Related Manuals for WEISS MEDEA+
Summary of Contents for WEISS MEDEA+
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Page 1: Owners Manual
Weiss Engineering Ltd. Florastrasse 42, 8610 Uster, Switzerland www.weiss-highend.com MEDEA+ OWNERS MANUAL... - Page 2 OWNERS MANUAL FOR WEISS MEDEA+ D/A CONVERTER INTRODUCTION ustomer Congratulations on your purchase of the MEDEA+ D/A Converter and welcome to the family of Weiss equipment owners! The MEDEA+ is the result of an intensive research and development process. Research was conducted both in analog and digital circuit design, as well as in signal processing algorithm specification.
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Page 3: Table Of Contents
OWNERS MANUAL FOR WEISS MEDEA+ D/A CONVERTER TABLE OF CONTENTS A short history of Weiss Engineering Our mission and product philosophy Advanced digital and analog audio concepts explained Jitter Suppression, Clocking Upsampling, Oversampling and Sampling Rate Conversion in General Reconstruction Filters... - Page 4 OWNERS MANUAL FOR WEISS MEDEA+ D/A CONVERTER Page: Date: 02/11...
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Page 5: A Short History Of Weiss Engineering
Our list of clients includes big names, like SONY, BMG, EMI, Warner, Hit Factory, Abbey Road, Teldec, Telarc, Unitel, Gateway Mastering (Bob Ludwig), Bernie Grundman Mastering, Masterdisk, Sterling Sound, Whitfield Street, Metropolis and hundreds more. For a more comprehensive list you are invited to visit our pro audio website at www.weiss.ch. Page: Date: 02/11... -
Page 6: Our Mission And Product Philosophy
Our mission is to create equipment which becomes classic right from the outset; - outstanding in sonics and design. These are some of the milestones at Weiss Engineering: 1985 Introduction of the "102 Series", a 24 bit modular digital audio processor for Mastering... -
Page 7: Advanced Digital And Analog Audio Concepts Explained
OWNERS MANUAL FOR WEISS MEDEA+ D/A CONVERTER ADVANCED DIGITAL AND ANALOG AUDIO CONCEPTS EXPLAINED Jitter Suppression and Clocking What is jitter and how does it affect audio quality? In the audio field the term jitter designates a timing uncertainty of digital clock signals. E.g. in an Analog to Digital Converter (A/D) the analog signal is sampled (measured) at regular time intervals;... - Page 8 OWNERS MANUAL FOR WEISS MEDEA+ D/A CONVERTER Yes, those are in essence sampling rate converters, however in a well designed system these converters employ a synchronous design, where jitter does not play any role. Of course a conversion between 96kHz and 44.1kHz as in the example above, can be done in a synchronous manner as well.
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Page 9: Upsampling, Oversampling And Sampling Rate Conversion In General
OWNERS MANUAL FOR WEISS MEDEA+ D/A CONVERTER In the MEDEA+ we employ a two stage PLL circuitry which very effectively suppresses jitter. A common problem with most PLLs used in audio circuitry is that they suppress jitter only for higher frequencies. - Page 10 OWNERS MANUAL FOR WEISS MEDEA+ D/A CONVERTER A physical law states that in order to represent any given analog signal in the digital domain, one has to sample that signal with at least twice the frequency of the highest frequency contained in the analog signal.
- Page 11 OWNERS MANUAL FOR WEISS MEDEA+ D/A CONVERTER ringing due to the high steepness. In the early days of digital audio these side effects have been recognized as beeing one of the main culprits for digital audio to sound bad. So engineers looked for ways to enhance those filters. They can’t be eliminated because we are talking laws of physics here.
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Page 12: Reconstruction Filters
OWNERS MANUAL FOR WEISS MEDEA+ D/A CONVERTER Reconstruction Filters Reconstruction filters have been mentioned in the "Upsampling, Oversampling and Sampling Rate Conversion in General" paragraph above. If you have read that paragraph you know what the purpose of the reconstruction filter is. The main point about this analog filter is that its frequency response should be as smooth and flat as possible in order to have a virtually linear phase response. -
Page 13: Dithering
OWNERS MANUAL FOR WEISS MEDEA+ D/A CONVERTER Dithering You have probably not heard the term dithering in conjunction with audio. Actually it is a term widely used in the professional audio realm but not so much in the High-End Hi-Fi market. - Page 14 If you would like to dive further into those issues I recommend to visit the website of Mr. Bob Katz, a renowned Mastering Engineer and a Weiss Engineering customer. He publishes articles on Dithering and Jitter and many other topics at http://www.digido.com/...
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Page 15: The Medea+ D/A Converter
OWNERS MANUAL FOR WEISS MEDEA+ D/A CONVERTER THE MEDEA+ D/A CONVERTER Features Inputs: There are three AES/EBU inputs on XLR connectors, and one on Toslink (optical). In addition each of the four inputs has an S/PDIF (RCA) connector. The accepted sampling frequencies are 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4 or 192 kHz. Sampling frequencies of 88.2kHz and higher can also be fed using the dual wire scheme, i.e. - Page 16 OWNERS MANUAL FOR WEISS MEDEA+ D/A CONVERTER Outputs: Our discrete OP-AMPs are also used in the output stage, two per audio channel for a differential output. Output levels can be set between –4.0dBu and +27.0dBu (6dB less on asymmetrical outputs). The level setting is done in 1dB steps via a rotary switch at the back of the unit.
- Page 17 OWNERS MANUAL FOR WEISS MEDEA+ D/A CONVERTER Mechanical Design: The MEDEA+ employs a twin metal frame. The inner chassis is made of steel and acts as a very effective shield against electrostatic and electromagnetic radiation. The outer frame is made of massive anodized aluminium for additional shielding, resulting in optimal heat convection and beautiful looks.
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Page 18: Operation
OWNERS MANUAL FOR WEISS MEDEA+ D/A CONVERTER Operation Unpacking and Setup of the MEDEA+ Carfully unpack the MEDEA+. The following items should be enclosed: The MEDEA+ D/A Converter unit • This Owners Manual • A Certificate of Guarantee • The MEDEA+ should be placed horizontally on a plane surface. Avoid putting any other equipment or any other material on top of the MEDEA+ as not to compromise the MEDEA+’s heat convection... - Page 19 OWNERS MANUAL FOR WEISS MEDEA+ D/A CONVERTER Input Source Connection, Selection and Synchronization Connect sources with sampling frequencies of 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4 or 192kHz to the input connectors at the back of the unit. Note that there are a total of four inputs. The following connectors are available: Input # 1: one XLR and one RCA connector (use either XLR or RCA at a time, i.e.
- Page 20 OWNERS MANUAL FOR WEISS MEDEA+ D/A CONVERTER Output Level and Output Connection Connect your preamplifier or power amplifier to the output connectors of the MEDEA+. Use either the symmetrical (balanced) lines (XLR) or the asymmetrical (unbalanced) lines (RCA). Or both, if you need to feed two amplifiers.
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Page 21: Technical Data
OWNERS MANUAL FOR WEISS MEDEA+ D/A CONVERTER Technical Data Digital Inputs: (3) XLR connectors, (1) Toslink connector (optical) (4) RCA connectors All inputs accept professional or consumer standard , i.e. accept AES/EBU or S/PDIF signals Sampling Frequencies: single wire scheme: 44.1, 48.0, 88.2, 96.0, 176.4 or 192kHz on any of the four inputs Sampling Frequencies: dual wire scheme: 88.2, 96.0, 176.4 or 192kHz on inputs 1 and 2... - Page 22 OWNERS MANUAL FOR WEISS MEDEA+ D/A CONVERTER Converter chip: Oversampling sigmal-delta converter Four converters per channel Synchronization: Synchronized via input signal Extremely efficient Jitter attenuation down to subsonic frequencies Sampling Frequencies: 44.1 kHz, 48.0 kHz, 88.2kHz, 96.0kHz, 176.4khz, 192kHz DSP algorithms:...
- Page 23 OWNERS MANUAL FOR WEISS MEDEA+ D/A CONVERTER Measurements: The measurements below have been taken at the following conditions (unless noted otherwise): +24.0dBu output level (-3dBFS input level), 192.0kHz sampling frequency (fs). Frequency Response: Signal To Noise Ratio (SNR) @ -40dBFS input: @ fs = 44.1kHz: 0Hz ...
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Page 24: Contact
OWNERS MANUAL FOR WEISS MEDEA+ D/A CONVERTER CONTACT For any questions, suggestions etc. feel free to contact us at: Weiss Engineering Ltd. Florastrasse 42 8610 Uster Switzerland Phone: +41 44 940 20 06 Fax: +41 44 940 22 14 Email: weiss@weiss.ch... - Page 25 MEDEA+. The sampling rate is set via the Weiss Firewire IO window. On a Mac system the sampling rate set in AudioMidi sets the one in the Weiss Firewire IO window and vice versa. With the proper (advanced) player software the sampling rate of the MEDEA+ is switched automatically depending on the track played.
- Page 26 OWNERS MANUAL FOR WEISS MEDEA+ D/A CONVERTER Software features: The software in the MEDEA+ firewire interface allows for level control and for signal polarity reversal. These features are only accessible via the IR remote control unit. The level control is properly dithered, i.e. there are no artefacts due to the level control. A paper on the topic of digital level control (including sound examples) can be found here: http://www.weiss-highend.ch/computerplayback/Digital_Level_Control.pdf...
- Page 27 OWNERS MANUAL FOR WEISS MEDEA+ D/A CONVERTER The MEDEA+ should now be recognized by the computer, i.e. if you start the Weiss Firewire I/O application the MEDEA+ shows up as a ”INT202” device. INT202 because the hardware used for the MEDEA+ Firewire interface is a INT202 board.
- Page 28 Make sure all those processing elements are bypassed. Particularly the sampling rate conversion can creep in “unnoticed”. I.e. the sampling rate in the Weiss Firewire IO window has to match the sampling rate of the file played, else a conversion is going on in the operating system. For iTunes...
- Page 29 OWNERS MANUAL FOR WEISS MEDEA+ D/A CONVERTER Absolute Phase control: Pressing the mute switch for a few seconds toggles the operation mode to phase control. In that mode the ^ key switches the phase to 0° and the v key switches to 180° (i.e. inverted phase).
- Page 30 Firewire Unit--" and "Weiss Firewire IO MIDI". There will be two passes of installation, which is normal. Software setup The connected MEDEA+ device can be controlled through the “Weiss Firewire I/O” Control Panel. Windows: The control panel can be accessed by clicking on the “Weiss Firewire IO” icon on the desktop. Page: Date: 02/11...
- Page 31 Global Settings / Info: Information about the driver version. Mac OSX: Configure the MEDEA+ via the “Audio MIDI Setup” (Applications > Utilities) and the “Weiss Firewire Control Panel” (Applications). Device Settings / General: The device settings should be pretty self explanatory.
- Page 32 OWNERS MANUAL FOR WEISS MEDEA+ D/A CONVERTER Device Settings / Firmware Loader: Allows to upload new firmware to the MEDEA+. Not used for normal operation. Global Settings / Bus: Master: Is the device which is sync master on the virtual bus in case multiple devices (“MEDEA+s”) are connected.
- Page 33 ST output. Also possible is to use the Weiss CHIRON-glass1T module to convert an AES/EBU output to optical and then connect that to the ST input at the MEDEA+ via a glass fiber. For more information see this page: http://www.weiss-highend.ch/chiron/index.html...