AudioControl Maestro M2e Owner's Enjoyment Manual
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AudioControl Maestro M2e Owner's Enjoyment Manual

High performance pre-amplifier surround processor with active balanced technology
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Home Theater
S Y S T E M
tm
High Performance Pre-Amplifier
Surround Processor
with Active Balanced Technology
Owners Enjoyment Manual
For those who consider
perfection possible
®
®
22410 70th Avenue West • Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043 USA
Phone 425-775-8461 • Fax 425-778-3166
www.audiocontrol.com
©2006. All Rights Reserved
Rev 1.1

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  • Page 1 High Performance Pre-Amplifier Surround Processor with Active Balanced Technology Owners Enjoyment Manual For those who consider perfection possible ® ® 22410 70th Avenue West • Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043 USA Phone 425-775-8461 • Fax 425-778-3166 www.audiocontrol.com ©2006. All Rights Reserved Rev 1.1...
  • Page 3 High Performance Pre-Amplifier Surround Processor with Active Balanced Technology Owners Enjoyment Manual For those who consider perfection possible ® ® 22410 70th Avenue West • Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043 USA Phone 425-775-8461 • Fax 425-778-3166 www.audiocontrol.com ©2006. All Rights Reserved Rev 1.1...
  • Page 4 This page was intentionally left blank. Please enjoy it! ® Phone 425-775-8461 • Fax 425-778-3166...

  • Page 5: Table Of Contents

    Table of Contents Introduction ..........7 Key Features and Highlights .
  • Page 6 Table of Contents Operating The Maestro M2e Power ..........33 Menu .

  • Page 7: Introduction

    This manual is designed to help you get the most from your Maestro M2e pre-amp processor. Even though you’re dying to plug it in and start pushing buttons, please take a little time to glance over this users guide and learn about the Maestro M2e theater surround processor.

  • Page 8: Key Features And Highlights

    A powerful 32 bit DSP processor enables the Maestro M2e to decode all current discrete surround digital formats avail- able for 5.1, 6.1 and 7.1. In addition your Maestro M2e has the capabilities to process two channel signals using Dolby Pro Logic II, Pro Logic IIx and DTS Neo to provide multi- channel output.
  • Page 9 Key Features Active Balanced Outputs The Maestro M2e is the worlds first theater processor equipped with an Active Balanced Output which allows it to output a component video signal via an RJ-45 connec- tor onto standard Category-5 wiring and extend it up to 1000’.

  • Page 10: Guided Tour Of The Masestro

    Maestro M2e.  IR Remote Control Sensor - Behind this display is the infrared sen- sor remote control. If the Maestro M2e is located in a system where this window is not line-of-sight with the main listening seat; a rear panel jack enables use of an outboard IR sensor.
  • Page 11 Menu – Tapping this button will allow you to access the Main Menu functions of the Maestro M2e. If you have the courage to push and hold this button for 2 seconds, it will allow you access to the Advanced Menu functions.

  • Page 12: Rear Panel Features

    UDIO ONNECTIONS Optical digital audio inputs and outputs. Don’t worry if your satellite has a Coaxial digital output but the SAT connection on the back of the Maestro M2e is Optical as you can reassign the connection. ® Phone 425-775-8461 • Fax 425-778-3166...
  • Page 13 OWER WITCH to turn off your Maestro M2e with this button when the system will not be used for some time. Normally this button is left on and the Maestro M2e is “woken up” via the “Standby” switch on the front panel, via the optional remote control or through an automation system.
  • Page 14 Guided Tour of the Masestro ® Phone 425-775-8461 • Fax 425-778-3166...

  • Page 15: Set-Up & Configuration

    Set-Up & Configuration Set-Up & Configuration Unit Placement The Maestro M2e can be placed almost anywhere in your audio equipment stack as it only generates a small amount of heat during operation. It is good practice to ensure that the equipment location is properly ventilated and to make certain not to block the ventilation slots on any other component.
  • Page 16 Set-Up & Configuration Side Surround Speakers The surround speakers provide the reverberant, or ambi- ent, sound effects in a multi-channel theater audio system. These speakers should be placed on the side walls approxi- mately 36” above the seated ear height of the listeners. If you are using surround speakers which have a dipole sound pattern they should be mounted in-line with the main seating position.

  • Page 17: Power Wiring

    M2e should be plugged into an unswitched AC outlet so that it always has power. This allows the RS-232 and re- mote control features to work even when the Maestro M2e is in standby. We always recommend the use a high quality surge protection device to keep all of your electronics safe from the evils of spikes on power systems.

  • Page 18: System Diagram

    Set-Up & Configuration Maestro ® Phone 425-775-8461 • Fax 425-778-3166...

  • Page 19: Video Connections

    The Maestro M2e features an 8 channel direct ana- log input for these sources. These inputs bypass the digital circuitry in the Maestro M2e and are routed directly to the Main Amplifier outputs via an independent volume control circuit. This ensures the highest possible audio quality for this input.

  • Page 20: Ir Controls

    If you are running your video signals a long distance (i.e. greater than 50’) than you should consider the Active Balanced Output on your Maestro M2e. This RJ-45 con- nector uses CAT-5 wiring to send a signal to an optional AudioControl balanced line receiver, such as the BVR-25 or BVR-20.

  • Page 21: Zone 2

    Component video inputs. IR Remote Control Connections Since the Maestro M2e is often hidden away in some dark closet or equipment rack, we have provided connections for external IR remote control receivers and emitters. This allows you to place the infrared receiver where it can “see”...

  • Page 22: Trigger Connections

    12V Trigger Connections There are three stereo mini-jack 12 volt trigger outputs on the rear panel of the Maestro M2e which are used to re- motely control such things as the power amplifier turn-on, projector power, screens or curtains. The “System On” Trig- ger has two separate outputs.

  • Page 23: Main User Menus

    Main User Menus Navigating the Main User Menus Selecting around the Main Menus is a very simple and in- tuitive feat. 1. Press the Menu button to enter the Main Menu Screens. 2. Rotate the Multi-Function Knob to select Menu 1, 2 or 3. 3.

  • Page 24: Zone 2 Settings

    Main User Menus satellite receivers and some DVD’s also suffer from this problem. The Lip Sync setting delays the audio a small amount to allow the video image to catch up. : Pro Logic II/IIx provides a more OGIC USIC detailed surround decoding from two channel analog au- dio sources than the previous Pro Logic modes.

  • Page 25: Advanced Setup Menus

    1. General Settings - This limits the highest volume that the OLUME 1. General Settings Maestro M2e will play. This is useful if you have speakers or Max Volume: amplifiers of limited power handling abilities. Max On Volume: - This is the highest volume that the Maestro OLUME M2e will play when first turned.

  • Page 26: Speaker Sizes

    RGB (Red, Green, Blue) signal format is more common in Europe. 2. Speaker Sizes For the purposes of setting the Maestro M2e, a “Large” 2. Speaker Sizes speaker is one that is capable of reproducing a full range Auto Setup: Config1 (20-20KHZ) audio signal.

  • Page 27: Subwoofer Settings

    Advanced Setup Menus . 1, 2, 3 - These are standard speaker combina- ONFIG tions for home theater systems. - This gives you full control over each speaker channel. USTOM 5.1 R - This defines how a 7.1 channel installation will EARS utilize the surround speakers.

  • Page 28: Delay Settings

    “slow” response time on the SPL meter placed at the main listening position at ear height. Use the Mode and Effect buttons on the Maestro M2e to select a speaker chan- ® Phone 425-775-8461 • Fax 425-778-3166...

  • Page 29: Ex Settings

    Pro Logic IIx Movie decoding when appropri- ate material is detected. Set this option to Manual if you want to control which mode is used by the Maestro M2e. - The Surround Ex mode can only be selected us-...

  • Page 30: Speaker Eq Settings

    - The Digital Audio inputs SSIGNING THE IGITAL UDIO INPUTS on the Maestro M2e are fully assignable. Any digital input Adv3 - Digital Settings can be assigned to any source selection. Only one source Coaxial inputs can be assigned to a digital input. When planning your in-...

  • Page 31: Zone 2 Settings

    Install Hint: Set the desired output volume level for Zone 2 with the volume control before setting this op- tion to on. The Maestro M2e locks the Zone 2 output at the current volume setting when this option is set to on.

  • Page 32: Hdmi Settings

    Advanced Setup Menus ADV 6 – HDMI Settings Adv6 - HDMI Settings The HDMI switching on the Maestro M2e is strictly for routing digital video signals so you will need to assign an Input: Button: audio input to each of the HDMI digital video inputs that DVD: you are using.

  • Page 33: Operating The Maestro M2E

    There is actually two levels of turning the Maestro M2e on. First, the rear panel Power switch button must be selected. This turns on the AC power to the Maestro M2e. In most systems this power switch will ALWAYS be left on so the theater automation system can control the Maestro M2e.

  • Page 34: Menu

    Operating the Masestro Choosing your Input Using the Main Menus The three Main Menus of your Maestro M2e enable the user to make basic changes in the operation of the Maestro M2e. Choosing your Input The Source selection buttons beneath the main Maestro M2e display choose the source component that you want to view or listen to.

  • Page 35: Stereo Direct

    Maestro M2e. Most of the digital circuitry in the Maestro M2e is bypassed when in the Stereo Direct mode.

  • Page 36: Display Brightness

    There are several options for controlling the second zone: The Main Menu screen from the Maestro M2e, the external RS-232 serial control port, or the IR remote control. The Zone 2 video output has an On-Screen Display and setup menu independent of the Main video outputs.

  • Page 37: Surround Modes

    Surround Modes Surround Modes The Maestro M2e theater processor contains a powerful dig- ital signal processor (DSP) that enables the Maestro M2e to decode multiple digital and analog multi-channel surround sound formats. Since the Maestro M2e is fully programma- ble, new surround decoding formats may be incorporated as they become popular.

  • Page 38: Surround Modes

    Similar to the Cinema mode but with a tighter surround effect for most musical material. DSP Effects Modes The Maestro M2e has several DSP effects modes to enhance playback of a two channel audio source through the sur- round speakers. These modes are only available on stereo audio sources.

  • Page 39: Selecting Surround Modes

    Surround Modes Effects Modes - Music surround makes full use of the additional USIC speakers in a theater system. This effect uses ambience extraction for the side and rear speakers and offers the most subtle surround processing with no reverberation or reflec- tion sounds.
  • Page 40 Since most digital surround recordings have control information encoded into them; the Maestro M2e will switch to the decoding method requested by the source material. Some Dolby Digital Surround EX soundtracks are miss- ing the digital flag the enables automatic switching.

  • Page 41: Automation Integration

    IR sensor or front panel of the Maestro M2e. When you try to send long groups of com- mands (macros) such as: Turn on the TV, Turn on the Mae- stro M2e, Turn on the DVD, Select the DVD Input on the Maestro M2e, Play the DVD;...

  • Page 42: Protocol Structure

    Make certain that you wire the Transmit Data output on the serial controller to the Receive Data on the Maestro M2e and vice versa on the Receive Data line on the controller system. Connect the signal grounds on the control system and the Maestro M2e together.
  • Page 43 The RS-232 serial control protocol structure of the Maestro M2e is a string of ASCII characters with all Commands ter- minated with an ASCII carriage return (0xd hexadecimal). Issuing Commands Each transmission to the Maestro M2e is seven bytes long and uses the following format: <STR><CC><P1><P2><ETR> Parameter Command Description “PC_”...
  • Page 44 Manually Determining RS-232 Codes When attempting to determine a specific command se- quence for the Maestro M2e, it is sometime helpful to con- nect the Maestro M2e to a terminal emulator program (like Hyperterminal) and utilize the information from the Re- ceiving Command.

  • Page 45: Command Structure And Parameters

    Automation Integration MAESTRO M2e RS232 COMMAND PROGRAMMING GUIDE Function Selection ASCII Power / Standby On / Off (0xd) (0x2a)(0x31)(0x31) (0xd) (0x2a)(0x31)(0x30) Request (0xd) (0x2a)(0x31)(0x39) Display Brightness (0xd) (0x2b)(0x31)(0x30) (0xd) (0x2b)(0x31)(0x31) Bright (0xd) (0x2b)(0x31)(0x32) Request (0xd) (0x2b)(0x31)(0x39) Open Menu Main “, “...
  • Page 46 Automation Integration Function Selection ASCII DVDA (0xd) (0x31)(0x32)(0x38) Request (0xd) (0x31)(0x32)(0x39) Direct Mode (0xd) (0x33)(0x31)(0x30) (0xd) (0x33)(0x31)(0x31) Request (0xd) (0x33)(0x31)(0x39) Decode Mode 2 Channel Mono (0xd) (0x34)(0x31)(0x2e) Stereo (0xd) (0x34)(0x31)(0x2f) ProLogicII Movie (0xd) (0x34)(0x31)(0x30) ProLogicII Music (0xd) (0x34)(0x31)(0x31) ProLogicIIx Movie (0xd) (0x34)(0x31)(0x33) ProLogicIIx Music...
  • Page 47 Automation Integration COMMAND SPECIFICATIONS TABLES Maestro M2e RS232 RESPONSE PROGRAMMING GUIDE Function Selection ASCII Power / Standby On / Off (0xd) (0x2a)(0x31)(0x31) Standby (0xd) (0x2a)(0x31)(0x30) Display Brightness (0xd) (0x2b)(0x31)(0x30) (0xd) (0x2b)(0x31)(0x31) Bright (0xd) (0x2b)(0x31)(0x32) Menu Open Main “, “ (0xd)
  • Page 48 Automation Integration Function Selection ASCII ProLogicIIx Music (0xd) (0x34)(0x31)(0x34) Dolby Pro Emul (0xd) (0x34)(0x31)(0x36) NEO: 6 Cinema (0xd) (0x34)(0x31)(0x37) NEO: 6 Music (0xd) (0x34)(0x31)(0x38) Effect (0xd) (0x36)(0x31)(0x30) Music (0xd) (0x36)(0x31)(0x31) Party (0xd) (0x36)(0x31)(0x32) Club (0xd) (0x36)(0x31)(0x33) Hall (0xd) (0x36)(0x31)(0x34) Sports (0xd) (0x36)(0x31)(0x35) Church...

  • Page 49: Ir Remote Control Codes

    Pronto CCF format included on the AudioControl Home Theater Sys- tem Support CD included with the Maestro M2e. Depending if these IR commands are received through the Front Panel receiver of the Maestro M2e or the Zone 2 IR input, they will control Zone 1 or Zone 2. Command...
  • Page 50 ® Phone 425-775-8461 • Fax 425-778-3166...

  • Page 51: Troubleshooting

     Verify the composite video input from source is connected. There is no On-Screen Display (OSD)  Verify the OSD is turned on in the Maestro M2e configu- ration settings.  Verify that the correct input is selected on the video dis- play or projector.

  • Page 52: Audio

    The OSD is pink/red  Verify that the HQ Video Mode is set to Component in the Maestro M2e configuration settings. If this is set to RGB, the on-screen display will be pink or red. No On-Screen Display overlaid on video ...
  • Page 53 Troubleshooting Cannot select Dolby Digital or DTS decoding mode  The Maestro M2e can only decode formats encoded onto the source. Normally these are marked on the packaging or liner notes of the material.  Verify that the correct format is selected in the Start menu of the DVD.
  • Page 54 ® Phone 425-775-8461 • Fax 425-778-3166...

  • Page 55: Appendix

    It also includes 20 user-configured preset memories and a powerful automation integration protocol to make this part of any dream system. The Diva is simple to connect into the Maestro M2e home theater system. The analog inputs and outputs enable the Diva to connect between the preamplifier...
  • Page 56 Appendix Appendix B - Factory Theater Calibration Service An integral part of the AudioControl Perfection Home Theater system is the acoustical calibration of the sys- tem. Especially in systems where the power of the Diva room correction processor is used. To help with this task, AudioControl offers a Factory Theater Calibration Service.
  • Page 57 Appendix C – Using The Active Balanced Outputs On Your Maestro M2e LED Indicator “Red” - Remote Power Output to BVR-25 “OFF” - Digital Audio Remote Power/Digital Audio Switch Active Balanced Outputs on Maestro M2e ® Phone 425-775-8461 • Fax 425-778-3166...

  • Page 58: Warranty

    If you meet all of these condi- tions, we will warrant all materials and workmanship on the Maestro M2e for five (5) years from the date you bought it, and we will fix or replace it, at our option, during that time.
  • Page 59 Warranty 5. The warranty is also void if the serial number is altered or removed, or if the Maestro M2e has been used improp- erly. Now that sounds like a big loophole, but here is all we mean by it: Unwarranted abuse is: (A) physical damage (don’t use the...
  • Page 60 Normally service will be handled by your AudioControl system profes- sional who installed the system. If you’re the take charge kind of person who wants to do this yourself, contact AudioControl, either by phone 425/775-8461 or email at service@audiocontrol.com. We’ll verify if there is anything wrong that you can fix yourself, or arrange to have it sent...

  • Page 61: Specifications

    Specifications Specifications Maestro M2e Theater Surround Processor Specifications Audio S/N Ratio (unwtd 20Hz/20kHz) – analog ....>100dB S/N Ratio (unwtd 20Hz/20kHz) – digital ....>100dB THD - Analog Inputs.
  • Page 62 ® For Those Who Consider Perfection Possible ® 22410 70th Avenue West Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043 USA 425-775-8461 • Fax 425-778-3166 www.AudioControl.com P/N 913-090-0...

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