Viola Systems Crescendo User manual

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ViolaAudioLaboratories
446BlakeSt
NewHavenCT06515
+2037720435
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[email protected]
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ViolaAudioLabs
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Crescendo Pre-Amplifier
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Remote Control
User’s Manual
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CrescendoPre‐amplifierRemoteControlUsersManualPage2of42
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Contents
Introduction..................................................................................................................................................4
iTouch/iPod/iPhonesetup............................................................................................................................5
iTouch/iPod/iPhoneapplet......................................................................................................................6
Ad‐Hoc/PointtopointNetworkSetup......................................................................................................7
QuickStartforad‐hoc/pointtopointnetworks.......................................................................................8
Makingchangespermanent...................................................................................................................10
iTouchWifiPointtopoint/Ad‐Hoc‐Factorydefaultsettings................................................................11
CrescendoonahomeWi‐Finetwork.........................................................................................................13
SetupofaniTouch/iPod/iPhoneonahomenetwork............................................................................14
SetupofaCrescendoonaHomeNetwork.............................................................................................15
CrescendoWifiSetupforhomenetwork...........................................................................................16
CrescendoNetworkSetupforhomenetwork....................................................................................17
FinalizingtheWi‐Fi/NetworksettingsontheCrescendo.................................................................18
NetworkExclusivity.....................................................................................................................................19
EstablishingapartnershipbetweenaiTouchandCrescendo....................................................................20
ShuttingDowntheiTouchapplet...............................................................................................................21
UseoftheCrescendoRemoteControlapplet............................................................................................22
Applet–Inputstab..................................................................................................................................23
InputsTab–inputsub‐tab..................................................................................................................24
InputsTab–setupsub‐tab.................................................................................................................25
InputsTab–Gainsettingsub‐tab........................................................................................................26
InputsTab–SSPsub‐tab......................................................................................................................27
Applet–Volumetab...............................................................................................................................30
Applet‐Systemtab.................................................................................................................................31
SystemTab–StatusTab.....................................................................................................................32
SystemTab‐ColorSetupTab.............................................................................................................33
SystemTab–NetworkSetupTab.......................................................................................................
33
SystemSetup–OnCANTab...............................................................................................................34

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SystemScreen–DACinfo...................................................................................................................35
FirmwareDownload....................................................................................................................................36
ViolaDAC.....................................................................................................................................................37
ViolaDAC‐Driverinstallation.................................................................................................................37
ViolaDAC–ControlPanel.......................................................................................................................40
Troubleshooting..........................................................................................................................................42
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Introduction
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TheCrescendopre‐amplifierassystemconsistsofseparateinterconnectedparts:
Crescendopre‐amplifierfirmware,craftware
iTouchremotecontrolappletsoftware
ViolaDACfirmware,driverandcraftware.
CrescendoreceivesitscommandsfromtheiTouchremotecontrolappletthroughadecicatedTcp/IP
portinaWi‐Finetwork.WhenthesecommandsaremeantfortheViolaDAC,itpassesthemalongan
internallocalbus.StatusandtelemetrydataispolledfromtheCrescendo’ssubsystemandpushedonto
theiTouch.
Crescendocraftwareisusedtosetthesystemup(network/wifisettings)orsetupfeaturesyouwould
notwanttogivetheremotecontrolappletaccessto(likeforinstanceSSPsettings).
DACcraftwareisusedtoupdatethefirmwaretotheDACwhennecessary.Itisincludedwithfuture
firmwarereleases.
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iTouch/iPod/iPhonesetup
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TheCrescendocancommunicateonmostWi‐Finetworks.
Thefactorydefaultsettingcommunicatesonasocalled“ad‐hoc”or“pointtopoint”network,where
thereisnorouterorswitchbetweentheCrescendoandiTouch.
Mosthomenetworksconsistofawireless/wiredrouterthatseveralPCshookinto.Typically,anetwork
likethathasinternetaccess.WhiletheCrescendodoesnotneedtohaveaccesstotheinternet,most
usersfinditconvenienttogivetheiTouchusedforCrescendo’sremotecontrolalsoaccesstothe
internet.Todothis,theCrescendoneedstohaveaccesstoyourhomenetwork.
Thefollowingdiscussionwillguideyouthroughthesetupofeithernetwork.
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iTouch/iPod/iPhoneapplet
InstallthefreeViolaRemotecontrolappletfromtheapplestore.
(https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/viola‐remote/id563608611?ls=1&mt=8)
Forthesakeofthefollowingdiscussion,whentheword‘iTouch’ismentioned,itisinterchangeablewith
‘iPod’or‘iPhone’.TheCrescendopreamplifiershipsfromthefactorywithaniTouchbutyoumayvery
welldecidetocontrolthesystembymeansofyourpersonaliPhone,forinstance.
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AdHoc/PointtopointNetworkSetup
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Fromthefactory,thecrescendopreamplifierhasbeensetuptocommunicateoverasimple
unencryptedpointtopointconnection.
Thefollowingdescribeshowonemaybeabletoresetasystembacktothatmode,shouldoneneedto
dothat.
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QuickStartforadhoc/pointtopointnetworks
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Priortocrescendoversion1.0.1.11,anycrescendoleavestheViolafacilitieswiththedefaultfactory
setuptocreateitsownnetworknamed‘crescendo’andassumesanetworkIPof192.168.1.2withanIP
maskof255.255.255.0.Onapointtopointnetworkonversionspriorto1.0.1.11,allIPaddressesonthe
networkaretobestatic.
Afterversion1.0.1.11andup,anycrescendoleavestheViolafacilitieswiththedefaultfactorysetupto
createitsownnetworknamed‘crescendo’andassumesanetworkIPof10.0.0.1withanIPmaskof
255.255.255.0.Onapointtopointnetworkonversionspriorto1.0.1.11,allIPaddressesonthenetwork
aretobedynamic(DHCP).Acrescendorunningversion1.0.1.11anduphastheabilitytorunitsown
DHCPserveronpointtopointnetwork.
Shouldthecrescendoeverneedtoberesettoitsfactorynetworksettings,findtheCresConf.exeutility,
includedontheutilityUSBkey.CresConfisanapplicationmeanttoberunfromaPC.Besuretorunthe
CresConffromtheUSBkey–notfromacopiedversionofitfromthePC’sharddrive
CresConfhasa‘WiFiSetup’tabanda‘NetworkSetup’tab:
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ForasimpleAd‐HocWiFi/staticIPconnection,youcanjustleavethesesettingsalone.TheWiFi’sSSID
willbesettoCrescendoandthecrescendo’sdeviceIDonthenetworkwillbesettoCRESCENDO01with
astaticIPof192.168.1.2.TheiTouchcanbesettoanyotherIPinthatrange(192.168.1.X)butthat’s
discussedelsewhereinthismanual.

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ForasimplestaticIPnetwork,
leaveallsettingsalone.Sinceyou
aretheonlyoneonthenetwork,
theSSIDof“crescendo”andthe
devicenameof“CRESCENDO01”
willdojustfine
Selectthe“Update”checkboxes
for“WiFi”and“Network”.
DonotchecktheSSPcheckbox.
PressDone.
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Tomakethesechangespermanent,performtheactionsindicatedbythesubheading“making
changespermanent”.
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ThecrescendoisabletoprovideanIPaddresstoaconnectediTouchinasimplepointtopointnetwork
only.Todothis,changethesettinginthenetworktabtoDHCPlikeso:
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ItisassumedthattheWi‐Fi’sSSIDhasbeenset
to“Crescendo”,aswasdoneabove.
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WhenselectingDHCP,theblurbnexttothe
radioboxchangesto“DHCPServer”,indicating
thattheCrescendowillberunningaDHCP
server.
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TheIPaddressandrelatedsettingswillbe
selectedforyou.TheCrescendoreservesthe
address10.0.0.1foritself.TheiTouchwillgetits
addressfromtheCrescendoafteritconnects.
Notethatthismodeisonlyavailableapointto
pointnetworkandonlyonCrescendosloaded
withversion1.0.1.11orabove.
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Makingchangespermanent
ToconveyanychangestotheCrescendoPre‐
Amplifier,besurethattheappropriate
checkboxes(Wifi,NetworkorSSP)hasbeen
checkedpriortopressingthe“Done”button.
Forexample:
Ifyourcrescendohasbeensetupforyour
wifinetwork’sSSIDbutallyouwanttocheck
isitsnetwork’ssetup,itwouldbe
appropriatetoonlycheck‘network’without
checkingthe‘wifi’checkbox.
Ontheotherhand,Ifthisisthefirsttime
you’vesetupaunit,itwouldbeappropriate
toselectboth‘network’and‘wifi”.
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Powertheunitdown.
powerupbackup
InserttheUSBkeyintheportlocatedinthebackoftheunit.Notethatthepre‐amplifierautomatically
rebootsafterthekeyisinserted.Thisisnormalbehavior.
AftertheCrescendofrompanelstopsflashing,removetheutilityUSBkeyfromtheUSBkey.
Yourcrescendoisnowsetup.

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iTouchWifiPointtopoint/AdHocFactorydefaultsettings
Beforeproceeding,makesuretheCrescendohasbeensetupforanad‐hoc/pointtopointnetwork,
discussedabove.TheCrescendocreatingthenewnetwork,ithastobeonforthefollowingtooperate
correctly.
OnyouriPod,launchthe‘settings’(screen1,below)appletandselectits‘Wi‐Fi”(screen2)settings.
Screen1Screen2
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Clickthroughthe‘Wi‐Fi’setting(screen2,above)togettothe‘Wi‐Finetworks’screen.
Noticethatanewnetworknamed“Crescendo”nowexists(screen1,below).Thisisthepointtopoint
networkIDbeingbroadcastbytheCrescendopre‐amplifier.
Toconnecttoit,chooseitandclicktheblue“>”buttononthesameline.
Noticeaconfigurationscreen(2)willshowup.Dependingonyourselectionmade(staticorDHCP
server,see“QuickStartforad‐hoc/pointtopointnetworks”),youmayneedtochancethesetting.
Ifyou’veselected“DHCPserver”inyourCrescendo’spointtopointsetting,justleavethesettingforthe
iTouchatDHCP,whichisitsdefault.Ifyou’veselected“Static”inyourCrescendo’spointtopointsetting,
youwillneedtoselect“Static”hereaswell(screen3).

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Screen1Screen2Screen3


Taponthe‘IPAddress’lineandenter“192.168.1.1”
Taponthe“SubnetMask”lineandenter“255.255.255.0”
IgnoretherouterandDNSsettings.Youwillnotneedthemonanad‐hocnetwork.
Taponthe“Wi‐FiNetworks”buttononthetopofthescreentogetbacktothepreviousscreen(screen
1,above).
GobacktotheiTouchdesktopscreen.
LaunchtheCrescendoremoteappletontheiTouchandproceedtotheheading“Establishinga
partnershipbetweenaiTouchandCrescendo”
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CrescendoonahomeWiFinetwork
MostuserswillwanttosettheirCrescendoupontheirregularhomenetwork.Thefollowingprocedure
demonstrateswhatisrequired.Twosettingsneedtochange:oneontheiTouchandtheotheronthe
Crescendo.
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SetupofaniTouch/iPod/iPhoneonahomenetwork

ShouldyouneedtochangenetworkswithyourViolaRemotecontrolappletrunning,pleasenotethat
theappletwillneedtobeshutdownuntilthenetworkhasbeensetup.Forthatprocedure,see
elsewhereinthismanual.
OnyouriPod,fromthedesktop,launchthe‘settings’(screen1,below)appletandselectits‘Wi‐fi”
(screen2)settings.
Screen1Screen2Screen3Screen4


Clickthroughthe‘Wi‐Fi’setting(screen2,above)togettothe‘Wi‐Finetworks’screen(screen3).
WithintheViolafacilities,wehaveaWi‐FinetworkdedicatedtothetestingofCrescendopre‐amplifiers.
Thisnetwork’sWi‐FiSSIDisnamed“Crescendo@viola”–pleasenotethatitisn’tthe“crescendo”
network,itbeinganad‐hoc/pointtopointnetworkbetweeniTouchandCrescendo.“Crescendo@viola”
isatrueinfrastructurenetwork.YourhomenetworkwillhaveasimilarWi‐FiSSID.
Assuch,our“Crescendo@viola”networkissetupforDHCP,whichmeansitdistributesTcp/IPaddresses
tothoseallowedonit(Screen4).Ournetworkalsofeaturesnetworksecurity.
Yourhomenetworkmaybesetupdifferently:yournetworkmayverywellbesetupforstaticIPandno
security.NotbeingfamiliarwithyourWi‐Fisettings,itisbeyondthescopeofthisdocumenttogo
througheverysinglepossiblesetting.Itisassumedtheuserhasacertainlevelofnetworkknowledgeto
beabletosetaiTouchupforDHCPorStaticIP,security,etc.
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SetupofaCrescendoonaHomeNetwork
Shouldthecrescendoneedtobesetuptocommunicateoverahomenetwork,aPCutilityisincludedon
theincludedutilityUSBkeynamedCresConf.exe.
BesuretoruntheCresConffromtheUSBkey.TheCresConfutilitycreatesabatch‐stylecommandfile
thatisconsumedbytheCrescendowhenitisinserted.Theprocedureofactuallystoringthechanged
settingsisdiscussedelsewhereinthisdocument.
CresConfhasa‘WiFiSetup’tabanda‘NetworkSetup’tab.
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CrescendoWifiSetupforhomenetwork

PressthefirsttaboftheCresConfPCapplet,ifyouarenottherealready.
TheSSIDisthenameofyourhomenetwork.

IntheexampleforsettinguptheiTouch,our
networkSSIDisCrescendo@viola.Yournetwork
willobviouslyhaveadifferentname–enterthat
nameintheSSIDfield.


NotethattheWi‐Fisetuphastwopulldownboxes:onefortopologyandoneforsecurity.Forhome
networks,theCrescendobecomespartofthehomenetwork.Todothis,pressthepulldownboxfor
“topology”(redarrow,screen1above)andsetthetopologyto“infrastructure”.Selectingthisoption
willindicatethattheunitwillattachtoanetworkwithseveraldevicesonit,asislikelythecaseinyour
homesetup.
Pressthepulldownfor“security”andselecttheappropriatesecuritysettingforyournetwork.All
networksbeingdifferent,thisappletallowsforthefollowingselections:
Open
WEP40
WEP104
WPAwithkey
WPAwithpassphrase
WPA2withkey
WPA2withpassphrase
WPAautowithkey
WPAautowithpassphrase
Allnetworksbeingdifferent,onlyyoucanselecttheappropriatesettingsforyourhomenetwork.
Unlessyou’vechosenan“open”network,onethatdoesnothavesecurity,notethatthepasswordfield
willallowyoutoenterapasswordorsecuritykey.Enterthatkey.

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CrescendoNetworkSetupforhomenetwork

ClickthesecondtabontheCresConfPCappletlabled“NetworkSetup”ifyouarenottherealready.
TheNETBIOSnamereferstothenetworknameof
anydeviceonthenetwork.Ourprogramdefaults
to“CRESCENDO01”butyoucanchangeitto
anythingyouprefer.Pickanamethatmakessense
toyou.

Alldevicesonanetworkshouldhaveaunique
networkname.Thisnameshouldbeaconvenient
namebutshouldnotexceed15charactersandis
limitedtoupperorlowercaseA‐Zandnumbers0‐
9.


SelectyournetworksettingregardingDHCPorStaticIP.MosthomenetworksareDHCPbuttheremay
beexceptions.
Notethatwhen“StaticIP”isselected,notethattheotherfieldsbecomeeditable.Entertheappropriate
settingsforIPaddress,networkmask,etc.TheCrescendodoesnotneedtohaveaccesstotheinternet,
sodoesnotneedDSNserveracces.Assuch,itdoesnotcareaboutprimaryandsecondaryDNS.Ifyou
don’tknowwhatyournetwork’sDNSsettingsare,justenterthesameIPaddressastheGateway.
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FinalizingtheWiFi/NetworksettingsontheCrescendo

Onceyou’veperformedthepreviouslydiscussed
settings,settinguptheWifiandNetwork,using
theCresConfapplet,besuretocheckthe“Wifi”
and“Network”checkboxesandpress‘done”

TaketheUSBkeyoutofthecomputer.
Powerdownyourcrescendoandwaitatwoseconds.
PlugthepowerplugintoyourCrescendoandwaitforittocompletelybootup.Anindicationoffull
bootupisthattheflashingofthefrontpanelstops.
InserttheutilityUSBkeyintothebackoftheCrescendo.Notethatthepre‐amplifierautomatically
reboots.Aftertherebootinghascompleted,removetheutilityUSBkeyfromtheUSBslotonthebackof
theCrescendo.
TheCrescendo’sfrontpanelwillflash,indicatingitispartneringwithyournetwork.Notethatthismay
takeupto30seconds,dependingontheencryptionchosen.PleasenotethattheiTouchremotecontrol
appletdoesnotcommunicatewiththenetworkuntilthefrontpanelontheCrescendostopsflashing.
Sincethisisanewconnection,yourCrescendomayneedtobepartneredupwithyouriTouch.Forthis
procedureseetheheading“EstablishingapartnershipbetweenaiTouchandCrescendo”,elsewherein
thisdocument.
Afterapartnershiphasbeenestablished,yourcrescendoisnowsetuptocommunicatetoyouriTouch
acrossyourWi‐Finetwork.
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NetworkExclusivity
Ifyouhavesetupotherconnectionstonetworksthatareactuallyinrange,itisoftenbesttonotuse
themwhileyouareusingyourcrescendo.ThereasonforthisisthatthenatureoftheAppledeviceis
suchthatitwantstoalwaysbeconnectedtotheinternetandwantstosearchforagoodconnectionto
itallthetime.Thisbehaviorinterfereswiththenormaloperationofapointtopointcrescendo
connection–thismeanswehavetomaketheiPodnotconnecttotheseothernetworks.
Theonlywaytodothatisto‘forget’theothernetworks:
Clickonthenetworkwithinrangethatyoucanconnectto(screen1,below).Clickthe‘>’buttononthe
right.
Screen1Screen2Screen3


Click“forgetthisnetwork”(screen2,above).Adialogboxwillpopup,makingsureyouwanttoindeed
forgetthisnetwork.Acknowledgebyhitting‘forget’andperformthisactionforallnetworksinrangeof
yourcrescendothatyoumayhavebeenconnectedto.
Whenalldone,reconnecttoyourcrescendonetwork(screen3,above)
ClosetheiPod’snetworksetupapplet.
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EstablishingapartnershipbetweenaiTouchandCrescendo

TheveryfirsttimeaCrescendoPreamplifieroraniTouchisused,itneedstobematchedupor
‘partnered’,regardlessofwhetheranad‐hocorinfrastructurenetworkisused.Thefollowingprocedure
appliestobothnetworktypes.
ThisisdonefromatabontheViolaRemoteappletontheiTouch.
Whentheappletislaunchedthefirstscreenloadedisthe‘status’(screen1,below)tab.Notethatitisn’t
connectedtoyourcrescendobecauseapartnershiphasnotbeenestablishedyet.
Screen1Screen2Screen3Screen4
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TopartneryouriPodtoyourCrescendo,clickonthe‘system’s‘’setup’button.
NoteaColorsetupscreen(2)showsup.Click“NetworkSetup”.
An‘onWi‐Fi”screen(3)willappear.Afterasecondortwo,yourcrescendopreamplifierwillreportback
withitsname(‘crescendo01’,inouraboveexample).TaponthenameoftheCrescendoyouwouldlike
toremotecontrol.
Noticeadialogbox(4)showsup,indicatingapartnershiphasbeenestablishedbyreportingthe
crescendo01’sIPaddress.
ClickOK.Yourcrescendoisnowpairedtoyouripodandisreadyforuse.
Thesesettingswillberememberedevenduringpowerdown.ShouldtheiPodorCrescendoeverchange
WiFinetworks,thisprocedurewillneedtobeperformed.
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