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14

B-CONTROL 

AUDIO

  BCA2000

ASIO  Direct  Monitoring:

For  recording  and  playback  purposes,  the  monitor  signal  can

also  be  switched  in  the  software  (the  BCA2000  must  be  in

AUTO monitoring mode), provided your audio software supports

ASIO Direct Monitoring. For that purpose, the following settings

are available in the control panel software:
If  you  select 

Digital

,  the  audio  software  switches  the  monitor

outputs  of  your  B-CONTROL  between  the  analog  input  sum

(record)  and  the  main  output  signal  (play);  this  depends  on

whether the software is in recording or playback mode.
If 

Analog

 is selected, the monitor balance control is active during

a recording, and you can adjust the ratio between the playback

and input signals. During playback only the stereo mix from the

software  is  audible.

5. APPLICATIONS

5.1 Mobile studio

Fig.  5.1:  Mobile  studio

Even  if  you  work  almost  exclusively  with  software,  you  still

need MIDI and audio interfaces to play your software synths via

a MIDI keyboard and record and listen to your music. The first

example  shows  a  small  setup  for  a  mobile  studio  using  the

BCA2000 as such an interface.
Connect  the  BCA2000  to  a  free  USB  port  on  your  computer/

laptop. An older Full-Speed (1.1) USB interface will suffice unless

you  want  to  work  at  24-bit/96  kHz  (see  also  1.2.1  and  1.2.2).

You can play your software instruments live and/or record MIDI

tracks via the MIDI keyboard connected to the MIDI input. Monitoring

is  achieved  via  headphones  connected  to  one  of  the  phones

outputs on the front panel of your BCA2000, while the volume is

adjusted using the corresponding PHONES control. Of course,

you  can  connect  a  second  set  of  separately  adjustable

headphones.

5. APPLICATIONS

Fig.  5.2:  Extended  mobile  studio

In this illustration, we have augmented the first example with a

microphone and a MIDI expander. To record acoustic instruments

or  vocals  in  your  audio  software,  connect  your  microphones

directly to the XLR inputs. If you’re using condenser microphones,

activate the +48 V phantom power. To record an electric guitar

or  acoustic  instrument  with  passive  pickups,  connect  it  to  the

high-impedance guitar input located on the front panel.
Use the internal noise gate and compressor in your B-CONTROL

to process analog signals prior to A/D conversion. You can also

connect an external processor to the INSERT connectors 

for  signal  processing  using  your  favorite  outboard  gear.
The MIDI sound module is controlled via MIDI output A. The sound

module  can  be  a  GM/GS/XG  MIDI  expander,  a  synthesizer,  a

sampler, a drum machine or other MIDI sound source. The audio

outputs  can  be  routed  to  the  software  mixer  via  the  analog

stereo line inputs—or alternatively via the digital inputs, provided

the sound module you are using has digital outputs.
Listening during a recording session (monitoring) can be done

either digitally via the computer or latency-free using the direct

monitoring  function  of  your  BCA2000.  The  latter  is  extremely

helpful  if  the  latency  (computer-induced  delay)  is  too  high  to

allow comfortable, accurate monitoring for performing musicians/

singers.

Summary of Contents for B-Control Audio BCA2000

Page 1: ...Version 1 3 July 2006 User s Manual B CONTROL AUDIO BCA2000 ...

Page 2: ...urpose of the polarized or grounding type plug A polarized plug has two blades with one wider than the other A grounding type plug has two blades and a third grounding prong The wide blade or the third prong are provided for your safety If the provided plug does not fit into your outlet consult an electrician for replacement of the obsolete outlet 10 Protect the power cord from being walked on or ...

Page 3: ...32 MIDI channels s Versatile digital input and output formats like ADAT ADAT S MUX AES EBU and S PDIF including Dolby Digital and DTS support s Simultaneous use of 3 analog input sources 1 mono 1 stereo digital input sources plus full multi channel playback at 24 bit 96 kHz s High resolution 2 x 12 segment LED stereo in out level meter s High speed USB 2 0 interface with 24 bit 96 kHz supports 8 i...

Page 4: ...ly flexible connections let it assume the central control role in almost any computer studio The task of designing our new B CONTROL certainly meant a great deal of responsibility which we assumed by focusing on you the discerning computer user and musician Meeting your expectations also meant a lot of work and night shifts But it was fun too Developing a product usually brings a lot of people tog...

Page 5: ... 2 Initial operation Please make sure the unit is provided with sufficient ventilation and never place the B CONTROL on top of an amplifier or in the vicinity of a heater to avoid the risk of overheating A power supply unit which meets the necessary safety requirements is enclosed for connecting the B CONTROL to the mains 1 1 3 Online registration Please do remember to register your new BEHRINGER ...

Page 6: ...atency buffer size setting will be effective after you close the control panel ADAT 96 kHz operation is indicated in all windows right field along with the current sample rate ASIO and USB driver version and firmware version SETUP window Fig 2 1 Control panel software SETUP window The following settings can be made in the Setup window Dig 2 Ch Output Format The format for two channel digital outpu...

Page 7: ... 16 bit max sample rate 48000 max number of outputs 4 USB INFO window Fig 2 3 Control panel software USB INFO window The USB INFO window allows you to adapt the B CONTROL to the USB connection you are using If you are running your B CONTROL on Full Speed USB only limited functionality is available The table shows which input output combinations are possible with your USB interface If USB2 0 mode d...

Page 8: ...r speakers PAN positions the signal in the stereo field If the LINE STEREO button is pressed the PAN control adjusts the BALANCE between L and R signals in the stereo input channel The 100 mm channel faders control the level of the input signal that is routed to the A D converter MIC A and LINE L are the two possible positions of this switch which controls the input that is routed to a particular ...

Page 9: ... The status LEDs for buttons to are located in the audio routing diagram SAMPLE RATE LEDs All digital inputs and outputs have the same sample rate which is determined by your host software unless you are synchronizing to an external wordclock source If you change the sample rate in the software the display on your BCA2000 automatically switches to the new value For example if you select 44 1 kHz i...

Page 10: ...uts allow you to process input signals with outboard equipment compressors EQs effects processors and so on Additional information on using these connections is found in chapter 6 2 The POWER switch turns your BCA2000 on and off It should always be in the OFF position out when connecting the unit to or disconnecting the unit from the mains Please note The power switch does not completely separate ...

Page 11: ...tween a microphone input B MIC B and the right line input Line R The LINE STEREO button gives you yet another routing option directing both left and right line inputs into this channel which then operates as a stereo channel In this case the mono input channel can no longer carry the left line signal However you can still select a microphone or guitar signal so that a total of 3 signals 1 x mono 1...

Page 12: ...t selection AES EBU or S PDIF via control panel software Table 4 2 Input routing In Full Speed USB operation the USB interface can only transmit 4 audio channels Transmitting audio signals with a sampling rate of 96 kHz is not possible 4 2 Output routing On the output side eight channels can also be transmitted via High Speed USB Various combinations of analog and digital outputs are available for...

Page 13: ...e input signal s level is too high and could possibly cause audible distortion We incorporated a bit of headroom here so that the LED illuminates a few dBs before clipping distortion Adjust the trim control so that the CLIP LED only occasionally illuminates during the loudest passages The input signal now has an optimal level Use the channel fader to adjust the recording volume Be sure not to over...

Page 14: ...ed via headphones connected to one of the phones outputs on the front panel of your BCA2000 while the volume is adjusted using the corresponding PHONES control Of course you can connect a second set of separately adjustable headphones 5 APPLICATIONS Fig 5 2 Extended mobile studio In this illustration we have augmented the first example with a microphone and a MIDI expander To record acoustic instr...

Page 15: ... separately with each MIDI expander in this case a sound module and a sampler via 16 MIDI channels each The Audio wiring also represents an expansion of the setup shown in fig 5 2 the microphone and sound module signals are mixed together in stereo in the BCA2000 before they pass through the A D converter Additionally an extra sound generator stereo player effects unit or hardware sampler as shown...

Page 16: ... BCF2000 and BCR2000 as input devices Similarly the sampler and sound module A as well all MIDI capable effects processors here ULTRACURVE PRO DEQ2496 V VERB PRO REV2496 and VIRTUALIZER PRO DSP2024P are all connected to the MIDI patchbay The patchbay is connected to the BCA2000 via MIDI IN and MIDI OUT A which in turn transmits the entire studio s MIDI data through a maximum of 16 MIDI channels to...

Page 17: ... this setup all options can be used simultaneously A pair of BEHRINGER TRUTH B2030A active monitors with an additional active subwoofer are used here as main monitors The control room outputs are connected to the subwoofer from there the signal is passed on to the TRUTH loudspeakers The same signal is also available via two sets of headphones e g for musicians whereby their volume can be adjusted ...

Page 18: ...ay with a maximum of eight channels and monitor your recording in 5 1 surround Recording In our example an orchestral performance is being recorded Six microphones are being used 5 studio condenser microphones and a so called boundary microphone which is placed on the floor close to the orchestra Of course you can also use other microphones and positioning as your experience and or preferences dic...

Page 19: ...19 B CONTROL AUDIO BCA2000 5 APPLICATIONS Fig 5 6 Multi channel recording with 5 1 surround monitoring ...

Page 20: ...er format S PDIF AES EBU signals are usually transmitted using balanced cables with XLR connectors enabling extremely long cable runs without signal degradation or additional noise See also S PDIF Clock Many digital devices feature Sync Clock or Wordclock connections usually in the form of coaxial BNC connectors When using two or more interconnected digital devices simultaneously they must be sync...

Page 21: ...z with the limitation that only 4 audio channels can be transmitted instead of the usual 8 See also ADAT The BCA2000 supports this format as well as the standard ADAT format on the optical digital inputs and outputs S PDIF The Sony Philips Digital Interface Format is a consumer standard for transmitting digital audio This unbalanced interface utilizes RCA or optical TOSLINK connections From the po...

Page 22: ...priate LEDs on the BCA2000 and in the control panel software Wordclock See Clock and Sync 6 2 Audio connections You will need many different types of cables for various applications The following illustrations show how these cables should be wired Please always use high quality cables The B CONTROL s analog audio inputs are electronically balanced to avoid hum problems Of course you can also conne...

Page 23: ...Max output level 20 dBu Main Out Type Main 1 2 Cinch 3 6 Impedance approx 120 W signal to noise ratio 100 dB Crosstalk 80 dBu 1 kHz Max output level 20 dBu Headphones outputs 2 Type TRS connector with separate volume controls Max output level 20 dBu INSERTS 2 Type TRS connector unbalanced DYNAMIC SECTION Noise Gate Threshold to 0 dB Limiter Threshold 15 to 0 dB 7 SPECIFICATIONS DIGITAL INPUTS Type...

Page 24: ...sly excluded from this warranty in particular if caused by improper handling of the product by the user This also applies to defects caused by normal wear and tear in particular of faders crossfaders potentiometers keys buttons tubes guitar strings illuminants and similar parts 4 Damages defects caused by the following conditions are not covered by this warranty s improper handling neglect or fail...

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