Manual
Table Of Contents
Issue 3, August 2018 Model 44D User Guide
Page 20 Studio Technologies, Inc.
General
The meters are organized into two groups
with one group representing the two line
inputs and the second group represent-ing
the two line outputs. The two meters asso-
ciated with the line inputs are calibrated in
reference to the configuration of the nomi-
nal level of the line inputs. When config-
ured for +4 dBu nominal a meter’s 0 LED
lighting will indicate that an analog signal
with a level of +4 dBu is present on the
associated line input. This would translate
to an output (transmitter) level of –20 dBFS
being sent to the Dante network. When the
line inputs are configured for 0 dBu nomi-
nal a meter’s 0 LED lighting will indicate
that a signal with a 0 dBu is present on the
line input and the corresponding Dante
output (transmit) level will be –18 dBFS.
Similar to the line inputs, the two meters
associated with the line outputs are cali-
brated in reference to the configuration
of nominal level of the line outputs. When
configured for +4 dBu nominal a meter’s
0 LED lighting will indicate that a Dante in-
put (receiver) level of –20 dBFS is present
along with a corresponding signal on the
line output with a level of +4 dBu. When
the line outputs are configured for a 0 dBu
nominal level a meter’s 0 LED lighting will
indicate that a Dante input (receiver) level
of –18 dBFS is present. And the corre-
sponding analog output signal present on
the line output will have a level of 0 dBu.
Each level meter contains four green LEDs
and one yellow LED. The four green LEDs
indicate audio signal levels at or below the
selected nominal level (+4 dBu or 0 dBu).
The top LED is yellow and indicates a sig-
nal that is 6 dB or greater than the selected
nominal level. An audio signal that causes
the yellow LED to light doesn’t necessarily
indicate an excessive level condition, but it
does provide a warning that at some stage
reducing the signal level of the source may
be prudent. Typical operation with normal
signal levels should find the meters light-
ing near their “0” point. Signal peaks may
cause the yellow LEDs to flash. But a yel-
low LED that lights fully during normal
operation will typically indicate excessive
signal level and/or a configuration problem
with associated Dante-enabled equipment.
Non-Optimal Signal Levels
If the meters consistently display levels that
are lower or higher than 0 it’s possible that
a configuration issue exists. This would
typically be related to an incorrect Model
44D line input or line output configuration
or an incorrect setting on the equipment as-
sociated with the Model 44D. With a digital
matrix intercom system providing the Dante
input signal this problem could be due to
an incorrect configuration having been
made to its specific channel or port. For
example, the RTS ADAM system has a pub-
lished nominal level of +8 dBu, but it’s not
clear how this translates into a digital audio
level on an associated OMNEO (Dante-
compatible) port. Using its configuration
software it’s most likely possible to set the
nominal level of intercom key panels or
ports to something different than +8 dBu.
The best solution in this case would be
to adjust the associated OMNEO (Dante-
compatible) port such that it results in a
nominal level that matches the Model 44D’s
configuration. So, for example, if the Model
44D is configured for +4 dBu nominal input
levels then the associated OMNEO (Dante)
transmitter channels should be set up to be
the same. This should lead to the optimal
performance of the Model 44D and the as-
sociated intercom system.