How to properly setup the DBX DriveRack 260 speaker processor

[JonFo]

Attached to this post is a custom 2x4 config for you start with. It is derived from my 2x5.

Download and unzip it to a folder where you will keep saved configs.

Load this up when you are able to connect.

Open the device within the Driveware window, then right mouse click on the title window of the device (not the app) and you'll see options for 'Import Program', then point the open dialog at this file and you'll be set.

 

[jedi35]

Ok, yes I do have the DBX serial cable. I'll try your suggestions when I get home late tonite.

Thanks,
Adrian

 

[jedi35]

Just got home from rehearsing and perfoming a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta. Quite tired, but I've been longing all day to get back to my 260 issues. Here's another question for ya. My mic takes a single double A battery. Can it simply be plugged into the mic input on my laptop without that audio interface piece, or will I be limiting myself somehow? I do want to get the interface if I need it. Now, time to get back at this com port issue.

Adrian

 

[JonFo]

... My mic takes a single double A battery. Can it simply be plugged into the mic input on my laptop without that audio interface piece, or will I be limiting myself somehow? I do want to get the interface if I need it. Now, time to get back at this com port issue.

Adrian

What model mic is it ?

As long as it has a known calibration profile you can load into REW, it might be OK, and as long as it interfaces well with the laptop mic-in.

People have used REW with the usual built-in audio systems in laptops, but results are not as good as external solution, since laptop audio tends to be very noisy.

If you have musician friends, one of them might be able to loan you something along the lines of what I recommend.

 

[jedi35]

Still no luck whatsoever with the laptop com issue. Next, I'm just simply going to try plugging everything into my desktop, which does have a true serial port. I just want to see if I can get it to load properly. If you think that my mic would be too noisy through the laptop directly, I will go ahead and order the interface. I do have several buddies who would have something great I can borrow. The guy who setup my three-way xovers had a nice mic and a wonderful RTA. I'll give him a call.

My mic is the 33-3017 Optimus Unidirectional, at an impedance of 600 ohms, made in the Philippines. This is probably just a Radio Shack brand, right? With the audio interface, I'll be going into the laptop through the 2.0 USB, which is higher quality, correct?

Adrian

 

[JonFo]

Ugh, that mic is hardly appropriate, check these specs, 70 - 15Khz is not a wide enough range, and not flat either I suspect.

See if you can borrow a good omnidirectional electret mic, like the Behringer ECM8000.

Failing all that I do have a DBX RTA mic I can let go of (I bought another calibrated mic in '08).

 

[jedi35]

Yes, I see what you mean. Bad mic. It was a gift, so no money lost there. I've been frustrated with my laptop quite a bit lately, as you know, so I went out and did something rather impulsive tonite. I bought a new Toshiba at BB running Windows 7 with the AMD Turion chip. I probably paid too much for it, but it looks really cool. I'll set it up in a little while and see if it lets me run the Driveware correctly with my adaptor. I had no issues running the 260 straight into my desktop's serial port. Maybe I should just load the config program from there and then connect it to my system. When connected to my old laptop, I can still pull up the 260 from a list, even though it's offline. Does that mean that I can't make program changes in that mode that will hold? It seems that it might work.

Thanks for the mic offer. If my friend seems reluctant to let me borrow his nicer mic, I'll certainly take you up on that.

Adrian

 

[Gordon Gray]

This is truly fascinating.

 

[jedi35]

Am I detecting a hint of sarcasm???? Hahahahah, jk.

Hi Gordon, I'm from Jackson....well, Jackson, MS. Are you thinking of running a 260 as well? Wow, lovely system you have there, as well as a lovely house with an incredible.

Adrian

 

[jedi35]

OK, the program's loaded. I just did it through my pc tower since I still have yet to open my new laptop box. Am I stuck now? Can I do any listening before I get a decent mic, or would that be pointless?

Now, to rip open that new laptop package!!! :rocker::rocker:

Adrian

 

[Gordon Gray]

Not at all Adrian,

I had no idea how complex a subject like this can be.

Enjoy.

Gordon

 

[JonFo]

OK, the program's loaded. I just did it through my pc tower since I still have yet to open my new laptop box. Am I stuck now? Can I do any listening before I get a decent mic, or would that be pointless?

Now, to rip open that new laptop package!!! :rocker::rocker:

Adrian

If you loaded the 2x4 setup I posted here, you are good to go.

I believe I left all the EQ's off on that one. It's just a 24dB / octave Linkwitz-Riley crossover at 120Hz (same as factory, but steeper slopes), with a time delay on the panel (based on my Monolith measurements) to align it with the woofer.

The only thing you will need to mess with is the gain settings to balance the panel and woofer.

To do that, you edit the gain of each crossover section in the crossover editor.
Or better yet, use volume controls on the amps if they have them.

So all you need for that in the short-term is an SPL meter and a source of pink noise.

 

[JonFo]

If the laptop is a Win7 OS, then the USB/serial stuff will auto-install out of the box.

When I upgraded my laptop to Win7, I just plugged in the adapter and in seconds got a 'driver found and installed' message. the adapter uses the Prolific chipset, which is well supported.

I use it now for performing the Audyssey Pro EQ measurements and setup.

My new DriveRack 4800 uses Ethernet for communications, so no cables between laptop and it, I can sit at the prime listening position and use WiFi to diddle the settings on the DriveRack, or just watch the RTA feedback of the input signals.

 

[JonFo]

Not at all Adrian,

I had no idea how complex a subject like this can be.

Enjoy.

Gordon

Hi Gordon, this is actually pretty straightforward

You should see what it took to setup my rig three or four years ago when I had ten devices downstream from the preamp. That was complex.

But you are right, use of a speaker processor involves a lot of steps and supporting gear, but the benefit is one is able to tune one of the most important parts of a speaker system, the crossover, to one's particular setup.
The ability to layer on EQ, establish limiters (for woofers) and manage time delay are all big pluses.

And in the case of the Monolith specifically, it really benefits from an active crossover vs the factory passive.

But it is all sort of like those aftermarket Car computer interfaces that allow the kids to tweak the engine settings for more power, it gets complex quick.

 

[jedi35]

Hi Jonathan,

Thanks for all this help and info. I do have an SPL meter, and something that can do pink noise. I spent what little time I had late last night updating my new laptop. Yes, it has Windows 7, and I'm glad to hear that setting up the adapter should be easy.

Adrian

 

[jedi35]

OK, tonite I unhooked my two McLelland 3 way xovers and plugged in the 260 with the 2 way program loaded. I'm using the same brand and model for the panel and woofer amps, so I don't need to balance things with the sound meter for now, right? I've only had a few minutes here and there to listen so far. My initial response is relief, because it is clear to me now that the audio will be very high quality after I get into the measuring and tuning. I think I was afraid that the 260 wouldn't give me the quality of sound that the ML Exos xover gave me. I'm quite excited!!

Off the bat, the current settings are a bit bright for my room, or maybe the unit just needs to play and burn in for awhile. I think I need to dial down either the input sensitivity or the output gain, as the levels are too hot to get smooth volume control out of my preamp. The Modulus has dual mono volume pots with click stops, and there are very large differences in sound level between each stop currently. Jonathan, what should my next step be to get more even control? A buddy is locating a calibrated mic for me. I wonder if I know someone who has an audio interface I could use with my new laptop(which I'm loving BTW). I still need to try the serial/usb cable on this laptop.

I don't think I'm going to be so lucky with the 260 and noise levels. I can hear a slight hum in the Monolith woofers already. I may have to take you up on your offer.

Adrian

 

[jedi35]

Wow, the brightness issue I heard in the 260 at first is gone! The unit is brand new and needed to burn in for a few hours. I listened again late last nite, and got the most gorgeous sound from the Monoliths. This is the best they have sounded so far, and I'm only at the beginning of the process. They sound bigger, more mature, with better clarity and depth. The stage even wider, and taller. I really did not expect these results so early. I'm also noticing that the delay settings are allowing a faster attack from the woofers.

Before I get the mic for tuning, I'd still like to address the volume sensitivity or gain issue, and the bass level sounds a tad too much. Some guidance there would be very helpful. I'll try to get the software going on the new laptop tonite so I can make adjustments easily from the listening chair. I am really having fun with this.

Adrian

 

[JonFo]

Wow, the brightness issue I heard in the 260 at first is gone! The unit is brand new and needed to burn in for a few hours. I listened again late last nite, and got the most gorgeous sound from the Monoliths. This is the best they have sounded so far, and I'm only at the beginning of the process. They sound bigger, more mature, with better clarity and depth. The stage even wider, and taller. I really did not expect these results so early. I'm also noticing that the delay settings are allowing a faster attack from the woofers.

Before I get the mic for tuning, I'd still like to address the volume sensitivity or gain issue, and the bass level sounds a tad too much. Some guidance there would be very helpful. I'll try to get the software going on the new laptop tonite so I can make adjustments easily from the listening chair. I am really having fun with this.

Adrian

Great to hear it's actually sounding OK even before we do the setup tweaking that's inevitably required.

If you think input sensitivity is tad high, click on the input boxes in the schematic vie of the setup app. There, you can lower the gain. I beleive the config I sent you had them up by +3db, so lower that to unity (0) gain.

The woofer is indeed set for a more gain than the panel, so click on the crossover box (the one with the X in it) and lower the gain for the low frequency filter to be a DB or two lower than it is.

This is where the SPL meter would com in handy.

Play some pink noise through the preamp, and mute the panel output by clicking the appropriate bypass switches on the front of the DriveRack (the buttons beneath the VU meters for each output channel on the front).

Measure its SPL from about 10' away.

Now mute the woofers and unmute the panels, repeat for each channel.

Use the delta between the two measurements to determine how much to add to which element.

So if the woofer is 3dB louder than the panel, lower the gain setting in the crossover section for the woofer by 3db.

Have fun!

 

[jedi35]

Oooohhhh, ran out of time, and didn't get to play around with the 260 tonite like I wanted to. I let it play music all day to burn in a bit more, and got to listen for just a bit. Man, it's really opening up, and the sound is very sweet. It's amazing how bright and harsh the sound was at the beginning, compared to what it is now. I can easily live with this sound if I had to, with just the volume and bass gain adjustments. Of course, I'm going to want to tweak like crazy, as I'm supposed to.

Is there anyway to dim or shutoff the front panel display and LED readouts? I can see that being a little bothersome. I'm not really hearing noise or hum from my listening position. I'm happy about that. I'm setup now with the speakers along the long wall, so I'm listening closer than I'd really like to. The width that I gained did wonders for the overall soundstaging, but I don't think that I'm even 10' back from the speakers. When I had them set up to fire down the length of the long walls, the outside edges of the speakers were really close to the side walls, sucking air out of my image. Hopefully tomorrow I can play with the 260 a lot more.

Adrian

 

[jedi35]

Last night I stayed up later that I should have, and got the 260 connected to my new laptop successfully! What's funny is that I still had to download the software and install it, as well as matching up the com ports. I followed the exact same procedures on both laptops, except it worked on the new one. It's so nice to be able to adjust so many settings from my listening seat. I still need to play around more with the input gain but I definitely got the woofers lowered, maybe too much. Let the games begin.

Adrian