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miniDSP Ltd, Hong Kong 

www.minidsp.com

 / Features and specifications subject to change without prior notice

 

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RODUCT OVERVIEW

 

Thank you for purchasing a miniDSP ambiMIK-1 ambisonic microphone. The ambiMIK-1 packages four low-noise 
14 mm cardioid microphone capsules with preamps and A/D convertors. Sample rates from 44.1 to 192 kHz are 
supported. The analog gain of the preamp (prior to A/D conversion) is settable in software, with up to 69 dB of 
gain available. 

The ambiMIK-1 is accompanied by a VST decoder plugin from 

Dirac Research

 that leverages their extensive 

experience in 3D audio. It is specifically calibrated for the ambiMIK-1 from over 1200 measurements and 
includes yaw, pitch, roll and output gain controls. Output formats are 4-channel B-format or stereo binaural. 

With its slim aluminium body, nylon protective frame, and single USB connection to your computer with no need 
for additional electronics (e.g. preamp/ADC), the ambiMIK-1 has many applications in portable ambient, VR and 
music recording. 

Summary of Contents for AMBIMIK-1

Page 1: ...miniDSP Ltd Hong Kong www minidsp com Features and specifications subject to change without prior notice 1 AMBIMIK 1 AMBISONIC MICROPHONE User Manual ...

Page 2: ...to change without prior notice 2 Revision history Revision Description Date 0 1 Preliminary 22 June 2020 0 2 Updated with release version of plugin 30 June 2020 0 4 Corrected support links other minor corrections 6 July 2020 0 5 Added ASIO4ALL install and config 27 July 2020 ...

Page 3: ...1 app installation 8 2 3 1 macOS 8 2 3 2 Windows 8 3 Using the ambiMIK 1 9 3 1 Setting analog gain 9 3 2 Install the VST plugin 10 3 2 1 macOS 10 3 2 2 Windows 11 3 3 Create the audio device 12 3 3 1 macOS 12 3 3 2 Windows 14 3 4 Set up the project 15 3 4 1 Set up the input track 15 3 4 2 Set up the decoder track 17 3 5 Recording and playing back binaural audio 20 4 Additional information 21 4 1 S...

Page 4: ...his product as incorrect use or use beyond the parameters and ways recommended in this manual have the potential to cause damage to your audio system Please also note that many of the questions we receive at the technical support department are already answered in this User Manual and in the online application notes on the miniDSP com website So please take the time to carefully read this user man...

Page 5: ...onsult the dealer or an experienced radio TV technician for help Notice Shielded interface cable must be used in order to comply with emission limits Notice Changes or modification not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the user s authority to operate the equipment CE Mark Statement The ambiMIK 1 has passed the test performed according to European Standard EN 550...

Page 6: ...is settable in software with up to 69 dB of gain available The ambiMIK 1 is accompanied by a VST decoder plugin from Dirac Research that leverages their extensive experience in 3D audio It is specifically calibrated for the ambiMIK 1 from over 1200 measurements and includes yaw pitch roll and output gain controls Output formats are 4 channel B format or stereo binaural With its slim aluminium body...

Page 7: ...mbiMIK 1 at the link below https www minidsp com support redeem coupon The User Downloads link is visible from the dropdown menu at the top right of the website page Navigate to the USB Audio Drivers section and download the zip file under the heading ambiMIK 1 Unzip the downloaded file by right clicking on it and selecting Extract All 2 2 USB DRIVER INSTALLATION WINDOWS ONLY The USB driver enable...

Page 8: ...kg To run it double click on it or right click and open as described above We recommend that you accept the default installation settings 3 To run the plugin locate it in the Applications miniDSP folder and double click on it To make it easier to run in future right click on its dock icon and select Options Keep in Dock 2 3 2 Windows 1 Navigate to the Plugins folder of the software download and th...

Page 9: ...l binaural format can be directly monitored with headphones The VST plugin is installed in a digital audio workstation DAW program There is therefore a high amount of flexibility in how you process and record ambisonic audio This section will give some specific setup examples using the Reaper DAW 3 1 SETTING ANALOG GAIN Run the ambiMIK app Click on the Connect button The Connect icon will change t...

Page 10: ...der It will look like this Open the folder Library Audio Plug ins in the Finder 1 Hold the Option key and click on the Go menu at the top of the screen 2 Select the Library menu entry 3 In the Library window in the Finder navigate to Audio then Plug Ins Then copy the file ambiMIK1_decoder vst to the folder VST and the file ambiMIK1_decoder component to the folder Components In Reaper open Preferen...

Page 11: ...copy the plugin files to that location Otherwise you can create a folder for the plugin A good location is in Documents MiniDSP 1 Navigate to Documents MiniDSP and create a new folder named VST 2 Copy the files miniDSP ambiMIK 1 x64 dll and miniDSP ambiMIK 1 x86 dll to that folder 3 Open Preferences from the Options menu and click on VST in the sidebar Click on Edit then Add and select the new fol...

Page 12: ...o device for both input and output The ambiMIK 1 is input only so it needs to be combined with an output device 3 3 1 macOS Open Audio MIDI Setup You will see ambiMIK in the left sidebar Click on the icon at lower left and create an aggregate device Click on the name Aggregate Device It should change to a text entry box Type a new name for it We used ambiMIK IO ...

Page 13: ...ications subject to change without prior notice 13 Check the box for ambiMIK then for the output device In this example we are using headphones connected to the Mac for monitoring Open Reaper preferences and go to Audio Device Select ambiMIK IO then click OK ...

Page 14: ...ices For Audio select ASIO and for the driver select ASIO4ALL v2 Click on the button ASIO Configuration Click on the spanner wrench icon at lower right to enable advanced options Click next to ambiMIK to enable it as shown in the screenshot below Also enable the output device that you want to use In this example we have enabled the ambiMIK 1 and PC headphone output In Reaper Preferences under Audi...

Page 15: ...JECT In Reaper create a new project 3 4 1 Set up the input track Insert a new track press Command T Double click in the track name area initially blank and enter ambiMIK 1 input On the vertical channel strip click on the Route button Set the number of channels to 4 and turn off Master send Click on the Record Arm Disarm button ...

Page 16: ... Hong Kong www minidsp com Features and specifications subject to change without prior notice 16 Click on the input dropdown and select Record disable Click on the output dropdown and select the 4 channel ambiMIK ...

Page 17: ...coder track Insert a second track Command T Double click in the track name area and enter Decoder On the vertical channel strip for track 2 click on the Route button Click on the Add new receive button and select ambiMIK 1 input Drop down the menu for Audio and select Multichannel source 4 channels 1 4 Leave Master send enabled ...

Page 18: ... 18 On track 2 click on the FX button Select VST in the left sidebar and then the ambiMIK 1 plugin in the main window On Mac it looks like this On Windows it looks like this Click OK The result is The default settings are suitable for decoding into binaural stereo Leave them at the defaults to begin with ...

Page 19: ... prior notice 19 Close the plugin window and press the Record Arm Disarm button Click on the dropdown labeled In and select Record output stereo Making a sound near the ambiMIK 1 will show the meters operating Check that track 1 shows four channels on the meters and track 2 shows two channels ...

Page 20: ...INAURAL AUDIO Press the Record button Sounds will be decoded from the ambiMIK 1 and can be monitored from the main out Press Record again to stop recording To play back the recorded binaural track return the cursor to the start and press the Play button To save the recorded binaural audio to a file drop down the File menu and select Render ...

Page 21: ...ble output B format or Binaural Controls Output gain Yaw Pitch Roll USB Audio Linux macOS Android Driverless ASIO compatible driver for Windows iOS support with USB camera adaptor Accessories 1 x mini tripod with microphone clamp 1 x windjammer 1 x USB 2m long USB cable Dimensions W x D weight 42 x 213 mm 130g Construction Aluminum body with plastic microphone holder 4 2 OBTAINING SUPPORT 1 Check ...

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