System information

X-Array Touring Loudspeaker Systems – Applications Notes – Page 11
one loudspeaker enclosure to another in these configurations is provided by the delays in the output
sections.
The LF section of the Xn, the Xb and the Xcb do not require any signal delay to bring the three systems
into alignment. In addition, the LF section of the Xn, the Xb and the Xcb do not require any signal delay
to bring the systems into alignment with the MB sections of the Xf, Xn and/or Xcn systems. Furthermore,
the Xf, Xn and Xcn do not require any signal delay to bring the MB and HF sections of the three systems
into alignment. This makes the signal processing very simple for the Xf, Xn, Xcn, Xb and Xcn, because
the only output delay required is that for the HF outputs (which was described in the previous section).
Signal delay is required, however, to align the LF section of the Xn, the Xb and the Xcb with the Xds SUB
section. The configurations shown in the spreadsheets show the Xds SUB band being driven from 33-80
Hz, while the LF band of the Xn, the Xb and the Xcb are driven from 42-125 Hz – thus there is an overlap
from 42-80Hz. This difference in frequency ranges results in phase differences between the SUB and LF
sections that require a 2500-microsecond delay to be added to the low-frequency section of the Xn, the
Xb and the Xcb to align them with the Xds system. Failure to align the Xds subwoofers with the low-
frequency systems will result in reduced bass output and bass impact in the overlap region for 40-90 Hz.
The user is cautioned that any changes to the subsonic-high-pass-filter frequencies or low-pass-
crossover frequencies on the Xds or the LF section of the Xn, Xb or Xcb will require a change in the
2500-microsecond delay.
When a 2500-microsecond delay is added to these LF outputs, an identical 2500-microsecond delay
must also be added to the MB and HF outputs for the Xf, Xn and Xcn in order to maintain the time align-
ment between the LF MB and HF sections. Note that, in the case of the HF sections of the Xf, Xn and
Xcn, that 2500-microsecond delay is in addition to the delay required to the align the HF section with the
MB section. Furthermore, in controllers that do not have a minimum delay of zero, the 2500-microsecond
delays must be added to the controller minimum-processing delay.
Note that the delay settings described above hold true whenever the fronts of the enclosures of these
systems are physically aligned. If the system enclosures are not aligned, electrical signal delay must be
introduced to the appropriate systems to compensate for the physical misalignment as described in the
section below.
HELPFUL HINT: When tuning an X-Array system, the user should always maintain the relative input or
output signal delays required to align the loudspeaker enclosures. Failure to time align the systems can
result in uneven frequency response and uneven pattern coverage. Failure to time align the low-
frequency sections with the subwoofer sections can result in reduced bass output and impact. The user
is cautioned that changes in crossover filters, subsonic filters can have a significant affect on component
time alignment values – especially in the case of aligning the LF sections of the Xn, Xb and Xcb with the
Xds subwoofer. Minor equalization changes, however, will typically have a negligible affect on the enclo-
sure time alignment.
Enclosure-Misalignment Compensation
The above section describes the setting of the input or output delays of the DN8000 to achieve alignment
between the various X-Array™ loudspeaker-system enclosures when the enclosure fronts are physically
aligned. These delays would hold true if the loudspeaker enclosures were sitting on top of one another or
if one loudspeaker was suspended directly above another. (The most common example would be the
Xds subwoofer systems sitting on the ground with the Xf, Xn, Xb, Xcn and Xcb systems suspended
overhead.) Whenever enclosures are physically misaligned, signal delay must be introduced to compen-
sate for the misalignment.
Consider the case of an array of Xf, Xb and Xn systems suspended in an array overhead (for the primary
coverage of the venue) with a ground stack of Xn systems (for front-fill coverage). The front seating rows