Aviom A-16 Personal Monitor Mixing System
mixing boards do not have this signal routing option available. In this case, the mixer’s insert points (sometimes referred to as an effect insert send and receive) can be used instead. When using a mixing board’s insert points to get monitor signals into the A-16T, the Thru jack can be used to complete the insert send/receive loop used by most manufacturers. Additional information about patching and connecting systems appears later in this document.
The A-16 Personal Mixer
This section describes the controls, modes, and functions of the A-16 Personal Mixer.
The basic components of the front panel include:
• Sixteen lighted Channel buttons (they are also the Preset select buttons)
• Channel label strip
• Recall button
• Group configuration and edit button
• Solo and Mute buttons
• Pan and Volume knobs
• Bass and Treble tone controls
• Master Volume control
• A-Net signal indicator
Operational Modes
When using the A-16 Personal Mixer, you will be in one of the following modes:
• Mix Mode — Here you can change Channel and mix settings such as volume, mute, and panning; you’ll spend most of your time in this mode.
• Recall Mode — Activated by the
R
ECALL
button, the row of sixteen
Channel buttons are used to select one of the sixteen available mixes
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Aviom A-16 Personal Monitor Mixing System
18 saved as Presets.
• Group Mode — Used when creating Groups or editing existing Groups.
This is activated by pressing the
G
ROUP
button. The Channel Select buttons are used to add or delete Channels from a Group.
• Solo Mode — When the
S
OLO
button is pressed, the selected Channel (or
Group) is audible while the rest of the mix is muted.
• Save Mode — This mode is activated by pressing and holding both the
R
ECALL
and G
ROUP
buttons. When both buttons are held down, the Save
Mode is active. Pressing any numbered button while still holding this button combination will save your current mix to that Preset location.
Note: A Preset is saved when the numbered button is released.
Global Controls
The three knobs in the upper right section of the A-16 Personal Mixer affect your mix volume and tone directly. The Bass, Treble, and Master volume controls are always active, regardless of the selected Preset.
Tone Controls
Use the Bass and Treble controls to change the overall balance of bass or treble frequencies in your mix. These controls affect the entire mix, not the individual Channels.
The default position for the
B
ASS
and T
REBLE
knobs is at 12 o’clock. To add more low frequencies to your monitor mix, turn the
B
ASS
knob to the right of the 12 o’clock position. To remove lows, turn the knob counterclockwise past the center. To change the high-frequency content, follow the same procedure; turn the
T
REBLE
knob right to add highs, left to diminish them.
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Aviom A-16 Personal Monitor Mixing System
The Bass and Treble EQs in the Personal Mixer are both shelving type. There is
+/-12dB of cut or boost available for each.
Bass EQ
Treble EQ
160Hz shelving
9kHz shelving
+12dB
+12dB
160Hz 9kHz
-12dB
-12dB
Master Volume
The overall system volume is controlled by the
M
ASTER
volume control. This is an analog-style control. Turn it counterclockwise for a full off setting. As a general suggestion, start with the Master volume knob at a low setting, about 9 or 10 o’clock to start. Raise the volume slowly from that point to a comfortable level.
Note: Always use caution when adjusting any audio system component to avoid potential hearing damage.
Button Behaviors
There are various combinations of lighted and unlighted buttons on the A-16 Personal
Mixer. Here is an overview:
• Channel buttons have two LEDs, an upper and lower. The upper button is red and indicates that the Channel is selected. The lower button is yellow; it indicates that the Channel is muted. Channel buttons will light solid or flash.
• The
R
ECALL
button has one red LED. It flashes when the R
ECALL
button is pressed, indicating that you can now select a Preset by touching any numbered button.
• There is one LED in the
G
ROUP
button. When the G
ROUP
button is pressed, the LED flashes. This indicates that you can now build or edit a
Group.
• The
R
ECALL
and G
ROUP
buttons will both flash when held down simultaneously. This is the Save Mode, as indicated by the connecting graphic above the two buttons on the front panel.
• When a Preset is saved, all sixteen Channel buttons will flash briefly to confirm the Preset save operation.
• The
S
OLO
button has one LED. It will light when pressed, indicating that the selected Channel or Group is now being auditioned with all other
Channels being muted.
• The
M
UTE
button has no LED in it. Pressing the M
UTE
button with a
Channel selected will cause the Channel’s lower (yellow) LED to light.
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Aviom A-16 Personal Monitor Mixing System
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There is also one special button combination, the
R
ECALL
button followed by the M
UTE
button. When used together this combination serves a twofold function:
• If there is a sudden change in the audio volume coming through the monitor system, this button combination silences all audio channels instantly.
• When starting from scratch to create a mix, use this function to set all sixteen channels to zero volume and all pans to the center settings.
All Volumes Zero
Note: The text on the right side of the Personal Mixer reads “In Recall Mode All
Volumes Zero ” as a reminder that this function is always available.
Making Changes to Channel Settings
The A-16 Personal Mixer behaves in a similar manner to many popular digital mixers.
A simple convention is used: to make a change to a Channel, first select it. Then the
Channel is available for editing.
On the Personal Mixer you can change
• Volume
• Panning for mono channels
• Spread for stereo channels
• Mute status
• Grouping
In addition to these changes, you can use Solo Mode to audition your edits to a
Channel while all other Channels are temporarily silenced.
Volume and Pan Control
When you change the volume of a Channel on the Personal Mixer, the LEDs in the
Volume section of the mixer surface will indicate the level in real time. There are twelve LEDs in the Volume indicator, each capable of displaying two levels, for a total of twenty-four visible lighted steps.
When a Channel is selected, the current volume is instantly indicated on the LEDs.
When no LEDs are lit, Channel volume is at its minimum setting.
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Aviom A-16 Personal Monitor Mixing System
Pan and Volume Controls
To make changes to a Channel:
• Select a Channel by pressing its numbered button—the upper LED will light.
• Rotate the
V
OLUME
knob to the right to increase the volume, to the left to lower the volume
• While the Channel is still selected, you can also change the Pan setting.
Rotate the
P
AN
knob left or right to change the position of the Channel in the stereo field.
Pan LEDs
The Pan indicator is made up of five LEDs. The center LED is green. The LEDs on either side of center are red. As you turn the
P
AN
knob, the LEDs will light in various combinations to provide the maximum number of position indicators with the fewest number of lamps. At either end of the display only one LED will be lit to indicate that the Channel is panned full left or right.
When using linked channels (stereo inputs), the LEDs light in different patterns, using a pair of LEDs on either side of the display to indicate the width of the stereo field.
When the stereo image has been collapsed to mono, only the center green LED will be lit. In this case the stereo input will be heard as mono.
Using Solo Mode
To listen to the Channel you’re editing without hearing the rest of the current mix, press the
S
OLO
button. Make any necessary changes to the Channel. When finished, press the
S
OLO
button again or select any other Channel. Both methods will automatically exit Solo Mode and return you to your current mix.
Note: The status of Solo Mode is not saved with a Preset.
Muting a Channel
While creating a mix, any Channel or combination of Channels can be muted. Unlike the Solo Mode, the changes you make with the
M
UTE
button can be saved as part of a
Preset.
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Aviom A-16 Personal Monitor Mixing System
22
To mute a Channel:
• Select the Channel first
• Press the
M
UTE
button
• The yellow LED in the Channel button lights
To unmute a Channel:
• Select a muted Channel
• Press the
M
UTE
button
• The yellow LED in the Channel button will go out
Additional Channels can be muted or unmuted by following the same procedure—first select the Channel, then press the
M
UTE
button.
Personal Mixer Rear Panel
On the rear of the Personal Mixer you will find the A-Net connectors, the power supply input, and the audio output.
A-Net Connectors
There are two A-Net connectors on the rear of the Personal Mixer.
The A-Net In jack accepts
• the A-Net signal coming from the A-16T Transmitter if the Personal Mixer is the first Personal Mixer in the system, or
• the A-Net signal coming from the Out jack of another Personal Mixer
The A-Net Out jack is used to connect another A-Net device. This will send the same sixteen audio channels being processed by the A-16T Transmitter to the additional device so that another unique monitor mix can be created. An unlimited number of
A-Net devices can be connected in series using this method.
A-16T A-Net output
Personal Mixer
A-Net In
Personal Mixer
A-Net Out A-Net In A-Net Out to additional A-Net devices...
DC Power Input
Connect the DC power supply to the jack on the rear of the Personal Mixer. Use only power supplies designed for your Aviom products.
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Aviom A-16 Personal Monitor Mixing System
Audio Outputs
The audio outputs on the rear of the A-16 Personal Mixer can be used with headphones, in-ear monitors, powered speakers, or any other device that can accept a line level audio output. Stereo, dual-mono, and mono outputs are available by using the appropriate cables
Stereo
The TRS outputs on the Personal Mixer are stereo. Any pair of stereo headphones can simply be plugged into the jack.
To connect a set of stereo speakers (studio monitors or stage speakers), use a stereo to dual-mono adapter to split the stereo signal into separate left and right mono signals.
Then connect a standard mono cable to the audio input of the left and the right amplifier for the speakers.
Mono
To use a mono amplifier, powered speaker, etc., connect a standard audio interconnect cable (tip and sleeve “guitar cord” type) from the audio output on the Personal Mixer to the audio input on your mono device.
To use a mono input on a device that has an XLR input connection, you need to use a cable that has a tip-sleeve 1⁄4” jack on one end and an XLR on the other. Using a tipring-sleeve 1⁄4” jack to XLR cable will cause the left and right channels to be summed, resulting in a loss of level.
To make a custom adapter cable using a TS Jack
Connect the Tip signal to XLR Pin 2. Connect the Sleeve signal to XLR Pin 1.
Connect the unused XLR Pin 3 to XLR Pin 1.
1 2
3
To make a custom adapter cable using a TRS Jack
Connect the Tip signal to XLR Pin 2. Connect the Ring signal to XLR Pin 3.
Connect the Sleeve signal to XLR Pin 1.
1 2
3
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