DCM-Lx Series Operation Manual DCM2000Lx DCM3800Lx DCM2004Lx Concert audio has to be uncompromising, reliable and efficient. Carvin power amps have made their mark serving top artists and concert venues for decades. The DCM-Lx series power amps with CARVIN’s X-Drive™ signal processing incorporate the flexibility of digital control with the exceptional sound and durability of DCM power.
TABLE OF CONTENTS page 1. Safety and Warranty Information ___________________________________________ 4 2. Introduction_____________________________________________________________ 5 3. REAR PANEL ___________________________________________________________ 6 4. FRONT PANEL CONTROLS ________________________________________________ 7 4.A 4.A.1 QUICK SETUP __________________________________________________ 8 4.A.2 FLAT CHANNEL_________________________________________________ 9 4.A.
USB CONNECTION _________________________________________________ 19 5.B COMPUTER CONTROL / GRAPHIC INTERFACE ______________________________ 20 6. SYSTEM SETTINGS _________________________________________________ 20 6.A 6.A.1 SYSTEM LOAD/SAVE ___________________________________________ 20 6.A.2 SYSTEM NAME ________________________________________________ 20 6.A.3 SYNC TO SOFTWARE ___________________________________________ 20 6.A.
1. Safety and Warranty Information IMPORTANT! FOR YOUR PROTECTION, PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING: WARNING: This product produces high sound pressure levels that could damage hearing. Use with caution. CAUTION: RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT OPEN. WATER AND MOISTURE: Electronic equipment should not be used near water (near a bathtub, washbowl, kitchen sink, laundry tub, swimming pool, etc). Care should be taken so that objects do not fall and liquids are not spilled into the enclosure through openings.
2. Introduction The DCM-Lx amplifiers can be configured for stereo, parallel, bi-amped, or bridged outputs. The DCM2004Lx quad amp also offers dual bi-amp and threeor four-way outputs to power up to a 4-way speaker system with a single unit. The System Quick Setup feature makes output routing and crossover configuration easy. Loadable Speaker Presets tuned for specific CARVIN speaker cabinets provide optimized settings to get the most out of each element in your system.
3. REAR PANEL 2ch. amp 4ch. Amp AC POWER Your amp will work at 50 or 60Hz with specific 100VAC, 120VAC, or 240VAC models. Be sure to check your amp model and power source before plugging into a grounded (3 prong) outlet. The standard IEC inlet accepts universal grounded AC cords. Firmly push the AC cord all the way into the receptacle or the amp may be intermittent. The receptacle will work with V-lock™ locking cords to prevent accidental unplugging.
4. FRONT PANEL CONTROLS 2 ch. amp 4ch. amp VOLUME ATTENUATOR CONTROLS: A, B (C, D) Adjusts the channel INPUT levels. For bridge mode use A (or C). Set to “0” (maximum) to match the input sensitivity DSP setting in the UTILITY menu. DSP settings such as EQs, GAIN and LIMITER can affect output volume if not set to “0”. SYSTEM and UTILITY buttons: Enter to SYSTEM or UTILITY menus. Escape the menus with EXIT/MUTE. EXIT/MUTE button: Dual purpose, exit menus or mute amp outputs.
4.A SYSTEM MENU Press the SYSTEM button to open the SYSTEM menu. Use the Left/Right buttons to move through the menu pages. Press the SYSTEM button again to edit the setting with Up/Down. Press EXIT to return to the channel screen. 4.A.1 QUICK SETUP QUICK SETUP mode will allow you to quickly configure a full system, without having to set routing and crossover parameters from each Output screen. (a.) Press SYSTEM, Right for “Quick Setup”, then SYSTEM. (b.
4.A.2 FLAT CHANNEL This will set the parameters for an INPUT or OUTPUT channel to the “0” or Flat setting and all crossovers will be set wide open at 20Hz to 20kHz. (a.) Press SYSTEM, Right (2x) for “Flatten Channel” then SYSTEM. (b.) Use Up/Down to select the channel to flatten. (c.) Press SYSTEM to continue and reset to flat (or EXIT to cancel) . 4.A.3 COPY CHANNEL To copy channel settings to another Input or Output, use COPY CHANNEL. (a.) Press SYSTEM, Right (3x) for “Copy Channel”, then SYSTEM. (b.
4.A.6 SYSTEM NAME EDIT (a.) Press SYSTEM, Right (6x) for “SysName:” then SYSTEM. (b.) Use Left/Right to select a character. (c.) Use Up/Down to edit the character. (d.) Press SYSTEM or EXIT to save. 4.A.7 SAVE SYSTEM SAVE SYSTEM will save a complete setup into a memory location, including all Input/Output settings. You can save multiple systems and recall (load) them later. (a.) Press SYSTEM, Right (7x) for “Save System”, then SYSTEM. (b.) Use Up/Down to select a memory location to overwrite: SAVE: “#”. (c.
4.B UTILITY MENU Press the UTILITY button to open the UTILITY menu. Use the Left/Right buttons to move through the menu. Press EXIT to return to the channel screen. 4.B.1 DELAY UNITS (a.) Press UTILITY for “Pg 1”. (b.) Use Up/Down to display delay times in Seconds, Feet or Meters. (c.) Press Right for Page 2 or EXIT to escape. 4.B.2 DELAY TIME BANK This screen displays how much memory is remaining for use. The DCM-Lx starts with a total of 120mS of delay memory.
The password will be saved on the 4th button press. (e.) Press Right for Page 7 or EXIT to escape. *Note: The factory set default password is 1122. 4.B.7 UNIT ID Multiple DCM-Lx’s and other CARVIN X-Drive™ products such as the XD360, EQ230 and EQ430 can be controlled with the Xdrive™ software through USB from a single computer. When doing this, set the UNIT ID for each device to a different number. (a.) Press UTILITY then Right (6x) for “Pg 7”. (b.) Press Up/Down to set the UNIT ID from 1-16. (c.
4.D CHANNEL SETTINGS Pressing a CHANNEL button (A/1, B/2, C/3, D/4) will cycle through 3 display modes: - MAIN SCREEN: displays System name and Mute status. - INPUT: Displays a Channel letter (A, B, C, or D) and graphic EQ. - OUTPUT: Displays a Channel number (1, 2, 3 or 4) and parameter(s). In OUTPUT mode, use the Left/Right buttons to move through screens or to select a parameter to edit. Use Up/Down to change the value. Changes are saved when leaving the screen.
4.D.3 (OUTPUT) SOURCE The SOURCE setting will determine which Inputs are routed to which Outputs. (a.) Press (A/1, B/2, C/3 or D/4) to enter OUTPUT mode (CH, Number). (b.) Press Left or Right until the screen above is shown. (c.) Use Up/Down to choose A, B, or A+B, (or C, D, or C+D on the DCM2004Lx). You can use the QUICK SETUP feature in the SYSTEM menu to easily set up the outputs as a full system. 4.D.4 (OUTPUT) PHASE (a.) Press (A/1, B/2, C/3 or D/4) to enter OUTPUT mode (CH, Number). (b.
BUTTER 12 : Butterworth 12db/octave slope (2 nd order) BUTTER 18 : Butterworth 18db/octave slope (3 rd order) BUTTER 24 : Butterworth 24db/octave slope (4 th order) BUTTER 48 : Butterworth 48db/octave slope (8 th order) BESSEL 12, or 24: Bessel (2 nd order) or (4 th order) LINKWZ 12, 24, or 48: Linkwitz-Riley (2 nd order), (4 th order), (8 th order) 4.D.
4.D.8 (OUTPUT) PARAMETRIC EQs (PEQ 1-4) The four bands of Parametric EQ on each Output are used to EQ the amp channels independently. Example: Output 1, Parametric EQ #4, BW=1/3oct. -4dB @ 6.8kHz (a.) Press (A/1, B/2, C/3 or D/4) to enter OUTPUT mode (CH, Number). (b.) Press Left or Right until a screen like the one above is shown. (c.) Use Left or Right to select the BW, GAIN, and FREQUECY for the PEQ. (d.) Use Up/Down to adjust the parameter. (e.
4.D.9 (OUTPUT) CHANNEL NAME (a.) Press (A/1, B/2, C/3 or D/4) to enter OUTPUT mode (CH, Number). (b.) Press Left or Right until the screen above is shown. (c.) Use Left or Right to select a character to change. (d.) Press Up/Down to change the character. (e.) Use LEFT/RIGHT to choose the other characters to edit. Moving the cursor all the way to the Left or Right will exit the screen.
5. COMPUTER SETUP The DCM-Lx has a USB port allowing use with Carvin’s Xdrive™ software. 5.A SOFTWARE 5.A.1 MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS Windows: XP or later. Mac: OS 10.6 or later. 5.A.2 INSTALLATION Download the software from: www.carvin.com/xdrive To install the Xdrive™ software for the DCM-Lx: 1. Unzip the files to a directory on your Hard Drive. There is 1 file: "Setup.exe" 2. Run the Setup.exe file to install the Xdrive™ Serial Control software on your computer. 3.
5.B USB CONNECTION Turn on the computer and wait to see the desktop. Turn on the DCM-Lx amp(s). Connect the USB cable to both the computer and the DCM-Lx. Run the Xdrive™ software on the computer. A picture of the connected Carvin Xdrive™ compatible device(s) will appear, with device name, firmware version and USB ID number (under the “Online” tab). Click on the blue button for the device name button (example: “DCM2004Lx”). The control window for that device will display on your computer screen.
6. COMPUTER CONTROL / GRAPHIC INTERFACE 6.A SYSTEM SETTINGS (top section of screen) 6.A.1 SYSTEM LOAD/SAVE Complete setups can be saved as a SYSTEM on the computer, and uploaded back in from the computer. Be sure to save these files in a known location so they can be retrieved later. 6.A.2 SYSTEM NAME Click in the “Sys Name” box to type a new name for the System preset. 6.A.3 SYNC TO SOFTWARE Click on this button to transfer the computer screen settings to the DCM-Lx.
6.B INPUT SETTINGS (top 1/3 of screen, after SYSTEM) 6.B.1 LOAD/SAVE Load preset input settings or save them to your computer. 6.B.2 INPUT SELECT A, B, (C, D) buttons select and display Graphic EQ settings for each Input. 6.B.3 COPY/PASTE Copy output settings from one output to another. 6.B.4 RESET TO FLAT Set all GEQ frequency bands to flat “0” for the selected Input. 6.B.5 GRAPHIC EQs Hold and drag the Graphic EQ faders to boost or cut a frequency band.
6.C ROUTER (MATRIX) (middle left screen) 6.C.1 BRIDGE CHANNELS BRIDGE 1-2, (3-4) button(s) combine amps 1 & 2 (or 3 & 4) for a single high power output. Use the appropriate output jacks when bridging amps. *Note: the minimum impedance for a BRIDGED output is 4 ohms for 2 channel amps, and 8 ohms for the DCM2004Lx. 6.C.2 OUTPUT MUTES Click the MUTE buttons to mute or un-mute each output. 6.C.3 ROUTING INPUT SOURCES TO OUTPUTS Click the A, B, ( C, D ) buttons select the signal source(s) for each output. 6.C.
6.E OUTPUT SETTINGS (bottom of screen) 6.E.1 LOAD/SAVE Load preset output settings or save them to your computer. 6.E.2 OUTPUT CHANNEL SELECT Buttons 1,2 ( 3,4 ) : Select to display the settings for each output. The output’s curve will be highlighted if displayed on the Frequency Chart. 6.E.3 COPY/PASTE Copy output settings from one output to another. 6.E.4 FLAT Resets the Output GAIN to 0dB, PEQs flat, and HPF/LPF to 20-20kHz. 6.E.5 PHASE Flip the phase 180 degrees. IN is normal, OUT is +180 deg. 6.E.
7. MANUAL SETUPS 7.A 2-WAY (Biamp): (a.) Press A/1 to enter OUTPUT mode. (b.) Press Left or Right until the “CHANNEL 1 … LPF” screen is displayed. (c.) Use Left/Right to choose LPF Freq. (d.) Use Up/Down to change the LPF to 2.30kHz for CH.1 (e.) Press Right. (f.) Press Up to change the LPF Type (ex.: Butter12). (g.) Press B/2 channel 2 (g.) Press Right for the “CHANNEL 2 … HPF” screen. (h.) Use Up/Down to change the HPF to 2.30kHz for CH.2 (i.) Press Right. (j.) Press Up to change the LPF Type (ex.
8.
9. SPECIFICATIONS INPUTS: XLR IN: 20kΩ balanced, ground lift switch 2ch. amps add 1/4” TRS IN and XLR THRU in parallel Maximum Input: +10dBu OUTPUTS: Output Connectors: 4-pin Twist-Lock (and binding posts on 2ch. models) Frequency Response: 20Hz-20kHz +/-1.5dB THD: <0.1% @50%, <0.
10. MENU NAVIGATION CHART 11.
