System information
X-Array Touring Loudspeaker Systems – Applications Notes – Page 22
Xw15 & Xcb: This program should be used with the Xw15 and Xcb loudspeaker system for drum monitor
applications. The Xb low-frequency system may be substituted for the Xcb system.
Important Note Concerning Operating-System Revisions: The user should note that changes were
made in the factory presets when the DN8000 operating system was upgraded from revision 1.19 to re-
vision 1.20. The differences included changes in gain structure to minimize in-processing digital clipping
and changes in output-signal-delay settings to improve summation between the SUB and LF enclosures.
Furthermore, the signal delay display was changed (without changing the actual signal-path-delay per-
formance.) When mixing DN8000 units containing both older and newer operating systems, the user
should manually edit the parameters and save as user-programmable settings to ensure compatibility.
HELPFUL HINT: The most up-to-date DN8000 settings available for the X-Array loudspeaker systems
will always be found in the latest revision of these applications notes or separately on the Electro-Voice
website (electrovoice.com). As such, the factory presets in any given DN8000 in the field may not reflect
the most current recommendations. The user may want to compare the factory presets in their DN8000
to the settings in these notes and manually program updates as necessary. These configurations were
optimized for a single speaker system in an anechoic environment. For optimal performance in a specific
application, changes may be required in the equalization, input and output levels, compressor/limiter set-
tings and expander gate settings. Read the text below for instructions on how to make adjustments to the
DN8000 to tune an X-Array system in a venue.
D.2 Loudspeaker-System and Configuration Considerations
The above configurations (many of which have been included in the DN8000 as factory presets) may be
used as is for smaller arrays, or may be combined as building blocks for designing a large-scale-array,
signal-processing matrix. In large-scale arrays, blocks of loudspeakers may be used to cover various
zones in a venue, and each one of those zones may have their own DN8000 processor with their own
optimized drive signal. Loudspeaker-array configurations and signal-processing requirements will vary
with different venues and different applications. Therefore, the user should consider the DN8000 para-
meters shown in the digital-parameter spreadsheets as a starting point. For optimal performance in a
specific application, changes may be required in the equalization, input and output levels, compres-
sor/limiter settings, expander gate settings. These configurations have been designed specifically to
make it easy for the user to modify the parameters to meet real-life loudspeaker-array signal-processing
requirements.
As discussed in the general signal-processing section, the drive-signal requirements for the Xn MB and
HF sections are identical to that of the Xcn and the drive-signal requirements for the Xb woofers are
identical to that of the Xcb. Thus, the Xcn systems may be substituted for Xn MB and HF sections, and
Xcb systems may be substituted for Xb systems using the same DN8000 settings. Maximum sonic per-
formance of the entire system is obtained when the Xds subwoofers are driven with their own optimized
signal. Furthermore, optimal system performance with stereo program material is obtained when the Xds
drive signal is mono summed and the Xf, Xn and Xcn drive signals are left in stereo. The Xn, Xb and Xcb
LF drive signals may be left in stereo or mono summed.
Also as discussed in the general signal-processing section, in the DN8000 presets where the LF section
of the Xn shares the same drive signal as the Xb and Xcb, the amplifiers powering the Xn LF drivers
should be turned down 6 dB to maintain maximum reliability of the Xn woofers. If maximum acoustic out-
put is necessary from the Xn woofers, the high-pass filter in the Xn LF section should be raised to 80 Hz
as shown in the “Xb, Xn & Xds – Mono Max Output” DN8000 preset.
D.3 Option-Menu Parameters
From the "Options" menu in the DN8000, the user may define a number of global operating parameters
with respect to output level, metering, compressor/limiter thresholds, etc. For optimal performance with
the X-Array systems, these global parameters should be set as indicated in the included tables. In par-
ticular, set the limiter threshold for "dBu," compressor threshold for "dBu" with "No Linkage," the output