Specifications

ManualsBrandsM-AUDIO ManualsReceivers and AmplifiersFlying Calf

Table of Contents

FCC Class B and CE Compliance ........................................... 2

Overview..................................................................................... 3

Features ....................................................................................... 4

D/A Converter .................................................................... 4

A/D Converter .................................................................... 4

Front Panel ........................................................................... 4

Panels - Fig. 1.............................................................................. 5

Panel Description....................................................................... 6

Front Panel ........................................................................... 6

Rear Panel ............................................................................ 7

Installation and Typical Setup ................................................. 8

Typical Setup - Fig. 2 ................................................................ 9

Operation ................................................................................. 10

Selecting Modes ................................................................ 10

D/A Operation .................................................................. 10

A/D Operation .................................................................. 11

Troubleshooting ...................................................................... 14

Appendix A - Specifications ................................................. 16

Appendix B - Diagnostics ..................................................... 17

Appendix C - Block Diagram ............................................... 18

Appendix D - Grounding ..................................................... 19

Lifetime Limited Warranty..................................................... 20

24 Bit Flying Cow

™

MANUAL

Version COW20- 080699

Summary of content (20 pages)

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24 Bit Flying Cow ™ MANUAL Version COW20- 080699 Table of Contents FCC Class B and CE Compliance ........................................... 2 Overview..................................................................................... 3 Features ....................................................................................... 4 D/A Converter .................................................................... 4 A/D Converter ....................................................................
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FCC Class B and CE Compliance WARNING: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a CLASS B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation.
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Overview Thanks for choosing the Flying Cow, professional external digital audio converter box. The unit provides high quality, 24-bit A/D and D/A converters and supports the popular digital audio formats S/PDIF and AES/EBU.
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Features • • • • • • • • • Pro quality, stereo A/D and D/A converters. Simultaneous A/D and D/A conversion. Standard single height, half-rack dimensions. AES/EBU digital I/O on XLR connectors. S/PDIF digital I/O on RCA connectors. Balanced analog inputs on either XLR or 1/4” tip-ring-sleeve connectors. Unbalanced analog inputs on 1/4” tip-sleeve connectors. Balanced analog outputs on XLR connectors. Unbalanced analog outputs on 1/4” connectors.
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9VAC 8. AUDIO D/A VALID R 1. 5 S/P DIF 9. 2. ANALOG OUT AES/ EBU DIGITAL FORMAT 1 L 48 44.1 32 3. EXT A/D SAMPLE RATE R L -6 5. -3 11. AES /E BU OUT CLIP A/D INPUT LEVEL - 40 - 20 - 10 10. 4. R L ANALOG IN MODE SELECT IN OUT 0 S/PDIF 12. 13. 6. MAX ANALOG INPUT LEVEL 7. 14. AES /E BU IN POWER 24 BIT FLYING COW™ Panels - Fig.
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Panel Description Front Panel 1. D/A Valid: This LED indicates valid incoming digital data for the D/A converter. When in AES/EBU mode, this LED lights whenever there is a valid digital signal present at the AES/EBU In jack. When in S/PDIF mode, this LED lights whenever there is a valid digital signal present at the S/PDIF In jack. 2. Digital Format: These two LED’s indicate the current digital interface mode as either AES/EBU (professional) or S/PDIF (consumer).
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Rear Panel 8. Power connector: For connection to the unit’s external “wallwart” power supply. The Flying Cow uses an external 8.5 or 9 volt A/C power supply with 1 amp or greater current capacity. 9. Analog Out (Right and Left): These are the analog audio outputs from the Flying Cow’s D/A converters. These unique combination jacks mate with either male XLR-type connectors or 1/4” phone plugs. The XLR (outer) portions of the jacks provide balanced outs. The 1/4” (inner) portions provide unbalanced outs. 10.
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Installation and Typical Setup Your Flying Cow box should contain this manual, a “wallwart” power transformer (U.S. customers only) and the Flying Cow unit itself. Please save all packing materials in case you should ever need to ship the unit. The Flying Cow may be operated on any flat surface or it may be installed in a standard 19” rack equipment tray. For installation in a 19” rack tray you will first need to remove the four rubber feet from the unit.
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Typical Setup - Fig.
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Operation The A/D and D/A sections of the Flying Cow operate simultaneously, even though you may sometimes choose to use only one or the other at any given time. The A/D and D/A are both set up from the Flying Cow’s front panel. Selecting Modes The Mode Select button is used to select the A/D Sample Rate and the Digital Audio Format. As the Mode Select button is repeatedly pressed, the Flying Cow cycles between the four Sample Rate settings: 48 kHz, 44.1 kHz, 32 kHz, and EXT.
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IMPORTANT: For the Flying Cow D/A converter to work properly, the Digital Format must be set to the correct incoming digital format (AES/EBU or S/PDIF). A/D Operation The Flying Cow A/D converter accepts analog audio from the left and right Analog In jacks, using either XLR or 1/4” connections. The XLR audio input connections accept balanced signals. The 1/4” audio input connections accept either balanced (tip-ringsleeve) or unbalanced (tip-sleeve) signals.
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front panel A/D Input Level indicators aid in this adjustment. Set the A/D input level knob so that you light as many level indicator LED’s as possible without lighting the red Clip LED’s. When the Clip LED’s light, the audio signal is being “clipped” at the maximum allowable input level of the A/D converter. This may cause extreme distortion and should be avoided.
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The Flying Cow also supports synchronization to an external source. The EXT sample rate setting locks the A/D sample rate to a valid AES/EBU or S/PDIF signal received at the digital audio inputs at the back of the unit. This is obviously useful for synchronization. A less obvious application is to use the external sample rate to generate a non-standard or less common sample rate (i.e. other than 48 kHz, 44.1 kHz, or 32 kHz).
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Troubleshooting Symptom: Solution: Symptom: Solution: Symptom: Solution: Symptom: Solution 1: Solution 2: Symptom: Solution 1: Solution 2: When power is applied, there are no LED’s lit on the Flying Cow’s front panel. Make sure the power supply is properly plugged into the unit and also into a live wall source. Also make sure the Power button is pushed in (and latched). When changing modes from the front panel, small bursts of noise are sometimes present.
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Symptom: Solution 1: Solution 2: Symptom: Solution 1: Solution 2: Symptom: Solution: Even though the front panel Analog Input Level knob is set to the MAX setting, none of the Input Level LED’s light. Check your source signal and analog input cables. The input signal is too weak. Turn up the volume of the source — the lower you can set the Analog Input Level knob the better the signal-to-noise performance achieved.
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Symptom: Solution: Symptom: Solution: With the A/D in EXT mode, the Flying Cow is outputting digital data even though there is no signal present at the AES/EBU In or S/PDIF In connectors . The “D/A Valid” LED does not light. Even without an external sync source present the Flying Cow will convert A/D data. The sample rate is unpredictable but is usually somewhere between 10 kHz and 32 kHz.
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Appendix B - Diagnostic Tests The Flying Cow does not have built-in diagnostics but there are a few simple tests you can run to verify its operation. These tests involve connecting a digital output to a digital input and then playing analog audio through the unit. For the audio coming out of the unit to have high fidelity, both the A/D and D/A circuitry in the unit must be working properly.
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Appendix C - Block Diagram LEFT ANALOG INPUT XLR ANALOG INPUT LEVEL 1/4" Digital Format LED Ladder AES/ EBU (changed by Mode Select Switch) S/P DIF Mode Select Switch DIGITAL OUTPUTS RIGHT ANALOG INPUT AES/EBU A/D CONVERTER XLR S/PDIF ANALOG INPUT LEVEL 1/4" LED Ladder Mode Select Switch A/D Sample Rate 48 44.
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Appendix D - Grounding Grounding the shield of a digital cable can sometimes be a tricky issue. In the configuration of audio systems, it is important to avoid ground loops and DC current flowing down the shield of the cable that could result when boxes with different ground potentials are connected. Generally, it is good practice to ground the shield to the chassis of the transmitting unit, and connect the shield through a capacitor to chassis ground at the receiver.
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Lifetime Limited Warranty MIDIMAN warrants that this product is free of defects in materials and workmanship under normal use so long as the product is owned by the original purchaser and that purchaser has registered his/her ownership of the product by sending in the completed warranty card.