Mixing Suite Documentation

To access all the functionality of the mixing suite technical setup, the following software has to be installed and properly configured on the local studio Mac.

• Avid Pro Tools + HD(X) driver 
• Ableton Live 11 Suite
• Max 8
• Reaper
• DaDman (for MTRX)
• Globcon.pro (for Prodigy.MC)
• Dante Controller (for MTRX and RME Digiface Dante labeled as Laptop RME)
• RME MADIface USB software and driver (Studio RME)
  • Fireface USB Settings
  • Totalmix 
• Avid EuCon (for SSL mixer)
• iLok Manager for plugins (VST)
• Custom network and ethernet configuration

The main priority of the current routing scheme has been to give people the best possible experience in utilizing the Dolby Atmos suite and Pro Tools-related devices. The second priority has been to ensure that all the various sources (Studio RME, Laptop RME, Logic, mini-jack, etc..) have general access to the different speaker configurations (Atmos, ATC, DynAudio). The last priority has been to give all connected interfaces access to all the possible analog I/O. This is last because having more than one source assigned to a given output at any time, a process called "DA/output summing", is currently not possible with our Prodigy.MC hardware. Input summing, on the other hand, is fine.

Any Prodigy.MC inputs or outputs not specifically assigned to a source or speaker are passed directly to the Ghielmetti patchbays for dynamic routing. On the patch bays, most of the Prodigy analog I/O is normalized to the SSL analog mixer.

The mixing suite Dante network is primarily installed so students can connect their laptops to the system and have access to more than stereo I/O. Connected to the Dante network via wired ethernet cables are four modules:

• the Avid MTRX
• Studio Mac
• MoM Monitor controller 
• The user laptop via an RME Digiface Dante interface (Laptop RME)

It is possible to configure the internal analog I/O routing inside the Prodigy.MC module. However, there are very few conditions where this is needed. Therefore, always consult the department engineer before attempting to configure this module.

Since the Mixing suite interconnects many different hardware and software devices, the audio clock settings must be configured correctly across all devices. When all clocks are synced, the devices will adapt to the same sampling rate (SR) and therefore be able to synchronize across various mediums (coax, optical, ethernet, etc.).

Clock settings in the mixing suite are set on the following devices:

• Avid MTRX hardware -  via the DaDman software on studio Mac.
• RME MADIface (Studio RME) hardware - via the Fireface USB settings software on studio Mac.
• RME Digiface Dante (Laptop RME) hardware - via the Fireface USB Settings software on personal laptop.
• DAW software (Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Ableton, etc.) on studio Mac.

The clock leader is the Avid MTRX module. Therefore, all other clock signals should sync to the MTRX. For instance, in the Fireface USB Settings for the Studio RME and Laptop RME devices, the clock settings should be set to External inn over BNC, Coax, or Optical. 

The MTRX adapts its sampling rate to DigiLink 1 (Pro Tools HDX) and should always be 48kHz. You can check this in DaDman under the Sync settings below the routing scheme. A green light will shine next to synced audio devices in the DaDman routing scheme when they are properly synced.

Connected to the studio Mac in the mixing suite are three wired networks to accommodate Dante audio, internet services, and communication with the SSL AWS analog mixer. No Wi-Fi is needed. One network switch is used for the Dante network and an ethernet-USB dongle is used for the SSL and internet services. The latter networks are joined by the same ethernet cable, a solution designed by USIT and IT. 

In addition to the hardware setup, each network must be assigned the correct IP addresses for communication to work. You also have to ensure that the MAC address of the USB-ethernet dongle is properly registered by the IT department for 79-net access. Under Network in System Settings, make sure that the following addresses are set:

79-nett (fra dongle):

Configure IPv4: Using DHCP

IP Address: 129.240.79.154

Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.128

Router: 129.240.79.129

SSL AWS (fra dongle):

Configure IPv4: Manually

IP Address: 192.168.1.3

Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0

Router: 192.168.1.2

Dante:

Configure IPv4: Manually

IP Address: 169.254.214.235

Subnet Mask: 255.255.0.0

Router: 0.0.0.0

In addition to configuring the Dante network in the studio Mac System Settings, we have to ensure that the same IP is used as our Primary Interface in the Dante Controller.

Open the Dante Controller and navigate to the Configure Dante Interfaces menu. Make sure that the Primary Interface IP is the same as the network settings in System Settings. 

All five devices connected to the Dante network (including the studio Mac) have unique addresses on the same IP subnet (169.254). Here is a complete list of the Dante network IPs currently in use:

• Prodigy.MC - 169.254.229.24
• Avid MTRX - 169.254.179.197
• MoM Monitor Controller - 169.254.201.158
• Laptop-RME (the RME Digiface Dante) - 169.254.246.199

The Mixing Suite has two individual speaker sets, one Dolby Atmos 7.1.4 configuration with 12 DynAudio and Genelec speakers, and one ATC near-field SCM25A Pro Mk2 stereo pair. On these speaker sets, users can switch between three different speaker profiles through the DaDman software; Atmos (7.1.4), DynAudio (2.1), and ATC (2.0). 

Dolby Atmos-certified engineers have tuned both speaker sets precisely to provide optimal listening conditions. Therefore, please don't adjust the gain levels on the speakers other than the main volume.

Speaker inventory: 

• Genelec 7380AP Active Sub
• 4x DynAudio Pro Core 7 monitors (ceiling)
• 4x Genelec 1032A (sides)
• 3x DynAudio M3 (left, right, center)
• 2x ATC SCM25A Pro Mk2 monitors (front)

The Atmos (7.1.4) speaker profile is primarily for Pro Tools Atmos mixing as using the full Atmos array requires a designated Atmos audio source, such as PT HDX.

To downmix the Atmos mix to stereo, use the "7.1 -> St" button in the DaDman Fold Down section. With this enabled, the Atmos 7.1.4 will be downmixed to stereo 2.1.

The DynAudio (2.1) speaker profile is designed for far-field stereo listening with sub, featuring the front DynAudio M3 left and right monitors in conjunction with the Genelec 7380AP sub. The bass management preset (deciding filter cutoffs and boosts between speakers and sub) is adjusted on the DaDman monitor profile page. However, please refrain from manually adjusting the bass profile.

To use this DynAudio stereo configuration without the sub, simply choose the Atmos (7.1.4) profile while listening to a stereo source. 

The ATC (2.0) speaker profile is designed for near-field stereo listening, featuring the front ATC SCM25A Pro Mk2 monitors without a sub. The ATC monitor placements are decided based on an equilateral triangle between the studio sweet spot and the monitors themselves where all sides and angles are congruent.  

The DaDman software and MoM (Monitor Operating Module) hardware monitor controller are used to select which source to send to which output configuration (speakers). The MoM hardware is just a small controller of the DaDman software. The MoM monitor controller will not work if you are not logged into an account on the Studio Mac.

Sources available:

• PT HDX (Pro Tools HDX) → 7.1.4 source
• Studio RME (RME MADIface USB) → stereo source
• Laptop RME (RME Digiface Dante) → 7.1.4 source
• Mini-jack (direct inn) → stereo source

Outputs available:

• Atmos (7.1.4) - 12-speaker Atmos, but also far-field stereo
• DynAudio (2.1) - stereo with sub
• ATC (2.0) - near-field stereo

Start by logging into the student account on the Studio Mac. When logging in, the DaDman software should start and the MoM monitor controller should light up. If DaDman does not load, start it manually. When DaDman is active, you should see something like this:

If you are unsure if the routing or speaker profile in DaDman is configured correctly, you can load two default presets to reset DaDman. To load the presets, navigate to File and select "Open". Then, choose the DaDman settings in the Software Settings folder on the desktop. After, navigate to File a second time and choose "Open profile" before selecting the latest DaDman profile from the same Software Settings folder. 

Another issue might occur if DaDman does not recognize the MTRX or the MoM monitor controller. If this happens, navigate to Settings and select "Device List". Here, make sure that both the MTRX and the MoM controller are enabled. Second, you can navigate to Settings and choose "Monitor Profile". From here, check that the MTRX is selected as a device and that the "enable monitor" toggle is activated.

Pro Tools HDX is an audio interface that uses DigiLink cables to send audio between the MTRX. The device itself is located behind the studio mixing desk and consists of a silver chassis with "HDX" written on top. It also makes a lot of noise from its fans(!).

When opening Pro Tools, you are presented with several audio settings choices. First, make sure that the sampling rate is set to 48kHz. Second, ensure that the playback engine is set to HDX. The HDX interface is an audio interface that is dedicated solely to handling Pro Tools I/O. 

In DaDman, select the PT HDX (Pro Tools HDX) source to pass the Pro Tools audio to the speakers. Under "Options -> Playback Engine" in Pro Tools, check if the sampling rate and playback engine correspond to the sampling rate and source selected in the DaDman software.

Finally, if you are unsure if the Pro Tools I/O is configured correctly, you can load the default I/O preset to reset Pro Tools to its normal state. Navigate to "Options -> I/O settings", then click "Import settings". Import the current default Pro Tools settings from the Software Settings folder on the desktop. 

You have two options to use the mixing suite speakers with your own equipment. You can 1) use the mini-jack for basic stereo output or 2) use the Laptop RME interface for more multi-channel I/O capabilities.

For the mini-jack, connect the 3.5mm jack to your machine and select the headphone output in the system settings. Then, in DaDman, enable the Mini-jack source.

The mixing suite features additional outputs for an LD7 headphone preamp, both for binaural and other headphone listening needs. You can send sources to the headphone preamp from the DaDman software, under the "Hodetelefon preamp" monitor section. 

In Pro Tools, the Cue 1 stereo outputs correspond the the "PT HDX Cue 1" in DaDman. 

On the headphone preamp, select source nr.1 to listen to the output.

Issue: iLok manager keeps asking for a username and password.

Solution: plug in and out the iLok USB device connected of the Studio Mac

Issue: Where is the sweet spot?

Answer: Look to the ceiling and look for marking tape with an X on it.

Issue: There is no sound passing through the modules even though everything else seems just fine.