background image

owner’s manual

all contents © Grace Design/ Lunatec LLC

manual Rev G

main unit firmware Rev 1.08 

RCU firmware Rev 1.07

Summary of Contents for m906

Page 1: ...owner s manual all contents Grace Design Lunatec LLC manual Rev G main unit firmware Rev 1 08 RCU firmware Rev 1 07 ...

Page 2: ...ontained in this manual Doing this now will likely make your experience with the m906 more enjoyable In the event that you encounter any technical or operational difficulties with this or any Grace Design product please feel free to contact us at 303 443 7454 Our office hours are from 9 to 5 Monday through Friday MST Or you can e mail any questions to info gracedesign com Also please remember to v...

Page 3: ...e range 40 C to 70 C y yMaximum altitude 3000m 9843 ft y yEquipment suitable for continuous operation y yWeight 14 1lbs 6 4kg Safety Marking Symbols CAUTION READ ACCOMPANYING DOCUMENTS This symbol located on the equipment and in this manual refers to important instructions Read this manual thoroughly before operating this equipment WARNING ELECTRICAL SHOCK HAZARD This symbol located on the equipme...

Page 4: ...n the remote control unit and an additional output on the Audio Control Unit y yComprehensive system level calibration inputs outputs inter channel balance dim y yIndividual channel solo mute y yOptional Downmix Module y yOptional AES Loop Thru feature y yBalanced talkback microphone input with 48V phantom power with an activation switch on remote and an additional external switch control jack y y...

Page 5: ... CR OUT 1 This female DB 25 connector carries the balanced analog Control Room Output 1 signals for connection to a 5 1 speaker system wired to the Tascam DA 88 standard pinout D DC IN This 6 pin male XLR DC input accepts the supplied cable from the m906 s external power supply E WORD CLOCK SUPER CLOCK THRU This BNC connector is used to pass an external Word Clock or Super Clock reference signal t...

Page 6: ...5 high density connector allows connection between the m906 Audio Control Unit and the remote control unit via the supplied remote cable P TB SW JACK This TRS talkback switch jack is for connecting an external switch used to remotely activate the talkback microphone function Q CR OUT 1 and CR OUT 2 Analog balanced stereo outputs for stereo control room output sets 1 and 2 These connections are wir...

Page 7: ...l DOWN MIX feature D HEADPHONE LEVEL DISPLAY This blue 3 digit headphone level display shows the current relative headphone output level value based on the position of the headphone level rotary encoder The range of this display is 0 to 100dB E HEADPHONE LEVEL ROTARY ENCODER This stepped rotary encoder controls the headphone out put level in 5dB increments When monitoring multichannel sources push...

Page 8: ...SWITCH Pressing this illuminated switch reduces the monitoring level of the currently select ed speaker output set by 20dB this value can be edited in CAL mode Pressing the switch again returns the system to its normal output monitoring levels M CAL SWITCH Pressing the CAL switch activates calibration mode on the m906 When CAL mode is active the red LED CAL switch will flash CAL mode is exited by ...

Page 9: ...sted components are included with your shipment If you believe something is missing contact your friendly Grace Design dealer and they will make sure you re taken care of SAVE YOUR BOXES We strongly encourage you to save all of the boxes and shipping materials supplied with your m906 They are specially designed to properly protect these valuable components and in the unlikely event that you need t...

Page 10: ...on Grounding Options In certain installations it may be desirable to separate the m906 s signal ground from the power supply chassis and earth grounds Noise inducing ground loops can be broken while retaining the safety feature of the grounded AC cable The m906 should not be operated with a ground lift or cheater plug on the AC power cord Simply set the AUDIO GND toggle switch on the rear panel of...

Page 11: ...control unit and then attaching the other end to the Audio Control Unit Both ends of the cable are identical so it doesn t matter which end you connect to the remote or Audio Control Unit Note The HD15 connector on each end of the remote cable does not use a VGA computer monitor pinout see the cable wiring diagram section of this manual If you need a cable longer than 25 feet an off the shelf VGA ...

Page 12: ...ith a 25 cable While the serial data can travel several hundred feet we do not recommend cables longer than 50 for headphone use Be sure to use the supplied 15 pin cable and not an off the shelf computer video cable If you need a longer cable contact your Grace Design dealer or call us directly TB SW JACK The talkback switch input allows the connection of an external switch such as a foot switch f...

Page 13: ...vice being clock referenced or the last unit in a daisy chain of other high impedance units you ll want to select the 75 Ohm load position NOTE Selecting the 75 Ohm load position when there is already another device on the line that has a 75 Ohm load will create a total load of 37 Ohms which will attenuate the signal to a point where the m906 will not lock ADATINPUT This input accepts standard ADA...

Page 14: ...ctors wired pin 2 hot pin 3 cold and pin 1 ground Pressing the cue switch activates the stereo cue input source for monitoring The cue inputs on the rear of the m906 will normally be fed by a stereo pair output from your digital audio workstation or console that has been setup to provide a cue mix to talent in the studio The cue input switch allows you to monitor this cue mix in the control room A...

Page 15: ...ot 2 The TOSLINK ADAT input switch functions as a toggle between either the TOSLINK or ADAT input Pressing once activates the optical input that was last used Pressing again will toggle to the other optical input For example say you were monitoring a TOSLINK signal and then switched to AES3 1 pressing the TOSLINK ADAT switch would activate the TOSLINK input once again To monitor the ADAT source si...

Page 16: ...ped for both the m906 and its stereo brother the m904 The truly wonderful thing about s Lock is that regardless of the condition of the external clock used as a reference for the m906 s Lock will take this clock source and provide an extremely stable and ultra low jitter clock to run the DACs without the use of sample rate convertion Here s a bit more detail on how this works S Lock is a crystal b...

Page 17: ... the SPKR SEL switch To toggle through the available output sets simply press the SPKR SEL switch For example if speaker output number 1 is currently active pressing the SPKR SEL switch will change this to speaker output number 2 Pressing the switch again will toggle the selection back to speaker output number 1 Using MON CUE spkr 3 as a Third Stereo Speaker Output In most situations having access...

Page 18: ...en it s controlling its default operational mode i e has not been configured to operate as a third stereo speaker output as outlined above routes the currently selected input source L R channels that you re monitoring to the CUE OUTs This is particularly handy when you d like to send the stereo source you re monitoring in the control room out to the talent in the studio Pressing the switch for the...

Page 19: ...ce rapidly will restore the output to the saved preset level This change will be reflected in the HEADPHONE output level display The HEADPHONE output level preset can be set in CAL mode discussed later Note By setting the HEADPHONE output level preset at your normal listening level the headphone output can be conveniently muted and restored very quickly Using the Headphone Outputs to Monitor 5 1 C...

Page 20: ...n to it s normal operational state You can however select different 5 1 sources while in this mode CAL mode is not operable when this mode is active Also it should also be noted that this mode does NOT affect any of the 5 1 speaker output paths nor the fixed level DAC output The Fixed Level 5 1 DAC Output The DACs in the m906 are reference quality circuits which are suitable for all critical monit...

Page 21: ...ive and the switch LED lights solid When pressed again mute is exited and the switch LED is extinguished DOWNMIX The m906 features an optional DOWNMIX module that creates a stereo L R mix of a 6 channel surround source All standard Dolby mix ratios can be calibrated by the user for both the center and surround channels To toggle the DOWNMIX mode press and hold the MUTE SOLO button Once enabled the...

Page 22: ... alternate fashion This functionality is very useful for quickly referencing each surround channel s contribution to a downmix The LEFT RIGHT and SUB MUTE SOLO buttons are disabled when DOWNMIX is enabled and the LEFT and RIGHT channels are always ON The SUB channel is always OFF The CENTER LS and RS MUTE SOLO buttons function as follows 1 When SOLO mode is active soloing a channel will cause non ...

Page 23: ... fashion which activates the talkback circuit for as long as you hold the switch down Releasing theTALKBACK switch ends talkback communications The talkback signal is summed with the stereo signal that is fed out the CUE OUT connectors When TALKBACK is engaged the control room outputs are automatically dimmed Additionally the source feeding the CUE output will be automatically dimmed by the preset...

Page 24: ...peaker 3 Mode level CUE MODE 0dB 27 6 Fixed DAC Output Level 0dB 28 7 Main Output Level Preset 0 0 29 8 Headphone Output Level Preset 0 0 29 9 Headphone Gain 0dB 30 10 DIM Level 20dB 30 11 CUE Output DIM Level 0 0dB 31 12 Lock Clock Select Disabled 31 13 Talkback Latch Disabled 32 14 Talkback Mic Preamp Gain 30dB 32 15 Talkback Mic Phantom Power on off OFF 32 16 7 segment Brightness Control 4 33 1...

Page 25: ... will begin to flash indicating that you re now in calibration mode All other switch LEDs on the remote control unit will be unlit If you inadvertently entered CAL mode simply press the CAL switch again You ll be returned to the normal operating state of the m906 and the CAL switch LED will extinguish 2 Press the SPKR SEL switch The last speaker output set that was active prior to entering CAL mod...

Page 26: ...ay while the current channel offset level will be shown in the main level edit LED window A value of 0 indicates that there is no offset level currently programmed 5 Rotate the main level edit rotary encoder in a clockwise direction to increase the value of level offset Rotate the encoder in a counter clockwise motion to decrease the value 6 Once you re satisfied with the new offset value you can ...

Page 27: ...The relative range of calibration is 10dB in 0 5dB steps If you are in speaker 3 mode then the following steps will allow you to calibrate the Speaker 3 output level 1 Enter CAL mode by pressing the CAL switch The switch LED will begin to flash indicating that you re now in calibration mode All other switch LED s on the remote control unit will be unlit If you inadvertently entered CAL mode simply...

Page 28: ...turned to the normal operating state of the m906 and the CAL switch LED will extinguish The lower line of the LCD reads USE SEL FOR DAC screenshot 14 cal mode enter screen screenshot 14 2 Press the SEL switch which is located to the immediate left of the MON CUE switch This will enter the LOCK CLOCKSELECT setup Press the SEL switch one more time and FIXED DAC OUTPUT SELECT CHANNEL will be displaye...

Page 29: ...witch 7 Whether you exit CAL mode here or not the Main Output will now be set at the preset level until further changes are made Setting the Headphone Output Level Preset The m906 provides the user with a stored Headphone Output Level Preset Under normal operation this is accessed by double clicking the Headphone Level encoder switch when the output is set to 0 0 This feature allows the user to qu...

Page 30: ...10dB and 20dB are available 5 Once you re satisfied with the new HEADPHONE GAIN you can select a new function to edit or exit CAL mode 6 Exit CAL mode and return to the normal operating state by pressing the flashing CAL switch Changing the Dim Level The default dim level as set at the factory is 20dB The dB range of dim is 5 to 35dB in 5dB steps Changing to a new dim level is easy 1 Press the CAL...

Page 31: ...sing the flashing CAL switch LOCKING THE CLOCK SELECT SWITCH To avoid inadvertent clock source changes the clock select switched can be locked When this feature is enabled pressing the SEL button will not toggle the clock source but instead will display LOCKOUT When disabled the clock select button functions normally This setting is configured as follows 1 Enter CAL mode by pressing the CAL switch...

Page 32: ...switch again The LED display now shows the on off state of talkback latch feature When the circle is on the left of the edit window the latch feature is disabled and the talkback button functions in momentary mode When the circle is on the right side the talkback button has a latching operation Rotate the main level encoder counter clockwise to disable the latching or clockwise to enable it 6 Once...

Page 33: ... normal operating state by pressing the flashing CAL switch Resetting the System Defaults There may be a time when you need to reset m906 system parameters to their default values Here s how 1 From normal operating mode press and hold the CAL switch for approximately 5 seconds 2 The system LCD will now ask you whether or not you d like to restore the default calibration mode values screenshot 19 d...

Page 34: ...ote switch diagram DB25 8 channel AES3 digital input connector AES2 AES3 AES4 AES1 L R C SUB LR RR STEREO not connected H HOT C COLD G GROUND 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 G C H G C H G C H G C H G C H G C H G C H G C H DB25 8 channel AES3 digital input connector with AES Loop Thru Option AES2 AES3 AES4 AES1 L R C SUB LR RR STEREO H HOT C COLD G GROUND 10 11 12 ...

Page 35: ...CK IN WORDCLOCK THROUGH INPUT SELECTORS MUTE SOLO DIM MONO L R CAL SPEAKER SELECT DAC L R DAC LR RR AES3 RX AES3 RX s Lock PLL TALKBACK GAIN DAC OUTPUT 6 CHANNEL 2 CH AES3 2 CH 3 6 CH 7 8 CH 1 6 CH 7 8 6 CH FIXED DAC CH 1 2 6 CH SPEAKER 1 6 CH SPEAKER 2 CUE SPEAKER 3 L R LS RS C SUB TALKBACK MIC PREAMP CUE INPUT AMP UNBALANCED INPUT AMPS 6 CHANNEL BALANCED OUTPUT DRIVERS OUTPUT DRIVERS 2 CHANNEL B...

Page 36: ... gain mode 99dBu Phase Deviation 20Hz to 20kHz 4 10Hz to 100kHz 15 Crosstalk 100Hz 100dB 1kHz 100dB 20kHz 85dB Balanced Input CMRR 60Hz 60dB 1kHz 65dB 10kHz 60dB Gain Range Low gain mode 0 5dB steps 105 5dB to 20dB High gain mode 0 5dB steps 95 5dB to 30dB Channel Tracking Accuracy Any channel 0 05dB Maximum Output Level Low gain mode balanced 15dBu High gain mode balanced 27dBu Headphone out 25Ω ...

Page 37: ...8 88 2 96kHz ADAT LIGHTPIPE 44 1 48kHz s Lock Capture Range 44 1 48kHz 10Hz 88 2 96kHz 20Hz 176 4 192kHz 40Hz Word Clock Superclock Input Impedance switchable 75 Ohms 1M Ohms Minimum Voltage 3V peak to peak Maximum Voltage 5V peak to peak Word clock frequencies supported 44 1 48 88 2 96 176 4 192kHz Superclock frequencies supported 11 2896MHz 12 288MHz 256x fs POWER SUPPLY GENERAL Power consumptio...

Page 38: ...t contact their distributor for warranty product return details In order for Grace Design to provide efficient and timely warranty service it is important that you mail the completed warranty registration card enclosed with all of our products within 10 days of the original date of purchase You may also register your product directly with Grace Design by telephone 303 443 7454 Monday Friday 9 00am...

Page 39: ...CU revision numbers 7 30 07 edg E 41 added revision table 7 30 07 edg E 2 Revised TOC performed layout tuneup 7 30 07 edg F all Included updates for firmware 1 07R 12 14 07 edg F 24 33 changed structure of advanced features section 12 14 07 edg G 1 changed Main Unit firmware to Rev 1 08 02 27 2009 edg Manual Revisions ...

Reviews: