Allen&Heath Xone 3D - Manual (Page 11)

Allen & Heath 11 XONE:3D User Guide
BPM COUNTER— Displays the BPM (beats per minute) of a music track
entered manually by tapping a button in time to the music, or automatically by
analysing the signal routed to it. The signal may be routed from the main mix or
from an individual channel via the pre-fade FX2 mix so that the beat may be
calculated and checked before the track is routed to the mix.
The BPM counter outputs MIDI clock so that a slave device such as a hardware or
software sequencer can be synchronized to the timing of a track playing through
the Xone:3D. To aid synchronization the MIDI clock can be momentarily speeded
up or slowed down by operating the PUSH/PULL lever.
MIDI CONTROL— MIDI (musical instrument digital interface) is a standardized
protocol for communication between electronic music devices as well as between
those devices and computers. Two identical banks of MIDI controls are provided
on either side of the mixer section. These bring control of remote performance
equipment such as computer based sound manipulation and sequencing, samplers,
effects and even lighting right to the mixer control surface. The function of the
controls may be identified using overlay sheets, samples of which are supplied
with the Xone:3D.
The control banks comprise both linear and rotary faders, rotary encoders with
integrated switches, push button switches with and without light ring indicators,
and large dedicated jog wheels with four position switches. A footswitch socket
and the 15-pin Game port provide control voltage input which produce further
MIDI output from foot pedal, joystick and custom wired controllers. Operation
of these controls does not affect any audio signals directly, but is automatically
translated into MIDI messages according to a pre-configured MIDI ‘map’. The
MIDI channel number and map is selected using the Configuration Utility software
running on a computer. Two MIDI maps are available to suit the various
performance software applications currently available. Further details are
provided later in this guide.
In addition to the dedicated MIDI controls some of the DJ mixer functions also
output MIDI messages when operated. These include all switches with light rings,
the filter frequency controls, the crossfader, and BPM start/stop and clock. The
MIDI data is sent out of the mixer via the rear panel MIDI out and Game port
sockets, and is simultaneously transferred to a connected computer via the USB
interface.
SOUNDCARD— The 8 channel soundcard is built into the mixer to ensure the
highest performance and lowest noise. 24-bit converters are used together with
low latency ASIO drivers supplied by Allen & Heath. The USB V1.1 port
interfaces with both V1.1 and V2.0 devices.
The soundcard can operate in one of two user selected modes. The default Mode
1 shown in the diagram opposite routes one stereo source to the computer and
returns three stereo signals back to the mixer channel input selectors. These
signals also appear at the rear panel soundcard output sockets. Note that return
1-2 is duplicated on input channel 4.
The Configuration Utility software is used to select the source to the computer,
one of the mix, FX1, channel 2 phono input preamp, SPDIF coax or optical input.
It is also used to select which signal appears on the SPDIF coax and optical
outputs, either the mix, FX1 or channel 3 phono input preamp.
Mode 2 may be selected using the Configuration Utility software. This routes two
stereo sources to the computer and returns two stereo back to the mixer
channels. Further details are provided on the next page.
DESCRIPTION