Audio Control The Director D4400 User manual

The Director

Model D4400

Model D3400

16 Channel

High Efficiency • Digital Signal Processor •

Ethernet Interface & Control

Power Amplifier

Professional Installer’s

Gratification Guide

22410 70th Avenue West • Seattle, WA 98043 USA

425-775-8461 • Fax 425-778-3166 • www.audiocontrol.com

Making Good Sound Great

Important Information

Dealer Name _____________________________________

Date Installed __________________________________

Serial Number ___________________________________

Ethernet MAC Address _________________________

IP Address Dynamic / Static ___________________

TheDirector

Model D3400•Model D4400

Installer’s Guide

Table of Contents

The Director Model D3400 • Model D4400

Cool and Different Features .........................2

A Guided Tour

Front Panel .....................................5

Rear Connections ...............................6

Making sense of the trigger ins and outs .............8

Internet Connectivity and Control

Control using a browser ...........................9

Control and Queries via Telnet ....................14

Operation without an Ethernet connection ..........17

Hook-up Guide with System Diagrams ..............18

An Introduction to Acoustics and Equalizers

Room Acoustics ................................22

Beneﬁts of Equalization..........................23

Adjusting the Signal Processing

Equalizing the System................................24

Parametric and Graphic Equalization ..............25

Subsonic and Tweeter Protection Filters ............26

Memories......................................26

A Brazen Plug ....................................27

Table of Contents

more 

The Director Model D3400

Table of Contents

Advanced Topics

Speaker and wiring impedance ....................28

Ampliﬁer bridging ..............................29

In wall volume controls ..........................29

Installation of multiple units of The Director........30

Level matching and gain controls..................31

Sound level (SPL) in large areas and unique rooms ...31

Troubleshooting ..................................33

Warranty and Service Information ..................35

Block Diagram ....................................37

Specifications .....................................38

TheDirector

Model D3400•Model D4400

Installer’s Guide

Introduction

To label The Director®Models D4400 and D3400 just

multi-zone ampliﬁers is like calling a Ferrari just a car. There

is so much more to both products in terms of performance

and capability.

Ethernet control, unparalleled energy efﬁciency, rack

saving compact design, superb sound quality and bulletproof

reliability are just a few key features of The Director. More

features are discussed in the next section so please read on.

Since we build The Director Models in the AudioControl

factories in the Northwest Rainforest outside of Seattle, USA,

we can continually improve it and our other products. Simi-

larly, the AudioControl web site is regularly updated. We

encourage you to check our web site, www.audiocontrol.com,

if something is not answered in this manual. Of course, you

can always chat with us on the phone during normal business

hours.

Lastly, this is a professional installer’s manual. We

assume you are experienced with multi-channel ampliﬁers

and the Ethernet. The product setup, adjustment and opera-

tion require network access.

The Director is a registered trademark.

Cool & Different

Features Cool and Different Features

Volume Control

The primary focus of our latest ﬁrmware is volume control

via browser or Telnet commands. You can now control volume

in any zone! Control via the browser will allow you to control

volume in any zone along with EQ and source selection.

With the updated Telnet control, you have the means to

control the Maximum On volume so that when you turn the

unit on volume is set to a predeﬁned value. This is for those

nights you were rocking out with the volume turned up to

eleven - the next morning you won’t blast your ears out. Also

with Telnet control, you can control volume of groups by the

volume set commands.

Another beneﬁt of the software update is speed - faster

communication for better integration into control systems!

Unlike Other Amplifiers

Here is a list and description of features that are part of

The Director series from AudioControl. Most are rare or non-

existent in other companies’ ampliﬁers.

• DHCP: An IP address for The Director Model D3400

and D4400 is obtained via DHCP by default. If a DHCP serv-

er is not found on the network, The Director Model D3400

and The Director Model D4400 will default to 192.168.0.249.

• UPnP: Device discovery is enabled on The Director

Models D3400 and D4400 for ease of connectivity from a PC.

• nUmbering:In the device discovery /UPnP window, if

you are using multiple Director ampliﬁers, you will ﬁnd that

each Director is numbered in the sequence they were added

onto the network.

• groUPs:Grouping has been enabled for quick control

of zones through Telnet commands. Up to 4 groups can be

deﬁned for control over Standby and Source Selection.

• imPort/exPort:Exporting and Importing of the ampli-

ﬁer’s settings – including EQ settings – has been enabled.

Now you can conﬁgure your EQ settings as a template and

apply these to each Director ampliﬁer in your system.A little

reﬁning of those settings for each amp and you will be in and

out in no time.

TheDirector

Model D3400•Model D4400

Installer’s Guide

• EthErnEt Control:Via a browser or Telnet commands

you can control and query almost all the functions of The

Director. You can mute zones, change source inputs, adjust

equalization, recall memories, check line voltage, display pro-

tection logs and get an email if something goes wrong. And

this is only a partial list!

• Signal ProCESSing:You have at your command graphic

equalization, parametric equalization, tweeter protection

ﬁlters and low frequency cutoff ﬁlters. In addition, you can

set up two zones with a two way crossover. The equalizer set-

tings are ganged left and right channels together or your can

separate. Plus, there are three memories to save and recall

settings.

• UnParallElEd EnErgy EffiCiEnCy:Whether from the

point of view of saving electricity or from the viewpoint of

less heat in the rack, The Director has no equal. It is VERY

energy efﬁcient during operation and equally impressive with

its efﬁciency during standby.

• SavE raCk SPaCES:With 16 channels in only three rack

spaces, you save one or even two spaces over other ampliﬁers.

• lightdrivE anti-CliPPing:With durability in mind,

Lightdrive anti-clipping protection defends the system

against clipping, distortion, damage and even teenage parties.

• SElf rESEtting ProtECtion fEatUrES:Protection

features in The Director are extensive and include thermal,

short circuit, clipping, ultrasonic and DC offset among oth-

ers. If the fault is removed, the ampliﬁer resets. Plus, The

Director can send you an email if something happens.

• SUPErior SoUnd QUality:Pristine sonics happens ﬁrst

in all AudioControl designs and is not compromised by any

other feature. You get the feeling that sound quality is an after

thought with products from other companies.

• rEliablE and rUggEd:From the beefy rack mounts to

the brawny transformer mounting, The Director continues

with AudioControl’s legacy of building bulletproof product.

• PaCifiC northwESt hEritagE:Hard to believe, but we

make this product in the USA. We are very proud of that fact.

What is more important to you is the care we craft in at every

step and the extensive knowledge we have in all aspects of the

product. Plus, we back this up with a ﬁve year warranty.

Cool & Different

Features

Really Cool Stuff in The Director

As great as these features on the previous page are, here is

a list of some of the new and unique parts of The Director;

• oUtPUt PrESEnt lEd:Ever wonder if there really was

a signal on the speaker outputs of an amp? No wondering

with The Director because there is an LED ﬂickering with

the signal level right next to each speaker connector.

• vEry low Standby CUrrEnt:When The Director is

in Standby, ready to turn on via a trigger, it draws less than 5

watts. Compare that to a typical ampliﬁer.

• namE thE ZonE:Use the browser to type in any name

on the zone. Also give The Director ampliﬁer a speciﬁc name

so that you can easily identify it when there is more than one

in the system.

• digital Signal SEnSE:Signal sense is digital, accurate

and reliable. Rejoice.

• groUnd lift SwitCh:Here is a legal and safe way to

combat 60 cycle hum. If the ﬂip of this switch solves the prob-

lem, maybe you can get home earlier tonight.

• 12 volt triggEr oUtS:Every multi-zone amp has trig-

ger ins. The Director has regular trigger ins, plus triggering

via the Ethernet, and it has mini-jack 12 volt trigger outs for

turning on another component or two.

• front lEvEl diSPlay:We think the front panel level

display is way cool, pretty, and useful. However, if you want to

turn it off, we have provided a switch to do so.

• timES SQUarE light Show:Look at the rear of The

Director and we forgive you if you think of Times Square

in New York City. There are indicator LEDs aplenty. Not

only for the speaker outputs but also for signal sense, mono

switching, local input active, and ethernet bypass. On the rear

panel there are 30 indicator LEDs in total (that is not a typo).

Counting the front panel indicator LEDs, the total is 66! If we

can make your system setup faster, we want to.

TheDirector

Model D3400•Model D4400

Installer’s Guide

A Guided Tour Of

The Director Model D / D

Front Panel

Power LED - Starting with the easy one...

when you have the AC Power switch on the

back panel turned on and The Director is

plugged into an active AC outlet, this little

Blue light will beam forth.

Protection LED - There are two states to

this LED. In normal operation it glows Blue

when the unit is on and in standby or op-

erating. If this LED is Red, then one of the

internal protection circuits is activated.

Network LEDs - You have seen this type of

LED a million times on computer network

cards. One shows an active connection while

the other LED ﬂickers with the passage of

data. There is a duplicate set on the rear

panel.

Zone Status LEDs - At the bottom of the

columns are the channel status LEDs which

are dual color and serve two purposes. First,

they illuminate Blue when the correspond-

ing two channels are active and operating

properly. The second function of the status

LED is to turn Red if something has caused

that zone to go into protection.

Level Activity LEDs - These three LEDs

dance with the music. They tell you that sig-

nal is passing in each zone and at what level.

It is an attractive and useful light show, but

if you really want, you can turn this off with

a switch on the rear panel.

1 2 3 4 5

A Guided Tour Of

The Director Model D3400 / d4400

more rear panel features on the next page

Rear Panel

Ethernet LAN Connection - Plug The

Director into a 10BaseT network here. The in-

ternal web server allows remote control of all

channels, signal processing and source selec-

tion. See the section on Internet Connectivity

and Control for detailed information.

Ethernet Triggered LED - When this LED

is on, the unit is being “triggered” via the

Ethernet and the 12 volt mini jacks are active

and powered for turning on some components.

Bypass Switch and LED - For diagnostics

only. This button disables all the Ethernet

control and forces all channels on. If there is

a problem with the home automation system

and you really need music, this is quite useful.

Ground Lift Switch - Be safe, use this switch

instead of a “cheater” plug. The switch selects

the isolation between the audio ground and

the AC earth ground. In normal operation,

the switch should be in the Ground position.

If there is AC hum, try the other two settings.

For safety, the chassis is always connected to

earth ground regardless of the switch setting.

Bus Inputs 1 and 2 - These inputs provide

two distribution busses for sending a common

signal to multiple zones. The bus input switch

on each ampliﬁer zone, or the ethernet con-

trol, selects which input is playing in that

speciﬁc zone. For Bus 1, the second pair of

jacks can be used to daisy chain to another

multi-zone ampliﬁer.

Local Inputs - Any standard line level au-

dio signal may be connected to these inputs.

As the name implies, this source will be

available only in a particular zone and only

if switched to local via the ethernet control

or the zone switch.

Input Gain Control - Use a screwdriver to

adjust this level control for the input sensi-

tivity of the zone. In general, you want the

gains turned down, counterclockwise, and

the pre-amp level running stronger for best

signal to noise.

Source Select Switches - The “Bus 1/Net”

setting allows the source to be selected via

ethernet commands and the browser inter-

face or come from “Bus 1” in the absence

of a ethernet connection. If the switch is

in “Bus 2” or “Local”, the audio signal

will come from that source and can not be

changed by ethernet commands.

1 2 5 6 7 8

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