Quick System Setup
For those who can’t wait to try their new product (or for those who hate reading manuals) follow these quick setup instructions to get up and running in no time.
Refer to the detailed setup and usage instructions later in this document for additional information.
Start with all devices turned off. When all power and audio connections have been made, you can then power up all the components in your system.
AC Power Connection
Both component parts of your Personal Monitor Mixing System use separate external power supplies.
• Connect the power supply to the 18-24 VDC Power jack on the rear of the
A-16T Transmitter unit.
• Plug the power supply into an available AC power outlet.
• Connect the power supply to the A-16 Personal Mixer unit.
• Plug the power supply into an available AC power outlet.
The Personal Monitor System will be in its “on” state as long as it is plugged into a working electrical outlet.
No on/off power switches are included on the A-16 System. If you would like to control the power state of your units, simply connect the power supplies to a power strip with an on/off switch. Use that as a system power switch.
System Interconnections
A single Category 5 cable is required to connect each A-Net compatible device in your system.
Connect a Category 5 cable from the front panel A-Net jack on the A-16T Transmitter to the A-Net In jack on the first Personal Mixer.
Connect additional A-16 Personal Mixers with a single Category 5 cable from the
A-Net Out jack on the first Mixer to the A-Net In jack on the next Personal Mixer.
(Repeat this process for each additional Mixer unit in your system.)
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Aviom A-16 Personal Monitor Mixing System
Audio Connections — Inputs
The Aviom A-16 Personal Monitor Mixing System is designed to work in a wide variety of audio situations. For complete setup information, refer to the detailed instructions later in this document.
For the purposes of this quick startup guide, a single audio setup example will be used.
Since many mixing boards provide direct channel outputs, we’ll use that output for example purposes.
If you have a mixer without direct outputs, you can substitute audio coming from any available output of your mixer. That includes the main outputs, bus outputs, aux sends, or insert points.
Connect the direct outputs from your main mixing board channels to the A-16T
Transmitter’s inputs. For simplicity, connect the channels in an easy to remember order. If the lead vocal is plugged into Channel 1 of your main mixing board, connecting it to Input 1 on the A-16T makes it easy to check connections.
For illustration purposes, let’s assume that you have eight audio signals connected from your main mixing board to the A-16T, and that they are plugged into Inputs 1 through 8 on the rear panel of the A-16T.
A-16T Front Panel Settings
For the basic setup example, set all the Input Level switches on the front panel of the
A-16T to the 0dB setting. Next, check that all Link switches are in the left position
(meaning that the channels are not linked). The examples will assume that you are using mono audio signals.
Audio Connections — Outputs
Plug headphones, powered floor monitors, spot monitors, or in-ear monitors into the A-
16 Personal Mixer’s Phones/Line output jack on the rear panel of the Personal Mixer.
Before powering up the system, turn the Master volume control on the Personal Mixer to its minimum setting (full left) to ensure that unwanted high-volume audio is not accidentally sent into your monitors when the system is powered up. The Master volume control is the one in the upper right section of the Personal Mixer, next to the Bass and
Treble controls.
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Aviom A-16 Personal Monitor Mixing System
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Labeling the Channels
The A-16 Personal Mixer has a convenient label strip right on the front panel.
Use a china marker (sometimes called a “grease pencil”) to write the name of the instrument or audio source appearing on each Channel’s label area.
Optionally, you could also write a performer’s name on the A-16 label strip marking area to identify Channels.
Use only non-permanent marking devices on the label surface to avoid permanently marring the surface. Do not use permanent marker to write on the label surface.
Powering Up
As when powering up any audio gear, it’s best to power up all system components in the safest possible order to minimize the risk of damage to system components and your hearing. Start by turning on devices such as mic preamps, mixers, keyboards, and effects processors. Follow this by turning on power amps, or anything that applies power to speakers, headphones, etc..
In the case of the Personal Monitor Mixing System, you should power up your main audio mixer, effects devices, and keyboards first. Follow this by powering up your
A-16T A-Net Transmitter and then all connected A-16 Personal Mixers.
Lastly, turn on any power amps, powered monitor speakers, in-ear monitors, etc. that are part of the monitor system.
Basic Navigation
When the system is powered up, Preset 1 is automatically selected. On the Personal
Mixer, one Channel is always selected for editing. You can tell that a Channel is selected because the upper LED in its button is lit.
The sixteen Channel buttons have two LEDs in each, an upper and a lower. The red upper LED indicates that the Channel is selected; you can change its volume and panning. You can also solo or mute the track using the dedicated
S
OLO
and M
UTE
buttons on the Personal Mixer surface. More on that later.
The upper LEDs will also light in combination if a track is linked or is part of one of the three available Groups. (More info on Groups appears later in this quick startup section.)
The lower yellow LED in each Channel button indicates the Channel’s mute status. A lit LED indicates that the Channel is muted. Any number of Channels can be muted.
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Aviom A-16 Personal Monitor Mixing System
Preparing to Make a Mix
Set the global tone controls—
B
ASS
and T
REBLE
—to about 12 o’clock. This is the default EQ setting; no boost or cut is applied to the audio mix.
Set the
M
ASTER
volume knob on the Personal Mixer to a low setting, about 9 or 10 o’clock should be safe. Send audio into the system; this could be the band playing live or audio from a tape deck or other multi-track audio device. Raise the levels to a comfortable level after you have audio playing through the system.
Mixing
Start creating a monitor mix by selecting the first Channel you want to hear.
Follow these steps:
• Press the desired Channel button — its upper red LED will light.
• Turn the
V
OLUME
knob clockwise to raise the volume of the selected
Channel until you hear it in the monitors. You should see the volume changes you’re making reflected in the Volume LED indicators. More
LEDs lit indicates higher volume.
There are twenty-four visible volume steps available in the Volume LEDs. Each LED lights at two levels—one at half brightness, the other at full brightness.
The procedure for setting the pan position for a Channel is similar. Once a Channel is selected, you can turn the
P
AN
knob left or right to move the Channel in the stereo field. Your changes will be reflected in the Pan LEDs. Changes will be heard immediately in any speakers or headphones connected to your Personal Mixer.
Note: If you have connected the output of the Personal Mixer to a mono audio system or speaker, pan position is irrelevant.
A Channel is playing in the center of the stereo field when only the center (green) LED is lit. As you turn the
P
AN
knob, the Pan LEDs will light in various combinations to indicate the pan position.
Continue this process of setting volume and pan until all the Channels have been added to the mix.
At this point you should have a basic mix playing in your monitors. You can continue to make changes in real time as your needs require. Remember that changes to Channel volume and pan setting affect the selected Channel only. The selected Channel always has its red LED lit.
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Aviom A-16 Personal Monitor Mixing System
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Saving Your New Preset
It’s important to remember that your mix is not saved if you should power the system down unless you store the mix as a Preset. You need to save a Preset to a memory location to be able to recall it later. The Channel buttons serve as memory location buttons when in Save mode.
To save a Preset:
• Hold down the
R
ECALL
and G
ROUP
buttons, found in the upper left side of the Mixer surface.
• While still holding the
R
ECALL
and G
ROUP
buttons, press the Channel button (1 through 16) corresponding to the memory location where you want the mix to be stored.
• Release the Channel button to store a Preset; you will see all the Channel
LEDs flash in sequence as confirmation of the save operation.
• Release the
R
ECALL
and G
ROUP
buttons after selecting a location.
If you want to store the same mix to multiple memory locations, you can press memory location buttons as needed while the
R
ECALL
and G
ROUP
buttons are being held down.
A copy of the mix will be saved to each memory location.
What Gets Saved
When you save a Preset the following information is saved:
• Channel volumes
• Channel pan settings
• The mute status of all Channels
• Channel Groups (up to three) and Group volume settings
• The current active Channel, linked pair, or Group
Tip: By selecting a Channel prior to saving a Preset you can always have your favorite Channel ready for real-time editing when the Preset is recalled.
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