Sonosax SX-AD8+ User manual

PROFESSIONAL PORTABLE
MIC/LINE PREAMPLIFIER
SONOSAX
SX-AD8+
USER MANUAL
Firmware Revision 1.0
November 2016
Audio equipment manufacturer
SONOSAX SAS S.A.
Ch. de la Naz 38
CH-105 Le Mont-sur-Lausanne
Switzerland
http://www.sonosax.ch
[email protected]

Table of Contents
1 Introduction.................................................................................................................................... 3
1.1 Features...................................................................................................................... 3
Panel Descriptions......................................................................................................................... 4
.1 Front Panel.................................................................................................................. 4
. Left Side Panel............................................................................................................ 5
.3 Right Side Panel.......................................................................................................... 5
3 Functional Description................................................................................................................... 6
3.1 Input Audio Path.......................................................................................................... 6
4 Standalone Operation.................................................................................................................... 7
4.1 Powering the SX-AD8+................................................................................................7
4. Input Configuration......................................................................................................7
5 Web Interface Operation................................................................................................................ 8
5.1 Enabling Web Interface............................................................................................... 8
5. Top Menu..................................................................................................................... 9
5.3 Input Slice.................................................................................................................. 10
5.4 Setup Button..............................................................................................................10
5.5 Input Setup................................................................................................................11
6 SX-R4+ Remote Operation..........................................................................................................1
6.1 Enabling SX-R4+ Remote Operation.........................................................................1
7 Service Mode............................................................................................................................... 13
7.1 Introduction................................................................................................................ 13
7. Entering Service Mode.............................................................................................. 13
7.3 Service Mode Web Interface.....................................................................................13
7.4 Firmware Update.......................................................................................................15
8 Performance Plots....................................................................................................................... 16
8.1 Frequency Response Plot.........................................................................................16
8. LF Cut filter Plot.........................................................................................................16
8.3 FFT Plots................................................................................................................... 17
9 Specifications.............................................................................................................................. 18
9.1 Analog Inputs.............................................................................................................18
9. Low Frequency Cut Filter..........................................................................................18
9.3 Digital Domain........................................................................................................... 18
9.4 Power........................................................................................................................ 18
9.5 Mechanical................................................................................................................ 18
10 Connector Pin Assignments.......................................................................................................19
10.1 XLR......................................................................................................................... 19
10. Hirose 4................................................................................................................... 19
10.3 3M MDR 6-pin.......................................................................................................19
SX-AD8+ User Manual /19

1 Introduction
Congratulation for purchasing your SONOSAX SX-AD8+ professional portable
microphone / line preamplifier. Based on high technology design, it has been
manufactured to deliver many years of outstanding performances.
As with all SONOSAX products, the SX-AD8+ is build without any compromise in
quality, using only the best components available and passes severe quality controls.
The information and instructions contained in this manual are necessary to ensure
safe operation of your equipment and to maintain it in good operating condition;
please read it carefully.
1 1 Features
Inputs / Outputs
•8 Mic/Line inputs, electronically balanced on XLR-3, phase reversal,
48V phantom, LF Cut and level control on front panel
•4x AES3 transformer balanced outputs on 3M MDR 6-pin connector
Performance
•135 dB (A-weighted) overall dynamic range
•90 kHz overall frequency response @19 k
•40-bit processing
•4-bit 48/96/19 kHz
User Interface
•Basic configuration using knob push-buttons
•Configuration through WiFi dynamic web interface
•Remote configuration through SONOSAX SX-R4+ touch screen
SX-AD8+ User Manual 3/19

2 Panel Descriptions
2 1 Front Panel
G1 to G8
Audio Input Gain with push on
C
Cut-out for shoulder strap
L1 to L8
Tri-color LEDs:
OFF input is powered off
Light Green no signal detected
Green signal activity
Orange input signal reached
orange level
Red input signal reached
red level or input
level too high
SX-AD8+ User Manual 4/19

2 2 Left Side Panel
43 2 1
5
1 to 4 [XLR]
Analog electronically balanced Mic/Line
Inputs 1 to 4
5
Option Card Slot
2 3 Right Side Panel
576 8
432 1
1 to 4 [XLR]
Analog electronically balanced Mic/Line
Inputs 5 to 8
5 [SMA Female]
WIFI antenna connector
6 WIFI enable switch
7 [Hirose 4]
External power supply, 9 to 18V DC
8 [3M MDR 6-pin]
4x AES outputs
SX-R4+ interface link
SX-AD8+ User Manual 5/19

3 Functional Description
3 1 Input Audio Path
The SX-AD8+ audio hardware consists of 8 identical inputs. Each input is converted to
digital and encoded to an AES stream.
The following figure describes an input audio path:
12
3ADC
LF CUT
48V
+20dB
DUAL
ADC PHASE
METERGAIN
AES
MIN, MA REF LEVELS
ANALOG DIGITAL
FRONT PANEL
Analog Domain
•48V phantom power
•+ 0dB switchable analog gain
•Low Frequency Cut (LF CUT)
Analog to Digital conversion
A very high dynamic range is achieved by using two Analog to Digital Converters
(ADC) per channel, driven by a software algorithm.
Digital Domain
•Input gain is computed using front panel input gain knob position, user defined
MIN/MAX values of that knob and gain linking configuration.
•Signal polarity (normal, reversal)
•Signal level metering lit front panel LED
•Output is AES encoded
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4 Standalone Operation
4 1 Powering the SX-AD8+
The SX-AD8+ operates as soon as the input DC voltage is applied, there is no power
switch button.
Once powered, the SX-AD8+ operates immediately as it was on last power down.
To operate in standalone mode, the WIFI should be switched OFF to save power.
4 2 Input Configuration
In standalone mode, device configuration is done using input gain push-buttons and
LEDs.
To configure an input, apply a long press to the selected input gain knob until selected
input LED blinks (in red).
POWER 48V +20dB PHASE OFF 60Hz 120Hz
LOW FREQ CUT FILTER
UNUSED
When input configuration is enabled, knobs and LEDs 1 to 7 are used to change input
setup:
1 – INPUT POWER
LED off: input OFF
LED green: input powered
2 – PHANTOM POWER 48V
LED off: no phantom power
LED green: 48V phantom power
3 – INPUT GAIN +20 dB
LED off: input gain 0 dB
LED green: input gain + 0 dB
4 – PHASE REVERSAL
LED off: input phase normal
LED green: input phase reversed
5, 6, 7 – LOW FREQUENCY CUT
FILTER (LF CUT)
LED 5 green: LF CUT disabled
LED 6 green: LF CUT 60 Hz
LED 7 green: LF CUT 1 0 Hz
LEDs 5-7 are mutually exclusive
To exit input setup, apply a long press to any input gain knob.
SX-AD8+ User Manual 7/19

5 Web Interface Operation
5 1 Enabling Web Interface
The Web interface allows users to fully controls the SX-AD8+ using a computer, a
tablet or a smartphone. The following steps are required to enable that interface:
1. Enable the wireless access point by setting the WIFI switch to ‘1’ on the Right
Side Panel:
. Connect to the SX-AD8+ WIFI network. Network name (SSID) is SX-
AD8+__SNxxxxx, where xxxxx is the device serial number. No password is
required.
3. Launch a web browser and use 19 .168.1.1 as the URL (instead of http://).
Firefox and Chrome are fully tested, it should also work with other browsers
like Safari, Microsoft Edge or Opera.
The web interface is shown as below:
The main page consists of a top menu and 8 identical input slices.
NOTE
Only one host can connect to the web interface
at a time.
SX-AD8+ User Manual 8/19

5 2 Top Menu
SETUP INPUT SETUP FULL SCREEN CONNECTED (v1.0 BETA)
From left to right:
SETUP
Calls a general setup menu
INPUT SETUP
Call an input setup menu
FULL SCREEN
Toggles full screen mode
CONNECTION STATUS
Should be green (connected).
Goes orange if the connection break
or in case of hardware failure.
In case of connection problem,
toggles connection open/close.
SX-AD8+ User Manual 9/19

5 3 Input Slice
1
4
5
6
2
10
3
7
8
9
11
12
13
14
1Knob relative position
2Input Gain [dB]
3Input Channel Number
4Input Power status
5+ 0 dB gain status
6Low Frequency Cut status
748V Phantom status
8Phase Reversal status
9Gain Link status
10 Overload status
11 Red meter area
12 Orange meter area
13 Green meter area
14 Meter range
5 4 Setup Button
SETUP INPUT SETUP
SAMPLING FREQ.
48k
WLAN C ANNEL
10
LED INTENSITY
100%
The SETUP button only modifies the top bar menu. When active, the following
parameters are available:
•Sampling Frequency: select between 48, 96 or 19 kHz.
•WLAN channel: select the WLAN channel to be used for WIFI interface. After
modification, a WIFI network power cycle must be applied.
SX-AD8+ User Manual 10/19

•LED intensity: set the front panel LED intensity. Note that 0% fully disables
LEDs.
5 5 Input Setup
The Input Setup button calls the input setup page:
The top menu consists of three parameters:
•ORANGE LEVEL: defines the level where signal should be seen as orange
•RED LEVEL: defines the level where signal should be seen as red
•METER RANGE: defines the overall meter range
NOTE
Orange, red and meter range apply to web
interface meters and front panel EDs.
The input area consists of the following parameters:
•MIN: minimum gain value [dB]. This is the lower gain value just after unmuting
input with the gain knob.
•MAX: maximum gain value [dB]. This is the higher gain value when gain know
is at maximum
•POWER: toggles input power
•48V: toggles 48V phantom power
•+ 0: toggles + 0 dB gain
•: toggles phase reversal∅
•LF CUT: OFF, 60Hz, 1 0Hz
•LINK: gain is linked when LINK is set to a target channel number
SX-AD8+ User Manual 11/19

6 SX-R4+ Remote Operation
6 1 Enabling SX-R4+ Remote Operation
To connect with a SX-R4+, WIFI enable switch must be disabled.
Connect the SX-AD8+ to the SONOSAX SX-R4+ multi-tracks recorder with a 3M
mutli-pin cable and an Hirose power cable.
Don’t forget to enable DC output in the SX-R4+ POWER menu. As soon as both
devices are powered, the SX-AD8+ will connect with the SX-R4+. When operating in
this mode:
•The SX-AD8+ configuration is available through the SX-R4+ touch screen
•The SX-AD8+ potentiometers can operates as input gain or faders
•All SX-AD8+ push-buttons can be assigned to a dedicated function
SX-AD8+ User Manual 1 /19

7 Service Mode
7 1 Introduction
The service mode is a separate operation mode for service purpose. It is used for
firmware update and to check hardware status.
7 2 Entering Service Mode
Push and keep pressed the knob 8 while applying power to the SX-AD8+. A LEDs
animation confirm the service mode: all LEDs become green, then red, then green (or
red).
The last LED color indicates the hardware check status. A red color indicates a failure:
LED Error cause
1 Main board failure (SPI bus)
Knobs 1-4 board failure
3 Knobs 5-8 board failure
4 Missing firmware in flash memory
5 XLR 1-4 input board failure
6 XLR 5-8 input board failure
7 Main board failure (I C bus)
8 Failure detected on the optional card slot
After power-up, the knobs and LEDs operation can be checked by pressing the knobs:
each push change the LED color: OFF → light green → green → orange → red.
7 3 Service Mode Web Interface
The service mode exports a dedicated web application. To view it, proceed as
following:
1. Enable the wireless access point by setting the WIFI switch to ‘1’ on the Right
Side Panel:
. Connect to the SX-AD8+ WIFI network. Network name (SSID) is SX-
AD8+__SNxxxxx, where xxxxx is the device serial number. No password is
required.
3. Launch a web browser and use 19 .168.1.1 as the URL (instead of http://).
The web interface is shown as below:
SX-AD8+ User Manual 13/19

SONOSAX SX-AD8+ BOOTLOADER
CONNECTED
SYSTEM INFO
ARDWARE STATUS OK
INIT CODE VERSION 1.0
BOOTLOADER VERSION 1.0
MAIN DSP VERSION 1.0
DUAL-ADC DSP VERSION 1.2
PIC VERSION 1.1
FIRMWARE UPGRADE
SELECT FIRMWARE FILE
POTs POSITION
0
151
306
456
601
751
898
1023
The web interface auto-connect to the SX-AD8+. The connection status is given by the
connect button on top right of the screen:
Status Color Description
CONNECTED Green Connected
CONNECTING... Yellow Trying to connect
CONNECTED –
FAILURE CODE x
Yellow Connected, but hardware status failure detected
CONNECTED –
CONNECTION
BREAK
Green or
Yellow
Connection breaks. Indicates that the WIFI
connection is not ideal (short breaks) or that the
connection is not available any more
OFFLINE Gray User manually disabled connection
When connected, the System Info section gives an overview of the hardware and
software status:
SYSTEM INFO
ARDWARE STATUS OK
INIT CODE VERSION 1.0
BOOTLOADER VERSION 1.0
MAIN DSP VERSION 1.0
DUAL-ADC DSP VERSION 1.2
PIC VERSION 1.1
The hardware status should always indicate “OK”. When not, it gives a hardware
failure code. The failure code format is a decimal unsigned 3 -bit integer, where each
bit defines an error cause:
SX-AD8+ User Manual 14/19

Bit Error cause
0 Main board failure (SPI bus)
1 Knobs 1-4 board failure
Knobs 5-8 board failure
3 Missing firmware in flash memory
4 XLR 1-4 input board failure
5 XLR 5-8 input board failure
6 Main board failure (I C bus)
Option board 4 channels output, I/O expander failure
3 Option board 4 channels output, digital transmitter failure
4 Option board 4 channels output, digital to analog converter failure
The other fields are software revision; value “UNKNOWN” is not an error, it just
indicates that the software revision is not available.
The POTs POSITION gauges reflects the raw position of each potentiometer.
7 4 Firmware Update
To apply a firmware update, first download the update file on Sonosax website. Once
completed, enter service mode, press the “SELECT FIRMWARE FILE” button and
select the update file.
FIRMWARE UPGRADE
SELECT FIRMWARE FILE
UPGRADE FIRMWARE
VALID FIRMWARE FOUND
MAIN DSP VERSION 1.0
If the update file is valid, an “UPGRADE FIRMWARE” button will appear. Firmware
update will begin when pressing that button.
FIRMWARE UPGRADE
SELECT FIRMWARE FILE UPDATING [39%]
MAIN DSP VERSION 1.0
The firmware update is power fail safe: if the process fails, try again. When the update
successfully completes, a power cycle is required.
SX-AD8+ User Manual 15/19

8 Performance Plots
8 1 Frequency Response Plot
1 10 100 1000 10000 100000
-10
-8
-6
-4
-2
0
8 2 LF Cut filter Plot
1 10 100 1000
-25
-20
-15
-10
-5
0
5
No LF Cut LF Cut 60Hz LF Cut 120Hz
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8 3 FFT Plots
Measurements for all performance plots are taken using the following conditions:
•1 kHz sine wave tone input
•96 kHz sampling frequency
•Audio Precision Equiripple window
Frequency (Hz)
10 20 30 50 100 200 300 500 1k 2k 3k 5k 10k 20k 30k 50k
L e v e l ( d B F S )
-200
-180
-160
-140
-120
-100
-80
-60
-40
-20
0
+20
Input: + 0 dBu
Frequency (Hz)
10 20 30 50 100 200 300 500 1k 2k 3k 5k 10k 20k 30k 50k
L e v e l ( d B F S )
-200
-180
-160
-140
-120
-100
-80
-60
-40
-20
0
+20
Input: +10 dBu
Frequency (Hz)
10 20 30 50 100 200 300 500 1k 2k 3k 5k 10k 20k 30k 50k
L e v e l ( d B F S )
-200
-180
-160
-140
-120
-100
-80
-60
-40
-20
0
+20
Input: 0 dBu
Frequency (Hz)
10 20 30 50 100 200 300 500 1k 2k 3k 5k 10k 20k 30k 50k
L e v e l ( d B F S )
-200
-180
-160
-140
-120
-100
-80
-60
-40
-20
0
+20
Input: -10 dBu
Frequency (Hz)
10 20 30 50 100 200 300 500 1k 2k 3k 5k 10k 20k 30k 50k
L e v e l ( d B F S )
-200
-180
-160
-140
-120
-100
-80
-60
-40
-20
0
+20
Input: - 0 dBu
SX-AD8+ User Manual 17/19

9 Specifications
9 1 Analog Inputs
Frequency Response Hz to 75kHz (-3 dB)
Hz to kHz (+/- 0.1 dB)
19 kHz sample rate
THD + Noise 0.0011% max (1 kHz, Hz- kHz, +10dBu input)
Equivalent Input Noise -11 .5 dBu max (Gain 0dB, Hz- kHz, 150
Ohms)
-1 6 dBu max (Gain + 0dB, Hz- kHz, 150
Ohms)
Maximum Input Level + 1 dBu (Gain 0dB)
1 dBu (Gain + 0dB)
9 2 Low Frequency Cut Filter
Frequency Response Third order, 60 or 1 0 Hz
See LF Cut filter Plot
9 3 Digital Domain
Sampling Frequency 48 kHz, 96 kHz, 19 kHz
A/D x 4-bit per channel
40-bit processing
A/D Dynamic Range 135.5 dB, A-weighted (Gain 0dB)
1 9.5 dB, A-weighted (Gain + 0dB)
Output Bit Depth 4-bit
Outputs 4x AES3 transformer balanced outputs on 3M MDR
6-pin
9 4 Power
Input Voltage 9-18V DC on locking Hirose 4
Power consumption, all input
enabled
6.0 W
9 5 Mechanical
Size (H x W x D) 00 x 50 x 144.5 mm
7.87 x 1.96 x 5.7 ‘’
Weight 850 g
1.9 lbs
SX-AD8+ User Manual 18/19

10 Connector Pin Assignments
10 1 XLR
12
3
1 ground
signal (+)
3 Signal (-)
10 2 Hirose 4
10 3 3M MDR 26-pin
13 1
1426
1 ground
AES 1- (-)
3 AES 3-4 (-)
4 AES 5-6 (-)
5 AES 7-8 (-)
6 – 8 not connected
9 RS4 RX (-)
10 RS4 TX (-)
11, 1 not connected
13, 14 ground
15 AES 1- (+)
16 AES 3-4 (+)
17 AES 5-6 (+)
18 AES 7-8 (+)
19 – 1 not connected
RS4 RX (+)
3 RS4 TX (+)
4, 5 not connected
6 ground
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