Simphonics Smx User manual

SMx Audio System

User’s Manual

SMx Audio System User's Manual, V1.41

SimPhonics, Inc.

Page 2 of 77

Contents

1Preface ...............................................................................8

1.1 Trademarks and Copyrights .....................................................................8

1.2 Before Reading this Document .................................................................8

1.3 Revision History .....................................................................................9

1.4 Terms and Acronyms ............................................................................11

1.5 References .......................................................................................... 11

2Introducing SMx ................................................................. 12

2.1 What is an SMx System? ....................................................................... 13

2.2 Complete Audio and I/O System Solution ................................................ 13

2.3 SMx Terminology ................................................................................. 13

3System Architecture ............................................................ 13

3.1 Overall System Block Diagram ............................................................... 15

3.2 SMx Audio System ...............................................................................16

3.3 SMx Super Mixer .................................................................................. 17

3.4 Individual Mixers..................................................................................18

3.5 Individual Mixer Module ........................................................................ 19

4Hardware .......................................................................... 20

4.1 Specifications ...................................................................................... 20

4.2 Electrical Characteristics ....................................................................... 21

4.3 Audio Performance ............................................................................... 21

4.4 Transport Delay ................................................................................... 21

4.5 Reliability and Maintainability ................................................................ 21

4.6 CPU Chassis ........................................................................................ 22

4.7 Motherboard and Processor....................................................................23

4.8 Diskless Operation................................................................................ 23

4.9 SMX Breakout box ................................................................................24

4.10 Cable Limitations ................................................................................. 24

4.11 Recommended Mating Connectors .......................................................... 25

4.12 SMX PCI DSP Card................................................................................ 26

4.13 Simulated Hardware ............................................................................. 27

4.14 Sound Cards........................................................................................ 27

4.14.1 Setting the Sample Rate Conversion Quality ............................................ 27

4.14.2 Controlling the Sound Cards .................................................................. 28

4.15 Power-up and down Sequence ............................................................... 29

4.15.1 Powering Up the System ....................................................................... 29

4.15.2 Powering Down the System ................................................................... 29

5SMx System Interconnect ..................................................... 29

5.1 SMx Breakout Box DIP Switch Settings ...................................................30

5.1.1 Master/Slave DIP Switch ....................................................................... 30

5.1.2 Phantom Power Switches....................................................................... 31

5.2 Connecting SMx Cards to SMx Master Boxes ............................................ 32

5.3 8 Channel System ................................................................................ 33

5.4 16 Channel System ..............................................................................34

5.5 24 Channel System ..............................................................................35

5.6 32 Channel System ..............................................................................36

5.7 40 Channel System ..............................................................................37

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5.8 48 Channel System ..............................................................................38

5.9 56 Channel System ..............................................................................39

5.10 64 Channel System ..............................................................................40

6Software Installation ........................................................... 41

6.1 Minimum Software Requirements ........................................................... 41

6.2 Installing V+ ....................................................................................... 41

6.3 Installing the SMx Audio System Software...............................................42

6.4 Updating the SMx Audio System Software ...............................................43

6.5 Configuring SMx within V+ ....................................................................44

7Registry Settings ................................................................ 46

7.1 Changing Registry Settings.................................................................... 47

8Using V+ with SMx .............................................................. 48

8.1 Application Examples............................................................................ 48

8.2 The SMx Super Mixer ............................................................................ 49

8.3 SMx I/O Devices for the SMx Audio System .............................................49

8.3.1 SMx Analog In Gain Boost Device ........................................................... 50

8.3.2 SMx Analog In Meters Device................................................................. 51

8.3.3 SMx Analog In to Analog Out Mixer Device .............................................. 52

8.3.4 SMx Analog Out Master Volume Device ................................................... 53

8.3.5 SMx Analog Out Meters Device............................................................... 55

8.3.6 SMx Wave In Mixer Device .................................................................... 56

8.3.7 SMx Wave Out Meters Device................................................................. 57

8.3.8 SMx Wave out Mixer Device................................................................... 58

8.3.9 SMx Wave Out to Wave in Mixer Device .................................................. 59

8.3.10 SMx Status Device ............................................................................... 60

8.3.11 Simulated Hardware Mode..................................................................... 60

8.4 “2103 SMx W I/O Select to A I/O” Object ................................................63

8.4.1 “2103 SMx W I/O Select to A I/O” .......................................................... 63

8.5 “2023 SMx Local ICS” Object ................................................................. 64

8.5.1 Local ICS Only ..................................................................................... 64

8.5.2 Networked ICS versus Local ICS............................................................. 64

8.5.3 Object 2023 ........................................................................................ 64

8.5.4 STATIC DATA....................................................................................... 65

8.5.5 SIDETONE ........................................................................................... 65

8.5.6 BE CAREFUL WHEN SETTING UP THE AI AND AO CHANNELS ...................... 66

8.5.7 DO NOT USE MORE THAN ONE ICS WITH THE SAME PARAMETERS ............. 66

8.5.8 SAMPLE WORKSHEET............................................................................ 66

8.5.9 PRACTICAL APPLICATION ......................................................................67

8.6 Super Mixer V+ Examples .................................................................... 68

8.6.1 Controlling the Super Mixer’s Master Gains ..............................................68

8.6.2 Monitoring the Super Mixer’s Meters ....................................................... 69

8.6.3 Controlling the Super Mixer’s AI to AO Mixer............................................71

8.6.4 Controlling the Super Mixer’s WO to AO Mixer.......................................... 72

8.6.5 Controlling the Super Mixer’s WO to WI Mixer ..........................................73

8.6.6 Controlling the Super Mixer’s AI to WI Mixer ............................................ 74

8.7 Run-Time Messages.............................................................................. 75

9Troubleshooting .................................................................. 75

9.1 Common Problems with Power ............................................................... 75

9.2 System Power Supply ........................................................................... 76

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9.3 Safety................................................................................................. 76

9.4 Handling Your System........................................................................... 76

9.5 Warranty & RMA Information ................................................................. 76

9.5.1 Requesting an RMA Number .................................................................. 77

9.6 Contact Information ............................................................................. 77

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List of Figures

Figure 1, SMx System Architecture ............................................................................. 14

Figure 2, Overall System Block Diagram...................................................................... 15

Figure 3, SMx Audio System ...................................................................................... 16

Figure 4, SMx Super Mixer......................................................................................... 17

Figure 5, SMx Mixer Matrix ........................................................................................ 18

Figure 6, Single SMx Mixer Module Showing all 4,096 Gain Controls ............................... 19

Figure 7, Typical SMx PC Chassis................................................................................ 22

Figure 8, SMXB0B-10 Front View................................................................................ 24

Figure 9, SMXB0B-10 Rear View................................................................................. 24

Figure 10, Switchcraft Plug Physical Dimensions........................................................... 25

Figure 11, SMx DSP Card .......................................................................................... 26

Figure 12, Creative Sound Blaster PCI Card Control Panel.............................................. 28

Figure 13, SMx Playback Controls Exposed by Windows................................................. 28

Figure 14, Breakout Box Master/Slave Dip Switch......................................................... 30

Figure 15, Breakout Box Phantom Power Switches........................................................ 31

Figure 16, Connecting SMx Cards to Master Boxes........................................................ 32

Figure 17, 8 Channel SMx System Connection Diagram................................................. 33

Figure 18, 16 Channel SMx System Connection Diagram ............................................... 34

Figure 19, 24 Channel SMx System Connection Diagram ............................................... 35

Figure 20, 32 Channel SMx System Connection Diagram ............................................... 36

Figure 21, 40 Channel SMx System Connection Diagram ............................................... 37

Figure 22, 48 Channel SMx System Connection Diagram ............................................... 38

Figure 23, 56 Channel SMx System Connection Diagram ............................................... 39

Figure 24, 64 Channel SMx System Connection Diagram ............................................... 40

Figure 25, V+ Platform Configure Window ...................................................................44

Figure 26, SMx Configuration Window.........................................................................45

Figure 27, Run Dialog Box ......................................................................................... 47

Figure 28, SMx I/O Devices ....................................................................................... 49

Figure 29, SMx Analog in Gain Boost Device ................................................................ 50

Figure 30, SMx Analog in Meters Device ......................................................................51

Figure 31, SMx Analog In to Analog Out Mixer Device ...................................................52

Figure 32, SMx 64 Master Attenuators (Volumes) ......................................................... 53

Figure 33, SMx Analog Out Master Volume Device ........................................................ 54

Figure 34, SMx Analog Out Meters Device ................................................................... 55

Figure 35, SMx Wave In Mixer Device ......................................................................... 56

Figure 36, SMx Wave Out Meters Device ..................................................................... 57

Figure 37, SMx Wave Out Mixer Device ....................................................................... 58

Figure 38, SMx Wave Out to Wave In Mixer Device ....................................................... 59

Figure 39, SMx Status Device .................................................................................... 60

Figure 40, SMx Simulated Hardware Mode Status Ports ................................................. 60

Figure 41, AI Gain Boost Example ..............................................................................68

Figure 42, AO Master Volume Example........................................................................68

Figure 43, AI VU Meter Example................................................................................. 69

Figure 44, AO VU Meter Example................................................................................ 70

Figure 45, WO VU Meter Example ............................................................................... 70

Figure 46, Analog In to Analog Out Mixer Example ....................................................... 71

Figure 47, Wave Out to Analog Out Mixer Example ....................................................... 72

Figure 48, Wave Out to Wave In Mixer Example ........................................................... 73

Figure 49, Analog In to Wave In Mixer Example ........................................................... 74

Figure 50, Run Time System Message Window ............................................................. 75

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SimPhonics, Inc.

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List of Tables

Table 1. SMx Physical Specifications .......................................................................... 20

Table 2. SMx Power Requirements ............................................................................. 20

Table 3. Operating and Storage Conditions ................................................................. 20

Table 4. Electrical Characteristics .............................................................................. 21

Table 5. Audio Performance Specifications .................................................................. 21

Table 6, Chassis Options ........................................................................................... 22

Table 7. Motherboard Minimum Performance Characteristics ......................................... 23

Table 8 Cable Limitations .......................................................................................... 24

Table 9, 8 Channel SMx System Parts List ...................................................................33

Table 10. 16 Channel SMx System Parts List............................................................... 34

Table 11. 24 Channel SMx System Parts List............................................................... 35

Table 12. 32 Channel SMx System Parts List............................................................... 36

Table 13. 40 Channel SMx System Parts List............................................................... 37

Table 14. 48 Channel SMx System Parts List............................................................... 38

Table 15, 56 Channel SMx System Parts List............................................................... 39

Table 16. 64 Channel SMx System Parts List............................................................... 40

Table 17, MISC Registry Key...................................................................................... 47

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1Preface

1.1 Trademarks and Copyrights

SimPhonics, V+, VPLus, SMx, and/or other SimPhonics products referred to in this site are

either trademarks or registered trademarks of SimPhonics. Other products and company

names that are mentioned may be the trademarks of their respective owners. All rights not

expressly granted herein are reserved.

Any trademarks shown throughout this document are the property of their respective

owners. V+, V+, SMx are trademarks of SimPhonics, Incorporated.

This document was authored using Microsoft Word 2003 and is maintained at the

SimPhonics web site in .DOC format. This document may be copied freely for any purpose.

1.2 Before Reading this Document

The reader should be familiar with the V+ Visual

Programming System, in particular the use of I/O devices

and ports. The V+ Programming System User Manual is

available from at this URL and is the software engine for the

SMx system and is the only means of controlling the SMx

behavior. The SMx audio system is designed for use in

advanced applications requiring basic knowledge of digital

audio sampling theory, real-time systems, and a good

understanding of modern desktop PC architecture. There are

additional V+ I/O devices that may be attached to the SMx

system to extend the capabilities. To review these devices, click here.

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1.3 Revision History

Ensure that you have the latest release of this document before relying on this information.

Version

Revision Description

Date

0.1

Pre-release.

8 October 1998

1.0

Initial Release.

29 January 2002

1.1

Added information regarding front SMx panel phone jack and volume

control and updated system block diagram, pages 9 & 11.

15 April 2002

1.2

Changed to the new SMx mixer architecture. Version 2.0 Build 104 of

the SMx Audio System Driver.

26 July 2002

1.3

Updated minimum requirements for system computer.

01 August 2002

1.4

Added “Amplitude Modulation - Single Side Band Radios in V+” section.

11 September 2002

1.5

Added SMx drawings and “tested cable lengths” data. Added section

“Connecting SMx Cards to SMx Master Boxes.”

09 April 2003

1.6

Updated “cable limitations” section. Added section “Extending SMx

Master-to-Slave Connections.”

25 April 2003

1.7

Changed fiber optic cables on drawing –“Connecting SMx Cards to

Master Boxes.”

08 May 2003

1.8

Updated document to reference VComm.

19 May 2003

1.9

Removed “BAL” from rear of SMXB0B-10 channel labels; updated DIP

Switch Settings section.

23 July 2003

1.10

Updated SMx PCI card picture.

01 August 2003

1.11

Added virtual channel user interface.

21 August 2003

1.12

Updated recommended mating connector part numbers to “mono” ¼”

connectors. Added “single-ended” description to SMx input and output

channels

29 August 2003

1.13

Added “Operating and Storage Conditions” section.

28 September 2003

1.14

Corrected Error in WO and WI figures.

16 October 2003

1.15

Removed references to multimedia headsets.

15 March 2004

1.16

Replaced references to Cool Edit with Adobe Audition.

11 May 2004

1.17

Updated power, temperature & humidity specifications.

February 18, 2005

1.18

Formatting updates.

November 17, 2005

1.19

Added CE certification to Breakout Box power supply description.

December 13, 2005

1.20

Updated environmental and electrical characteristics.

June 2, 2006

1.21

Corrected electrical characteristics.

Updated dimension shown for 4U high chassis, page 15; did not re-

release version.

June 8, 2006

September 27, 2006

1.22

Added a section describing diskless boot.

October 25, 2006

1.23

Added specifications for SNR and Crosstalk.

December 1, 2006

1.24

Clarified cross talk specification.

June 14, 2007

1.25

Updated Graphics and Mother Board Specifications.

June 27, 2007

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Version

Revision Description

Date

1.26

Moved the section describing diskless operation to the Hardware

chapter.

July 26, 2007

1.27

Added warning for power disconnect of the breakout box.

August 10, 2007

1.28

Discussed the new SMx devices.

April 13, 2008

1.29

Added a section with instructions for updating the driver.

August 14, 2008

1.30

Moved the WaveOut Meters to just after the Windows Audio Mixer.

October 1, 2008

1.31

Updated Table 5 to read Analog Inputs (8 Single Ended TS).

February 23, 2009

1.32

Changed Table 3’s Humidity Operating Condition to have a lower limit of

20% (Non-condensing).

April 29, 2009

1.33

Updated the status device to report to the V+ Run Time System

message window.

October 12, 2009

1.34

Updated to show proper status port results when the system is in

simulated hardware mode. (No DSPs or BOBs)

2010-11-22

1.35

Updated to correct problem in echosmx.sys driver. Added the Object

2023 detailed information along with an example.

2011-02-05

1.36

Updated the scaling of the input meters.

2011-03-01

1.37

Updated the Troubleshooting section. Corrected formatting errors, did

not re-release.

2011-09-08

1.38

Added Object 2103 W I/O Select to A I/O (SWJ)

2012-08-04

1.39

Updated installation requirements for Build 503 and greater needing

Windows 7 32-bit versions only.

2013-06-13

1.40

Added registry section. (SWJ)

2013-06-25

1.41

Updated minimum equipment performance standard and power specs

(DCH)

2014-08-27

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1.4 Terms and Acronyms

Analog Input

AIn

Analog Input

Analog Output

AOut

Analog Output

BIOS

Basic Input / Output System

CPU

Central Processing Unit

Decibel

dBA

Decibel A-Weighted –Acoustical measurement of SPL

dBu

Decibel Voltage relative to 0.750 volts regardless of impedance (unloaded)

DIS

Distributed Interactive Simulation

DLL

Direct Linking Library

DOS

Disk Operating System

DSP

Digital Signal Processor

ESD

Electrostatic Discharge

HLA

High Level Architecture

Hertz –Cycles per Second

KHz

Kilo Hertz –Thousands of Cycles per Second

K

Kilo Ohms –units of measure for resistance or impedance

I/O

Input / Output

ISA

Industry Standard Architecture

NIC

Network Interface Card

PXE

Preboot Execution Environment

RMS

Root-Mean-Square

SNR

Signal to Noise Ratio

SPL

Sound Pressure Level

THD+n

Total Harmonic Distortion plus Noise

Tip/Sleeve

Impedance

VOX

Voice Operated Relay

WFM

Wired-For-Management

Wave In

WIn

Wave In

Wave Out

WOut

Wave Out

1.5 References

For more information, click on the hyperlinks below see the respective user manuals for the

system or subsystem you are interested in.

V+ User Manual

VComm User Manual

VComm Terrain Server User Manual

V+ On-line Object Help

V+ Remote Control Specification

Complete list of SimPhonics documentation

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2Introducing SMx

The SMx system is a culmination of over fifteen

years of real-time audio system development. From

the early days of custom hardware and software,

SimPhonics has evolved a system that finally meets

expectations of high performance, complete

flexibility, and low cost. Most importantly, it does

this while maintaining an open architecture that

embraces modern industry standards. Open

architectures mean extensibility, and the SMx was

designed from the ground up as a platform for growth into areas that are not yet defined.

SMx delivers up to 64 physical channels of input and output of 24-bit 44.1Khz digital audio

per PC. Each channel is capable of connecting to a wide variety of electrical signal levels;

from standard line audio levels to phantom powered microphones, to low impedance

headphones. Internal audio streams can be routed to any destination from any source in

any combination. In fact SMx introduces some completely new concepts in digital audio

systems that will be discussed later in this document.

Even without the use of V+, the SMx system is well suited to multi-track digital recording

and playback systems often found in recording studios.

One of the disadvantages of such a modular and flexible system is that it requires a good

understanding of its architecture in order to be fully utilized. The primary goal of this

document is to educate the user in more than just the technical workings of this system.

Since this system will be used to fulfill an application specific need, applications examples

are presented and explored.

This document describes the installation, operation and trouble-shooting of the SMx system.

More importantly, it also contains “How-To” information to help the user construct V+

designs for controlling the SMx and generating sound for simulation, simulating

communications systems, generating tones, and connecting the SMx to the DOD DIS/HLA

voice communication networks (VComm).

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2.1 What is an SMx System?

The SMx Audio System is a visually programmable, multi-channel audio system primarily

used in real-time simulation and training equipment. The needs of such systems are

somewhat unique. Many features of the SMx system are designed specifically to suite the

needs of flight simulation, such as low latency mixing of all channels, and special add-on

interfaces that can connect to various types of computer systems and support hardware.

2.2 Complete Audio and I/O System Solution

SMx is more than an audio system. In fact, SMx has been used as a complete I/O system.

Thanks to the various I/O devices such as our National Instruments I/O device, V+ can take

advantage of existing PC I/O hardware on the market. Also, since SMx uses existing

software standards, any network interface card with a Windows driver can be used directly.

Want to use Gigabit Ethernet? Fiber? FDDI? No problem. The Host and the DIS/HLA network

can be connected via any of these. Other custom devices are available such as VMIC’s

Reflective Memory, SCRAMNet, Camber/Bit-3 VME-to-PC, and PROFIBUS just to name a few.

2.3 SMx Terminology

Before we get started, lets agree on some terminology. Commercial audio systems generally

use audiophile terminology. However, the SMx system sticks to the engineering definitions.

Analog Input (AI or AIn) –An AI signal is an actual physical audio input connection. These

are present on breakout boxes as inputs and are labeled channel 1 through 64.

Analog Output (AO or AOut) –An AO signal is an actual physical audio output connection.

These are present on breakout boxes as outputs and are labeled channel 1 through 64.

Breakout Box –A Breakout Box provides the external interface for Analog Inputs and

Outputs. Each Breakout Box contains 8 AIs and 8 AOs which are physically situated on the

back panel using industry standard ¼” phone jacks.

Wave Output (WO or WOut) –A WO is a digital stream of output audio samples flowing from

the PC system. The term WAVE OUT is taken from the Windows file extension for sound files

(.WAV). Windows XP ships with a number of wave files in the c:\WINDOWS\MEADIA

directory, and can be played directly by the system. When Windows plays a sound, it is

usually a wave file. The WO channels in the SMx are often referred to as “virtual channels”

since these are not actually connected directly to physical outputs.

Wave Input (WI or WIn) –A WI is a digital stream of input audio samples flowing into the

PC system from a physical input. This is usually considered recording audio. The SMx uses

WI to send digital audio to the PC system. SMx WI streams can be recorded in the same way

any other sound can be recorded using windows. However, the SMx system can also send

these streams to the voice network, or a number of other destinations. The WI channels in

the SMx are often referred to as “virtual channels” since these are not actually connected

directly to physical inputs.

3System Architecture

Figure 1 shows a simplified overall view of the system. A CPU powers the system and runs

the visual programming software, V+, which controls all aspects of the system. Audio

signals are connected to the system via ¼” phone plugs on the breakout boxes. Each

breakout box features eight inputs and eight outputs, and one (1) system chassis can

support up to eight breakout boxes for a total of 64 inputs and 64 outputs. The flexibility of

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the SMX system allows any configuration from one (1) to eight (8) external boxes resulting

in 8 to 64 channels.

CPU

BREAKOUT BOXES

I/O Device

Drivers

INTERFACES

BREAKOUT BOXES

AUDIO

Figure 1, SMx System Architecture

The interfaces shown in the figure above refer to a variety of connections that can be one or

more Ethernet connections, and or I/O devices that have their own interfaces specific to

their type. For example, a typical system may have a DIS/HLA Ethernet connection and a

Host Ethernet interface. For now, let’s focus on the audio architecture.

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3.1 Overall System Block Diagram

Figure 2 illustrates an overall system block diagram for a standard 32 Channel system. The

delivered components are shown in separate colors. The computer chassis connects to a

Host computer via Ethernet, which commands the system via real-time data. This data

controls a V+ design, which generates sounds via the SMx system and output rack. This

diagram represents our standard 32 Channel configuration, PN: SMx-32-Enn-RM4.

Motherboard

Ethernet

Network

SMx

DSP Card

Computer Chassis

Keyboard,

Monitor,

and Mouse

Network

Interface Card

Analog Inputs

and

Analog Outputs

BREAK-OUT BOX

SMx

DSP Card

BREAK-OUT BOX

Figure 2, Overall System Block Diagram

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3.2 SMx Audio System

Figure 3 is a top level flow diagram of the AIs to WIs, and WOs to AOs. This is the heart of

the SMx audio system. Analog inputs and outputs flow to and from the Super Mixer, which is

also connected to the Wave inputs and Wave outputs of the Windows operating system. Our

SMx architecture is conceptually the same as an ordinary sound card for Windows, except

that there are many more channels of audio. The Super Mixer is controlled in V+ via the

“SMx Audio System” I/O driver.

The Super Mixer is a kernel level driver embedded within the Windows operating system. It

directly controls the SMx DSP cards which are connected to the breakout boxes. It can route

audio streams in almost any fashion. In order to understand SMx, it is essential to

understand the Super Mixer operation. Each line in the diagram can actually be 64 discrete

channels. Note that breakout boxes are not shown for clarity.

Windows

Audio System

(DirectX)

SMx

Super Mixer

V+ SMx

I/O Driver

Figure 3, SMx Audio System

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3.3 SMx Super Mixer

The Super Mixer is the key to the flexibility of SMx. This is what enables SMx to be used in

applications where normal sound cards cannot. Let’s take a look at how this works. There

are four basic audio signal paths in the Super Mixer (refer to Figure 4):

1. Analog In to Analog Out –Input signals applied to the AIs are routed through the

input gain block, monitored at the AIn metering interface, mixed to AOs by the

Analog In to Analog Out mixer, routed through the output gain block, monitored at

the AOut metering interface and sent to the AOs.

2. Analog In to Wave In –Input signals applied to the AIs are routed through the

input gain block, monitored at the AIn metering interface, mixed to WIs by the

Analog In to Wave In mixer, and sent to the WIs of the Windows audio system.

3. Wave Out to Wave In –WO signals coming from the Windows audio system are

mixed to WIs in the Wave Out to Wave In mixer, and sent to the WIs of the Windows

audio system.

4. Wave Out to Analog Out –WO signals coming from the Windows audio system are

mixed to AOs in the Wave Out to Analog Out mixer, monitored at the WOut metering

interface, routed through the output gain block, monitored at the AOut metering

interface and sent to the AOs.

This mixer is a 64-channel system. That is, all of the lines connecting these mixer

components are 64 channels of audio. Even if your system has less than 64 channels of

physical audio, all 64 signals are mixed. The user can adjust the number of WO and WI

channels that are present in any SMx system. Keep in mind however, more channels means

more processing power needed to perform the Super Mixer calculations. Modern processors

have no problem with a full 64 channel super mixer requiring less than 8 percent of the

overall CPU.

Figure 4, SMx Super Mixer

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Each of the components shown in the figure above are represented in V+ as an I/O device.

Each of these I/O devices is explained further in sections below.

3.4 Individual Mixers

A mixer is a device used to mix audio signals from inputs to outputs. In order to remain

flexible, the mixer must be able to mix any input to any output independently without

affecting any other inputs or outputs. This is accomplished via a XY matrix of gain controls.

To further understand the generic mixer model, refer to Figure 5 below. The diagram shows

a matrix of lines, 64 horizontal and 64 vertical, with a circle at the intersection of each

horizontal and vertical line. For the sake of this discussion, let each horizontal line represent

an input to the mixer and each vertical line represent an output. The circles at the

intersections, then, would represent the gain values that are used to control the signal flow

from input to output.

The output signal is then computed as the summation of all input signals multiplied by the

respective gain values for that output. Each gain value (as represented by the circles in the

diagram) in the mixer has a corresponding port in V+ that can be given a value from 0.0 to

1.0.

There are four mixers in the SMx Super Mixer (see the tan boxes in Figure 4). The mixer

shown in the figure below is the Analog In to Analog Out Mixer. The mixers and the V+ I/O

devices that control them are discussed later.

As you can see, there a lot of V+ ports needed to control this mixer. In fact there are 64 X

64, or 4,096 ports per mixer, and there are four of them! If this mixer was exposed as a

hardware mixer to Windows XP and there were controls for each gain cell, there would be

over 16,384 controls present on the mixer console.

AI 1

AI 2

AI 64

AI 1 to AO 2

Figure 5, SMx Mixer Matrix

SMx Audio System User's Manual, V1.41

SimPhonics, Inc.

Page 19 of 77

3.5 Individual Mixer Module

There are four mixer modules in the SMx super mixer and each one contains 4,096 gain

controls that are exposed as a port in V+. The entire SMx super mixer contains 4 X 4,096

or 16,384, + (5) more gain block and meter sections of 64 ports each, resulting in 16,704

V+ ports under CPU control. There is no other mixer like this on planet earth.

Figure 6, Single SMx Mixer Module Showing all 4,096 Gain Controls

SMx Audio System User's Manual, V1.41

SimPhonics, Inc.

Page 20 of 77

4Hardware

4.1 Specifications

Physical

All components shown in the Table 1 are standard 19” EIA rack-mountable units.

Table 1. SMx Physical Specifications

SMx Component

Dimensions (Inches)

Weight (Pounds)

2U System Chassis

3.465H x 19W x 25.6D

4U System Chassis

7.00H x 19W x 20.5D

SMx Breakout Box

1.5H X 19W X 6D

Power Requirements

All components shown in Table 2 are designed to operate from US or European power

systems. The SMx Breakout Box power supply is CE certified.

Table 2. SMx Power Requirements

SMx Component

Current

Voltage

2U System Chassis

6 / 3 A

90-264VAC (Auto Switching), 47-63Hz

4U System Chassis

10 / 5 A

100- 240 VAC (Auto Switching), 47-63Hz

SMx Breakout Box

1.5 / .75A

90-264VAC (Auto Switching), 47-63Hz

Operating and Storage

Table 3 lists the operating and storage conditions for the SMx Audio System. Note: These

specifications are for the SMx system without a keyboard, monitor and mouse.

Table 3. Operating and Storage Conditions

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