Neumann.Berlin MA 1 User manual

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MA 
AUTOMATIC MONITOR ALIGNMENT
I M
.
. /

MA 1 – Automatic Monitor Alignment | 2
MA 1 – Automatic Monitor Alignment.........................................3
Hardware requirements ................................................3
Soware requirements.................................................3
DSP loudspeakers (network-enabled) ....................................3
Analog loudspeakers (not network-enabled) ..............................3
System setup ..............................................................4
Connecting the hardware...............................................4
Setting up the loudspeakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Preparing the MA 1 – Automatic Monitor Alignment ............................7
Starting the process ...................................................7
Selecting the network .................................................7
Checking the requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Selecting and setting up the audio interface ..............................8
Calibrating the MA 1 measurement microphone ..........................10
Selecting the loudspeakers from the network ............................11
Adapting the output level .............................................12
Positioning the microphone and loudspeakers ...........................13
MA 1 input channel ...................................................13
Performing the MA 1 – Automatic Monitor Alignment..........................15
Starting the measurement .............................................15
Displaying the measurement results ....................................16
Saving the results ....................................................19
Contents

MA 1 – Automatic Monitor Alignment | 3
MA 1 – Automatic Monitor Alignment
This document describes the requirements and procedure for using the MA 1 Automatic
Monitor Alignment. This version of the soware just supports stereo systems with and without
subwoofer.
Hardware requirements
• Loudspeakers
• 1 pair of KH DSP loudspeakers
or
• 1 KH 750 DSP subwoofer in combination with a pair of analog KH loudspeakers
• Neumann MA 1 measurement microphone
• Computer (Windows 10 (64 bit), macOS Catalina, 10.13, 10.14 und 10.15)
• Audio interface with:
• Balanced analog input with 48 V phantom power
• 2 balanced analog outputs or digital AES3 output (only with KH 750 DSP)
• Network switch
Soware requirements
• Operating system:
• PC: Windows 10 64 Bit
• Mac: macOS 10.13, 10.14 or 10.15
• MA 1 - Automatic Monitor Alignment soware
• ASIO driver (for Windows)
DSP loudspeakers (network-enabled)
The following loudspeakers and subwoofers are network-enabled and can be controlled
directly by the soware:
• KH 80 DSP
• KH 750 DSP
Analog loudspeakers (not network-enabled)
The following loudspeakers are not network-enabled and need to be connected via a network-
enabled subwoofer in order to be included in the system setup.
• KH 120 A
• KH 120 D
• KH 310 A
• KH 310 D
• KH 420/KH 420 + DIM 1

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System setup
Proceed as follows to set up the system.
Connecting the hardware
XConnect your hardware as shown in this diagram
Setting up the loudspeakers
XSet the switch positions and level adjustments on the rear of your loudspeakers/subwoofer
according to the following instructions.
Analog monitors in combination with KH 750 DSP
(KH 750 DSP + KH 120/KH 310/KH 420)
XUse the following settings for the KH 750 DSP.

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XUse the following settings for analog monitors (KH 120 A, KH 310 A, KH 420)
XUse the following settings for D-version monitors (KH 120 D, KH 310 D, KH 420 with DIM 1)
Note! The digital connection is not supported.

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KH 80 DSP without KH 750 DSP
XUse the following settings for the KH 80 DSP.
KH 80 DSP with KH 750 DSP
XUse the following settings for the KH 80 DSP.
XUse the following settings for the KH 750 DSP.

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Preparing the MA 1 – Automatic Monitor Alignment
Perform the following steps in order to automatically align your setup using the MA 1 soware
and the MA 1 measurement microphone.
Starting the process
XClick on the orange arrow on the right of the start screen to start the process.
Selecting the network
XSelect the network your loudspeakers/subwoofer are connected to.

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Checking the requirements
XEnsure all mentioned requirements are fullled and ticked.
Selecting and setting up the audio interface
Observe the following steps for selecting and setting up the audio interface.
XInstall an ASIO driver on your Windows PC, if not done yet.
If there is no specic ASIO driver available for your audio interface you can try the universal
ASIO4ALL driver instead.
XSelect your audio interface-specic driver in the audio interface selection dropdown.

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XMake sure the sample rate of the audio interface is set to 48 kHz.
You can check the settings of your audio interface via the SETTINGS button.
XTick the Sample Rate 48 kHz checkbox aer verifying the audio interface settings.
XSelect the input channel your MA 1 measurement microphone is connected to.

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XSelect the output channels your loudspeakers or subwoofer are connected to.
Calibrating the MA 1 measurement microphone
XEnter the 10 digit serial number printed on your MA 1 measurement microphone.
XEnter the 6 digit HEX code printed on your MA 1 measurement microphone.
This code provides the microphone-specic calibration information to linearize your
measurement microphone.

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Selecting the loudspeakers from the network
The soware lists all loudspeakers/subwoofers found in the network.
If there are loudspeakers missing in the list or no loudspeakers at all, check the following
aspects:
XMake sure that the selected network is the same as the network your loudspeakers are con-
nected to (see “Selecting the network”).
XMake sure that all loudspeakers/subwoofer are properly connected to the network.
XMake sure that all loudspeakers/subwoofer are set to Network control (see “Setting up the
loudspeakers”).
XSwitch your loudspeakers/subwoofer o and on.
In order to identify which loudspeaker/subwoofer in the list is which loudspeaker/subwoofer
in your room you can click on the Neumann logo next to the loudspeaker/subwoofer.
The logo on the front of the loudspeaker/the power LED on the subwoofer rear will ash rosé.
Selecting loudspeakers in a setup with DSP loudspeakers only
XFrom the list, select the loudspeakers which belong to your system.
XChoose the position the loudspeaker is placed.

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Selecting loudspeakers in a setup of a DSP subwoofer with analog loudspeakers
XFrom the list, select the subwoofer which belongs to your system.
XSelect the input signal option of the subwoofer.
• Automatic (default): The subwoofer automatically chooses between analog or digital
AES3 input signals. Digital signals have priority over analog signals.
• Analog: If analog is selected, only analog input signals will be received even if there are
digital signals connected.
XChoose the corresponding analog version if you use D-versions of the loudspeakers (KH 120,
KH 310, KH 420).
XMake sure the loudspeakers are connected according to their physical position (le output
of KH 750 DSP to le loudspeaker, etc.).
Adapting the output level
XClick START to start the output signal level adaptation.
The system identies the correct signal level which is then applied to the loudspeakers.
During this process the loudspeakers are muted.
If the output level of your audio interface is too high or too low, the system will ask you to
adapt it accordingly.
Once the level is set correctly, the system will inform you.
If this test failed please check the following points:
XLoudspeakers/subwoofer are set to network at their back
XProper audio connection from audio interface to loudspeaker/subwoofer
XSource output not muted

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Positioning the microphone and loudspeakers/subwoofer
Before the alignment you need to ensure that your loudspeaker system is set up correctly.
XArrange the loudspeakers and the listening position as an equilateral triangle. The distance
between the tweeters of the loudspeakers and between tweeter and listening position is
identical.
XPlace the loudspeakers and all equipment/furniture as symmetrical as possible with regard
to the listening axis.
XAngle the loudspeakers horizontally and vertically towards the listening position.
XMeasure the distance between the le and right tweeter and enter it in the text eld.
Give in the measured distance between le and right tweeter (same as between tweeter and
listening position).
MA 1 input channel
Measuring the signal chain and background noise
Before starting, make sure that:
XThe microphone input gain of your microphone preamplier is set to a reasonable value.
XAll windows are closed.
XNo fans, air conditioning devices or other noise generating devices are running.
XNobody is talking or walking around.
XThe phantom power of your microphone preamp is switched on.
The system will check if:
XThe input gain of your microphone preamplier is set correctly.
XThe input signal is overloaded.
XThe background noise of your environment is low enough.
XThe signal-to-noise ratio of the entire measurement chain is sucient.
CAUTION
Danger of hearing injury!
The system will play a loud pink noise signal.

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If any of these results do not meet the requirements, the system will inform you accordingly.
If the noise level of your room is to high the system continuous to measure. If it is not possible
to reduce your environmental noise level you can skip this test. This then may lead to worse
results. So please do anything possible to achieve a good signal to noise ratio.

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Performing the MA 1 – Automatic Monitor Alignment
Starting the measurement
The soware will now start measuring the loudspeakers in your system. For that purpose, sine
sweep signals will be played out to every individual loudspeaker/subwoofer.
XFollow the instructions on the screen.
XStep back or to the side.
XRemain quiet.
XStart measuring at the main listening position with the microphone on a stand in an upright
position.
XAny loudspeakers which are not playing signals will be muted and shown in red.
We highly recommend performing the measurements at every proposed microphone position
in order to ensure the best possible results.
However, it is possible to skip the measuring procedure aer each of the 7 measurements. This
might be useful if any potential for improvement in terms of repositioning the loudspeakers or
other optimizations have been identied.

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Displaying the measurement results
Aer the measurement procedure the system will display the results.
The following curves are displayed:
XOrange curve:
This shows the room-specic target response used by the system to align the measurement
results.
Please note that this curve is not necessarily ruler at. The system will create a target response
optimized for the character of the room. This target response depends on the acoustical
behavior of the room, on the distance between the loudspeakers, the listening position and
on the placement of the loudspeakers in the room.
XWhite curve:
This curve shows the combined magnitude response of the entire system. It represents the
acoustical result aer the alignment.
When you unselect the checkbox you can see and hear the system response with the default
monitor settings.

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The combination of all measured loudspeakers/subwoofer with their default settings is shown
in white.
Editing the target response
Aer the automatic alignment you can play any signal through your audio interface to your
loudspeakers and listen to the result.
By selecting and unselecting the ACTIVATE AUTOMATIC ALIGNMENT checkbox you can switch
between with and without alignment.
Please note it will take a few seconds until all parameters have been transferred completely to
the loudspeakers.
The EQ section below the graph now allows you to modify the result.
Please note that you can only modify the orange target response, not the measured curve. The
target response can be modied with 8 fully parametric and two xed shelf EQs.
Activating an EQ
XSelect the EQ-specic checkbox
XEnter frequency, gain and Q
You can also change gain and frequency by grabbing the highlighted EQ number and moving
it up, down, le, or right.
The eect will become visible immediately on the orange target response for all selected
lters.

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Applying the EQ modication
Once the modications of the target response have been applied, you can recalibrate the loud-
speaker setup with these changes.
XClick the RECALIBRATE button.
The soware will use the original measurements to align your system to the modied target
response.
Please note that the system will optimize the measured results as closely as possible to the
new target response. It will take all deviations including those from the original alignment
into account. Therefore, small adjustments of the target response may not lead to a dierent
result because the available lters have already been used for more relevant optimizations.
X
Select / unselect the ACTIVATE AUTOMATIC ALIGNMENT checkbox to switch between the
default monitor settings and the modied alignment.

MA 1 – Automatic Monitor Alignment | 19
Saving the results
Aer performing all modications the results need to be stored permanently in the loudspeak-
ers.
XClick Save and Close.
The alignment process is now nished. The loudspeakers will permanently use the alignment.
You can now disconnect the loudspeakers from the network.
To compare with the local backplate settings of the connected DPS loudspeakers/subwoofer,
you can set the Network switch on their back to LOCAL.
All monitors and subwoofers need to be set to local, as the KH 80 contains room alignment
lters as well as the KH 750.
Note! Do not change any settings at the backplate of the DSP loudspeakers/subwoofer during
the alignment process.
If you set the switch back to NETWORK, the previously stored calibration will be active again.
Please note that if you want to recalibrate the system, the alignment process needs to be
started from the beginning.
You cannot recall the result screen aer the application has been closed.