User`s Manual - TransLanTech Sound
Contents
1. These are unbalanced line level OdBV normalled 1 4 female phone jacks upper is L R lower is L R Get the send signal from the tip of a 1 4 plug and put the return on the ring connection with sleeve being the common Any time you put a plug into these jacks it will interrupt the audio flow Removing the plug will restore normal operation 23 By working with audio in the sum difference mode one can do things impossible with normal Left Right stereo Such as put a noise reduction unit in the L R to clean up noisy old 60s stereo records Or further reduce the bandwidth of the L R Or send secret messages out of phase Or do funny things with the L R such as add a signal enhancer or play with EQ Post process L R send output This is a source of processed mono audio It can be used to drive a reverb that has a monaural input and stereo output This send can also be used to get a mono output that does not have any audio from the subsequent post processing inserts Its level is controlled by the front panel Master L R L R Output control Post process L R insert return input There are many radio stations that process the announcers separately from the processing for the music and other programming and then combine it This jack allows just that While your music runs through the Aviane s stereo processing your externally processed mono voice audio can come into the final mix at a predetermined level after the Ariane s proce2. controls the maximum gain calibration and the other pot 0 controls the 0dB zero reference gain position Adjustment of these controls does not affect the sound of the Ariane and we suggest you leave them alone unless you have a precise audio generating and metering test set at your disposal For proper test procedure please consult TransLanTech Sound LLC 10 Pre Flight Check After you take the Ariane out of the shipping box look to see if there has been any damage If so please contact your shipper Initially it s a good idea to bring the controls to nominal settings the Factory Stock settings for all front panel and internal controls are detailed in the back of this manual Use a small screwdriver greenie to do the following e Turn the Left Input control located at far left of the front panel to the left of the big LED array all the way down counterclockwise then carefully turn it halfway up Do exactly the same with the Right Input control e Set all seven of the front panel individual band output level control rotary switches to 0 These switches are the little white square boxes directly to the right of the LED multi band gain metering array There are four upper for the L R bands three lower for the L R bands e Go to the next switches to the right Set the L R ZDR switch control the upper one to 4 and L R lower switch to 3 These settings correspond to a 7 5 dB nstantaneou
3. L R and L R BNC test jacks There are two BNC connectors on the Aviane s front panel The Scope Out toggle switch determines their function With the toggle in the upper Audio position the two jacks present buffered audio samples of the processed L R upper BNC and L R lower BNC outputs for monitoring or viewing on an oscilloscope in X Y format In the lower Control Voltages toggle position the BNCs present multiplexed gain control voltages for monitoring using a dual trace oscilloscope The four L R voltages are multiplexed on the top BNC and the three L R voltages are multiplexed on the lower BNC along with a 5V sync signal When you synchronize the sweep of both scope traces to the negative going L R sync you can view all seven control voltages simultaneously The approximate scale is 1 0V 10dB of gain change Multiple Insert Points These jacks were added to add flexibility to the Ariane Most users will find the Ariane s main stereo inputs and stereo outputs to be sufficient for their needs And of course only the main ins and outs are required for typical operation But for those who need them the Ariane also provides versatile insert connections at numerous points in the circuitry These connections are on the Ariane s rear panel When viewing from the back they are from left to right L R and L R Pre processing insert jacks They allow connection to external processing in the L R L R domain before the Ariane processing
4. If you set a switch to 6 that band s output will be 6 dB louder than it was at the 0 position Caveat 1 There are no negative dB settings so if you want to reduce only one band you must instead increase all the other bands But everything is relative so if you start with all switches set to for ec gt gt e CC X example 5 you could then increase any output as much as 4 dB to position 9 or decrease as much as 5 dB to 0 Caveat 2 When you turn up a level you are reducing the headroom before clipping To compensate you should turn down the Master L R L R Output control a small amount The numbers tell you where your settings are But use your ears to make adjustments Typically most users will keep the L R and L R settings nearly the same However feel free to experiment 15 Integrating Into Your Broadcast Air Chain The Ariane sounds wonderful by itself But when you put it into an air chain with other pieces of audio processing equipment you ll probably have to makes some changes Most of these changes will be with the other equipment Dump the broadband Because the Aviane is an excellent wide range leveler you will not need any broadband i e single band leveling compressor ahead of it The Ariane was specifically designed to eliminate the need for it and will actually work best with a raw completely unprocessed mix And you will most likely want to disable or minimize any bro
5. Stock Factory Settings We ship each Ariane with these settings and header jumper positions If you ever get lost you can always use this page to help get yourself back home Front Panel Controls potentiometers Setting Left Channel and Right Channel Input controls Both to mid scale Master L R L R Output control Mid scale L R Output injection control Mid scale Switches Setting Individual band output level controls L R and L R All seven set to 0 gain IDR control L R Set to 4 7 5 dB ZDR IDR control L R Set to 3 6 0 dB ZDR Gate controls L R and L R Both set to 0 35dB Gate threshold To locate the following internal adjustments see the interior layout photo and diagram on page 8 Controls potentiometers Setting Crossover Frequency controls L R and L R All six to mid scale Input Output circuit board Metering 0 calibration control With power applied and no audio for at least 15 Display Driver circuit board minutes adjust 0 control so all 7 bands metering indicate 6 LEDs Metering Low calibration control Adjust Low control for accurate gain indication Display Driver circuit board at 20dB gain 26 LEDs lit Consult factory for detailed procedure VCA Distortion null control Factory adjusted for minimum distortion or set to APE circuit boards mid scale Consult factory for detailed procedure Switches Setting Absolute Rel
6. XLR L R Crossover L R IDR Reference Differential Low ban not used LoMid L R compressor bc TM gt J HiMid L R compressor Right Post process Return Insert female XLR Right Channel L R Sum De matrix Differential PEPPER High L R compressor I M Front Panel Display Audio k gt T Out jack BN Display Control Voltages Logic Multiplexer Driver Lr Monitor Switch j L R Scope Out jack BNC Left channel Audio Auxiliary Audio Right Channel Audio Multiplexed Control Voltages L R Audio System Reference and Adjustable Control SS L R Audio Voltages L R Dynamic Control Voltages 2 L R Dynamic Control Voltages Front Panel Control 2001 TransLanTech Sound LLC 19 Circuit Overview Use the block diagram on the previous page to trace the signal flow through the Ariane Left and Right audio comes into the Ariane via Left Channel and Right Channel Main Stereo input XLR jacks on the rear panel Balanced audio goes directly to four sets of normally closed contacts on the Bypass Relay and also to the passive variable front panel input attenuators the front panel Left Channel and Right Channel Input controls which are located before any active circuitry This input design helps the user prevent the Ariane from being overloaded by levels that are too high User strappable internal input gain jumpers Input Outp
7. and complete If you see a mistake or wonder about a particular point I tried to make please let me know Listen to Avzane The Ariane Stereo Audio Leveler was designed to automatically adjust wide ranging audio input levels to within a user defined output range without adding undue processing artifacts The concept is based on some classic tried and true audio processing schemes with a few twists added in While many of the individual building blocks of the design are well established this particularly powerful combination of ideas 1s totally new We ve taken advantage of the robustness and simplicity of products from the maturing analog VCA design manufacturing industry to build a processor that is clean consistent stable and easy to understand and use Best of all it s great just to stez to it Ariane s Main Features e Ariane s intelligent dynamic range control concept can be traced way back to CBS Laboratories Audimax s with its gain platforming with release gating and gated gain stabilization a proprietary gain control scheme from the 1960s The concept was groundbreaking at the time and is still valid e RMS detection makes the Aviane s control circuitry more natural sounding than typical peak detection because it is more like the way the human ear brain hears sound Feed forward control allows the Ariane to be consistent over an extremely wide dynamic control range e Multi band design makes the Ariane more o
8. e VCA Distortion null control I1 I7 This 1s factory set and typically will be at about mid range For proper test procedure consult TransLanTech Sound LLC e Release Time rotary switch J1 J7 On each of the seven Ariane Processor Engine APE cards there is a white rotary switch very much like the ones on the front panel This switch controls the Release time of that card 0 is very short fast and 7 is the longest slowest The Ariane is delivered set to 2 a very useful compromise position On the very first Arianes there are three DIP headers labeled 1 2 and 5 By adding shorting jumpers you perform exactly the same function as the switch All jumpers off is fastest store the jumper by pushing it onto just one post of the header and all jumpers on is slowest A combination of jumpers results on eight possible settings as with the rotary switch The early Arianes were delivered with one jumper on the 1 header Display Driver circuit board e Metering 0 calibration control K Metering Low calibration control L The front panel LED multi band gain metering array uses a comparator circuit to determine which LEDs to light for which amount of gain Trim pots for fine adjustment are at each end of the comparator strings underneath the ribbon cables on the Display Driver circuit board the large horizontally placed board located just behind the front panel One pot Low
9. energy in that region takes up valuable spectrum i e modulation and since in most media you have a limit as to how much signal you can send this scheme allows you to fill the bucket with audio that is more useful 24 Ariane Specifications While all specifications are accurate as of publishing date they are subject to improvement and change General Control System RMS detection multiple windowing platform hysteresis release time constants release gating feedforward control return to nominal unity operating gain return to zero after 10 seconds of continuous audio inactivity with Release Gate Operating Domain Matrix L R L R Control Range Greater than 30dB Number of Audio Bands Four L R three L R Crossovers Single pole subtractive perfect sum Output Signal to Noise Typically better than 85dB System Harmonic Distortion Typically better than 0 05 THD Power Requirement 85 240VAC DC international supply uses 15 Watts Inputs Outputs Main Inputs Left Right Female XLR 4dbV nominal balanced 20dB additional gain internal strap Pre process Inserts L R L R 1 4 normalling interrupting TRS phone jack xOdBV unbalanced Post process Send Output L R Male XLR 4dBV nominal balanced Post process Return Inputs L R Left Right Female XLR 4dBm nominal balanced Test Outputs L R L R Front panel female BNC 0dbV nominal Main Outputs Left Right Male XLR 4dbV nominal balanced
10. of the Ariane is reduced by that amount you just determined in our example 3 75dB This ensures that the tone is now right in the middle of the ZDR window Adjust the Ariane s Master L R L R Output control to your specific operating level 18 Passive level Left input control female XLR Differential p Amp L R L R Matrix rt F Active High pass filter L R Pre process send receive L R Pre process 1 4 TRS normalled jack send receive 1 4 TRS normalled jack L R Matrix L R 4 Passive level Right input control gt female XLR Differential A Amp L R Crossover _ Low L R compressor L freq M 444 P LoMid L R compressor M freq AM r1 FTT HiMid L R compressor H freq f D 1 1 FEF p High L R compressor L R Sum Left Channel De matrix _ Balanced Left Output Output Amp p male XLR Balanced M Right Output Output Amp male XLR LPR L R IDR Reference Balanced LR Post process L R Release Gate Reference Output Amp Send male XLR L R L R Master Gain Control L R Post process Return Insert female XLR L R Gain Control Differential L R Release Gate Reference Left Post process Return Insert female
11. very accurate With a mono input and the L R Output control minimized the channel matching should be within one tenth of a decibel 15 IDR Adjustments Clearly the two most powerful controls on the Ariane are the L R and L R ZDR Instantaneous Dynamic Range controls the upper for L R and lower L R Dialing these rotary step switches clockwise increases the dynamic range which in turn reduces the amount of processing Since there is no stop on these switches you can go all the way around to where you started With the DR set at 1 or 2 the Ariane will control levels aggressively all the while still sounding open and transparent If you set the two ZDR switches to 4 which is 7 5dB ZDR it becomes harder to distinguish the output from input This is a powerful but entirely open sounding setting appropriate for most formats Of course you can try any setting you please and set the L R different from that of the L R The Ariane is shipped with the L R and L R 7DRSs set to 4 and 3 respectively Switch setting IDR Switch setting IDR 0 1 5dB T 9 0dB PUDE 3 0dB 6 10 5dB E 4 5dB WE 12 0dB 3 6 0dB 8 13 5dB AT 7 5dB OS 15 0dB Gate Adjustments To further customize the processing action of the Aviane determine and set your optimum Gate threshold As with the ZDR controls the higher switch number settings will reduce the processing activity of the Ariane You will want to set the Gate th
12. wandering or blurred stereo image This is likely the main reason why matrix processing has seen little use and has found downright disfavor in some circles The benefit of Matrix Processing is seen in the context of real world Broadcasting both Television Stereo and FM Stereo transmit their signals in an L R L R matrix Why not maximize the levels to best fit the modulation scheme We believe the appropriate place to do this in the audio processing chain is in a leveling device before peak limiting By using RMS detection multiple audio bands and a windowing release system ZDR we believe the Ariane all but eliminates the adverse effects of traditional matrix processing Note that while the Ariane internal processing is done in the L R L R matrix domain the Main inputs and outputs are discrete Left and Right audio Subtractive Crossover Filters The Ariane s four way frequency splitting crossovers are created by starting with a single pole high pass filter which is summed out of phase with the original signal to create a corresponding low pass filter This method is repeated for the other two crossover frequencies to create four bands of audio Low LoMid HiMid and High By using this subtractive filter design a summation of all four bands is identical to the original audio This is the most transparent crossover design we know of because by design the summed outputs must equal the inputs The crossover frequencies are variable via th
13. NDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE WILL TRANSLANTECH SOUND LLC OR ITS DIRECTORS OFFICERS EMPLOYEES OR AFFILIATES BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY LOSS OF USE INTERRUPTION OF BUSINESS OR ANY DIRECT INDIRECT SPECIAL INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND INCLUDING LOST PROFITS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE ARIANE STEREO AUDIO LEVELER REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF ACTION WHETHER IN CONTRACT TORT INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE STRICT PRODUCT LIABILITY OR OTHERWISE EVEN IF TRANSLANTECH SOUND LLC HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES Some states or jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages so the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you 31
14. Operating Controls Input Level Controls Left Right Front panel trim pots approximately 20dB control range Output Levels Main L R with L R tracking Approximately 10dB above and below nominal 4dBm level Output Level L R Injection Approximately 12 to 0dB with reference to L R IDR density Control Range L R L R 1 5 to 15dB in steps of 1 5dB Release Gate Threshold L R L R 35 to 17dB below nominal operating level 2dB steps Individual Band Output Level Controls 0 to 9 dB 1dB steps Bypass Switch Hard bypass automatically bypasses with loss of power Metering Front panel 210 LED multicolor array 1dB gain resolution Color determined by control status Red audio is below Gate threshold Yellow Hold audio is within DR window Green Release gain increasing Test Outputs Multiplexed L R L R Control voltages Front panel female BNC Sync on L R approx 10dB V scale Internal Settings Input Gain Jumpers allow additional 20dB gain L R Resonant High Pass Filter Cuts frequencies below 30Hz 5dB boost 37Hz jumper bypass Crossover Frequencies Low variable 75Hz 325Hz factory set to 130Hz Mid variable 320Hz 1 6kHz factory set to 650Hz High variable 1kHz 4 7kHz factory se to 1 8kHz Release Time Eight position switch setting independent for each band L R Control Mode switchable for each L R L R band pair Relative to the gain of its L R counterpart band Absolute independent control 23
15. The Arzane Stereo Audio Leveler User s Manual v1 2 5 2002 Anane TRANSLANTECH SOUND LLC New York New York 212 222 0330 www translantech com Contents g S VDV O CO oO N WK KR W N e 13 14 14 15 16 16 19 19 21 24 25 26 27 29 31 Title Title Page Contents Thanks Listen to Ariane The Arzane s Main Features The Ariane Front Panel The Ariane s Rear Panel Ports Inside the Ariane The Ariane s Chassis Interior photo and diagram Ariane Interior Layout Ariane Internal User Settings Pre Flight Check System Setup and Operating Procedure Input and Output Calibration IDR Adjustment Gate Adjustment Output Mix Controls Integrating Into Your Broadcast Air Chain Digging Deeper Circuit Overview Ariane Block Diagram Ariane Feature Details Ariane Specifications Stock Factory Settings Digital versus Analog Glossary Index Warranty Thanks In April 2001 the Ariane won a coveted Cool Stuff Award from Radio World Magazine Our sales skyrocketed and we sold every Ariane we could assemble Engineers from all fields of broadcast and audio had nothing but kind words for our product It s been another great year Thanks to all the believers The Ariane is the culmination of a lot of thinking and a lot of input from some very knowledgeable and generous people From the pioneering CBS Labs crew of the 1950s and 60s Emil Torick Benjamin Bauer Peter Goldmark and others whose names I nev
16. The fact is that most program material has been processed before it ever sees the Ariane inputs Why do it again Why indeed The user you can set a defined Instantaneous Dynamic Range or IDR window within which the control voltage of the Ariane will hold steady making no gain change until the limits of the window are exceeded When the RMS level of the input audio goes outside this ZDR the Ariane will quickly make a level correction the release time is user programmable Then once again the Ariane goes into its hold mode with no alteration in levels taking place If the incoming level is low the user defined Gate threshold control will determine whether to go for it or ignore it If 10 uninterrupted seconds pass with no signal above the Gate threshold the gain of that band will return to zero dB gain the nominal operating gain point when the level of audio is below the Gate threshold it is quite likely noisy so there is reason not to amplify it Returning the gain to normal i e zero dB gain is in effect noise reduction Your ears will leave you little doubt This method of processing has almost no impact on the dynamic flavor of the original material All the while your Ariane is seriously and effectively controlling levels Multiple bands Since automatic gain control is effected by the loudest portion of the signal the quieter portions go along for the ride so to speak If the audio signal is spectrally well balanced this may n
17. User Settings 10 Release Time 17 Audio Engine 20 27 28 Defined 28 Audio Gate 5 14 Defined 28 BNC test jacks L R and L R 6 13 16 20 25 Description 23 Broadband leveler 16 28 Bypass toggle switch 6 7 11 12 13 System Setup and Operating Procedure 11 Bypass Relay 20 Channel balance Input and Output Calibration 12 13 Control Voltage enable jumper APE circuit boards 10 26 Control voltage 4 6 10 14 21 23 25 26 28 29 Monitoring 23 Crossover 9 17 20 22 24 25 26 27 29 Description 17 Crossover Frequency controls L R and L R Input Output circuit board 9 20 22 26 Display Driver circuit board 9 10 26 Internal User Settings 10 Front panel 5 7 9 10 11 12 13 16 17 18 20 21 23 24 25 26 27 28 Front Panel circuit boards 9 Gate see Gate controls 5 9 19 11 12 13 14 18 21 22 23 25 26 28 29 L R 10 22 Threshold 5 11 13 14 18 21 23 25 26 28 Gate controls L R and L R 5 9 11 12 13 14 23 25 26 Adjustment 14 IDR see IDR controls 5 11 13 14 17 18 21 22 23 25 26 28 29 Defined 28 IDR controls L R and L R 5 9 11 12 13 14 17 18 25 26 28 Adjustment 13 IEC standard power connector 7 9 12 Individual band input headers jumpers 9 10 Individual band output level controls LR and L R 5 11 15 17 20 25 26 Adjustment 15 Input Output circuit board 9 10 16 17 20 Internal User Settings 9 10 Input and Output Calibrat
18. adband leveling in subsequent equipment except as you might desire purely for its effect Scale back your other processors The Ariane is easily capable of more than 20 dB of gain alteration sometimes as much as 30 dB If you simply cascade more processors which may have another 30 dB or more of gain reduction available you have a potential of over 60 dB dynamic gain change This is 700 Much and that starts with T and T stands for Trouble with a kind tip of the hat to The Music Man We suggest you judiciously lower the amount of gain control in the other processor s with the goal of having them do less leveling which is Aviane s strong suit and focus their efforts more on peak limiting We ve found that a total of about 10 15 dB of control after the Ariane should be more than sufficient for even the most competitively aggressive markets been there done that You may also find it useful to slow down the subsequent processor s release times Keep in mind that the Ariane is not a loudness box It a consistency box If you are using the Ariane processed signal to feed your favorite Loudness Generating Device you will find that you need less processing with your loudness monster If Supreme Loudness is not your Holy Grail say Hallelujah then the Ariane can do the bulk of control with your other processor doing peak limiting of about 5 10dB You will sound incredible We promise Digging Deeper L R Processing Once
19. ative L R mode slide switches All three set to Absolute Input Output circuit board Release Time rotary switch APE circuit board All seven set to 2 Input Gain Input Output circuit board All four in 0 gain position Control Voltage enable All seven in place APE circuit boards Individual band input headers jumpers All seven in place Input Output circuit board L R Resonant High pass Filter In Yes position Input Output circuit board Release Time DIP headers One jumper in 2 position older APE circuit boards only 26 Digital vs Analog We re not taking sides so put those fists away We re aware that it s increasingly a Digital World out there but yes the Ariane is totally analog We think the Ariane will be a useful addition to any studio or radio station analog or digital that prides itself in the quality of its sound For Analog Users The Ariane circuit path was designed with a minimalist approach to keep the signal as pure as we are able Every effort was made to keep any possible negative impact on the audio noise distortion spectral aberration to a minimum There are no signal conversions of any type no sampling and no switching All filters were designed to minimize their impact on sound The crossovers are of a single pole subtractive design which insures that when adding up all the bands at the output the signal is very nearly identical to that of the inp
20. changed together for proper operation e L R Resonant High pass Filter jumper B In the normal Yes position this jumper enables a high pass filter on the L R only The Vo position bypasses it This filter is a second order resonant design with a bump of 5dB at 37Hz Its purpose is dual first to remove extreme low frequency noise or DC from the processors second to add a subtle yet full hint of very low bass e L R source C For test purposes this header provides the L R signal directly out of the L R matrix By connecting a wire jumper from this point to any of the individual band input headers G1 G7 this signal can be used to troubleshoot the individual APE cards For normal operation there is no connection to this header and no jumper needs to be on it L R Crossover Frequency controls DI D3 L R Crossover Frequency controls E1 E3 T here are six trim pot controls for crossover frequencies on the Input Output circuit board They re labeled L R Low L R Mid L R High L R Low L R Mid and L R High These controls determine where in the spectrum the audio is split to be sent to the APE cards T he adjustment is clockwise for higher frequency and set at the factory to mid scale For audio with a rather well balanced frequency spectrum these settings put nearly equal energy into each band therefore a similar amount of gain control occurs in each band This provides a spectral balance at the output that is very similar to that a
21. dio into the two leftmost female XLRs Left and Right Main inputs The Left and Right Main outputs balanced line level are available from the two rightmost male XLRs on the rear panel Connect a suitable monitoring system to these outputs such as in a studio or control room You should listen in a comfortable monitoring space and try to avoid interruptions as you get acquainted with operating the Ariane Plug the power cord in the IEC connector on the rear panel and power it up the Ariane features a universal multi voltage internal supply and is capable of operation with most power systems around the world The three power indicator LEDs at the far right of the front panel should illuminate After a few minutes with no audio on the inputs the LEDs on the front panel LED multi band gain metering array will stabilize with six LEDs lit in each horizontal row 0 zero reference gain Flip the Bypass switch up to put the Ariane on line Play some CDs you know well or listen to a known program source If levels are about right the front panel LED multi band gain metering array will show most of the bands LEDs to be hovering around 0 dB zero reference gain six LEDs from the left the proper operating range for a normal audio input You will probably see a lot of color changes and varying gain indications that follow the music or programming If all the LEDs are red the inputs are too low or not properly connected try turning the
22. e L R and L R Crossover Frequency control trim pots To find the optimum crossovers frequencies when designing the Ariane we used a variety of broad spectrum programming sources and decided upon frequency determining components that gave a roughly equal amount of RMS energy in each band Then we designed the circuit so that each of our optimum crossover frequencies are in the middle of the range of the L R and L R Crossover Frequency control trim pots Each crossover frequency can be user adjusted across a range of over two octaves Normally the three crossover frequencies for the L R should be set to the same frequencies as those for the L R signal path Absolute Relative Matrix Control The Ariane offers two user programmable modes for the control of each L R frequency band The totally independent Absolute mode and the Relative mode wherein the L R signal is controlled in relation to the L R control In Absolute mode there are two almost completely separate control systems for each frequency band s L R and L R signals the Gate from the L R band also controls its L R counterpart This mode can create a very dramatic stereo effect but if taken to extreme fast release low ZDR can sound rather false It would then be difficult to mentally spot a particular instrument s location on the szereo stage In the Relative mode however the Ariane applies its windowing technique to attempt to keep the user set ratio of L R L R energy constant It i
23. e allows unprecedented control of the stereo stage in a manner that is artistic yet powerful Subtractive filter a pair of high pass and low pass filters wherein one is used to create the other by subtraction from the original signal It is ideal for a crossover where outputs must sum exactly to create a signal indistinguishable in all ways from the original signal Sweet Spot the certain dynamic range and input level or operating area wherein an audio processor sounds best or can work most effectively The Ariane s sweet spot is extremely wide and once set for practical purposes may be ignored However the dynamic range at the output of the Ariane is ideal to consistently put audio right in the sweet spot of a succeeding limiter or other processor Window the operating range within which audio in the APE passes through unprocessed as determined by the IDR control setting The control voltage will not vary as long as the audio s RMS energy remains between the upper and lower thresholds of the window Window is also called gain platform dead zone or dead band or more scientifically Aysteresis X Y see Lissajous 29 Index Absolute Relative L R mode 10 16 22 23 25 26 Description 22 23 Absolute Relative L R mode slide switches Input Output circuit board 10 16 25 26 Factory settings 26 APE Ariane Processor Engine circuit boards 5 9 10 17 20 26 28 29 Defined 28 Factory settings 26 Internal
24. els for equal sensitivity Perfect mono will yield a vertical line and any unbalance will show a line at an angle Once satisfied return the Ariane s output controls to mid rotation Setting the Output Level You should now adjust the Master L4 R L R Output control dependent upon the level requirements of whatever equipment you are driving with the Ariane output The Ariane puts out about x0dBV when the Master L R L R Output control is centered About 10dBV is reached at full setting Output levels will be slightly hotter when using lower more aggressive ZDR settings We last left the ZDR controls at 0 so you may want to go to a higher setting to make your sound a little more open Setting the L R Level Change to stereo source material With the L R Output injection control at about mid rotation the stereo stage is fairly normal sounding The amount of L R you use will depend on your taste the aggressiveness of processing and or your particular technical requirements See Integrating Into Your Broadcast Air Chain page 16 for more on this subject The input and output controls should rarely need readjustment Once you have got the input levels in the ballpark the Ariane will handle any typical variations After all that is what is was designed to do When you turn the L R Output pot all the way down counterclockwise you will see equal levels from both left and right outputs The output balance of the Ariane is
25. er knew To the processing gurus such as Bob Orban Ray Dolby and Glen Clark who took broadcast audio processing a few great steps forward Especially to Frank Foti mentor and friend who showed me it can be done To Greg Strickland for introducing me to nuance and finesse in audio To Jim Huste for being a great business partner in TransLanTech Sound LLC not to mention a truly great friend To Gary Blau for getting me into New York radio long ago and for offering to try the Ariane on the air in Miami To Marc Augis of Skyrock Paris who was first to take the chance to try the Ariane in the real world of competitive radio To Matt Connor for helping get the Ariane out the door and Gary Kline for putting it in so many racks To mentor Richard Williams to Terry Hesters and other unsung audio processing gurus whose days have gone by who offered help and wisdom only asking that I pass it on An especially big Thank You to Dave Chris Kerry and the others at Broadcaster s General Store who helped make the Ariane project a reality To my family who will never understand what I do never mind understand why I do what I do To Ariane Reaves for being my life partner and the inspiration to create the product that carries her name David P Reaves III TransLanTech Sound LLC Spring 2002 PS This latest version of the Ariane Users Manual reflects many hours of work Though it is certainly not perfect every effort has been made to be clear
26. ergizing voltage from the Bypass relay routing audio directly from the Ariane s input jacks to the output jacks This relay also disengages when power is removed providing fail safe operation should there ever be an internal or external power problem with the Arzane 16 Master L R L R Output control sets main output levels of the processed L R and L R and decoded Left and Right outputs Adjusts nominal output level from about 10dBV to 10 dBV 17 L R Output injection control determines how much L R energy is added to the Master L4 R L R Output to send to the stereo Left and Right outputs of the Ariane Continuous adjustment over the range of approximately 12dB below L R level up to 0dB with center setting being normal gain Pull my finger Just checking to see whether you re paying attention grin 18 Power supply voltage indicators glow brightly when all three supply voltages are at their proper levels If one or more is not lit or is very dim there is a problem with that portion of the power supply or the circuitry connected to it The Ariane Stereo Audio Processor TrassLas Tic Souno LLC West Paterson NJ USA Lj I Serial number Ariane s Rear Panel Ports 19 IEC standard power connector Accepts any international power cable and any voltage 85 240 V AC DC 20 Left Channel and 21 Right Channel Main Stereo Inputs Balanced XLR female connectors pin 2 hot to accept a nominal o
27. ied threshold In the case of the Ariane the Gate is a means to stop the release time constant of the control voltage during low level audio While the Gate is in effect the audio is not removed or even reduced but rather is passed on with no change IDR Instantaneous Dynamic Range a moniker we created to describe the amount of narrow dynamic variation that is present in audio over a short period of time typically less than one second We recognized that by preserving the DR while controlling longer term wider level variations the fee of the audio would remain virtually unchanged 2 In the Ariane the name for the portion of the processing circuit that attempts to preserve such dynamics while restricting longer term wider dynamics 3 The name of the front panel control that sets the parameters for these circuits Intelligent dynamic range control A gain control concept championed in the 1960s by CBS Laboratories in their Audimax AGC Their proprietary algorithm gain platforming with release gating and gated gain stabilization was one of the first where the circuitry made intelligent decisions based upon level and recent dynamic history of the incoming audio In the 1980s Texar expanded the concept with their multi band Audio Prizm The Ariane goes several steps further using RMS detection feedforward control and L R L R matrix in a high quality audio path L R in a stereophonic system the summation of Left channel audio with R
28. ight channel audio a signal which is also called monophonic mono for short or sum L R in a stereophonic system the summation of Left channel audio with inverted Right channel audio also referred to as difference Lissajous Jules Antoine Lissajous born March 4 1822 in Versailles France died June 24 1880 Lissajous was interested in waves and developed an optical method for studying vibrations He obtained Lissajous figures by successively reflecting light from mirrors on two tuning forks vibrating at right angles The curves are only seen because of persistence of vision in the human eye Lissajous was awarded the Lacaze Prize in 1873 for his work on the optical observation of vibration From the website of The School of Mathematical and Computational Sciences University of St Andrews http www groups dcs st and ac uk history Mathematicians Lissajous html Isn t the Internet wonderful Lissajous gives his name to the method with which we use an oscilloscope to observe the interactions of two signals a procedure also known by the more boring but accurate name X Y Viewing a pair of audio signals X Y gives insight into their relations in amplitude and phase especially useful when monitoring stereo audio that has to be mono compatible Matrix a means of creating signals where outputs can be predicted based on inputs modified by the formula designed into the matrix In the Ariane our first matrix creates L R and L R s
29. ignals from incoming Left and Right audio After processing we use another matrix to re convert the L R and L R into Left and Right outputs 2 Keanu Reeves only excellent movie besides the Bill e Ted flicks 26 Monophonic see L R Mono compatible Any stereo audio medium that will have a significant number of users listening in monophonic must be mono compatible that is the mono sum of Left and Right audio must be available and usable to the end user FM stereo broadcast stereo TV AM stereo and the Long Player are mono compatible systems They all use a matrix to send a mono L R signal along with a difference L R signal and every stereo receiver or playback device has a matrix decoder to recreate Left and Right A monophonic receiving playback device will reproduce the required single mono channel directly using the L R it will simply ignore any L R signal In any matrixed medium it is incumbent upon all content creators and those responsible for the integrity of the system to be aware of possible pitfalls and to produce stereo that is mono compatible The Ariane is a perfectly mono compatible audio processor Multi band an audio processor characterized by having multiple processors to control discrete portions of audio spectrum Peak the highest amplitude of a waveform Peak limiter an audio processor that derives a control voltage from of the peaks of the audio to control its output level A peak limiter forces
30. input controls up If no LEDs are lit though the power supply LEDS at right are lit you re probably overdriving the Ariane Turn down the input controls You may need to change the internal input gain jumpers if you can t get the levels right see page 7 and 8 for diagram and instructions Input and Output Calibration To increase or decrease the drive to the Ariane use the Left and Right channel input controls at the left of the front panel For a well balanced input signal both controls should be about the same position Absolute levels are not critical but should be matched Left vs Right as best as possible To accurately balance the Left and Right channel input controls First switch your signal source to mono so audio is identical at both the Left and Right inputs jacks Second temporarily turn the Master L R L R Output and L R Output controls at the right on the front panel all the way clockwise to exaggerate the difference between left and right audio Set the L R and L R Gate and L R and L R ZDR controls all to 0 Use one of the four following methods to complete the input balance setup procedure 12 Method 1 Attach a pair of calibrated audio meters of known accuracy to the output of the Ariane Alternately adjust the Left and Right input controls to keep the LED multi band gain metering array ranging around 0 dB zero reference gain six LEDS in each horizontal row while noting the channel balance on the meter
31. inue to raise its level it will eventually come to the top of the dynamic control 7DR window Continuing to raise the level will result in a 4 1 compression at the output the top of the window following the input upwards At this point if you reduce the tone while still keeping its level in the JDR window the processing will not follow it As you continue to reduce it ultimately the tone will meet the bottom of the IDR window The processing will follow pushing the bottom downward at the 4 1 compression ratio There s absolutely NO compression inside the window and without touching the tone to one edge of the window or the other there s no way to determine exactly where in the window the tone is Somewhat reluctantly we offer a way you can set up with a tone e Send a low level below Gate threshold 1KHz setup tone slowly raising it until you see the LED multi band gain metering array reacting Keep raising the tone s level until the band with the LEAST gain the least number of LEDs lit reaches the 0dB reference gain level 1 e six LEDs lit Hold the input level there e Note your ZDR switch setting and convert it to decibels see table on page 14 divide that number by two For example an ZDR setting of 4 equals a 7 5 decibel wide ZDR Dividing 7 5 by 2 equals 3 75 Watching the Ariane s output level with an accurate dB meter slowly reduce your tone generator s level until the output level
32. ion 12 30 Input controls Left Channel and Right Channel 5 9 11 12 13 18 20 25 26 Input Gain jumpers Input Output circuit board 7 9 12 25 26 System Setup and Operating Procedure 12 Input connectors jacks 6 7 12 20 23 25 Interior Layout 9 Internal User Settings 9 10 L R overload LED 5 L R Resonant High pass Filter 9 20 25 26 L R Resonant High pass Filter jumper Input Output circuit board 9 20 25 26 L R source Input Output circuit board 9 L R energy level blue LED 6 13 L R Output injection control 6 13 16 20 25 26 LED multi band gain metering array 5 9 10 11 12 13 all the LEDs are red 12 LEDs for the three L R bands are red 13 no LEDs are lit 12 Lissajous X Y display 13 16 Defined 28 Main Stereo inputs and outputs Left Channel and Right Channel 7 12 20 22 23 25 Master L R L R Output control 6 7 11 12 13 16 18 20 24 26 Matrix 4 9 18 20 22 24 25 28 29 Defined 28 Description 22 Metering O and Low calibration controls Display Driver circuit board 10 Multi band 4 17 21 22 28 29 Defined 29 Output balance Input and Output Calibration 12 13 Output Mix see Individual band output level controls Post process L R send output 7 20 24 25 Post process L R insert return input 7 20 24 25 Post process stereo insert return inputs Left Channel and Right Channel 7 20 24 25 Power Supply 6 7 9 Power supply v
33. its output s audio peaks to stay below a certain Limit Platform see Window Release sometimes called recovery When incoming audio is actively being controlled and then reduces level a compressor will release to add compensating gain bringing up the audio level in an attempt to keep the output level constant The time it takes for this to happen is called the Release Time The Ariane will release to increase gain only when the audio goes below the IDR window while remaining above the Gate threshold Return to Zero in the Ariane when the audio energy in any band goes below and stays below the Gate threshold for more than about ten seconds the control circuitry slowly returns the gain in that band to 0 dB zero reference gain The speed of the return is related to the release time of that band s APE RMS Root Mean Squared a method of creating a useful mathematic average level over time of the absolute value of a detected signal It reflects the power contained in the measured signal RMS detection in an audio processor such as that used in the Ariane controls the audio in a manner that is more like human hearing than that in a peak derived control system Stereo a perceived multi dimensional space created using two or more sources of information Stereo stage the imaginary horizontal span of audio as perceived in the space between and around a set of speakers or headphones when listening to stereo audio The Arian
34. jumpers are installed 3 LED multi band gain metering array a 210 LED multicolor array used to indicate the gain and control status for each of the four L R and three L R audio bands Each horizontal row corresponds to the audio gain in one band each LED equals one dB of gain over a range of 30dB from one LED lit 5dB gain the same as a five dB Joss to 24dB gain which is represented by all 30 LEDs being lit So when more LEDs are lit more gain is occurring in that band The color of the LEDs indicates the status of that band Green Release gain is increasing Yellow IDR Hold audio is within ZDR Instantaneous Dynamic Range window gain is unchanged Red Release Gate audio is below useful level gain is unchanged After 10 seconds of inactivity Gate in any band the gain in that band will return to 0 dB zero reference gain six LEDs lit 4 L R and 5 L R individual band output level controls dB linear rotary switch controls for mixing output levels from each band s APF Ariane Processor Engine One dB per switch click step from 0 to 9dB 6 L R and 7 L R IDR controls set the Instantaneous Dynamic Range or density of the APES These are rotary switches adjustable in ten increments of 1 5 dB from 1 5 0 switch setting to 15dB 9 of IDR Lower number settings will yield more aggressive control Higher switch numbers allow a wider dynamic range with less processing 8 L R and 9 L R Gate con
35. microphones after processing using the L R Post process Return and or bringing in stereo material post process such as the stereo return from the reverb driven by the L R Post process Send jack 20 Ariane Feature Details Feedforward processin This control topology insures that the Ariane can operate over an extremely wide dynamic range without a noticeable sweet spot While the Arzane design is entirely capable of a gain control range of well over 60 dB even today s best source material makes this impractical So we restricted operation to about 30 dB Another advantage of Feedforward control is that all the settings and readouts use inear decibel control voltages The important front panel controls are step switches where every click controls exactly the same number of decibels as the next click up or down The LED indicators on the front panel are also linear decibel accurately showing the gain of each band in one decibel increments across the entire 30 dB user range RMS control Control signals derived from RMS detection tend to put more emphasis on power rather than voltage This is in general accordance with the nature of human hearing We believe that RMS control sounds more organic fluid and natural than alternative detection schemes so that s why each of the Ariane Processing Engines processors start with accurate RMS samples of the incoming audio Windowing or Platforming Release Control Circuitry
36. ol on the front panel Line level nominal Odbv balanced unity gain pin 2 hot 28 Left Channel and 29 Right Channel Main Stereo Outputs XLR male connectors pin 2 hot balanced nominal line level from about 10 to 10 dbV front panel adjustment approx 24 dbV peak at clipping Output maintains absolute phase polarity relationship to input Sn Mi ao Te Senn ey 2 Lug a NN Oro aS eS he r aN gt 8 m o M air SN LN WA LLLA LEER L ud it E witen E kk mG CESSES Ml i EREREREENS SS EE ERE PRIN COOL PEERELEELISS 7 A fd nt s antah gt Cr fy me hs MESSER revere eee OI IPIE F1 Display Driver Circuit Board Front Panel Interior Layout The various printed circuit boards inside the Ariane are divided by function Input Output circuit board This is where the audio comes initially where it is split up using crossovers and then re summed for output again It is the large board at the rear of the Ariane chassis APE Ariane Processor Engine Compressor Cards There are seven of these piggybacked between the Input Output circuit board and the Display Driver circuit board Display Driver circuit board Has all circuitry associated with the front panel display and the reference signal generating circuitry to set the operating parameters for the APE compressor cards This is the large board at the front of the chassis Front Panel circuit boards Three boards
37. oltage indicators 6 9 11 12 Pre processing insert jacks L R and L R 7 18 20 23 25 Rear Panel Ports 7 Release Gate 4 5 11 14 25 28 Release Time DIP headers older APE circuit board 10 17 26 Release Time rotary switch APE circuit board 910 17 25 26 Scope Out toggle switch6 13 16 23 Stereo stage 4 10 13 16 17 22 23 29 Subtractive crossover filter 22 25 27 29 Defined 29 VCA Distortion null control APE Compressor cards 10 26 X Y see Lissajous Zero dB reference gain 5 10 12 13 18 29 WARRANTY THE ARIANE STEREO AUDIO LEVELER IS WARRANTED TO BE FREE OF DEFECTS FOR THE PERIOD OF ONE YEAR FROM DATE OF PURCHASE BY THE END USER DURING THIS WARRANTY PERIOD TRANSLANTECH SOUND LLC WILL REPAIR OR REPLACE THE UNIT UNDER WARRANTY AT ITS SOLE DISCRETION ANY ALTERATION OR MODIFICATION MISUSE OR DAMAGE OF THE PRODUCT INTENTIONAL OR OTHERWISE WILL IMMEDIATELY VOID THE WARRANTY BEYOND THIS TERM OF WARRANTY TRANSLANTECH SOUND LLC DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES WITH REGARD TO THE PRODUCT EXPRESS OR IMPLIED INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE MERCHANTABILITY MERCHANTABLE QUALITY OR NON INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS Some states or jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of implied warranties so the above limitations may not apply to you THE ARIANE STEREO AUDIO LEVELER IS PROVIDED AS IS AND YOU USE IT AT YOUR SOLE RISK LIMIT OF LIABILITY U
38. or sampling artifacts or odd sounding filters 7 Glossary Ariane Processing Engine APE the name given to the module used for all dynamic processing inside the Ariane Stereo Audio Leveler There are seven APEs in each Ariane Attack The reaction of an audio processor to an increase in the incoming signal as it attempts to keep the output constant he time it takes to react is called the Attack Time Audio Engine the registered name of THAT Corporation s 4301 integrated circuit This IC includes an RMS converter VCA and three opamps Each APE uses a 4301 as its main processing device Broadband In audio processing a processor with one control system for the entire bandwidth of audio see multi band Crossover a device to split audio into multiple segments of the spectrum Density the inverse of dynamic range usually referring to a lack of dynamics across the audio spectrum 2 A name commonly used for the control interface element the user interacts with when setting the amount of dynamic control in an audio processor In the case of the Ariane the front panel ZDR controls could also be referred to as density controls Lower IDR settings mean more density and therefore less dynamic range Gate a means of cutting off or stopping the flow of one signal by use of another controlling signal or itself In studio work an audio gate is used to reduce or remove audio in a signal when it is below a specif
39. or TV station that provides only monaural programming For use in a strictly mono environment the L R circuitry is unnecessary Since sending audio oz y to the Left or Right input would put equal energy into the L R and L R processing sections this must be avoided There are two simple ways to avoid this 1 Parallel the Left and Right inputs by sending mono source audio to a Y cable with two male XLRs which are plugged in to the Aviane s Left and Right inputs as normal You must adjust the front panel Left and Right input controls to be identical Or 2 Plug a dummy no wires connected 1 4 phone plug all the way into the L R pre processing insert jack on the rear panel This interrupts any L R signal and only L R can get to the processing Properly operating mono only all three of the L R bands metering LEDs will stay red at the 0 dB reference gain level All other details in this manual that pertain to L R setup will also pertain to a Mono setup FYI Why we don t recommend setting up using tones In operation the Ariane depends upon the dynamics of the program material and tones have no dynamics whatsoever With the Ariane incoming program audio has a range the DR within which it may vary considerably without activating release or attack circuitry Where the audio is in relation to the window is dependent upon recent variations in the level of the audio When you send a tone below the Gate threshold and cont
40. ot be a problem However when one portion of the original audio s spectrum is either dominant or reduced in level there will be spectral modulation when one portion of the spectrum overtly controls the level of another part Using multiple bands reduces this perception In the Ariane bass lower midrange upper midrange and high frequencies are separated and controlled independently This allows for an effect referred to as Dynamic Equalization If say the high frequencies in a particular song are a bit muffled the Ariane will bring them up subtly fixing the perceived lack of high end Conversely an overly bright sounding song will have its high frequencies suitably reduced 21 Matrix Processing When stereo audio is encoded to its mono L R and stereo L R components and then dynamically adjusted it s typically referred to as Matrix Processing While the Ariane is strictly speaking a matrix processor it is unlike any of its predecessors A basic matrix processor might have a compressor in the L R channel and another in the L R and they would typically be controlled wholly independently of each other to have the control circuits track each other would obviate the need for matrix processing the result would be pretty much the same as using tracking left channel and right channel compressors Independent control would certainly work and has historically Using traditional compressors however this has been at the expense of a
41. pen sounding by making its control much less obtrusive Stereo Matrix L R L R control means you have control over not only the levels but also the szereo stage image as well e Ariane circuitry uses linear control voltages to allow the user to make decibel accurate changes so adjustments and settings will be consistent predictable and repeatable unit to unit channel to channel band to band time after time Included in this User s Manual e Pictures and descriptions of the connectors and controls on the front and rear panels and the chassis interior with internal settings How to connect your Ariane and set it up e How to use the Ariane controls e How to integrate the Ariane into your existing system e A block diagram with circuit function and detailed descriptions and specifications e Recommended factory settings A glossary to acquaint you with the terms we use frequently in the Manual Control Voltages Bypass T 0dB Gain 24dB Gain 5dB Gain Ariane s Front Panel Starting from the left to right here are the controls and indicators on the Ariane s front panel See illustration above numbers in circles refer to descriptions below 1 Left and 2 Right Channel input controls Used in conjunction with the LED multi band gain metering array to properly set input drive to the Ariane Continuous adjustment from 10dBV to 10dBV 30dBV to 10dBV when internal 20
42. perating level from about 10 to 10 dBV front panel adjustment Inside the Ariane there are input gain jumpers to optionally add 20dB more input gain When front panel Bypass switch is engaged or in case of loss of AC power or failure of internal power supply input audio is routed directly via relay from input jacks to output jacks 28 and 29 22 L R and 23 L R Pre processing insert jacks Unbalanced on separate normalled 1 4 female phone jacks Send is on tip Return is on ring shield is common Nominal OdbV level 24 Post process L R send output XLR male connector useful for driving reverberation sidechain etc Changing the Master L R L R Output control on the front panel will alter the level at this output Line level nominal 10 to 10dBV balanced pin 2 hot 25 Post process L R insert return input XLR female connector for summing additional mono programming such as microphones into the processed signal It is decoded along with the processed L R to send equal levels to the Left and Right main outputs Its level at the outputs is unaffected by the Master L R L R Output control on the front panel Line level nominal Odbv balanced unity gain pin 2 hot 26 Left and 27 Right post process stereo insert return inputs XLR female connectors for summing additional stereo programming such as reverb return etc to the processed signal its level at the output us unaffected by the Master L R L R Output contr
43. ping all bands release time the same Nothing sounds quite so peculiar as hearing a spectral shift as a record fades which happens when one part of the spectrum is processed differently from another But rules were made to be broken That s why we put in the release time controls Crossover frequencies Each crossover that splits the L R and L R into multiple bands is variable with a 2 octave range The frequencies are adjusted by trimmer pots that are located on the zput Output circuit board Mid scale the factory setting if you want to return to stock provides roughly equal energy to each band s APE when using typical high quality source material While you should feel free to experiment with different crossover frequencies we would recommend that you visually match the positions of the pots of the corresponding L R and L R crossover frequencies Though not critical these settings do influence the sound and it s best to match the bands particularly if you are using the Relative L R mode After you have become familiar with the way the Ariane works with your particular programming if you notice that one band consistently has more or less gain than the others you might try moving the crossover s to compensate 17 Mono Operation Because it does its processing in a L R L R matrix the Ariane is ideal for programming that must provide mono compatibility But the Ariane can also be used in a mono only environment such as in an AM
44. reshold so that the Ariane ignores audio that you consider too low to be processed If you hear low level material being boosted more than you like set the Gate control to a higher threshold at a higher switch setting If the Ariane does not bring up low levels enough try a lower switch setting The Ariane ships with both Gate switches set to 0 If the nature of your audio is to have a low noise floor and if you do not use a disproportionate amount of processing following the Ariane this will be fine Switch setting g 1 9 g Gate Switch setting Gate 35dB did 25dB 33dB 6 23dB 314B v 21dB 29dB 8 19dB 27dB TOT 17dB Keep in mind that the Release Gate as implemented in the Ariane is NOT the same as an Audio Gate used with studio musician dynamic controllers We are not turning off the audio when we gate We are halting the release of the compressors gain controls so as to freeze the control voltages wherever they were when the Gate command was received Low level audio will continue to be heard albeit with no dynamic gain control 14 Setting the Output Mix Controls Using the L R and L R individual band output level controls you can adjust the spectrum to suit your needs or taste These controls are very straightforward If they are set to O they are flat To raise the level of a particular band dial its rotary click switch The numbers are a direct decibel correlation
45. s Once levels are balanced return the output controls to mid rotation Method 2 There is a L R energy level blue LED hidden under the front panel L R label between the L R Gate control rotary switch and the Bypass toggle switch Adjust the Left and Right input controls to keep the LED multi band gain metering array ranging around 0 dB zero reference gain six LEDS lit in each horizontal row Adjusting input balance to minimize the activity on the blue LED ensures that Left and Right inputs are very nearly equal You may note that with perfect mono input balance the metering LEDs for the three L R bands are red indicating that the L R level is below the gate threshold Return the output controls to mid rotation Method 3 Another way to adjust balance is to monitor the Ariane L R lower front panel BNC test jack with an AC voltmeter With the upper Scope Out toggle switch flipped to Audio use the meter to balance the Left and Right input controls for a minimum AC voltage at this jack You may need to set your meter to its most sensitive scale Once you are done return the output controls to mid rotation Method 4 Use two BNC to BNC cables with an oscilloscope set up for X Y Lissajous display Plug one cable from the top L R Ariane BNC test jack into the Vertical input of the scope and the lower L R Ariane BNC into the Horizontal input With the Ariane s upper Scope Out toggle switch set to the Audio position adjust both scope chann
46. s Dynamic Range for the L R and 6 0dB ZDR for the L R bands e Moving further to the right Set the Gate step switches for both L R and L R to 0 which corresponds to a 35db Release Gate threshold e Flip the lower toggle switch down to Bypass e As you did with the input controls turn both the Master L R L R Output and L R Output controls all the way down counterclockwise then carefully halfway back These controls are located at the far right of the front panel just to the left of the Power Supply indicator LEDs All the processing step switches are now at a good starting point all the input and output pots are at their halfway points and any audio coming into the Ariane is being bypassed directly to the output Il System Setup and Operating Procedure We recommend that before you integrate the Ariane into your broadcast equipment chain you hook up some audio and listen to it for a while The best most complete introductory listening setup will include 1 a quality audio source such as a CD player or other programming source 2 the best set of speakers you can get your hands on 3 an amplifier that can drive them to the levels you are comfortable listening to 4 a means to visually monitor levels with metering or preferably an oscilloscope Being able to switch the source material to mono will simplify initial adjustment Here s how to do a complete setup Looking at the rear panel connect balanced line level au
47. s a bit more organic and honest sounding than the strictly 22 independent Absolute mode and it makes the stereo stage image adhere more closely to the original but even it may sound rather artificial at extreme settings There are merits to either scheme but the best way to judge is to use your ears Multi LED Front Panel Gain Readout The front panel readout shows you what the Ariane is up to Each of the seven audio processors operates its own horizontal row of 30 LEDs The bands are starting at the bottom row Low L R LoMid L R LoMid L R HiMid L R HiMid L R High L R High L R The number of lit LEDs indicates how much gain is occurring in that band Every additional LED that is lit means one more dB of gain in that band More LEDs more gain The color of the LEDs shows you the processing status in that band RED means the audio is below useful level as determined by the front panel Gate threshold control setting Amplification in that band is holding steady or after 10 seconds returning to nominal zero dB gain ORANGE means the audio is inside the user determined Instantaneous Dynamic Range IDR window and amplifier gain is olding with no change GREEN means the control circuitry is releasing raising the amount of gain in that band The more green you see the more aggressively the Ariane is controlling levels Orange or red means that the Ariane is operating steady state with absolutely no perceptible gain change
48. same windowing release concept as its L R circuitry so even when it s working hard with low ZDR settings the sound is open and unconstrained The width of the stereo stage is controlled but it not does not wander or swim APE Release Times To change the release time of any or all seven APEs Ariane Processing Engines there is an 8 position rotary switch control on each APE card inside the Ariane The shortest fastest release time comes with on each APE This would be very aggressive Conversely setting all seven APEs to 9 is appropriate for the most demanding classical format The settings around the fast to medium 1 to 3 range will be most useful for most formats we ship with all set to 2 Speaking of usefulness we believe the release time settings take a back seat to the DR settings which is why we put the release controls inside and the ZDR controls on the front panel Once you have the release times set about right the DR is the more elegant and powerful way to control the amount of processing gt gt the lowest setting 0 Early Ariane processors APE cards have a set of DIP jumpers labeled 1 2 and 5 Adding a jumper slows release time for that band by a corresponding amount The rotary switch in the newer units performs exactly the same function binarily switching the three settings for eight possible combinations 000 zo jumpers to 111 a jumpers We recommend kee
49. ssing The Ariane sums it all together placing the voice dead on in the center of the mix by adding it directly to the L R just before de matrixing into the Left and Right outputs The Ariane adds no processing on this input it just sums it into the processed music at unity gain Left and Right post process stereo insert return inputs If you use reverberation here is where you could sum it into the Ariane s processed audio in stereo You could also use these jacks to add in other stereo programming that you do not want to have the Ariane process The Discarded L R Low Frequencies In the Ariane s L R crossover the audio from its Low band is not used The reason for doing this is that while there is typically little actual energy in the lowest frequencies in the L R domain this is where noise hum and other non audio material may likely appear while present day technology allows most of our media to have full frequency response older recordings will typically have nothing but noise and other garbage in the L R bass spectrum Also in FM broadcast low frequencies in the L R can and will accentuate multipath interference problems in difficult reception areas Removing the lowest L R frequencies tends to clean up the difference signal Since the human ear s perception of directional cues is poor at bass frequencies anyway little is given up by removing low frequency directional information All the while even a small amount of
50. t the input 9 e Absolute Relative L R mode slide switches FI F3 The L R circuitry can operate either in conjunction with or separately from the L R control circuitry Each of the three L R bands has a small slide switch associated with it located on the Input Output circuit board When a band s switch is set for Absolute mode it will operate independent of the L R band When the switch for that band is set to Relative mode it will operate in relation to what the L R band is doing The Relative setting keeps the L R control system coordinated with the L R to keep a nearly constant energy ratio between them in turn creating a more consistent stereo stage The Gate signal from the L R is hard wired to OR into the L R s Gate signal in either switch position This means that the L R will a ways gate with lack of audio in either the L R OR the L R e Individual band input headers jumpers G1 G7 Should there ever be need to troubleshoot the Ariane it may be desirable to disable the audio going to one or more of the APE cards These headers allow that For proper operation all seven of these jumpers must be in place APE circuit boards e Control Voltage enable jumper H1 H7 To disable the control function of an APE card remove the jumper from this header Once the gain stabilizes after about one minute it will allow audio to pass through at 0 dB zero reference gain All seven of these jumpers must be in place for normal operation
51. the leftmost holds the input control potentiometers and the LED multi band gain metering array The middle board has all the step switches for band gains JDR and Gate controls and L R and L R peak indicator LEDs The far right front panel board has the output controls and the three power supply indicator LEDs Power Supply This is a Cosel 15 Watt modular universal input triple output power supply It is at the far right when viewed from the front of the Ariane of the chassis The rear plug connects to the rear panel s IEC power jack RF filter and the front plug connects to a wire harness that goes to the Display Driver circuit board Ariane Internal User Settings Inside the Ariane are numerous controls jumpers and switches whose settings will affect its operation and therefore its sound These settings won t need to be changed often which is why there are located internally See the diagram on the previous page to locate these control options Input Output circuit board e Input Gain jumpers A1 A2 Toward the rear panel on the large Input Output circuit board toward the end nearest the power supply there are headers with jumpers that set the input gain of each channel The headers are labeled for the amount of gain they add 0 dB and 20 dB If you find you have too little input gain or too much see if the jumpers are in the proper position for your needs The Ariane is shipped set to 0 dB gain A four jumpers must be
52. to visually monitor the stereo stage If you are already familiar with this type of display you can see how the Ariane affects stereo signals With the gain of both scope channels set the same you can see that for what sounds like a rather wide stereo spread a rather fat cigar shape on the scope trace you needn t have the L R s levels nearly as high as the L R s As a matter of fact you can have considerably ess L R with the Aviane s processed audio than you did before and still have a very convincing stereo presence on the radio dial With the Ariane this stereo width will remain much more consistent song to song than without it We might add that since our control is multi band and has the capability to lower as well as raise L R levels depending on the program material the stereo effect of the Ariane is much more consistent than any other single purpose stereo effects box on the market Adjusting the L R spectrum Multi band control in the L R also means you can tailor the spectrum of the L R to suit special applications One might want to use the L R s individual band output level controls to either reduce the high frequencies or punch up the midrange to alleviate multipath problems or create a signature sound You can set the DR of the L R to be really aggressive or quite relaxed with more subtle yet powerful results than would be possible with a traditional pure Left Right control system The Ariane L R control system uses the
53. trols set the release gate sensitivity thresholds When the RMS level of the audio in a particular band is below this threshold that band s APE goes in to Gate mode to hold the gain where it was The controls are rotary switches adjustable in ten steps of 2 dB from 35dB 0 switch setting up to 17dB 9 below the zero reference of x0dB gain operating level Lower switch setting numbers mean more aggressive control Higher switch numbers present a higher threshold with more gating and therefore less processing NOTE This is not an audio gate but rather a control to prevent the processor from releasing and unnecessarily adding gain in the absence of useful audio 10 L R overload LED to the immediate right of the L R Gate control switch the L R is back illuminated in red when the Ariane s L R output approaches clipping 2 11 L R energy level LED to the immediate right of the L R Gate control switch indicates in blue when there is substantial L R energy greater than 10dBV in the output signal 12 L R and 13 L R BNC test jacks and 14 Scope Out toggle switch with the upper toggle switch in Audio position BNC jacks present buffered audio samples of the processed L R and L R outputs for monitoring In the Control Voltages toggle position the BNCs present multiplexed control voltages for monitoring using a dual trace oscilloscope 15 Bypass toggle switch when flipped down in Bypass position removes en
54. upled onboard one chip The APE intelligently controls levels according to a complex interaction of the RMS energy of the incoming audio recent history of the energy of that audio and various reference levels set by the user Each APES output level is controlled by a sum of the front panel Master L R L R Output control the individual band output level control for that band and in the case of the L R APEs the front panel L R Output injection control The output audio signals of the L R APEs are summed and along with the separate sum of the L R s APEs sent to the second matrix to return the audio to the discrete Left and Right audio channels which are sent via the Bypass relay ultimately to the Main Stereo Left Channel and Right Channel output jacks Samples of the summed L R and L R are buffered and sent to the front panel LR and L R BNC test jacks for monitoring purposes The summed L R is also sent to a balanced output amplifier available as the L R Post process Send output signal on a rear panel male XLR connector This will be useful as a reverb send for those who want it External L R and discrete Left and Right signals can be summed into the Ariane output using the L R Post process Return Left Channel Post process Return and Right Channel Post process Return balanced XLR jacks on the rear panel These inserts will be useful for broadcasters who want the Ariane itself to process only music summing speech programming elements from
55. ut The op amp we chose for the audio path is the OP 275 by Analog Devices If you must use off the shelf op amps and we had to to keep costs reasonable we believe this is the amp to use The VCA in the processor is THAT Corporation s 4301 Audio Engine which keeps parts count and complexity to a minimum while keeping the audio quality high and the audio path short Absolute phase polarity is maintained through the Ariane from input to output The front panel metering zs digital but it s not in the signal path Careful diligent attention was paid to keeping noise generated by the metering out of the audio circuitry For Digital users The Ariane while being a completely analog design has very high quality audio specifications We did not add a D A converter on the input or an A D converter on the output not with this model anyway so that you may provide the converter that is most to your liking If you are sophisticated enough to insist upon a digital signal path then we are sure you will be expert enough to choose a good set of converters we recommend anything by Apogee such as their Rosetta or the high end products from Benchmark Even with a set of D A and A D converters in the path you will find the Ariane to sound very analog sweet Of course as with any analog design like the Ariane there are none of the problems you might find that are unique to the digital realm such as latency delay aliasing data compression and
56. ut circuit board offer an extra 20dB gain in the input stages if needed After differential input amplifiers the left and right channels are sent to a matrix to create separate Left plus Right sum and Left minus Right difference signals These matrixed pre processing signals are available for custom purposes at rear panel L R and L R pre processing insert jacks The L R from the matrix via the nsert jack goes to the L R resonant high pass filter to remove infrasonic material and to provide a fairly narrow boost of about 5 dB at the extreme low end centered just below 40Hz The L R Resonant High pass Filter jumper Input Output circuit board is provided to allow bypassing this filter The L R signal continues to a four way crossover to create four bands of audio Low LoMid HiMid and High The L R channel is similarly crossed over except that the audio from its low band is discarded The crossover frequencies are variable via the L R and L R Crossover Frequency control trim pots Each crossover frequency can be user adjusted across a range of over two octaves Normally the three crossover frequencies for the L R should be set to the same frequencies as those for the L R signal path Each of the four L R bands and three L R bands audio goes to its own APE Ariane Processing Engine for dynamics control Each APE uses the THAT Corporation 4301 Audio Engine which incorporates RMS detection VCA and utility opamps all temperature co
57. you have set up the Ariane to work cozily with your other processing you might try playing with the stereo stage via the Ariane s L R processing controls Here are some suggestions L R mode control Change each band s L R processing mode from Absolute to Relative or vice versa These are internal adjustments the three Absolute Relative L R mode slide switches on the Input Output circuit board Just throw the three switches to the position you prefer see page 9 We recommend that you set all bands to the same mode but it s your choice Controlling the width of the stereo stage To set the stereo width use the L R Output injection pot below the Master L R L R Output control on the front panel We suggest listening to lots of material focusing upon how much the center material relates to the Left and Right stereo extremes on the stereo stage Too much L R sounds bizarre and it s easy to overdo it Turn up the L R Output until the center material e g a singer or lead instrument recedes from you then back out the control a bit to allow the center to come forward again Rinse repeat L R Monitoring Hook up an oscilloscope to the front panel L R and L R BNC test jacks on the Ariane and flip the front panel Scope Out upper toggle switch to Audio Set your scope to X Y mode so you can view the Lissajous pattern of stereo music If you ve never seen this before get ready for an 16 awakening as this is the best way that we know
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