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9

B-CONTROL 

AUDIO

  BCA2000

The 

LINE STEREO

 button feeds the stereo signal of both

line inputs (

; see page 10) into the stereo input channel.

If  the  LINE  STEREO  button 

  is  pressed,  channel  two

becomes a stereo channel, and the PAN control assumes the

BALANCE  function  (see  4  above).  This  allows  a  maximum  of

three input signals (1 x mic/guitar and 1 x stereo) to be processed

simultaneously (see also ch. 4.1).

3.1.2 Main/Monitor section

The  100-mm 

MAIN 

fader  controls  the  output  signal

(MAIN OUT).
The 

PHONES

  controls  adjust  the  volume  of  connected

headphones.
The 

CTRL ROOM

 control adjusts the volume of the control

room outputs 

.

The 

PHONES 

outputs (individually adjustable; see 12) are

used  for  connecting  headphones.  You  can  listen  to  the

main output, the input sum or the mix of both signals.
The 

MONITOR

  button  activates  the  direct  monitoring

function, and the DIR I/O LED lights up. When the button is

not pressed, auto monitoring is active.

With  auto  monitoring,  switching  between  input  and  recorded

tracks  is  done  automatically  by  your  host  software  (audio

sequencer/software  mixer).  System-induced  latencies  occur

between the recorded signal and computer playback. To avoid

this, you can switch to DIRECT I/O during a recording session.

This provides you with delay-free signal routing (see also ch. 4.3).

LISTEN

  switches  the  monitor  signal  (control  room  and

phones) to mono (e.g. to check mono compatibility).

DIM

 lowers the level of phones and control room outputs

by -20 dB.
The 

MUTE

  button  mutes  the  phones  and  control  room

outputs.
The 

MONITOR  BALANCE

  control  adjusts  the  volume

balance between the input sum and the output signal (main

out). The control is only active if the MONITOR button 

is pressed (direct monitoring).
The 

AUDIO  ROUTING

  diagram  shows  the  audio  signal

flow

 

of your B-CONTROL. The integrated LEDs show the

current selection of inputs and the status of buttons 

 - 

.

The 

DIGITAL IN

 button lets you select a digital input source

(“COAXIAL” or “OPTICAL”).

OPTICAL  OUT

  selects  the  format  for  the  optical  output

. Available choices are “ADAT” (eight-channel or four-

channel with “ADAT S/MUX”) and “2-CHANNEL”.

CH.  1-2/CH.  7-8

  button:  if  OPTICAL  OUT  is  set  to

“2-CHANNEL”, the CH. 1-2/CH. 7-8 button lets you select

which USB output channels are played back via the digital

optical and coaxial outputs. If OPTICAL OUT is set to “ADAT”,

the CH. 1-2/CH. 7-8 setting only applies to the coaxial output.

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 in your software, the 

44.1 kHz

 LED illuminates. If

an  external  wordclock  signal  is  connected,  the 

DIGITAL

IN 

LED illuminates. If this external signal also has a sampling

rate of 44.1 kHz, both the 

44.1  kHz

 and the 

DIGITAL IN

LEDs will illuminate.

The 

METER 

button lets you switch the LED level meters

(

 and 

) between input and output signals.

The LED level meter displays either the input sum signal

post-A/D  converter  or  the  digital  output  signal  pre-main

fader, depending on the position of the METER button 

.

The LEDs for channels 3 - 8 indicates signal presence in

the digital channels 3 - 8 (green 

SIG

 LEDs) or if levels are

too high and may cause distortion (red 

CLIP

 LEDs).

These status LEDs display the following:

MIDI IN

OUT A

 and 

OUT B

 illuminate if MIDI signals are

present  at  the  respective  connectors.

USB FULL

 and 

USB HIGH

 LEDs indicate status and type of

the  USB  connection.  The  appropriate  LED  will  remain

illuminated as long as your BCA2000 is connected to your

computer via USB (and the computer is powered up).

3.1.3 Dynamics section

Your  BCA2000  features  a  combined  noise  gate/limiter

(dynamics)  section  for  the  analog  input  signal.  This  section  is

located  directly  pre-A/D  converters.

The 

ON

 button activates the dynamics section.

The 

NOISE GATE

 control adjusts the threshold or signal

level below which the noise gate is activated; signals below

this level are muted. Turning the 

NOISE GATE 

control fully

counterclockwise  (-

)  deactivates  the  noise  gate.

When the level of a signal falls below the threshold value,

this red 

THRESHOLD

 LED illuminates (noise gate active).

The limiter limits the signal to a maximum level, which can

be  adjusted.  Turning  the 

LIMITER 

control  fully  clockwise

deactivates the limiter.
The 

LIMIT 

LED illuminates when the limiter is active.

+

If  you  only  want  to  use  the  noise  gate,  set  the

LIMITER 

control  to  zero  (fully  clockwise).  If  you  only

want to use the limiter, turn the 

NOISE GATE 

control

to  -

¥

  (fully  counterclockwise).

+

The  noise  gate/limiter  section  works  in  fixed

stereo,  i.e.  the  left  and  right  channels  always

function  jointly.  When  processing  two  mono  signals,

these  signals  may  be  processed  inaccurately.

3. CONTROL ELEMENTS AND CONNECTIONS

Summary of Contents for B-Control-Audio BCA2000

Page 1: ...Version 1 0 February 2004 User s Manual ENGLISH B CONTROL AUDIO BCA2000 ...

Page 2: ...plifiers that produce heat 9 Do not defeat the safety purpose 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 ou...

Page 3: ...ls 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 24 bit 96 kHz s High resolution 2 x 12 element LED level indicator for stereo In Out signals plus 2 element LED level indicator for input and output channel...

Page 4: ...y 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 toge...

Page 5: ...ided 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 Warranty Please take a few minutes and send us the completely filled out warranty card within 14 days of the date of purchas...

Page 6: ...ffective 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 The following settings can be made in the Setup window Dig 2 Ch Output Format The format for two channel digital output is switchable between AES EBU and S PDIF Format selection has an effect on both the coaxial...

Page 7: ...7 B CONTROL AUDIO BCA2000 Fig 2 1 Control panel software SETUP window Fig 2 2 Control panel software USB INFO window Fig 2 3 Control panel software BLOCK DIAGRAM window 2 INSTALLATION ...

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: ...e 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 in y...

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: ...n 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 x s...

Page 12: ...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 p...

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 5 APPLICATIONS you can connect a second set of separately adjustable headphones 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: ...ers 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 VERBPROREV2496andVIRTUALIZERPRODSP2024P 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 yo...

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: ... 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 poi...

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: ...z Max output level 20 dBu Main Out Type Main 1 2 Cinch 3 6 Impedance approx 120 Ω signal to noise ratio 100 dB Crosstalk 80 dBu 1 kHz Max output level 20 dBu Headphones outputs 2 Type 1 4 TRS connector with separate volume controls Max output level 20 dBu INSERTS 2 Type 1 4 TRS connector unbalanced DYNAMIC SECTION Noise Gate Threshold to 0 dB Limiter Threshold 15 to 0 dB 7 SPECIFICATIONS DIGITAL I...

Page 24: ...ing conditions are not covered by this warranty s improper handling neglect or failure to operate the unit in compliance with the instructions given in BEHRINGER user or service manuals s connection or operation of the unit in any way that does not comply with the technical or safety regulations applicable in the country where the product is used s damages defects caused by force majeure or any ot...

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