Virtins Vt rta-268a User manual

VT RTA-268A/B/C Manual Rev. 1.5

Virtins Technology

VT RTA-268A/B/C Manual

An Ultra Low-Noise Real Time Acoustic Analyzer, Sound Level Meter,

Distortion Analyzer, Polarity Tester, Time Delay Finder …

Note: VIRTINS TECHNOLOGY reserves the right to make modifications to this manual at any time without

notice. This manual may contain typographical errors.

VT RTA-268A/B/C Manual Rev. 1.5

Virtins Technology

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 INSTALLATION AND QUICK START GUIDE..........................................................................................3

1.1 PACKAGE CONTENTS....................................................................................................................................3

1.1.1 Standard Package ................................................................................................................................3

1.1.2 Optional Items......................................................................................................................................4

1.2 HARDWARE CONNECTION ............................................................................................................................5

1.3 HARDWARE DRIVER INSTALLATION.............................................................................................................6

1.4 MULTI-INSTRUMENT SOFTWARE INSTALLATION AND CONFIGURATION.......................................................6

1.4.1 Install Multi-Instrument.......................................................................................................................6

1.4.2 Start Multi-Instrument..........................................................................................................................6

1.4.3 Configure Multi-Instrument .................................................................................................................8

1.5 INPUT OF SOUND LEVEL CALIBRATION DATA ............................................................................................13

1.5.1 0dB Reference Vr...............................................................................................................................14

1.6 MICROPHONE FREQUENCY COMPENSATION ...............................................................................................15

1.7TWENTY MOST FREQUENTLY USED MEASUREMENT SETTINGS .................................................................17

1.8 MORE ACOUSTIC ANALYSIS FUNCTIONS AVAILABLE IN MULTI-INSTRUMENT PRO OR ABOVE..................21

1.9 LIST OF AUDIO TEST WAV FILES (AUDIOTESTCD.ZIP) .............................................................................21

1.10 OPERATION NOTES ...................................................................................................................................23

1.11 UAC-232 CONTROL PANEL......................................................................................................................23

1.12 UAC-232 MIX CONTROL..........................................................................................................................24

1.13 TIME DELAY MEASUREMENT ...................................................................................................................25

1.13.1 Two-channel Time Delay Measurement using Cross Correlation ...................................................25

1.13.2 Single-channel Time Delay Measurement using Auto Correlation..................................................26

1.13.3 Single-Channel Time Delay Measurement using Pulse Emission....................................................27

1.14 AUDIO AND ULTRASOUND ANALYSIS.......................................................................................................27

2 SPECIFICATIONS.........................................................................................................................................28

2.1 VT RTA-268A/B/C HARDWARE CONFIGURATION.....................................................................................28

2.2 OVERALL VT RTA-268A/B/C SPECIFICATIONS.........................................................................................28

2.3 UAC-232 AUDIO INTERFACE SPECIFICATIONS...........................................................................................28

2.4 MEASUREMENT MICROPHONE M215 SPECIFICATIONS (FOR VT RTA-268A).............................................30

2.5 MEASUREMENT MICROPHONE M215L SPECIFICATIONS (FOR VT RTA-268B) ..........................................31

2.6 MEASUREMENT MICROPHONE M50 SPECIFICATIONS (FOR VT RTA-268C)...............................................32

2.7 MULTI-INSTRUMENT SOFTWARE SPECIFICATIONS......................................................................................33

3 MULTI-INSTRUMENT SOFTWARE LICENSE INFORMATION ........................................................42

3.1 LICENSE TYPES...........................................................................................................................................42

3.2 LICENSE UPGRADE FROM ONE LEVEL TO ANOTHER...................................................................................42

3.3 SOFTWARE UPGRADE IN THE SAME LICENSE LEVEL...................................................................................42

4 WARRANTY...................................................................................................................................................42

5 DISCLAIMER.................................................................................................................................................43

VT RTA-268A/B/C Manual Rev. 1.5

Virtins Technology

1 Installation and Quick Start Guide

VT RTA-268A/B/C is a series of PC-based ultra-low-noise real-time acoustic analyzers,

audio interface used in the analyzers has two ADCs working in tandem to create a single

output data stream in 32-bit float format. One “low gain” ADC is optimized for high-level

signals, and the other “high gain” ADC is optimized for low-level signals. This state of the

art dual-ADC architecture provides an unmatchable dynamic range compared with the

conventional single ADC approach. With a proper microphone, it is now possible to capture

sound across the entire human hearing range without sacrificing fidelity at low signal levels

or encountering clipping at high signal levels, and this can be achieved without the hassle of

manual analog gain adjustment.

1.1 Package Contents

1.1.1 Standard Package

A standard VT RTA-268A/B/C Package contains the following items:

1) XLR Measurement microphone and its accessories (a windshield, a microphone clip and

stand)

2) XLR-to-USB Audio Interface

3) USB Cable (1 m)

4) XLR Cable (1.5 m)

XLR Measurement Microphone

Windshield

Microphone Clip and Stand

VT RTA-268A/B/C Manual Rev. 1.5

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5) CD (containing the copy-protected Multi-Instrument software)

The latest software can always be downloaded from www.virtins.com/MIsetup.exe.

6) USB hardkey (containing a Multi-Instrument Pro license)

7) Audio Test WAV files (containing a list of audio test tones and noises)

They can be downloaded at: www.virtins.com/AudioTestCD.zip and then burnt into a CD

or saved into a USB memory stick. They can also be generated directly from the Signal

Generator of Multi-Instrument.

8) Carrying Case

9) Unique Sound Level Calibration Data (in CD)

10)Unique Microphone Calibration Data (in CD, only applicable to RTA-268C)

1.1.2 Optional Items

1) An additional XLR measurement microphone and its accessories

2) P48-to-IEPE converter (so that IEPE sensors can be connected to the XLR input)

3) IEPE sensors

4) Software license upgrade

VT RTA-268A/B/C Manual Rev. 1.5

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1.2 Hardware Connection

Sound Measurement

Connect the XLR measurement microphone to the input jack 1 of the audio interface.

Connect the corresponding ends of the USB cable to the XLR-to-USB Audio interface and a

PC’s USB port. When this is complete, the blue LED at the top right corner of the front panel

lights up, indicating that it is receiving power.

Then switch on the 48V phantom power of input jack 1. This is required by the condenser

measurement microphone used here, meanwhile, the Guitar/Bass switch for HiZ support

MUST be turned off.

Software Activation

The USB hardkey needs to be plugged into any USB port of the PC in order to activate the

Multi-Instrument software. Otherwise the software will run under the 21-day fully functional

free trial mode before the trial period expires.

VT RTA-268A/B/C Manual Rev. 1.5

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Test Signal Generation

You can generate the test signals from the Signal Generator of Multi-Instrument. The XLR-

to-USB audio interface has two ¼-inch TRS jacks on its back panel, respectively for left and

right balanced line-level outputs, and a ¼-inch TRS stereo headphone jack on its front panel.

The test signals output from these jacks can be fed into the audio system under test.

Alternatively, you can play the test signals from an audio CD or a memory stick.

1.3 Hardware Driver Installation

The device driver installer RTA268ABC_DriverInstaller.exe is located in the

Drivers\VTRTA268ABC directory in the CD. When you install the Multi-Instrument

software, a copy of the device driver installer will also be installed in the software installation

directory\Drivers\VTRTA268ABC. Run it to install the driver. After driver installation, the

device will be supported by both Sound Card MME and ASIO drivers in Multi-Instrument.

1.4 Multi-Instrument Software Installation and Configuration

Multi-Instrument is a powerful multi-function virtual instrument software. It supports a

variety of hardware ranging from sound cards which are available in almost all computers to

proprietary ADC and DAC hardware such as NI DAQmx cards, VT DSOs and so on. It

consists of multiple test instruments such Oscilloscope, Spectrum Analyzer, and Multimeter,

etc.

1.4.1 Install Multi-Instrument

Insert the Multi-Instrument installation CD into your computer’s CD-ROM drive and follow

the instruction on the screen to install the Multi-Instrument software. The installation file

can also be downloaded from www.virtins.com/MIsetup.exe.

1.4.2 Start Multi-Instrument

To start Multi-Instrument, on the Windows desktop, select [Start]>[All Programs]>[Multi-

Instrument]>[VIRTINS Multi-Instrument], or simply double click the MI icon.

If the software is started for the very first time after installation, it will prompt the user to

select a default device (see figure below). Select VT RTA-268A/B/C according to the

hardware device to be used.

VT RTA-268A/B/C Manual Rev. 1.5

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The default device can also be changed later via [Setting]>[ADC Device], [Setting]>[DAC

Device], and [Setting]>[Configure Hot Panel Setting Toolbar], or simply [Setting]>[Restore

to Factory Default]. However, if [Restore to Factory Default] command is executed, all

calibration data entered manually via [Setting]>[Calibration] after software installation

will be reset to the default values of the selected product. To avoid the loss of the

manually entered calibration data, you can save them as a calibration file first.

Otherwise, you will have to enter the unique calibration data that come with the

product package again.

VT RTA-268A/B/C Manual Rev. 1.5

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In case the driver has not yet been installed, the software will prompt the user to install the

driver. Restarting program is required after that.

After the default device is selected, the software will prompt the user to select a default color

scheme (Skin). The default skin can also be changed later via [Setting]>[Display].

The main window of the software will open after the above skin selection. The following

figure shows a typical screen layout (obtained by clicking the “OCT3” button in the Hot

Panel Setting Toolbar after the launch of the software). Please refer to the software manual

for detailed functions of the software. The software manual can be accessed via [Start]>[All

Programs]>[Multi-Instrument]>[VIRTINS Multi-Instrument Manual] (in PDF format) or

[VIRTINS Multi-Instrument Help] (in HTML format) on Windows Start menu, or

[Help]>[Software Manual] or F1 inside the software.

1.4.3 Configure Multi-Instrument

In Multi-Instrument, the menu items are enabled / disabled based on context. Many menu

items are disabled when the Oscilloscope or the Signal Generator is running. To do the

configuration, stop the oscilloscope first by pressing the green button at the upper left corner

of the screen (see figure below). The button will turn red once the Oscilloscope is stopped.

VT RTA-268A/B/C Manual Rev. 1.5

Virtins Technology

1.4.3.1 Configure Sound Recording Devices for Multi-Instrument

The audio interface can be used with either MME or ASIO driver. ASIO driver is

recommended as it uses the sampling rate selected in Multi-Instrument directly and bypasses

the possible sampling rate conversion and audio signal enhancement by Windows, which

may otherwise alter the original samples and lead to measurement inaccuracies.

1.4.3.1.1 Using ASIO Driver

Go to [Setting]>[ADC Device], and select “Sound Card ASIO”in the “Device Model”field.

Then choose “ZOOM UAC-232 ASIO Driver” in the “Device No.” field (see figure below).

This is to configure the audio interface as the sound recording device for the software.

Click the “Control Panel”button to bring up the control panel for the audio interface (see

figure below).

1.4.3.1.1.1 Buffer Size

VT RTA-268A/B/C Manual Rev. 1.5

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There is generally no need to change the default Buffer Size for test and measurement

applications. A large buffer size is preferred, though.

1.4.3.1.1.2 Sampling Rate

Under ASIO, the Sampling Rate will be set directly in Multi-Instrument and thus changing it

here will have no effect. Instead, the Sampling Rate here will passively follow what is set in

Multi-Instrument.

On the other hand, if MME is used instead, you can only change the actual sampling rate of

the audio interface here. The change here will be reflected in the sampling rate displayed in

the Sound Recording Tab under the Windows Control Panel. When the sampling rate set in

Multi-Instrument differs from the one here, Windows will conduct sampling rate conversion

automatically.

1.4.3.1.1.3 Format

Two formats are supported by the audio interface: 24-bit (Integer) or 32-bit Float. One

unique feature of the audio interface is its support for 32-bit float format. This format

provides much finer resolution than the 24-bit (Integer) format when the signal is weak,

thanks to the audio interface’s state of the art dual-ADC architecture, with one optimized for

weak signals and the other optimized for strong ones. Both formats have the same resolution

when the signal is strong. It is thus recommended to use the 32-bit float format for sound

recording (ADC). However, currently its ASIO driver does not support 32-bit float format

for signal output (DAC). Hence, MME should be used for sound playback (DAC) instead.

When the 32-bit float format is used, the Sampling Bit Resolution in Multi-Instrument must

be set to 32-bit, otherwise, an error message will pop up. When the ADC is running in the

32-bit float mode, the “32-Bit FLOAT”sign on the front panel of the audio interface will be

lit up, and “Float32”will be displayed at the middle bottom of the Oscilloscope window in

Multi-Instrument.

Now, if you start the oscilloscope by pressing the red button at the upper left corner of the

screen, and then talk before the measurement microphone, you should be able to see your

“voices” in the Oscilloscope and Spectrum Analyzer.

1.4.3.1.2 Using MME Driver

Go to [Setting]>[ADC Device], and select “Sound Card MME”in the “Device Model”field.

Then choose “Line (ZOOM UAC-232 Audio)” in the “Device No.” field (see figure below).

This is to configure the audio interface as the sound recording device for the software.

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