Focal ASTRAL 16 Manuel D'utilisation page 15

ASTRAL 16
™
U s e r m a n u a l
Dirac Live
Dirac Live is a highly advanced calibration tool
which uses sophisticated mixed-phase filters
to compensate for loudspeaker and room
deficiencies in order to provide optimal acoustic
performance of your theater. The Dirac Live 2.x
license is free of charge and available on Dirac
Website after registering on Dirac Live website
(https://live.dirac.com/register/) and calibration
kit are usually purchased by the installer through
their dealer.
All Theaters, zones, and child theaters can be
calibrated with Dirac Live. Presuming you have
a calibration kit, prepare your Astral 16 for
calibration by following the steps below.
1. Define Speakers
For each theater or zone you will calibrate using
Dirac Live, ensure that you have correctly defined
each speaker's Size/Filter, Frequency and Slope,
multi-way speaker definitions and other Bass
Mangement parameters. ("Individual Channel
Adjustments")
2. Download and install Dirac Live 2.x
Calibration Tool Software
You can download a Mac or PC version of the
software at https://live.dirac.com/my-account-
download/ or on the Focal Client Portal
(www.focal.com).
Install the software on the laptop you will use
to calibrate Astral 16. Use the Dirac account
credentials as login in the tool.
3. Prepare Calibration Hardware
Although we recommend using the kit we provide
which includes the UMIK-1 USB microphone, other
hardware may be compatible with the Dirac Live
Calibration Tool. This guide will only cover our
hardware.
Connect the UMIK-1 to your laptop. Note the
serial number on the microphone. Navigate to
https://www.minidsp.com/products/acoustic-
measurement/umik-1. Enter the serial number to
obtain your unique calibration files.
4. Choose Theater or Zone to Calibrate
From the Main Speakers (A) menu in Astral 16
web UI, EDIT (B) the theater or zone you wish to
calibrate.
B
5. Select Base Profile
Select the profile which will serve as the basis for
your Dirac Live calibration from the dropdown
menu.
6. Setup Dirac Groups
It is recommended that if your theater includes
multiple subwoofers, manually correct levels, EQ,
and delay for each. Then, group all the subwoofer
channels together for the purposes of Dirac Live
calibration. Also, manually build any crossover
and EQ settings for active loudspeakers. Group
separate elements of a single active loudspeaker
together e.g. Low, Mid, and High components of
the LEFT FRONT should be in a single generator
group. Click the SETUP button (C) beside the
Dirac button.
D
Channels that should play together during
calibration should share a group number (D).
7. Initiate Calibration
Press DIRAC (A) to ready Astral 16 for calibration.
A
A popup describing the process will be shown
in the web UI. Verify that you are calibrating the
correct theater or zone based on the correct
profile. If not, cancel and return to step 4. Once
verified, click Start New Calibration.
8. Return to / Open Dirac Live Calibration
Tool Software
Open the Dirac Live software on your laptop and
enter your Dirac Account credentials (A). It will
scan the network and automatically find Astral 16
ready for calibration (B). If it does not, manually
enter the IP address of Astral 16 (C). Select the
device to calibrate.
A
ASTRAL 16
U s e r m a n u a l
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9. Configure Microphone
Choose the Recording Device UMIK-1 (A). Load
the microphone calibration file (B) downloaded
in step "3. Prepare Calibration Hardware". Use
"..90degree.txt" when placing the microphone
in an upward facing direction. It is wise to save
C
the project (C) along each step of the calibration
in order to make recovery from interruptions
easier. Also, measurements can be reused in
order to regenerate a new filter design following
adjustments to the target curve. Click Proceed to
Volume adjustments (D).
C
A B
10. Set Levels
B A C
™
Now that the microphone is connected, ensure
C
that the room is quiet. Adjust the input gain to
100% (B). Set the output volume (A) to a low
level (-40dB for example). Start the test noise by
A
pressing the PLAY button (C) on the first channel
and adjust the volume to reach the green area in
the channel's meter. For each channel, activate
the test noise and correct the channel volume
B
using the corresponding slider (D) so that the
meter reaches the green area. Note that all
channels are automatically listed and subwoofers
are automatically identified. Remember that it is
important that multi-way speakers and subwoofers
have already been
grouped therefore will appear as one loudspeaker.
Click Proceed to Select Arrangement (E).
11. Measure Acoustic Response of Sweet Spot
Place the microphone in the exact sweet spot of
the room at ear level to begin. It must be in the
left-to-right center of the room since it will be used
D
for loudspeaker distance and level calculations.
Select the arrangement you wish to define. Chair
is for a single listening position, Sofa Focused is
for a wider listening position still focused around
the listener and Sofa Wide Imaging for a wider
area with more microphones positions. Start the
measurement by pressing Proceed to Measure
button. The measurement waveform graphic is
updated in real time.
Focal recommends to use DIRAC Live to fine tune
the sound (EQ), since DIRAC allows to keep phase
consistency.
We strongly recommend to save your project
before leaving DIRAC. Without backup, each
future modification will require a complete redo
all procedure.
D E
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individually aligned and