Dynaudio Professional Air Manual English

Dynaudio Professional AIR
Reference manual
2014-09-28

Setup menu ► External clock setup 24 Checking monitor placement 55

Table of contents Setup menu ► Analog input sensitivity 25 Equalizing the monitors 56
Setup menu ► Monitor calibration 26 Calibrating the main monitors 57
Setup menu ► Clear setup for entire network 28 Placing the subwoofer 59
Important safety instructions 1 Checking subwoofer placement 60
EMC/EMI 3 AIR setups 29 Calibrating the subwoofers
Stereo setup – digital or analog 31 with the main monitors 61
Before you begin 4 Stereo setup with mono subwoofer –
Your new Dynaudio Professional AIR monitors 5 digital or analog 32 AIR Remote 63
About this manual 6 Stereo setup with two subwoofers – AIR Remote – introduction 64
digital or analog 33
The AIR concept 7 5.1 setup – digital 34 AIR Control software 66
Introduction 8 5.1 setup – analog 35 AIR Control software – introduction 67
The master/slave concept 9 5.3 setup – digital 36 AIR Control software main features 67
The Master unit 9 5.3 setup – analog 37 AIR Control software system requirements 67
The Slave and subwoofer units 10 6.1 setup – analog 38 Obtaining AIR Control software 68
Initializing the network 10 5.1 setup with Digital AES/EBU card 40 Installing AIR Control software 68
Remote control using AIR Remote or Stereo setup with chains on left and right 41 Setting up AIR Control software 69
AIR Control software 11 7.1 setup – analog or digital 42 Global and local parameters 70
Common features for both the 5.1 setup – digital – 192 kHz 44 Basic editing procedures 70
Master and Slave units 11 6.1 setup – digital – 192 kHz 45 AIR Control software version information 70
Standby, Power Save mode and Global – Main page 71
powering down your AIR system 12 Recalling and storing presets 46 File page 71
Other AIR features 12 Recalling presets 47 Bass management page 73
Storing presets 47 EQ Link page 74
Rear panel controls and connections 13 Parameter storage 47 Lock page 75
AIR Master unit with analog inputs – rear panel 14 Preferences page 76
Slave/Sub – rear panel 15 Placing the monitors 48 Selecting monitors for configuration 77
Digital I/O card (optional) 15 Overview 49 Monitor Setup page 78
General considerations: symmetry 50 Monitor EQ page 80
Operating your AIR monitors 16 Front monitors, left and right 51 Monitor Firmware page 81
The AIR display and keys 17 Center front monitor 51 Monitor Log page 81
Basic navigation/operation 17 Surround monitors, left and right 51
Monitor positions 52
AIR Menu structure and parameters 19
Home screen 20 Checking and optimizing monitor placement 53
Configuring bass management 21 Overview 54
Setup menu ► Setup selection 22 Assigning monitor positions 54
Setup menu ► Monitor tasks setup 23 Phase checking 54
Dynaudio Professional AIR reference manual – 2014-09-28 a

Cables 82 Appendix: Acoustics 106

TC LINK via standard Cat 5 cables 83 Introduction 107
AES/EBU cables 83 Sabine’s formula 108
Balanced audio cables 84 Absorbers 109
Custom serial to CAT 5 cable 84 Diffusors 110
USB to COM 9 pin adapter 84 Standing waves 111
Comb filtering 113
Presets 85 Rear wall cancellation 115
Subwoofers 116
Reset procedures 87 Bass management 117
The LFE Channel 118
Error messages 89 Delaying monitors 119
Line-up and calibration 120
Warranty 91 Measuring sound pressure 122
Exceptions 92
Links 123
Technical specifications 93 Support resources 124
AIR 6 & AIR 15 (Master and Slave) 94 Dynaudio Professional on… 124
AIR 20 & AIR 25 (Master and Slave) 95 Dynaudio Professional newsletter 124
AIR BASE 1 & AIR BASE 2 96
AIR Base 12 97
AIR Base 24 98
Room size and typical listening distance 99
General specifications for AIR 6,
AIR 15, AIR 20, AIR 25, AIR BASE 1,
AIR BASE 2, AIR BASE 12 & AIR Base 24 100
AIR Remote 101
General specifications for all products 102
Delay in system 103
Certificate of conformity 104
Dynaudio Professional AIR reference manual – 2014-09-28 b

Important safety instructions
Dynaudio Professional AIR reference manual – 2014-09-28 1

11. Only use attachments/accessories specified by ►► This equipment should be installed near the socket
The lightning flash with an arrowhead symbol the manufacturer. outlet and disconnection of the device should be
within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert 12. Use only with the cart, stand, tripod, bracket, or easily accessible.
the user to the presence of uninsulated “danger- table specified by the manufacturer, or sold with ►► To completely disconnect from AC mains, discon-
ous voltage” within the product’s enclosure that the apparatus. When a cart is used, use caution nect the power supply cord from the AC receptacle.
may be of sufficient magnitude to constitute a when moving the cart/apparatus combi- ►► The mains plug of the power supply shall remain
risk of electric shock to persons. nation to avoid injury from tip-over. readily operable.
13. Unplug this apparatus during lightning storms or ►► Do not install in a confined space.
The exclamation point within an equilateral tri- when unused for long periods of time. ►► Do not open the unit – risk of electric shock inside.
angle is intended to alert the user to the pres- 14. Refer all servicing to qualified service person- ►► For use at altitude 2000 m or lower
ence of important operating and maintenance nel. Servicing is required when the apparatus
(servicing) instructions in the literature accom- has been damaged in any way, such as pow-
panying the product. er-supply cord or plug is damaged, liquid has ►► Mains ground must be connected.
been spilled or objects have fallen into the appa- ►► Norwegian:
1. Read these instructions. ratus, the apparatus has been exposed to rain Apparatet må tilkoples jordet stikkontakt.
2. Keep these instructions. or moisture, does not operate normally, or has ►► Swedish:
3. Heed all warnings. been dropped. Apparaten skall anslutas till jordat uttag.
4. Follow all instructions. ►► Finnish:
5. Do not use this apparatus near water. Warning! Laite on liitettävä suojakoskettimilla varus-tettuun
6. Clean only with dry cloth. ►► To reduce the risk of fire or electrical shock, do not pistorasiaan.
7. Install in accordance with the manufacturer’s in- expose this equipment to dripping or splashing and
structions. ensure that no objects filled with liquids, such as
8. Do not install near any heat sources such as ra- vases, are placed on the equipment. Caution
diators, heat registers, stoves, or other appara- ►► This apparatus must be earthed. You are cautioned that any change or modifications not
tus (including amplifiers) that produce heat. ►► Use a three wire grounding type line cord like the expressly approved in this manual could void your au-
9. Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polar- one supplied with the product. thority to operate this equipment.
ized or grounding-type plug. A polarized plug ►► Be advised that different operating voltages require
has two blades with one wider than the other. A the use of different types of line cord and attach-
grounding type plug has two blades and a third ment plugs. Service
grounding prong. The wide blade or the third ►► Check the voltage in your area and use the correct ►► There are no user-serviceable parts inside.
prong are provided for your safety. If the pro- type. See table below: ►► All service must be performed by qualified person-
vided plug does not fit into your outlet, consult Voltage Line plug according to standard nel.
an electrician for replacement of the obsolete 110-125V UL817 and CSA C22.2 no 42.
outlet. 220-230V CEE 7 page VII, SR section 107-2-D1/IEC 83
page C4.
10. Protect the power cord from being walked on 240V BS 1363 of 1984. Specification for 13A fused
or pinched particularly at plugs, convenience plugs and switched and unswitched socket
receptacles, and the point where they exit from outlets.
the apparatus.

EMC/EMI
This equipment has been tested and found to comply
with the limits for a Class B Digital device, pursuant to
part 15 of the FCC rules.
These limits are designed to provide reasonable protec-

tion against harmful interference in residential installa-
tions. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate
radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used
in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful
interference to radio communications. However, there
is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a par-
ticular installation. If the equipment does cause harmful
interference to radio or television reception, which can
be determined by turning the equipment off an on, the
user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by
one or more of the following measures.
►► Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.

►► Increase the separation between the equipment
and receiver.
►► Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit
different from that to which the receiver is connect-
ed.
►► Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV
technician for help.
For customers in Canada:

This Class B digital apparatus complies with Canadian
ICES-003.
Cet appareil numérique de la classe B est conforme à

la norme NMB-003 du Canada.

Before you begin
Before you begin

Before you begin
Your new Dynaudio Professional AIR monitors

Congratulations on your purchase of the Dynaudio Pro- Break-in time
fessional AIR active monitor system. With the right care The transducers of your Dynaudio Professional AIR
and attention, it will provide many years of excellent monitor will achieve better sound quality after breaking
and trouble-free audio reproduction. in. Especially after the first hours of use you may notice
a significant advance in sound quality, and further sub-
tle improvements in subsequent hours of use.
Care
Components of the highest quality are used in your Dy-
naudio Professional AIR speakers. This assures years Downloading test tone sets
of trouble-free operation. Following precautions should To set up, configure and calibrate your Dynaudio Pro-
still be made though. fessional monitors, we have created two sets of test
tones in WAV format – a stereo set and a multichannel
►► Avoid running the system into severe clipping. set. Throughout this manual, we will refer to these test
Although there is an advanced protection system, tones by their numbers.
you may be able to destroy your speakers by se-
verely overpowering them. The limiter works over You can download both sets of test tones from this
a certain range, but exceeding this level may send page:
a severely clipped signal to your drivers. When a
noticeable distortion occurs, please turn down the dynaudioprofessional.com/pages/choosing-by-ear/
level to your speakers.
►► Avoid hot-plugging the equipment connected to
the monitors. Always turn off the speaker and other Service
equipment when plugging or unplugging signals, or There are no user serviceable parts inside the monitor.
switching equipment on or off.
►► Do not touch the drive units by hand.
Getting support
If you still have questions about the product after read-
ing this manual, please get in touch with Dynaudio Pro-
fessional Support:
dynaudioprofessional.com/support/

Before you begin
About this manual

Read this manual to learn how to set up and operate
your Dynaudio Professional AIR monitors.
To get the most from this manual, please read it from

start to finish, or you may miss important information.
This manual is available as a PDF download from the

Dynaudio Professional website.
Of course, you can print this manual, but we encourage

you to use the PDF version, which has both internal
and external hyperlinks. For example, clicking the logo
in the upper left corner of each page will take you back
to the table of contents.
To download the most current version of this manual,

visit
dynaudioprofessional.com/support/

The AIR concept
The AIR concept

The AIR concept
Introduction
Dynaudio and TC Electronic are proud to present Extreme precision
the AIR monitor system.
The AIR monitor systems take a giant step forward in The frequency response and timing of the woofer and
near-field monitoring. They include switch-mode ampli- tweeter signals of AIR monitors is controlled to a level
fication and power-supply. With the addition of DSP and of precision only practically obtainable with DSP. Fur-
CPU, new possibilities are opened for easy, convenient thermore, the sensitivity of each individual loudspeaker
and precise central control of both audio and setup. driver is measured in the line of production, and devi-
The AIR monitor system’s networking possibilities will ations are compensated in the DSP software to 0.1 dB
fit nicely into today’s applications and can be taken far steps.
into the future studio.
Perfectly aligned monitors also give the so far unseen
A brief overview of the advantages offered by the AIR advantage of interchangeability. In the unlikely case of
concept: a monitor breakdown, a perfectly matching monitor can
be added instantly.
►► System integration and networking: total recall,
central control As most productions do end up in a digital format these
►► Flexibility/adjustment possibilities: to the room, days, the AIR series allow monitoring of the “pure” dig-
personal liking etc. ital signal. Simply feed the monitors directly with an
►► Extreme precision: precise alignment of individual AES/EBU signal.
monitors at the factory
►► Improved audio quality: from intelligent algorithms Having said that, many studios today are still working
and precision filters with analog signals for monitoring – therefore, an ana-
►► Direct Digital Reference (Digital Input) log input option is also provided.
Both AIR 6 and AIR 15 are professional audio rear- The following section is an introduction to the basic
ported near-field monitors and are excellent for both AIR system components and concepts. You will find
stereo and surround setups in applications such as mu- detailed parameter explanations, setup guides and cal-
sic recording/mixing, post production, film, broadcast, ibration info in later sections of this manual.
video-editing etc.

The AIR concept
Audio signals from your studio are fed to the Master

The master/ monitors only, and the signals are distributed from here The Master unit
to the connected Slave units through a proprietary net-
slave concept working protocol. Please note that a Master monitor The Master unit distributes audio and control data to the
acts exactly as a Slave monitor when its TC LINK connected Slave units.
The networking feature allows all monitors in a setup – button is set to the in “IN” position.
no matter if it is stereo or surround, digital or analog – to System Controller, Master or Slave
always be aligned. This provides great possibilities in To set up a Master unit to be either the System Control-
terms of general control of the entire system. Master monitor as System Controller ler or a regular Master or Slave unit, the LINK switch on
Setting up an AIR system is done from the System the rear panel must be set up correctly.
Two physically different units exist for each AIR model: Controller monitor. LINK switch on AIR Master Unit set to “Out”:
a Master unit and a Slave unit. The monitor operates as a System Controller.
You set up, set tasks and calibrate all connected mon- LINK switch on AIR Master Unit set to “In”:
itors in the entire system either using AIR control soft- The monitor operates as either:
AIR Master units ware or from a Master monitor that acts as the System ►► a regular Master with digital Inputs (analog Inputs
An AIR Master unit is able to: Controller monitor. are only with the optional analog I/O card installed)
►► receive digital audio on AES connections or
►► receive analog audio (if an analog card is installed) One – and only one – of the Master monitors must be ►► as a Slave unit.
►► send and receive audio and control data via the set up as the System Controller. This is done by set-
proprietary TC LINK connection. ting the TC LINK button on the rear panel to the “Out”
position. Inputs and outputs
An AIR Master unit is equipped with
►► AES/EBU Input connectors and
Air Slave units ►► three Link connectors carrying both audio and
A Slave unit is able to receive and distribute audio and control data to connected Slave units.
control data via the proprietary TC LINK connection.
Connectors
►► 1* AES/EBU – XLR
►► 2* Link RJ45 connectors
►► 1* Link/Input RJ45 connector
►► 1* Word Clock BNC sync
Fig. 1: AIR Master monitor – rear
Fig. 2: Slave monitor – rear

The AIR concept
Option slot
Two card types are currently available. The Slave and Initializing the network
►► An analog input module allowing you to feed a
Master unit with two analog input signals. subwoofer units When the setup is powered up for the first time, the
►► An AES Digital Input card (TC Electronic item Master unit scans the setup in order to determine the
number 995285001) giving you the option of send- The Slave and Sub units contain one RJ45 Input con- number of monitors connected. Each monitor is recog-
ing all six channels in a 5.1 setup to one single nector and one Link connector. nized via a unique serial number, but can be renamed
Master monitor. This card will also support inputs according to its task.
at 192 kHz. Audio and control data are sent from the Master unit to
From there, the signal is distributed to four slave the Slave units via the RJ45 Input connector. The RJ45 After the initial scanning of the setup, the Master unit
monitors and a subwoofer via the TC LINK RJ-45 Link connector can be used for data transmission to will be re-scanning the setup every five seconds in or-
connections, creating a fully digital 5.1 setup. additional monitors. der to determine any change.
Additional AIR Control units

Additional control units – such as a computer running
the AIR Control software or the AIR Remote – can be
connected to any free “Link” connector in the system.
Control data is transmitted via the System Controller,

and distributed to other monitors in the network.

The AIR concept
AIR Control software

Remote control using AIR Control software allows you to carry out advanced Common features
calibration and alignment of your AIR monitoring sys-
AIR Remote or AIR tem. The software provides access to advanced tools for both the Master
and features inside AIR monitors and subwoofers, in-
Control software cluding timing and SPL calibration and parametric EQs and Slave units
for each monitor. AIR Control lets you define and store
You can set up and control AIR monitor systems … custom setups and presets with selective parameter
locking, and a special measurement mode provides EQ Advanced Condition Monitoring
1. locally via the Master monitor’s user interface line signal out from selected monitors. For both the Master and the Slave units, several pro-
(the display and the buttons surrounding it) tection systems are included in the AIR monitors. They
2. via the optional AIR Remote or To download AIR Control software, go to insure both short term protection against large dynamic
3. from a computer running the free AIR Control dynaudioprofessional.com/ pulse signals and long term protection against over-
software. air-series/monitors/air-control/ heating, which could permanently damage the drivers.
AIR Remote For more information about AIR Control software, see
AIR Remote is a dedicated hardware remote control “AIR Control software” on page 66. Long term thermal protection
that ensures convenient daily operation. AIR Remote Inside the amplifier module, the temperature of the
provides instant access to all significant operation heat sink is constantly monitored so any dangerous
parameters such as global volume, reference levels, over-temperature situations can be avoided, protecting
preset recall as well as solo and mute status for each the entire electronic module. Furthermore, the tempera-
monitor. The AIR Remote is powered through a TC Link ture of the tweeter voice coil is calculated with behav-
cable which can be connected to any AIR monitor. ioral modeling of the tweeter’s thermal characteristics.
To learn more about AIR Remote, go to

dynaudioprofessional.com/
air-series/monitors/air-remote/

The AIR concept
Standby, Power Save Other AIR features

mode and powering
High-efficiency compact switched-
down your AIR system mode power supply (SMPS)
Activating Power Save mode manually For saving overhead power consumption and to insure
The amplifier in an AIR monitor can detect whether or In general, you should activate Power Save mode in- optimal performance, every AIR monitor is equipped
not there is a signal on the analog or digital inputs. stead of powering your AIR system down using the with a high-efficiency compact switched-mode Power
main switches. Supply (SMPS). Using switched technology both in am-
If no input has been detected for more than half an hour plifiers and power supply can reduce the heat sink size
(this is the default value), all monitors in a network will ►► To activate Power Save mode manually, press and to about a third of the size it would be with regular pow-
go to Standby mode. They will recover from Standby hold the Exit button on the System controller. er supply and class AB amplifiers.
mode automatically when a signal is received. The ►► To wake your AIR system from Power Save mode,
power up time from Standby is a few hundred millisec- press any button on the System controller.
onds.
Your AIR system will automatically go into Power Save
If no input signal is detected for 2.5 hours (again, this mode after 2.5 hours by default.
is a default value), the system will go into Power Save
mode. Any user intervention – such as touching the
Master Volume dial on the AIR Remote or touching the Powering down
Master monitor display – will recover the system from If you need to switch the system off using the mains
Standby mode. switches on the rear panels of your AIR monitors, make
sure to turn down the global volume first.
You can change the Standby mode and Power Save
mode activation times using the Utility menu on an AIR Switch Slave monitors off before switching of Master
Master unit or using the AIR Control software – see monitors.
“Preferences page” on page 76.

Rear panel controls and connections
Rear panel controls

and connections
AIR Master unit with analog inputs – rear panel

1. System Controller/Slave switch
Out position: The monitor operates as a System
Controller. There can be only one System Control-
1 ler in a setup.
In position: The monitor operates as either a regu-
lar Master or a Slave unit.
2 2. RJ45 Link connections for downstream Slave units
3 3. Option slot with analog I/O card installed (optional)
4. AES/EBU digital Input
5. Word Clock BNC sync input
6. Power input – 100 to 240 V
7. Power On/Off switch
6 7
Fig. 3: AIR Master unit with analog inputs – rear panel

Slave/Sub – rear panel Digital I/O card (optional)
Fig. 5: Digital I/O card (optional)
With this card installed in the option slot of the Master

unit, a 5.1 Digital/6 Master setup becomes an option.
Three AES/EBU connections (6 channels) can then be
fed to one Master monitor and distributed downstream.
For more information, see “Setups”.
3 2
Fig. 4: Slave/Sub – rear panel
1. RJ45 Link connections for downstream Slave units

2. Power input – 100 to 240 V
3. Power On/Off switch

Operating your AIR monitors

Arrow (up and down) keys

The AIR display and keys These keys are used for navigating and adjusting pa- Basic navigation/
rameter values.
Use the four keys to the left and the right of the display operation
to navigate the menus of your AIR Master unit. A parameter can be edited when it has been selected
using the ENTER key. Editable parameters are indicat- ►► Use the two arrow keys to select a value for a pa-
ed by an asterisk (“*”). rameter or a submenu. When a parameter namer
is preceded by an asterisk (“ * “), it can be altered
Once you have set a parameter (e.g. a monitor task), using the arrow keys.
you do not need to confirm it. Changes are applied im- ►► Use the ENTER key to enter a menu or to confirm
mediately. However, if you later want to recall a given an operation.
Fig. 6: The display and keys of an AIR master unit configuration, you need to store it as a preset first – see ►► Use the EXIT key to move up one level in the
“Storing presets” on page 47. menu hierarchy or to discard (cancel) an operation.
ENTER key
The ENTER key has two main functions: Overload Indication LED Navigating the setup menu
►► To enter the menus currently displayed. When this LED flashes, the monitor’s built-in amp is ►► From the home screen, press the ENTER key.
►► To set the displayed parameter in Edit mode. driven beyond maximum performance. A continuous “Bass Management” is displayed.
overload will activate the amp protection circuit and the ►► Press the DOWN key until “Setup menu” is dis-
When a parameter can be edited using the arrow keys monitor will be shut down. The monitor can be reacti- played.
to the right of the display, a “*” is set as the first charac- vated after a short period of cooling down. ►► Press the ENTER key again.
ter in front of the parameter. ►► Press the UP and DOWN keys to select the
This situation will NOT damage the monitor in any way. desired submenu (for example “Setup” or “Set
monitor tasks”).
EXIT key ►► Press the ENTER key to open the desired sub-
The EXIT key is used to exit the current display and go menu.
to previous menu level. ►► An asterisk will be shown in front of the menu
name (for example “*Select clock”), indicating that

you can select an option.
►► Press the UP and DOWN keys to select the de-
sired setting.
►► After making settings, press the EXIT key (repeat-
edly, if required) to close the menu and return to

the home screen.

AIR menu structure

This overview shows the AIR parameter structure accessible via the AIR monitor set as System Controller. Default values are highlighted.
[Serial No.] [Monitor task] Home screen – Press the Enter key to navigate the menus structure shown below.
Volume -50.0 dB see “Home screen” on page 20.
Bass Management X-over *Select Mode: Off / X-over 50Hz / X-over 80Hz
/ X-over Ext 50Hz / X-over Ext 80Hz / X-over
THX 80Hz / X-over SC 120Hz
Setup Menu Setup “xxxx” *Select setup: Empty / Custom / Stereo analog / Stereo digital / 5.1 analog / 5.1 digital / 6.1 ana-
log / 6.1 digital / 5.3 analog / 5.3 digital / 5.1 digital/6 Master
Set monitor tasks – *Select AIR Master “xxxx” *Select task: No task / L Front / R Front / Center / (C) SUB / L Sur / R Sur / C Sur / L SUB / R
SUB / L Chain / R Chain / L Inner / Custom 1-4
External clock *Select clock: BNC Input Off / BNC Input On
BNC Sync “xxx”
Input Sensitivity *Sensitivity A-Input: +9 dBu / +15 dBu / +21 dBu / +27 dBu
A-Input Gain
Calibrate monitor – *Select AIR Master “xxxx” For AIR monitors:
Pink Noise: Off/On
Calib: 0.0 dB
Rel. Lev: -5.0 dB
Position: Neutral / Wall / Corner / Console C. / Wall C. / Corn
Bass: 0.0 dB
Treble: 0.0 dB
For AIR BASE subwoofers:
Pink Noise: Off / On
Calib: 0.0 dB
Rel. Lev: -5.0 dB
LFE LP: Off / On
LFE Gain: 0 to 14 dB
Polarity: 0/180 degrees
Phase: 0 to 180 degrees
Recall Preset *Select preset 1 User Preset locations: User presets (1 to 15) and factory presets (16 to 32)
Store Preset *Select preset 1 User Storage locations for user presets: 1 to 15
Utility Menu Duration before Standby:
15 min / 30 min / 1 h / 1.5 h / off
Powersave: 1 h / 1.5 h / 2.5 h / 3 h / 5 h / off
Backlight: on / auto / off
Autosave volume: on / off

AIR Menu structure and parameters
AIR Menu structure

and parameters
In this chapter, you will learn how to navigate the menu

structure of your AIR monitors, access and change pa- Home screen
rameters such as system setup, bass management and
monitor tasks.
Once you know how to navigate the AIR Menu struc-

ture, you can configure and calibrate your system. All Fig. 7: AIR monitor home screen, showing the sample
standard setups are shown and explained in “AIR set- rate, the monitor’s task and the volume
ups” on page 29.
The home screen of your AIR Master unit will show the
role/position of the monitor (once it has been set up)
and the set volume for this unit.
A “+” in the upper right corner indicates that this spe-

cific Master Unit has been set up to act as the System
Controller – see “System Controller, Master or Slave”
on page 9.
When the home screen is shown, you can use the ar-
row keys to the right of the display to set the volume.
Tap the buttons to change volume in 0.5 dB steps,
press and hold to change it continuously.

Bass management modes and crossover frequencies

Configuring bass
management Displayed name Bass management mode name Satellite Sub 4th Sub 2nd LFE = Sub
filter order order
Bass management is available for the following setups: Off (No bass management; only the LFE
channel is distributed to the sub.)
►► Standard Stereo with 1 subwoofer X-Over 50 Hz X-Over 50 Hz 50 Hz 50 Hz 50 Hz No
►► Standard Stereo with 2 subwoofer X-Over 80 Hz X-Over 80 Hz 80 Hz 80 Hz 80 Hz No
►► 5.1 Analog Ext. 50 Hz Extension 50 Hz Off 50 Hz 50 Hz No
►► 5.3 Analog Ext. 80 Hz Extension 80 Hz Off 80 Hz 80 Hz No
►► 6.1 Analog THX 80 Hz THX Simulation 80 Hz 80 Hz 80 Hz Off Yes
►► 6.1 Digital – at 192 kHz SC 120 Hz Small Consumer 120 Hz * 120 Hz 120 Hz 80 Hz Yes
►► 5.3 Digital
►► 5.1 Digital/6 Master
►► 5.1 Digital – at 192 kHz Note that the modes “Extension 50” and “Extension 80
Hz” use no bass management on satellite speaker, thus
playing full range.
Notes on bass management
►► Satellite monitors use 2nd order highpass filters
to attenuate frequencies below the set crossover Bass management and AIR Control software
frequency. Via AIR Control software, you can access an advanced
►► Subwoofers use 4th order lowpass filters to attenu- Bass Management mode. In this mode, all filters (Sat-
ate frequencies above the set crossover frequency. ellite, Sub 4 and Sub 2) can be controlled to suit de-
manding setups. See “Bass management page” on
page 73.
Configuring bass management
►► From the home screen, press the ENTER key.
“Bass Management” is displayed.

►► Press the ENTER key again.
“*Select Mode” is displayed.

►► Select the desired mode using the UP and DOWN
keys.
►► After setting the desired mode, press the EXIT key
to close the menu.

Selecting your AIR system setup

Setup menu ► ►► From the home screen, press the ENTER key.
►► Press the DOWN key until “Setup menu” is dis-
Setup selection played.

►► Press the ENTER key.
Use the Setup selection menu to specify how your AIR “Setup” is displayed.
system is set up. All standard setups are shown and ►► Press the ENTER key.
explained in “AIR setups” on page 29. “*Select setup” is displayed.

►► Press the UP and DOWN keys to select the correct
setup.
►► Press the ENTER key to confirm your selection.
►► Press the EXIT key repeatedly to return to the
home screen.
Setup name Remarks

Empty No selection
Custom For custom configurations.
Stereo analog Two monitor stereo setup with analog* inputs selected
Stereo Digital Two monitor stereo setup with digital inputs selected
5.1 Analog 5.1 setup with analog* inputs selected
5.1 Digital 5.1 setup with digital inputs selected
6.1 Analog 5.1 Setup + Center surround on a separate channel gives the 6.1 setup.
6.1 Digital 5.1 Setup + Center surround on a separate channel gives the 6.1 setup.
5.3 Analog Analog setup with 5 monitors and 3 subs
5.3 Digital Digital setup with 5 monitors and 3 subs
5.1 Digital/6 Master 5.1 Setup using one Master unit with optional Digital I/O card installed, 4 slave monitors (or Masters set as slave) and 1 sub
* Analog inputs are only available with an optional analog card installed.

Displayed task name Full monitor task name

Setup menu ► No task No task assigned
L Front Left Front
Monitor tasks setup R Front Right Front
Center Center
Use the Setup monitor tasks menu to assign tasks to (C) Sub (C) Subwoofer
the monitors in your AIR System. L Sub Left Subwoofer
R Sub Right Subwoofer
Each monitor must be given a task indicating its func- L Sur Left Surround
tion and position. The System Controller – Master unit R Sur Right Surround
will only be able to identify and control all monitors in C Sur Center Surround
your AIR system correctly if these tasks have been as- LsChain Left Surround / Chain
signed correctly. RsChain Right Surround / Chain
CsChain Center Surround / Chain
L Inner Left Inner
Selecting the task for an AIR monitor R Inner Right Inner
►► Press the DOWN key until “Setup menu” is dis- Fig. 8: Available monitor tasks
played.
►► Press the DOWN key until “Set monitor tasks” is
displayed.
►► Press the UP and DOWN keys to select a monitor.
Each monitor is identified by its serial number,

which is shown on a label with a barcode on the
back.
►► Press the UP and DOWN keys to select a monitor
task.
home screen.

Setup menu ►
External clock setup
Configuring external clock

played.
►► Press the DOWN key until “External clock” is
displayed.
“*Select clock” is displayed.

sired mode.
home screen.
Display clock Remarks

mode name
BNC Sync On The monitor attempts to lock on the Word Clock BNC.
BNC Sync Off The monitor will attempt to lock on the AES input.
Fig. 9: External clock modes

Setup menu ► Analog

input sensitivity
Configuring analog input sensitivity

played.
►► Press the DOWN key until “Sensitivity” is dis-
played.
“*Sensitivity” is displayed.
sired sensitivity.
home screen.
Analog input sensitivity settings

+9 dBu
+15 dBu
+21 dBu
+27 dBu
Fig. 10: Analog input sensitivity settings

Notes regarding the LFE channel

Setup menu ► Please note that in general the LFE channel should be
mixed with +10 dB headroom.
Monitor calibration
If you are not able to boost your LFE monitor output
Use the calibration menu to calibrate each monitor in from your console, +10 dB gain can be added on your
your AIR System. AIR BASE input. Most format encoders / decoders take
the LFE boost into account, meaning that you should
This section only describes the basic parameters of the leave the AIR BASE LFE gain at 0 dB when playing
monitor calibration submenu. For more information re- back a DTS or DOLBY encoded material on your AIR
garding monitor placement and calibration, see “Plac- system. LFE gain is set at 0 dB in all factory presets, so
ing the monitors” on page 48 and “Calibrating the if you need to add gain on your AIR BASE please ad-
main monitors” on page 57. just this parameter and store the new setting in a user
preset location.
Calibrating monitors in your AIR system

played.
►► Press the DOWN key until “Calibrate monitor” is
displayed.
►► Press the UP and DOWN keys to select a monitor.
►► Press the UP and DOWN keys to select a calibra-
tion parameter.
►► Press the ENTER key to activate the selected
parameter for editing.

►► Press the UP and DOWN keys to set the selected
parameter to the desired value.

►► Press the EXIT key to move up one level in the
hierarchy and select another parameter for editing,

or
home screen.

Parameters available for all AIR monitors

Parameter Range / values Explanation
Pink Noise On/Off
Calibrate -6 dB to +6 dB Level calibration of the selected monitor
Rel. Lev -40 dB to 0 dB Relative preset volume for the selected monitor
Room Position Neutral / Wall / Corner / Console / C. Wall
(Console Wall) / C. Corn (Console Corner)
Bass -6 dB to +6 dB Bass adjustment for the selected monitor
Treble -6 dB to +6 dB Treble adjustment for the selected monitor
Fig. 11: Parameters available for all AIR monitors
Parameters for AIR BASE subwoofers

Parameter Range / values Explanation
Pink Noise On/Off
Calibrate -18 dB to +6 dB Level calibration of the selected monitor.
Rel. Lev. – -40 dB to 0 dB Preset volume for the selected monitor relative to the calibrated and
(Relative Level) global volume.
LFE Low Pass On/Off Brick wall Limiter on the LFE channel attenuating frequencies above
120 Hz.
LFE Gain -6 to +8 dB With this parameter you can boost the acoustic gain of the LFE
channel.
Polarity 0 / 180º If the Subwoofer is correctly placed, setting the Polarity parameter
to 180º should result in a full phase cancellation at the set crossover
frequency. If this is not the case, the Delay parameter should be
adjusted.
Phase 0 to 180° Use this parameter to time-compensate if the subwoofer is not placed
according to the ITU 775 recommendations. There are individual
Phase settings for each of the Bass Management Cross-over
frequencies. Once set, these are stored as Global settings.
Fig. 12: Parameters for AIR BASE subwoofers

Setup menu ► Clear

setup for entire network
Use this function to clear settings for your entire AIR
system. All connected monitors will be reset to default
settings.
Clearing the setup for the entire network

played.
►► Press the DOWN key until “Clear setup for entire
network” is displayed.
“Accept to clear network setup?” is displayed.

►► Press the ENTER key to clear the setup or press
the EXIT key to discard.

AIR setups
AIR setups

AIR setups
The setups shown in this chapter will only oper-

ate correctly if all connections are made exactly as
seen in the illustrations!
Important: Master monitor setting

►► In each setup, one specific Master monitor must be
set as the System Controller.

►► To set a Master monitor as System Controller, the
TC LINK button on the rear panel of this monitor

must be set to the Out position.
►► The TC LINK button on all other Master monitors
must be set to the In position.
Reading the setup illustrations

►► The AIR Remote shown in most setups is an op-
tional hardware remote control. For more informa-

tion, see “AIR Remote” on page 63.
►► Audio signals are represented by solid lines:
►► TC link signals are represented by dashed lines:

AIR setups
Understanding and using this setup

Stereo setup – digital or analog
►► Audio signals are represented by solid lines.
►► TC link signals are represented by dashed lines.
►► The left monitor is set as the System Controller by
Stereo setup – digital or analog
setting the TC Link button on the rear panel to the
L+R Digital (AES) or analog audio signals “out” position.
►► The left monitor receives both the left and right
input signals.
►► The right monitor receives audio via the TC-LINK
Master Slave
RJ-45 connection.
►► The AIR Remote or a computer running the AIR
Left Right
Control software (both optional) can be connected
System Ctrl.
to any available TC LINK Out connection.
Fig. 13: This illustration shows how to connect a standard stereo setup.

AIR setups

Stereo setup with mono subwoofer – digital or analog
Stereo Setup with 1 subwoofer – digital or analog ►► The left monitor is set as the System Controller by
L+R Digital (AES) or analog audio signals “out” position.
input signals.
►► The right monitor and the subwoofer receive audio
Master Slave
via the TC-LINK RJ-45 connection from the left
monitor.
Left Right
►► With no bass management, no signal is sent to the
System Ctrl.
subwoofer.
►► With bass management activated, low-frequency
information is extracted from the left and right
channels below the set crossover frequency and
Sub fed to the subwoofer.
Subwoofer Control software (both optional) can be connected
Fig. 14: This illustration shows how to connect a stereo setup with one subwoofer.

AIR setups

Stereo setup with two subwoofers – digital or analog
Stereo setup with 2 subs – digital or analog setting the TC Link button on the rear panel to the
L+R AES or analog signal “out” position.
input signals.
Master Slave ►► The right monitor and the subwoofers receive
audio via the TC-LINK RJ-45 connection from the
Left Right left monitor.
System Ctrl. ►► With no bass management, no signal is sent to the
subwoofers.
information is extracted from the left and right
channels below the set crossover frequency.
Sub Sub
Low-frequency information from the left channel
Left Right is sent to the left subwoofer, and low-frequency
subwoofer subwoofer information from the right channel is sent to the
right subwoofer.
Fig. 15: This illustration shows how to connect a stereo setup with two subwoofers.

AIR setups

5.1 setup – digital
5.1 setup – digital setting the TC Link button on the rear panel to the
LS + RS L+R C + LFE “out” position.
input signals.
Master Master Slave ►► The right monitor receives audio via the TC-LINK
RJ-45 connection from the left monitor.
Left Center Right ►► The left surround monitor (LS) receives both the
System Ctrl. left and right surround channel signals.
►► The right surround monitor receives audio via the
TC-LINK RJ-45 connection from the left surround
monitor.
►► The center monitor (C) receives both center and
Sub
LFE channels.
►► The LFE monitor receives audio via the RJ-45
Subwoofer
connection from the center monitor.
Master Slave to any available TC LINK Out connection.
►► Bass management is only available in this digital
Left Right setup if the optional Digital input cards are in-
Surround Surround stalled.
►► On the System controller (C), set setup to “5.1
Fig. 16: This illustration shows how to connect a 5.1 digital setup. digital/Digi 6”.

AIR setups

5.1 setup – analog
5.1 setup – analog setting the TC Link button on the rear panel to the
“out” position.
LS RS L R C LFE ►► The left monitor receives both the left and right
L R L R input signals.
Left Center Right ►► The left surround monitor (LS) receives both the
Sytem Ctrl. left and right surround channel signals.
TC-LINK RJ-45 connection from the left surround
monitor.
Sub LFE channels.
Subwoofer connection from the center monitor.
►► With no bass management, the subwoofer will play
only the LFE channel.
R
Master Slave
information from the five main channels is extract-
Left Right ed and sent to the subwoofer, where it is summed
L Surround Surround with the LFE channel.
Fig. 17: This illustration shows how to connect a 5.1 analog setup. to any available TC LINK Out connection.

AIR setups

5.3 setup – digital
►► The center monitor (C) is set as the System
5.3 setup – digital Controller by setting the TC Link button on the rear
panel to the “out” position.
L + LS C + LFE R + RS ►► The left monitor receives both the left and left sur-
round input signals.
Master Master Slave
►► The right monitor receives both the right and right
surround input signals.
Left Center Right ►► The left surround monitor is fed via the TC LINK
System Ctrl. RJ-45 connection from the left monitor.
►► The right surround monitor is fed via the TC LINK
RJ-45 connection from the right monitor.
Sub Sub Sub
LFE channels.
Left Center Right ►► The LFE monitor receives audio via the RJ-45
subwoofer subwoofer subwoofer connection from the center monitor.
►► With bass management off, the left and right sub-
woofers will receive no signal.
Slave Slave ►► With bass management on, …
►► low-frequency information is extracted from the
Left Right left and left surround signals and fed to the left
surround surround subwoofer.
right and right surround signals and fed to the

Fig. 18: This illustration shows how to connect a digital 5.3 setup. right subwoofer.
center signal, summed with the LFE channel

and fed to the center subwoofer.

AIR setups

Please see the description of the digital 5.3 setup re-
garding bass management, but make analog connec-
tions as explained in this section:
►► The left input of the left monitor receives the left
L LS C LFE R RS signal.
L R L R L R ►► The right input of the left monitor receives the left
Master Master Slave surround signal.
►► The left input of the center monitor receives the
Left Center Right center signal.
System Ctrl. ►► The right input of the center monitor receives the
LFE signal.
►► The left input of the right monitor receives the right
Sub Sub Sub signal.
►► The right input of the right monitor receives the
Left Center Right right surround signal.
subwoofer subwoofer subwoofer ►► The AIR Remote or a computer running the AIR
Slave Slave
Left Right
surround surround
Fig. 19: This illustration shows how to connect an analog 5.3 setup.

AIR setups

6.1 setup – analog setting the TC Link button on the rear panel to the
“out” position.
LS RS CS L R C LFE ►► The left monitor receives both the left and right
L R L R input signals.
Left Center Right ►► The center monitor (C) receives both the center
System Ctrl. and LFE channels.
connection from the center monitor.
►► The left surround monitor (LS) receives both the
Sub left and right surround channel signals.
Subwoofer TC-LINK RJ-45 connection from the left surround
monitor.
►► The center surround monitor receives only the
center surround signal.
R Master
Master Slave
►► Center Chain: Starting with AIR software version
1.10, it is possible to connect one or more Center
Center Chain monitors.
Left Right
L surround ►► With no bass management, only the LFE signal is
surround surround
fed to the subwoofer.
Fig. 20: This illustration shows how to connect an analog 6.1 setup. information from the five main channels is extract-
ed below the set crossover frequency and sent to
the subwoofer, where it is summed with the LFE
channel.
►► Channels must be connected as follows:
►► Left channel to the left input on the left monitor.

AIR setups
►► Right channel to the right input on the left mon-

itor.
►► Center channel to the left input on the center
monitor.
►► LFE channel to the right input on the center
monitor.
►► Left surround channel to the left input on the left
surround monitor.
►► Right surround channel to the right input on the
left surround monitor.

AIR setups

5.1 setup with Digital AES/EBU card
This setup requires…
►► one Master monitor with the optional Digital AES/
EBU Input Card installed,

5.1 setup with Digital AES/EBU card ►► four Slave monitors (or Masters set as Slave) and
►► one subwoofer.
LS + RS L+R C + LFE

Slave Master Slave ►► TC link signals are represented by dashed lines.
►► The Center monitor is set as the System Controller
Left Center Right by setting the TC Link button on the rear panel to
System Ctrl. the “out” position.
►► The Center monitor receives all six channels on its
three AES/EBU connections.
►► The monitor’s Digital IN connection receives the
Center and LFE signals.
Sub
►► The digital input No. 2 on the I/O card receives the
left signal and the right signal.
Subwoofer
►► The digital input No. 3 on the I/O card receives the
left surround signal and the right surround signal.
►► The right, left, left surround and right surround
Master Slave monitor and the subwoofer receive their signal
via TC LINK RJ-45 connections from the Center
Left Right Master monitor.
surround surround ►► A clock signal must be sent over the AES connec-
tion feeding the Center/LFE channels (or via BNC).
Fig. 21: This illustration shows how to connect 5.1 digital setup with optional bass management. ►► With no bass management, only the LFE signal is
fed to the Sub.
information is extracted from the five main chan-
nels below the set crossover frequency and fed to
the subwoofer.

AIR setups

Stereo setup with chains on left and right
Stereo setup with chains – digital or analog The two chained monitors are fed with the same signal
L+R AES or analog signal as the two front monitors (left and right). This is the kind
of setup you would use when you want to alternate be-
tween a set of main and nearfield monitors.
Master Slave
Left Right setting the TC Link button on the rear panel to the
System Ctrl. “out” position.
input signals.
►► The right monitor receives audio via the TC-LINK
Sub Sub
Left Right Control software (both optional) can be connected
Chain Chain to any available TC LINK Out connection.
Other “Chained” Setups

Starting with software version 1.10, the available set-
ups with “chain” option are: 5.1, 6.1 and 5.3 for analog
and digital as well as 5.1/6 master (digital only).
Fig. 22: This illustration shows how to connect a stereo setup with chains on Left and Right. The installed option card will limit the choices of setups
presented on the speakers. If the AES/EBU option card
is installed, the default digital input will become Input 1
on the option card.

AIR setups

7.1 setup – analog or digital It is not possible to choose a 7.1 setup in the setup
menu. You need to choose either a 5.1 or 6.1 setup and
set up the Left surround and Right surround speakers
for “L Inner” and “R Inner” tasks respectively.
7.1 setup – analog or digital ►► Audio signals are represented by solid lines.
L+R C + LFE
Master Master Slave Digital connections

►► The center monitor is set as the System Controller
Left Center Right by setting the TC Link button on the rear panel to
System Ctrl. the “out” position.
input signals. The right monitor is fed via the TC

LINK RJ-45 connection from left to right.
►► The center monitor receives both the Center and
Sub LFE signals. The LFE monitor is fed via the TC
LINK RJ-45 connection from Center to LFE.
Subwoofer ►► The left surround monitor receives both the left sur-
round and right surround signals.

►► The right surround monitor is fed via the TC LINK
L sur.
R sur. Master Slave RJ-45 connection from left surround to right sur-
round.
Left Right ►► The left back monitor receives both the left back
surround surround and the right back signal. The right back monitor
is fed via the TC LINK RJ-45 connection from left
back to right back.
L B. + R B. Master Slave ►► With bass management activated, low-frequency

Left Right nels and fed to the subwoofer, where it is summed
Back Back with the LFE channel. With bass management
activated, low-frequency information is not extract-
ed for the left and right inner monitors.
Fig. 23: This illustration shows how to connect an analog or digital 7.1 setup ►► The AIR Remote or a computer running the AIR


AIR setups
Analog connections
►► The left input of the left monitor receives the left
signal.
►► The right input of the left monitor receives the left
surround signal.
►► The left input of the center monitor receives the
center signal.
►► The right input of the center monitor receives the
LFE signal.
►► The left input of the left surround monitor receives
the left surround signal.

►► The right input of the left surround monitor receives
the right surround signal.

►► The left input of the left inner monitor receives the
left inner signal.

►► The right input of the left inner monitor receives the
right inner signal.

AIR setups

5.1 setup – digital – 192 kHz
5.1 setup – digital – 192 kHz This is a 5.1 digital setup at 192 kHz with optional bass
LF + RF C + Sub management.
This setup requires…

Master Master Slave ►► three Master monitors with the optional Digital I/O
card installed,
L C R ►► two Slave monitors and
System Ctrl. ►► one subwoofer.

“out” position.
Sub
►► The left monitor receives the left and right front
channel signals.
Sub
►► The center monitor receives the center channel
LS + RS
and the subwoofer signal.
►► The left rear monitor receives the left surround and
Master Slave right surround channel signals.
►► The subwoofer receives its signal via the TC LINK
LS RS RJ-45 connection from the center Master monitor.
►► A clock signal must be sent over the AES connec-
Fig. 24: This illustration shows how to connect a digital 192 kHz 5.1 setup. ►► With no bass management, only the LFE signal is
fed to the Sub.
channel.

AIR setups

6.1 setup – digital – 192 kHz ►► Audio signals are represented by solid lines.
This is a 6.1 digital setup with optional bass manage-

ment. This setup requires…
6.1 setup – digital – 192 kHz
►► four Master monitors with the optional Digital I/O
LF + RF C + Sub
card installed,
►► two Slave monitors (or Masters set as slaves) and
Master Master Slave ►► one subwoofer.
L C R ►► The left monitor is set as the System Controller by

System Ctrl. setting the TC Link button on the rear panel to the
“out” position.
►► The left monitor receives the left and right front
channel signals.
►► The right monitor receives its signal via the TC
Sub LINK cable.
►► The left surround monitor receives both the left and
Sub right surround signals.
►► The center monitor receives the center channel
and the subwoofer signal.
►► The subwoofer receives its signal via the TC LINK
RJ-45 connection from the center Master monitor.
LS + RS CS ►► A clock signal must be sent over the AES connec-
Master Master Slave ►► With no bass management, only the LFE signal is
fed to the Sub.
LS CS RS ►► With bass management activated, low-frequency
information is extracted from the six main chan-
Fig. 25: This illustration shows how to connect a digital 6.1 setup. channel.

Recalling and storing presets

Recalling presets Storing presets Parameter storage

►► From the home screen, press the ENTER key. ►► From the home screen, press the ENTER key. To use your AIR system and the preset recall feature ef-
►► Press the DOWN key until “Recall preset” is dis- ►► Press the DOWN key until “Store preset” is dis- ficiently, it is important to understand what parameters
played. played. are stored with a preset.
►► Press the ENTER key. ►► Press the ENTER key.
“*Current preset” and the name of the currently “*Select preset” and the number and name of a Global Parameters
active preset is displayed. preset is displayed. These parameters apply to your entire AIR system.
►► Press the UP and DOWN keys to browse presets. ►► Press the UP and DOWN keys to select a storage
When you have found a preset you want to recall, location. Please note that the preset currently Global parameters that are stored with presets
press the ENTER key. stored at the selected location will be overwritten ►► Bass management
The selected preset is recalled (activated), and the once you perform the Store operation. ►► Mute status
name of the selected preset is displayed. ►► When you have found a storage location for your ►► Selected setup
►► Press the EXIT key repeatedly to return to the preset, press the ENTER key.
home screen. The number of the selected Preset slot and the Global parameters that are NOT stored with presets
preset name “User” is displayed. ►► Ref. Levels
►► Press the EXIT key repeatedly to return to the ►► Analog Input Sensitivity
home screen. ►► BNC Sync
For a complete list of presets, see ”Presets” on page Local Parameters

85. These parameters apply to individual monitors.
Local parameters that are stored with presets

►► X-Curve
►► Parametric EQ setting (set via AIR PC-IP)
►► LFE Gain (for subwoofers)
►► LFE Low Pass (for subwoofers)
►► Rel. Level
Local parameters that are NOT stored with presets

►► Bass and Treble
►► Delay
►► Lock status
►► Room position
►► Calibration Level
►► Tasks
►► Phase (for subwoofers)
►► Polarity (for subwoofers)

Placing the monitors

This section of the manual is a guide to optimizing your

listening facilities to ensure optimal performance of Overview
your AIR monitor system.
Distance from listener Angle
Minimum 1 m -30° Left front
To ensure optimum results, it is essential that you have
Minimum 1 m +30° Right front
connected all monitors in your AIR System properly. Same distance as L or R front 1) 0° Centre
Please refer to “AIR setups” on page 29. Same distance as L or R front 2) -110° ±10° Left surround
Same distance as L or R front 2) -110° ±10° Right surround
For additional information on optimizing setups, in-
depth explanations and background information of vari-
ous acoustic phenomena, see “Appendix: Acoustics” on
page 106. Notes:
1.) If you want to fulfill the requirements of the ITU 775
standard, you should use one of the two approach-
es for position the center front monitor, along with a
Delay on the center monitor in order to achieve the
same time of arrival from all monitors.
2.) The delay time for each monitor can be adjusted
using the AIR Control software.

General considerations: Mo
or
nit nit
symmetry Mon
ito
r Mo
nit
or
Mo
or
Basically it is preferred to establish a loudspeaker

layout that provides an adequate and equal left/right
image. The basis for this is symmetry – meaning that
Listening
the distance to the left and the right monitor should be Listening position
identical and that (unless you are monitoring in the near position
field) the distance from the left and right monitor to the
respective sidewall should be identical, and the side-
walls should be identical.
The AIR System offer tools for compensation – but

whenever possible, symmetry should be established.
Fig. 26: Asymmetric position (should be avoided): Fig. 28: Symmetric position (recommended)
Distances to left and right wall not identical
Mo
or
nit nit
or
Mo
Listening
position
Fig. 27: Asymmetric position (should be avoided):

Distance to speakers not identical

Front monitors,
left and right
For proper stereo monitoring, the monitors should be
placed at an angle of ±30º in front of the listening po-
sition. This goes both for a basic stereo setup and for
the left and right front monitors in a four or five channel
setup.
Center front monitor

The center front loudspeaker can be placed either
►► in the middle and in the same distance from the
listening position as the left and right front monitors

or Fig. 29: ITU 775
►► in the middle and on a straight line between the
left and right front monitors.
Surround monitors,
left and right
The surround monitors should be placed at an angle of
±110° (±10°) and at the same distance to the listening
position as the left and right front monitors.
For more information, see “Monitor positions” on page

52.

A monitor setup this way should be your reference – sounds similar to signal modulation. In general it helps
Monitor positions you can always try to compare performance of an op- to minimize the distance between the monitor and the
timally placed freestanding AIR monitor (“Neutral” in reflective surface.
Monitor placement and acoustics have a significant in- calibration menu) with any other monitor placed in an-
fluence on monitor sound. AIR series provides powerful other position (Wall, Corner, Console) to determine if Although it is not possible to fully eliminate comb filter-
tools to compensate for various, less than ideal place- compensation in these positions is needed. ing using an equalizer, try to select the “Console” set-
ments. Below, you will find a description of the most ting in the Calibration submenu of the Setup menu and
common monitor placements and appropriate compen- evaluate performance in your studio.
sation. Using material from the Dynaudio Profession- Monitor position Close to wall (“Wall”)
al AIR test tone sets together with the AIR placement When a monitor is placed close to a wall, bass re-
compensation settings will allow you to find a perfect sponse needs to be decreased. The “Wall” setting in Other positions/configurations
balance between the AIR monitors and the acoustics the Calibration submenu of the Setup menu takes this In the Calibration submenu of the Setup menu, you will
the studio. and other aspects into account. Try to compare this set- find additional settings which take combinations of the
ting with “Neutral” to determine which works better in above into account – e.g. “Console Wall”, which should
In general, we recommended consulting an acoustics your studio. be used if the monitor is placed both close to a wall and
expert for measurement and advanced adjustment and has a console reflection.
alignment. AIR Control software provides comprehen- If the opposite wall is parallel to the wall where the mon-
sive features for EQ and Delay adjustments. For instal- itor is placed, be aware that low frequency cancella-
lations where flush mounting is considered, be sure to tion might occur. You should also look out for standing
consult an expert. waves which might occur due to an uneven distribution
of low frequencies.
Below find a list of compensation options based on the
Room position settings in the Calibration submenu of
the Setup menu. Monitor position Corner
Here, the same considerations as in the “Wall” position
For more information on navigating to the Calibration apply – but in a corner position, bass response needs
submenu and setting parameters, see “Setup menu ► to be decreased even more.
Monitor calibration” on page 26.
Try the “Corner” setting found in the Calibration sub-
menu of the Setup menu and then evaluate perfor-
Monitor position Free standing (“Neutral”) mance in comparison to a freestanding monitor in “Neu-
The monitor is placed on a stand or hung from the ceil- tral” position. Use the Bass and Treble filters for fine
ing some distance away from walls and other surfaces. adjustment.
This position requires the “Neutral” setting (which is

the default in the Calibration menu). Try to place the Monitor position On the bridge / “Console”
monitor optimally with regard to reflections and stand- Placing a monitor on a meter bridge of a console will re-
ing waves. sult in a strong single reflection from the desk’s surface,
which may color the sound. This comb filtering effect

Checking and optimizing monitor placement
Checking and optimizing

monitor placement
Checking by ear when listening to the signals

Overview Phase checking In phase:
You will hear more bass and the sound will appear to
1. In the Setup menu, select the setup type (e.g. The first procedure you should carry out is checking come from a fixed point between the monitors.
“5.1” or “Stereo”) matching your application. signal phase.
2. Check the phase using the Dynaudio Profes- Out of phase:
sional AIR test tone sets available at www.dy- A number of signals both for two-channel stereo and You will hear the sound image lose bass, the sound
naudioprofessional.com. for multichannel reproduction are part of the Dynaudio image will be diffuse, and the directional information will
3. Check the monitor positions. Professional AIR test tone sets. be blurred.
4. Equalize each monitor as required using the
Bass and Treble parameters.
5. In the Setup menu of the System controller, nav- Phase checking – two-channel Stereo:
igate to the Calibration submenu. Use tracks 45 to 49 for Stereo phase checking. Left and
right signals are presented in phase and subsequently
out of phase.
Assigning monitor
Phase checking – Multichannel:
positions Use tracks 45 to 64 for multichannel phase checking.
These are DTS-encoded signals that can be compared
►► Select the correct position for each monitor – see pairwise: Left/Right, Left/Center, Left/Left Surround,
“Placing the monitors” on page 48. Right/Right Surround.
Room positions can be selected via the Calibration
submenu of the Setup menu – see “Setup menu ► If you do not have a DTS decoder, you may route the
Monitor calibration” on page 26. stereo L/R signals to other channels using your mixing
►► Set the volume of every monitor to -10 dB. console.
If you already have a phase checking measurement

system that can be used as well.

Evaluation
Checking monitor From your listening position, you should hear the sig-
nal smooth and even throughout all frequency sweeps
placement (bearing in mind that the frequency response of the ear
is not flat).
When checking the placement of your monitors, you
first have to focus on the low frequencies. The signals If you have a sound level meter, it should be set to
to be used are the low-frequency sweeps (tracks 31 to “LIN” with no frequency weighting. If the meter does not
39 from the Dynaudio Professional AIR test tone sets). have a LIN position, you can use the C-weighting, al-
though the response is attenuated approximately 3 dB
at 31.5 Hz and approximately 6 dB at 20 Hz.
Low-frequency sweeps
The tracks 31 to 38 contains the following sweep se- In the Appendix, you can find instructions on how you
quences: can alternatively use a studio microphone if you do not
►► Track 31: 200 to 20 Hz have a sound level meter.
►► Track 32: 160 to 20 Hz
►► Track 33: 125 to 20 Hz If the results are OK, proceed to “Calibrating the main
►► Track 34: 100 to 20 Hz monitors” on page 57.
►► Track 35: 80 to 20 Hz
►► Track 36: 63 to 20 Hz If the results are not OK, you must reposition the mon-
►► Track 37: 50 to 20 Hz itors.
►► Track 38: 40 to 20 Hz
You have to define at what frequency the response

During the sweeps you will hear short “bleeps” indicat- becomes bad. Once you have located the problematic
ing when the signal passes one of the ISO center fre- frequency, you need to set a higher frequency as the
quencies (see tables in the Appendix). cross-over frequency between the main monitors and
a subwoofer.
There are two “bleeps” every time the frequency pass-
es a whole octave center frequency and one “bleep” If it is not possible for you to find good positions for the
every time the in-between 1/3-octave center frequen- main monitors and/or for the subwoofer(s), you should
cies are passed. consider changing the acoustics of the room.
Play all the low-frequency sweep tracks using only one Equalization is a common tool for obtaining a smoother
monitor at a time. frequency response for steady-state signals (such as
the sweeps). But remember that equalizing can never
repair bad acoustics.

Once you have made adjustments using the equaliz-

Equalizing the monitors er, you should leave the room and come back about
15 minutes later, bringing some music that you know
The AIR System menu offers a two-band shelving type well. Play this music. Your first impression at this point
equalizer. This equalizer can be configured individually is very important for the assessment of the tonal bal-
for each monitor, and it is implemented for fine-adjust- ance of the monitor system. Listening for a long time
ments of the tonal balance. will change your perception of timbre. This effect is sim-
ilar to the “white balance” your brain performs for what
For information on navigating to the Calibration sub- you are seeing. After a short time, you are getting used
menu and setting parameters, see “Setup menu ► to a new tonal balance or timbre. What sounds “cool” or
Monitor calibration” on page 26. “fat” then is not necessarily sounding right for monitor-
ing purposes.
Range ±6 dB
Adjustment step 0.5 dB Please note that additional equalizing can be done us-
Equalizer Band I (Bass) 100 Hz to 1 kHz ing the AIR Control software. It includes a four-band
Equalizer Band II (Treble) 1 kHz to 5 kHz parametric EQ that will allow for more precise EQ ad-
Filter type Shelving justment of each monitor.
Proceed with “Calibrating the main monitors” on page

57.
Notes considering equalization
You should be very careful using the equalizer if you
are making adjustments by ear. In a room with good
acoustics, equalization should not be necessary at all.
As a test signal you can use full bandwidth pink noise

(tracks 2 or 13) from the Dynaudio Professional AIR
test tone sets.
In a room that you feel is heavily overdamped at higher

frequencies, you may wish to add some level in the high
end in order to get the right balance.
In a highly reflective room, you may wish to attenuate

the high frequencies.
If you have made a good job placing the monitor in a

proper position you should not have to touch the low
frequency band.

Inter-channel calibration Acoustic level calibration

Calibrating the ►► Navigate to the Calibration submenu as described In some parts of the audio industry, the monitoring sys-
under “Setup menu ► Monitor calibration” on page tem has to be related to absolute acoustic levels.
main monitors 26.
►► Select the “Master L Front” monitor. In the Dynaudio Professional AIR test tone sets, the
Calibration is required to ensure that all monitors pro- ►► Select the “Calib” (Calibration level) parameter and tracks mentioned above are recorded at -20 dBFS. This
duce the same sound pressure level in the listening po- press ENTER. level correspond to different acoustic levels depending
sition when fed with the same signal. ►► Set Calib to 0.0 dB. on the kind of business you are in:
►► Play tracks 11/23 (two channel stereo) or track 11
The level of the input signal can be locked to a specific (multi channel DTS) from the Dynaudio Profession- Music Video Film
sound pressure produced by the monitors. al AIR test tone sets. These tracks contain filtered
Pink Noise (500 Hz to 2 kHz). 78 to 93 dB(C) 78 dB(C) 83 dB(C)
►► Continue to the next channel and set “Calib” to
the same level as the first monitor. If you are using

a multichannel setup, continue to the remaining ►► Select the first monitor (L).
monitors. ►► Play the track from the Dynaudio Professional AIR
test tone sets related to this monitor.
►► Set Calib to 0.0 dB.
►► Adjust the global volume until the desired
C-weighted level is obtained on a sound level me-
ter in the listening position.
►► Proceed to the next monitor.
►► Adjust Calib until the same C-weighted level is
obtained from this monitor.
►► Repeat this procedure until all monitors are cali-
brated.
►► Exit Calibration.

X-Curves
For small rooms (defined as less than 5300 cubic feet
or 150 cubic meters), ANSI/SMPTE 222M calls for a
modification of the X-curve with flat natural response to
2 kHz and then a 1.5 dB per octave roll off above 2 kHz.
This curve is useful when mixing in a small room and be

playing back in a large room.
Fig. 31: X-Curve 2 – modified magnitude response
Fig. 30: X-Curve 1
Another variation is to begin the high-end roll-off at

4 kHz and roll off 3 dB per octave instead of 1.5 per
octave.

Placing the subwoofer
Overview
Placement on the floor Advantages Disadvantages
In the corner Gain of bass response Excitation of most standing waves in the room,
hence very uneven sound distribution
Adjacent to wall Gain of bass response Excitation of several standing waves in the
room, hence very uneven sound distribution
Free standing Position can be optimized with regard to stand- It may take up space on the floor
ing waves
Subwoofer placement on the floor Subwoofer placement adjacent to a wall

Under normal conditions, the subwoofer is placed di- This is a π radiation, which yields a gain of 12 dB in the
rectly on the floor. This is taken into account in the basic frequency range where the monitor is considered to be
design and the basic settings of the AIR system. omnidirectional.
This position adjacent to a wall is commonly used

Subwoofer placement in the corner and can lead to good results. However, the subwoof-
This is a π/2 radiation, which yields a gain of 18 dB in er should not be placed in the middle or in the quarter
the frequency range where the monitor is considered to points between two side walls if these are in parallel.
be omnidirectional.
Most standing waves have their maximum in the cor- Free standing subwoofer
ners of the room. This is a π radiation, which yields a gain of 6 dB in the
frequency range where the monitor is considered to be
The placement of the subwoofer in the corner may omnidirectional.
cause uneven sound distribution of the bass – espe-
cially if the room has a cubic or shoe-box shape (i.e., if The free standing position is highly recommended for
all opposing walls are in parallel). all cubic and shoe-box shaped rooms.
The corner position is only preferable if the opposing In any case, avoid placing the woofer on the half or
surfaces in the room are not in parallel. quarter lines between walls.

Low-frequency sweeps Evaluation

Checking subwoofer The tracks 31 to 38 contains the following sweep se- From your listening position, you should hear the sig-
quences: nal smooth and even throughout all frequency sweeps
placement ►► Track 31: 200 to 20 Hz (bearing in mind that the frequency response of the ear
►► Track 32: 160 to 20 Hz is not flat).
►► Track 33: 125 to 20 Hz
►► Track 34: 100 to 20 Hz If you have a sound level meter, it should be set to
►► Track 35: 80 to 20 Hz “LIN” with no frequency weighting. If the meter does not
►► Track 36: 63 to 20 Hz have a LIN position, you can use the C-weighting, al-
►► Track 37: 50 to 20 Hz though the response is attenuated approximately 3 dB
►► Track 38: 40 to 20 Hz at 31.5 Hz and approximately 6 dB at 20 Hz.
During the sweeps you will hear short “bleeps” indicat- In the Appendix, you can find instructions on how you
Fig. 32: Avoid placing the subwoofer on these lines ing when the signal passes one of the ISO center fre- can alternatively use a studio microphone if you do not
quarter or halfway between walls. quencies (see tables in the Appendix). have a sound level meter.
►► From the home screen, press the ENTER key. There are two “bleeps” every time the frequency pass- If the results are OK, proceed to “Calibrating the sub-
“Bass Management” is displayed. es a whole octave center frequency and one “bleep” woofers with the main monitors” on page 61.
►► Press the ENTER key again. every time the in-between 1/3-octave center frequen-
“Select Mode” is displayed. cies are passed. If the results are not OK, you must reposition the mon-
►► Press the DOWN key until “SC 120 Hz” is dis- itors.
played. Play all the low-frequency sweep tracks using only the
►► Check the monitor position using low-frequency subwoofer. Mute all other monitors.
sweeps as described below.

Calibration There are four other parameters that you should con-
Calibrating the Start by setting the volume on the home screen to a sider with regards to the subwoofer. These parameters
reasonable level – for example, -30 dB. are only available in the Calibrate monitor submenu for
subwoofers with the subwoofers.
Set a crossover frequency for bass management – see
main monitors “Configuring bass management” on page 21. If you
have no other preferences, we suggest using the 80 Hz LFE Low Pass Filter (subwoofer parameter)
setting. Settings: On /Off
About bass management When you set LFE Low Pass Filter to On, a very steep
Bass management is a very important and useful tool If measurements or listening to the main monitors in- (7th order) low pass filter is activated at 120 Hz. This
– and it is in general an absolute necessity if you want dicate uneven level distribution or uneven frequency will filter out all content above 120 Hz. Use this filter
to work with a five channel setup in a small room. For response at frequencies above 80 Hz, select a higher when no media encoder is in use. Switch it off when
more information, see “Bass management” on page crossover frequency. your signal has passed through a media encoder/de-
117. coder. Most media encoders such as DTS and Dolby
employ an anti-aliasing lowpass filter. Therefore, in a
Checking the crossover frequency production environment it is important to use this filter
Calibration – overview ►► In order to confirm the selected crossover frequen- when monitoring the LFE channel to learn how the sig-
►► From the home screen, set the volume to -30 dB. cy, use the test Dynaudio Professional AIR test nal will sound after encoding/decoding (i.e., in a domes-
►► Press the ENTER key. tone sets . To make sure that you are listening to tic or cinema environment).
“Bass Management” is displayed. one monitor at a time, select one of the main chan-
►► Press the ENTER key again. nels in the Calibrate monitor submenu of the Setup
“Select Mode” is displayed. menu. For a start, select Master Left. LFE Gain (subwoofer parameter)
►► Press the UP and DOWN keys until “80 Hz” is ►► Play back the test tone tracks containing the low Range: 0 to +14 dB
displayed. frequency sweeps. Listen to the response or Use the LFE Gain parameter to boost the LFE channel
►► Navigate to the Calibration submenu – see “Setup perform sound level measurements if you have a by up to 18 dB.
menu ► Monitor calibration” on page 26. meter connected.
►► Run tracks 40 to 42 from the Dynaudio Profes- ►► If you have a spectrum analyzer, you can play
sional AIR test tone sets (low frequency sweeps). the test tone tracks containing full bandwidth pink Polarity (subwoofer parameter)
►► If required, adjust level or crossover frequency noise instead. Range: 0 or 180º
settings. ►► Any uneven frequency response across the cross- If the Subwoofer is placed correctly, setting the Polarity
over frequency should be avoided. parameter to 180º should result in a full phase cancel-
►► Adjust the crossover frequency in the bass man- lation at the set crossover frequency. If this is not the
agement setup, if necessary. case , the Phase parameter described below should be
►► After adjusting one channel, the other channels adjusted.
should be monitored one by one. Finally, monitor
all channels together.
►► Your system is now calibrated.

Phase parameter (subwoofer parameter) Phase – initial setting

Range: 0 to 180º During calibration of the AIR BASE’s DSP software, we
The integration of the AIR BASE subwoofer with the AIR have come up with default settings that we found op-
monitors requires on location tuning. Apart from level timal in our listening room. If you are placing the AIR
calibration and choosing a Bass management cross- BASE subwoofer at the same distance from your lis-
over frequency, the issue of phase alignment remains. tening position as the AIR Monitors, the default phase
settings can be used as initial guidelines for setting the
For this purpose, AIR BASE subwoofer have a 0° to phase. If the distances are significantly different, these
180° phase adjustment (in 5 degree steps) and a Polar- values are not likely to be optimal.
ity parameter. The optimum setting of these will depend
on several factors: Phase adjustment
►► Play a low-frequency sweep signal that sweeps
►► Room acoustics over the crossover frequency that you have cho-
►► Placement of monitors and listening position sen. Tracks 31 to 42 from the Dynaudio Profes-
►► Set crossover frequency sional AIR test tone sets may be used. Repeat as
►► AIR Monitor type (6 or 15) necessary.
►► Between each sweep, change the Polarity setting.
Phase settings are automatically saved and linked to Note the difference.
the currently selected crossover frequency.
Ideally (i.e., with the right level calibration and phase
Phase settings are Global settings and are not saved setting), the sound should cancel out and virtually dis-
with individual presets. appear at or near the crossover frequency when the
Polarity parameter is set to “180°”.
Tune the Phase parameter to get the largest possi-

ble difference between the two Polarity settings. Then
leave it in the position where no cancellation occurs.
Iteration
You may need to iterate quite a bit, maybe readjust the
level calibration a bit as well. You may even want to
reconsider your initial choice of crossover frequency
and/or monitor placement and start the process over
again. Be patient – the time spent getting this right is
well spent!

AIR Remote
AIR Remote

AIR Remote
REF LEVEL 1 to 3 keys

AIR Remote – Use the REF LEVEL keys to recall and store reference
levels.
introduction 1
2 3 Recalling Reference Level 1 to 3:

When you have set up and calibrated your setup as ►► Press the relevant key shortly. The key LED indi-
good as possible, optimal performance from your AIR cates the activated Reference Level.
system monitors is achieved by controlling the levels
on the monitors themselves as opposed to controlling Setting Reference Level 1 to 3:
4
via the mixing console. Therefore a remote control is a ►► Set the level using the large VOLUME dial in the
natural extension of your AIR monitor system. center of the remote.

►► Press and hold the relevant Reference level key for
approximately two seconds.

Remote Control Features 5 The LED will flash three times, indicating that the
►► Instant access to three different user-defined Ref- new Reference level has been stored.
erence Level settings.
►► Instant Preset Recall function of up to 4 presets. When you power up/connect AIR Remote, no REF
This way you can easily switch between different LEVEL key is active – the volume is defined by the po-
setups from your listening position. Fig. 33: AIR Remote sition of the Master Volume dial.
►► Mute/unmute and solo function for each monitor in
the setup. 1. Reference Level selection keys

►► Easy Master Level adjustment via large dial. 2. Preset selection keys PRESET 1/3, PRESET 2/4 and SHIFT keys
3. Shift key (for selecting presets 3 and 4) Use the PRESET 1/3 and PRESET 2/4 keys in combi-
4. Master Volume dial nation with the SHIFT key to recall AIR monitor presets.
5. Mute/Unmute/Solo buttons for each channel
►► To recall Preset 1, press the PRESET 1/3 key.
►► To recall Preset 2, press the PRESET 2/4 key.
►► To recall Preset 3, press and hold the SHIFT key
and press the PRESET 1/3 key.
►► To recall Preset 4, press and hold the SHIFT key
and press the PRESET 2/4 key.
When you power up/connect AIR Remote, no presets

are recalled.
For more information on presets, see “Recalling and

storing presets” on page 46.

AIR Remote
L / C / R / Ls / SUB / Rs – Mute/Unmute/Solo keys Muting and unmuting a speaker Master Volume dial
Use these six keys to mute, unmute and solo channels: ►► To mute a speaker/channel, press the respective ►► If none of the REF LEVEL keys is active, the
key. Master Volume dial sets the Master volume on all

►► L: Left ►► To unmute a speaker/channel, press the respective channels in your AIR system.
►► C: Center key again. ►► If a REF LEVEL keys is active, it will define the
►► R: Right reference level.

►► Ls: Left surround Solo Function ►► When a REF LEVEL key is deactivated, the Master
►► SUB: Subwoofer ►► To activate the Solo function for a speaker/channel, volume returns to the level defined by the position
►► Rs: Right surround press and hold the respective key. of the Master Volume dial.
►► To deactivate the Solo function, press (but do not
The LEDs of these keys indicate the current state for a hold) the respective key again. This will return the When you power up/connect AIR Remote, the Master
channel as follows: speaker to the previous state (active or muted). Volume setting defines volume level.
►► LED on: Speaker on You can set one or multiple monitors to Solo mode. Master Volume LED
►► LED off: Speaker muted ►► When the level is defined by the Master Volume
►► LED flashing: Speaker solo When you power up/connect AIR Remote, every chan- dial setting, the LED is on.
nel is active. ►► When the volume is set by another device, the
Master Volume LED goes off.

Setups with more speakers
When you are operating a system with more channels When you power up/connect AIR Remote, the LED is
(i.e., 6.1, 7.1 or higher), the Ls and Rs buttons will de- on, indicating that the Master Volume dial defines the
fine the states (Mute/Solo) for the additional speakers. volume.
If you are using more than one subwoofer, the SUB but-
ton will mute or solo these additional subwoofers.


AIR Control software – AIR Control software AIR Control software

introduction main features system requirements
AIR Control software is the installation and configura-
tion software for the Dynaudio Professional AIR series Global System requirements for Mac OS X
monitors. ►► Advanced configuration, calibration and installation ►► CPU: Intel CPU
software for Dynaudio Professional AIR (min. 2 GHz recommended)

AIR Control software allows you to carry out advanced ►► Reference levels control for calibrated listening ►► RAM: 2 GB RAM
calibration and alignment of your AIR monitoring sys- ►► Advanced bass management with variable cross- ►► Operating system: Apple OS X 10.8 or higher
tem. The software provides access to advanced tools over frequencies ►► USB 2.0, USB 3.0 or serial port
and features of AIR monitors and subwoofers, including ►► EQ link: Group your speakers using up to 3 EQ
timing and SPL calibration and parametric equalizers groups

for each monitor. ►► Advanced locking of parameters System requirements for Microsoft Windows
►► Front panel control lock ►► CPU: Intel-compatible CPU
AIR Control also lets you define and store custom set- ►► Setups can be saved as presets (min. 2 GHz recommended)
ups and presets with selective parameter locking. ►► For OS X and Windows ►► RAM: 2 GB RAM
►► Operating system: Microsoft Windows 7 or higher
►► USB 2.0, USB 3.0 or serial port
About TC PC-IP installer software (discontinued) Per monitor controls

AIR Control replaces the TC PC-IP installer software, ►► Four band parametric precision EQ Due to the touch-based user interface, AIR Control
which was developed for professional installers. The ►► Adjustment of individual delay times and calibration software works very well with Windows-based tablets.
new AIR Control application design is easier to use and levels However, please note that AIR Control software will not
offers an even more efficient way to fine-tune your AIR ►► Role and room position control run on Android or iOS tablets (iPads).
monitoring system. ►► Test tone generator
For more information on the cables/adapters required

to connect your computer and your AIR system, see
“Cables” on page 82.

Obtaining AIR Installing AIR

Control software Control software
You can download AIR Control software from ►► Run the AIR Control software installer for your
tcelectronic.com/air-control/support/ operating system. You may need an administrator
account name and password to run the installer.
►► Read and accept the Software License Agreement
presented by the installer.
►► Finish the installation of the AIR Control software
and quit the installer.

►► Switch on your AIR monitors. If AIR Control software cannot establish communication
Setting up AIR ►► Switch on your computer. with AIR system, the following screen will be shown:
►► Launch AIR Control software.
Control software
Connecting your computer to

your AIR monitor system
You need to connect the computer running AIR Control
software to an AIR monitor. Depending on your comput-
er’s hardware, this may require
►► only the custom Serial to CAT 5 cable or
►► the custom Serial to CAT 5 cable and
the USB to COM 9 pin adapter.

Fig. 35: AIR Control software – network not found
Both cables are part of the Air Cable package (item Fig. 34: AIR Control software scanning for a connected
number 995282002). AIR system At this point, you can…
►► try to troubleshoot the connection between your
Your computer and your AIR monitors should be If everything works as expected, you should be seeing computer and the AIR monitor network as de-
switched off. the Global/Main screen of the AIR Control software us- scribed below or
er interface as described in “Global and local parame- ►► run the software without access to the monitors
►► Plug the RJ45 plug connector of the custom Serial ters” on page 70. in demo mode by clicking the “Demo” or “Demo
to CAT 5 cable into a TC Link port on an AIR moni- Surround” button. This will allow you to become
tor that is labeled “Out or Remote”. familiar with the software interface, but as no con-
►► If your computer is equipped with a serial port, plug nection has been established, your changes will
the Serial connector of the Serial to CAT 5 cable not be applied.
into your computer’s serial port.
►► If your computer is not equipped with a serial port,
but has a USB (2.0 or 3.0) connector, What to do when no connection can
►► connect the Serial connector of the Serial to be established between AIR Control
CAT 5 cable to the serial port of the USB to COM software and the AIR monitor network
9 pin adapter and ►► Make sure that you are using the right cable(s).
►► plug the USB connector of the USB to COM 9 See “Cables” on page 82.
pin adapter into the USB port on your computer. ►► Make sure the USB or Serial port on your com-
puter that the cable/adapter is connected to is

For more information on cables and adapters, see “Ca- operational – e.g. by plugging in another device
bles” on page 82. and verifying that it works as expected.

Global and local Basic editing procedures AIR Control software

parameters If a parameter or function in the AIR Control software version information
is represented by a round button, click this button to
AIR Control software allows you to access and set two select/deselect it or execute the respective function.
kinds of parameters:
►► Global parameters that apply to all monitors in
an AIR system or define general attributes of this

system, and
►► Local parameters for individual monitors. Fig. 36: Click a button to select/deselect or activate the
respective feature.
When setting up your AIR system using AIR Control
software, start by setting the Global parameters and
then proceed to adapt the settings for individual moni-
tors. Descriptions of monitor-specific (local) parameters
start with “Selecting monitors for configuration” on page Fig. 38: AIR Control software – version information
77.
Fig. 37: Click a parameter field to select it and then Click the Dynaudio Professional logo in the upper right
To access the Global parameters, click the Global but- edit its value using the large slider on the right side of corner of the window to display a version information
ton on top of the AIR Control software window. the window panel. Click into the panel to dismiss it.
If a parameter in the AIR Control software is represent-

ed by a rectangle with a parameter name, the current
parameter value and a miniature fader, you can either…
►► drag the miniature fader in the field with your
mouse or
►► select the parameter field by clicking it once and
then use the large fader on the right side of the

window to adjust it. You can also use the up and
down keys on your computer keyboard to adjust
a selected parameter. If your mouse has a scroll
wheel, you can also use this scroll wheel to
change the selected parameter.

Solo buttons
Global – Main page To solo a monitor, click its Solo button. The Solo button File page
will turn orange. You can switch multiple monitors to So-
Use the Main page to see an overview of your AIR sys- lo mode. To remove a monitor from the Solo group, click
tem, mute and solo monitors, set and access reference its Solo button again.
levels.
To remove all monitors from the Solo group at once,
click the Clear Solo button on the right side of the win-
dow.
Setting and recalling Reference levels

You can specify three Reference levels for your AIR
system. Working with predefined reference levels and
a well-calibrated AIR system ensures that you get pre- Fig. 40: AIR Control software – Global – File page –
dictable results. Recall section
To set a Reference level, click one of the three “Ref. Lvl” Use the File page in the Global section of the AIR Con-
Fig. 39: AIR Control software – Global – Main buttons. Please note that the volume will immediately trol software to recall and store presets.
jump to the level currently stored for this Reference lev-
el slot, so you should not be playing back a high level To learn what global and local parameters are stored in
Mute buttons signal while doing so! presets and which parameters aren’t, see “Parameter
To mute a monitor, click its Mute button. The Mute but- storage” on page 47.
ton will turn yellow. You can mute multiple monitors. To Drag the Main Level slider on the right side of the win-
unmute a monitor, click its Mute button again. dow to set the desired level. To fine-tune the level, drag
the slider with the mouse while holding down the Shift
To mute all monitors at once, click the Mute All button key on your computer keyboard. The new Reference
on the right side of the window. level is stored immediately.
To unmute all monitors at once, click the same button You can use the optional AIR Remote to access your
(now labeled “Unmute All”) again. previously stored Reference levels – see “AIR Remote”
on page 63.
To set the Master Level freely without it being stored to

one of the three Reference level slots, click the User
Fader button first.

Recalling (activating) presets Storing and naming the current preset

►► Click the Recall tab on the left side of the window.
The name of the currently selected preset is shown

in the upper right corner of the window, within the
green “Recall Preset” area.
►► Select the preset category you want to access:
Factory presets or User presets.

For a list and description of factory presets, see
“Presets” on page 85.
►► If you have selected the Factory presets group,
select the desired preset group (“Bass Manage-

ment”, “Cinema”, “Misc(ellaneous)”) by clicking on
its name in the left column. Fig. 41: AIR Control software – Global – File page –
►► Select the desired preset from the column on the Store section
right.
►► Press the large green Recall Preset button in ►► Click the Store tab on the left side of the window.
the upper right corner of the window to recall the The name of the currently selected preset is shown
selected preset. on top of the window.
►► If you want to edit the name of the preset before
storing it, just click the name shown under “Cur-
rent” and edit it using your computer keyboard.
►► 15 User preset slots in two banks are available.
Select the bank (“Bank 1” or “Bank 2”) by clicking
its name in the left column.
►► Select the preset slot where you want to store the
preset in the column on the right.
►► Click the large red Store Preset button in the upper
right corner of the window to store the current
preset to the selected User preset slot. This will
overwrite (delete) the preset currently stored in this
preset slot.
To learn what global and local parameters are stored in

presets and which parameters aren’t, see “Parameter
storage” on page 47.

Recalling Bass management presets

Bass management page ►► Click the Preset field in the Bass Management
(Preset) section of the bass management page.

This will assign Bass management preset selection
to the large slider on the right of the window.
►► Drag the slider to select the desired bass manage-
ment preset.
For a description of the bass management presets,

their parameters and values, see “Bass management
modes and crossover frequencies” on page 21.
Advanced bass management

Fig. 42: AIR Control software – Global – Bass In bass management presets, the states of the three
management page filters (Satellite, Sub 4 and Sub 2) are predefined. Using
Advanced bass management, you can activate these
Use the Bass management page in the Global section filters individually for fine-grained control of demanding
of the AIR Control software to recall Bass management speaker setups.
presets and activate Advanced bass management fea-
tures. To activate Advanced bass management, click the On
button in the Advanced section of the Bass manage-
To learn more about bass management, see “Configur- ment page. This will enable the remaining buttons in
ing bass management” on page 21 and “Bass man- this section.
agement” on page 117.
►► Click the field for the filter (Satellite HP, Sub 4th
order or Sub 2nd order) that you want to configure.
This will assign this filter to the large slider on the
right of the window.
►► Set the desired crossover frequency for this filter or
drag the slider down to set the filter to Off.
►► Click the LFE = Sub button to include the LFE
channel in bass management.

Assigning monitors to EQ Groups

EQ Link page Three EQ Groups (shown on the left of the window) are
available.
►► Click the name of one or multiple monitors in the

left half of the window to select them. Selected
monitors are highlighted.
►► To remove a monitor from the selection, click its
button again.
►► To assign all selected monitors to an EQ Group,
click the button for that EQ Group on the right side
of the window.
All previously selected monitor buttons will now be
surrounded by a ring in the color of that EQ Group.
Fig. 43: AIR Control software – Global – EQ Link
page. Group 1 (containing the left and right front
speakers) is active. Removing monitors from an EQ Groups
►► Click the name of one or multiple monitors in the
Use the EQ Link page in the Global section of the AIR left half of the window to select them. Selected
Control software to group the EQs of AIR monitors, al- monitors are highlighted.
lowing you to modify their settings more easily. ►► Click the Remove button in the right half of the
window. The previously selected monitors will be

removed from their group.
Activating an EQ Group
To use an EQ Group (i.e., have the EQ settings for all
monitors in that group synced), you need to activate it.
To activate an EQ Group, click the Active button right to

the respective EQ Group button (1, 2 or 3) in the right
half of the EQ link window. Multiple groups can be ac-
tive at the same time.

Lock page
Fig. 44: AIR Control software – Global – Lock page
Use the Lock page in the Global section of the AIR Con-
trol software to lock features of your AIR monitor sys-
tem, allowing you to restrict a user’s access to a subset
of parameters.
Instead of a simple, global “Lock” feature that would al-

low no user control at all, AIR Control software allows
for fine-grained control of the features that a user has
access to. This allows you to configure your AIR system
so that an untrained user can operate it without being
able to change critical parameters.
►► To lock a feature or preset slot, click its button so it

is highlighted.
Please note that even when a parameter has been

locked, the user will still be able to navigate to it and
see its current setting on an AIR master monitor. How-
ever, he won’t be able to change it. Instead, the display
will show the message “Locked” when an arrow key is
pressed.

AIR Setup BNC Sync

Preferences page Use the AIR setup parameter to specify the setup for Switch BNC Sync on or off. See “Setup menu ► Exter-
your AIR system. Clicking this parameter field will show nal clock setup” on page 24.
a drop-down menu.
Make sure to have your monitors connected exactly as A. Sensitivity

required for the selected setup. For more information, Use the A(nalog) Sensitivity parameter to set the input
see “AIR setups” on page 29. of the analog input in dB.
Sleep Mode
Use the Sleep Mode parameter to set the time until the
monitors of your AIR system go into power save mode
after no signal has been detected.
Fig. 45: AIR Control software – Global – Preferences
Page
Standby Mode
Use the Preferences page in the Global section of the Use the Standby Mode parameter to set the time until
AIR Control software to configure certain global fea- the monitors of your AIR system go into standby mode
tures of your AIR system and access various Reset after no signal has been detected.
features. Fig. 46: AIR Setup selection
Fore more information, see “Standby, Power Save
mode and powering down your AIR system” on page
Storing the Master volume Backlight 12.
To have your AIR monitor system store and recall the Use the Backlight parameter to set the backlight of your
last used master volume level when it is switched off AIR Master monitor(s) display(s) on or off.
and on again, click the Store Master Volume button. Reset procedures
Click one of the three buttons in the lower half of the
Units window to execute the respective Reset procedure.
Locking the front keyboards of Use the Units parameter to set the unit for the delay please note that the Reset will occur immediately, so
your AIR Master monitors parameter either to meters or inches. make sure that this is what you want.
To lock the front keyboards of your AIR Master moni-
tors, click the Lock Front KBD button. For a description of Reset procedures, see “Reset pro-
Port: cedures” on page 87.
For each of the remaining functions, select the respec- If your computer has multiple Com ports, set the Port
tive field. This will assign it to the large slider on the parameter to the port your are using for connection to
right of the window. Drag the slider to set the parameter. your AIR system.

Selecting a monitor for configuration

Selecting monitors Each detected monitor in an AIR system is represented
by a “tab” on top of the AIR Control software window.
for configuration
►► Please refer to the section “AIR setups” on page
29 of this manual to find the setup you want to Fig. 47: AIR Control software window top bar – two
use. monitors connected and detected. The left monitor
►► Position and connect your monitors exactly as (“AIR 6 L Front”) is selected for editing its settings.
described in the section for this setup.
After you have done this, you can use AIR Control Select the monitor you want to set up by clicking its tab
software to access each connected monitor and and configure it as described on the following pages. All
configure its settings. settings are applied immediately.

Room position Ref. Level

Monitor Setup page Use the Room position parameter to specify the room Use the Ref. Level parameter to set the reference level
position of the selected monitor. See “Monitor positions” for each monitor.
on page 52.
Treble
Test Signals Use the Treble parameter to set the amplification or at-
Use the Test Signals parameter to specify the test sig- tenuation for the treble band of the two-band shelving
nal type/source for this monitor. You can choose be- EQ in each monitor
tween Pink Noise and 96 kHz EQ out.
When you set Test Signals to Pink Noise and click the Bass
Test button, the speaker will output pink noise at the Use the Bass parameter to set the amplification or at-
currently set level. tenuation for the bass band of the two-band shelving
Fig. 48: AIR Control software – Monitor setup page EQ in each monitor. For more information, see “Equal-
When you set Test Signals to 96 kHz EQ out and click izing the monitors” on page 56.
Use the Setup page to send test signals and configure the Test button, the Master speaker will output an AES/
basic parameters for the selected monitor. EBU signal on its TC link output. This test signal can The following setup parameters are only available for
be used to check the EQ settings using a measuring AIR subwoofers:
The following setup parameters are available for all AIR device connected to the TC Link port using an RJ45-
monitors. AES/EBU cable. LFE Gain
Use the LFE Gain parameter to set the LFE channel
gain for the selected subwoofer. See “LFE Gain (sub-
Test X-Curve woofer parameter)” on page 61 and “The LFE Chan-
Click the Test button to generate a test signal. To stop Use the X-Curve parameter to select the X-Curve for nel” on page 118 for background information on LFE.
the test signal, click this button again. the selected monitor. See “X-Curves” on page 58.
Please note that the test signal will be generated at the Phase
currently set level. Delay Use the Phase parameter to set the signal Phase for
Use the Delay parameter to specify a delay for the sig- the selected subwoofer. See “Calibrating the subwoof-
nal assigned to this monitor. See “Delaying monitors” ers with the main monitors” on page 61.
Monitor Task on page 119.
Use the Monitor Task parameter to specify the task
(e.g. Left Front or Right Front) for the selected monitor Pol 180deg
in the current setup. Calib Level Use the Pol 180deg parameter to reverse the polarity of
Use the Calib Level parameter to calibrate each moni- the signal during calibration for the selected subwoofer.
tor. See “Calibrating the main monitors” on page 57 See “Polarity (subwoofer parameter)” on page 61.
and “Calibrating the subwoofers with the main moni-
tors” on page 61.

LFE Low Pass Locking parameters for individual monitors

Use the LFE Low Pass parameter to activate the Low- The Lock page in the Global section of the AIR Con-
pass filter for the LFE channel on the selected subwoof- trol software allows you to lock certain features for all
er. See “LFE Low Pass Filter (subwoofer parameter)” monitors in your AIR system – see “Lock page” on page
on page 61. 75. In addition, you can lock parameters for individu-
al monitors on the Monitor Setup page.
To lock a parameter for a monitor, so that it cannot be

changed using the System Controller’s navigation keys,
►► select this monitor’s tab in the AIR Control soft-
ware,
►► go to the Setup page and
►► click the Lock button to the left of the respective
parameter.
Please note that even when a parameter has been

locked, the user will still be able to navigate to it and
see its current setting on an AIR master monitor. How-
ever, he won’t be able to change it. Instead, the display
will show the message “Locked” when an arrow key is
pressed.

Using EQ Groups Making EQ settings

Monitor EQ page While the EQ can be configured for each monitor in- ►► Activate the EQ for the selected monitor (or
dividually, AIR Control software allows you to combine currently active EQ Group) by clicking the EQ On
monitors in up to three groups and control the EQ set- button.
tings for all monitors in such an EQ Group together. See ►► Select one of the four EQ bands for editing by
“EQ Link page” on page 74. clicking one of the four numbered tabs in the upper
half of the window.
If the monitor you have selected is part of an EQ Group, ►► Use the parameter fields on the bottom of the win-
the color of the EQ Group will be indicated by a small dow to configure the selected EQ band as follows:
dot in that EQ Group’s color (blue, green or brown) in ►► Gain: Use this parameter to attenuate or amplify
the monitor’s tab. the selected frequency band by up to 6 dB.

►► Frequency: Use this parameter to set the cutoff/
If the monitor you have selected is part of an EQ Group, operating frequency for the selected frequency
and this EQ Group has been activated on the EQ Link band.
Fig. 49: AIR Control software – Monitor EQ page page, the tabs for all monitors in that Group are high- ►► Type: Use this parameter to set the filter type for
lighted when you edit the EQ settings for one monitor, the selected frequency band. Choose between
Use the EQ page to configure the parametric four band indicating that your changes will be applied to all mon- Band off (EQ band inactive), Parametric, Notch,
equalizer built into each AIR monitor. itors in that group. Low Shelf, High Shelf, Low Pass, High Pass
►► S/BW: Use this parameter to set the slope for
The parametric four band equalizer is only accessible the selected EQ band.
from AIR Control software, not from the monitor itself. ►► Proceed to select and adjust the other EQ bands.
Fig. 50: AIR Control software – Monitor EQ page with

two monitors assigned to an active EQ Group. Settings
will be applied to all monitors in this EQ Group. Resetting the EQ
To reset the parameters of all four EQ bands to their
default values, click the Reset button.
EQ defaults
EQ Band Gain Frequency Type S/BW

1 0 dB 100 Hz Low Shelf 9 Oct.
2 0 dB 500 Hz Parametric 4 Oct.
3 0 dB 2000 Hz Parametric 1 Oct.
4 0 dB 10000 Hz High Shelf 3 Oct.
Fig. 51: Four-band EQ defaults

Monitor Firmware page Monitor Log page
Fig. 52: AIR Control software – Monitor firmware page Fig. 53: AIR Control software – Monitor Log page
Use the Firmware page to access firmware information Use the Monitor Log page to retrieve a log file showing
for the currently selected monitor. the current settings for the selected monitor.
►► Click the Read Version button to retrieve firmware ►► Click the Get Logfile button for a full list of all AIR
version information from the selected monitor. Monitor parameters.
If you encounter problems with an AIR monitor and If you encounter problems with an AIR monitor and
need to contact support (see “Getting support” on page need to contact support (see “Getting support” on page
5), you should have this information ready. 5), you should have this information ready.

Cables
Cables

Cables
Several types of cables are used for connecting the

components of your AIR system. TC LINK via standard AES/EBU cables
Cat 5 cables Standard AES/EBU cables are used to connect audio
sources to the inputs of the System controller monitor.
TC LINK connections carry digital audio (24 bit) and
network control information between the monitors in ►► Cable type: 110 Ohm
your AIR system. ►► Connector type: XLR
►► Maximum cable length: 100 meters
Connector 1 Connector 2
Pin 1 Pin 1 Ground
Pin 2 Pin 2 Hot
Pin 3 Pin 3 Cold
Fig. 54: TC LINK (standard Cat 5) cable
►► Cable type: Shielded Ethernet cable – Category 5

►► Connector type: RJ45
►► Maximum cable length: 15 meters
Connector 1 Connector 2 Color

1 1 Brown
2 2 White/Brown
3 3 Green
4 4 White/Blue
5 5 Blue
6 6 White/Green
7 7 Orange
8 8 White/Orange

Cables
Balanced audio cables Custom serial to USB to COM 9

Standard balanced audio cables are used to connect CAT 5 cable pin adapter
audio sources to the analog audio inputs of the System
controller monitor. The Serial to Cat-5 cable is part of the Air Cable pack- The Serial to Cat-5 cable is part of the Air Cable pack-
age, which can be obtained from the TC Electronic age, which can be obtained from the TC Electronic
►► Cable type: 110 Ohm Store (item number 995282002): Store (item number 995282002):
►► Connector type: XLR ►► store.tcelectronic.com/ ►► store.tcelectronic.com/
Connector 1 Connector 2 This is a proprietary cable with built-in electronics for The USB to COM 9 pin adapter is part of the Air Cable
Pin 1 Pin 1 Ground use with AIR Systems only. Use this cable to connect package.
Pin 2 Pin 2 Hot your computer running AIR Control software to the Sys-
Pin 3 Pin 3 Cold tem controller monitor. Use this adapter in conjunction with the Serial to CAT 5
cable described above if your computer has USB ports,
For more information, see “Setting up AIR Control soft- but no serial port.
ware” on page 69.
For more information, see “Setting up AIR Control soft-
Do not use an off-the-shelf Serial to CAT 5 cable/adapt- ware” on page 69.
er for this connection as it will not work.
Fig. 56: USB to COM 9 adapter

Fig. 55: Serial to CAT-5 cable

Presets
Presets

Presets
Preset level in dB Gain

in dB
Preset no. Preset name Preset description L C R Ls Rs Sub LFE X-Over X-Curve 1* X-Curve 2**
(Hz)
1-15 Empty / User Presets 1 to 15 are “empty” until you choose to store something,
after which the respective preset name is “User Preset”.
Presets can be named using AIR Control software.
16 Neutral All parameters neutral – a good starting point 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Off Off Off
17 BassMgt 50Hz Music, video and post for domestic (not Cinema) use – Stereo, 5.1, 5.3 and 6.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 50 Off Off
18 BassMgt 80Hz Music, video and post for domestic (not Cinema) use – Stereo, 5.1, 5.3 and 6.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 80 Off Off
19 BassMgt Ex50Hz Music, video and post for domestic (not Cinema) use – Stereo, 5.1, 5.3 and 6.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 50 Off Off
20 BassMgt Ex80Hz Music, video and post for domestic (not Cinema) use – Stereo, 5.1, 5.3 and 6.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 80 Off Off
21 BassMgt THXSim Music, video and post for domestic (not Cinema) use – Stereo, 5.1, 5.3 and 6.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 115 Off Off
22 BassMgt SC120 Music, video and post for domestic (not Cinema) use – Stereo, 5.1, 5.3 and 6.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 120 Off Off
23 Cinema Flat Mixing for Cinema without compensation for X-curve. 5.1 0 0 0 -3 -3 0 0 Off Off Off
24 Cine X-curve Mixing for Cinema in a small room – compensates for X-curve. 5.1 0 0 0 -3 -3 0 0 Off Yes Off
25 Cine X-curve2 Mixing for Cinema in a small room – compensates for modified X-curve. 5.1 0 0 0 -3 -3 0 0 Off Off Yes
26 Cinema X-50Hz Mixing for Cinema with small room X-curve compensation and bass management 0 0 0 -3 -3 0 0 50 Yes Off
27 Cinema X-80Hz Mixing for Cinema with small room X-curve compensation and bass management 0 0 0 -3 -3 0 0 80 Yes Off
28 Cine X-SC120Hz Mixing for Cinema with small room X-curve compensation and bass management 0 0 0 -3 -3 0 0 120 Yes Off
29 Cinema 80Hz Mixing for Cinema with bass management but without compensation for X-curve 0 0 0 -3 -3 0 0 80 Off Off
30 Cinema SC120 Mixing for Cinema with bass management but without compensation for X-curve 0 0 0 -3 -3 0 0 120 Off Off
31 OB Van SC120 OB vans and very small rooms where rear channels are close to sweet spot 0 0 0 -2 -2 0 0 120 Off Off
32 Neutral All parameters neutral – a good starting point 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Off Off Off
* X-curve #1: ANSI / SMPTE222M – 1.5 dB roll off Notes on LFE Gain
per octave from 2 kHz. For more information, see Please note that the LFE channel should be mixed with
“X-Curves” on page 58. +10 dB headroom. If you are not able to boost your
** X-curve #2: ANSI / SMPTE222M Mod. – 3 dB roll off LFE monitor output, you should add +10 dB gain on
per octave from 4 kHz. For more information, see your AIR BASE subwoofer. Most format encoders/de-
“X-Curves” on page 58. coders take the LFE boost into account, meaning that
you should leave the AIR BASE LFE gain at 0 dB when
playing back DTS-encoded or DOLBY-encoded materi-
al on your AIR system.

Reset procedures
Reset procedures

Reset procedures
Three different Reset “levels” exist. All Reset proce- Clear Setup for entire network
dures will affect all monitors connected when they The Clear setup for entire network reset procedure
are executed. will clear settings for your entire AIR system. All con-
nected monitors will be reset to default settings.
Clear Monitor Settings To access this Reset procedure, proceed as follows:

The Clear monitor settings reset procedure will reset
all global and local parameters for all connected moni- ►► From the home screen, press the ENTER key.
tors. Preset and network settings are not affected. ►► Press the DOWN key until “Setup menu” is dis-
played.
To access this Reset procedure, press and hold the EN- ►► Press the ENTER key.
TER key on the System Controller monitor while pow- ►► Press the DOWN key until “Clear setup for entire
ering it up. network” is displayed.
“Accept to clear network setup?” is displayed.
Reset All Settings ►► Press the ENTER key to clear the setup or press
The Reset all settings reset procedure is a “factory the EXIT key to discard.
reset” that will delete all global and local parameter set-
tings as well as preset and network settings.
To access this Reset procedure, press and hold the EN-

TER key on the System Controller monitor while pow-
ering it up.

Error messages
Error messages

Error messages
Error message Explanation

“!” The “!” indicates that the monitor is not connected to the network. The volume
(e.g. as “96 kHz Center!”) is then automatically set to -50 dB for this monitor.
“+” The “+” indicates that this monitor is the System Controller.
(e.g. as “96 kHz L Front+”)
>> A-Input Lo << This message is displayed in analog setups only. It indicates that the input
level has been detected to be between -60 dB and -20 dB for a period longer
than 3 minutes. This is a hint to turn up the Analog Input Sensitivity parameter
– see “Setup menu ► Analog input sensitivity” on page 25.
>> A-Input Hi << This message is displayed in analog setups only. It indicates that an input
level near 0 dB has been detected (peaks in 2 seconds above -1 dB). This
is a warning and you should reduce Analog input sensitivity accordingly. See
“Setup menu ► Analog input sensitivity” on page 25.
>> PSU error << This message is displayed if the power supplies fails. The power will be
turned off and the monitor cannot operate. In this case, get in touch with
support. See “Service” on page 5.
<Locked> This message is displayed when a parameter is locked by AIR Control soft-
ware and cannot be changed. Use AIR Control software to unlock parame-
ters. See “AIR Control software” on page 66.
Standby This message is displayed when no input signal above -65 dB has been de-
tected for more than 30 minutes. The amplifier is turned off. Standby mode is
released as soon a signal level above -65 dB has been detected.
>> Power save << This message is displayed when no signal has been detected on all net-
worked monitors for more than 2.5 hours. Power is turned off. Exit this mode
by pressing any key on the System controller or adjusting the volume from
the AIR Remote.

Warranty
Warranty

Warranty
Dynaudio Professional products are warranted to be

free from defects in components and factory workman- Exceptions
ship under normal use and service for a period of two Dynaudio will always follow the law of the respective
(2) years when bought from a reseller within the EU. markets should it differ from the policy stated above or
the exceptions stated below.
Dynaudio Professional products are warranted to be
free from defects in components and factory workman- This warranty shall be null and void, if the product is
ship under normal use and service for a period of one subjected to repair work or alteration by a person or
(1) year when bought from a reseller outside the EU. facility other than those authorized by Dynaudio; me-
chanical damage including shipping accidents; war, civ-
When failing to perform as specified during the warran- il insurrection, misuse, abuse, operation with incorrect
ty period we will undertake to repair, or at our option, AC voltage, incorrect connections, wrong accessories,
replace this product at no charge to its owner, provided incorrect use of accessories, operation with faulty asso-
the unit is returned undamaged and shipping prepaid, ciated equipment, exposure to inclement weather con-
to an authorized service facility or to the factory. ditions and normal wear and tear.
Dynaudio shall not be responsible for any incidental Units on which the serial number has been removed or
or consequential damages. Dynaudio’s responsibility defaced are not eligible for warranty service.
is limited to the product itself. Dynaudio assumes no
responsibility for any loss due to cancellation of any
events, or rent of replacement equipment or costs due
to third party’s or customer’s loss of profit, or any other
indirect cost or losses however incurred.
Dynaudio reserves the right to make changes or im-

provements in design or manufacturing without as-
suming any obligation to change or improve products
previously manufactured and/or sold. The product war-
ranty is only valid in the country where the product was
purchased.

Technical specifications

AIR 6 & AIR 15 (Master and Slave)

Model AIR 15 AIR 6
System Two-way Active Nearfield Monitor Two-way Active Nearfield Monitor
Frequency response (±3 dB) 33 Hz – 22 kHz 40 Hz – 22 kHz
Peak SPL 1 m, pair (IEC Short > 128 dB peak > 128 dB peak
Term)
Peak SPL 2 m, 5.1 (IEC Short > 126 dB peak (no LFE) > 126 dB peak
Term)
Max SPL 1 m, (IEC Long Term) 103 dB RMS 104 dB RMS
Precision of monitor matching ±0.2 dB ±0.2 dB
Port tuning frequency 40 Hz 45 Hz
Internal cabinet volume 27 liters 12.1 liters
Bass principle Bass reflex Bass reflex
Crossover frequency 2150 Hz (DSP generated) 2150 Hz (DSP generated)
Crossover slope 24 dB/oct (Linkwitz Riley, DSP generated) 24 dB/oct (Linkwitz Riley, DSP generated)
Tweeter Esotec 28 mm / 1.1” soft dome, rear chamber, Esotec 28 mm / 1.1” soft dome, rear chamber,
magnetic fluid, 4 mm die-cast aluminum front, pure magnetic fluid, 4 mm die-cast aluminum front, pure
aluminum wire voice coil aluminum wire voice coil
Woofer 240 mm / 10”, one-piece molded polypropylene cone, 175 mm / 6.5”, one-piece molded polypropylene
100 mm / 4” pure aluminum voice coil cone, 75 mm / 3” pure aluminum voice coil, magnetic
shielded
Mains voltage 100 to 240 VAC, 50 to 60 Hz (auto-select) 100 to 240 VAC, 50 to 60 Hz (auto-select)
Power consumption 40 W @ 1/8 max power (IEC 60065) 40 W @ 1/8 max power (IEC 60065)
Finish
Amp Black anodized aluminum back plate Black anodized aluminum back plate
Cabinet Dark gray MDF baffle, Silver foil Dark gray MDF baffle, Silver foil
Dimensions (H x W x D) 425 x 275 x 395 mm / 16,7” x 10,8” x 15,5” 338 x 216 x 345 mm / 13,3” x 8,5” x 13,6”
Weight 15.5 kg / 34.5 lbs 9.8 kg / 21.8 lbs
Amplifier
Tweeter and woofer Tweeter 200 W PWM amp/Woofer 200 W PWM amp Tweeter 200 W PWM amp/Woofer 200 W PWM amp

AIR 20 & AIR 25 (Master and Slave)

Model AIR 25 AIR 20
System Three-way Active Nearfield Monitor Three-way Semi-active Nearfield Monitor
Frequency response (±3 dB) 28 Hz to 22 kHz: ±3 dB 31 Hz to 22 kHz: ±3 dB
Peak SPL 1 m, pair (IEC Short 134 dB peak 131 dB peak
Term)
Peak SPL 2 m, 5.1 (IEC Short 132 dB peak 129 dB peak
Term)
Max SPL 1 m, (IEC Long Term) 107 dB RMS 104 dB RMS
Precision of monitor matching ±0.2 dB ±0.2 dB
Port tuning frequency 35 Hz 40 Hz
Internal cabinet volume 68 liters 35 liters
Bass principle Bass reflex Bass reflex
Crossover frequency 400 Hz (DSP generated) and 2400 Hz (DSP gener- 390 Hz (DSP generated) and 2600 Hz
ated)
Crossover slope 12 dB/oct and 6 dB/oct
Tweeter Esotar 28 mm / 1.1” soft dome, neodymium magnet, Esotar 28 mm / 1.1” soft dome, neodymium magnet,
rear chamber, magnetic fluid, 4 mm steel front, pure rear chamber, magnetic fluid, 4 mm steel front, pure
aluminum wire voice coil aluminum wire voice coil
Midrange 145 mm / 5,5”, one-piece molded polypropylene 145 mm / 5,5”, one-piece molded polypropylene
cone, 38 mm / 1,5” pure aluminum voice coil cone, 38 mm / 1,5” pure aluminum voice coil
Woofer 240 mm / 9,5”, one-piece molded polypropylene 2 x 240 mm / 9,5”, one-piece molded polypropylene
cone, 100 mm / 4” pure aluminum voice coil cone, 100 mm / 4” pure aluminum voice coil
Mains voltage 100 to 240 VAC, 50 to 60 Hz (select) 100 to 240 VAC, 50 to 60 Hz (auto-select)
Power consumption 45 W @ 1/8 max power (IEC 60065) 45 W @ 1/8 max power (IEC 60065)
Finish
Amp Black painted back plate Black painted back plate
Cabinet Black ash with dark gray MDF baffle Black ash with dark gray MDF baffle
Dimensions (H x W x D) 510 x 535 x 450 mm / 20” x 21” x 17,7” 575 x 310 x 395 mm / 22,6” x 12,2” x 15,5”
Depth incl. amp and driver 490 mm / 19,3” 435 mm / 17,0”
Weight 46 kg / 101 lbs 28 kg / 62.2 lbs
Amplifier
Tweeter, midrange and woofer Tweeter 300 W amp / Midrange 300 W amp / Woofer Tweeter & Midrange 200 W amp / Woofer 200 W amp
2 x 300 W amp

AIR BASE 1 & AIR BASE 2

System Active Subwoofers
Total frequency response: 25 Hz – bssmng: 120 Hz, LFE: 2.5 kHz /
23 Hz – bssmng: 120 Hz, LFE: 2.5 kHz: ±3 dB
Max. SPL 1 m, one (IEC Short Term) 119 dB peak / 121 dB peak
Max. SPL 2 m, 5.1 (IEC Short Term) 113 dB peak / 115 dB peak
(no front, rear & center)
Precision of monitor matching ±0.2 dB
Port tuning frequency 30 Hz / 27 Hz
Internal cabinet volume 37 liters / 78 liters
Bass principle Bass reflex
Woofer 1 / 2 pcs. 240 mm / 10”, one-piece molded polypro-
pylene cone, 100 mm / 4” pure aluminum voice coil
Mains voltage 100 to 240 VAC, 50 to 60 Hz (auto-select)
Power consumption 40 W @ 1/8 max power (IEC 60065)
Finish
Amp Black anodized aluminum back plate
Cabinet Dark gray MDF baffle, Silver foil
Dimensions (H x W x D) 310 x 480 x 420 mm / 900 x 310 x 420 mm
(12.2” x 18,9” x 16.5” / 35.4” x 12.2” x 16.5”)
Depth incl. amp and driver: 447 mm / 447 mm (17.6”
/ 17.6”)
Weight 18 kg / 29 kg (39.6 lbs / 63.8 lbs)
Amplifier 250 W PWM amp

AIR Base 12
System Active Subwoofer
Total frequency response 22 Hz to 200 Hz ±3 dB, depending on setting
Max. SPL 1 m, one (IEC Short Term) 123 dB peak
Max. SPL 2 m, 5.1 (IEC Short Term) 117 dB peak
Port tuning frequency 24 Hz
Internal cabinet volume 41 liters
Bass principle Bass reflex. Down-firing port
Woofer 1 pcs. 300 mm/12”, two-piece molded polypropylene
cone, 75 mm/3” pure copper voice coil
Mains voltage 100 to 240 VAC, 50 to 60 Hz (select)
Power consumption Idle: 50 W/Max: 375 W
Finish
Amp Black painted metal back plate
Cabinet Black ash with dark gray MDF baffle
Dimensions (H x W x D) 460 x 360 x 502 mm (18.1 x 14.2 x 19.7)
Depth incl. amp and driver: 550 mm (not moving)
Height incl. “feet”: 738
Weight 38 kg (83.8 lbs)
Amplifier 500 W amp

AIR Base 24
System Active Subwoofer
Total frequency response 20 Hz to 200 Hz ±3 dB, depending on setting
Max. SPL 1 m, one (IEC Short Term) 126 dB peak
Max. SPL 2 m, 5.1 (IEC Short Term) 120 dB peak
Port tuning frequency 22 Hz
Internal cabinet volume 77 liters
Bass principle Bass reflex. Down-firing port
Woofer 2 pcs. 300 mm/12”, two-piece molded polypropylene
cone, 75 mm/3” pure copper voice coil
Mains voltage 100 to 240 VAC, 50 to 60 Hz (select)
Power consumption Idle: 50 W/Max: 375 W
Finish
Amp Black painted metal back plate
Cabinet Black ash with dark gray MDF baffle
Dimensions (H x W x D) 720 x 360 x 502 mm (28.3 x 14.2 x 19.7)
Depth incl. amp and driver: 550 mm (not moving)
Height incl. “feet”: 738 mm
Weight 60 kg (132.3 lbs)
Amplifier 700 W amp

Room size and typical listening distance

Typical listening
distance
AIR 6 AIR 15 AIR 20 AIR 25
1.2 to 2 m / 4 to 7 ft 1.5 to 2.5 m / 5 to 8,5 ft 1.5 to 3 m / 5 to 10.2 ft
Typical room size
AIR 6 AIR 15 AIR 20 AIR 25
50 to 100 m3 / 75 to 125 m3 / 80 to 130 m3 /
1600 to 3500 ft 2600 to 4400 ft 2800 to 4600 ft3
AIR BASE 1 AIR BASE 2 Two or three AIR Two or three AIR
BASE 1’s BASE 1’s
30 to 60 m3 / 50 to 100 m3 / 50 to 100 m3 / 75 to 125 m3 /
1000 to 2000 ft3 1600 to 4400 ft3 1600 to 3500 ft3 2600 to 4400 ft3

General specifications for AIR 6, AIR 15, AIR 20, AIR 25,

AIR BASE 1, AIR BASE 2, AIR BASE 12 & AIR Base 24
System sample rates
Internal sample rate 192 and 176.4 via Dual Wire (optional Digital Card
required) and 96, 88.2, 64, 48, 44.1 or 32 kHz
AIR Masters only
I/O Connectors XLR (2 channels AES/EBU in)
3 x RJ45 proprietary TC LINK
Formats AES/EBU (24 Bit)
Word clock input BNC, 75 ohm, 0.6 to 10 Vpp
Display 2 x 16 character dot matrix
Operation Menu system / four buttons
Analog input option
Input connectors XLR balanced (pin 2+, pin 3-)
Impedance 10/3 kOhm (Balanced/unbalanced)
Selectable full scale input level +9, +15, +21, +27 dBu
Dynamic Range > 113 dB typ. (unweighted), BW: 20 Hz to 20 kHz
THD+N < -105 dB typ. @ 1 kHz, -3 dBFS
Crosstalk < -120 dB, 20 Hz to 20 kHz
A to D Conversion 24 Bit (Dual bit delta sigma sampling at
4.1/5.6/6.1/6.1 MHz)
AIR Slaves only
I/O Connectors 2 x RJ45 proprietary TC LINK

AIR Remote
Finish Black anodized aluminum and plastic
Dimensions (D x W x H) 120 x 70 x 35 mm
Weight 250 g
I/O Connectors 1 x RJ45 proprietary TC LINK
EMC
Complies with EN 55103-1 and EN 55103-2, FCC part 15 class B, CISPR 22 class B
Safety
Certified to IEC 60065, EN 60065, UL 6500 and CSA E60065 CSA FILE #LR108093
Environment
Operating Temperature 32° F to 122° F (0° C to 50° C)
Storage Temperature -22° F to 167° F (-30° C to 70° C)
Humidity Max. 90 % non-condensing
Warranty
Parts and labor 1 year on parts and labor

General specifications for all products

EMC complies with EN 55103-1 and EN 55103-2, FCC part 15 class B,
CISPR 22 class B
Safety certified to IEC 60065, EN 60065, UL 6500 and CSA E60065
CSA FILE #LR108093
Environment operating temperature 32° F to 122° F
(0° C to 50° C)
Storage temperature -22° F to 167° F
(-30° C to 70° C)
Humidity Max. 90 % non-condensing
Warranty 2 years on parts and labor

Delay in system
Sample Rate Analog Input *) Digital Input
(AES or WC In) centimeters milliseconds Samples @ centimeters milliseconds Samples @ Converter kHz
kHz Converter Rate Input Rate
32 39 1.14 73 100 2.91 93 64
44.1 28 0.83 73 53 1.54 68 88.2
48 26 0.76 73 29 0.83 40 96
64 39 1.14 73 18 0.53 34 64
88.2 28 0.83 73 13 0.39 34 88.2
96 26 0.76 73 12 0.35 34 96
* In Analog Input mode without WC Input selected, the system runs on the Master monitor’s own 96 kHz clock.
Due to continuous development, these specifications are subject to change without notice.

Certificate of conformity

TC Electronic A/S, Sindalsvej 34, 8240 Risskov, Den-

mark, hereby declares on own responsibility that follow-
ing products:
►► AIR 6
►► AIR 15
►► AIR 20
►► AIR 25
►► AIR BASE 1
►► AIR BASE 2
►► AIR BASE 12
►► AIR BASE 24
►► AIR REMOTE
that are covered by this certificate and marked with

CE-label conform with following standards:
►► EN 60065 (IEC 60065) – Safety requirements for

mains operated electronic and related apparatus
for household and similar general use
►► EN 55103-1 Product family standard for audio, vid-
eo, audio-visual and entertainment lighting control
apparatus for professional use. Part 1: Emission.
►► EN 55103-2 Product family standard for audio, vid-
eo, audio-visual and entertainment lighting control
apparatus for professional use. Part 2: Immunity.
With reference to regulations in following directives:

73/23/EEC, 89/336/EEC
Issued in Risskov, December 2002
Mads Peter Lübeck

Chief Executive Officer

Appendix: Acoustics
Appendix: Acoustics

Appendix: Acoustics
Control rooms should normally have a reverb time

Introduction around 0.2 to 0.3 seconds.
When we talk about making a room “sound right”, we Why do we have reverberation?
are usually dealing with room acoustics. As a science,
acoustics has been around for about a hundred years. The speed of the propagating sound wave is very slow
Until then, good acoustics happened by experiment, by – at least compared to light, which travels at approxi-
experience, or simply by accident. Today, we know a lot mately 1130 feet or 340 meters per second.
more about the parameters that influence the “sound” Fig. 58: One sound source, one receiver, and one
of a room. If there are no reflecting surfaces between the sound reflecting surface. The sound is received twice. In the
source and our ears, only the direct sound is heard, and control room, this is normally experienced as comb
A control room should basically act as neutral as possi- there is no reverberation. filtering – see later.
ble. But this is not always the case. Let’s take a look on
some of the issues that we need to be aware of. If there is a single reflecting surface, we may hear the
reflected sound in one way or another – but there is still
no reverberation.
Good acoustics
Here is a list of important parameters concerning good If the sound is generated in a typical room, there are
acoustics. many reflections. Each of these reflections travels dif-
ferent paths, with varying distances to the listener. Each
►► Proper reverberation time time the sound hits an (absorbing) surface, it will lose
►► Good sound distribution some energy.
►► Adequate sound pressure level
►► Low background noise level Fig. 59: One sound source and one receiver in a
►► No (flutter) echo typical room. The sound impulse is reflected on
many surfaces. The reflections are perceived as
Now let us go through these issues one by one. reverberation.
Fig. 57: One sound source, one receiver and no room.

Reverberation time Only the direct sound is received.
The reverberation time is defined as the time un-
til a sound is attenuated by 60 dB after the source is
stopped.
In real life, we can experience reverb times from ap-

proximately 0 seconds (outdoors or in anechoic cham-
bers) to around 10 to 12 seconds. In special reverb
chambers, the time may exceed 20 seconds.

Appendix: Acoustics
Sabine’s formula
Wallace Clement Sabine (1868-1919) is the father of
modern acoustics. He found that reverberation time is
described by a relationship between the room size and
the amount of absorption in the room. Larger rooms
will have longer reverberation. More absorption leads
to shorter reverberation. This can be expressed in Sa- Fig. 60: Reverberation time measured in a control
bine’s formula: room. From 250 Hz and above, the curve is nicely
placed around 0.3 seconds. But for lower frequencies,
T = 0.161 * V / A the reverb time rises to 0.75 seconds, which is too
where: much.
►► T: Reverberation time in seconds
►► V: Volume in m3
►► A: Absorption in m2 Sabine
►► 0.161: A constant (to adapt the calculation to the
actual units)
One square meter (1 m2) Sabine is comparable to an

open window with an area of one square meter. The
sound that hits this hypothetical window will disappear
and never return. In other words: One square meter Sa-
bine is one square meter with full absorption.
The basic formula sounds simple – but the problem is

that the materials in the room will absorb differently at
different frequencies. The absorption may range from
nothing (fully reflective) to total absorption.
A proper reverb time should be constant with frequency,

but this is not always the case because of the behav-
ior of the materials in the room. The low frequencies
are the hardest to control. This is why the reverberation
time against frequency in practice may look like this:

Appendix: Acoustics
Absorbers
All materials in a room act acoustically – even if they
are not so-called “acoustical materials”. Basically, there
are three kinds of absorbers:
Membrane absorbers Fig. 62: Resonance absorbers

This class of absorber includes wooden floors, win-
dows, doors, etc. These absorbers provide absorption
in the low end of the frequency range. Under normal Porous absorbers
conditions, large areas of a basic room belong to this These absorbers include mineral wool, carpets, cur-
class. While their efficiency is normally not very high, tains, and so on. They can be very effective, but the
specially designed membrane absorbers can be very thickness of the material has to be taken into account.
effective. Thin layers will only absorb the highest frequencies.
Think of a rehearsal room in a concrete basement
where the only damping is a carpet on the floor – this
will do very little for low frequencies!
To absorb a given frequency (and all frequencies

above), the thickness of the absorber must be the quar-
ter of the wavelength of that frequency. Put differently:
The front of the material must be placed at a distance
of one quarter of the wavelength.
Fig. 61: Membrane absorbers
Resonance absorbers
Resonance absorbers include slit panels, perforated
plates, Helmholtz resonators etc. These absorbers are
normally used for midrange frequencies. The absorp-
tion is medium to high.
Fig. 63: Porous absorbers

Appendix: Acoustics
Diffusors
A diffusor provides diffuse reflection of the sound radiat-
ed against it. Diffusers can be very useful in situations
where reflections are disturbing the sound image and it
is not advisory to add further absorption. So in order to
reduce flutter echoes, comb filtering etc., special ele-
ments can be placed on the “disturbing” surface. These
elements must have dimensions comparable to the fre-
quencies at which diffusion is wanted.
Absorption or diffusion?
Fig. 64: Absorption versus diffusion
A special technique developed by Manfred Schroed-

er is very capable in making a smooth and controlled
diffusion. These “Schroeder Diffusors” are available as
prefab modules.

Appendix: Acoustics
Room modes
Standing waves These special frequencies are also called room modes.
Standing waves between parallel walls are called axial
Standing waves exist in all kind of rooms. Important modes. Other modes exist – for instance, tangential
parameters that will determine the frequencies around modes and radial modes (see the following illustra-
which the phenomenon exists as well as the distribution tions). Normally, the axial modes are the strongest.
of these standing waves are the shape of the room, the
dimensions of the room, and the relationship between
the dimensions of the room.
How do standing waves occur?

Imagine a sound source. When a sound is emitted, the Fig. 66: Room modes: Axial modes
sound wave will propagate in all directions if no obsta-
cles in sight. This will of course happen with the speed
of sound.
Now, if the sound source is placed inside a room, the

sound wave will hit the boundaries of the room. If the Fig. 65: The sound field is initially radiated exposing
boundaries consist of acoustically hard (reflective) sur- a radial wave front – but within a few reflections, the Fig. 67: Room modes: Tangential modes
faces, the sound is reflected. If the angle of incidence sound field has obtained a plane wave front.
is 90º, the sound will be reflected right back where it
came from. Under certain circumstances – for instance
if the sound is reflected between two parallel walls –,
the sound wave will meet itself again. This becomes a
problem when the sound wave not only meets itself, but
when it meets itself in phase. And this will happen when Fig. 68: Room modes: Radial modes
the distance between the walls is half a wavelength of
the radiated sound wave. Or one whole wavelength – or Standing waves are characterized by having a maxi-
1.5, 2, 2.5 and so on. mum sound pressure at the boundaries of the room.
Depending on the frequency there are one or more dips
This phenomenon is called standing waves. Actually, across the room.
the sound wave is not “standing”. But it is experienced
as that because the sound pressure maxima and mini-
ma are located in fixed places in the room.

Appendix: Acoustics
In a box-shaped room, the frequencies can be calculat- Prohibiting standing waves

ed as follows: Parallel walls in the room should be prevented. This will
suppress the strongest modes.
When placing monitors, it is important that as few

modes as possible are excited. This is why no monitor
should be placed at the maximum of a standing wave.
where When monitors are built into walls, you should therefore Fig. 71: 2 π radiation
make sure that the opposite wall is not parallel to the
►► f = frequency in Hz wall with the monitor. When the monitor is placed against two boundaries (for
►► c = speed of sound (approx. 340 m/s or 1130 ft/s) instance in a corner limited by two walls), it is now ra-
►► l = length of the room At low frequencies, a monitor can be considered as ra- diating its energy to the quarter space. Accordingly, the
►► w = width of the room diating its sound energy in all directions. This is also sound pressure is doubled twice, which yields +12 dB.
►► h = height of the room called a 4 π radiation. This is also called a π radiation.
►► n = integer from 0 and up
Fig. 72: π radiation
When the monitor is placed against three boundaries

Fig. 70: 4 π radiation (for instance in a corner limited by the floor and two
walls), the sound is radiated into 1/8 of the space.
When the monitor is placed close to a solid boundary Compared to free space, the sound pressure now is
(for instance a wall), the sound energy that should have increased by 18 dB. This is also called π/2 radiation.
been radiated in the direction of the wall is radiated into
the free half space instead. Hence the sound pressure In practice, placing a monitor close to boundaries will
Fig. 69: Maxima of standing waves is doubled in the half space, which yields +6 dB. This is influence the frequency range below 125 to 150 Hz.
also called a 2 π radiation.
The curves shown here express the area of the room
where the respective frequency is audible. At the min-
ima, that frequency’s level is much lower (sometimes
-40 dB compared to the maximum).
If the room’s length, width and even height are identical, Fig. 73: π/2 radiation
obtaining an even sound distribution can be very hard.

Appendix: Acoustics
Comb filtering
The filtering function that arises when a signal is added
to itself after having been delayed in time is called a
comb filter. Fig. 76: Two typical situations in which comb filtering
occurs, either acoustically or electrically
The resulting frequency response resembles a comb,
hence the name. Generally speaking, all digital signal processing takes
time. This means in practice that comb filter effects can
arise if you send a signal through a signal processor
and combine the processed (and hence delayed) signal
with the original.
Fig. 75: Two 1 kHz sinusoidal tones added. The

Fig. 74: Two 500 Hz sinusoidal tones added. The summed level is doubled (+6 dB).
second tone is delayed 1 millisecond, hence the sum
is zero. The comb filter function is almost never intentional – but
it is heard all the time in audio productions, where it can
arise both for acoustical and electrical reasons.
Acoustically, comb filter effects typically occur when

part of the sound travels from source to recipient both
on a direct path and via a single reflective surface.
This reflection must be attenuated at least 10 dB and
preferably 15 dB in order for it not to have an effect on
the sound field at the recipient’s position. Electrically,
the phenomenon arises when two microphones with a
certain distance between them capture the same sig-
nal and the level from each microphone is of the same Fig. 77: An example of a comb filter effect created by
order of magnitude. combining two signals with the same amplitude and
a one millisecond delay between them. Dips occur
due to cancellation at 500 Hz, 1.5 kHz, 2.5 kHz etc.,
and the two signals’ levels double (+6 dB) at low
frequencies with a full wavelength’s delay at 1 kHz,
2 kHz, 3 kHz etc.

Appendix: Acoustics
Dip frequencies
Cancellation occurs for a comb filter at all the frequen-
cies where the two signals are in opposite phase. This
occurs when the time delay comprises duration of 0.5,
1.5, 2.5 etc. periods. At 1 kHz, the period is 1 millisec-
ond. Half of the period is 0.5 milliseconds.
If a time delay of precisely 0.5 millisecond occurs, this

will result in cancellation not only at 1 kHz, but also at
2 kHz, 3 kHz, 4 kHz etc.

Appendix: Acoustics
The dip – or cancellation frequency – depends on the

Rear wall cancellation distance to the wall. If the distance is 1 meter, the first
dip frequency will occur at a frequency with a wave-
When the monitor is set up at some distance in front of length of 4 meters.
a wall, reflections from the wall may occur and influence
the perceived frequency response. This could result in l=c/f
comb filtering if all frequencies produced by the monitor
were radiated in all directions. But monitors are typically where
only omnidirectional at low frequencies. ►► l = wavelength [meters or feet)
►► c = speed of sound (meters/second or feet/second)
The result of the reflection is a single or a few dips in the ►► f = frequency [Hz]
frequency response perceived in front of the monitor.

Hence
►► 4 = 344 / f
►► f = 86 Hz
A closer position will result in a cancellation at a higher

frequency. This is then limited by the frequency where
the monitor becomes directional and does rot radiate
sound to the rear.
A farther position will result in cancellation at a lower

frequency. This is limited by the distance being so long,
that the reflected sound is attenuated due to the long
extra path travel.
Fig. 78: A frequency (F) that has a wavelength of four

times the distance to the rear wall is canceled because
of the oppositely phased reflection.

Appendix: Acoustics
Subwoofers
A subwoofer is a monitor that reproduces low frequen-
cies. The purpose is to take over from the main mon-
itor(s) as frequencies approach the lower end of the
frequency range – approximately below 120 Hz. For
professional monitor systems, it is commonly preferred
to use subwoofers below approximately 80 Hz – but of
course, the best solution depends on the performance
of the main monitors.
The low frequency contents of just one or all the main

channels can be directed to one subwoofer.
Psychoacoustics tells us that there is no directional in-

formation in audio signals below approximately 120 Hz.
Accordingly, a subwoofer should be placed in a position
where the best distribution is achieved. However, it is
very important to reduce subwoofer distortion to an ab-
solute minimum, because distortion will add harmonics
(2, 3, 4 etc. times the frequency reproduced). Especially
the third harmonic may dominate the signal. Reproduc-
ing a frequency of 100 Hz can result in the generation
of an audible frequency component at 300 Hz, which
presents directional information to the human hearing
system.

Appendix: Acoustics
Checking summing phase cancellation Controlling standing waves

Bass management In a basic two channel setup or a five channel setup It can already be difficult to position two monitors cor-
(such as ITU-775), a subwoofer is not specified and is rectly in order to prevent the excitation of the standing
Bass management is a very important and useful tool not required. But when creating audio that should be waves. But placing five monitors is even more difficult.
– and it is in general an absolute necessity if you want played back using consumer equipment, one has to en-
to work with a five channel setup in a small room. The sure that the mix will sound right in this situation. Many In theory, each monitor should play under the same
bass management system is designed to subtract the consumer setups today contain a subwoofer. Accord- conditions – but this is rarely the case.
bass contents from all main channels and reproduce it ingly, it is very important to check what bass summing
using a subwoofer. The AIR series provides a number will sound like. If the program material basically is out Three front monitors can normally be placed away from
of possible crossover frequencies that can be selected of phase, the bass will be canceled when summed elec- disturbing boundaries to prohibit the excitation of the
by the user. trically. But this is not the case if the bass signals are standing waves. But in small rooms, the rear monitors
reproduced by the main monitors and summed acousti- are very often placed in corners or on a wall. Having
cally. The difference can be dramatic! the full frequency range reproduced from such monitors
may lead to serious problems, resulting in poor low fre-
quency distribution in the room. This is another reason
for using bass management.
Simply put: When working with bass management, only

one monitor – the subwoofer – has to be placed in a
“safe” position. The crossover frequency can be set to a
value just above the problematic frequency range.
Fig. 79: Basic bass management setup

Appendix: Acoustics
The LFE Channel

LFE is an abbreviation for “Low Frequency Enhance-
ment” or “Low Frequency Effects”. While the first is the
original name, the second is more correct with regards
to its main applications.
LFE is also referred to as the “.1 channel”, which indi-

cates that the frequency range of this channel is only a
fraction of the other channels in a multi channel setup.
The actual frequency range is 20 Hz to 120 Hz. When
reproduced, the signal is gained by 10 dB compared
to the main channels. This provides a possibility of re-
producing occasional high-level low frequency contents
without affecting the general level setting of the main
channels.
Signals being sent to the LFE channel should always

be evaluated carefully, as not all transmission or re-
production systems may include this channel. In mu-
sic production and mixing, there is usually no need for
using this channel (unless you are recording the 1812
Overture with all these cannons shots…).

Appendix: Acoustics
Delaying monitors
ITU 775 Cinema setup

When using a 5.x setup with monitors arranged on a In a cinema setup, the front monitors are always ar-
circle (as with ITU 775), the distance from the listener ranged on a straight line. Here, the audience is closer
to each of the main monitors is the same. to the surround monitor(s) than to the front monitors. In
order to retain the directional information towards the
If space is limited, the three front monitors can be ar- screen, the surround monitors are delayed.
ranged on a straight line instead of a circle. To compen-
sate the center monitor being closer to the listener than Normally the psychoacoustic Haas effect is taken into
the left and right monitor in this setup, the center sig- account. In the listening position, the sound from the
nal can be delayed. To obtain coincident arrival of the surround monitors will arrive about 15 to 20 millisec-
sound from all front monitors, a delay between 0 and 3 onds after the sound from the front monitors. The delay
milliseconds is used for compensation. The speed of times involved with cinema processing for the surround
sound is approximately 340 m/s or 1130 ft./s. Accord- channel is dependent on the size of the mixing facili-
ingly, approximately 1 millisecond delay will be used ty, the cinema, or the home theatre/living room. Proper
to virtually move the monitor 1 foot or 30 centimeters setup requires calculating the difference in distance be-
backwards. tween the front monitors and the closest surround mon-
itor. Then, the time difference is calculated. To this, 15
to 20 milliseconds are added.
Example: From a listening position, the distance to

the front monitors is 20 meters and five meters to the
surround monitors, so the difference is (20 - 5 =) 15
meters. The time difference that needs to be compen-
sated is 15/340 sec, which equals 0,044 seconds or 44
milliseconds. To this value, 15 milliseconds are added.
Accordingly, the surround signal has to be delayed 59
milliseconds (or the closest possible value).

Appendix: Acoustics
If all monitors are in phase, the sum of the sound pres- Acoustic calibration of multi-channel systems
Line-up and calibration sure from two monitors playing at the same level is 3 dB When working with sound for film, calibration of the
– unless the signals are correlated (identical) and the acoustic sound levels has been a requirement for many
sum is measured in the direct field. In this case, the years, but it has not been particularly common in oth-
Acoustic summation of audio signals resulting sound pressure level is 6 dB higher than the er branches of the sound industry. However, with the
When summing two sound sources (for example, two level of the individual monitors. widespread use of multi-channel formats for all forms of
monitors), the resulting total sound level depends on music and film presentation in the home, the benefits of
both the signal and the acoustics. The sound sources controlling levels have become obvious in recent years.
can be correlated or uncorrelated. The listening posi-
tion (or measurement position) can be either in the di- It is important to differentiate between production for
rect sound field or in the diffuse sound field. the cinema and production for 5.1 channel reproduction
in the home based upon ITU 775.
In the direct sound field, there is only one sound di-
rection. This direct field exists either in the open, in a
reflection-free room or close to the monitors. Calibration of 5.1 in an ITU-775 arrangement
Fig. 80: Correlated (left) and uncorrelated (right) In a 5.1 system based on the ITU arrangement, all main
The diffuse sound field occurs in a room when you are signals channels are operated under the same conditions:
so far away from the monitors that the portion of direct There is one monitor per channel, and each monitor is
sound is less than the sum of all the reflections. placed at the same distance from the listener. However,
there is no international agreement on the level or the
The distance from the monitors where the direct sound bandwidth of the noise signals that should be used for
field and the diffuse sound field are equally large is acoustic calibration. Pink noise is a good starting point,
called the critical distance. In a control room, it can typ- as it includes all frequencies. However, it is impractical
ically be 1 to 3 meters. The near field in front of the due to its “unsettled” character, which makes it difficult
monitors can be regarded as a direct field. to measure at low frequencies.

Appendix: Acoustics
Surround Sound Forum funktechnik (SRT). The SSF has prepared calibration
Surround Sound Forum is a German interest group guidelines, which are generally accepted in Europe.
composed of the VDT (Verband Deutscher Tonmeister; They specify three test signal, which are recorded at
Association of German Sound Engineers), the Institut -18 dBFS (RMS).
für Rundfunktechnik (IRT) and the Schule für Rund-
Signal (only in one channel) PPM level PPM level RMS level Sound pressure Sound pressure
t < 0,1 ms t < 10 ms level SLOW level SLOW
[dB] [dB] [dB] [dB] [dB(A)]
1 kHz sine -18 -18 -18
Pink noise 20 Hz to 20 kHz -9 -13 -18 82 78
Pink noise 200 Hz to 20 kHz -11 -15 -20 80 78
SMPTE Calibration of cinema systems

The corresponding SMPTE standard (RP155) uses In a cinema, the listeners are sitting far from the moni-
a standard of -20 dBFS for the reference level. Here, tors. Presumably, the majority sits in the diffuse sound
the C-weighted sound pressure level of a 500 to 2 kHz field. Attempts are made to establish a diffuse sound
noise signal ends up at 83 dB. field from the surround monitors. Accordingly, when the
sound pressure is measured inside the cinema or in a
mixing theatre, it must be averaged over many differ-
ent measurement locations. The typical basis for the
majority of the standards is measuring at four or more
locations. If there are different areas for the audience
(for example main floor and balcony), measurements
should be made in at least four locations in each area.
Before these measurements can be made, the sys-
tem’s frequency response must also be in order.

Appendix: Acoustics
►► Adjust the gain on the microphone channel until

Measuring sound the meter deflection reaches a point 10 dB below
full scale. This is now your reference for following
pressure measurements.
Make sure that you have marks on the scale that
makes it possible to read steps of 1 or 2 dB on
Using a sound level meter or microphone either side of the reference deflection.
If you are used to performing acoustic measurements, If 10 dB below full scale is not an adequate point
you probably already own a sound level meter. A on your meter, you may choose another one – just
sound level meter can be used for the level calibration be sure to have a reading on a adequate resolu-
of the monitors. tion.
If you do not have a sound level meter, there still is If you use this microphone setup as described, it can be
another possibility: Use an omni-directional micro- used for comparing levels between individual monitors.
phone (this is also called a pressure microphone). A
studio condenser microphone is normally preferred, but Absolute sound pressure levels can be measured if
the microphone must not be too big. A simple clip micro- you…
phone can be used, as it does not influence the sound 1. are using a well-calibrated microphone channel
field. In any case, the microphone should have a flat and
frequency response. 2. know the sensitivity of the microphone.
►► Place the microphone on a stand positioned at

the listening seat. Leave the microphone pointing
upwards to avoid sound pressure build-up in front
of the diaphragm and to provide equal conditions
for monitors in all directions.
►► Connect the microphone to a mixing desk or a
recording machine that has a meter built in.
►► Play back a track containing pink noise from the
Dynaudio Professional AIR monitors test signal
collection, or use one of the other tracks that you
have used for monitor setup and calibration.

Links
Links

Links
Support resources Dynaudio Dynaudio Professional

There is a large knowledge base and forum for you to Professional on… newsletter
use. Please make sure to search for your particular is-
sue there before submitting a support ticket. It’s likely ►► the web: For more information about your Dynaudio Professional
that someone has already addressed the question and dynaudioprofessional.com/ products, latest news and updates, tips and tricks, sub-
posted an answer. ►► Facebook: scribe to our newsletter:
facebook.com/dynaudioprofessional
►► Dynaudio Professional support: ►► YouTube: ►► dynaudioprofessional.com/support/
dynaudioprofessional.com/support/ youtube.com/dynaudioacoustics
►► Dynaudio Professional warranty information:
dynaudioprofessional.com/en/pages/warranty
►► Dynaudio Professional AIR:
dynaudioprofessional.com/air-series/
►► AIR Control software:
dynaudioprofessional.com/air-series/
monitors/air-control/

Links

Links
© Dynaudio A/S, 8660 Skanderborg, Denmark
All text and image copyrights reserved. Subject to change without notice.
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Dynaudio Professional AIR

Setup menu ► External clock setup 24 Checking monitor placement 55

Dynaudio Professional AIR reference manual – 2014-09-28 a

Cables 82 Appendix: Acoustics 106

Certificate of conformity 104

Dynaudio Professional AIR reference manual – 2014-09-28 b

Important safety instructions

Dynaudio Professional AIR reference manual – 2014-09-28 1

Dynaudio Professional AIR reference manual – 2014-09-28 2

These limits are designed to provide reasonable protec-

►► Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.

For customers in Canada:

Cet appareil numérique de la classe B est conforme à

Dynaudio Professional AIR reference manual – 2014-09-28 3

Before you begin

Dynaudio Professional AIR reference manual – 2014-09-28 4

Your new Dynaudio Professional AIR monitors

Dynaudio Professional AIR reference manual – 2014-09-28 5

About this manual

To get the most from this manual, please read it from

This manual is available as a PDF download from the

Of course, you can print this manual, but we encourage

To download the most current version of this manual,

Dynaudio Professional AIR reference manual – 2014-09-28 6

The AIR concept

Dynaudio Professional AIR reference manual – 2014-09-28 7

Dynaudio Professional AIR reference manual – 2014-09-28 8

Audio signals from your studio are fed to the Master

►► 2* Link RJ45 connectors

►► 1* Link/Input RJ45 connector

►► 1* Word Clock BNC sync

Fig. 1: AIR Master monitor – rear

Fig. 2: Slave monitor – rear

Dynaudio Professional AIR reference manual – 2014-09-28 9

Additional AIR Control units

Control data is transmitted via the System Controller,

Dynaudio Professional AIR reference manual – 2014-09-28 10

AIR Control software

To learn more about AIR Remote, go to

Dynaudio Professional AIR reference manual – 2014-09-28 11

Standby, Power Save Other AIR features

Dynaudio Professional AIR reference manual – 2014-09-28 12

Rear panel controls

AIR Master unit with analog inputs – rear panel

Fig. 3: AIR Master unit with analog inputs – rear panel

Dynaudio Professional AIR reference manual – 2014-09-28 14

Slave/Sub – rear panel Digital I/O card (optional)

Fig. 5: Digital I/O card (optional)

With this card installed in the option slot of the Master

For more information, see “Setups”.

Fig. 4: Slave/Sub – rear panel

1. RJ45 Link connections for downstream Slave units

Dynaudio Professional AIR reference manual – 2014-09-28 15

Operating your AIR monitors

Dynaudio Professional AIR reference manual – 2014-09-28 16

Arrow (up and down) keys

name (for example “*Select clock”), indicating that

edly, if required) to close the menu and return to

Dynaudio Professional AIR reference manual – 2014-09-28 17

AIR menu structure