RCF DX4008 4 Inputs 8 Output Digital Processor Instruction Manual

RCF DX4008 4 Inputs 8 Output Digital Processor

INSTRUCTION MANUAL

IMPORTANT NOTES

Before connecting and using this product, please read this instruction manual carefully and keep it on hand for future reference. The manual is to be considered an integral part of this product and must accompany it when it changes ownership as a reference for correct installation and use as well as for the safety precautions.
RCF S.p.A. will not assume any responsibility for the incorrect installation and / or use of this product.

WARNING: To prevent the risk of fire or electric shock, never expose this product to rain or humidity (except in case it has been expressly designed and made for outdoor use).

SAFETY PRECAUTIONS

1. All the precautions, in particular the safety ones, must be read with special attention, as they provide important information.
2.1 POWER SUPPLY FROM MAINS (direct connection)

a) The mains voltage is sufficiently high to involve a risk of electrocution; therefore, never install or connect this product with the power supply switched on.
b) Before powering up, make sure that all the connections have been made correctly and the voltage of your mains corresponds to the voltage shown on the rating plate on the unit, if not, please contact your RCF dealer.
c) The metallic parts of the unit are earthed by means of the power cable. In the event that the current outlet used for power does not provide the earth connection, contact a qualified electrician to earth this product by using the dedicated terminal.
d) Protect the power cable from damage; make sure it is positioned in a way that it cannot be stepped on or crushed by objects.
e) To prevent the risk of electric shock, never open the product: there are no parts inside that the user needs to access.

2.2 POWER SUPPLY BY MEANS OF AN EXTERNAL ADAPTER

a) Use the dedicated adapter only; verify the mains voltage corresponds to the voltage shown on the adapter rating plate and the adapter output voltage value and type (direct / alternating) corresponds to the product input voltage, if not, please contact your RCF dealer; verify also that the adapter hasn’t been damaged due to possible clashes / hits or overloads.
b) The mains voltage, which the adapter is connected to, is sufficiently high to involve a risk of electrocution: pay attention during the connection (i.e. never do it with wet hands) and never open the adapter.
c) Make sure that the adapter cable is not (or cannot be) stepped on or crushed by other objects (pay particular attention to the cable part near the plug and the point where it leads out from the adapter).

3. Make sure that no objects or liquids can get into this product, as this may cause a short circuit.
4. Never attempt to carry out any operations, modifications or repairs that are not expressly described in this manual.
Contact your authorized service centre or qualified personnel should any of the following occur:
• the product does not function (or functions in an anomalous way);
• the power supply cable has been damaged;
• objects or liquids have got into the unit;
• the product has been subject to a heavy impact.
5. If this product is not used for a long period, switch it off and disconnect the power cable.
6. If this product begins emitting any strange odours or smoke, switch it off immediately and disconnect the power supply cable.

7. Do not connect this product to any equipment or accessories not foreseen.
For suspended installation, only use the dedicated anchoring points and do not try to hang this product by using elements that are unsuitable or not specific for this purpose.
Also check the suitability of the support surface to which the product is anchored (wall, ceiling, structure, etc.), and the components used for attachment (screw anchors, screws, brackets not supplied by RCF etc.), which must guarantee the security of the system / installation over time, also considering, for example, the mechanical vibrations normally generated by transducers. To prevent the risk of falling equipment, do not stack multiple units of this product unless this possibility is specified in the instruction manual.
8. RCF S.p.A. strongly recommends this product is only installed by professional qualified installers (or specialised firms) who can ensure correct installation and certify it according to the regulations in force.
The entire audio system must comply with the current standards and regulations regarding electrical systems.
9. Supports and trolleys
The equipment should be only used on trolleys or supports, where necessary, that are recommended by the manufacturer. The equipment / support / trolley assembly must be moved with extreme caution. Sudden stops, excessive pushing force and uneven floors may cause the assembly to overturn.
10. There are numerous mechanical and electrical factors to be considered when installing a professional audio system (in addition to those which are strictly acoustic, such as sound pressure, angles of coverage, frequency response, etc.).
11. Hearing loss
Exposure to high sound levels can cause permanent hearing loss. The acoustic pressure level that leads to hearing loss is different from person to person and depends on the duration of exposure. To prevent potentially dangerous exposure to high levels of acoustic pressure, anyone who is exposed to these levels should use adequate protection devices. When a transducer capable of producing high sound levels is being used, it is therefore necessary to wear ear plugs or protective earphones.
See the technical specifications in the instruction manual for the maximum sound pressure the loudspeaker is capable of producing.

IMPORTANT NOTES

To prevent the occurrence of noise on the cables that carry microphone signals or line signals (for example, 0 dB), only use screened cables and avoid running them in the vicinity of:

• equipment that produces high-intensity electromagnetic fields (for example, high power transformers);
• mains cables;
•  lines that supply loudspeakers.

OPERATING PRECAUTIONS

• Do not obstruct the ventilation grilles of the unit. Situate this product far from any heat sources and always ensure adequate air circulation around the ventilation grilles.
• Do not overload this product for extended periods of time.
• Never force the control elements (keys, knobs, etc. ).
• Do not use solvents, alcohol, benzene or other volatile substances for cleaning the external parts of this product.

RCF S.p.A. would like to thank you for having purchased this product, which has been designed to guarantee reliability and high performance.

INTRODUCTION

The DX 4008 is a complete 4 input – 8 output digital loudspeaker management system designed for the touring or fixed sound installation markets. The absolute latest in available technology is utilized with 32-bit (40-bit extended) floating point processors and high performance 24-bit Analog Converters.

The high-bit DSP prevents noise and distortion induced by truncation errors of the commonly used 24-bit fixed-point devices. A complete set of parameters include I/O levels, delay, polarity, 6 bands of parametric EQ per channel, multiple crossover selections and full function limiters. Precise frequency control is achieved with its 1 Hz resolution.

Inputs and outputs can be routed in multiple configuration to meet any requirements. The DX 4008 can be controlled or configured in real time on the front panel or with the intuitive PC GUI accessed via the RS-232 interface. Software upgrade for CPU and DSP via PC keeps the device current with newly developed algorithms and functions once available.
Multiple setup storage and system security complete this professional package.

FEATURES

• 4 Inputs and 8 Outputs with flexible routing
• 32-bit (40-bit extended) floating point DSP
• 48/96kHz Sampling Rate Selectable
• High Performance 24-bit A/D Converters
• 1 Hz Frequency Resolution
• 6 Parametric Equalizers for each Input and Output
• Multiple Crossover types with Full Function Limiters
• Precise Level, Polarity and Delay
• Software upgrade via PC
• Individual Channel Buttons with Linking capability
• 4-Line x 26 Character Backlit LCD Display
• Full 5-segment LED’s on every Input and Output
•  Storage of up to 30 Program Setups
• Multiple Levels of Security Locks
• RS-232 Interface for PC Control and Configuration

FRONT PANEL FUNCTIONS

1. Mute keys – Mute/Unmute input and output channels. When an input channel is muted, a red LED will be lit for indication.
2. Gain/Menu keys – Selects the corresponding channel for the LCD menu display and is acknowledged by a green LED. The last modified menu will be displayed on the LCD. Linking multiple channels is accomplished by pressing and holding the first channel key, then pushing the other desired channels. This eases programming for same parameters across multiple channels. Multiple Inputs can be linked together and multiple outputs can be linked together. Inputs and Outputs can be linked separately.
3. Peak Level LED – Indicates the current peak level of the Signal:
Signal (-42dB), -12dB, -6dB, -3dB, Over/Limit. The Input Over LED references to the device’s maximum headroom. The Output Limit LED references to the threshold of the limiter.
4. LCD – Shows all the necessary information to control the unit.
5. Rotary Thumb Wheel – Changes parameter data values. The wheel has travel velocity sensing which ease large incremental data modifications. For modifying delay and frequency (1 Hz resolution), pressing the Speed key simultaneously will increment/decrement the data value by 100X.
6. Menu Control keys – There are 6 menu keys: <<Menu (Menu Down), Menu>> (Menu Up), <<Cursor (Cursor Down), Cursor>> (Cursor Up), Enter/Sys/Speed and Exit.

The functions of each key is explained below:
<<Menu: Previous menu
Menu>>: Next menu
<<Cursor: Previous cursor position in the menu screen
Cursor>>: Next cursor position in the menu Screen
Enter/Sys/Speed: Enter is used only in the System Menu to proceed with selected actions Sys enters the System Menu from the main menu Speed modifies delay and frequency (1 Hz resolution mode) data values by 100X.
Exit: Exit to the Main Menu

REAR PANEL FUNCTIONS

1. Main Power – Connects via a standard IEC socket. A compatible power cord is supplied with the unit. The voltage input is either 115VAC or 230VAC and is clearly specified on the unit. Voltage requirement has to be stated upon ordering.
2. Main Fuse – T0.5A-250V for 115VAC and T0.25A-250V for 230VAC.
Time delay type
3. Power switch – Switches On/Off.
4. RS232 – a standard female DB9 socket for PC connection.
5. XLR input and outputs – Separate 3-pin XLR connectors are provided for each audio input and output.
All imputs and outputs are balanced:
Pin 1 – ground (shield)
Pin 2 – hot (+)
Pin 3 – cold (-)

POWERING UP THE DEVICE

• After powering up the unit, the following initialization screen is displayed on the LCD:

• The initialization process takes about 8 seconds and during that period the unit boots and displays the DX 4008 firmware version.

• After the initialization process is finished the DX 4008 displays its main screen:

• The screen shows the current program number and program name assigned to the unit. The program assigned is always the last program the user recalled or stored before powering down the unit.

• Now the DX 4008 is ready to operate.

OPERATING THE DEVICE

TIPS: Channel Linking – If the user presses one of the Input or Output Menu keys, holds it down and press any other Menu key(s) in the same group (Input or Output group), the channels will be linked together, the green menu LEDs for the linked channels are lit. Any data modification for the selected channel will be applied to the linked channels as well. To cancel the linking, just press any other Menu key or the Sys key after releasing the held key.

INPUT MENUS

Each of DX 4008 input channels has a separate Menu key. There are 3 menus for each input channel.

SIGNAL – SIGNAL PARAMETERS

• LEVEL – Gain, -40.00dB to +15.00dB in 0.25dB steps.
• POL – Polarity, can be normal (+) or inverted (-).
• DELAY – Delay in 21µs steps. Can be displayed as time (ms) or distance (ft or m). The time unit of the delay can be changed in the System menu. The maximum delay permitted is 500ms (24.000 steps).

EQ – EQ PARAMETERS

• EQ# – Selects one of the 6 available Equalizers.
• LEVEL – EQ level. Ranges from -30.00dB to +15.00dB in 0.25dB steps.
• FREQ – EQ center frequency. Ranges from 20 to 20,000Hz in either 1Hz steps or 1/36 octave steps. The sampling rate and the frequency steps can be selected in the System Menu.
• BW – EQ Bandwidth. Ranges from 0.02 to 2.50 octaves in steps of 0.01 octave steps for PEQ. The Q value is automatically shown beneath the octave value. For Lo-Slf or Hi-Shf, it is either 6 or 12dB/Oct.
• TYPE – Type of EQ. The types can be parametric (PEQ), Lo-shelf (Lo-shf ) and Hi-shelf (Hi-shf ).

CH-NAME – CHANNEL NAME

Name – Channel name. It is 6 characters long.

OUTPUT MENUS

Each output channel of the DX 4008 has a separate menu key. There are 6 menus for each output channel.

SIGNAL – SIGNAL PARAMETERS

• Refer to the Input Menus for details

EQ – EQ PARAMTERS

• Refer to the Input Menus for details

XOVER – CROSSOVER PARAMETERS

• FTRL – Filter Type of low frequency crossover point (high pass).
  Types can be Buttwrth (Butterworth), Link-Ri (Linkritz Riley) or Bessel.

• FRQL – Filter cut-off Frequency of low frequency crossover point (high pass).
  Ranges from 20 to 20,000Hz in either 1Hz steps or 1/36 octave steps. The frequency steps can be selected in the System Menu.

• SLPL – Filter Slope of low frequency crossover point (high pass).
  Ranges from 6 to 48dB/octave (48kHz) or 6 to 24dB/octave (96kHz) in 6dB/octave steps.
  If the selected Filter Type is Linkritz Riley, the available slopes are 12 / 24 / 36 / 48 dB/octave (48kHz) or 12 / 24 (96kHz).

• FTRH – Filter Type of high frequency crossover point (low pass).

• FRQH – Filter cut-off Frequency of high frequency crossover point (low pass).

• SLPH – Filter Slope of high frequency crossover point (low pass).

LIMIT – OUTPUT LIMTER

• THRESH – Limit Threshold. Ranges from -20 to +20dBu in 0.5dB steps.
• ATTACK – Attack time. Ranges from 0.3 to 1ms in 0.1ms steps, then ranges from 1 to 100ms in 1ms steps.
• RELEASE – Release time. It can be set at 2X, 4X, 8X, 16X or 32X the attack time.

SOURCE – INPUT SOURCE

1,2,3,4 – Input channel source for the current output channel. it can be set to enable the input source (On) or disable it (Off ). If more than one input source are enabled, they will be added together as the source for the current output channel.

CH-NAME – CHANNEL NAME

• Refer to the Input Menus for details

SYSTEM MENUS

The System Menus allow the user to control and change parameters that are related to the system behavior and general operation. It can be accessed by pressing the Sys key in the main menu (when no Input/Output or System Menu is activated). All System Menus require the Enter key to be pressed for the selected action.

RECALL – PROGRAM RECALL

The DX 4008 has a non-volatile memory that can store up to 30 different program setups. A program can be recalled using this menu.

• PROG – Program Number to be recalled.
• NAME – Program Name. This is read only, the user has no access to them.

STORE – PROGRAM STORE

The DX 4008 has a non-volatile memory that can store up to 30 different program setups. A program can be stored using this menu. The old program with the same program number will be replaced. Once the program is stored in the flash memory, it can be recalled at a later time, even after power down.

• PROG – Program Number for the current data to be stored.
• NAME – Program Name, allows a maximum length of 12 characters.

CONFIG – DEVICE CONFIGURATION

• MODE – configures the mode of operation.

The unit assigns the Inputs 1 and 2 to the corresponding outputs when the Mode of Configuration is selected. The crossover point parameters like the filter type, cut-off frequency and slope have to be configured manually in the Xover Menu in each Output menu.

*NOTE: The configuration mode configures the input sources when selected. The user can change the inputs afterwards if desired.

COPY – COPY CHANNELS

It copies channels from the source to the target. When the Source and Targets are both Inputs or Outputs, all audio parameters will be copied. When one of the Source or the Target is an input while the other is an output, only the Level, Polarity, Delay and EQ will be copied.

• SOURCE – Source channel.
• TARGET – Target channel.

GENERAL – GENERAL SYSTEM PARAMETERS

• • FREQ MODE – Selects the frequency control mode for EQ and crossover filters. Il can be 36 steps/octave or All Frequencies (1 Hz resolution).
  • DELAY UNIT (1) – ms, ft or m.
  • DEVICE# – Assigns the device ID from 1 to 16. This ID is useful when a network of more than 1 unit is present.

PC LINK – PC LINK ENABLE

• SAMPLING RATE: – Sampling Rate selection. The unit can operate under 48kHz or 96kHz sampling rate according to this option. The device has to be shut down and turned back on for the hardware effect to take place. For 96kHz operation, crossover slopes can be up to 24dB/Oct only, while 48kHz gives crossover slopes to 48dB/Oct.

SECURITY – SECURITY LOCKS

The DX 4008 enables the user to secure the unit and prevent undesired changes in the setup. In order to switch between the security level the user must enter the correct password.

• MENU – Selects the menu to be locked/unlocked. The options are:
  – In-Signal – Input Signal Menu (Level, Polarity, Delay).
  – In-EQ – Input EQ Menu.
  – In-Name – Input Channel Name Menu
  – Out-Signal – Output Signal Menu (Level, Polarity, Delay).
  – Out-EQ – Output EQ Menu.
  – Out-Xover – Output Crossover Menu.
  – Out-Limit – Output Limit Menu.
  – Out-Source – Output Source Menu.
  – Out-Name – Output Channel Name Menu.
  – System – System Menu

• LOCK – Selects to lock (Yes) or unlock (No) the corresponding menu.

• PASSWORD – The password of the DX 4008 is 4 characters long. The user can change it via the PC application software.
  The factory default of a new unit does not require a password.

QUICK REFERENCE

PC CONTROL SOFTWARE

The DX 4008 is shipped with a special PC Graphic User Interface (GUI) application – XLink. XLink gives the user an option to control the DX 4008 unit from a remote PC via the RS232 serial communication link. The GUI application makes it much easier to control and monitor the device, allowing the user to get the whole picture on one screen. Programs can be recalled and stored from/to PC’s hard drive, thus expanding the storage to become virtually limitless.

SPECIFICATIONS

INPUTS AND OUTPUTS

AUDIO PERFORMANCE

DIGITAL AUDIO PERFORMANCE

FRONT PANEL CONTROLS

12 Gain/Menu Controls
6 Menu Controls
“DATA” control:| Embedded Thumb Wheel
(dial encoder)

ONNECTORS

GENERAL

AUDIO CONTROL PARAMETERS

6 to 24dB/oct (96kHz)
LIMITERS|
Threshold:| -20 to +20dBu
Attack Time:| 0.3 to 100ms
Release Time:| 2 to 32X the attack time
SYSTEM PARAMETERS|
No. of Programs:| 30
Program Names:| 12 character length
Delay Unit Parameter:| ms, ft, m
Frequency Modes:| 36 step/oct, 1Hz resolution
Security Locks:| Any individual menu
PC Link:| Off, On
Copy channels:| All parameters
Channel Names:| 6 character length

Specifications

• Inputs and Outputs with flexible routing

• 32-bit (40-bit extended) floating point 48/96kHz sampling rate selectable

• High-performance 24-bit Converters

• 1Hz Frequency Resolution

• 6 Parametric equalizers for each Input and Output

• Multiple Crossover types with Full Function limiters

• Precise level, polarity, and delay

• Software upgrade via USB

• Individual Channel Buttons with linking capability

• 4-line x 26 Character Backlit Display

• Full 5-segments on every Input and Output

• Storage of up to 30 Program Setups

• Multiple levels of security locks

• RS-232 Interface for Control and Configuration

FAQ

Q: Can I clean the product with alcohol?

A: No, avoid using alcohol or other volatile substances for cleaning.

Q: What should I do if the product emits strange odors or smoke?

A: Immediately switch off the product and disconnect the power supply cable.

Q: How many program setups can be stored on the product?

A: The product can store up to 30 program setups.

References

• Профессиональная акустика — Активные акустические системы.

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