ASTRAL 16
U s e r m a n u a l
6. RTA
When a USB microphone (such as the optional
Theater Acoustic Diagnostic Kit) is connected to
Astral 16, you can use the Real Time Analyzer to
visualize the response of loudspeaker groups in
the room. Note that the built in RTA is not accurate
enough to use for calibration, but is useful for
getting a good idea of the approximate response
of the system. Maximum level of the capture can
be set by adjusting Mic Ref Level. Graph vertical
scale can be changed from Logarithmic (default)
to Linear.
7. Dirac
See "Dirac Live" for use of Dirac Live Calibration
Tool.
8. Volume Reference
It is good practice when calibrating systems to
always work at a reference level such as 85dB
C-weighted. Before activating the noise generator,
make sure the master volume is at a low level. Set
and recall a reference master volume value. Click
SET once you have dialed the value you'd like
to store. Click RECALL to quickly return to that
value.
Individual Channel Adjustments
Once your theater is defined, each channel can
be individually fine tuned. The theater can also
be renamed, and a child theater can be created
which enables stereo left, right, or mono audio to
be routed to existing channel assignments.
9. Channel Status
Each channel is enabled by default. If for some
reason this channel needs to be disabled, click the
ON button. It will turn to OFF and audio will no
longer be routed to that channel. Note that audio
will not be re-routed to other channels. Channel
status is set per Theater / Zone and is not stored
as part of a profile.
10. EQ
Each channel can have up to 20 filters cells
configured selecting the wheel icon. Channel
EQ can be bypassed by selecting ON/OFF. See
"Channel EQ" for detailed EQ options. EQ settings
are stored as part of profiles.
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11. Signal
Indicates which signal is routed to this output.
Should you desire to remap signal routing, you
can do so with Output Mapping. See "Output
Mapping" for details.
12. Channel Name
Customizable name to easily identify each
channel. By default, these are named for the
signal sent to each channel. You may decide
to change these to speaker model or another
unique identifier. Maximum allowable character
count is 25.
13. Size / Filter
Identify each channel as either Large, Small, or
Large and Sub. When a channel is set to Large,
no bass is redirected from this channel to the
subwoofer. Use this setting when the loudspeaker
has sufficient bandwidth and output capability to
reproduce sufficient bass. When a channel is set
to Small, bass in this channel is redirected to the
subwoofers according to the Frequency and Slope
for that channel. Large and Sub is a special case
that not only allows that channel to reproduce
full bandwidth audio, but also duplicates bass in
that channel to the subwoofer(s) according to the
Frequency and Slope for that channel.
Subwoofer channels have specific settings. By
definition, subwoofers have limited bandwidth
and some are more limited than others.
Low Pass LFE: When this is set to ON, the
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subwoofer channel has a low pass filter applied
according to that channel's Frequency and
Slope. This is designed to limit the channel's
ability to reproduce the upper portion of the
bass spectrum. This is usually done to prevent
the subwoofer from contributing midrange
distortion.
•
Subsonic SUB: When this is set to ON, a
high pass filter is applied to the channel
which restricts the subwoofer's ability to
reproduce very deep bass according to the
frequency and slope defined for that channel.
Many subwoofers, especially smaller models
do not have the amplifier power or driver
displacement required to accurately reproduce
very deep bass. By actively filtering very deep
bass away from the subwoofer, it is better able
to reproduce bass within it's useful bandwidth.
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