Unika NBB-1616 User manual
NBB-1616 Networked Break-in/Break-out Box
NBB-1616e Expansion Box
Overview:
The NBB-1616 is a fully digitized 16 x 16 Break-in/Break-out box which bidirectionally streams multi-
channel audio throughout off-the-shelf Ethernet cables and switches. The NBB-1616 is designed to be
operated friendly and installed easily as well as system scalable and upgradable. The front panel features 16
clip-hold PPM meters for all the input or output channels. You have control over the audio volume and phase
as well as the phantom power engagement individually for all the input channels locally on the front panel.
Features:
16 x 16 fully digitized Break-in/Break-out box
Dante-enabled networked breakbox or stagebox
Streaming audio in robust standard Ethernet cable (a.k.a., Digital Snake)
Supports Layer 3 of IEEE 802.3 Ethernet standard, which means
Streaming through Layer-3 Ethernet switch is feasible
Easily organize network topology with regular Ethernet switches
Redundant networking mode for fault tolerant audio distribution, or
Daisy-chain networking mode for easy coverage extending
Audio routing can be set by Dante-enabled audio console, or
Dedicated Dante Controller software for Windows and Mac OS
24-bit PCM coding with sample rate up to 192KHz
PPM meter with clip hold for input/output level monitoring
Option to double channel capacity with a NBB-1616e expansion box
Support of the latest feature of DDM with router involved
AES3 Digital I/O expansion box available on request
Description:
The NBB-1616 breakbox can be used as a stagebox and direct transceives audio to/from all kind of Dante-
enabled audio consoles or DAW workstations in digital domain. With a dedicated P2P Pairing button on rear
panel, two NBB-1616s can even be one-to-one paired to work as a digital snake which bidirectionally
transceives audio throughout a regular Ethernet cable without the need of audio console or computer involved.
All the routing configuration and device setting are automatically saved and preserved upon power recycle.
The NBB-1616 breakbox adopts Audinate Dante networking technology
for audio transceiving, and is very network friendly with unlimited
flexibility in topology of deployment. It supports up to Layer 3 of IEEE
802.3 network standard, enabling you to organize your audio network with
the on-the-shelf Ethernet switches or to immediately transport streaming audio by taking advantage of your
existing installed network facility with no hassle. Even better, every NBB-1616 breakbox comes with two
Ethernet ports which allow you to physically cascade several NBB-1616s in the same network link. You can
also configure the two Ethernet ports to work independently but parallelly, which means you can redundantly
route two links for seamlessly network backing up of each other. This extremely gains flexibility or reliability
in device deployment for audio networking.
Audio routing among NBB-1616s and all the Dante-enabled consoles or workstations can be configured via
computer with dedicated Dante Controller software which is available free from Audinate website. With Dante
Virtual Soundcard software, you are even able to have your DAW software direct record/play multitrack
streaming audio from/to NBB-1616 breakbox.
The audio input and output interfaces of NBB-1616 breakbox are fully met the requirement of professional
audio industrial. Audio is encoded with the latest and uncompressed 24-bit PCM encoder with sample rate in
48KHz, 96KHz, or even up to 192KHz for extremely exquisite applications. The outputs are peculiarly
buffered with amplifiers of high-rail-voltage which can drive the lines up to 24dBu. In addition to the high-
level of drive capability on outputs, all inputs of NBB-1616 breakbox accept signal of level from mic to line
with individual input gain and phantom power control. The NBB-1616 also equipped with 16 PPM meters
with clip hold functionality for all the input or output channels. This feature we think it is very important for
the audio technicians to simultaneously monitor all the input levels from clipping.
The NBB-1616 breakbox is regularly shipped with channel capacity of 16 analog inputs and 16 analog outputs
(i.e., 16 x 16 I/O). However, it is not restricted itself here and you have the option to double the channel
capacity for additional 16 x 16 I/O with an expansion box. With the box, you therefore can consolidate totally
32 x 32 audio into the same Ethernet cable.
Furthermore, the NBB-1616 breakbox is firmware upgradeable to support AES67 audio transport on request.
Getting Started Guide:
Powering On
During power-on, the meter panel is blanked initially. The whole system is ready to work after a UNIKA (see
the picture below) shown on the meter panel for about 3 seconds.
Do not power on the device immediately following a power off. At least wait for 10 seconds before you re-
power the device. Fail to do so can make the power supply in the device restart from unknown state.
Sample Rate Setting
Every device in a Dante network must be configured to work in the same
sample rate. Set the first two DIP switches on the rear panel to determine what
sample rate you need, then long press the Sample Rate set button until you see a
SET (see the picture below) shown on the meter panel. You will see the sample
rate status LED on the front panel reflecting the setting you expect. Please be
notified that the sample rate can be changed by computer running Dante
Controller software or Dante-enabled audio consoles. To determine what the
sample rate is adopted in the device, please always look into the sample rate
status LED on the front panel. The position of DIP switches on the rear panel is not necessary to be an
indicator of the sample rate adopted in the device.
Redundant Mode:
There are two Dante network ports in the device. By default, these two ports are configured to work in switch
mode (a.k.a. Daisy-chain mode). In switch mode, the streaming audio data going into any one of the ports will
also switch forward out to the other port, and vice versa. That means you can simply treat these two ports as
loop-in/loop-out ports, but bidirectional. That is to say, you can cascade several NBB-1616s in the same
network link if their Dante ports are all configured to work in switch mode.
You may want to configure the two network ports to work in redundant mode to gain the benefit of reliability.
To toggle the mode setting, simply long press the Redundant/Daisy-chain button on the rear panel until you
see a SET shown on the meter panel. The device will be restarted itself and come out with the mode toggled.
You can confirm whether the mode is changed by looking into the Redundant status LED on the front panel.
In the redundant mode, the two network ports are work virtually independently but the audio transceived over
them are exactly the same. That means you are redundantly routing audio over two network links and the two
links are backing up each other. If any one of the link fails, the audio won't be interrupted because the other
link can keep streaming the audio seamlessly.
One-to-One Pairing
You can configure two NBB-1616s to work as a digital snake right out of the box without any other other
computer or console in between. Simply connect the two NBB-1616s with a Ethernet cable and long press the
P2P Pairing button on the rear panel until a SET shown on the meter panel, the two NBB-1616s are then
automatically paired to each other with channel mapping in one-to-one style. At the end of pairing process,
you will see the paired result (see the picture below) on the meter panel. The every LED on the top row of the
meter panel indicates if the particular input channel is successfully paired to its peer output channel from the
other device, while the every LED on the bottom row indicates if the particular output channel is paired to its
peer input channel in the other device. For example, the following picture is showing the NBB-1616
successfully pairing to the other device in all l6x16 I/O channels.
Network
Since two NBB-1616s may likely consume about 50Mbps of network bandwidth for 16x16 audio transceiving
in sample rate of 96KHz, it is strongly recommended that all the network facilities used for the Dante
networking meet the requirement of Gigabit throughput. I.e., the Ethernet cables used for connecting must
be in Cat.5e grade at least, while the switches to route the streaming audio must be a Gigabit switches.
Also, do not use switches with EEE enabled. EEE (Energy Efficient Ethernet) is a technology that reduces
switch power consumption during periods of low network traffic. It is also sometimes known as Green
Ethernet and IEEE802.3az. Although power management should be negotiated automatically in switches that
support EEE, it is a relatively new technology, and some switches do not perform the negotiation properly.
This may cause EEE to be enabled in Dante networks when it is not appropriate, resulting in poor
synchronisation performance and occasional dropouts. If you want to use unmanageable switches, do not use
Ethernet switches that support the EEE function, because you cannot disable EEE operation in these switches.
Usually, UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair) Cat.5e cable should be
good enough for all the network installation. However, STP
(Shielded Twisted Pair) Cat.5e cable is strongly recommended if
you plan to route the cable through noisy environment. The foil or
braided screens in STP cable can provide great noise immunity
from electromagnetic interference around. Also, make sure the
EIA/TIA-568B standard is fully followed for the RJ-45 plug
wiring.
Latency
In Dante, variation in latency in the network is compensated for at the receiver. Each receiver has a device
latency setting which can be set by user with Dante Controller software. This setting defines the latency
between the timestamps on the incoming audio samples and when those samples are played out. The default
latency for the NBB-1616 is 1 msec, which make the audio latency in whole signal path (i.e., from audio input
of one NBB-1616 to the audio output of the other NBB-1616) less than 1.5ms typical. This is very acceptable
in a live sound situation. For whatever reason you can set the device receive latency to as low as 250µs if there
is no more than one Ethernet switch in between. With the setting, the audio latency in whole signal path will
then be down to less than 500µs.
Audio Level
To suppress the digitizing quantum noise and gain the most benefit of high dynamic range from data
converters, it is good practice to maintain audio level around -20dBFS in Dante network. Since both input
and output levels of NBB-1616 are nominated at +24dBu full scale, the -20dB from digital full scale level is
+4dBu which exactly aligns to the 0VU (+4dBu also) level in analog world. The signal path of every input
channel of NBB-1616 breakbox features dedicated PPM meter and volume gain/pad control (mentioned
below) which allow audio technicians to monitor and adjust audio level easily.
Master Clock and Syncing
Word Clock of digital audio is distributed throughout whole Dante Network from a clock master. There is one
and only one device can distribute the master clock in the whole Dante network. The NBB-1616
breakbox by default starts up itself as slave device and to be synced by the clock extracted from the Dante
network. It can, however, be automatically elevated to be a clock master if there is no clock master in the
network. From the Clock Status tab of Dante Controller software, you can identify which device is elevated to
as clock master in the Dante network.
Setting Examples for Yamaha & Soundcraft Consoles
For an application with a digital audio console in the Dante network, you may want the console to be a clock
master. I.e., the console internal clock clocks the Dante interface of the console, and then the Dante interface
of the console distributes master clock throughout the Dante network. If this is the case, you can simply
configure the Dante interface of the console to be clocked by the internal clock of the console by enabling the
SyncToExternal option in Dante Controller software. The Dante interface of the console will then be elevated
to a clock master automatically. Below is an example of configuring the Yamaha MY16-AUD Dante interface
card to be clocked by the internal clock of the console itself via Dante Controller software,
Please be notified that only one Dante interface of a console can be set to SyncToExternal if there are more
than one consoles in the network. All the other Dante interfaces of consoles should be instead synced to the
clock from Dante network. And you should also go to the setup pages of these consoles and manually
configure the word clocks of these consoles to be synced to the clocks from Dante interfaces respectively.
Below is an examples of setting of source of word clock for Yamaha LS9 digital console. The left one shows
the word clock of the console is synced to the internal clock of the console itself so that the console itself
become a clock master; while the right one shows the word clock is synced to the MY16-AUD Dante interface
card in the console so the console itself is no longer be a clock master.
Similarly, if you have the NBB-1616 to work with Soundcraft Dante-enabled console, you need to make sure
the source of word clock of the console is set properly by accessing the Sync tab in the console's main MENU
screen on master bay. Here is the example of setting for Soundcraft Vi3000 console.
Please be informed that the Vi 3000 local MADI and Dante ports share an input and so are exclusive. You also
have to choose the DANTE as active input from the DANTE/MADI global switch in the Settings tab of the
main MENU screen.
Frequently Asked Questions:
The NBB-1616 fails to power recycling. And the power indicator LED and the LEDs on the buttons keep
flashing.
This problem sometimes happens when the device has been worked in a warmer environment for quite a
long time. The high temperature in the device triggers the temperature protector in the device so that the
device cannot startup normally. Simply turn off the device and wait for more than 20 seconds, you should
be able to successfully startup the device again.
Why does the status LED for 48KHz, 96KHz, or 192KHz flash for every 2 seconds?
This informs you that the NBB-1616 currently works in sample rate of multiple of 44.1KHz, instead of
multiple of 48KHz. That is to say, the device works in sample rate of 44.1KHz, 88.2KHz, or 176.3KHz
instead.
Why does the status LED of 1Gbps flash for a couple of seconds right after the device is powered on?
The LED flashing indicates that the word clock of NBB-1616 is still not yet synced to the master clock
from Dante network. Once the word clock of the NBB-1616 is successfully synced, the flashing ceases.
Please be noted that the LED may keep flashing if the device is not linked to any Dante network.
Why is not the working sample rate of the NBB-1616 reflect the setting of DIP switches on the rear
panel of the device?
Besides the DIP switches on the rear panel, the working sample rate of the NBB-1616 can also be
changed by other Dante-enabled controllers in the same network. For example, a computer running
Dante Controller software can remotely configure the sample rate setting of NBB-1616. To figure out
what the sample rate is actually selected in the device, please always look into the sample rate status
LEDs on the front panel.
Why are not all the channels paired with channels on the remote device after I long press the P2P Pairing
button?
Sometimes the device on the remote site does not respond promptly so that some channels are not paired.
Simple press the P2P Pairing button and try again should be able to have all channels paired with the
channels on the remote site successfully.
After I long press the P2P Pairing button, the channels in the NBB-1616 are paired to the channels on the
device which is not expected.
NBB-1616 always looks for the other UNiKA device for channel pairing first. If it can't find any other
UNiKA device in the network, the 1st device responding would be eligible for channel pairing process. If
your application requires to have the NBB-1616 to pair to a particular Dante-enabled device in the
network, simply turn-off the other devices or unplug the RJ45 network cables to them before you long
press the P2P Pairing button.
I long press the P2P Pairing button to start an auto pairing process, but it fails and ends with ERR
message.
During the auto pairing process, the NBB-1616 browses the network and waits for 2 seconds to see if
there is any Dante-enabled device in the network. Sometimes the device on the remote site might not
promptly respond to the browsing message and the NBB-1616 may end the browsing process with ERR
message on the front panel. Simply press the P2P Pairing button again to launch another browsing
activity, the NBB-1616 should be able to find the remote device and complete the auto pairing process.
Why is there no audio transferred?
For any two devices to be able to transfer audio in between, both of the devices must work in the same
sample rate and the word clocks of both devices must be synced to same master clock from the Dante
network. You can know the working sample rate of NBB-1616 from the sample rate status LEDs on the
front panel. And the 1Gbps status LED flashes if word clock of the NBB-1616 is neither synced to a
master clock nor eligible to be a clock master. For the other non-UNiKA devices which do not have
dedicated status LED, you can still find their sample rate and syncing information from the Dante
Controller software.
Why do I get intermittent sound?
If the network traffic is not heavily congested, the problem is most likely caused by IP conflict. For
example, if there is DHCP server or router in your network and if there are also one or more fixed-IP
devices in your network, the NBB-1616 may be occasionally assigned with an IP which is permanently
occupied by one of the fixed-IP devices in the network if the DHCP server or router does not recognize
the existence of these fixed-IP devices. In the case, the audio streaming activities of the NBB-1616 can
be frequently interrupted by the fixed-IP device. Please contact your MIS or IT people to deal with the IP
conflict issue.
Why does the DAW or audio player in my computer sometimes can't play or record anything after I
enable the Dante Virtual Soundcard (DVS)?
DVS is a virtual soundcard which does not own necessary hardware to generate the master clock and
therefore can't be a clock master in the Dante network. For the DAW or audio player to work in a
computer with DVS launched, there must be at least one Dante-enabled device, e.g. NBB-1616, in the
network to distribute the master clock. Also sometimes the DVS can't successfully startup if there is no
master clock in the network. In the circumstance, you just have to restart the DVS after you are sure of
the existence of master clock in the network.
Why does the Dante Virtual Soundcard (DVS) cease working after I re-power the NBB-1616?
Same reason as the answer above. The DVS won't work if it loses the master clock from the network.
Sometimes the DVS can't recognize the resuming of master clock promptly so that the DVS may seem to
cease working for quite a long period of time. If this is the case, restart the DVS can make it to work
immediately.
How does NBB-1616 achieve the HA Remote capability?
When the NBB-1616 works as a stagebox and is connected to an audio console, it does not support the
HA Remote protocol proprietarily developed by the console's manufacturer. Although the NBB-1616
does not support HA Remote from console, however, the font panel of NBB-1616 includes all the audio
control functionalities such +48V phantom power engagement, 60dB sensitivity control, -18dB pad
control, and phase inverting control. Moreover, the PPM meters on the font panel of NBB-1616 direct
show you the input level of every channel individually, which allows the audio technicians on the stage
to locally control and monitor the audio level to console. This can be better than to control and monitor
the inputs on the stage remotely from console.
How I can turn off the HA Remote functionality from console?
From Dante Controller software, double click the item to console Dante interface, you should be able to
find a HA Remote tab from where you can turn off the HA Remote functionality.
Why can't I change Sample Rate, Switch/Redundant Mode, or complete a P2P pairing when the NBB-
1616 is in managed domain?
When a Dante device, including NBB-1616, is enrolled in a managed domain, the DDM has very tight
control over the Dante device. All the settings can only be changed via Dante Controller with DDM
password. If you need to control the settings with the three buttons on the rear of NBB-1616, you need to
specially allow the local and remote access right to the NBB-1616 device by configuring it via the DDM
control interface. For details, see the user guide below on the section of rear panel.
I forgot to unenroll the NBB-1616 from a Domain before it disconnected from the managed
environment, so the device does not work in my current unmanaged environment.
To clear the Domain credentials in the NBB-1616, solely (i.e., no other dante device involved) connect it
to your computer with Dante Controller running, and click the "clear Domain credentials" under the
device drop down menu on device view window to the NBB-1616.
Front Panel:
The front panel of NBB-1616 breakbox features 16 clip-hold PPM meters, 5 status LEDs, and several useful
audio control capabilities.
Clip-Hold PPM Meters
To gain the most from digitized transceiving with high dynamic
range and low noise floor, audio technicians always need to keep
the audio level at decent large while avoiding over clip. Each of the
16 PPM meters consists of 5 LED indicators which let audio
technician easily monitor the level of input audio from clipping.
The dedicated clip LED flashes and stays on for at least 2 seconds
when the input audio level reaches 0dBFS (0dB Full Scale)
instantaneously. This is especially useful for audio technician to
quickly identify the source of audio distortion by simply glimpsing
the 16 clip LEDs on the panel.
Besides measuring of input audio, you are able to switch all the 16 meters to monitor level on output by
simply pressing an INPUT/OUTPUT button on the far right of the front panel.
Also, you are able to turn off the metering function and dim all the level LEDs by a DIP switch setting on the
rear panel.
Status LEDs
On the rightmost of front panel, there are 5 LED indicators showing the following operating information,
192KHz: indication of current sample rate of 192KHz. The LED may flash every 2 seconds if the sample
rate is synchronized at 176.4KHz alternatively.
96KHz: indication of current sample rate of 96KHz. The LED may flash every 2 seconds if the sample
rate is synchronized at 88.2KHz alternatively.
48KHz: indication of current sample rate of 48KHz. The NBB-1616 breakbox is by default configured to
sample audio in 96KHz. The LED may flash every 2 seconds if the sample rate is synchronized at
44.1KHz alternatively.
1Gbps: indication of current active link of Ethernet cable is synced in Gigabit data rate. The LED may
flash for every 2 seconds if neither its word clock is synced to a master clock nor it is elevated to a clock
master in Dante network.
Redundant: indication of current network topology of the two RJ45 ports is configured to work in
redundant mode. And it flashes every 2 seconds if any one of the RJ45 ports is link down. By default, the
two network interfaces (two RJ45 ports) are configured to work in switch mode, i.e., daisy-chain mode.
All the above status LEDs can blink together for about 4 seconds if you momentarily press the IDENTIFY
DEVICE button on device view window in the Dante Controller. They can also blink when a software upgrade
is progressing in background. Please don't turn off its power until the upgrade is completed.
Input Audio Control
To accommodate different audio sources with various signal properties, under the
16 PPM meters, it comes with several useful audio control facilities for every
input signal path,
+48V: phantom power to power condenser microphone or other accessories
such DI box.
-180°: phase inverting to temporarily invert audio phasing for acoustic
control.
-18dB: pad control to further attenuate signal strength for strong input
signal.
Gain: volume knob of 0~60dB to control the amplification for weak signal
from magneto-dynamic microphone.
This manual suits for next models
1
Table of contents
