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Sonosax SX-R4 User Manual

Professional portable multitrack recorder
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SONOSAX
SX-R4

USER MANUAL

Soft version 2.5.1746
User manual SONOSAX SX-R4
PROFESSIONAL PORTABLE
MULTITRACK RECORDER
Audio equipment manufacturer
SONOSAX SAS S.A.
Ch. de la Naz 38
1052 Le Mont s/Lausanne
Switzerland
Tél: +41 21 651 0101
Fax: +41 21 651 0109
Web:
www.sonosax.ch
Email: sonosax@sonosax.ch
Version 1.1 / July 23. 2008
/ www sonosax.com
Page 1 of 51

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Summary of Contents for Sonosax SX-R4

  • Page 1: User Manual

    Ch. de la Naz 38 1052 Le Mont s/Lausanne Switzerland Tél: +41 21 651 0101 Fax: +41 21 651 0109 Web: www.sonosax.ch / www sonosax.com Email: sonosax@sonosax.ch Version 1.1 / July 23. 2008 User manual SONOSAX SX-R4 Page 1 of 51...

  • Page 2: Table Of Contents

    LINE OUT ................................21 SETUP > LINE OUT ............................21 5.1.8 LAST TAKE ................................ 22 5.1.9 PLAYER Mode ..............................23 5.1.10 Mode SEARCH..............................24 5.1.11 UNIT STATUS ..............................25 5.1.12 SETUP (Configurations Menus) ......................... 26 User manual SONOSAX SX-R4 Page 2 of 51...
  • Page 3 SETUP > MISC > USER INTERFACE CHECK....................34 SETUP > MISC > FACTORY SETTINGS ......................34 5.2.8 BROWSE FILES..............................35 MANAGING THE SX-R4 ..........................36 6.1.1 HardDisk and CompactFlash card format......................36 6.1.2 How to format FAT32 with MAC OSX:....................... 36 6.1.3...

  • Page 4: Introduction

    As with all SONOSAX products, the SX-R4 reocrder is built without any compromise in quality, using only the best components available and a severe quality control. The result of this research and development project is an ergonomic recorder with extraordinary characteristics and an excellent reliability.

  • Page 5: Safety Instructions

    • Follow all warnings, notes and instructions in this operation manual. • Keep the SX-R4 Recorder and its external power supply away from heat sources such as radiators or other devices that produce heat. • Connect the SX-R4 Recorder only to the optional external power supply delivered by SONOSAX.

  • Page 6: Operating Instructions

    When the average voltage per cell reaches 1.05 Volt, an alarm is displayed on the LCD screen and a bip tone is heard in the headphone. This alarm indicates that the SX-R4 still have a running time of aprox 10 to 20 minutes.

  • Page 7: Switching On The Unit

    HD and on the CF card can take a certain time depending on effective free space and the number of stored files. As mentioned the SX-R4 can be powered either from the internal batteries or from an external DC source • Using rechargeable batteries LR6 (AA-cell), NiCd ou NiMH: Insert 6 batteries in the battery holder and switch On the unit as indicated here above.

  • Page 8: Detailed Descriptions

    Almost all modern condenser microphones of the latest generation are operating under 48V Phantom power. Because of the excellent common mode rejection (CMRR) it has been decided to include only this kind of microphone powering on the SX-R4. User manual SONOSAX SX-R4...

  • Page 9: Pre-Lf Cut Filter [ Lf Cut ]

    In lower position, this switch reverses the phase of the input signal. It can be used to correct a reversed cable wiring or to address a phase problem between two microphones due to their placement. User manual SONOSAX SX-R4 Page 9 of 51...

  • Page 10: Right Side Panel

    Sleeve = Gnd / Ring = Right / Tip = Left WARNING: the headphone amplifier of the SX-R4 is quite poweful. It is recommanded to set the headphone level for a reasonable loudness to protect your precious ears User manual SONOSAX SX-R4...

  • Page 11: Stereo/Dual-Channel Line Input [ Stereo In ]

    4.2.6 External DC input [ DC IN ] The SONOSAX SX-R4 can be powered by means of an external DC supply, either a main adapter or an external high capacity battery bank. The voltage must be regulated between 6 to 18VDC The average power consumption of the recorder is around 4 Watts.

  • Page 12: Time Code Connector [ Tc ]

    This connector is of USB2 type only. The SX-R4 is not compatible with anciliary USB 1.0 system It allows to connect the SX-R4 to any computer ( PC or Mac ) providing with aa standard USB2 port. As soon as connected, the SX-R4 will appear on the computer desktop as an external Harddisk drive. If a Compact Flash card is inserted, it will also appears on the desktop.

  • Page 13: Front Panel

    4.3 FRONT PANEL The front side of the SX-R4 contains all functions commonly used during a recording session. It has two distinct sections: the analog section that controls the inputs channels and the User Interface that controls all functions of the recorder ANALOG SECTION [ IN1 to IN4 ] This section covers the functions related to input control such as Gain level, channels linking.

  • Page 14: Led's Peakmeters

    4.3.5 Red Led [ OVD LINE] This Red Led indicates the eventual overload on the Line Inputs 5 & 6. It lights as soon as the clipping level of the A/D Converter 5&6 is reached User manual SONOSAX SX-R4 Page 14 of 51...

  • Page 15: User Interface

    Toggle Switch PLAY 5.1.1 PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION Status The Status of the SX-R4 is displayed by means of the Red and the Green leds and by the LCD Display. The following status are possible: • RECORD READY the Red LED is flashing, the SX-R4 is ready to start recording.

  • Page 16: Architecture - Audio Path

    5.1.2 ARCHITECTURE - AUDIO PATH The SONOSAX SX-R4 offers 14 physical input channels, 6 analog and 8 digital. Up to 8 of these physical input channels can be assigned to any of the 10 available tracks, and any analog/digital channel combination is possible.

  • Page 17: Track Monitoring

    5.1.3 TRACK MONITORING The TRACK MONITORING is the default page beeing displayed by the SX-R4. The track numbering from 1 to 8 is always displayed and is related to the HardDisk tracks. The number of each active track in use (assigned in the matrix ) is posted in reverse video.

  • Page 18: Contextual Menus

    The Contextual Menu allows a quick navigation between the different pages and configurations menu of the SX-R4. The Contextual Menu can only be accessed from the Track Monitoring page ( not while in Solo Monitoring Mode ) by a pressure on the center of the Joystick.

  • Page 19: Solo Monitoring

    The example above shows a configuration of 4 active (or assigned ) tracks: 1, 2, 3, and 5. Track 1 being currently selected for Solo Monitoring. In this particular case, the selection sequence for the Solo is: 1, 2, 1+2, 3, 5 User manual SONOSAX SX-R4 Page 19 of 51...

  • Page 20: Monitoring

    5.1.6 MONITORING This Monitoring page is used to configure and mix the 10 tracks of the SX-R4 for it's headphone output. The configuration of the monitoring is done by means of a specific menu as shown below : The Monitoring is always configured per pair of tracks ( 10 tracks = 5 pairs of tracks ) The table below shows the available choices and their respective monitoring results on the stereo headphone output for the pair of tracks 1 and 2.

  • Page 21: Line Out

    SETUP > LINE OUT The SX-R4 provides with a stereo/two-channels line output [SUB OUT] that can be used to record a sub-mix onto a camera, or to send it via a wireless link or simply to provide with an alternate monitoring selection.

  • Page 22: Last Take

    YYYYYYYY is the scene name (max 8 characters) ZZZ is the TAKE number By selecting a TAKE, the SX-R4 loads it to it's memory. Depending of the media source and the TAKE length, it may take a certain time before the TAKE becomes ready for the Playback.

  • Page 23: Player Mode

    Play mode to Record mode by pressing the Toggle switch to the Right, the SX-R4 starts recording immediately (scratch record). In this case the pre-record buffer remain empty, thus the pre-record time is equal to zero.

  • Page 24: Mode Search

    LEFT while in Pause Play from current position Change from Pause to Stop LEFT while Playing Pauses at current position Stop playing Fast Rewind " <<< " Fast Forward " >>> " User manual SONOSAX SX-R4 Page 24 of 51...

  • Page 25: Unit Status

    5.1.11 UNIT STATUS This page displays the main current parameters of the SX-R4 Battery Level Indicator Project Name Loaded User Setting Scene Name Take Number Sampling informations HD & CF remaining free Timecode space The displayed parameters are: • Line 1 : the battery level indicator or a dart symbol if an external PSU is connected •...

  • Page 26: Setup (Configurations Menus)

    LEFT and RIGHT moves the cursor to select the character. Pressing the Joystick on its CENTER save the text and return to the preceeding page. A long pressure to the LEFT cancels the edition and returns to the preceeding page. User manual SONOSAX SX-R4 Page 26 of 51...

  • Page 27: Menu's Tree Structure

    Check the LCD display, the LEDs INTERFACE and the functions of the keys CHECK FACTORY Re-set all parameters to factory SETTINGS default Explanation of each menu is detailled in the following chapters. User manual SONOSAX SX-R4 Page 27 of 51...

  • Page 28: Routing Setting

    Number of input channels NONE ATT1.5 ATT3 ATT6 assigned to the same track [ in dB ] [ in dB ] [in dB ] [ in dB ] 10.1 14.5 14.5 18.1 18.1 User manual SONOSAX SX-R4 Page 28 of 51...

  • Page 29: Record Settings

    This menu lets choose the sampling frequency. Choices are : 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4 and 192 kHz. If a AES input is assigned, then the SX-R4 will automatically lock on the incoming AES sample frequency and thus the selected sampling frequency will be overwritten.

  • Page 30: Setup > Record Settings > Pre-Record Time

    Sample Rate and Pull UP/ Pull DOWN correction When the required pre-record time is not possible, the SX-R4 will perform on "best effort" basis to provide with the maximum possible. The table below shows the max. values of the pre-record time [sec.]:...

  • Page 31: Setup > Record Settings > Sync Mode

    The synchronization mode of the SX-R4 can be choosen in this menu. By synchronization, one means the use of an external clock on a given signal to synchronize the selected sample frequency of the SX-R4. This section does not treat the use of timecode.

  • Page 32: Input Source

    This menu allows to set the TimeCode address manually SETUP > TIMECODE SETTINGS > SET FROM TIME This menu will set the TimeCode exactly at the time of the internal real time clock of the SX-R4. User manual SONOSAX SX-R4...

  • Page 33: Modulometers

    The "User Settings" menu allows to save, load or update a complete configuration to/from an ASCII file CREATE NEW Allows you to create a new configuration file based on the current (active) configuration of the SX-R4. The setting name is formatted as follow: •...

  • Page 34: Miscelaneous

    Check the Toggle switch and the Red SETUP > MISC > FACTORY SETTINGS This menu allows you to re-initialize the SX-R4 in its basic configuration (factory default). Caution: this operation crushes the currently loaded configuration. It does not modify the audio data on the discs nor the user settings.

  • Page 35: Browse Files

    Selecting [..] at the root level of a disc (e.g. the root of the HD) allows you to swap to the other disc (e.g. the root of the CF). This is achieved by means of a selection menu. When a file is not recognized or cannot be interpreted, the following message is posted User manual SONOSAX SX-R4 Page 35 of 51...

  • Page 36: Managing The Sx-R4

    6.1.1 HardDisk and CompactFlash card format By defalut, the HardDisk of the SX-R4 is formatted as a single partition. However it is possible to create 2 distinct partition to separate the audio files form the configuration files, thus alowing to reformat the audio partition without erasing the configuration files.

  • Page 37: Hd And Cf Organisation

    HD and XC on the CF Card. They are incremented by 1 in an hexadécimal form ( 0 to F )each time a new Take is created. • This counter is resetted and the naming restart at zero only is the drive is reformatted or if the CONFIG.DAT file is deleted User manual SONOSAX SX-R4 Page 37 of 51...

  • Page 38: Usb

    The SX-R4 is equipped with a USB 2.0 port ( USB 1 is not supported ) The SX-R4 allows connection to a computer for file transfer to a computer (PC or Mac) only while in one of the following menus:: •...

  • Page 39: Alarms

    6.1.5 Alarms Certain situations require that the user has to be warned on a particular point. When this occurs, the SX-R4 intermittently flashes a warning concerning the detected problem and a beep tone is heard in the headphone. The beep tone will disappear as son as any key is depressed. However the warning keep...

  • Page 40: Errors Treatment

    Real Time Clock (RTC) During the power-up, the SX-R4 checks if the Date and the Time of the system are coherent. If it is not the case, a menu forces the user to define them. While setting the date, an error message can occur if the date format is not valid.

  • Page 41: Software Up-Date Procedure

    For PC Compatible: using the Windows Explorer, copy the Firmware file to root of your SX-R4's hard disk. For MacOS: your SX-R4 hard disk will be posted on your desktop within a couple of seconds. If not, you must mount them by using the MacOS Disk Utility: select the volume (s) in the list, then choose «...

  • Page 42: Recommandations

    Copy of Takes It is strongly advised to copy (transfer) the Takes carried out by the SX-R4 to the hard disc of a computer. The opposite is however not possible: the SX-R4will not be able to read an audio file copied to its disc from a computer.

  • Page 43: Appendix

    # Values: Autodetect, 24, 25, 29.97 Non Drop, 29.97 Drop, 30 Non Drop, 30 Drop Timecode Input Format = Autodetect # Values: Free Run, Record Run Timecode Running Mode = Free Run User manual SONOSAX SX-R4 Page 43 of 51...

  • Page 44: X000001.Ini (Example Of File)

    # Values: Autodetect, 24, 25, 29.97 Non Drop, 29.97 Drop, 30 Non Drop, 30 Drop Timecode Input Format = Autodetect # Values: Free Run, Record Run Timecode Running Mode = Free Run User manual SONOSAX SX-R4 Page 44 of 51...

  • Page 45: Partition Organization On The Hd And The Cf Card

    HD and the CF Card SX-R4, MINIR82 and STREC82 The only accepted characters for the PROJET, SCENE and SETTINGS names are: 0->9, A->Z and " _ " underscore. Characters in Lower case are automatically converted to Upper-case. A Space character is automatically converted to an Underscore.
  • Page 46 = STEREO channels 1 and 2 X0000478.WAV X00004.INI SCENE001.004\ X00005xx.WAV X00005.INI TRASH\ [TAKE DELETED FOLDER] Directory of deleted Takes (Trash bin) X00002_1.WAV [TAKE DELETED FILES] BWF and INI files of the deleted Takes X00002_2.WAV X00002_x.WAV X00002_8.WAV X00002.INI User manual SONOSAX SX-R4 Page 46 of 51...
  • Page 47 ( do not alter ) SCENE001.002\ XC0003_x.WAV XC0003.INI SCENE001.003\ XC000412.WAV [BWF FILES] = SONOSAX sur CF carte flash XC000434.WAV 0002 = unique indentifier (hexadecimal) XC000456.WAV = STEREO channels 1 and 2 XC000478.WAV XC0004.INI...

  • Page 48: Block Diagram

    8. BLOCK DIAGRAM User manual SONOSAX SX-R4 Page 48 of 51...

  • Page 49: Specifications

    9. SPECIFICATIONS All specifications mentioned hereafter apply to standard models only. SONOSAX SAS SA reserves the right to modify these characteristics at any time without prior notice. For measures and/or settings the reference is: 0dBu = 0.775V (i.e. +6dBu = 1.55V).
  • Page 50 ≈ 330mA sous 12 Volts Current: average ≈ 4W Consumption: peak ≈ 6W max ≈ 10W during power-up Connector: Hirose HR10-7P-4P USB connection Mode: USB 2.0 HI-SPEED (slave mode only) Connector: USB mini B Storage media User manual SONOSAX SX-R4 Page 50 of 51...
  • Page 51 All specifications mentioned in this manual apply to standard models only. SONOSAX SAS SA reserves the right to modify these characteristics at any time without prior notice. No part of this manual may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying and recording of any kind, for any purpose, without the express written permission of SONOSAX SAS SA.

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