Prism Sound ADA-8, Module Reference

Page 1: ...ADA 8XR Multi channel A D D A Converter Module Reference ...

Page 2: ...r as detailed on the website Trademark Acknowledgements Digidesign Pro Tools Pro Tools 24 MIX 888 24 I O Pro Tools HD 192 I O 96 I O SYNC I O and DigiLink are trademarks of Digidesign a division of Avid Technology Inc Direct Stream Digital DSD MAC DSD SuperMAC and the DSD logo are trademarks of Sony Corporation Super Audio CD SACD and the SACD logo are joint trademarks of Sony Corporation and Phil...

Page 3: ...y Default Stores 14 4 6 Specifications 14 5 AES3 I O Module PREV039 6 1 16 5 1 Overview 16 5 2 Fitting the Module 16 5 3 Connection 16 5 4 Module Dependent Input Options Menus 17 5 4 1 DI AES Split96 menu 17 5 5 Module Dependent Output Options Menus 17 5 5 1 DO AES Split96 menu 17 5 5 2 DO AES Channel Status menu 18 5 6 Module Dependent Preferences Menus 18 5 6 1 DI Sync Input menu 18 5 6 2 Cascad...

Page 4: ...ization 36 7 8 Controlling ADA 8XRs from the Pro Tools HD User Interface 37 7 8 1 Input and Output Routing 37 7 8 2 Sample Rate 37 7 8 3 Sync Source 37 7 8 4 Analogue Digital Input Selection 37 7 8 5 Soft Clip Overkiller 37 7 8 6 Identify I O 38 7 8 7 Miscellaneous 38 7 9 Analogue Line Up Nomenclature with Pro Tools 38 7 10 Using the ADA 8XR with Digidesign Interfaces at high sample rates 38 7 10 ...

Page 5: ...dent Factory Stores 52 9 6 1 Analogue to Digital Digital to Analogue Digital 52 9 6 2 16 Channel Analogue to Digital 52 9 6 3 16 Channel Digital to Analogue 52 9 6 4 Analogue to Digital Digital to Analogue Cascade 53 9 7 Macintosh Workstation Control Panel 54 9 7 1 Sampling Rate 54 9 7 2 Synchronization Modes 55 9 7 2 1 Synchronize to FireWire Bus 55 9 7 2 2 Synchronize to Workstation 55 9 7 2 3 S...

Page 6: ... section of the manual gives details of the various module options for the ADA 8XR including fitment and connection details performance specifications and any module specific menus and operations General operation is covered in the Operation Manual with full firmware version specific menu and operation details being provided in the Firmware Reference ...

Page 7: ...tively The AES11 output impedance is 110Ω the input impedance is normally 110Ω but the input termination can be removed via an internal jumper as described below to allow multiple inputs to be daisy chained if required Note that operation of the AES11 Reference Sync input is currently restricted to frame rates between 32kHz and 96kHz Wordclock Reference Sync input and output are provided on BNC co...

Page 8: ... RS 232 default CN15 RS 422 485 COM port plug 9wD ribbon here for RS 422 485 CN16 Alternative MIDI connector for panel with DIN connectors CN17 MIDI COM port plug 9wD ribbon here for MIDI LK1 Coaxial Ref Sync out format 3 5 4 6 WCK default 1 3 2 4 S PDIF LK2 Digital Monitor 1 output format 1 2 AES3 2 3 S PDIF default LK3 Digital Monitor 2 output format 1 2 AES3 2 3 S PDIF note 1 LK4 XLR sync input...

Page 9: ... are either for factory use only or reserved for unspecified future use These should remain in the state in which they left the factory The 9 way D connector pin outs for the various serial COM formats are as follows Pin out of 9w male D for various serial COM formats Pin RS 232 RS 422 485 MIDI 1 IN 2 RXD RXD THRU 3 TXD TXD GND 4 OUT 5 GND GND 6 GND IN 7 RXD THRU 8 TXD OUT 9 GND ...

Page 10: ...e ignored The Analogue Line Input Module can be fitted to either Analogue I O Slot AIO1 or AIO2 in the rear of the ADA 8XR as shown in the Layout section of the Operation Manual Although the ADA 8XR can automatically accommodate the module in either position it is conventional that analogue input modules are fitted in the upper slot AIO1 and line output modules in the lower slot AIO2 This will pro...

Page 11: ... Overkillers disabled remain are unlit The All button may be used to quickly enable the Overkillers on all eight channels simultaneously although they must be disabled individually The Overkillers thresholds are set automatically in software according to the input line up level selected for each channel For line up levels below 8dBu i e in the 0dBFS 5 0dBu to 0dBFS 8 0dBu range the effectiveness o...

Page 12: ...lected it cannot show the level of all eight channels at the same time 3 5 Module Dependent Factory Default Stores Several of the Factory Default Stores which include A D Paths depend on the fitment of an analogue input module of some kind for correct operation as described in the Firmware Reference If no analogue input module is available loading these Stores results in any available input module...

Page 13: ... fs 96kHz 3dB 1Hz 46 6kHz fs 48kHz 0 05dB 5 5Hz 22 8kHz fs 48kHz 3dB 1Hz 23 3kHz fs 44 1kHz 0 05dB 5 0Hz 20 1kHz fs 44 1kHz 3dB 1Hz 21 4kHz Passband ripple 0 015dB Interchannel phase difference 0 03 degrees Channel separation 1kHz 125dB 20Hz 20kHz 117dB Group delay analogue input to AES3 output 20 fs FFT plots made using Prism Sound dScope Series III at 997Hz 256k points Prism 7 window 16 averages...

Page 14: ...he case of ADA 8XRs configured for 16 channel A D or D A operation where BOTH AIO slots would contain either line input or line output modules respectively For details of how to fit the Module refer to the Adjustments and Upgrades section of the Operation Manual 4 3 Connection Connection to a balanced load is straightforward with conventional XLR pinouts hot on pin 2 cold on pin 3 with pin 1 conne...

Page 15: ...The user may finely trim the line up level for each of the eight channels by 0 5dBu in 0 05dBu steps This control is supplementary to the AO Line Level menu 4 5 Module Dependent Factory Default Stores Several of the Factory Default Stores which include D A Paths depend on the fitment of an analogue output module of some kind for correct operation as described in the Firmware Reference If no analog...

Page 16: ... 96kHz 3dB 1 4Hz 47 4kHz fs 48kHz 0 05dB 5 1Hz 22 6kHz fs 48kHz 3dB 1 4Hz 23 9kHz fs 44 1kHz 0 05dB 5 0Hz 20 8kHz fs 44 1kHz 3dB 1 4Hz 22 0kHz Passband ripple 0 005dB Interchannel phase difference 0 02 degrees Channel separation 1kHz 115dB 20Hz 20kHz 110dB Group delay AES3 input to analogue output 49 5 fs FFT plots made using Prism Sound dScope Series III at 997Hz 256k points Prism 7 window 16 ave...

Page 17: ...automatically accommodate the module in either position it is conventional that general purpose i e non workstation digital I O modules are fitted in the upper slot DIO1 if NO workstation card is fitted and in the lower slot DIO2 if a workstation I O card is fitted This will provide compatibility with operating examples quoted in these manuals Where an ADA 8XR is to be fitted for eight channel Spl...

Page 18: ...it96 input mode causes both AES3 I O Modules to cascade to provide eight input channels as described in section 5 9 5 5 Module Dependent Output Options Menus When an AES3 I O Module is selected as an output from a Path a DO AES Split96 menu and a DO AES Channel Status menu for the relevant module slot become available in the Module Dependent Output Options section of the Menu System for that Path ...

Page 19: ... ADA 8XR the Cascade Split96 menu is made available in the Module Dependent Preferences section of the Menu System This is a Single Selection menu that enables or disables Cascade Split96 mode as described in section 5 9 The default selection is No i e Cascade Split96 mode is disabled 5 7 Module Dependent Factory Default Stores Several of the Factory Default Stores depend on the fitment of a suita...

Page 20: ...ended sample rates 88 2 96 176 4 and 192kHz the input and output stages of the AES3 I O Module may be independently set to operate in Split96 mode whereby each of the four carriers convey only one audio channel instead of the usual pair In this mode the AES3 carriers have a frame rate equal to half the sample rate of the Path to which the module is assigned This means that only four input channels...

Page 21: ... type of output module In general digital output modules re transmit the appropriate pre emphasis information whereas analogue output modules perform appropriate de emphasis if possible Channel Status for the AES3 outputs is generated locally with the exception of pre emphasis indication according to the Encode settings for the Path to which the outputs are assigned Thus the Channel Status accurat...

Page 22: ... at fs 88 2 96 176 4 and 192kHz Wordlength 16 20 or 24 bit per channel Input Channel Status tolerant only pre emphasis indication noted Output Channel Status implementation Professional Channel Status Implementation Field Position AES3 Module Output Channel status mode Byte 0 Bit 0 Professional Audio Mode Byte 0 Bit 1 Linear PCM Encoded audio signal Emphasis Byte 0 Bits 2 4 Same as input or no emp...

Page 23: ...verter without copyright information Source number Byte 2 bit 0 3 Zero Channel number Byte 2 bit 4 7 Zero Sampling frequency Byte 3 bit 0 3 Indicates current sample rate except when extended shows 44k1 48k instead Clock accuracy Byte 3 bit 4 5 Level 2 Audio sample wordlength Byte 4 bit 0 3 Set according to channel wordlength The pin out of the squid is as follows 25 way D pin Tentacle core Tentacl...

Page 24: ...peration Manual Although the ADA 8XR can automatically accommodate the module in either position it is conventional that workstation digital I O modules are fitted in the upper slot DIO1 with a general purpose digital I O module e g AES3 fitted in the lower slot DIO2 if any is required This will provide compatibility with operating examples quoted in these manuals Where an ADA 8XR is to be configu...

Page 25: ... Tools I O Modules are fitted to an ADA 8XR the Workstation Remote Control menu becomes available in the Module Dependent Preferences section of the Menu System 6 5 1 Workstation Remote Control menu This single selection menu allows the workstation remote control interface to be enabled or disabled When enabled set to On various parameters of the ADA 8XR can be remotely controlled from Pro Tools a...

Page 26: ...erface must be synchronized to its digital inputs normally DI2 ADA 8XRs may be used in Pro Tools 24 MIX systems alongside 888 24s although the 888 24 s synchronization requirements are somewhat more restrictive The ADA 8XR can extract all the information needed to synchronize and run its converters from the Pro Tools data cable The 888 24 however requires an extra high speed clock to run its conve...

Page 27: ...l crystal or to an external sync source such as a video signal or LTC 6 8 Remote Control Certain parameters of the ADA 8XR can be controlled remotely from the Pro Tools 24 MIX software in the same way as they can with an 888 24 The Hardware Setup dialogue in the Pro Tools environment can be used to alter the sample rate the sync source and to select analogue or digital input channel pairs Some con...

Page 28: ...nel rather than Path Also this remote control feature will not work if the Input Channels menu has All selected The Factory Default Stores for Pro Tools described above automatically ensure that these conditions are met The ADA 8XR allows greater flexibility in the selection of inputs from its front panel than is possible from Pro Tools the front panel may be used to select any number of input mod...

Page 29: ...more tolerant of clock quality in the slave state than are 888 24s 6 10 1 Connecting ADA 8XRs to Pro Tools The figure below shows how to connect ADA 8XRs to Pro Tools when NO OTHER INTERFACE TYPES are in use If other interfaces are to be used see the following sections The Master interface is connected to the first Pro Tools card or to the A leg of a Y cable thereon The USD is optional depending o...

Page 30: ...ows how to connect a combination of 888 24s and ADA 8XRs where one of the 888 24s is connected as the Master interface i e connected to the first Pro Tools card or to the A leg of a Y cable thereon The USD is optional depending on synchronization requirements All the ADA 8XRs should be switched on and loaded with the ProT SLAVE Factory Default Store if not previously loaded prior to starting the P...

Page 31: ...here one of the ADA 8XRs is connected as the Master interface i e connected to the first Pro Tools card or to the A leg of a Y cable thereon The USD is optional depending on synchronization requirements All the ADA 8XRs should be switched on and loaded with the appropriate Factory Default Store if not previously loaded prior to starting the Pro Tools system For the Master ADA 8XR load ProT MASTER ...

Page 32: ...e Pro Tools HD system allows for up to 16 analogue inputs OR outputs to be fitted to each 192 I O it is possible to configure a pair of 8C STD HD or 8C STD HD AES ADA 8XRs to emulate a single 192 I O but with 16 analogue inputs AND outputs If the AES I O Module is fitted the digital outputs appear in parallel with the analogue outputs and the digital inputs can be selected instead of the analogue ...

Page 33: ...d the Pro Tools HD I O Module s it will be necessary to Reload Factory Default Stores so that the necessary ADA 8XR Stores for Pro Tools HD operation become available This is done through the Preferences menu as described in the ADA 8XR Operation Manual 7 5 Module Dependent Preferences Menus NOTE This section describes additional menus which are available in ADA 8XRs fitted with Pro Tools HD I O M...

Page 34: ...orrect state when Pro Tools HD specific Factory Default Stores are loaded as described in section 7 6 For more details about this setting see section 7 7 7 6 Module Dependent Factory Default Stores Three Pro Tools HD specific Factory Default Stores are made available when one or more Pro Tools HD I O Modules are detected by the ADA 8XR Stores are provided for Main and Sub operation or 16AD or 16DA...

Page 35: ...ion using a standard DigiLink cable A further Digidesign or Prism Sound I O can be connected to the Expansion Port in the usual way The Wordclock I O BNC connections on the ADA 8XR s Utility Module can be used for Loop Sync I O if required Having connected the ADA 8XR as above switch it on and load the ProT HD Main Store This is located in Bank 1 Store 1 for ADA 8XRs without additional digital I O...

Page 36: ...ad the ProT HD Sub Store Store 2 7 7 3 Connecting a 16AD ADA 8XR as a 192 I O ADA 8XRs equipped with 16 analogue inputs are be fitted with two Pro Tools HD I O Modules The Module in the upper DIO Slot is designated D1 and the lower D2 Connect the Primary Port of D1 to the desired Core or Process card in the workstation and the Expansion Port of D1 to the Primary Port of D2 using standard DigiLink ...

Page 37: ...ols I O Module i e a pre HD Pro Tools module can be connected to the Legacy Port of a 96 I O or a 192 I O in the same way as a Digidesign 888 24 In this case the ADA 8XR should be loaded with the ProT SLAVE Store No sync connections are required since the ADA 8XR obtains its sync from the Legacy Port The maximum sample rate supported is 48kHz 7 7 6 Synchronization If more than one I O is used unle...

Page 38: ...loaded session ADA 8XRs support a maximum sample rate of 192kHz 7 8 3 Sync Source ADA 8XRs can be nominated as Loop Sync masters in the usual way using the Clock Source selection in the Hardware Setup dialogue box and can be set to provide system sync from one of their external sync e g WCK or AES11 or digital audio e g AES3 inputs Note that in the latter case when a specific pair of digital input...

Page 39: ...ock Output settings on the Main tab and the Input Format and SR Conversion settings on the Digital tab of the Hardware Setup dialogue box 7 9 Analogue Line Up Nomenclature with Pro Tools Some confusion may result from the different nomenclatures used in the ADA 8XR and Pro Tools systems for expressing analogue line up levels Pro Tools sets its analogue line up by reference to headroom above a nomi...

Page 40: ... as master These differences in behaviour require a different synchronization scheme in sessions running at 88 2kHz or above where ADA 8XRs and Digidesign interfaces are combined This issue does NOT affect systems that ONLY use ADA 8XRs or ANY sessions running at 44 1kHz or 48kHz 7 10 2 Modified Loop Sync cabling scheme The solution is to effectively break the Loop Sync cabling scheme into two Onl...

Page 41: ...d Paths with any of the ADA 8XR s sample rate and sync options 8 2 Fitting the Module In most cases the DSD I O Module has been factory fitted so unless you are fitting the Module yourself the remainder of this section may be ignored The DSD I O Module can be fitted to either Digital I O Slot DIO1 or DIO2 in the rear of the ADA 8XR as shown in the Layout section of the Operation Manual Where an AD...

Page 42: ...ction menu the DSD I O Module in question may be set to SDIF 2 inputs are via squid cable in SDIF 2 DSD RAW format SDIF 3 inputs are via squid cable in SDIF 3 format MAC DSD inputs are via CAT5E cable in MAC DSD SuperMAC format SRC inputs are connected to module outputs internally used for sample rate conversion This option only affects the selected Module 8 5 Module Dependent Output Options Menus...

Page 43: ...in a synchronization clock When the input source is set to MAC DSD in the Input Format Selection Menu the DI Sync Input Menu setting is ignored as the MAC DSD SuperMAC interface carries a single synchronization signal for all eight input channels 8 6 2 DSD Lineup Menu Each DSD I O Module fitted to the ADA 8XR enables a DSD Lineup menu in the Module Dependent Preferences section of the Menu System ...

Page 44: ... D A applications Path 1 is configured for analogue to DSD conversion the DSD output format is SDIF 3 and the Path is synchronized to the wordclock input of the Utility Module if detected otherwise local sync Path 2 is configured for DSD to analogue conversion the DSD input format is SDIF 3 and the Path is synchronized to the SDIF 3 inputs using automatic channel selection Analogue to DSD DSD to A...

Page 45: ...format is SDIF 3 and the Path is synchronized to the SDIF 3 inputs using automatic channel selection at a modified rate of 96kHz The 24 bit PCM output of the Path is routed to the additional PCM type digital I O Module PCM to PCM DSD This store demonstrates the PCM synchronous sample rate conversion with simultaneous DSD output possible with the DSD I O Module Path 1 is configured for PCM to DSD c...

Page 46: ...zed to DI This would occur for example when some of the outputs of a digital to digital Path are fed back into the inputs of that Path possibly after passing through some other input synchronized equipment Such loops create problems with automatic stream selection if a channel is selected whose sync is derived from the Path it is synchronizing the Path will not lock correctly In situations like th...

Page 47: ...input source for the DSD output Path is assigned to an Analogue Input Module and the output destination for the DSD input Path is assigned to a PCM I O Module simultaneous analogue to DSD and analogue to PCM conversion is possible with the PCM output being at any sample rate or wordlength If the input source for the DSD output Path is assigned to a PCM I O Module and the output destination for the...

Page 48: ...limited by DSD input signal Frequency response fs 192kHz 3dB 0Hz 50 0kHz HF roll off compliant with SACD standard fs 176 4kHz 3dB 0Hz 50 0kHz HF roll off compliant with SACD standard fs 96kHz 3dB 0Hz 41kHz fs 88 2kHz 3dB 0Hz 38 5kHz fs 48kHz 1dB 0Hz 22kHz fs 44 1kHz 0 05dB 0Hz 20kHz fs 32kHz 0 05dB 0Hz 14 5kHz 8 10 4 PCM to DSD to Analogue Performance The following DSD to Analogue specifications a...

Page 49: ...t 32kHz THD n 997Hz 1dBFs 126dB 0 00005 Dynamic range 997Hz 60dBFS 128dB Frequency response 0 05dB 0Hz 14 5kHz 8 10 6 DB25 Connector I O Impedance 75Ω Output carrier amplitude loaded 3 6V p p Pinout 25 way D pin Signal Tentacle 1 DSD Input 1 Blue 1 14 DSD Input 2 Blue 2 2 GND Screen 1 2 15 DSD Input 3 Blue 3 3 DSD Input 4 Blue 4 16 GND Screen 3 4 4 DSD Input 5 Blue 5 17 DSD Input 6 Blue 6 5 GND Sc...

Page 50: ...h makes the ADA 8 s appear as Windows Driver Model and ASIO compliant audio device s For Macintosh OS X applications the Operating System will automatically recognise the connected ADA 8 and make it available to applications as an OS X Core Audio device 9 2 Software Installation The FireWire I O Module is supplied with a Workstation Software Installation CD ROM this section describes how to instal...

Page 51: ...ection of the Operation Manual 9 4 Connection The FireWire I O Module has two six pin FireWire sockets for connection to the bus The module may only be connected to FireWire 400 1394a buses The module does NOT support direct connection to FireWire 800 1394b buses The module does not require FireWire bus power in order to operate and so may be connected using the appropriate lead to the four pin Fi...

Page 52: ...when using the FireWire I O Module 9 5 2 FireWire I O Configuration Menu Each FireWire I O Module fitted to the ADA 8 enables an I O Configuration Menu in the Module Dependent Preferences section of the Menu System This setting changes the number of input and output channels that the FireWire I O Module handles The options available are 8 in 8 out 2 in 8 out 8 in 2 out and 4 in 4 out only availabl...

Page 53: ...ath is synchronized to the FireWire I O Module and the path sample rate is set to Ext These settings ensure that Path1 and Path 2 are synchronous Note that if an AES3 I O Module is also fitted to the ADA 8 Path 2 will be set up to use both the analogue and AES3 outputs 9 6 2 16 Channel Analogue to Digital If your ADA 8 is fitted with two FireWire I O Modules and two Analogue Line Input Modules the...

Page 54: ...Analogue Line Input Module and an Analogue Line Output module the FWire AD DA Casc store will appear in the store banks when the Factory Stores are recalled Use this store for common A D and D A applications with sample rates up to and including 192kHz When this store is recalled each FireWire I O Module is configured for 4 in 4 out operation Giving a total of 8 input channels and 8 output channel...

Page 55: ... Properties For drop down menu as shown below You should also select the ADA 8 unit to be your Default Input and Default Output device using the drop down menus You may choose to leave the System Output routed to Built in Audio if you wish 9 7 1 Sampling Rate To change the sampling rate of your ADA 8 select the desired rate in either the Audio Input or the Audio Output Format drop down menu The ch...

Page 56: ... ADA 8 unit as described in Section 9 7 2 3 9 7 2 2 Synchronize to Workstation This is the default setting of the Macintosh Workstation Driver You can use this setting if you do not need to synchronize your ADA 8 to an external clock source or digital input In this mode all audio devices on the FireWire bus are synchronized to the workstation by means of a FireWire Synchronous Timestamp SYT To set...

Page 57: ... the FireWire I O Module These are not active in the current version of OS X or the module firmware but may be used to adjust the input and output line up gains of the ADA 8 Analogue Input and Output Modules in future versions 9 8 Windows PC Workstation Control Panel After running the Driver Installation CD ROM you will find a Prism Sound 1394 Audio icon in your Windows Control Panel You can use t...

Page 58: ... can also be renamed from the Driver Control Panel in a similar fashion Select the Input Channels tab or Output Channels tab to perform these operations 9 8 2 Sampling Rate To change the sampling rate of your ADA 8 s first select the Synchronization tab in the Driver Control Panel as shown below First ensure that the Sampling rate is set manually radio button is selected as this is the only valid ...

Page 59: ...n the list and pressing the Change Synchronization Mode button as shown below Changes to the synchronization mode of the PC Driver and Device s do not take effect until the Apply button is pressed This is so that changes to multiple devices can take place at the same time Note that this operation may take several seconds to complete the delay is unavoidable and due to the design of the Windows Ope...

Page 60: ... You can do this by checking the Clk Master box next to PC Driver in the device list Next select an ADA 8 device and press the Change Synchronization Mode button Select the SYT PCR Compound Input option in the dialogue box that appears and press OK Repeat for all of the ADA 8 FireWire I O Modules in your system and then press Apply Your system should now be correctly synchronized Note that some wo...

Page 61: ...This is the Other Digital I O Module e g AES 3 Note that the Ext DIO Ref Input source is only valid if you have a digital I O module other than a FireWire I O module fitted in one of the DIO slots of your ADA 8 If there is more than one FireWire I O Module located in the Clock Master ADA 8 unit e g in an ADA 8 configured for 16 channel DA operation you must also select the same synchronization sou...

Page 62: ...odule using the Firmware Upgrade Application that is installed with the PC Driver To update the Firmware in your FireWire I O Module first ensure that the PC Driver has been installed as described in Section 9 2 and that the module s you wish to update are connected to your PC Next navigate to Start Menu Programs Prism Sound ADA 8 1394 Driver where you will find the Firmware Upgrade Application ru...

Page 63: ...l A D D A Converter Module Reference Revision 1 01 Prism Media Products Limited 2001 2005 Page 3 62 9 10 Specifications Electrical Interface 2 x 6 Pin IEEE 1394a Compliant IEEE 1394 Power Class 4 Audio Format IEC 61883 6 2 nd Edition ...