Fbt QUBE SP27, Manual

Page 1: ...QUBE SP27 Audio Management System www qubeaudio com FBT ELETTRONICA S p A www fbt it ...

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Page 3: ... menu Used to view unit s status and select various global options such as PEQ Q or bandwidth units delay units and output metering point pre post mute Sub menu Used for locking various operations of the unit using a 4 digit code Sub menu monitor AES input status info AES inputs are switched via rear panel The crossover output settings may be stored independently of the input settings using the su...

Page 4: ...ut operation with AudioCore software Start up procedure Preliminary Set up Input Channel Makeup Output Channel Makeup Preset Routing Configurations Free Assign Routing Input Gain Base Delay Input Parametric EQ Output Gain Output Polarity Output Delay Output High Pass Filter Output Low Pass Filter Output Parametric EQ Output Limiter Output D Max Clip Limiter RS232 Connection single unit Loading New...

Page 5: ...king Operation Unlocking the Unit Forgotten the Password Standard Parametric EQ Shelving EQ High Shelf shown Creating a Flat topped EQ Response Low High Pass Variable Q Filter Low Pass shown Program Limiter and D Max Limiter Program Limiter D Max Clip Limiter Setting Accurate Limiter Thresholds Crossover Filter Slopes TimeAlignment 26 26 27 27 28 28 33 33 34 36 39 3 28 29 31 32 32 34 35 37 ...

Page 6: ...ades and a third grounding prong The wider blade and the third prong are provided for your safety When the provided plug does not fit into your outlet consult an electrician for replacementof theobsoleteoutlet Onlyusethisequipmentwithanappropriatemainscord In the USA the cord should comply with the requirements contained in the Standard for Cord Sets and Power Supply Cords UL 817 be marked VW 1 an...

Page 7: ...ter unpacking the unit please check it carefully for any damage If any is found immediately notify the carrier concerned you the consignee must instigate any claim Please retain all packaging in case of future re shipment 5 ...

Page 8: ...l controls The SP27 are also equipped with AES EBU digital inputs and include a sample rate converter capable of accepting anything from 32kHz up tp 192kHz Superb audio quality carefully optimised double precision signal processing coupled with 24 bit conversion ensure a dynamic range in excess of 117dB The high sampling rate of 96kHz means minimal filtering providing exceptional sonic purity with...

Page 9: ...e velocity sensitive encoders adjust the relevant parameters as displayed on the screen The two status LEDs show from left to right AES inputs selected flashing if not locked Control and monitor input signal paths Red buttons illuminate when pressed and mute audio for that channel buttons illuminate yellow when pressed and access gain on first press then last viewed parameter on second press then ...

Page 10: ...ction to a PC Data is converted to RS485 standard and relayed to slave units via the RS485 sockets 3 pin XLR sockets are provided for each channel All are fully balanced pin 2 hot 3 cold 1 screen Recessed switch to select AES digital inputs Red LED will illuminate in the hole when AES inputs are selected along with the corresponding front panel indicator 3 pin XLR sockets are provided for each cha...

Page 11: ...n Note that when in a menu is always used to confirm selections The current selection is marked with an asterisk Use the keys on each output channel with the and keys to select the high pass filters low pass filters parametrics etc Note that when designing a new crossover the high and low pass filters will be set to default values Use the keys on each input channel with the and keys to select the ...

Page 12: ...completely flexible channel routing The diagram below shows the processing available on each of the four input channels before routing to the matrix Output Channel Makeup The diagram below shows the processing available on each of the eight output channels after routing from the matrix In addition to the ability to assign any combination of inputs to any output a number of preset configurations ar...

Page 13: ...2 x 3 way crossover 1 x 6 way crossover 2 x 2 way mono 11 ...

Page 14: ...g output 1 The display will also detail the current combination of inputs feeding this output To change the routing for any output press its key and then choose the required input channel combination by just pressing the input keys as appropriate The input combinations can also be stepped through in turn by pressing or To complete the procedure press The wizard will continue and if the routing has...

Page 15: ...the maximum available output delay for any output fed from input A will be 150mS The readout units can be changed between time in milliseconds distance in feet or distance in metres Please see page for more details Input Parametric EQ There are eight bands of parameter equalisation available on every input The behaviour of each individual band can be changed to a variety of different filter shapes...

Page 16: ...y between any input and output is 650 00mS For example if the input delay on channel A is set to 500mS the maximum available output delay for any output fed from input A will be 150mS The readout units can be changed between time in milliseconds distance in feet or distance in metres Please see page for more details Gain Gain Output1 OP1 Output Gain 6 0dB or Polar Output1 OP1 Polarity x 0 3uS 0 1m...

Page 17: ...f you try to set the low pass filter to a lower frequency than the high pass which would be pointless and result in no output the message High Low Freq Overlap will be displayed Note that to access the 48dB Octave filters parametric bands 8 9 need to be bypassed or set to 0dB If they are not the message Bypass PEQ s 8 9 To Access 48dB Slopes will be displayed th Output Parametric EQ There are nine...

Page 18: ...in place of the attack and release times Selection of automatic time constants is through the Design a Crossover wizard intheCrossoverSub Menu Output D Max Clip Limiter The clip limiter on each output is designed to sit at a threshold just above the standard limiter and has a look ahead attack so that its threshold can never be exceeded The release time can be automatically linked to the high pass...

Page 19: ...ollowing simple rules All outputs are ganged to the lowest number so to gang must be selected and then ganged to Outputs cannot share more than one ganging set so for example output unless they are ganged together as well Crossover Ganging Ganging None Ganging 1 3 5 7 2 4 6 8 4 x 2 way Ganging 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 x 8 way Ganging 1 5 2 6 3 7 4 8 4 x 2 way Ganging 1 3 5 7 2 4 6 8 2 x 4 way 3 5 5 3 3 c...

Page 20: ...Menu System Overview 18 ...

Page 21: ...n below MENU MUTE EDIT Store Graphic Memory Store Input Memory Store Crossover Memory Store Global Memory Recall Graphic Memory Recall Input Memory Recall Crossover Memory Recall Global Memory System Status External Interface Set up Change Graphic Q Bandwidth Filter Q Bandwidth Display Readout Delay Units Time Distance Readout AES Input Status Design a Crossover Input Ganging Crossover Output Gang...

Page 22: ...me Press NEXT to jump through info LCD Contrast Adjusttheviewing angle of the screen LED Brightness Adjustthebrightness of all the meters and button LEDs Temperature Alarm Setthethreshold for the unit to flash a warning temperature message on the screen Wake up Time Adjustthetimebefore the audio fades in on start up can also be set to keep mutes on when powered up Output Meters Opt n Select the mo...

Page 23: ... to or using the option offers the possibility of storing various combinations of the available memory types and these are selected using the and keys To explain how this all works please consider the following example There are 10 memories stored in the unit with various combinations of input and crossover memories INPUT CROSSOVER GLOBAL MEMORY Sub Menu Store Recall Global Memory BACK NEXT As can...

Page 24: ...ase as location 6 is an Input Crossover memory whilst 8 and 10 will appear as they contain Input and Crossover information as well Selection of Crossover memories only will additionally include locations 1 and 6 in the list of memories available for recall as shown below In this way it is possible to recall part of a memory as long as it contains the memory type required The 4 Series have 256 memo...

Page 25: ...tions from the back of the first one it acting as a converter for them but their RS232 ports are not used A typical interface set up might involve running an RS232 link from laptop or a desktop computer to a SP27 unit set up as a master unit The diagram below shows this method of connection the required menu options are also given Note that the RS232 cable must be a 1 1 connection type NOT a null ...

Page 26: ...he unit between input B and output 1 A red LED inside this aperture illuminates to show that the AES digital inputs have been selected A complimentary LED on the front panel also illuminates The switch controls the rear panel LED directly whilst the front panel one is viatheprocessor allowingit torelayalittlemoreinformation If it is flashing this means that AES inputs have been selected but have n...

Page 27: ...user Pressing again will show AES Device Status V 96k0 V 96k0 This display shows the status of the two AES receivers input A on the left and Input B on the right The sample rate the unit has been able to lock to is shown or UNLOCKED will be displayed in its place The unit will lock to sample rates from 32kHz up to and including 192kHz The unit s own processing sample rate is 96kHz and AES output d...

Page 28: ...rs available but no output parameters the crossover sections are completely locked All mutes remain active As for Xover Trim but additionally output mutes are locked Input mutes remain active All parameters may be viewed but none may be adjusted This applies to both inputs and outputs All mutes remain active No parameters are accessible in effect the keys do nothing All mutes remain active All par...

Page 29: ...l ask for a security code Use the keys in the same manner as for entering lock codes see page for details and enter 2121 The display will show Enter Supplied Code Break Code 12345 NNNN The Break Code in the example 12345 should be noted and supplied We have software to generate the corresponding Pass Code which should be typed in followed by This will unlock the unit and wipe the previous password...

Page 30: ...an attack or release time will result in excessive low frequency distortion In the sub menu there is an option for automatic limiter time constants Use this option if you are unsure how to set the time constants manually It is recommended the use of the automatic setting In this mode the time constants will be automatically set from the High Pass filter frequency according to the table below The t...

Page 31: ...nd the gain controlled by adjusting the fader The sidechain is formed by the feedback path between the engineer s ears checking the level and his brain instructing his hand to turn the fader down if the volume goes over the threshold he has chosen In this case the delay between the signal actually going over the threshold the engineer registering the situation and then turning the signal down will...

Page 32: ...sults but with the penalty of delaying the main signal by the amount of look ahead delay introduced predelay back main The D Max limiter which appears in output lists just following the traditional limiter has only two parameters to adjust The release time either Fast Medium or Slow and the threshold Note that the threshold is set to be a minimum of 2dB above the threshold of the program limiter s...

Page 33: ...c program is far from continuous in nature the peak power of the system is much higher up to ten times the continuous figure Any limiter which is to protect the driver from damage must be able to fulfil the following tasks Have an attack time which is calculated to allow transients through but keep the RMS level below the speaker manufacturers specification Have a release time which is sufficientl...

Page 34: ...set with absolute accuracy since component tolerance problems do not occur Please see page for details of how to adjust the high and low pass crossover filter settings A further advantage of the SP27 Series over conventional products is the provision of an independently adjustable delay section for each output This allows the true arrival time from multiple drivers to precisely aligned rather than...

Page 35: ... will automatically set the gain back to 0dB Each filter type will be explained in turn in the following section Standard Parametric EQ InA Input A PEQ 1 1k00Hz Q 3 0 0 0dB The standard parametric band has adjustable frequency Q or Bandwidth and Gain controls These affect a range of frequencies symmetrically about the centre freqency as shown in the graph Various levels of cut and boost are shown ...

Page 36: ...lower the Bandwidth and the smaller the range of frequencies affected Note that Q settings above 0 75 will result in slight overshoot in the filter response as seen at the highest setting to the right This is normal behaviour and does not indicate instability To create a flat topped EQ filter response such as that shown to the left use two EQ bands BOTH configured as low shelves For an overall BOO...

Page 37: ...adjust the damping of the filter so that low Q settings show less overshoot at the turnover frequency but also slower roll off Remember that Q is 1 Bandwidth so the higher the Q the lower the Bandwidth and the smaller the range of frequencies affected The filter is primarily 12dB Octave but in achieving this sort of roll off with a high Q value will result in quite a large overshoot in level at th...

Page 38: ...Hz 1 36 octave steps Freq Range LPF 35Hz 22kHz 1 36 octave steps Responses 1 Order 6dB Oct Bessel Butterworth Linkwitz Riley 12 24 48dB Oct Bessel Butterworth 18dB Oct Parametric Equalisation High and Lowpass Filters st Limiters Connectors Program Limiter Threshold 22dBu to 10dBu Attack time 0 3 to 90 milliseconds Release time 2 4 8 16 32 x Attack time D Max Limiter Attack Time 60uS Release Time S...

Page 39: ... Front Panel G H I L M Ganging Inputs Ganging Outputs Global Memory Menu Graphic Menu High Pass Filter Input Gain Input Section Menu Interface RS232 USB Interface Menu Limiter Overshoot Prevention Limiter Threshold Limiters Load New Software Lockouts Look Ahead Look Ahead Delay Low Pass Filter Master Password Memory Structure Menus Details Quick Ref Shortcuts 25 24 20 28 13 16 29 20 13 29 24 29 13...

Page 40: ...Release Times Resonant Filter Routing Basic Free Assign Presets RS232 Interface S U V Security Security Menu Shelving EQ Shipping Sidechain Delay Specifications Standard Parametric Start up System Menu Unlocking Unpacking USB Interface Vari Q 14 14 13 15 27 26 14 16 9 8 28 35 12 10 12 10 23 26 20 34 5 29 36 33 9 20 27 5 23 35 ...

Page 41: ...Appendix I SP27 Default Crossover Configurations 2 x 3 Way 39 ...

Page 42: ...2 x 2 Way Mono Sum 40 ...

Page 43: ...1 x 6 Way 41 ...

Page 44: ...tion included in this operating manual have been scrupulously controlled however FBT is not responsible for eventual mistakes FBT Elettronica S p A has the right to amend products and specifications without notice ...