Sumo Summing Amplifier User's Manual
Contents
1. HIGH RESOLUTION SUMMING AMPLIFIER Operational M anual Version 1 0 October 2004 f 55 EF Fa Operational M anual Contents auqent Copyright 2004 All rights reserved The information in this document is subject to change without notice Audient plc makes no warranty of any kind with respect to the material in this document and Shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental or consequential damages related to the use of the material No part of this document may be reproduced without the prior written consent of Audient ple Audient v1 0 10 2004 2 gt amp IE E BA Operational M anual Contents Thank you for buying thisauicvent product As can be found throughout the Audient range your Sumo has been painstakingly designed and lovingly nurtured to give you years of productive reliable mix fattening performance To make the most of this we suggest that you have a good look through this manual before you get started The safety and installation information will help you to set your Sumo up with the minimum of danger and hassle while the operational guide will take you on a whistle stop tour of Sumo s knobs dials and flashy lights along with some handy hints for their use Finally if you re experiencing any problems Sumo Surgery will root out most set up and configuration issues to get you back on track in no time Anywhere you see this symbol you should make sure to read2. E l a y B CXT IN MANI E 4 m 2 alki 1 MIX MASTER Is the final gain control before the mix leaves the unit or enters the digital card T his is useful as a final adjustment after any gain changes brought about by dynamics and inserts Ext In Switch Switches the external input into the monitor path Use this to monitor playback from your master recorder or perhaps to check your mix against reference material Ko pxe1 4 Volume Say no more Monitor Mono Switch dlowsyou to check phase coherence etc by summing the monitor outputs in mono 17 fa Y DAS Operational M anual Knobs Buttons and Flashy Lights o EN sd 4K HiIl TEE HinLinl I 90900 O o a a 44 1 40 2 175 4 LOK o Digital Section AMA Y Y Rates of 44 1 48 88 2 96 176 4 and 192kHz are supported The desired sample rate can be selected by pressing the select button repeatedly whereby the sample rate will cycle through internal rates and then the external Word Clock source Lock When the external clock source is selected the select switch will flash until the converters are synchronised or locked with the external source When lock is achieved the light will glow solidly When using Sumo as a Word Clock Master set any attached recorders to take wordclock from their AES EBU or s pdif input the one that s connected to Sumo Audient v1 0 10 2004 18 f 55 2 2a Operational M anual Sumo Surgery
3. This means that when signals are summed some data must be thrown away Moreover the volume of data discarded in this process increases with your track count It would of course be unfair to suggest that modern software performs this data reduction indiscriminately or with especially poor results however many engineers and producers have found there to be something lacking in their digital mixes often employing an analogue console purely to make use of its summing bus Audient v1 0 10 2004 So what s so special about the mix bus on a big console Well only the highest of high end large format consoles employ balanced mix buses to reduce crosstalk and fend off noise And this is precisely the kind of mix bus you ll find in your Sumo delivering the sound of a large format console without the huge footprint or price tag al e E Mullick inputs N va a Summed Output summi g ri the digilai dermair Summed Oulpul MALE Ce ITS summing in the analogue domain Not only is Sumo s summing bus as clean as a whistle it has frighteningly high headroom This is particularly important because adding signals means adding their levels too The more signals you add the more level you re likely to find on the sum bus Consequently Sumo has been designed to handle levels in excess of 28dBu MUITO Operational M anual Overview The Benefits of Analogue Summing This means that Sumo can take w
4. the adjacent warning These will prevent you from killing yourself blowing up speakers and wrecking your mix All of which are to be avoided Text next to one of these symbols is wait for it a handy hint These are ittle operational titbits and guidelines to help you find your way and get the most out of your Sumo Audient v1 0 10 2004 3 f 55 2 2a Operational M anual Contents CONTENTS SAFETY INFORMATION INSTALLATION OVERVIEW THE BENEFITS OF ANALOGUE SUMMING 8 PLUGS AND SOCKETS Analogue audio interfaces 10 Digital interfaces 11 HOOKING UP 12 KNOBS BUTTONS AND FLASHY LIGHTS Input section 15 Mix Compressor Peak Limiter 16 Mix master monitor section 17 Digital section 18 SUMO SURGERY TROUBLESHOOTING 19 Why can t I hear anything 20 ACCESSORIES 21 SPECIFICATIONS 21 WARRANTY 22 Audient v1 0 10 2004 4 Operational M anual Important safety instructions IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS CAUTION ATTENTION RISK OF ELECTRIC RISQUE DE SHOCK CHOC DO NOT OPEN NE PAS ENLEVER WARNING A THIS EQUIPMENT MUST BE EARTHED DO NOT EXPOSE o TO RAIN OR MOISTURE Please read all of the follow ing instructions and save them for later reference before attempting to connect your Sumo to the AC power source Audient v1 0 10 2004 D f 55 E 2a Operational M anual Safety Information SAFETY INFORMATION EARTH COVERS VOLTAGE FUSES MOISTURE HEAT This unit is connected via
5. Analogue 25 pin D Sub to 8 Female X LR ASPDTF 803 Ideal for linking to audio interfaces and other Sumo units 3 Metre Analogue 25 pin D Sub to 25 pin D Sub Ideal for connection to Pro Tools HD systems Sumo 192kHz AES EBU S PDIF digital output card SUMO AES SPECIFICATIONS Frequency Response Noise Maximum Input Level D ynamic Range Headroom overload margin Distortion Crosstalk Input Impedance Output Impedance Dimensions Weight Power Consumption ASPD BD 310 22Hz 22kHz 0 1dB 3dB 135kHz lt 92dBu gt 28dBu 120dB gt 24dB ref 4dBu 27dB ref 4dBu in mix amp lt 0 003 O 1kHz 28dBu lt 80dB O 1kHz gt 10kO differential lt 750 electronically balanced 480mm x 278mm x 44mm 4 5kg 40 Watts In keeping with our policy of continuous improvement Audient plc Reserves the right to alter these specifications without prior notice Audient v1 0 10 2004 21 fa Y DAS WARRANTY Your Sumo comes with a manufacturers warranty for one year from the date of despatch to the end user The warranty covers faults due to defective materials used in manufacture and faulty workmanship only During this warranty period Audient will repair or at its discretion replace any faulty unit provided it is returned carriage paid to an authorised A udient service centre Audient v1 0 10 2004 Operational M anual Warranty We will not provide warranty repair if in our
6. LOS In Switch Puts both compressor and limiter in circuit When the dynamics are out they are hard bypassed clearing the signal path of any unnecessary components Threshold Sets the point at which compression begins to work Due to the soft knee characteristic of the compressor some slight gain reduction is applied before the threshold level This gives the compressor a gentler more musical response Ratio Vanes the amount of compression The numbers on the dial show the number of decibels that must be put in above the threshold to get one more dB out The greater the number the harder the compression The diagram below shows how the compressor affects the input output ratio at different ratio settings The off position allows you to bypass the compressor whilst leaving the limiter in place Dead handy if heaven forbid you re inserting a compressor of your own Y Use high ratios with high thresholds to control rogue peaks or low ratios with low thresholds to apply a more gentle overall compression Attack The time for which the input signal must rise above the threshold level before the compressor takes effect Dynamics Responses Comp Threshold Input Audient v1 0 10 2004 f Lim Threshold 16 gt MUI Y DAS Operational Manual Knobs Buttons and Flashy Lights Adjusting this will vary the way the compressor handles transient sounds Where control of unruly t
7. Troubleshooting SUMO SURGERY TROUBLESHOOTING The power light is off The fuse is blown The power connector at the back contains the main fuse Try changing this using a correctly rated replacement for your local mains voltage see back panel The power light is off The unit is set for the Ensure that the red switch wrong mains voltage on the back of the unit matches your local mains voltage Make sure the unit is disconnected before switching this The power light is off The power cable is Reconsider your chosen disconnected career Perhaps you should retrain Can you say Would you like fries with that I can t hear anything Could be one of many see the flowchart below things My external input source is The external input source Ensure that the external coming through the mix bus is connected to an input source is connected to expander input inputs 1 2 of the expansion D Sub connection All I can hear is a strange A T DIF device is Attach your device using its hissing noise attached to Sumo s analogue connections inputs Although the plugs match Sumo s inputs are analogue while T DIF is digital I ve inserted another device and Sumo is capable of Use the mix gain control to it is distorting really badly handling levels of up to drop the bus level so you 28dBu unlike most don t fry your outboard outboard units which can usually only take up to about 20dBu My kick drum i
8. ened cables with the ve pin connection tied to the screen at the unbalanced source Inputs and outputs are implemented using balanced topologies and are fitted with extensive advanced electronically RFI rejection networks Digital Interfaces The optional digital card gives Sumo the ability to output at six sample frequencies up to and including 192kHz AES o The card provides for both of the most common stereo digital transmissions standards Audient v1 0 10 2004 Operational M anual AES EBU on XLR and S PDIF on RCA that s a phono plug to you and 1 Output on both connectors for all sample rates is fixed at 24bit A word clock input is also provided for situations where Sumo is not the clock master This is connected via BNC EXT WORD CLOCK INPUT 11 HOOKING UP Before starting it s always a good idea to make sure that your monitor speakers are muted and or turned off this ensures that nothing gets popped or blown up when cables are being fiddled with and while power is turned on Analogue Connection see Figure 1 on next page 1 Connect the outputs of your DAW s interface and any other sources to Sumo s inputs If your DAW s interface can output at 10dBV or 4dBu select the latter Operational M anual Hooking Up This stage is pretty important because you re converting back into the digital domain and the quality of this conversion will effect your overa
9. fferent tail types to suit your other equipment see the accessories section on page 18 Always use balanced connections to reduce any cable interference and noise WIR OSIDF OS FR VAI F CONNFOTOR ATAPATAT PN13 Note All undesignated pins are unconnected All screen connections are joined inside the unit and connected to metalw ork earth Outputs are provided on male XLR connectors two for the main outs and two for your monitors Audient v1 0 10 2004 Operational Manual Plugs and Sockets MALE XLA FEMALE XLR Inserts are connected via TRS Tip Ring Sleeve jacks Rather than an unbalanced loop on a single cable there are separate jacks for sends and returns providing balanced connections throughout SLEEVE RING TIP SLEEVE RING TIP A third D Sub connector which breaks out to X LRs can provide extender linking and an external monitor input The first two channels connect the external input to the monitor section while the remaining three pairs of channels allow additional Sumo units to connect directly into the mix bus All of Sumo s analogue audio connections operate at 4dBu the professional standard so you may need to pad outputs fed to semi pro equipment 10 Pin conventions To unbalance the outputs of the Sumo the ve Pin should be connected to its adjacent Ov pin at Sumo s output Similarly inputs from unbalanced sources should be connected via twin scre
10. hatever you throw at it without distortion or noise Another feature of large format studio consoles is the inclusion of a compressor over the main stereo bus Consequently the bus compressor from the ASP8024 has also been included in Sumo s design a flexible high quality compressor capable of polishing a mix to perfection And there s more we ve added in a digital equipment guarding mix fattening peak limiter to help your mix stand out without risking nasty digital distortion To cap it all off the monitor section gives you hands on control of your playback level while the external input allows you to A B your mixes against some reference material or listen to the playback from your master recorder Audient v1 0 10 2004 Optional Extras If your Sumo is equipped with a digital card you ll be able to output a stream of lovely Os and 1s at rates of up to 192kHz on both AES EBU and S PDIF standards As your studio and track counts expand you can expand your sumo system with the addition of up to 3 units giving you a total of 64 inputs If you are feeling particularly track hungry then each of the expansion units can provide 3 more expansion inputs etc etc PLUGS AND SOCKETS Audio Interfaces The 16 inputs are connected via two Tascam DA88 type female D Sub connectors Interconnect cables are readily available in pre wired form from Audient and from any good cable manufacturer You can get these with di
11. hing else you can think of The In switch puts the inserts in circuit breaking the signal path if nothing is connected Audient v1 0 10 2004 MIX GAIN 0 7 GET O The Post Dyn switch allows you to alterthe position of the inserts in the chain before pre or after post the internal compressor and limiter Be careful of boosting with an inserted unit when in g post dynamics mode as the limiter is no longer able to protect the output level This is particularly important w ith digital gear where overs must be avoided at all costs Output Meter This meter will display system output level in dBu for either the main sum bus or two track input whichever is selected in the monitor section Or whichever source you are listening to if you like The legend beneath the meter shows how the analogue levels relate to digital output when the digital card is installed If you wish to line the analogue inputs of your digital gear up to match the meters 0dBu should equate to 24dBE S 15 gt fa Y DAS Operational M anual Knobs Buttons and Flashy Lights MIX COM PRESSOR PEAK LIMITER GAIN REDUCTION JB 18 14 12 10 E 5 4 2 0084000000 voxninmier CEA O comes THRESHOLD RAT I ATTACK MIX COMPRES SCHV PEAK LIMITE PEAK LIMITER NELEASE MAKE UP GAIN THA ES HD LO 148 1H 1 Wu 12 112 CONE T Sox ani La i ifi Ia a 18 12 4 2 a E FF 11 1 OG wae el n 3 71 Blu mR HEL UF PA MA
12. its power cord to the mains safety earth NEVER OPERATE THE UNIT WITH THIS EARTH CONNECTION REMOVED DO NOT remove the covers Refer servicing to qualified personnel only Sumo is set to operate only at the voltage shown on the rear panel CHECK that the correct voltage is available before connecting the AC mains supply CHECK that the fuse fitted is of the correct type for the local mains voltage ALWAY S replace fuse with the correct type DO NOT expose the unit to rain or moisture If your Sumo should become so exposed REMOVE the mains power immediately ALWAYS site the Sumo away from sources of heat including direct sunlight and ensure adequate ventilation around the unit Audient v1 0 10 2004 6 TE EE Y A Operational M anual Installation INSTALLATION Unpacking Your Sumo has been carefully and Mechanical Installation meticulously tested before despatch Care should be taken not to obstruct the unit s ventilation holes Adequate Please check for any signs of transit E airflow must be provided within rack damage If any signs of mishandling are cases above and below the unit to prevent found please notify the carrier and your overheating dealer immediately Mains Power Supply Fuses Sumo can be switched to operate at mains voltages of either 230V or 115V With the switch in the 230V position the unit will operate without performance degradation from 210V to 250V In the 115V setting voltages fr
13. ll mix so make sure to use the best converters you have available If you would like to improve your AD conversion consider Sumo s digital conversion option which produces top notch AES EBU and S PDIF straight out the back of the unit If you are connecting This is the professional standard and will allow you to make the most of Sumo s excellent headroom Plug the Monitor Outputs of Sumo into your monitor amplifier or directly into your powered monitors Make sure you have the monitor volume right down at this point to protect the speakers when you switch them on 3 Attach Sumo s main outputs to your master recorder such as a DAT machine or CD recorder or even right back into your DAW Audient v1 0 10 2004 B straight back into your m DAW you ll have to make Sure that the track you record on is either muted or not routed to Sumo else you ll get feedback And nobody likes feedback Digital Connection see Figure 2 below 4 If using a word clock master connect the master source to the BNC connector on the digital card see Knobs Buttons and Flashy Lights for details on setting up your digital card 5 Connect the digital outputs to your digital master recorder or DAW 12 Sf ff B rao Operational M anual Hooking Up gf Jb po qaq u o BIO AAA reese ee ee AB AAAnAAnA Summing Inputs M ix Yi Inserts M onitor Outputs del mi ieee Ex
14. om 105V to 125V will be accepted Do not attempt to operate the unit outside the relevant range defined above For 100V operation please contact your dealer Please note that the fuse ratings are different for each of the voltage ranges 20mm T250mA for the 230V setting and 20mm T500mA for 115 100V The mains fuse is very unlikely to fail under normal use and caution should be exercised if a failure should occur Check the mains voltage the condition of the mains cord and the integrity of the mains supply before replacing the fuse Audient v1 0 10 2004 7 Operational M anual Overview The Benefits of Analogue Summing OVERVIEW THE BENEFITS OF ANALOGUE SUMMING Having bought the unit you ve probably figured out that Sumo is a high resolution summing amplifier with stereo bus compressor and peak limiter not to mention a handy little monitor section Nevertheless here are a few more interesting and descriptive words with which to impress your inquisitive friends In essence Sumo takes a bunch of signals from several inputs and adds or sums them together to present them to one output This is exactly the same process as takes place in mixing consoles the mix bus sums signals from all of the channels together But my software has a mixer Why can t I just use that I hear you cry Digital summing has one crucial problem that the output bit depth is equal to or less than each of the internal signals
15. opinion the fault has resulted from unauthorised modification misuse negligence act of God or accident We accept liability to repair or replace your Sumo as described above We do not accept any additional liability This warranty does not affect any legal rights you may have against the person who supplied this product it is additional to those rights 22
16. ransients is required a faster attack will clamp down on peaks However if larger amounts of gain reduction are applied unnecessarily fast attack times may affect high frequency content 9 The Peak Limiter s response is fast attack fast release and very hard It has two functions Firstly as a protective device it can remove the dangerous peaks that can result in digital clipping Secondly it can be used to increase the average signal level as your ear detects volume by averaging over time and increase the perceived loudness of your mix within the confines of a recording medium Great if you want your CDs to sound as loud as the pros Gain Reduction M etering Two independent meters show gain reduction at the compression and limiting stages so you immediately know where any adjustments need to be made high ratio should be pretty inaudible If you re looking for a more general squashing values of up to 6dB with a lower ration 1 5 or 2 should give some good results However be aware that for the limiter and fast attack settings of the compressor reduction may occur faster than the meters can show it so take this into account and trust your ears As a rough guide 3dB of reduction with a fairly Audient v1 0 10 2004 Be particularly careful of peak mito reduction in excess of medB may well cause adverse effects such as chewing up your top end MIX MASTER MM ONITOR Section H 11
17. s only coming The channel carrying In software route all the out of the left speaker your kick drum is part of tracks you want centred to a stereo pair inputs 1 4 of the Sumo Then switch in Sumo s mono buttons and hey presto Audient v1 0 10 2004 19 2 Y A Operational M anual Why can t I hear anything START HERE Put the Insert In button in the off position Does this help Is there anything showing on the main meters Is there an insert attached Check that the inserted device is passing audio and is connected correctly Problem Solved Make sure that your source is playing back Does this help Turn the monitor volume up Does this help Turn the mix gain up Does this help Check the connections from your playback device Does this help A Check the connections to your monitor amplifier and or speakers Does this Help Hmmm Disconnect and try again If you still have problems contact your distributor Find their details at www audient co uk Audient v1 0 10 2004 20 ACCESSORIES Operational M anual Accessories A range of accessories is available to hook up to other gear or expand your Sumo system All cables are of the highest quality and will perfectly complement your Sumo in any set up For alternative terminations or lengths contact your Audient dealer Description 3 Metre
18. ternal Input 1 2 M ain Outputs Figure 1 Analogue Connections Audient v1 0 10 2004 13 2 Y 2a Operational M anual Hooking Up Clock M aster Word Clock Word Clock S P DIF AES EBU Figure 2 Digital Connections Audient v1 0 10 2004 14 Operational M anual Knobs Buttons and Flashy Lights KNOBS BUTTONS AND FLASHY LIGHTS Input Section Bf Goss 4 SUMMING ampiri i n H rl 14 JA 21 1 HA 24 12H JBy D session r esoesnarrnsarnoococo co o GH 142 GH 3 4 DEEE Y BACA UKK Buttons Under normal circumstances all of the odd numbered channels entering Sumo are routed to the left side of the bus while even numbers are routed to the right Of course this is going to sound a little unusual if your kick drum appears on the left and your snare is on the right etc So the first two channel pairs 1 2 3 4 can each be mono d effectively panning them dead centre right where you want them Also routing mono sources through a single channel saves Outputs from your DAW M ix Gain This control gives you a pre dynamics gain trim from 20 to 0dB so even if you ve been especially normalize happy whilst editing you won t have any problems with headroom either within Sumo or more likely with any attached inserts VEDED Sw itches These buttons refer to the insert connections on the back panel Use these if you want to add your own EQ compression or anyt
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