The Director ® Model D4400 Model D3400 16 Channel High Efficiency • Digital Signal Processor • Ethernet Interface & Control Power Amplifier Professional Installer’s Gratification Guide ® Making Good Sound Great 22410 70th Avenue West • Seattle, WA 98043 USA 425-775-8461 • Fax 425-778-3166 • www.audiocontrol.com ©2013. All rights reserved.
Important Information Dealer Name______________________________________ Date Installed___________________________________ Serial Number____________________________________ Ethernet MAC Address__________________________ IP Address Dynamic / Static____________________ ®
Table of Contents Table of Contents The Director Model D3400 • Model D4400 Cool and Different Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 A Guided Tour Front Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Rear Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Making sense of the trigger ins and outs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Internet Connectivity and Control Control using a browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Table of Contents Advanced Topics Speaker and wiring impedance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Amplifier bridging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 In wall volume controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Installation of multiple units of The Director . . . . . . . . 30 Level matching and gain controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Sound level (SPL) in large areas and unique rooms . . . 31 Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Introduction Introduction To label The Director® Models D4400 and D3400 just multi-zone amplifiers is like calling a Ferrari just a car. There is so much more to both products in terms of performance and capability. Ethernet control, unparalleled energy efficiency, rack saving compact design, superb sound quality and bulletproof reliability are just a few key features of The Director. More features are discussed in the next section so please read on.
Cool & Different Features Cool and Different Features Volume Control The primary focus of our latest firmware is volume control via browser or Telnet commands. You can now control volume in any zone! Control via the browser will allow you to control volume in any zone along with EQ and source selection. With the updated Telnet control, you have the means to control the Maximum On volume so that when you turn the unit on volume is set to a predefined value.
• Ethernet Control: Via a browser or Telnet commands you can control and query almost all the functions of The Director. You can mute zones, change source inputs, adjust equalization, recall memories, check line voltage, display protection logs and get an email if something goes wrong. And this is only a partial list! • Signal Processing: You have at your command graphic equalization, parametric equalization, tweeter protection filters and low frequency cutoff filters.
Really Cool Stuff in The Director As great as these features on the previous page are, here is a list of some of the new and unique parts of The Director; • Output Present LED: Ever wonder if there really was a signal on the speaker outputs of an amp? No wondering with The Director because there is an LED flickering with the signal level right next to each speaker connector. • Very Low Standby Current: When The Director is in Standby, ready to turn on via a trigger, it draws less than 5 watts.
A Guided Tour Of The Director Model D3400 / D4400 1 2 3 4 5 Front Panel 1 Power LED - Starting with the easy one... when you have the AC Power switch on the back panel turned on and The Director is plugged into an active AC outlet, this little Blue light will beam forth. 2 Protection LED - There are two states to this LED. In normal operation it glows Blue when the unit is on and in standby or operating. If this LED is Red, then one of the internal protection circuits is activated.
A Guided Tour Of The Director Model D3400 / d4400 1 2 5 3 6 7 4 Rear Panel 1 2 Ethernet LAN Connection - Plug The Director into a 10BaseT network here. The internal web server allows remote control of all channels, signal processing and source selection. See the section on Internet Connectivity and Control for detailed information.
A Guided Tour Of The Director Model D3400/ D4400 19 10 9 10 11 11 12 13 14 15 16 Master Power Switch - This switch controls the main AC power. Since The Director draws only a few watts during standby, the only time you need to turn the master power off is if the system is going to be shut down for an extended time. Remote Power Control - If you are not using the ethernet control, you can remotely turn The Director on with this connector.
Guided Tour Trigger Ins & Outs Making Sense of the 12 Volt Triggers The Director has five ways you can bring the unit from standby to on and ready to serve. In addition, you can use the triggers from The Director to turn on more units of The Director or other components as well. All this flexibility can be a little daunting so the table below should make it clear. Note: Do not use any 12 volt power trigger if you are using ethernet control.
Internet Connectivity and Control Setting up The Director Model D3400 or D4400 is a breeze. Just plug it into an existing network and let the DHCP server assign The Director amplifier an IP address. The Director amplifier will then show up in your network device list, if “network discovery” has been enabled in your Windows computer. Double click the icon for the amp and your browser should open to The Director’s Operations page. Alternative methods of connecting are described below.
Internet Connectivity and Control For Apple/Mac Desktops and Laptops: Apple does not support UPnP device discovery. Your easiest method for connecting with a Mac is to directly connect to The Director amplifier. The default IP address of The Director amplifier is 192.168.0.249 so in order to connect to The Director, you will need to give your computer a static IP address. Change your Mac’s IP address to a static address of 192.168.0.x – where x is a value between 1 through 248 or 250 through 254.
Operation Tab The first page you see when connecting to The Director the first time via a web browser will be the Operations page. The functionality and controls on this page are described below: Groups: Grouping allows for channels to be grouped for control via telnet for simple efficient operations. The telnet commands are listed on page 15. Grouping allows for quick control over the on/off and signal source states of each group.
Internet Connectivity and Control Configuration Tab In the Configuration tab, you can rename the amplifier, rename each channel pair or Zone, set the global networking parameters of The Director, Export your Signal Processing and Configuration data and Import EQ settings previously Exported from another Director amplifier in the system or pre-designed EQ curve templates. Note: Rear Panel switches on The Director can override the Ethernet commands.
Signal Processing Tab Graphic equalization is by individual zone and with both channels within that zone paired by default. You can “unlock” the zone/channel pair by clicking the “Unlock” checkbox for each respective band. You also have the option of setting the EQ curve globally for The Director by enabling the “All Zones” checkbox. Setting the EQ is done by dragging the EQ slider to the desired position, by clicking where you want the position/ value to be or by clicking the +/- buttons.
Internet Connectivity and Control Being that you can pull a large amount of power – up to 100 watts! – from each and every channel from The Director Model D4400 (65 watts with The Director Model D3400), you just might want to use a sub in one of the bigger rooms No problem at all – enable the crossover function and bridge the output from Zone 1 for your sub and use Zone 2 for you highs. Feed your input into channel pairs 1-2. In this configuration, any input on Zone 2 or channel pair 3-4 will be ignored.
Example to turn zones 3, 5 and 6 off from an all channels on state: Command: Query: Response: Internet Connectivity and Control mute 3 5 6 mute? 0,0,1,0,1,1,0,0 Note: The query “mute?” yields a description of the mute/ off state across all channel pairs/zones; 1 equals positive (that the channel pair/zone is off) and 0 (zero) is negative (that the channel pair/zone is not off), relative to the actual query and channel pair/zone.
Internet Connectivity and Control Inquiry Commands volume_set? Returns volume level for zones 1-8 Example: Returns 11 11 13 57 47 65 49 51 Zone 5 then is set to 47 mute? Returns which zones are muted unmute? Returns which zones are unmuted bus1? Returns which zones are switched to bus#1 bus2? Returns which zones are switched to bus #2 local? Returns which zones are switched to local input signalsource? Returns a list showing the source for each zone Example: 1,3,2,3,3,1,1,2 where 1 is Bus #1 a
Logging Format In response to a logging inquiry (log?), The Director will respond with the most recent fifty events. The format of the logged response is: Internet Connectivity and Control EECCYYYYMMDDHHMMSS where E= event code, C=zone, Y= year, M= month, D= day, H= hour, M= minute and S=second.
Hook Up Guide System Diagrams Using Bus Inputs to Create Larger Zones ® 18
Whole House System with Tuner Only Background Music Hook Up Guide System Diagrams TheDirector® Model D3400 • Model D4400 Installer’s Guide 19
Hook Up Guide System Diagrams Multiple Unit System with • Tuner Only Background Music • Tuner Triggered on • Daisy Chained Bus 1 ® 20
Using the Crossover Option Hook Up Guide System Diagrams TheDirector® Model D3400 • Model D4400 Installer’s Guide 21
Room Acoustics Acoustics Magazine reviewers and audio system owners spend much time critically appraising speakers and other audio components. Unfortunately, a phenomenon that has a very large effect upon sound is not easily judged or changed. That effect is the ACOUSTICS of the environment in which you are listening. Room acoustics is a complicated subject about which entire textbooks have been written. We simply want you to be aware of a few basics that have a direct effect on real time audio analysis.
Equalization Benefits Another set of variables is the shape and volume of your listening room. Large rooms require more bass energy to excite waves within them. Small rooms need less energy, but reflect it differently. And then there’s the fact that most rooms don’t have four walls anymore, but open into dining rooms, lofts, cathedral ceilings, etc. All of this means that predicting sound interaction patterns is very difficult due to the irregularities of the room shape.
Adjusting the Signal Processing Adjusting the Signal Processing Equalizing the System Before proceeding on equalizing the system, it is a good idea to make sure everything is connected and working properly. You know how to check connections and here are some reminders specific to The Director, as well as the steps to equalize. 1. Turn on the system. The Power light on the left front panel should be blue . 2.
Parametric and Graphic Equalization Adjusting the Signal Processing The graphic equalization controls in The Director are selected to correspond with the characteristics of wall and ceiling speakers and as such are very effective. Graphic controls are the easiest to tune and provide a “graphic” representation of what the adjustments are. Parametric equalization requires selecting the frequency, the bandwidth of the control, as well as the level of adjustment, not an easy task to get correct.
Adjusting the Signal Processing are found in this range. If accentuated too much (by boosting this control) sounds in the 2500Hz range can seem harsh and fatiguing to the ear due to excessive output by the speaker or because of live, reflective room acoustics. 12kHz — High treble. The fine detail, texture and sheen of music is found here. The breathiness of vocals, the “sheen” of cymbals, the high overtones of piano and strings.
Brazen Plug A Brazen Plug For Other AudioControl Products AudioControl started out making graphic equalizers in 1977. Our heritage and design experience grew from a background in professional audio, so we were never quite satisfied with what was available for the consumer audio market. Since that time, we have continued to expand our product offerings to become a key part of great home audio and video systems.
Advanced Topics Advanced Discussions Speaker & Wiring Impedance Speaker impedance often is and should be straight forward. Speakers, like other resistors, wired in parallel “show” lower values than the individual components. In case you have forgotten, there is an example here for calculating speakers wired in parallel. Calculating Impedance For three 8 ohm speakers wired in parallel (pluses connected to pluses) the impedance is 1/8 + 1/8 + 1/8 = 3/8 Then take the inverse or 8/3 = 2.
Advanced Topics Bridging The Director To increase the output power of The Director Model D3400, you can join (bridge) two channels into a single channel of 250 watts. Accomplishing this is a simple matter. Just press the Mono button to send the same audio signal to both channels of the zone and then connect the speaker terminals as shown in the diagram below. Caution - Do not use a speaker rated at less than 8 ohms when bridging.
Advanced Topics Installation of multiple units of The Director May you stack units of The Director on top of each other without an air space in between? The Director is a very energy efficient amplifier and emits little heat so air spaces between units, while always helpful, are not mandatory for a background music system. In addition, the slots on the bottom of The Director coupled with those on the top produce a chimney effect for moving air.
Advanced Topics The circumstances where The Director Model D3400 draws maximum power are very rare outside of an engineering lab. Maximum power is using a sine wave input which has at least a third higher energy density than music. This would mean that all channels are operating at maximum, an unlikely situation even during a really fun party. Even more unlikely is all channels on multiple units operating at full output. You know the system better than we do, so it is your decision.
Advanced Topics Commercial noise masking systems rely on “white noise” which sounds remarkably like a bathroom exhaust fan and like the sound of water in a shower-- both of which are louder than the background noise level in the other parts of the house. So if the client wants to rock out in the bathroom, and particularly the shower, you need to have speakers very near to them. Modern day larger bathrooms need more than two speakers for these reasons.
Troubleshooting Troubleshooting the Director Many problems can be eliminated by re-checking the wiring and settings of The Director amplifier. A variety of other subjects are discussed in Advanced Topics starting on page 27. If a problem cannot be solved using this information, please call the AudioControl factory or check at www.audiocontrol.com. 1. No Sound: a. Verify the Power LED is Blue. b. Verify Protection LED is Blue. Install Tip - There are no internal fuses in The Director amplifiers.
Troubleshooting you are using an in-wall volume control, please see Advanced Topics for more information. 4. Speaker channels are cutting in and out: Warning - Always connect the safety earth ground. If you have an AC hum problem, use the ground lift switch a. If using in-wall volume controls, check that they can handle the power output. See Advanced Topics page 28. b. If bridging, the amplifier “sees” one-half the stated speaker impedance rating.
The Warranty People are scared of warranties. Lots of fine print. Months of waiting around. Well, fear no more. This warranty is designed to make you rave about AudioControl. It’s a warranty that looks out for you and your client, plus helps you resist the temptation to have your friend, who’s “good with electronics”, try to repair your AudioControl product. So go ahead, read this warranty, then register the information at www.audiocontrolregistration.com and include your comments.
What to do if you need service What to do if you need service First, contact AudioControl, either by e-mail, phone or FAX. We’ll determine if there is anything wrong that you can fix yourself, or if it needs to be sent back to our factory for repair. Please include the following items with the returning unit: 1) A copy of your proof of purchase (that sales receipt we’ve been harping about). No originals please. We cannot guarantee returning them to you.
Block Diagram TheDirector® Model D3400 • Model D4400 Installer’s Guide 37
Specifications The Director® Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Director Model D3400. . . . . . . The Director Model D4400 Power Output Number of Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 8 ohms output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Watts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Watts 4 ohms output . . . .
For Those Who Consider Perfection Possible® ® 22410 70th Avenue West Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043 USA 425-775-8461 • Fax 425-778-3166 e-mail: sound.better@audiocontrol.com Visit us on the web at www.audiocontrol.com P/N 913 099 Rev.
Supplement New Features in the Director! We have added volume control to the latest firmware for our Director series amplifiers. Via the browser you can now control volume in any zone along with EQ and source selection. With the updated Telnet control, you have the means to control the Maximum On volume so that when you turn the unit on volume is set to a predefined value. This is for those nights you were rocking out at with the volume turned up to eleven - the next morning you won’t blast your ears out.
