ATC Labs Perceptual SoundMax Q24 Operation Manual Download Page 4

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A T C L a b s C o p y r i g h t ( 2 0 1 2 ) A l l R i g h t s R e s e r v e d .

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Section 1

Product Overview

Perceptual SoundMax

is a new digital audio processor for FM & DAB employing

powerful state-of-art signal processing techniques. It performs elaborate 24-band processing

using an extremely detailed and accurate time-frequency representation of the audio signals.

Using the latest advances in signal processing techniques such as filter banks and unique

ATC Labs know how in Psychoacoustic Modeling and Harmonic Analysis we have

developed a set of novel signal conditioning tools which maximize the performance the 24-

band dynamics processing and augment it with novel signal conditioning tools. The result is

a unique and pleasing sound that emphasizes the presence and perceived loudness while at

the same time improving long term listenability. To put simply one can create breathtakingly

detailed, consistent and balanced sound which is loud and punchy without introducing any

element of listener fatigue.

ATC Labs has a strong sound processing technology pedigree. It was founded by

researchers with long career in Bell Labs acoustics research. Technology developed by ATC

Lab including the Perceptual SoundMax

audio processor is being employed among others

by leading US Satellite/Internet Radio Broadcasters’ servicing over 20,000,000 listeners.

Perceptual SoundMax

is a new product coming out from our proven sound processing

technology platform that has been in use for nearly 7 years. It allows conventional FM and

AM broadcasters to achieve unparalleled sound quality and clarity. A lot of the technology

embedded in Perceptual SoundMax

is developed at our R&D center in Noida, India

staffed with skillful research engineers and it is manufactured in our Noida facility.

Perceptual SoundMax

Model Q24 is actually 3 products rolled into one - in

additional to sophisticated 24-band processing it includes a built-in broadcast grade wide-

band background noise removal product as well as a suite of audio conditioning/sweetening

tools into one box eliminating the need for broadcasters to place 3 or more separate

hardware products in their broadcast chain to achieve the similar impact. Model Q24

Summary of Contents for Perceptual SoundMax Q24

Page 1: ...24 band Stereo Audio Processor for FM and Digital http www atc labs com soundmax Perceptual SoundMaxTM Model Q24 Operation Manual Version 2 1 January 2012 ...

Page 2: ...vironmental Considerations and Section 2 2 2 Use Precautions very carefully before proceeding with installation or powering it ON Care should be taken so that objects do not fall and liquids are not spilled into the enclosure through openings The equipment should be connected to a power supply only of the type described in the operating instructions or as marked on the equipment DAMAGE REQUIRING S...

Page 3: ...UICK START GUIDE 14 DETAILED SYSTEM SETUP INSTRUCTIONS 17 3 1 MODEL Q24 MAIN SCREEN CONTROLS HOME SCREEN 17 3 2 INPUT OUTPUT CONFIGURATION 19 AUDIO PROCESSING OPERATION 27 4 1 OVERVIEW OF AVAILABLE PROCESSING TOOLS 27 REMOTE CONTROL USING NETWORKED PC 43 5 1 REMOTE CONTROL NETWORKED PC INTERFACE 43 5 2 GUIDE TO CREATING CUSTOM PROCESSING PROFILES USING SOUNDMAX MANAGER 44 5 3 TUNING GUIDE 45 PRESE...

Page 4: ...r fatigue ATC Labs has a strong sound processing technology pedigree It was founded by researchers with long career in Bell Labs acoustics research Technology developed by ATC Lab including the Perceptual SoundMaxTM audio processor is being employed among others by leading US Satellite Internet Radio Broadcasters servicing over 20 000 000 listeners Perceptual SoundMaxTM is a new product coming out...

Page 5: ... screen interface for user control and is supplemented by sophisticated software that allow unsurpassed monitoring and tuning options using a networked PC based remote control The product comes pre loaded with multiple processing presets matched to different genres and allows the user to create and save as many custom profiles as desired Based on the highest quality components the product is meant...

Page 6: ...ng or if any damage is observed please get in touch with your sales contact immediately Save all packing materials If you should ever have to ship the Model Q24 e g for servicing it is best to ship it in the original carton with its packing materials because both the carton and packing material have been carefully designed to protect the unit Complete the Registration Card and return it to ATC Lab...

Page 7: ... the flow of air through the ventilation openings Moisture Water The equipment should not be used near water e g near a washbowl bathtub kitchen sink laundry tub etc in a wet basement or near a swimming pool etc Heat The equipment should be situated away from heat sources such as stoves heat registers radiators or any other equipment including amplifiers which produces heat Power source The equipm...

Page 8: ...nt vibrations or resonance Ambient temperature should not exceed 50o C when equipment is powered on Equipment life may be further extended by operating it in cooler places 2 3 I O and Power Connections All the I O and power connectors for Model Q24 are available at the rear panel with the exception of headphone monitoring output which is available on the front panel as described below Make the pow...

Page 9: ...ressed XLR type female connectors on the rear panel Input impedance is greater than 10kΩ balanced and floating Inputs can accommodate up to 24 dBu 0 dBu 0 775Vrms The left and right analog outputs are on EMI suppressed XLR type male connectors on the rear panel Output impedance is 50Ω balanced and floating They can drive 600Ω or higher impedances balanced or unbalanced The peak output level is adj...

Page 10: ...xing with composite out Section 3 2 4 Turning the Unit into Standby Power On Mode The unit is equipped with a master power on off switch on the real panel Label 14 in the schematic above moving this switch in the on position puts the unit in a standby mode and it can subsequently be turned on using the front panel ON OFF switch see below Once the power and I O cables are tightly connected place th...

Page 11: ... Minimum system requirements Operating System SoundMax Manager is currently available for Windows XP Windows Vista and Windows 7 32 bit operating systems LAN Connection The Manager communicates with the Station through a network connection Hardware The SoundMax Manager can run on any light weight PC We recommend at least a single core Pentium with a clock speed of 2 2 GHz or above Instruction for ...

Page 12: ...lection save and remove profiles tune profile parameters A snapshot of this detailed view is shown in the figure below Figure 2 3 Detailed view of Manager It provides an option to tune the audio quality of any channel based on the requirement Clicking on the tune button will change your view to a tuning screen showing all the tunable modules and an option to save custom profiles and load saved pro...

Page 13: ... controlling and monitoring the unit 3 Rotary Selector This can be used in lieu of the touch screen control for controlling the unit Generally user can also select the particular option displayed over TFT screen by pressing the rotary selector switch once and move around different regions options of the screen by rotating the rotary encoder in either direction 4 Headphone Audio Output jack Used fo...

Page 14: ...rocessed and the processed output will be available on the digital output connection If analog I O is needed instead please refer to Section 3 2 to change I O configuration System will be start with default settings or last user settings if applicable Once the front panel power switch is pressed the unit will power ON and LED around the ON OFF switch will light up It may take several seconds for t...

Page 15: ...ated highlights moves around the screen in a pre defined pattern and a highlighted control can be exercised by pushing in the Rotary Encoder Click on SETTING key to configure Analog I O setting Digital I O setting composite and SCA RBDS setting These are Advanced Settings described in Section 3 2 and onwards For the first time the unit starts with default I O settings i e digital input and output ...

Page 16: ...er can go to the recent last preset with LAST key With TUNE key user can see the different processing module available and their ON OFF status Click on BYPASS key to switch between processed and unprocessed output If output is in BYPASS mode then display text will be OnAIR Path1 Processing ByPassed If output is in PROCSSED mode then preset custom profile being applied will be displayed as text lik...

Page 17: ...en Controls Home Screen Figure 3 1 Home Screen Main Screen Display labels the following items Soft keys UNLOCK SETTING BYPASS CONFIGURE Input and Output VU meter Output Spectrum in 10 Bandwidth central frequency display On Air preset which displays current profile User can recall Main Screen from any of the other screens by pressing the HOME soft key ...

Page 18: ...ey refer Sec 2 1 Click on BYPASS key to switch between processed and unprocessed output If output is in BYPASS mode then display text will be OnAIR Path1 Processing ByPassed If output is in PROCSSED mode then preset custom profile being applied will be displayed as text like OnAIR Path1 Preset 10 BASS TREBLE Click on CONFIGURE key to get the list of all factory presets and custom profiles There ar...

Page 19: ...Q24 offers one processing path its sister product Model Q24 Duo offers two processing paths with independent output and independent control of the processing parameters The second processing path is attractive for example to simulcast the audio over a secondary channel such as Internet or digital broadcast Path 1 directs the output to AES EBU Digital Output1 as well as Balanced XLR Output which ca...

Page 20: ...case of Analog Input only This can be selected as 24 or 16 bit resolution In case of Digital Input this option will be auto detected from AES bit stream So WORD LENGTH option will be disabled for Digital Input Input Type To be processed input type either ANALOG or DIGITAL can be selected from here De Emphasis If your input is Pre emphasized with type J 17 50µs or 75 µs then corresponding De emphas...

Page 21: ...dBu Digital peak level Digital Headroom is provided with the Highly Effective Automatic Gain Control Module Which will detect the Peak level and adjust the overall gain 3 2 3 Output Configuration Model Q24 has Stereo XLR balanced analog out and AES out Output could be either flat or pre emphasized at 50 µs or 75 µs software selectable Figure 3 5 Output Configurations Output Level User should calib...

Page 22: ...D LIMITER Two band limiter will control the gain of higher frequency by applying filter having attenuation from 0dB to 20dB Output Sample Rate Output sample rate is software selectable with following options 32kHz 44 1kHz and 48kHz Output Bandwidth Selecting a 32kHz output sample rate will automatically set 15kHz as the highest available audio bandwidth User can further reduce this output bandwidt...

Page 23: ...2dBu configurable on the settings screen above OUTPUT2 It s the coaxial output and software selectable as COMP MPX or PILOT tone of 19 kHz It has range from 12dBu to 12dBu configurable on the settings screen above OUT1 With this selection tab user can configure above mentioned OUTPUT1 OUT2 With this selection tab user can configure above mentioned OUTPUT2 Pre emphasis With this option user can con...

Page 24: ...utput Audio Level 4 dBu Output Digital Level 0 0 dBFS BaseBand Pre emphasis OFF Input Bandwidth 22 05kHz Output Bandwidth 22 05kHz SCAN Input Level 2 4 dBu RDS Input Level 2 4 dBu Output Level 4 0 dBu Output1 COMP Output2 COMP Baseband Pre emphasis 50 µs Profile Preset 10 Dance Station Version 3 0 0 0 PreProcessor Engine Number 2 0 0 0 Mac address SoundMax IP Table 3 1 Different Q24 Settings and t...

Page 25: ...T PASSWORD soft key Figure 3 8 Set Password Screen A valid Password should consist of more than 5 characters After entering the password press SAVE soft key RUN DIAGNOSTICS Run diagnostics feature will help you to determine whether your unit is malfunctioning When the RUN DIAGNOSTICS BUTTON is pressed a diagnosis screen as shown below is displayed and diagnostics can be run for each of the 3 paths...

Page 26: ...tone follow these steps Select any one of the path form Digital Analog Composite FM option Press Playback key Now select option from Tone Sweep Pink Noise In case of Tone fundamental frequency can vary from 1 kHz to 24 kHz User can also configure Start and stop frequency in case of Sweep tone Loopback Press GO LIVE key to get back into Processing mode ...

Page 27: ... brief look at our processing philosophy and the different signal processing blocks available in Perceptual SoundMaxTM Model Q24 and provide a description of their functionality CONFIGURE screen has the option of TUNE which give access to all processing module at one place 4 1 1 Preset Tuning Screen Figure 4 1 Illustration of Processing Blocks Controls available in Perceptual SoundMaxTM ...

Page 28: ...facts is the main objective of the audio processing This is one best measure to evaluate the effectiveness of the audio processor Compression reduces the difference in audio level between soft and loud sounds to make efficient use of permitted peak level limits This results in a subjective increase in the loudness of soft sounds but cannot make loud sounds seem louder In processing there is direct...

Page 29: ...ptation slider should be at the left most position and vice versa The second slider is for the attack time Applied gain will last over a definite period of time defined as attack time If attack time is set to left most side then gain will change very instantaneously which is not very desired as it may cause some distortion or poor quality audio The third slider is for the output loudness level ind...

Page 30: ...R e s e r v e d Page 30 The fourth slider decides the maximum permissible gain of the AGC If it is at left most side then gain is close to 1 and if its at right most side then gain will be highest Moderate setting advised is 0 55 to 0 8 for good quality audio ...

Page 31: ... the signal that provides a very high level of control both in time and frequency domain Moreover the processing filterbank is completely linear phase eliminating phase distortions and the need to compensate for phase distortions Internal processing is in 24 processing bands The number of bands that are available for user control is flexible user can configure dynamic range control parameters in 2...

Page 32: ...idual band or all frequency band together Operating point tune with OP TUNE soft key Compander s threshold and attack and release time with BAND TUNE soft key NOTE 24 band tuning can t be done through TFT interface Tuning of 24 band can be done through interactive remote PC interface Section 5 10 6 4 2 band DRC can be fine tuned with the front panel TFT interface as well Figure 4 4 DRC Tuning Scre...

Page 33: ...enario audio content is not always mapped with right genre we are providing floating option which will automatically the adjust operating points according to input stream The Operating Points can be used to boost or lower the prominence of a particular frequency region and control audio consistency in the corresponding band Master Floating and Floating If MASTER FLOTING option is checked then ever...

Page 34: ... Attack and release times are associated with compression as well as expansion process How fast a compressor expander react to the input signal when a threshold is crossed is determined by attack time Multiband Dynamic Compression in combination with attack and release time makes different flavors like dense medium and open These refer to the density produced by the processing Open uses a slow mul...

Page 35: ...imiting will occur When the input signal exceeds the threshold level the signal above the threshold is limited A higher level of compression is applied on the signal s which cross the limiting threshold 4 1 3 Voice Vocal Enhancement VE This module enhances the speech vocal content of the audio if the corresponding box is checked This module uses the accurate harmonic analysis statistics of the inp...

Page 36: ... the sliders namely Tight Coupling Loose Coupling and No Coupling In Tight coupling each slider controls other sliders and has high impact on the level of controls of neighboring sliders In Loose Coupling each slider affects the neighborhood sliders moderately In case of No Coupling mode each of the slider can be tuned individually 4 1 5 Bass Enhancement Q24 is equipped with dynamic and powerful B...

Page 37: ...stereo It widens or shrinks the stereo image depending on the slider setting The scale is divided between 0 0 and 1 0 The higher the value of this slider the more balanced audio we have with increased stability in the stereo image This tool helps in maintaining a consistent stereo image which would make audio sound pleasant A new user can safely set the dial at 0 3 Figure 4 9 Stereo Processing ...

Page 38: ...ptional parameters and background noises including dynamic background noises are automatically identified on the fly and removed from the audio At a broad level the user can operate the algorithm with two different structures for the noise model White Model For general noise types the White Noise model is recommended and the dial runs values from 0 0 to 1 0 A user can choose the level of noise fil...

Page 39: ...DLFR This is an audio sweetening tool that conditions the temporal envelope of the audio signal in multiple frequency bands To smooth the audio the dial value should be at high end and to let in more envelope dynamics dial value should be at lower end Figure 4 11 Dynamic Listening Fatigue Reduction Tool The 6 vertical bars below the dial provide finer control over envelope conditioning in individu...

Page 40: ...e human auditory perception system thus increasing the listenability of the sound Figure 4 12 ICS Settings The slider controls for this module include a Start Frequency which specifies the frequency threshold above which the processing is done this can be varied from 4 kHz to 8 kHz The dial controls the intensity of processing done by the algorithm A new user can safely set the dial at 0 2 and the...

Page 41: ...rom 4 kHz to 8 kHz The dial controls the intensity of processing done by the algorithm A new user can safely set the dial at 0 2 and the start frequency at about 6 8 kHz 4 1 11 Final Look Ahead Limiter This module determines absolute maximum of the output It ranges from 0dBFS to 20dBFS Model Q24 uses a sophisticated look ahead limiting algorithm that ensures output will not exceed the full scale t...

Page 42: ...A T C L a b s C o p y r i g h t 2 0 1 2 A l l R i g h t s R e s e r v e d Page 42 Figure 4 14 Final Look Ahead Limiter Settings ...

Page 43: ...y sensed once the Controller is run on a PC In other words the Controller can come up anywhere on the local network of the existing system and be used to monitor and control several hardware preprocessors running on the network There Controller can optionally be password protected There are three different views to the SoundMax Manager GUI which have different functionality scope and granularity T...

Page 44: ...tton on the second screen is pressed With the tuning screen user can use all the modules described in previous section We are describing all the information assuming that user is operating the Model Q24 station through remote PC only As described above Model Q24 incorporates different processing tool sets Dynamic Range Compression DRC Intelligent Loudness Control Wideband Automatic Noise Removal W...

Page 45: ...iefs the use of different tools by explaining their functionality Bypass Processing By checking the bypass processing button the processing done in the Q24Soft is bypassed This helps the user judge the quality of audio before and after processing instantaneously by switching between modes DRC Multiband Dynamic Compression is an integrated 24 band Dynamics Processor Driven by the principles of Psyc...

Page 46: ...ces the speech vocal content of the audio It uses an accurate harmonic analysis of the input audio and effectively enhances the vocal content Using this information input audio sounds cleaner with improved presence This module is also useful in sports news broadcast to make the commentators voice more intelligible where high background audience noise exist Intelligent Loudness Control This module ...

Page 47: ...set the dial at 0 2 and the start frequency at about 6 8 kHz Sibilants tend to add to the some of the unwanted harshness in the broadcast audio since the perceived loudness of sibilants is quite high due to their high frequency content Dynamic Listening Fatigue Reduction DLFR This is an audio sweetening tool that conditions the temporal envelope of the audio signal in multiple frequency bands The ...

Page 48: ...2 and the start frequency at about 6 8 kHz Multi Band Graphic Equalizer This module equalizes the audio in 10 bands according to the 10 slider setting For all the slider at the middle of the range equalizer is effectively flat Each slider can be moved between 5dB and 5dB There are three options in the form of buttons namely Tight Coupling Loose Coupling and No Coupling supported for coupling the s...

Page 49: ...e Emphasis Low Pass Filtering Voice Vocal Enhancement Stereo Processing Wide Band Auto Noise Reduction Dynamic Listening Fatigue Reduction Sibilant Fricative Smoothing Incoherent Component Suppression Dynamic Range Compression Equalizer Loudness Control Final Limiter Release Time Attack Time Noise Threshold Limiting Threshold Compression Threshold Expansion Threshold Operation Point ...

Page 50: ... out JAZZ JAZZ is specifically tailored toward broadcasters that play mostly instrumental music particularly classic jazz Coltrane Mingus Monk etc It is a quiet preset with a very clean mellow high end to prevent stridency on saxes and other horns It preserves much of the qualities of the original recordings doing light re equalization The preset produces very low listening fatigue so it is a good...

Page 51: ...may start from a factory preset and then tune parameters associated with one or more processing blocks to create a signature on air sound Alternatively user may want to invoke a processing block which was previously unused These tasks can be accomplished using either the TFT touch screen interface or Screen 3 or the SoundMax Manager Software as described in Section 5 with the SoundMax Manager prov...

Page 52: ...log Audio Output Configuration Stereo Output Level Adjustable 6 0 to 20 dBu SNR 100 dB 20 Hz to 20 kHz Crosstalk 20Hz to 20 kHz 100 dB Distortion THD 0 01 D A Convertor Resolution 24 bit EMI Suppressed Yes Connectors Balanced XLR Male Digital Audio Input AES EBU Configuration Stereo Sampling Rate 32 44 1 or 48kHz Auto Sense Word Length 16 bit or 24 bit Input Reference Level 25 0 to 0 dBFS EMI Supp...

Page 53: ...t Protection 65 dB relative to 9 injection 500 Hz 57 kHz RDS Protection 60 dB relative to 4 injection 2 kHz Connectors Coaxial BNC EMI Suppressed Power Power Requirements 105 260 V AC Single Phase 45 60 Hz Connector IEC EMI Suppressed Detachable 3 wire chord with earthing Safety Standards UL CE Ethernet Remote PC Control Configuration Auto Presence Broadcast on Ethernet Connectors RJ 45 EMI Suppre...

Page 54: ...A T C L a b s C o p y r i g h t 2 0 1 2 A l l R i g h t s R e s e r v e d Page 54 Figure 6 1 Model Q24 in Rack ...

Page 55: ... g h t s R e s e r v e d Page 55 Contact Us ATC Labs Audio Technologies and Codecs India Private Limited A 87 Ground Floor Sector 4 Noida 201301 U P India Phone 91 120 2519611 Fax 91 120 2519610 Email Id support atc labs com Web http www atc labs com ...

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