Philosophy Of Operation; Two Paths; Menus Or Dedicated Controls; Monitor, Mimic, Meter And Menu Panels - Prism Sound ADA-8 Operation Manual

Prism Sound ADA-8 Multi-channel A/D D/A Converter Operation Manual - Revision 1.00

4 Philosophy of Operation

4.1 Two Paths

The ADA-8 has two Paths each comprising eight channels; these are typically an A/D Path
and a D/A Path (but not necessarily so). The Monitor, Mimic and Meter panels each have a
'Path' selector button so that their function can be swapped between the Paths. The 'Path'
selector buttons on these panels are independent, so you can monitor one Path while
metering the other, for instance. The Monitor and Meters can be positioned 'Pre' or 'Post' the
Path's Processing function (if any), but in systems without the Processing suite installed, or
with it turned off, these buttons don't change anything.

4.2 Menus or dedicated controls?

The ADA-8 has a novel operating philosophy. We were concerned that the unit should be
simple to use, even though its flexibility and modularity mean that it has very many controls,
and will have even more in the future.
We know that nobody likes menus - it takes a long time to find what you need. On the other
hand, a button and a display for everything wouldn't fit on the front panel, and would be
confusing - and we couldn't add new features in later software releases.
So the ADA-8 control surface is based on four panels; from left to right the Monitor, Mimic,
Meter and Menu panels (all alliteration absolutely accidental).

4.3 Monitor, Mimic, Meter and Menu Panels

In the Menu panel, you will find a huge menu (details of which are included in the
accompanying Firmware Reference) and the Configuration/Store buttons. It is possible to do
nearly anything through the menu system, but you have to know where to look. This is where
the other panels come in.
The Mimic panel shows a diagram of a 'Path' through the ADA-8 - each Path is actually eight
audio channels in parallel, so the Mimic panel actually only shows one eighth of a Path. The
A/D Path, for example, (usually Path 1) shows an analogue input, connected through some
processing, past a monitoring and metering point, through some 'encoding' and out through a
digital output. Naturally, there are countless settings which affect this Path buried in the menu
system.
On the Mimic panel are a selection of blue Access buttons, each one conveniently located in
one of the functional areas of the Mimic. If you press an Access button, you immediately
attract the attention of the Menu panel to the particular menu which controls that function.
Actually, there may be several menus which apply to that Access button; if the first menu isn't
the right one, press the Access button again and you can cycle round the small number of
relevant menus. If you use the same menu a lot, don't worry - next time you use that Access
button, you go straight to the menu you were using last time you were in that Access group.
The Monitor and Meter panels also have an Access button which are used to get to their parts
of the menu system fast.
In the Meter panel, under each channel's meter, is a Channel Select button; normally, this is
used to monitor that pair of channels (or to select or deselect the channel if the Monitor is in
Mix mode). But in menus where settings need to be made 'per channel', these buttons take
on that function whilst that menu is selected.
© Prism Media Products Limited, 2002 Page 1.12