Ashly nXe Series Operating Manual
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Ashly nXe Series Operating Manual

Multi-mode, 150w/75w per channel
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Operating Manual
Multi-Mode Amplifiers, 150W/75W Per Channel
nX Base Series
nX1504, nX1502, nX754, nX752
nXe Ethernet Series
nXe1504, nXe1502, nXe754, nXe752
nXp Ethernet+DSP Series
nXp1504, nXp1502, nXp754, nXp752
ASHLY AUDIO INC.
847 Holt Road
Webster, NY
14580-9103 Phone: (585) 872-0010
Toll-Free: (800) 828-6308 Fax: (585) 872-0739
ashly.com
All Trademarks referred to herein are the property of their respective owners.
2017 Ashly Audio, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. r4

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  • Page 1 ASHLY AUDIO INC. 847 Holt Road Webster, NY 14580-9103 Phone: (585) 872-0010 Toll-Free: (800) 828-6308 Fax: (585) 872-0739 ashly.com All Trademarks referred to herein are the property of their respective owners. 2017 Ashly Audio, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. r4...
  • Page 2 Operating Manual - nX, nXe, and nXp 150W/75W Power Amplifiers Important Safety Instructions Consignes de sécurité à lire attentivement The lightning flash with arrowhead symbol, within an equilateral triangle, Le symbole de la flèche dans un triangle équilateral symbolisant la foudre is intended to alert the user to the presence of uninsulated "dangerous est prévu pour sensibiliser l’utilisateur à...
  • Page 3 Unpacking As a part of our system of quality control, every Ashly product is carefully inspected before leaving the factory to ensure flawless appearance. After unpacking, please inspect for any physical damage. Save the shipping carton and all packing materials, as they were carefully designed to reduce to a minimum the possibility of transportation damage should the unit again require packing and shipping.

  • Page 4: Table Of Contents

    9.1 Installing and Using the Software ..15 3 nX Amplifier Protection 9.1a Ashly Network Tree... . 15 ... . 9 9.1b Ashly Project Canvas .
  • Page 5 11.6 neWR-5 Programmable Button Control . 47 11.7 FR-8/FR-16 Networked Fader ..47 11.8 INA-1 Inline RS-232 Adapter..47 11.9 Ashly Remote App for iPad ..47 ®...

  • Page 6: Introduction

     1 INTRODUCTION Thank you for your purchase of this Ashly nX, nXe, or nXp multi-mode power amplifier. Each speaker output can be config- ured for low impedance (2, 4, or 8 Ohm), or 25V, 70V, or 100V constant voltage output. This amplifier uses state of the art, light weight, high power, high efficiency switching technology with active power-factor-correction, developed through years of design and field testing.

  • Page 7: Nx Installation Requirements

    Operating Manual - nX, nXe, and nXp 150W/75W Power Amplifiers  2 nX INSTALLATION REQUIREMENTS Before connecting to AC mains power, make sure that the mechanical installation, cooling requirements, wiring, controls, and software are all set to the configuration needed for your particular application. Failure to do so could result in damage to the unit or to other components in the system.

  • Page 8: Remote Control Wiring

    Operating Manual - nX, nXe, and nXp 150W/75W Power Amplifiers 2.4 Remote Control Wire Remote DC level control (all models) - Unshielded bell or telephone wire is sufficient for DC level control, as is CAT5 cable. The V+ and GND pins from one amplifier channel can be shared with other remote DC level controls wired to the same ampli- fier, however do not connect this ground to any external grounds.

  • Page 9: Cooling

    Operating Manual - nX, nXe, and nXp 150W/75W Power Amplifiers 2.7 Cooling Air vents on the amplifier front and side panels must have access to free flowing room temperature air. Cool air is drawn in through the side and blown out the front. It is not necessary to leave empty rack spaces above or below the amplifier. See the BTU/hr chart in section 15 for specific thermal output characteristics.

  • Page 10: Front Panel Features (All Models)

    Operating Manual - nX, nXe, and nXp 150W/75W Power Amplifiers  4 nX FRONT PANEL FEATURES (all models) 4.1 Mounting Holes – Four front panel mounting holes for standard a 19" equipment rack. 4.2 Air Vents – Cool air enters in through the amplifier sides and is blown out the front. 4.3 Reset/Sleep Mode/Disable Switch –...

  • Page 11: Amplifier Status Leds

    Operating Manual - nX, nXe, and nXp 150W/75W Power Amplifiers 4.6 Amplifier Status LEDs PROTECT - The red Protect LED initially turns on to indicate that real-time countermeasures are being applied for power limiting, overtemperature, or power supply voltage fault conditions while the amp is still running. If those countermeasures are unsuccessful, the Protect LED indicates an amplifier shut-down.

  • Page 12: Nx Base Series Rear Panel

    - Used for wiring the speaker outputs. For bridge mode, use pin labeling shown below the connector. 5.7 AC Mains Connector - Always use the AC mains line-cord provided by Ashly for connecting to AC mains. The amplifier auto-detects voltage from 100-240VAC. WARNING: Do not remove or lift the mains connector ground.

  • Page 13: Nxe Network Series Rear Panel

    Note that nXe models do not have DSP installed, so an additional factory installed OPDAC4 digital to analog converter module must be purchased when ordering an nXe series model with any digital audio option. See section 12 for AES3 digital audio details. See section 13 for CobraNet and Dante network audio details.

  • Page 14: Nxp Network + Dsp Series Rear Panel

    Since nXp models come standard with DSP, a Dante, CobraNet, or AES3 digital audio module can be ordered and factory installed without the additional cost of the OPDAC4 module that is required for nXe series. See section 12 for AES3 digital audio details. See section 13 for CobraNet and Dante network audio details.

  • Page 15: Protea Ne Software

    9.1f). Live networked devices appear with a green border, off-line network devices have a red border, and virtual devices appear without any border. The primary canvas is always called "Ashly Project", but additional project files can be saved under different names.

  • Page 16: File Menu

    To apply the prepared project file, use the following steps: 1) Connect all Ashly devices to the network and launch the software, verifying that all devices appear green in the network device tree.

  • Page 17: Options Menu

    If this is checked on, those messages will go away automatically, otherwise they will stay on the display until closed by the user. 9.1h Flash Programmer Menu [Flash Programmer>Launch Flash Programmer] - This is used to update the firmware on any networked Ashly device. All available firmware update files can be downloaded from the Ashly website.

  • Page 18: Help Menu

    (firmware) to the amplifier over the network. Latest firmware updates, if avail- able, can be found on the Ashly website. When the amplifier is put into flash reprogram mode, all audio functions are suspended, the power switch LED flashes, and the COM LED remains lit until flash reprogram is completed.

  • Page 19: Power On Delay

    2) Use contact closures to load presets 1-4 from memory by wiring switches to the rear panel contact closure connector. 3) Use an Ashly WR-5 or neWR-5 remote control. 4) Use the event scheduler. Note: A full preset recall event will overwrite any unsaved changes, so be sure the current configuration is saved before continuing or any changes will be lost.

  • Page 20: Device Control Tabs

    Operating Manual - nX, nXe, and nXp 150W/75W Power Amplifiers 9.4 Device Control Tabs The following device control tabs are available for each amplifier. The tabs include control surface, security, network properties, DSP, input source, meters, meter dynamics, meters autoleveler, metering, event scheduler, and fault log. 9.4a Software Control Surface - Global The control surface is the main user interface for the amplifier section.
  • Page 21 Operating Manual - nX, nXe, and nXp 150W/75W Power Amplifiers 9.4a (continued) Software Control Surface - Channel Stereo/Bridged Status - This shows if a channel pair is in stereo or bridge mode as set by back panel switch. In bridge mode, input signal is automatically taken from the odd chan- nel input and inverted, then sent to the even channel.

  • Page 22: Security

    COM LED on the amplifier's front panel for two seconds. The amplifier's firmware revision is shown in the hardware configuration section as well. From time to time Ashly may post updated firmware on our website which can be downloaded and then flash reprogrammed to the amplifier.

  • Page 23: Dsp Control

    Operating Manual - nX, nXe, and nXp 150W/75W Power Amplifiers 9.4d DSP Control Tab All signal processing is done in the DSP control tab, with separate input and output sections and a cross-linking matrix mixer between. From left to right, each channel in the DSP tab includes the following features: Input/Output Channel Number - Click on this to use each channel's clear, copy/paste, link, and sub preset functions.
  • Page 24 Operating Manual - nX, nXe, and nXp 150W/75W Power Amplifiers Pluggable DSP Block Descriptions 1) Dynamics Controls Limiter The limiter is a compressor with a fixed infinite ratio. Use a limiter to absolutely prevent signal from exceeding a designated peak level. The limiter function allows for threshold, attack time and release time adjustments.
  • Page 25 Operating Manual - nX, nXe, and nXp 150W/75W Power Amplifiers Link Group - Group to which all parameters are assigned, for simultaneous adjustment to multiple limiters Attenuation Bus: All compressors assigned to the same attenuation bus will apply the largest amount of current gain reduction from any one of the assigned compressors.
  • Page 26 Operating Manual - nX, nXe, and nXp 150W/75W Power Amplifiers Threshold Below Target - Determines the relative input signal level above which the autoleveler increases gain, below which no action is taken. Ratio - This is the ratio of the input level change in dB to output level change in dB. It determines the degree of boost or cut applied to a signal to maintain the target level.
  • Page 27 Operating Manual - nX, nXe, and nXp 150W/75W Power Amplifiers Ducking At Mixer(s) This feature is particularly useful when setting up multiple zones where only some of the output channels should be ducked (e.g. restaurants, courtrooms, etc.). When this feature is selected, each matrix mixer is allowed to enable or disable ducking on that particular output.
  • Page 28 Operating Manual - nX, nXe, and nXp 150W/75W Power Amplifiers Ambient Noise Compensation (output channels only) Ambient noise compensation (ANC) is an automatic output level control that uses a microphone to monitor background noise in a specific zone, then adjusts the output level to that zone accordingly in order to maximize intelligibility.
  • Page 29 Operating Manual - nX, nXe, and nXp 150W/75W Power Amplifiers ANC Setup Procedure 1) In the control software, assign the ANC function to the channel to be used for background music or voice paging (program audio). Set the ANC controls to the "typical" settings described above, which is also the default settings of a new ANC function when it is first placed in the signal processing block.
  • Page 30 VCA groups. RD-8C Remote Control Gain Remote gain allows the user to choose where Ashly's RD-8C will apply gain to a signal path (WR5s are handled by the WR5 gain block). When the remote is assigned to a channel, it applies gain/attenuation within the remote gain block, allowing the other gain blocks to remain unaffected by the remotes.
  • Page 31 Operating Manual - nX, nXe, and nXp 150W/75W Power Amplifiers neWR-5 Remote Control Gain WR-5, The WR5/neWR5 gain block is the DSP block where channel gain adjustments are made via the WR5 or ne-WR5 remote. This block is nearly identical to the standard gain block except that it is also controllable via the WR5 or ne-WR5 remote and does not have polarity inversion.
  • Page 32 Operating Manual - nX, nXe, and nXp 150W/75W Power Amplifiers Parametric Equalizers (10, 6, 4, or 2 band PEQ) The parametric equalizer (PEQ) provides several types of filters to tailor the signal response with high precision. Four sizes are provided, with 2, 4, 6 or 10 filters. Filter types include parametric, high-shelf, low-shelf, variable-Q high-pass, variable-Q low- pass, all-pass, band-pass and notch.
  • Page 33 Operating Manual - nX, nXe, and nXp 150W/75W Power Amplifiers Filter Type Details Parametric EQ Filters Parametric EQ uses peak filters with the ability to control boost or cut, frequency center, and bandwidth. Think of one band of parametric EQ as a single graphic equalizer fader, except that the frequency is variable, and that the bandwidth, or how "wide" the filter affects the frequency spectrum at the center frequency, is also variable.
  • Page 34 Operating Manual - nX, nXe, and nXp 150W/75W Power Amplifiers Feedback Suppressor (inputs only) The feedback suppressor (FBS) provides automatic feedback control. This is done by constantly monitoring the audio and auto- matically adjusting any one of 12 filters to remove feedback. Notch and parametric filter types are used, depending on the charac- teristics of the feedback.
  • Page 35 Operating Manual - nX, nXe, and nXp 150W/75W Power Amplifiers Background Information The feedback suppressor uses both notch filters and parametric filters to automatically and quickly suppress multiple feedback tones and also produce a smooth equalized response which sounds pleasing for music and speech program. Before using the FBS (Feedback Suppressor), it is helpful to understand the following basic concepts in order to effectively suppress feedback and achieve good sounding audio program.
  • Page 36 Operating Manual - nX, nXe, and nXp 150W/75W Power Amplifiers 4) Crossover Functions Four-Way, Three-Way, and Two-Way Crossover (outputs only) The crossover tool offers a convenient way to configure amplifier outputs. Depending on whether the desired crossover is two, three, or four-way, all high-pass (HPF) and low-pass filters (LPF) are automatically placed on output channels. Initial crossover frequencies are assigned with the default filter type of 24dB/oct Butterworth, both of which can be changed.
  • Page 37 Bessel These filters as implemented in Ashly devices are always -3dB at the displayed crossover frequency. Bessel filters have a maxi- mally flat group delay. Stated another way, Bessel filters have the most linear phase response. When a Bessel HPF and LPF of the same corner frequency are summed, the combined response is +3dB for 12dB/oct, 18dB/oct, and 48dB/oct Bessel filters, and -2dB for 24dB/oct Bessel filters.
  • Page 38 Operating Manual - nX, nXe, and nXp 150W/75W Power Amplifiers 5) Delay Speaker Delay and Delay Both the speaker delay and delay allow the signal to be delayed by a given number of samples (a given amount of time). The only differences between the speaker delay and delay is the total amount of delay available, thus the amount of DSP resources allocated to each block.

  • Page 39: D - I/O Matrix Router

    Operating Manual - nX, nXe, and nXp 150W/75W Power Amplifiers 9.4d DSP Control Tab functions, continued ..Input/Output Matrix Router - Any input can be routed to any or all outputs. Click and drag from the input to output to assign routing. For faster routing of a single input or output to multiple channels, highlight its node and then press Ctrl+Click over the desired nodes to connect to.
  • Page 40 Automixer Setup Setting-up the Ashly gain-sharing automixer is quite simple compared to other gating-type automixers. The following procedure is recommended for most multi-microphone speech applications. 1) Start with all mixer faders off and the automixer response time set to 0.1 seconds.

  • Page 41: Input Source

    Operating Manual - nX, nXe, and nXp 150W/75W Power Amplifiers 9.4e Input Source Tab Inputs can be selected as analog, network (Dante or CobraNet), or AES3 if installed. The example to the right shows the input source tab in an amplifier with CobraNet installed. 9.4f Metering Tabs (not shown) There are three meter tabs, including general I/O meters, meter dynamics for gate and compressor/limiter functions, and auto-...

  • Page 42: Nx Remote Control Functions

    "Ashly Remote" can be downloaded from the iTunes app store. Ashly Remote is an application used to create a custom and secure graphical user interface (GUI) for Ashly networked devices via iPad wire- less control. The sound system designer creates a GUI specifically tailored for the end user and their networked Ashly products, allowing them remote control access to select audio functions.

  • Page 43: Sleep Clock Timer

    Operating Manual - nX, nXe, and nXp 150W/75W Power Amplifiers 10.4 Sleep Clock Timer On all amplifier models, the sleep clock timer can be enabled or disabled using the front panel factory reset switch as described in section 4.3. On nXe and nXp series models only, the sleep clock timer can be adjusted from zero (off) to 120 minutes. If sleep mode is enabled, and there is no audio activity for the duration of the sleep clock timer (fixed at 30 minutes for nX series), the amplifier goes to sleep until signal is present again or until the power switch is pressed.

  • Page 44: Channel Mute

    Operating Manual - nX, nXe, and nXp 150W/75W Power Amplifiers 3) neWR-5 - The neWR-5 function buttons are assigned gain control function in the same manner as the WR-5, but instead of connecting to the amplifier's data port, the neWR-5 uses an Ethernet network connection. 4) RD-8C - The RD-8C is programmed from Protea software when wired to a nXe or nXp amplifier under software control.

  • Page 45: Ashly Remote Control Devices

    Operating Manual - nX, nXe, and nXp 150W/75W Power Amplifiers  11 ASHLY REMOTE CONTROL DEVICES In addition to iPad control, the following Ashly devices are available for remote control of amplifier functions. 11.1 WR-1 Level Control (All nX models)

  • Page 46: Programmable Button Control

    The WR-5 is phantom powered from the amplifier. Up to four different WR-5 remotes can be wired in series and phantom powered from one amplifier, and more remotes can be added by using an Ashly RPS-18 remote power supply or equivalent.

  • Page 47: Newr-5 Programmable Button Control

    Connecting and powering the neWR-5 is done using Cat-5 Ethernet cable and an IEEE 802.3af power over Eth- ernet (PoE) switch, hub, or in-line PoE injector. If PoE is unavailable, the Ashly RPS-18 (sold separately) provides 15-48VDC capable of at least 2 watts per neWR-5 and can be hard wired to the back of the neWR-5. PoE current draw is 38mA @48VDC and 80mA@15VDC.

  • Page 48: Source Selection

    AES/EBU Non-PCM Error: Invalid AES format *To use an OPAES2 or OPAES4 option in an nXe amplifier without DSP, an Ashly OPDAC4 must also be ordered and installed by the factory. The OPDAC4 is not required on nXp models since they have DSP installed.

  • Page 49: Network Audio Options

    Operating Manual - nX, nXe, and nXp 150W/75W Power Amplifiers  13 NETWORK AUDIO OPTIONS Ashly offers a CobraNet and Dante network audio interface module that must be factory installed on nXe and nXp amplifiers. 13.1 CobraNet® CobraNet is an Ethernet-based digital audio transport technology de- veloped and supported by Cirrus Logic.

  • Page 50: Cobranet Configuration

    Operating Manual - nX, nXe, and nXp 150W/75W Power Amplifiers CobraNet Receiver Control Bundle: Selected bundle this receiver is listening to. Status: Indicates if a valid (green) bundle is being received. Channel Status (1-8): The signal status indicates the current bit depth, sampling rate, and latency of the received audio stream. The LED indicates this is a valid stream for this device.

  • Page 51: Dante

    Ashly products with network audio capability can be integrated into a Dante digital audio system by purchasing our OPTDante module as a factory installed option, and controlled using Protea software.

  • Page 52: Nx Amplifier Troubleshooting

    Operating Manual - nX, nXe, and nXp 150W/75W Power Amplifiers  14 nX AMPLIFIER TROUBLESHOOTING No AC Power 1) Is the detachable AC power cord properly installed? Is it plugged into a known live outlet? 2) Has the power switch been disabled? (sec 4.7, 9.4a, 10.2) 3) Is the power-on delay time set high? (sec 3, 9.2c) 4) Is the amp asleep? (sec 4.6)
  • Page 53 2) Is the amplifier successfully communicating with the network? (sec 8) 3) Does the amplifier name appear as green text in the Ashly network device tree? (sec 9.1a) 4) Is the amplifier device icon placed on the software project canvas a virtual device instead of a live amp? Any virtual device MAC address will always read FF-FF-FF-FF-FF-FF.

  • Page 54: Nx Amplifier Specifications

    Operating Manual - nX, nXe, and nXp 150W/75W Power Amplifiers  15 nX AMPLIFIER SPECIFICATIONS General Power Amplifier Specifications 0dBu = 0.775V rms) nX Amplifier Model nX1504 nX1502 nX754 nX752 Maximum Output Power CEA-2006/490A, 20ms 1kHz 1%THD+N, 480ms 1kHz -20dB, 120VAC, all channels driven at rated load Low Impedance (Low Z) mode, per channel 2 Ohm .
  • Page 55 Preset Recall Contact Closure Pins 1-4 ..... Euroblock (3.5mm) - close contact pin to Ground for preset 1-4 recall Data Connector for Ashly WR-5, RD-8C, RS-232 adapter ..Euroblock (3.5mm) - Gnd, +18V, Data Out, Data In AUX Output Connector .
  • Page 56 Operating Manual - nX, nXe, and nXp 150W/75W Power Amplifiers Detachable AC mains line-cord connector ....Nema 5-15 for US, may vary for export Power Supply Type .
  • Page 57 Operating Manual - nX, nXe, and nXp 150W/75W Power Amplifiers 2, 4, 6, or 10 Band Parametric Equalizers Speaker Delay ....0-21ms (24ft, 7.3m) Filter Types: Delay .

  • Page 58: Limited Warranty

    Series....WR-1 DC level control nXe Series ....WR-1 DC level control WR-1.5 DC level control/preset recall...

  • Page 59: Nx, Nxe, And Nxp Block Diagrams

    Operating Manual - nX, nXe, and nXp 150W/75W Power Amplifiers  17 nX, nXe, and nXp BLOCK DIAGRAMS...
  • Page 60 Fax: (585) 872-0739 Toll Free (800) 828-6308 www.ashly.com 2017 Ashly Audio, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Ashly Audio is a division of Jam Industries, Ltd. All features, specifications, and graphical representations are subject to change or improvement without notice. Printed in USA...

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