Martin Audio ENGINEER, User Manual

Page 1: ...The Martin Experience Engineer User s Guide All material 2007 Martin Audio Ltd Subject to change without notice ...

Page 2: ...r 8 4 2 Audio 8 4 3 RS 485 8 4 4 RS 232 8 5 Using the software 9 5 1 Installation 9 5 2 Synchronization 10 5 3 Initializing communication 11 6 Software features 12 6 1 Master Mute 13 6 2 The communications status indicator 13 6 3 The taskbar 13 6 4 Input routing 13 6 5 The routing matrix 14 6 6 In and output labels 14 6 7 Equalizers 15 6 8 Crossovers 16 6 9 Output settings 17 7 Basscreator 18 ...

Page 3: ... 30 8 5 5 Max Gain 30 8 5 6 Min Gain 30 8 5 7 X frequency 31 8 6 Automated EQ High 32 8 6 1 Speed 32 8 6 2 Delta Gain 32 8 6 3 Delta T 32 8 6 4 Min RMS 32 8 6 5 Max Gain 32 8 6 6 Min Gain 32 8 6 7 X Frequency 33 8 7 Limiter 34 9 Project and preset management 35 10 The Scheduler 39 10 1 One time events 40 10 2 Weekly events 41 10 3 Daily events 42 11 Zoning 43 12 Remote control 45 12 1 Recalling pr...

Page 4: ...lled or objects have fallen into the apparatus the apparatus has been exposed to rain or moisture does not operate normally or has been dropped This unit is designed for indoor use Do not use this unit in a wet or damp environment or near water Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators heat registers stoves or other apparatus including amplifiers that produce heat This unit is not des...

Page 5: ...e 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 Please think of our environment and don t bin any materials including this manual When the product has reached the end of its useful life please dispose of it responsibly through a recycling centre ...

Page 6: ...ngineer in a box called The Engineer working 24 7 to keep a pleasant consistent sound in the venue The second one being the Basscreator algorithm a psycho acoustical effect to make small speakers sound like they are a lot bigger with unexpected amounts of perceived low frequency output from a small speaker The unit also features an advanced scheduler to automate preset recall and make sure the cor...

Page 7: ...t musical sounding speaker protection limiters in the business on every output Very high musical sound quality throughout Unique Engineer DSP algorithm working 24 7 to keep a consistent sound in your venue Unique Basscreator algorithm gives small speakers the perceived low frequency response of a large speaker Flexible built in scheduler for automated preset recalling RS 232 485 interface for exte...

Page 8: ...io connections are located on the backside of the device The connections are balanced Phoenix connectors From left to right are OUTPUT 1 8 and INPUT 1 4 The connections are labelled for audio hot for audio cold for audio ground 4 3 RS 485 On the back of the device next to the audio inputs is the powered RS 485 connection for connecting the Engineer Remote on a RJ 45 connector For wiring scheme ple...

Page 9: ...M and follow the Autostart EngOpen htm instructions If the disk doesn t autostart open the my computer dialog located on your desktop or start menu Select the CD or DVD drive containing the Martin Audio Engineer software and double click on the Engineer msi or Setup exe file You should now see the installation screen Please follow the instructions on your screen to complete installation After inst...

Page 10: ...the device is the safest way when it comes to making sure the current project stored in the device isn t lost The Engineer will send the currently loaded settings to the software and you can take it from there In case you have an existing project in an Engineer file select the load project from file option This will load the stored project in the software and send it straight to the device discard...

Page 11: ...ner Selecting this will prevent this dialog box from showing up in the future and set the communications port you select as the default Make sure your Engineer is connected to the port you select and hit Connect to start the synchronization During the synchronization process a progress bar will be shown Please be patient while this operation completes this can take a few minutes in the case of man...

Page 12: ...the following screen without the arrows of course Beside the Levels window which obviously represents the current signal on the Engineer in and outputs there s a window called Routing and settings Take some time getting to know this window Most of your work within the software will start from here After synchronization it will always show the currently active settings in the engineer ...

Page 13: ...f this when configuring complex projects where dozens of windows might clog your workspace with excess information preventing you to focus on the job at hand When you minimize a window it ll appear in the taskbar as an orange button which you can click on to restore its window Use the small blue buttons on the top to rid your workspace of all windows at once or to restore them all 6 4 Input routin...

Page 14: ...nfigured correctly the whole audio path through the system will now be marked in green including the input and output labels An example of 2 complete audio paths can be seen below Each separate matrix cell can be right clicked to produce dialog that controls the gain of your signal As with the input routing a plus represents an audio boost while a minus represents a cut 6 6 Input and output labels...

Page 15: ...e scroll wheel of your mouse to change the Q bandwidth slope factor of the selected filter While dragging holding down the CONTROL key locks the gain value and holding down the SHIFT key locks the frequency value You can use the reset button to bypass each filter s type All other parameters will remain the same meaning you only have to change each filters type to get your original settings back By...

Page 16: ...outing and settings window to open the crossover window This window is pretty straightforward Select a high and or low pass filter from a variety of filter types and set its frequency by using mouse or keyboard The steepness of the filter can be selected in the Slope selection box Like equalizers crossovers can be copied and pasted by right clicking on their respective windows or buttons ...

Page 17: ...attack time for the limiter is set as a function of its release time All output parameters can be copied and pasted to any of the other outputs in the same way as the Crossover and EQ parameters Place the cursor over the label at the top of the channel you wish to copy right click and select Copy Move to the output channel to which you would like to paste the settings and again right click on the ...

Page 18: ...all speakers to give a sense of low end that couldn t be achieved normally on the same speaker Reduce the amount of sub woofers needed to save space and money Use the Basscreator for infill systems to maintain a consistent sound field with the added advantage of avoiding interference problems with the main systems sub woofers the perceived bass is in a different frequency range Use the Basscreator...

Page 19: ...inal 50 Hz sine wave has been replaced with higher harmonics on 100 150 200 and 250Hz in a certain ratio To our brains this harmonic pattern will sound as if there was a 50 Hz tone To start using the basscreator you should first route the inputs you want to use it on toward the Basscreator module in the Routing and settings window Then click the BCR button in the same window to open up the Basscre...

Page 20: ...quency about one octave below the low frequency cut off of your speaker This means that if you have a speaker which is capable of producing 100 Hz you should use the 50HZ setting on the Basscreator as a starting point If you have set the frequency set the drive and mix levels The drive level determines the amount of harmonics generated by the algorithm and determines the sound it will produce for ...

Page 21: ... to play us a nice lounge background program and the following happens First we get a nicely produced music track which has nice dynamics and a proper mastering volume everything is fine and we set the total volume to the level we like in the venue Then the next track is very quiet with very little bass and treble so suddenly the music in the venue is gone totally drowned in the noise of talking p...

Page 22: ... solution What happens at the radio stations is that very strong multiband limiting is applied to all the program material so that every song will sound the same and is as loud as the rest no matter if it is a middle of the road ballad or a techno track This technique works quite well but the drawback is that the music loses all it s dynamics large amounts of harmonic distortion are added and the ...

Page 23: ...the overall perceived level stays the same The Engineer algorithm features an automated volume control an automated low EQ an automated high EQ and a multiband end stop limiter to catch extreme peaks in the program material Just like a normal human being would do the algorithm listens to the incoming signal for a couple of seconds then decides if it sounds too loud or too weak adjusts the volume l...

Page 24: ... of what s going on in the algorithm The three compasses on the right side of the window show the amount of gain boosted or cut from the input signal for the overall level as well as specifically for the high and low tones The three knobs on the left side of this screen give you the opportunity to give a user offset to the sound made by the engineer so you can decide that you like the setting but ...

Page 25: ... set the target sound for the algorithm it s best to use the type of music that will be played most on your system If the advanced settings for the algorithm are set to their defaults this will usually be correct for the Engineer to function as it should If not we can tweak the advanced settings for the algorithm via the Advanced button in the Engineer simple window Be sure to hit the Autocatch ag...

Page 26: ...6 8 3 Engineer advanced The Engineer advanced window consists of four separate components Automated volume control Automated low EQ control Automated high EQ control Endstop limiters Let s take a moment to go through all the parameters to see what they actually stand for ...

Page 27: ... we can see what the functions of the Delta Gain Delta Time Min RMS are The Blue line represents the RMS level of the incoming program material The Red line marked Target Volume is set by pressing the Autocatch button in the Engineer simple screen this is the level the algorithm uses as a reference ...

Page 28: ...for a Delta T amount of time before the algorithm starts altering the volume E g When Delta Gain is set to 3dB and Delta T is set to 2 seconds than the difference between the Input Volume and the Target Volume has to be more than 3dB for at least 2 seconds before the algorithm starts altering the volume 8 4 4 Min RMS The Min RMS parameter determines the threshold in volume before the algorithm sta...

Page 29: ...e Chain Frequencies The Side Chain Frequencies determine the frequency range to which the Automated Volume control listens E g when you set the HighPass parameter to 130Hz and the LowPass parameter to 6k7Hz then the algorithm will listen only to frequencies between 130Hz and 6k7Hz ...

Page 30: ... Gain for a Delta T amount of time before the algorithm starts altering the gain E g When Delta Gain is set to 3dB and Delta T is set to 2 seconds then the difference between the Input Volume and the Target Volume has to be more than 3dB for at least 2 seconds before the algorithm starts altering the gain 8 5 4 Min RMS The Min RMS parameter determines the threshold in volume before the algorithm s...

Page 31: ...8 5 7 X frequency The X Frequency determines the frequency range the Low EQ will listen to and alter E g When this parameter is set to 183Hz the Low EQ will work on frequencies below 183Hz This frequency also represents the X over frequency for the limiters Low to Mid band ...

Page 32: ...a Gain for a Delta T amount of time before the algorithm starts altering the gain E g When Delta Gain is set to 3dB and Delta T is set to 2 seconds than the difference between the Input Volume and the Target Volume has to be more than 3dB for at least 2 seconds before the algorithm starts altering the gain 8 6 4 Min RMS The Min RMS parameter determines the threshold in volume before the algorithm ...

Page 33: ...6 7 X Frequency The X Frequency determines the frequency range the High EQ will listen to and alter E g When this parameter is set to 3k99Hz the Lo EQ will work on frequencies above 3k99Hz This frequency also represents the X over frequency for the limiters Mid to High band ...

Page 34: ... bands are determined by the X frequencies from the Automated EQ section The Headroom parameter sets the limiter threshold as a function of the Target Volume E g when the Headroom parameter is set to 3dB then the level is allowed to be 3dB higher than the target volume before the limiter starts working The limiters release time is set in milliseconds the limiters attack time is set as a function o...

Page 35: ...are or the Engineer remote control In the software you can access the project and preset window from the file menu From this menu shortcuts to save export or load import an existing project from file are also available as well as an option to synchronize your device to the software Selecting project and presets will open up the following window Preset type Definition System settings All output par...

Page 36: ...r more presets of this type are present in your project Click on it to display each preset of this type and click on the preset to view the details on the right of the window The buttons on the right can be used to recall delete or replace the selected preset with you current workspace The project will be immediately updated locally and on the device after clicking them The button on the top right...

Page 37: ...roject title is there for convenience it will be stored to the device so you can recognize the project stored on it easily Martin Audio Presets The Engineer Software CD ROM also contains a folder containing a library of System Presets with parameters for all Martin Audio cabinets These are also available on the Martin Audio User Guides and from the Martin Audio website www martin audio com All Pre...

Page 38: ...Copy Channel Now Recall the AQ210 Preset go back to the Output Settings Window and again holding down Control right click over first channel 2 and then channel 3 labels and select Paste Channel Note that pasting output channels does not copy the channel label so you will need to manually change this in the routing window Next go back to the Project and Preset Control Window and make sure that the ...

Page 39: ... on the Engineer Use the set button to set this to the time and date corresponding to the PC you re working from There are three different scheduler events you can create ONCE these are events which will be triggered ones per year on the corresponding date and time DAILY these are events which will be triggered every day at the same time WEEKLY these are events which will be triggered on a specifi...

Page 40: ...he calendar to select the date you want the event to be triggered Select the Once option in the left bottom corner of the screen Select the preset you want to be triggered Click on the Add setting button You now see the preset appear in the events list on the right side of the screen under Once You will also see the clock logo and a little black dot appearing in the calendar indicating that a one ...

Page 41: ...event to be triggered Select the Weekly option in the left bottom corner of the screen Select the preset you want to be triggered Click on the Add setting button You now see the preset appear in the events list on the right side of the screen under Weekly You will also see the clock logo and a row of little grey dots with a little black dot appearing in the calendar indicating that a weekly event ...

Page 42: ...lect the date you want the event to be triggered Select the daily option in the left bottom corner of the screen Select the preset you want to be triggered Click on the Add setting button You now see the preset appear in the events list on the right side of the screen under daily You will also see the clock logo and a row of little black dots appearing in the calendar indicating that a weekly even...

Page 43: ... zone from the remote the gain settings will be applied to each output the zone contains You can open the zone settings window from the edit menu located in the menu bar You can select any of the eight zones from the top selection list The lists on the bottom of the window show the outputs in the currently selected zone and the outputs that don t have a zone assigned to them Select any of these ou...

Page 44: ...n to add them to the selected zone You can use the Release button to release the specified output from the zone Type in a Zone s name in the Zone Name field and click SET After you have finished click on apply in the bottom of the screen Outputs can only be assigned to one zone ...

Page 45: ...reset After 3 seconds the currently selected preset is recalled 12 2 Changing volumes To change a volume of a zone just press Zone up or down arrow The display will show the zones you have created and the MASTER volume Once you have selected the correct zone you alter the volume through the Volume up down arrows 12 3 Connection The Engineer Remote is connected through the RS 485 connector using an...

Page 46: ...h a RS 485 bus powered protocol Please make sure that the wires are properly connected according to the wiring scheme below PIN FUNCTION RJ 45 CONNECTOR REMOTE HEADER 1 VCC ORANGE WHITE ORANGE WHITE 2 RO ORANGE ORANGE 3 DI GREEN WHITE GREEN WHITE 4 GRD BLUE GREEN 5 Y BLUE WHITE BLUE BLUE WHITE 6 Z GREEN BROWN BROWN WHITE 7 B BROWN WHITE 8 A BROWN ...

Page 47: ...wer than level 3 certain features will be locked For example when logged in with a level 0 account trying to open the output settings will be disallowed At this point a user can still enter a level 3 password to access the selected feature or press cancel to give up Level Permissions 0 Zone volumes bass treble preset recall 1 Zone volumes bass treble preset recall preset store project save and loa...

Page 48: ...U MAXIMUM DELAY 10ms increment 2 microseconds OUTPUT GAIN adjustable 12dB to inf dB in 0 25dB steps INPUT GAIN adjustable 12dB to inf dB in 0 25dB steps PARAMETRIC EQUALISATION FILTERS 8 sections per input 8 sections per output FILTER TYPES Bell Lowshelf Highshelf Notch Bandpass FILTERGAIN 12dB to 45dB in 0 25dB steps FILTER Q BW User selectable 0 05 to 20 20 to 0 05 FREQUENCY 20Hz 20kHz HIGH AND ...

Page 49: ...ACEMENT freely insert able on any input OPERATING RANGE 45dB to 22 Db PRESETS PRESET TYPES system routing noise emission engineer PRESET NUMBER 32 user accessible presets SECURITY LEVELS 3 security levels with user assignable passwords STORAGE security settings are stored within the device CONNECTORS INPUTS 3 pin Phoenix plug in terminal block OUTPUTS 3 pin Phoenix plug in terminal block RS 232 9 ...

Page 50: ...All material 2007 Martin Audio Ltd Subject to change without notice 50 SIZE W 483mm x H 44mm x D 251mm W 19inch H 1 75 inch D 9 89inch ...

Page 51: ...to change without notice 51 15 Known issues in software release 0 9 5 If a value is manually entered in ANY number box it has to be confirmed by pressing the enter key for the software to store the value even though the device will respond to it ...