Focusrite VRM BOX Owner's manual

VRM Box

User Guide

FA0450-1

ENGLISH

Important Safety Instructions

1. Read these instructions

2. Keep these instructions

3. Heed all warnings

4. Follow all instructions

5. Clean VRM Box only with dry cloth

6. DonotinstallVRMBoxnearanyheatsourcessuchasradiators,heatregisters,stoves,orotherapparatus(includingampliers)thatproduceheat

7. Onlyuseattachments/accessoriesspeciedbyFocusrite

8. Useonlywiththecart,stand,tripod,bracket,ortablespeciedbytheFocusrite,orsoldwiththeVRMBox.Whenacartisused,usecaution

 whenmovingthecart/VRMBoxcombinationtoavoidinjuryfromtip-over

9. Unplug the VRM Box during lightning stormsorwhenunusedforlongperiodsoftime

10. Referallservicingtoqualiedservicepersonnel.ServicingisrequiredwhentheVRMBoxhasbeendamagedinanyway,such as the

 headphone,USBorS/PDIFsocketsaredamaged,liquidhasbeenspilledorobjectshavefallenintotheVRMBox,theVRMBoxhasbeen

 exposedtorainormoisture,doesnotoperatenormally,orhasbeendropped

Nonakedames,suchaslightedcandles,shouldbeplacedontheapparatus

WARNING:Excessivesoundpressurelevelsfromearphonesandheadphonescancausehearingloss

WARNING:ThisequipmentmustonlybeconnectedtoUSB1.0,1.1or2.0typeportstoprotectagainsthazardintheeventofaproductfault

Environmental Declaration

Compliance Information Statement: Declaration of Compliance procedure

 ProductIdentication: FocusriteVRMBox

 Responsibleparty: AmericanMusicandSound

 Address:  5304DerryAvenue#C

Agoura Hills,

CA 91301

    Telephone:800-994-4984

This devicecomplieswithpart15oftheFCCRules.Operationissubjecttothefollowingtwoconditions:(1)Thisdevicemaynotcause

harmfulinterference,and(2)thisdevicemustacceptanyinterferencereceived,includinginterferencethatmaycauseundesiredoperation.

For USA - to the user:

1.Donotmodifythisunit!Thisproduct,wheninstalledasindicatedintheinstructionscontainedinthismanual,meetsFCCrequirements.

ModicationsnotexpresslyapprovedbyFocusritemayvoidyourauthority,grantedbytheFCC,tousethisproduct.

2.Important:ThisproductsatisesFCCregulationswhenhighqualityshieldedcablesareusedtoconnectwithotherequipment.Failuretousehigh

qualityshieldedcablesortofollowtheinstallationinstructionswithinthismanualmaycausemagneticinterferencewithappliancessuchasradios

andtelevisionsandvoidyourFCCauthorizationtousethisproductintheUSA.

3.Note: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protectionagainstharmfulinterferenceinaresidentialinstallation.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particularinstallation.Ifthisequipmentdoescauseharmful

interferencetoradioortelevisionreception,whichcanbedeterminedbyturningtheequipmentoffand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•

connected

Consultthedealeroranexperiencedradio/TVtechnicianforhelp•

For Canada - to the user:

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

RoHS Notice

Focusrite Audio Engineering Limited has

conformed,andthisproductconformswhere

applicable,totheEuropeanUnion’sDirective

2002/95/EConRestrictionsofHazardous

Substances(RoHS)aswellasthefollowing

sectionsofCalifornialawwhichrefertoRoHS,

namely sections 25214.10, 25214.10.2, and

58012,HealthandSafetyCode;Section42475.2,

PublicResourcesCode.

ENGLISH

Introduction

VRMBoxcontainsauniquetechnologythatallowsyoutomonitoraudioonapairofheadphones,asifyouwereinarealenvironmentlisteningtoreal

speakers.Therearethreeenvironmentsand15pairsofspeakerstochoosefrom,creatingatotalof24listeningscenarios.

VRMBoxhasatactilevolumecontrolwithaclassleadingheadphoneamplierandexternalS/PDIFinput,completewithbuilt-insample-rate

conversion,inapocket-sizedpackagethattsneatlyonyourdesk.

What’s in the box

1 VRM Box

1InstallerCD(includesinstallationlesforMacintoshandWindowsPC,andthisUserGuide)

1USBcable

1 Register Me Online card

1GettingStartedGuide

VRM Box hardware overview

1. Volumeknob

2. VRM “Active” LED

3. Headphonesocket

4. KensingtonLockport

5. USBsocket

6. S/PDIFinputsocket

5 6

Contents

Important Safety Instructions ............................................................ 2

Environmental Declaration ................................................................ 2

Contents ................................................................................................ 3

Introduction .......................................................................................... 3

What’s in the box .................................................................................. 3

VRM Box hardware overview .............................................................. 3

Operating system compatibility ......................................................... 4

Installing the software ......................................................................... 4

VRM Box hardware setup .................................................................... 4

VRM Box as the main audio interface ............................................... 4

VRM Box in conjunction with another audio interface .................... 5

VRM Box control panel software ........................................................ 5

What is Virtual Reference Monitoring? .............................................. 6

The problem .......................................................................................... 6

The solution .......................................................................................... 6

The method ........................................................................................... 6

VRM technical data .............................................................................. 6

Performance specications ................................................................ 8

Latency and CPU information ............................................................. 8

ENGLISH

Operating system compatibility

Windows Macintosh

WindowsXP(SP3),Vista,7   OSX10.5Leopard(Intelonly,PPCnotsupported),OSX10.6SnowLeopard.

Formoreinformationoncompatibilityvisitwww.focusrite.com/vrm_box

Installing the software

TheVRMBoxisaclasscompliantdevice,meaningthatthereisnoneedtoinstalldriversforthedevicetoworkasanaudiooutput.However,you

mustruntheinstallertobeabletousetheVRMsoftware.

InserttheCDintothecomputerandclickontheinstallericon.FollowtheinstructionsonscreentoinstalltheVRMControlPanelsoftwareand

drivers.

Note for Windows users:Ifthismessageorsimilarappearsduringtheinstallationprocess,

press‘ContinueAnyway’tosuccessfullyinstallthedrivers.

VRM Box hardware setup

TheVRMBoxcanbeusedasthemainaudiointerface,orinconjunctionwithyourexistingaudiointerface,providingthisinterface

hasaRCAS/PDIFoutput.

VRM Box as the main audio interface

1. UsingtheUSBcableprovided,connecttheVRMBoxtotheUSBportofyourcomputer

2. SetuptheVRMBoxasyouraudioplaybackdevice

TousetheVRMBoxastheplaybackdeviceofyourDAWsoftwareyouwillneedtoselecttheVRM

ASIOdriver(Windows)orVRMCoreAudiodriver(Mac)intheaudiosettingsofyourDAWsoftware.

Formoreinformationpleaserefertopage8.

3. Withthevolumecontrolturneddown,connectyourheadphonestoVRMBox

4. LoadtheVRMsoftware.ThiscanbefoundinyourApplicationsfolder(Mac)orfromtheStartmenu>AllPrograms>Focusrite(Windows)

5. StartplayingaudiofromyourDAWsoftwareoranymediaplayer

6. Turn up the volume control on the VRM Box until you have a healthy level in your headphones

USB

USB / FireWire

USB

S/PDIF

OUT

Windows Mac

ENGLISH

VRM Box in conjunction with another audio interface

1. UsingtheUSBcableprovided,connecttheVRMBoxtothe

 USBportofyourcomputer

2. ConnecttheS/PDIFoutputonyouraudiointerfaceintothe

 VRMBoxS/PDIFinput

3. Inyouraudiointerface’scontrolpanel,ensurethataudiois

 senttotheS/PDIFoutputofyouraudiointerface

4. Withthevolumecontrolturneddown,connectyour

headphones to VRM Box

5. OpentheVRMsoftware,checktheiconinthebottomright

 corneroftheVRMsoftwarethattheVRMBoxhas

 lockedtotheS/PDIFsignal

 S/PDIFisunlocked

 S/PDIFislocked(VRMBoxissynchronisedto

 theincomingS/PDIFsignal)

6. StartplayingaudiofromyourDAWsoftwareoranymedia

player

7. Turn up the volume control on the VRM Box until you have

 therequiredlevelinyourheadphones

VRM Box control panel software

1. Currently selected monitor speaker

2. Monitor speaker selection drop down list:Clicktoselectthemonitorspeakers

3. S/PDIF input status:(seeaboveformoredetails)

4. VRM on / off:ClickthelogototurnVRMon/off.Whenon,thedotinVRMlogoandtheLEDonthehardwarewilllightgreen

5. Environment selection:Clicktochangethelisteningenvironment

6. Information button:Whenpressed,textinformationaboutthelisteningenvironment,monitorspeakers,andlisteningpositionisdisplayed

7. Input level buttons: Whenplayinglouderaudiomaterial(e.g.amasteredmp3),theadditionalprocessingfromVRMBoxmaycausetheoutputto

clip.Pressthe-6dBbuttontopreventthishappening.Conversely,whenplayingquieteraudiomaterial(e.g.anon-masteredrecordingsession),press

the0dBbuttontoachievemorelevelinyourheadphones

8. Environment display:Thisgivesagraphicalrepresentationofthelisteningenvironment,monitorspeakerplacementandlisteningposition

654

USB

USB / FireWire

USB

S/PDIF

OUT

ENGLISH

What is Virtual Reference Monitoring?

DevelopedbyFocusrite,VRM(VirtualReferenceMonitoring)isaloudspeaker&roomsimulatordesignedforheadphonelistening.

The problem

Accuratemixinghasuntilnowrequiredexpensivemonitorsandacarefullydesignedandtreatedcontrolroom.Currently,bothprofessionalmusic

producersfacingbudgetarylimitations,plusprojectmusicmakerswithoutaccesstosuchfacilities,frequentlyencountermixingand“auditioning”

difculties.

The solution

VRMallowsyoutochoosefromtenpairsofindustrystandardneareldandmainmonitorsinanacousticallytreatedspace.

EngineersroutinelyassesstheirmixesbyburningCDsandtakingthemintountreatedroomstoreferenceonconsumerstereos.VRMeliminatesthis

processbysimulatingtwoextrarooms;alargelivingroomandasmallerbedroom.Youcanchoosebetweenarangeofspeakersincludingquality

hi-,computer,cheapstereoandtelevisionspeakers.Aswiththecontrolroomsimulation,youcanobservetheeffectsoftypicalroommodesonyour

mixes.

The method

VRMusesstandardheadphonestoreproducethedirectsound,togetherwithadigitalsignalprocessingsystemthatisusedtosimulatespecic

monitoringscenarios.TheroommodelsofVRMaremathematicalsimulationsofrealrooms,whichprovidegreaterexibilityinthepossible

combinationsofloudspeakersandlisteningpositions.Theloudspeakersimulationsarecreatedusingconvolutionsofimpulseresponsesmeasured

usingtheoriginalloudspeakers.Theaccuracyofthesesimulationsindifferentenvironmentsistakencareofbytheimpulseresponsesthemselves

and the way they are calculated and manipulated.

VRM technical data

Room Model AvailableSpeakerEmulations

ProfessionalStudio JapaneseWhiteClassic

KRKRP6G2

Auratone 5C

USPassiveNeareld

BritishStudio

Genelec 1031A

KRKVXT8

ADAMS2.5A

RogersLS3/5a

StirlingLS3/5a

Living Room British 90s Hi-Fi

British 80s Hi-Fi

Flat-screen Television

Genelec 1031A

StirlingLS3/5a

BedroomStudio KRKRP6G2

British 90s Hi-Fi

British 80s Hi-Fi

ComputerDesktop

BudgetMicroSystem

Flat-screen Television

Genelec 1031A

KRKVXT8

StirlingLS3/5a

ENGLISH

Listening environment data

Listening Environment Dimensions Volume ReverbTime

ProfessionalStudio 6.10 x 6.48 x 3.53 m 139.40 m³ 0.38 s

Living room 5.48 x 4.66 x 2.79 m 71.27 m³ 0.36 s

BedroomStudio 3.28 x 3.69 x 2.47 m 29.90 m³ 0.47 s

Loudspeaker emulation data

Description Based On Size(cm) Tweeter Woofer System

ADAMS2.5A ADAMS2.5A 45H,28W,30D Ribbon 8” Active2-waybassreex

USPassiveNeareld Alesis Monitor One 38H,22W,24D 1”silkdometweeter

w/ferrouidcooling

6.5”mineral-lled

polypropylene cone

Passive2-wayrearring

port

Auratone 5C Auratone 5C 17H,17W,14D (none) 4” Passivesingledriver

closedbox

British80’sHi-Fi B&WDM12 34H,22W,26D 1” polyester weave

dome

6”bass/midrange

driver

Passive2-wayclosedbox

ComputerDesktop CreativeS8S35 15H,8W,10D (none) 2.5” Active single driver rear

ringport

Genelec 1031A Genelec 1031A 49H,25W,29D 1” metal dome 8” poly composite

driver

Active2-wayventedbox

BudgetMicroSystem GoodmansMS188 28H,18W,19D 1” dome 3.5” Passive2-wayportedbox

British90’sHi-Fi KEF Q55.2 85H,21W,25D 1” 5” Passive2-wayrearported

boxwithpassiveradiator

KRKRP6G2 KRKRP6G2 33H,22W,27D 1”neodymiumsoft

domewithferrouid

6” glass aramid

composite

Active2wayfrontring

portedbox

KRKVXT8 KRKVXT8 44H,32W,30D 1”silkdomeferrite 8”wovenkevlar Active2wayfrontring

portedbox

Flat-ScreenTelevision PhocusLCD26TV 45H87W10D

(StereoTV)

(none) 2” x 4” oval-shaped

driver

Active single driver

BritishStudio QuestedS8R 42H,30W,35D 1”softdome 8” cone Active2-waybassreex

RogersLS3/5a RogersLS3/5a 30H,19W,16D 0.75” 5” KEF B110 Passive2wayclosedbox

StirlingLS3/5a StirlingLS3/5a 30H,19W,16D 0.75” 5” KEF B110 Passive2wayclosedbox

JapaneseWhite

Classic

YamahaNS-10MPro 38H,22W,18D 1.5” 7” cone Passive2wayclosed

bookshelf

ENGLISH

Performance specications

Headphone Outputs (Outputs 1-2)

• Outputimpedance:<10Ohms

• Poweroutputinto150R:15mV

• Poweroutputinto50R:30mW

• THD+N:-100dB(0.001%)(-1dBFSinput,20Hz/22kHz 

bandpasslter,150Rload)

• SignaltoNoiseRatio:>105dB

S/PDIF Digital Input

• AutomaticSampleRateconversion

• Supportedsamplerates:continuousfrom32kHzto192kHz

• THD+N:<-110dBanysamplerate

Crosstalk (Channel Isolation)

• Anyoutputtooutput:>100dB

Digital Performace

• D/ADynamicRange:120dB(A-weighted)

• MeasuredD/ADynamicRange:108dB(A-weighted)

• ClockSource:InternalClockonly

• Clockjitter<250picoseconds

• SupportedSampleRates:44.1kHz&48kHz.

• 2inputchannelstocomputer:S/PDIF(2).

• 2outputchannelsfromcomputer:Headphones(2).

Connectors and Controls

• StereoS/PDIFinputonRCA

• StereoHeadphoneOutputon¼”TRS

• HeadphoneOutputLevelcontrol(analogue)

• 4-pinUSB2.0compatiblesocket

Indicators

• 1GreenLEDIndicator:

  Flashing:Unitnotinstalledcorrectlyonhost

  Off:VRMeffectsturnedoff

  On:VRMeffectsturnedon

Power

• BuspowerfromUSBbus.

Weight and Dimensions

• Dimensions:68mmx25mmx68mm(WxHxD)

• Weight:123g

Latency and CPU information

TheVRMBoxprocessingtakesplaceatadriverlevelonyourcomputer.

Thisprocessincursa64samplelatency(about1ms).TheVRMprocessing

alsousesacertainamountofCPUresources.

The VRM Box driver will also add additional latency. This latency will

dependonhowyouusetheVRMBox:

WhenusingtheVRMBoxasyouraudiointerfaceinyourDAW,thelatency

youexperiencewillbedependantontheaudiobuffersizeyousetin

yourDAW,andinmostDAWstheactuallatencygureisdisplayedinthe

preferences.Iftheaudiobuffersizeissettolessthan64samples,thenthe

VRM processing does not have enough time to do the processing and no

audiowillpass.VRMCPUrequirementsaremuchhigherwhentheaudio

buffersizeissettoolow,soitisrecommendedthatabuffersizeof512

samples(Mac)or10ms(Windows)shouldgivethebeststartingpoint.

WhenusingtheS/PDIFinput(receivingaudiofromanotheraudiointerface),

thelatencygurewillbedependantontheaudiobuffersizeyousetinyour

DAWforthatinterface,PLUSadditionallatencyfromtheVRMBox.Inthis

case,therewillbelatencyincurredfromthetransferofS/PDIFaudiosent

fromtheVRMBoxviaUSBusingtheVRMaudiodriver,throughtheVRM

processing,thenbacktotheVRMBox.Thetotalroundtriplatencyislikely

tobeintheregionof20ms(dependingoncomputerspecs).

FormoredetailedinformationpleaserefertotheFocusriteanswerbase:

www.focusrite.com/answerbase

FocusriteisaregisteredtrademarkofFocusriteAudioEngineeringLimited.

TheFocusritelogo,VRMVirtualReferenceMonitoringandtheVRMlogo

aretrademarksofFocusriteAudioEngineeringLimited.

Allotherproductnames,trademarks,ortradenamesarethemarksoftheir

respectiveowners,whichareinnowayassociated,connectednorafliated

with Focusrite or its VRM Box product. These other product names, trade

marks,andtradenamesareusedsolelytoidentifyanddescribethethird

partyloudspeakersystems,thesonicbehavioursofwhichwerestudiedfor

the VRM technology incorporated within the VRM Box, and to accurately

describeanelementoffunctionalitywithintheVRMBox.

The VRM Box is an independently engineered technology which utilises

Focusrite’sVRMVirtualReferenceMonitoring(Patentappliedfor)toac-

curatelymeasureexamplesofthesonicimpactoforiginalloudspeaker

systemsuponanaudiostream,soastoelectronicallyemulatetheperform-

anceoftheoriginalproductstudied.Theresultofthisprocessissubjective

andmaynotbeperceivedbyauserasproducingthesameeffectsasthe

loudspeakersystemsstudied.

Focusrite VRM BOX Owner's manual

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