Art TubeFire 8 User Manual Download Page 1 | Manualshive

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Art TubeFire 8 User Manual Download Page 1

TubeFire 8

™

8 CHANNEL TUBE MIC-PREAMP SYSTEM

USER’S GUIDE

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Summary of Contents for TubeFire 8

Page 1: ...TubeFire 8 8 CHANNEL TUBE MIC PREAMP SYSTEM USER S GUIDE ...

Page 2: ... obstruct the ventilation slots or position the unit where the air required for ventilation is impeded If the unit is to be operated in a rack case or other furniture ensure that it is constructed to allow adequate ventilation Moisture To reduce the risk of fire or electrical shock do not expose the unit to rain moisture or use in damp or wet conditions Do not place a container of liquid on it whi...

Page 3: ... Thru Jacks 8 Firewire Jacks 8 HARDWARE OPERATION 9 How to adjust the controls for the lowest noise 9 How to set the Output Level switch on the rear panel 9 How to use the Headphone Line Mixer Output 9 PC SOFTWARE OPERATION 11 Installing the Windows PC driver 11 Using the Windows PC driver panel 11 Changing the name of your TubeFire 8 with a Windows PC 11 Changing the sample rate 12 Adjusting syst...

Page 4: ...te 12 FIGURE 7 Cubase Sample Rate Selection 12 FIGURE 8 Sample Rate Indication 13 FIGURE 9 ART ASIO Driver buffer depth adjustment 14 FIGURE 10 Wordclock connections 15 FIGURE 11 Audio MIDI Setup Utility 16 FIGURE 12 ART Panel program 17 FIGURE 13 Audio MIDI Setup Audio pull down menu 18 FIGURE 14 Aggregate Device Editor window 18 FIGURE 15 ART Card control panel for multiple TubeFire 8 units 19 3...

Page 5: ... mic preamp peak levels Each channel has a variable output level control allowing you to use the tube stage for warming effects and adjust to various system levels or just to completely mute the channel INSTALLATION The TubeFire 8 may be used in a wide variety of applications and environments In a rack mountable all steel enclosure the unit is designed for continuous professional use Mounting loca...

Page 6: ...ndicates that to avoid system errors and lockups it is best to not disconnect and connect the Firewire cable while the AC power is on Multiple TubeFire 8 units can be daisy chained by using the ports on the rear panel but care should be taken to minimize the number of TubeFire 8 units placed on each Firewire buss due to bandwidth limits The TubeFire 8 utilizes Firewire 400 which handles 400Mbits s...

Page 7: ...set of four XLR inputs Use phantom power only when the microphone you are using requires it Doing so will extend the life of the TubeFire 8 as well as reduce the possibility of a shock hazard Phase Switch This switch selects the output phase of the channel There is a 180 degree phase inversion through the channel when the switch is lit Low Cut Switch This switch inserts a 100Hz 6dB Oct Low Cut fil...

Page 8: ...ve zero latency whereas signals from the computer may have a finite amount of latency depending on the computer and software set up Mix Level Control The Mix Level control adjusts the output level present at the headphone jack This control mutes the output when centered at 12 o clock Choose a stereo mix by turning clockwise or a mono mix by turning counter clockwise The stereo mix has odd numbered...

Page 9: ... input on a mixer or signal processor Check the meters on the mixer or signal processor to see if the level appears to be too high clipping or too low barely showing any indication on the meters Set the Output Level switch so that the level meters in the external gear do not indicate excessive clipping yet still provide good full scale or near full scale deflection FIGURE 3 Rear Panel Wordclock In...

Page 10: ...od full scale or near full scale deflection How to use the Headphone Line Mixer Output The TubeFire 8 has eight D A outputs that return audio from the computer and are assignable to the headphone output through the Output Source switches This is done in pairs to support stereo operation When a switch is in the OUT position the corresponding channel pair of D A s audio from computer is selected to ...

Page 11: ...FIGURE 4 Block Diagram 10 ...

Page 12: ... Wordclock as a timing source check the status of the unit and even re name your TubeFire 8 using the ART Card Control Panel Any changes you make will be recorded in the non volatile flash memory of the TubeFire 8 maintaining your settings even after loosing power It is normal for the unit to mute audio and report trying to lock during any of these changes This may last for a few seconds as the da...

Page 13: ...to modify the sample rate setting FIGURE 6 Control Panel Sample Rate STEP TWO Change the sample rate setting in the recording software In Cubase this is done under the PROJECT tab in the PROJECT SETUP dialog See FIGURE 7 for an example FIGURE 7 Cubase Sample Rate Selection 12 ...

Page 14: ... are NOT zero then increase the buffer length until the ASIO Drop Outs number reduces to zero NOTE The front panel Sample Rate display on the TubeFire 8 is a histogram FIGURE 8 shows the display lit for a 48KHz sample rate This makes reading the display much easier at a distance ALL of the lights are lit when the unit is set to 96KHz FIGURE 8 Sample Rate Indication 13 ...

Page 15: ... either the WDM the ASIO slider knob until it is in the desired position The numerical readout to the right of the slider indicates the buffer length in both time and samples Once the adjustment is done click the appropriate Apply button to make the change active There will be a slight delay as the settings are updated NOTE The CuBase LE recording software package which is included with the TubeFi...

Page 16: ... and Thru jacks of each TubeFire 8 and then placing a single 75 Ohm BNC terminator on the Wordclock Thru jack of the last device in the chain furthest away from the wordclock generator Alternatively multiple TubeFire 8 units can be connected directly to the separate outputs of a wordclock generator in which case each TubeFire 8 will require a 75 Ohm BNC terminator placed on its respective Wordcloc...

Page 17: ... serial number for each TubeFire 8 Under the Audio Input section use the Format pull down menu to select the desired sample rate Note that the Audio Input and Audio Output Format settings track each other The various volume sliders mutes and thru radio buttons are all grayed out and disabled These functions are typically controlled in the recording software program FIGURE 11 Audio MIDI Setup Utili...

Page 18: ...nator on the Wordclock Thru jack of the last device in the chain furthest away from the wordclock generator Alternatively multiple TubeFire 8 units can be connected directly to separate outputs of the wordclock generator in which case each TubeFire 8 will require a 75 Ohm BNC terminator placed on the Wordclock Thru jack of each TubeFire 8 Because the TubeFire 8 is not an internally terminated devi...

Page 19: ...udio MIDI Setup utility Pull down the Audio menu and run the Aggregate Device Editor FIGURE 13 Audio MIDI Setup Audio pull down menu Next Click the Add button to create a new device Select the audio devices that will comprise the new aggregate device by clicking the Use buttons At this point you can re name the Aggregate Device by double clicking the name We used the name TubeFire 8 pair in our ex...

Page 20: ...rst step is to connect each unit to the Firewire buss Refer to the FIGURE 3 Multiple units can be daisy chained unit to unit by utilizing the To Computer and Expansion Firewire ports on the TubeFire 8 units Alternatively each TubeFire 8 can be connected directly to the computer if there are enough available Firewire ports Use the ART Card Control Panel Windows PC or the AUDIO MIDI Setup utility Ma...

Page 21: ...ot be changed We recommend using external wordclock to maintain the highest audio quality when using multiple devices Wordclock should to be applied to EVERY unit in the audio chain including soundcards The wordclock signal can be looped through the TubeFire 8 units using their rear panel wordclock Input and Thru connectors with a 75 Ohm BNC terminator applied to the last unit in the chain Typical...

Page 22: ...ons This warranty does not apply in the event of misuse or abuse of the product or as a result of unauthorized alterations or repairs This warranty is void if the serial number is altered defaced or removed A R T reserves the right to make changes in design or make additions to or improvements upon this product without any obligation to install the same on products previously manufactured A R T sh...

Page 23: ...rn Standard Time Monday through Friday 4 Pack the unit in its original carton or a reasonable substitute The packing box is not recommended as a shipping carton Put the packaged unit in another box for shipping Print the RA number clearly on the outside of the shipping box Print your return shipping address on the outside of the box 5 Include with your unit a full return shipping address we cannot...

Page 24: ...ced 24dBu Unbalanced 18dBu Output level switch Lowers Max Output by 10dB 10dB setting Headphones 6dBu Meter clip light 20dBu ref Balanced output 2dB ref A D clip Wordclock Range 40 52 KHz or 80 104KHz set by computer Sample Rates 44 1KHz 48KHz 88 2KHz 96KHz Firewire 2 six pin connectors 100 400 Mb Sec 1394a Dimensions 1 75 H x 19 0 W x 14 4 D Weight 13 2 lbs Power Requirements USA 105 125VAC AC 60...

Page 25: ...NOTES 24 ...

Page 26: ...www artproaudio com E mail support artproaudio com 2006 Applied Research Technology 164 5004 201 25 ...

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