenyouhavetoswitchbackandforthrepeatedlybetween
thetwoinputswhilethedeviceisinoperation.Withseparateknobsformicandline,you
aresparedthehassleofconstantlyhavingtoreadjustlevels.
Ifyouconnectdynamicorelectretmicrophones,youwon'tneedphantompower.However,
thefirstchoiceinstudiosaregenerallycondensermicrophonesthatrequire48voltsin
accordancewiththeinternationalnormIEC268-15.TheAN/DIPROisdesignedtoprovide
therequiredcurrent.Formicrophonesthatneedit,simplypresstheV48switch.When
you'rerecordingparticularlyloudinstruments,forexampleakickdrumor atrumpetwith
themicpointingdirectlyatitshorn,youmaycomeacrossasituationwhereyouare
unabletoturntheleveldownfarenoughtogetacleansignal.TheAN/DIPRO featuresa
-20dBdampingoptionspecificallyforthissituation.
1.2 Level Meter
Incontrasttoanaloggear,digitaldevicesaren'tdesignedtoaccommodatesaturated
signals.Uptothefinaltenthofadecibelundertheclipthreshold,thesoundremains
unchanged,butassoonasthesignallevelcrossesthisthreshold,thedevicewill
immediatelygenerateextremelyuglydistortion—universallydreaded digitalclipping.
Ontheotherhand,ifyoudialinalevelthatistoolow,thisinevitablycausesthelevelof
quantizationnoisetoincrease.Thistypeofnoiseisgeneratedwhenthesignalisdigitized.
Duringthequantizationprocess,aninfiniteorcontinuousanalogsignalissubdivided into
afinitenumberofdiscretedigitalvalues.Historically,thisproblemhasmadeitrather
difficulttodialinasuitablelevelonaconventionalA/Dconverter.
Itisessentialthatakindofbuffer,orheadroom,bemaintainedtopreventthesignalfrom
crossingtheclippingthreshold.Atthesametime,however,thisheadroomhastobekept
assmallaspossibleinordertoholdquantizationnoisetoalowlevel.
Thesetwocriticalprerequisitesaremucheasiertomeet-withtheAN/DIPRO's24-bit
technologyandsuperiordynamicrangeofupto116dB -becausetheratiooftheclipping
thresholdtoquantizationnoiseisconsiderablygreaterthanisthe case
withconventionalconverters.
Inaddition,thelevelmeterisdesignedtoletyousetlevelsasyoudidinthepaston
standardanaloggear—youaren'tforcedtogrowaccustomedtoanewtechnique.Simply
setyourAN/DIPROtotheusual0dBmark—briefsignalpeaksthatbleedintothe
yellowzoneareOK.Whenyoudialinthistypeofsetting,youautomaticallyhavea
fairlycomfortableheadroomof8decibelsandasignal-to-noiseratioof
awhopping108decibels.
AswonderfulastheAN/DIPROis,itisneverthelesssubjecttothelawsofphysics,so
avoidclippingliketheplague.MakecertainthatthefinalLEDsegment(red)neverlights
up,noteveninresponsetospikesor extremesignalpeaks.
1.3A/D Converter
AftertheAN/DIPRO’spremiumpreampsectionhasworkeditsaudiomagic,thesignalis
convertedsothatitcanbeintroducedintothedigital domain.Theconvertedsignalis
routedoutsimultaneouslyviathethreedigitaloutputslocatedontherearpanelofthe
device—notsurprisingly,thesearelabeledDigitalOut.Ifyouwanttopatchthestereo
channels'signalstoyourotherdigitalequipmentfurtherdowntheline,youcanaccess
theAES/EBUsignalattheXLRportoryoucanaccesstheS/PDIFsignalateitherthe
coaxialportortheopticalinterface.What'smore,thisisnotjustaneither/or
proposition—youarefreetousealloftheoutputsatthesametime.Thewordlengthof
thedigitalsignalis24bitsandthusfullyexploits thetechnicalpotentialoftheAES/EBU
andS/PDIFstandardsrightdowntothelastbit.Foryoursamplingfrequency,youcan
choosefromthestandard44.1and48kHzsettings,plusthestate-of-the-art96kHzformat,
whichiswellonitswaytobecomingthestandardforprofessionalrecording.Usethe
frontpanelselectorbuttonstosetthedevicetothesamesamplingratethattherestof
yourpost-converterdigitalequipmentwillbeusing.Usingexternalsynchronizationthe
AN/DIPROalsoallowsyoutousesamplingfrequenciesof 32and88.2kHz.64kHz
samplingfrequencyisnotpossible.
1.4 Inserts
TheAN/DIPROofferseveryopportunitytotransportanysignalintothedigitaldomain,
totallyunadulteratedandinfirst-ratequality,thusenablingdigitalsignalprocessingof
thehighestorder.Theremaybetimes,however,whenyouwanttodeliberatelycoloran
audiosignalorprocessitviaanaloggear.Forexample,youmaychoosetoroutethe
mastermixthroughahigh-endanalogcompressororaddatouchoftubeenhancementtoa
signalbeforeyousendittoahard-diskrecorder.Thebestplacewithinthesignalchainto
insertthistypeofequipmentisafterthepreamp,butbeforetheanalogsignalis
transformedintoitsdigitalequivalent.
TheAN/DIPROisequippedwithSendandReturnjacksthatenableyouto insertanalog
devicessuchasequalizers,compressorsortubedevices.Connecttheinputoftheexternal
devicewiththeSendjackoftheAN/DIPRO,androutetheprocessedoutputsignalto
AN/DI’sReturnjack.Thismeansyoucanstillfallbackonyourfavoriteanalog
processor—itsimplybecomesacomponentofthesignalchain,thefinalstageofwhich
isdigitalconversioninoutstandingquality.
1.5 Synchronization
Wheneverdigitalaudiodevicesareconnectedtooneanother,theirinternalclock
frequencies(samplingrates)needtoruninsync.Ifthedigitalsignalisbeingtransmitted
betweentwoandonlytwodevices,youwon'thavetoconcernyourselfwiththisnecessity
becausethesignalformatsAES/EBUandS/PDIFtransmitsynchronizationinformation
alongwiththeaudiodata.Herethefirstdevicedictatestheconditionsforcommunication
tothesecond.Thereceivingdeviceautomaticallyadaptsitssamplingratetomatchthat of
thesendingdevicebytrackingitviaacontrolcircuit(PLL,PhaseLockedLoop).
IfyouintendtouseyourAN/DIPROeitherasthefront-enddeviceforcomputer-based
hard-diskrecording,asahigh-qualitypreampforliverecordinginconjunctionwitha
24-bitDATrecorder,orasamasterconverterforyouranalogmixingconsole,youdon't
needtogivesynchronizationanotherthought.
If,however,your setupfeaturesmorethantwodigitaldevices,automaticsynchronization
maybehamperedbytoolongachainofconsecutivedevicesor—incomplexcon-
figurationsinwhichsomedevicessimultaneouslysendandreceivedata—automatic
synchronizationmaybealtogetherimpossible.Synchronizationerrorsaremanifestedas

digitalsnap,crackleandpop,severebackgroundnoiseortotalsilence—communication
betweenthedevicesbreaksdowncompletely.Ifyoursystemconsistsofafairly
sophisticatedarrayofdigitaldevices,youwillhavetosynchronizeitexternally.
Yourmostconsistentbutalsoexpensiveoptionisanexternalclockgenerator.Itdictates
theclockfrequencytoalldevicesinthestudio.Pictureastar-shapednetwork.Theclock
generatorislocatedatitscenterandtransmitsitsWordClocksignaltoalldigitaldevices
locatedatthepointsofthisstar.AN/DIPROisequippedwithaWordClockinputsothatit
canaccommodatethissynchronizationoption.
Inmostcaseshowever,you'renotcompelledtospendyourhard-earnedmoneyonaclock
generator,atleastnotforsynchronizingtheAN/DIPRO.Itcomeswithatrulyaunique
feature,theAES/EBUandS/PDIFSyncports.Asyoualreadyknow,everyAES/EBUand
S/PDIFsignalcontainsclockinformation.Thismeansthatallyouhavetodoischeckthe
othersynchronizeddevicesinyourdigitalsetuptolocateadigitaloutputthathappensto
befree.ConnectthatoutputtooneoftheSyncportsoftheAND/DIPRO,andtheinternal
clockoftheAN/DIPROwillautomaticallylockuptothefrequencyoftheotherdevice!
2.Control Features
ThecontrolfeaturesoftheAN/DIPROarearrayedfromlefttoright.Thisarrangementisin
keepingwiththesignalflowinthedevice.
2.1 Microphone Preamplifier
MicIn:XLRinputdesignedtotakemicrophones.ThepinassignmentsoftheXLRsocket
complywiththeinternationalnormIEC268-12.Inaccordancewiththisstandard,Pin1is
connectedtoground,Pin2carriesthepositivesignalandPin3thenegativesignal.
48V:Thisbuttonswitchesphantompoweron,whichisthenfedto theconnected
microphone.Dynamicmicrophonesdon'trequirephantompower.Sincecondenser
microphonesdo,be suretopressthisbuttonwithcondensermics.
-20dB:Thisbuttonattenuatesthelevelofthemicrophoneinputby20decibels.Innormal
operation,thisbuttonshouldremainout.Whenyou'redealingwithveryloudmicrophone
signals,pressitin.
MicGain:UsethisGaincontroltoadjustthelevelofAN/DIPRO'smicrophoneinput.You
canvisuallymonitorthelevelonthe12-segmentLEDmeter locatedabovethelineinput,
providedthatthemicrophoneinputisactivatedviatheMic/Linebutton.If thelevel
remainstoohighevenwhenyou'veturnedtheknoballthewaydown,pressthe-20dB
buttonin.
2.2 Line Input
Mic/Line:Usethisswitchtoselecteither
themicrophoneinputorlineinputsothat
thedesiredcircuitwillberoutedtothe
A/Dconverter.
LineIn:1/4"jackdesignedtotakeline
levelsignals.Youcanroutebothbalanced
andunbalancedsignalstothisinput.
Balancedsignalsareroutedviaastereo1/4"plug,wherethetipisthepositivesignal,
theringisnegative,andthesleeveisconnectedto ground.Whenyouinsertanunbalan-
cedmonoplug,theinputautomaticallyswitchestounbalancedoperation.
LineGain:UsethisGaincontroltoadjustthelevelofAN/DIPRO'slineinput.Youcan
visuallymonitorthelevelonthe12-segmentLEDmeterlocated abovethelineinput,
providedthatthelineinputhasbeenactivated(Mic/Linebutton).
LEDMeter:Thisdisplayindicatesthelevelofthemicrophoneorlineinputsignal,
dependingonthestatusoftheMic/Linebutton.The yellowLEDsindicatetheheadroomof
theAN/DIPRO,theredLEDsindicateclipping.
2.3A/D Converter and Mains Switch
44.1/48/96Buttons:Thesebuttonsselectthesamplingfrequency.Ifyourequire
settingsof44.1or48kHz,pressthecorrespondingbutton.Ifbothbuttonsarepressed,
AN/DIPROoperatesat96kHz.Ifyoudon'tpressanyofthebuttons,theunitwillexpect
anexternalsignaltoprovidesynchronization.This externalsignalhastobefedtothe
AN/DIPROviaoneoftheSyncportslocatedon therearpanel.
SamplingFreq:TheLEDslabeled44.1,48andx2indicatethecurrentlyselectedsampling
rate.Ifyouareusinganexternalsynchronizationsource,theLEDslabeledAESandS/PDIF
willindicatethatthedeviceisreceivingavalidsignal.AN/DIPROsyncsat32kHz,
44.1kHz,48kHz,88.2kHz,and96kHz. Pleaserefertopage12.
MainsSwitch:SwitchestheACpowersupplyonandoff.
3.Connections
3.1 Microphone and Line Inputs
TheinputsoftheAN/DIPROarelocatedonthefrontpanel.SeeSection2foran
in-depthdescription.
3.2 Insert Jacks
TheInsertinputsarebalanced1/4"jacks(6.3mm),althoughyoucanalsoconnect
unbalancedcables.
IntheseTRS,stereo-style1/4"jacks,thepositivesignalisroutedviathetip,thenegative
signalviathering,andthegroundisconnectedtothesleeve.Whenyouinsertan
unbalancedmonoplug,theSendorReturncircuitisautomaticallyswitchedto
unbalancedoperation.
MindPrint-AN/DI PRO
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MindPrint-AN/DI PRO
4Applications
4.1The Purpose of theAN/DI PRO
•Thesteepdeclineinpricesoverrecentyearshasmadedigitalmixersandmultitrack
systemsaffordableforhobbyists.Themajorityoffunctionsfoundonprofessional
devicesofyesteryear,exorbitantlyexpensivejustadecadeago,arestandardfeatures
incontemporaryhard-diskrecordingsystems.Fortunately,moreandmoreprocessing
operationscanbeexecutedinthedigitaldomain,whichsignificantlyenhancesthe
qualityofproductions.Nowadays,modernhard-diskrecordingsystems—in
conjunctionwithpowerfulcomputers—deliverthewiderangeoffunctionsandnumber
oftracksthatinthepastyouwouldhavefoundonlyinthefinestofstudios.Witha
wordlengthof24oreven32bits,thesesystemsdeliverexcellentaudiospecsaslong
asthesignalremainsinthecomputer.However,historicallytheinterfaceshavebeena
hugeproblem:Theconverterswhichcomewithstandardsoundcardsoperateatonlya
16-bitor18-bitlevelandfrequentlygeneratedistortion.Moreover,sincetheseare
installedinsidethecomputer'shousing,thesignal-to-noiseratioisdegraded
considerablybystraypick-upofclockfrequencies.Finally,thehighqualityofcomputer-
basedsignalprocessingcannotinthefinalanalysisbeexploitedfully,becausethe
signalisdigitizedbyasoundcardwithfidelitycomparabletothatofacassettedeck.
•Thelogicalconsequenceistodeployahigh-qualityconverterhousedinanexternal
device.Itssignalisthentransmitteddigitallyandloss-freetothecomputer.The24-bit
A/DconverteroftheAN/DIPROistheanswer—withit,youwillmostdefinitely
perceiveaquantumleapinthedefinitionandqualityofyouraudio.Indeed,nowthat
youownanAN/DIPROofyourveryown,fromthispointforwardtheleveloffidelity
thatyoucanachievewiththisdeviceislimitedsolely bythecapabilitiesofyour
recordingsetup.
•Evenifyouworkwithananalogmixingconsoleinafullyanalogstudio,youcanenjoy
theadvantagesofAN/DIPRO.InordertobeabletoburnyourfinalmixontoaCD,you
somehowhavetobringtheanalogmastermixsignalintoyourcomputer.Whenyouget
tothiscriticalpoint,youshouldn'tsettleforthequalityofyour DATrecorder's16-bit
converter.Instead,routethestereomastersignalthroughtheAN/DIPROataword
lengthof24bitsdirectlyintothecomputerandprocessitthere.Notuntilthefinalstep
intheprocessingsequenceshouldyouconvertthesignaldowntothe16-bitformatof
theCD.
4.2 Master Converter in anAnalog Studio
Toconvertthestereomastersignalinananalogstudio,connectthelineinputofthe
AN/DIPROtotheoutputofyourmixingconsole.ConnectAN/DIPRO’sdigitaloutputtothe
digitalinputofyourmasterrecorderortheinputofadigitalI/Ocardinstalled
inyourcomputer.
Theinsertjacksareusedtointroduceexternalsignalprocessorsintothesignalchain.
Connecttheexternaldevices'inputstoAN/DIPRO'sSendjacksandtheexternaldevices'
outputstoAN/DIPRO'sReturnjacks.
IfplugsareconnectedtotheSendjackonly,theinternalsignalisneverthelessroutedto
theconverter.Thismeansthatifyoucareto,youcanpatchoutamonitorsignalfromthe
Sendjacks.If,ontheotherhand,plugsareconnectedtotheReturnjacksonly,thissignal
isrouteddirectlytotheconverter.
3.3 Digital Output
ThedigitaloutputsignalisroutedsimultaneouslyinAES/EBUformattotheXLRjack,as
wellasinS/PDIFformattoonecoaxialandoneopticaloutput.
Theseportscanbeaccessedsimultaneously,wherebytheoutputoftheAN/DIPRO
operatesasadistributororsplitter.
3.4 External Synchronization
TheAN/DIPROcanbesynchronizedexternallyviaAES/EBUandS/PDIFsignalsaswellas
bymeansoftheWordClockinput.
Ifnoneofthesamplerateselectorbuttonsonthefrontpanelispressed,theAN/DIPRO
willlookforavalidinputsignalateithertheAES/EBUorS/PDIFportslabeledSyncIn.
UsetheSyncSelectbuttontochoosewhichformat.IftheAN/DIPROfindsa useableWord
ClocksignalattheWordClockinput(BNCjack),thissignalwillhavepriorityoverthe
others.TheSYNCTHRUsocketsofAES/EBUorS/PDIFwillonlyoperateiftheSYNCSELECT
buttonisswitchedaccordingly.IfAN/DIPROdoesnotrecognizeasyncsignal,allSYNC
LED’sonthefrontpanelareilluminated.
3.5AC Power
ConnecttheAN/DIPROtoawalloutletormainssupplyviaastandardpowercable
connectedtotheACpowersocket.
TheGroundLiftswitchcausesthesignalgroundandthechassisgroundtobesevered
fromeachother.Ifyouencounteragroundloop,setthisswitchtothepositionwherethe
noiseisminimized.
AES/EBU S/PDIF
SYNCINSYNCTHRU
SYNCIN
SYNCTHRU
CK
O
S/PDIF AES
MAX.POWER
CONSUM.22VA
230V~
50–60Hz
CAUTION! TOPREVENT THE RISK OF FIRE AND SHOCK
HAZARD DON´TEXPOSE THIS APPLIANCE TO MOISTURE OR RAIN. DO
NOTOPEN CASE; NO USER SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE.
LIFT
GROUND
ON
DIGITAL OUT
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MASTER OUT
MASTER
DIGITAL RECORDER
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MICGAIN48V -20dB MIC/LINE LINEGAINLINEIN
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LINE IN DIGITAL OUT
DIGITAL IN
ANALOG MIXING CONSOLE
SYNC