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Alesis MASTERLINK ML-9600, Reference Manual

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Alesis MASTERLINK ML-9600 Reference Manual Download Page 35

Chapter 5 

A

LESIS 

ML-9600 R

EFERENCE 

M

ANUAL

 

 

25

 

D

IGITAL 

S

IGNAL 

P

ROCESSING

 

5.1  O

VERVIEW

 

The ML-9600 has a very powerful built-in Digital Signal Processor that can, if desired, make changes to 
your music after it has been recorded. These changes are usually made to balance the frequency content 
(Equalization) of a song, or to "smooth out" very dynamic music (Compression and Peak Limiting), or 

to maximize the signal so that it uses up all of the dynamic range available (Normalizing). The ML-9600 
can perform any or all of these signal processing functions to your music. 
 
The 

TRACK DSP

 button allows you to choose different processing algorithms for your music. Pressing 

the 

TRACK DSP

 button cycles through the four algorithms listed below: 

 

Screen Name 

DSP 
Function 

Comments 

DSP1: Cmpress 

Compressor 

Single-band, threshold, ratio, makeup gain, attack, 

release, key select, soft/hard knee, RMS or peak 
detect 

DSP2:EQ 

Parametric 
Equalizer 

3-band, fully parametric EQ. +/-18dB boost/cut, 20-
20KHz frequency range, adjustable Q, high/low 
shelving 

DSP3: Limiter 

Look-ahead 
Peak Limiter 

Output level, Limit threshold, release. 

DSP4: Normliz 

Normalizer 

Current gain multiplier 

DSP5:DSP Copy 

Copy DSP 
parameters 

Copies all DSP parameters of current song to DSP 
buffer  

DSP6:DSP Paste 

Paste DSP 

paramters 

Pastes DSP parameters from DSP buffer to current 

song 

DSP7:DSP Reset 

Reset DSP 
parameters 

Resets current song’s DSP parameters to default 
values 

DSP8:DSP Render  Render DSP 

Renders DSP settings to audio file 

 

Table 5.1.1 

DSP Overview Table 

 
All DSP in the ML-9600 is applied in real-time, allowing you to make changes to the DSP without 

affecting the original audio recorded to disk. DSP is applied when either a Red Book or CD24 CD is 
created, so the resulting tracks on the CDs will have DSP permanently applied; however, this will not 
change the Audio Files on the hard disk. 
 
DSP is applied on a Track-by-Track basis. This means that you can have Tracks that point to the same 
Audio File in multiple playlists (or multiple Tracks in the same playlist) and apply different DSP to 

each Track. For instance, if you wanted to create a CD containing the same song with three different 
types of equalization, you could accomplish that by creating three Tracks that pointed to the same 
Audio File (by using Audio File move) and EQ them differently. 
 
 

Summary of Contents for MASTERLINK ML-9600

Page 1: ...REFERENCE MANUAL 2002 ...

Page 2: ... 1 The Front Panel 5 2 2 The Rear Panel 5 2 3 The Front Panel Display 6 HD Mode Operation 7 3 1 HD or CD Mode 7 3 2 HD Recording Settings 7 3 2a Input Source 7 3 2b Sample Rate 8 3 2c Word Length 8 Working With Playlists 9 4 1 Selecting a Playlist 9 4 2 Naming a Playlist 9 4 3 Auditioning a Playlist 10 4 4 Editing A Playlist 10 4 4a Empty Playlists 10 4 4b Recording a Track 11 4 4c The Display 11 ...

Page 3: ...gs 31 5 4g DSP7 Reset DSP Settings 32 5 4h DSP8 Render DSP To Audio File 32 Creating A CD 35 6 1 CD Recording Settings 35 6 1a Advantages of CD24 35 6 2 Creating a CD 35 6 3 The Recording Process 36 6 3a Rendering 36 6 3b Initializing 37 6 3c Recording 37 6 3d Finalizing 39 6 4 CD24 Disc Specifics 39 CD Mode Operation 41 7 1 CD Playback 41 7 1a Playing a Red Book CD 41 7 1b Playing a CD24 CD 41 7 ...

Page 4: ...Table of Contents IV ALESIS ML 9600 REFERENCE MANUAL Word Lengths Supported 49 Analog I O 49 Digital I O 49 Unit Dimensions 49 ...

Page 5: ...HESE PRECAUTIONS WHEN USING THIS PRODUCT 1 Read these instructions 2 Keep these instructions 3 Heed all warnings 4 Follow all instructions 5 Do not use this apparatus near water 6 Clean only with a damp cloth Do not spray any liquid cleaner onto the faceplate as this may damage the front panel controls or cause a dangerous condition 7 Do not block any of the ventilation openings Install in accorda...

Page 6: ...amage will not result from cables pulling on the apparatus and its mounting 13 Unplug this apparatus during lightning storms or when unused for long periods of time 14 Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel Servicing is required when the apparatus has been damaged in any way such as when the power supply cord or plug is damaged liquid has been spilled or objects have fallen into the ap...

Page 7: ...ou de le pincer en particulier au niveau de la prise et aux endroits où il sor de l appareil 11 N utilisez que des accessoires spécifiés par le constructeur 12 N utilisez qu avec un stand rack ou table conçus pour l utilisation d audio professionnel ou instruments de musique Dans toute installation veillez de ne rien endommager à cause de câbles qui tirent sur des appareils et leur support 13 Débr...

Page 8: ...en benutzen achten Sie darauf das dieser nicht umkippt um Verletzungen auszuschließen 12 Ziehen Sie während eines Gewitters oder wenn Sie das Gerät über einen längeren Zeitraum nicht benutzen den Netzstecher aus der Steckdose 13 Die Wartung sollte nur durch qualifiziertes Fachpersonal erfolgen Die Wartung wird notwendig wenn das Gerät beschädigt wurde oder aber das Stromkabel oder der Stecker Gege...

Page 9: ...ential area is likely to cause interference in which case the user will be required to correct the interference at his own expense The user is cautioned that changes and modifications made to the equipment without the approval of manufacturer could void the user s authority to operate this equipment Use only shielded and grounded cables with this equipment to ensure compliance with FCC Rules INDUS...

Page 10: ......

Page 11: ...4 dBu balanced XLR and 10dBV RCA analog audio connectors IEC958 Type 1 balanced XLR AES EBU and Coaxial digital audio connections Custom vacuum fluorescent display Stereo headphone output with volume control 1 2 UNPACKING AND INSPECTION Please retain the MasterLink s shipping carton which is designed to protect the unit during shipping in the unlikely event that you need to return the MasterLink f...

Page 12: ...001 For 240 VAC 50 Hz operation in England use Alesis UK power cord 7 41 0004 For 220 VAC 50 Hz operation in Europe and Scandinavia use Alesis EU power cord 7 41 0002 For 240 VAC 50 Hz operation in Australia use Alesis AS power cord 7 41 0003 Alesis is not responsible for problems caused by using the MasterLink or any associated equipment with improper AC wiring 1 4 LINE CONDITIONERS AND PROTECTOR...

Page 13: ...erence such as transformers monitors computers etc Do not place cables where they can be stepped on Stepping on a cable may not cause immediate damage but it can compress the insulation between the center conductor and shield degrading performance or reduce the cable s reliability Avoid twisting the cable or making sharp right angle turns Never unplug a cable by pulling on the wire itself Always u...

Page 14: ......

Page 15: ...lume Control 15 Utility Button 8 7 Headphone Output Jack 16 Time Display Button 4 4c 8 Power Switch 17 Transport Buttons 9 CD Format Button 6 1 2 2 THE REAR PANEL 1 Analog Balanced Inputs 4dBu nominal input 19dBu max 2 Analog Balanced Outputs 4dBu nominal output 19dBu max 75ohm impedance 3 Digital Balanced Input AES EBU 4 Digital Balanced Output AES EBU 5 Analog Unbalanced Inputs 10dBV nominal inp...

Page 16: ...on 3 Hard Disk Free Space Indicator Indicates hard disk free space in hours minutes or seconds based on currently selected sample rate and word length 4 Track Time Counter This shows one of four times elapsed track time remaining track time elapsed total time or remaining total time 5 Track Time Counter Mode This indicates the current Track Time Counter mode 6 Track Sample Rate Indicates the curre...

Page 17: ...ts of inputs have 15dB of headroom from nominal input to clipping resulting in a maximum of 19dBu at the XLR inputs and 5dBV at the RCA inputs Digital audio data is expected in IEC958 Type 1 format professional input either via the balanced XLR inputs or via the unbalanced RCA inputs Important The ML 9600 does not switch between its balanced and unbalanced digital audio inputs Both inputs are acti...

Page 18: ...l input mode the sample rate will automatically be set to the rate of the incoming digital data 3 2C WORD LENGTH Three word lengths are available 16 bit 20 bit and 24 bit Pressing the WORD LENGTH button on the front panel will toggle between these three word lengths Word lengths are user selectable when in digital input mode note that it is therefore possible to select a shorter word length than i...

Page 19: ...dered CD images see Chapter 6 Creating A CD for more information about this special playlist To select a playlist press the PLAYLIST SELECT button on the front panel underneath the main display The words Playlist XX will be displayed on the first line of the display where XX will be a number between 01 and 16 The cursor will be under the XX and pressing the UP YES button will increment through the...

Page 20: ...pressing the PLAYLIST EDIT button Playlist Edit Mode is where most of the work will be done when preparing a playlist for eventual CD creation While in playlist edit mode you may Record new Tracks Play back previously recorded Tracks Delete Tracks Change Track order in playlist Change Track to Track spacing Adjust the volume of a Track Add DSP to a Track Apply fades to a Track Write protect a Trac...

Page 21: ...PAUSE while the unit is recording press PLAY PAUSE to resume recording In this scenario the playlist now has one Track in it Once the Track has been recorded to the hard drive the ML 9600 will treat it much as it would a CD Track the SCAN SKIP PLAY PAUSE and STOP buttons all function much as they would for a CD 4 4C THE DISPLAY In playlist edit mode the first line of the 2X16 alphanumeric display ...

Page 22: ...g time in the playlist If there is a compact disc in the CD drive the CD Format icons reflect the resolution of the CD currently in the drive either Red Book RDBK or CD24 CD24 If the CD in the drive is a blank CD R disc or if there is no CD in the drive these icons will not be lit The HD Free Space counter indicates the amount of recording time left on the hard disk expressed in hours minutes if t...

Page 23: ...laylist Edit Page Field and press the UP YES or DOWN NO buttons until the characters En are displayed Figure 4 5 2 illustrates how the display will look when indicating Track end time Figure 4 5 2 Track End Time Display A Track s end time is not editable in this display A Track s end time is determined by three factors the Track s start time the Track s sample rate and the number of samples record...

Page 24: ...the value in 1 second increments while moving the cursor under the hundredths place and pressing the UP YES or DOWN NO will increment the value in 10 millisecond increments TIP Pressing UP YES and DOWN NO simultaneously while in the fade length field will reset the fade length to zero seconds A fade s maximum time is limited to the length of the Track or to 99 99 seconds whichever is smaller If bo...

Page 25: ...non destructive edits and can be changed at any time To adjust the gain on a pre recorded Track press PLAYLIST SELECT to choose the appropriate playlist then press PLAYLIST EDIT to edit the playlist Press SKIP and SKIP to choose the Track whose gain you wish to adjust Move the cursor to the gain field and press UP YES or DOWN NO to increment or decrement the gain of the Track Pressing DOWN NO when...

Page 26: ... 6 1 New Track Display As you can see this display is exactly like the display shown when editing a new playlist only the default name of the Track and the Track Number have been changed Each time a new Track is created the default name will be Song XX where XX indicates the number of the Track in the playlist 4 6C MARK NEW TRACK WHILE RECORDING Pressing the NEW TRACK button while recording will c...

Page 27: ... destination track The cursor will be under the destination Track and the source Track will be the number of the Track you have currently selected Pressing the UP YES and DOWN NO keys will scroll through the possible destination Track numbers Once the destination Track number has been selected pressing TRACK MOVE again will cause the display to prompt Are You Sure Pressing UP YES will complete the...

Page 28: ...n this page is selected and using the UP YES DOWN NO CURSOR LEFT and CURSOR RIGHT keys you can change the name of the Audio file limited to 8 characters Moving the cursor under the U character and pressing UP YES and DOWN NO will change the write protect status of the Audio File U stands for Unprotected and P stands for Protected When an Audio File is write protected it may neither be recorded ove...

Page 29: ...Use Warning where in this case Playlist 01 is the first playlist to include the current Audio File After temporarily displaying the Audio File In Use screen the override screen will be displayed as shown in Figure 4 7 4 Figure 4 7 4 Audio File Delete Override Screen Pressing UP YES while this screen is displayed will cause the display to prompt Permanently delete from disk pressing UP YES once mor...

Page 30: ... button one more press of the SKIP button will show the first Audio File To skip to the last Audio File hold the PLAYLIST EDIT button and press the SKIP button To skip to the first Audio File hold the PLAYLIST EDIT button and press the SKIP button Once you have selected the Audio File you wish to copy press the TRACK MOVE button once Figure 4 7 7 shows the Audio File move screen Figure 4 7 7 Audio...

Page 31: ...le 4 7 1 Audio File vs Track Parameters 4 8 EDITING A TRACK 4 8A TRACK CROP FEATURE Cropping is a term usually associated with pictures a portion of a picture is selected to keep and the rest of the picture is deleted or cropped The process is much the same for audio on the ML 9600 as you can crop the audio file you are working on to keep only the audio that is desired and delete the rest thereby ...

Page 32: ...ing to a Track and you hear a section of audio that you wish to move Track Start pointer to either for Cropping or Splitting the Track simply press PAUSE to pause the audio then hold PLAYLIST EDIT and press TRACK START to instantly move the Track Start pointer to the point at which the Audio was paused Alternatively you can just hold PLAYLIST EDIT and press TRACK START while the audio is playing t...

Page 33: ...Track Split Confirmation Screen Pressing DOWN NO while this screen is displayed will cancel the Split operation and return the machine to its previous state Pressing UP YES while this screen is displayed will cause the track to be split at the TRACK START pointer Because MasterLink defaults to 0 0 seconds of gap between Tracks the audio during the transition from the first track to the second trac...

Page 34: ...to the entire joined track If there is DSP applied to the second track it will be removed after the Join because the second track is always joined to the first Performing a Track Join is a simple procedure Assuming Track 1 and Track 2 are in a playlist press SKIP until Track 2 is selected Hold the PLAYLIST EDIT button and press DELETE TRACK The display will change to the Track Join Confirmation Sc...

Page 35: ...iter Output level Limit threshold release DSP4 Normliz Normalizer Current gain multiplier DSP5 DSP Copy Copy DSP parameters Copies all DSP parameters of current song to DSP buffer DSP6 DSP Paste Paste DSP paramters Pastes DSP parameters from DSP buffer to current song DSP7 DSP Reset Reset DSP parameters Resets current song s DSP parameters to default values DSP8 DSP Render Render DSP Renders DSP s...

Page 36: ...data is read from the hard disk Although not strictly a DSP block its position relative to the other blocks is important because it sets the input gain for the other DSP modules as this gain block can be used to prevent clipping in subsequent DSP blocks The second block is the Compression block Its parameters are adjusted from the Cmpress pages under the Track DSP button The third block is the Par...

Page 37: ... Value field will change the value of the parameter NOTE Pressing UP YES and DOWN NO simultaneously while in the Value field of any DSP parameter will restore the default value of that parameter 5 4 DSP BLOCK DETAIL 5 4A DSP1 COMPRESSOR The Compressor in the ML 9600 is a single band compressor meaning that all frequencies of the audio are processed with the same parameters This is in contrast to a...

Page 38: ...pressor to try to follow the audio envelope closely sometimes causing a pumping or breathing effect Longer release times tend to smooth out the compression effect The ML 9600 has a release range of 0 microseconds to 9 9 seconds Key The key parameter controls what channel the compressor is using to control the compression effect Usually for stereo music this is a summation of both channels but can ...

Page 39: ...e frequency parameters are labeled Freq1 Freq2 and Freq3 Each of these frequencies can be adjusted from 20 22Hz to 22 22kHz Level The level parameter adjusts how much boost or attenuation of the desired frequency is to be applied The three different bands are labeled Level1 Level2 and Level3 This parameter is adjustable from 18dB to 18dB in 0 25dB steps Q The Q or Quality parameter of the EQ defin...

Page 40: ...t gain block is dynamically adjusted so that its output level never exceeds the threshold level the perfect limiter The second gain block adds make up gain to the signal equal and opposite to the threshold value a threshold value of 10dBFS would have 10dB of make up gain applied The third gain block is a scaling gain block it allows you to select the exact maximum output level as a function of ful...

Page 41: ...OWN NO button to turn the normalizer off 5 4E DSP5 COPY DSP SETTINGS This feature provides the ability to copy and paste DSP settings between tracks even between tracks in different playlists All of the Track DSP parameters are copied and pasted at once including Track Gain Compression parameters EQ parameters Limiter parameters Normalizer parameters and Track Fade parameters To copy the DSP setti...

Page 42: ...e DSP Reset operation Pressing UP YES in this screen will reset all DSP parameters Track Gain Compression parameters EQ parameters Limiter parameters Normalizer parameters and Track Fade parameters in the destination track 5 4H DSP8 RENDER DSP TO AUDIO FILE MasterLink Track DSP is applied as a real time process allowing modifications to the DSP without changing the original Audio File There are in...

Page 43: ...io Below are listed the steps to accomplish DSP rendering of an audio region 1 Select the Playlist and Track you wish to work on 2 Determine the start of the region to which you wish to apply DSP 3 Split the original Track at the start of the region Section 4 9 You will now have two Tracks in place of the original one 4 Select the second track and determine the end of the region to which you wish ...

Page 44: ......

Page 45: ...le of containing and playing back audio files that have resolutions greater than 16 bit 44 1kHz Alesis has combined two non proprietary standards ISO 9660 CD ROM disc format with AIFF sound files with proprietary information to create the CD24 standard CD24 discs can be read by Windows Macintosh and UNIX operating systems and AIFF Audio Interchange File Format files are recognizable by nearly ever...

Page 46: ...n verified as a recordable CD R and its length has been determined the MasterLink will verify that the playlist will fit on the CD R that you have inserted If the playlist is too large to fit on the CD the display will prompt with a Playlist too large message and abort the CD creation process If the playlist checks out the recording process will begin 6 3 THE RECORDING PROCESS There are three stag...

Page 47: ...g recorded to the CD Some Notes About CD Recording Speed You may have heard of a CD ROM or CD R drive described as a 2X or 8X or 24X speed some discussion is necessary to avoid confusion over these speed descriptions The speed number 1X etc is a description of how quickly the CD drive can either read data from the disc or how fast it will write data to the disc sometimes the speeds are specified s...

Page 48: ...24 44 1kHz 16 bit 64 4 minutes 69 6 minutes 20 bit 42 9 minutes 46 4 minutes 24 bit 42 9 minutes 46 4 minutes 48 0 kHz 16 bit 59 2 minutes 64 0 minutes 20 bit 39 4 minutes 42 6 minutes 24 bit 39 4 minutes 42 6 minutes 88 2kHz 16 bit 32 2 minutes 34 8 minutes 20 bit 21 5 minutes 23 2 minutes 24 bit 21 5 minutes 23 2 minutes 96 0kHz 16 bit 29 6 minutes 32 0 minutes 20 bit 19 7 minutes 21 3 minutes 2...

Page 49: ...is that the Track names are preserved when the disc is recorded and displayed when a disc is inserted and played However due to the limitations of the ISO 9660 disc format Track names on a CD24 are always converted to upper case at recording time This will not affect the names assigned to Tracks in the playlist If a playlist contains two or more Tracks that after being converted to upper case end ...

Page 50: ......

Page 51: ...ntrols in control of the CD player acting like a standard CD player would 7 2 COPYING TRACKS FROM CD TO HARD DRIVE The MasterLink gives you the ability to move audio from either a Red Book or from a CD24 CD on to the hard drive into the currently selected Playlist Press OPEN CLOSE to eject the tray and insert the disc whose track you wish to copy Make sure the HD CD button is set to CD then select...

Page 52: ... field then press the UP YES button which will bring up the display shown in Figure 7 3 1 Figure 7 3 1 Move CD to Playlist Page Pressing TRACK MOVE again will prompt you with an Are you sure Y N message Pressing DOWN NO at that point will cancel the CD Move operation Pressing UP YES at the prompt will confirm the CD Move and will begin the process If the destination Playlist already has one or mor...

Page 53: ...s the level meter mode page Figure 8 1 1 Level Meter Mode Page The only editable parameter in this page is the peak meter mode Pressing UP YES or DOWN NO will select between the three peak modes described below No Peak Hold This mode always displays the peak level of the audio Momentary Peak This mode holds the peak value of the level meter for 1 second or until the level exceeds the previously he...

Page 54: ...re saved to the CD as well In other words your Playlist may be preserved as a work in progress with the DSP settings saved separately from the raw unprocessed Audio Files on the same CD These discs are also ISO9660 compliant so if you wish to access the un rendered audio in a PC or Macintosh they can be accessed as easily as a CD24 disc To initiate a Playlist Backup press the UTILITY button repeat...

Page 55: ...e and restores all DSP settings and track timing information To begin a Playlist Restore press the UTILITY button repeatedly until Utility Page 4 is displayed as shown in Figure 8 4 1 Figure 8 4 1 Playlist Restore Page Pressing the DOWN NO button in this page will have no effect Pressing the UP YES button will prompt you with an Are you sure Y N message Pressing DOWN NO at that point will cancel t...

Page 56: ...n the rendering process The time needed to complete the rendering process varies depending on the sample rate and word length of the original files as well as the type and amount of DSP added to each Track Once the playlist has finished rendering the MasterLink will automatically switch to the Rendered Image Playlist 8 6 UTIL6 RED BOOK START END TIME OFFSETS Consumer Compact Disc player design can...

Page 57: ... a particular file This operation can be performed as often as you want or never it will not harm the machine or its operation if this function is never used This page prompts you by asking Sort AFiles Y N Pressing UP YES will sort the audio files in alphabetical order while pressing DOWN NO will do nothing 8 8 UTIL8 HD FORMAT This operation allows you to completely re format the file system that ...

Page 58: ...rd disk drive Eprom Version This is the version of firmware that boots the system CD Drive Information This is the CD Drive model and internal firmware version Hard Drive Information This is the Hard Drive model and internal firmware version Most of this information is only of interest to Alesis technical support staff however you may wish to copy the information onto a piece of paper and store it...

Page 59: ... 48kHz Sampling Frequencies Frequency Response 20Hz 20kHz 0dB 0 3dB THD N 0 002 1kHz 1dBFS Signal to Noise Ratio 113dB A weighted 88 2kHz 96kHz Sampling Frequencies Frequency Response 20Hz 40kHz 0dB 0 5dB THD N 0 002 1kHz 1dBFS Signal to Noise Ratio 113dB A weighted DIGITAL I O Supported protocols IEC 958 Type I Balanced AES EBU and Coaxial UNIT DIMENSIONS Height 3 5 2U 88mm Width 17 432mm Depth 1...

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