L-Acoustics LA4X User Manual
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L-Acoustics LA4X User Manual

Amplified controller
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LA4X
Amplified Controller
user manual
VERSION 4.0
w w w . l - a c o u s t i c s . c o m

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Summary of Contents for L-Acoustics LA4X

  • Page 1 LA4X Amplified Controller user manual VERSION 4.0 w w w . l - a c o u s t i c s . c o m...

  • Page 2: Important Safety Instructions

    LA4X Amplified Controller user manual VERSION 4.0 IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS Explanation of Graphical Symbols The lightning flash with arrowhead symbol within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the presence of uninsulated “dangerous voltage” within the product’s enclosure that may be of sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of electric shock to persons.
  • Page 3 30 cm from any external object or structure. Read the MAINTENANCE MANUAL – LEVEL 1 before performing any maintenance operation on the apparatus or in case of malfunction. This manual only contains the maintenance operations authorized for the End User. Contact L-ACOUSTICS ® advanced maintenance.
  • Page 4 LA4X amplified controller. This document contains essential information on using the product properly. Carefully read this document in order to become familiar with the product. As part of a continuous evolution of techniques and standards, L-ACOUSTICS ® reserves the right to change the specifications of its products and the content of its document without prior notice.

  • Page 5: Table Of Contents

    1.3.2 Loudspeaker enclosures and cables ........................ 7 1.3.3 Rigging elements ............................7 1.3.4 Software ..............................8 LA4X AMPLIFIED CONTROLLER Main features ................................9 2.1.1 Internal components ............................. 9 2.1.2 Front and rear panels ............................ 9 Signal processing and amplification ..........................10 2.2.1...
  • Page 6 LA4X Amplified Controller user manual VERSION 4.0 Display ..................................22 4.2.1 Main screen ............................... 22 4.2.2 LED meters ............................... 23 4.2.3 STATUS and L-NET LED ..........................23 4.2.4 OUT LED ..............................23 User interface ................................24 4.3.1 Quick access .............................. 24 4.3.2...

  • Page 7: Integrated System Approach

    INTEGRATED SYSTEM APPROACH Presentation The LA4X is an amplified controller based on a 4-input by 4-output architecture and an exclusive green power module providing maximized efficiency. With LA4X, L-ACOUSTICS ® speakers can get all the benefits of self-powered speakers, while keeping the versatility of the separated amplification approach.

  • Page 8: Software

    LA4X Amplified Controller user manual VERSION 4.0 1.3.4 Software LA NETWORK MANAGER Remote control and monitoring of amplified controllers. SOUNDVISION 3D acoustical and mechanical modeling. Software documentation Refer to the LA NETWORK MANAGER video tutorial and the SOUNDVISION help. Figure 1: Main components involved in loudspeaker system design and drive LA4X_UM_EN_4.0...

  • Page 9: La4X Amplified Controller

    Internal components The core of the LA4X is a DSP engine driving four channels of amplification from four inputs. The LA4X also features a flash memory for preset storage and management, high performance A/D-D/A converters for audio signals, a universal SMPS (Switched Mode Power Supply) with PFC (Power Factor Correction), a front panel user interface, and a Fast Ethernet device for network remote control.

  • Page 10: Signal Processing And Amplification

    Analog inputs The LA4X can be fed with up to four balanced analog audio signals using XLR3 female input connectors ANALOG IN A to ANALOG IN D (see Figure 2). Each analog input port is ESD protected.

  • Page 11: Dsp Architecture

     With a complete factory preset library and the possibility to create additional user presets, the flash memory ® provides a quick access to all the usual L-ACOUSTICS speaker system configurations (refer to the PRESET GUIDE).

  • Page 12: Power Supply And Amplifier Section

    100 % of the electrical power available with a very high tolerance to unstable mains. The PFC allows the LA4X to deliver as much power from a 10 A line as from a 16 A line on a conventional amp.

  • Page 13: Installation

    Mounting The LA4X is two rack units high (2U) and can be mounted in an EIA-standard 19” rack (see Figure 4). The four points on the front panel are for rack mounting. Use the fixing material provided by the rack manufacturer to mount the controller to the rack front rails.

  • Page 14: Ventilation

    3.3.1 AC mains specifications Only connect the LA4X to an AC power outlet rated 100-240 V, 50-60 Hz, with the following current values: 20 A for 100-120 V, 10 A for 200-240 V. The LA4X must be connected to a mains socket outlet with a protective connection to earth.

  • Page 15: Power Cord

    Example of heat power calculation Connect a 4 Ω load to each output channel of the LA4X: each channel can now deliver a power of up to 1000 W. Consider a standard use at 1/8 of full power (9 dB headroom): the power delivered per channel is then 1000 / 8 = 125 W, leading to a total power of 4 x 125 = 500 W for the LA4X.

  • Page 16: Audio And Network Cabling

    3.4.1 Connection panels The LA4X rear side features three panels for audio and network cabling, see Figure 7:  SPEAKER to connect loudspeakers.  SIGNAL to connect analog and/or digital (AES/EBU or S/PDIF) audio sources and link the signals to another amplified controller.

  • Page 17: Analog Signal Cabling

    3.4.2 Analog SIGNAL cabling The eight XLR3 connectors of the SIGNAL panel (see Figure 7) are wired according to IEC 268: pin 1= shield, pin 2= + signal, pin 3= - signal. The four female XLR3 input connectors ANALOG IN A to ANALOG IN D can receive up to four analog signals (when setting the analog input mode for channel pairs AB and CD).

  • Page 18: Digital Signal Cabling

    LA4X Amplified Controller user manual VERSION 4.0 3.4.3 Digital SIGNAL cabling The four AES/EBU XLR3 connectors on the SIGNAL panel (see Figure 7) are transformer balanced and wired according to IEC 268. The two female XLR3 input connectors AES/EBU IN A&B and AES/EBU IN C&D can receive up to four digital signals (when setting the AES/EBU input mode for channel pairs AB and CD).

  • Page 19: Speaker Cabling

    3.4.4 SPEAKER cabling Loudspeaker system connection Before connecting a loudspeaker system refer to the applicable user manuals for further instructions. The four 4-point SpeakON ® connectors on the SPEAKER panel (see Figure 7) are for loudspeaker connection. They are wired as follows, see also Figure 10: Top left SpeakON ®...

  • Page 20: L-Net Cabling

    (refer to the LA NETWORK MANAGER video tutorial). To connect the LA4X to L-NET use the EtherCON connectors on the L-NET panel (see Figure 7). Each of the two EtherCON connectors can be equally used as an IN or LINK connector.

  • Page 21: Operation

    (see Figure 12). Although it cannot be detected anymore over the network, the controller still transmits Ethernet data in a daisy-chain topology. Figure 12: LA4X turned off Power loss If the power has been lost the controller will shut down but all parameters will be restored to same state as before shutting down when the controller switches on again.

  • Page 22: Version

    LA4X Amplified Controller user manual VERSION 4.0 Display 4.2.1 Main screen Once the start-up sequence has cycled (see section 4.1), the POWER LED is lit in green and the LCD displays the main screen shown in Figure 13: Figure 13: Main screen...

  • Page 23: Led Meters

     green (see Figure 15) when the LA4X operates normally.  red in case of firmware update or when a fault has been detected in the LA4X circuitry, indicating that a protection system is active (see Appendix A – Protection systems).

  • Page 24: User Interface

    User interface 4.3.1 Quick access The LA4X offers quick access functions for control (front panel locking, mute and gain), identification and monitoring (display of the input level, input selection, input mode and group information). Lock/Unlock control To lock the front panel (even the mute function) and prevent unintentional operation, press and hold the ESC and ...
  • Page 25 Gain control In quick access mode, gain control applies for sets of output channels having input channels in common in their input selections (see also section 4.2.1). The gain control procedure is the following: From the main screen, press and hold the chosen output key, say OUTx. The LCD displays the gain values of all output channels having in their input selection an input channel in common with the input selection of OUTx.
  • Page 26 LA4X Amplified Controller user manual VERSION 4.0 Input level, input selection, input mode and group information Press and hold the ESC or OK key from the main screen.  The LED meters and the top line of the LCD screen display information about input channels IN A, IN B, IN C and IN D, respectively from left to right, see Figure 22.

  • Page 27: Main Menu

    4.3.2 Main menu The main menu gives access to the pages listed in the following table. Refer to the corresponding sections for detailed instructions. LA NETWORK MANAGER software All parameters in each amplified controller can also be set from LA NETWORK MANAGER software (refer to the LA NETWORK MANAGER video tutorial).

  • Page 28: Access Rights, Pin Code

    LA4X Amplified Controller user manual VERSION 4.0 4.3.3 Access rights, pin code The functionalities indicated in the following table can be locked or protected by a 4-digit pin code defined from LA NETWORK MANAGER (refer to the LA NETWORK MANAGER video tutorial):...

  • Page 29: Load Preset

    Contents LOAD PRESET USER 1 – 10 (read and write) User presets stored by the user (see section 4.5). Factory preset library created by L-ACOUSTICS ® LOAD PRESET FACTORY 11 – 199 (read only) automatically installed during firmware update (refer to the LA NETWORK MANAGER video tutorial).

  • Page 30: Store Preset

    LA4X Amplified Controller user manual VERSION 4.0 Figure 26: Loading a preset (example with a factory preset) Complements about the LOAD PRESET screen The upper line of the screen displays the preset family allowing coarse selection while the bottom line displays the preset name allowing preset selection within a family.

  • Page 31: Delete Preset

    Figure 27: Storing a preset DELETE PRESET A user preset contained in a user memory (1-10) can be deleted following these steps (see also Figure 28): From the main menu select DELETE PRESET. If the controller displays NO PRESETS AVAILABLE! it means that all user memories are empty. Press the ESC key to abort.

  • Page 32: Preset Parameters

    LA4X Amplified Controller user manual VERSION 4.0 PRESET PARAMETERS The preset parameters (gain, delay, polarity and input selection) of the current preset can be set individually for each output channel or channel set (see the following INFORMATION note). Channel set In certain presets, some channels are interdependent and form what is called a channel set.

  • Page 33: Clear Group Params

    Therefore, when getting a controller for a standalone application that has been previously used within a ® recommends using the CLEAR GROUP PARAMS function to clear all group network, L-ACOUSTICS parameters as they cannot be seen and accessed via the front panel user interface. Group information It is possible to verify if output channels of the controller are part of groups pressing and holding the ESC or OK key from the main screen (refer to section 4.3.1, group information).

  • Page 34: Input Settings

    LA4X Amplified Controller user manual VERSION 4.0 INPUT SETTINGS 4.9.1 INPUT MODE The XLR connectors of the SIGNAL panel (see section 3.4.1) can receive analog or digital signals, depending on the type of audio sources connected to them. The input mode function allows selecting the type of signal for channel pairs AB and CD.

  • Page 35: Fallback Mode

    When the LOCK status has been recovered, the user can manually reactivate channel pair AB applying the sequence described in Figure 35: Figure 35: Reactivating channel pair AB 4.9.2 FALLBACK MODE An automatic fallback option can be enabled or disabled. When enabled, and when the AES/EBU input mode is selected for input pair AB, the amplified controller will automatically switch from input pair AB to input pair CD in case of digital signal failure on input pair AB (no clock, loss of lock, CRC error, bipolar encoding error, data slip).

  • Page 36: Aes/Ebu Gain

    LA4X Amplified Controller user manual VERSION 4.0 4.9.3 AES/EBU GAIN The AES/EBU input ports include a gain module, common to all ports, which can be set from -12 dB to +12 dB by 0.1 dB steps. It must be used when the fallback mode is enabled, a digital audio source is connected to input pair AB and an analog audio source is connected to input pair CD.

  • Page 37: Monitoring And Info

    4.10 MONITORING AND INFO This menu provides real-time measurements to monitor the output channels and provides the versions of embedded software. In more details, the MONITORING AND INFO menu allows to:  Display in real-time the RMS output voltage and output temperature for each output channel. The output voltage is given in percentage of the maximum value supported by the particular transducer section connected.

  • Page 38: Spk Handling

    For example, Figure 38 shows LA4X firmware version 1.0.3.3. Network Always ensure that all LA4X controllers used in a given network run the same firmware version. 4.10.4 PRESET LIBRARY This page displays the version of the preset library in use in the controller.

  • Page 39: Options

    4.11 OPTIONS This menu allows setting the amplified controller’s general parameters. These parameters are the following:  IP address.  delay unit (ms, meters, feet or samples).  LCD screen contrast.  LED and LCD screen backlight mode. An additional function allows resetting the amplified controller to its factory default state. Figure 39 shows all pages of the OPTIONS menu.

  • Page 40: Network Address

    LA4X Amplified Controller user manual VERSION 4.0 4.11.1 NETWORK ADDRESS Remote control of amplified controllers requires setting up a private local area Ethernet network to interconnect up to 253 units with a single control computer (and possible additional devices such as Ethernet switches). It is called L-NET and uses a proprietary communication protocol based on TCP/IPv4 called L-COM.

  • Page 41: Screen Contrast

    4.11.3 SCREEN CONTRAST To set the LCD screen contrast follow these steps: From the main menu select OPTIONS and press the OK key or the encoder wheel (or ESC to abort). Turn the encoder wheel to select SCREEN CONTRAST. Press the OK key or the encoder wheel to enter the page (or ESC to abort). Turn the encoder wheel to select a value between 0 and 100 %.

  • Page 42: Appendix A: Protection Systems

    VERSION 4.0 APPENDIX A: PROTECTION SYSTEMS The LA4X electronic vital parts are continuously monitored by the embedded operating system to optimize the power resources while ensuring safety even under extreme conditions. Each time a protection system is activated, a warning message blinks on screen and the STATUS LED is also lit in red.

  • Page 43: Appendix B: Approvals

    Additional approvals The LA4X amplified controller holds the following certificates: KC, PSE, CSA and CCC LA4X_UM_EN_4.0 w w w . l - a c o u s t i c s . c o m...

  • Page 44: Appendix C: Specifications

    LA4X Amplified Controller user manual VERSION 4.0 APPENDIX C: SPECIFICATIONS GENERAL Output power 4 x 1000 W RMS (at 4 or 8 Ω) EIA (1% THD, 1 kHz, all channels driven) Max output voltage 150 V (Peak voltage, no load)
  • Page 45 INPUT SIGNAL DISTRIBUTION Input 4 Neutrik ® female XLR3, IEC 268, ESD protected Connectors ® Link 4 Neutrik male XLR3, IEC 268, ESD protected Analog AB / Analog CD IN A, IN B / IN C, IN D (4 connectors, 4 channels) Available input Analog AB / Digital CD IN A, IN B / IN C&D (3 connectors, 4 channels)
  • Page 46 Document reference: LA4X_UM_EN_4.0 Distribution date: October 28, 2014 © 2014 L-ACOUSTICS ® . All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the express written consent of the publisher.

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