Tascam DS-M7. 1 Setting Up Manual

							Setting up the TASCAM DS-M7.1
TASCAM DS-M7.1 Setup Guide 1
Before you start using the TASCAM DS-M7.1 to help you with the monitoring of your surround mix, there are a 
few operations to be carried out which will help you use the unit most effectively.
These are: trimming each channel so that each channel is correctly balanced relative to the others for your listen-
ing position, adjusting the delay for the channels to avoid phase delays, etc., and setting up the overall SPL (loud-
ness) of the unit.
First, you should set up the DS-M7.1 so that your system is something like the one pictured here. For full details, 
see the Reference Manual, paying particular attention to the notes regarding word sync. Also note that this illus-
tration shows a 5.1 system with no insert loop attached to the DS-M7.1. Your setup may differ from this, but the 
principles will be the same (the connections between the monitoring amp system and the monitor speakers are 
omitted for reasons of clarity.
Note that the connections between the master recorder and the tracking recorder are bidirectional, as are the con-
nections between the console and the DS-M7.1. 
 
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D00697500A                           
						

							Setting up the TASCAM DS-M7.1
2 TASCAM DS-M7.1 Setup Guide
Setting up the TASCAM DS-M7.1
TASCAM DS-M7.1 Setup Guide 3
Trimming the levels
When monitoring in surround mode, it is important that the perceived level of each channel (as perceived from the 
monitoring position) is equal, in order to achieve a satisfactory mix.
NOTE
Before proceeding further with these operations, it is important that you ensure that the input mode 
of the DS - M7.1 reflects the setup you are using and the output channels are “patched” so that the 
names of the channels correspond to the actual channels that you have set up in your system (if the 
channel meant to be driving the LFE is actually driving one of the surround channels, you will have 
severe problems!). Use the INPUT and OUTPUT keys (shifted STATUS and SYSTEM) keys for this. See 
the main manual if this setup has not been done already and you are unsure of the procedures.
The DS-M7.1 provides you with a pink noise generator to allow you to set up and calibrate your monitoring sys-
tem for optimal results. You will also need an SPL (sound pressure level) meter. Absolute accuracy in this case is 
not of prime importance—relative levels are what are being set up here. 
There are two standard weightings that are commonly used, and may be selected from most SPL meters: the ‘C’ 
weighting, providing an almost uniform response from 32 Hz to 10 kHz, and the “A” weighting, which is concen-
trated on the 500 Hz to 10 kHz range. For full-range music productions, use the “C” weighting.
TIP
When you make the measurements described here, either stand the SPL meter on a tripod (ideal), or 
hold it to one side of your body, to avoid reflections, etc. caused by your body which can affect the 
final results.
Generating the pink noise
Make sure that your monitoring system is turned on, and adjusted to a nominal level.
With the SHIFT indicator lit, press the BASS MGT/ TEST key 
to bring up the screen at left. This allows you to select the type 
of pink noise generated by the unit, as well as the level of the 
noise.
 The Safety parameter at the bottom of the screen, when 
set to ENABLE, turns off the ability to switch on the TEST 
mode and the pink noise generator. To enable the TEST mode, 
set the Safety parameter to DISABLE.
You will use the FULL BAND noise setting in most situations (the alternative is BAND LIMIT, which uses 
a filter to weight the noise).
There are a number of different selectable levels at which the noise can be output: -20, -18, -16, -10, - 5 
and 0 (all relative to full-scale). If you are working to the SMPTE standard, therefore, -20 corresponds to the 
analog nominal level (the EBU equivalent is -18—the TASCAM -16 level is also provided for con-
venience).
 Use the CURSOR keys to select the Level field, and the VALUE dial to adjust the level to the set-
ting you want to use for your calibration.
Now press the TEST key on the bottom right of the control panel.
The  channel MUTE  CONTROL  keys  are  used  to  select  the 
channels  to  which  the  pink  noise  will  be  output.  When  an 
input  mode  is  selected,  the  green  indicators  under  the  “ac-
tive”  channels  are  lit,  to  show  that  the  channel  can  be  used. 
For  example,  if  the  stereo  mode  is  selected,  only  the  L  and 
R indicators are lit. In the case of 5.1, L, C, R, LFE, LS and 
RS are lit.
[TEST]
PNoise FULL BAND    
Level  -10dB
Safety ENABLE
[TRIM]
L  0.0 C   0.0 R  0.0
      LFE 0.0
LS 0.0        RS 0.0 
						

							Setting up the TASCAM DS-M7.1
2 TASCAM DS-M7.1 Setup Guide
Setting up the TASCAM DS-M7.1
TASCAM DS-M7.1 Setup Guide 3
With the SHIFT indicator lit, press the DOWNMIX / TRIM key to bring up the screen at left. Note that the screen 
shown here represents a 5.1 mix. If you have your setup in a different configuration, what you see on screen may 
differ slightly.
Now, when you press one of the MUTE CONTROL keys, the pink noise will be output from the selected channel 
(at the level you set earlier). The key lights to show you which channel is currently being tested. In addition, the 
cursor on the screen jumps to the setting of the channel whose  key has just been pressed.
TIP
When working in 5.1 mode, we suggest starting with the C (dialog) channel in order to achieve best 
results.
Use the SPL meter to measure the level from the channel at your listening position.
You can now press another of the MUTE CONTROL keys and read the level from the meter for that channel (we 
suggest that you do not calibrate the sub-woofer) .
Using the VALUE dial, adjust the level of the channel until it matches the first channel.
Repeat this process until you have a variation of not more than a few dB between channels.
NOTE
These SPL adjustments do not affect the mix going from the multitrack system to the tracking record-
er—they are for monitoring purposes only. 
Adjusting the overall SPL
When  the  individual  channels  are  balanced,  you  should  adjust  the  overall  level  of  the  system  so  that  a  nominal 
signal generates the industry standard SPL. This is standardized at 85 dBC for movies, and 82 dBC for television 
work. 
The SPLRefLevel menu  item  described  here  works 
in  conjunction  with  the  dBFS  reference  level  of  the  device 
feeding  the  DS-M7.1,  measuring  the  reference  level  in  dBC. 
For  example,  if  the  source  unit  outputs  a  tone  at    –20 dBFS 
and  this  menu  parameter  is  set  to  85  (dBC)  there  is  20 dB 
of headroom available (as explained below). In other words, in this example the SPL REFERENCE LEVEL dis-
play  can  show  up  to  105  before  distortion  occurs.  If  the  input  signal  is  at  full-scale,  then  there  is  no  headroom 
available  past  the  reference  level;  that  is,  if  the SPL  REFERENCE  LEVEL is  set  to  a  value  above  that  of  the 
SPLREfLevel, distortion will occur.
Therefore, if the source program material has a dynamic range that takes it up to full-scale levels, and the standard 
is 85 dBC (movie), both the menu and the front panel knob should be set to 85. For other standards, the appropriate 
values should be set. For a project which does not use SPL  standards (e.g. music projects) the SPLRefLevel  
menu item may be set to a high value (say 109) so that the SPL REFERENCE LEVEL control can be used as a 
volume control without distortion occurring.
Use the SPL REFERENCE LEVEL control and 2-digit display on the DS-M7.1 to adjust the SPL 
level in the following way:
Turn down your monitoring amplification system.
Press the SYSTEM key and press the cursor keys until the display shows the SPLRefLevel parameter. Use 
the VALUE dial to set this so that it equals the standard you will be using in your project.
Set the SPL REFERENCE LEVEL control so that the display shows the reference level you want to use.
Play a nominal level signal (pink noise) through your mixing console into the DS-M7.1. Take the reading of the 
SPL meter, and adjust your amplification system until the SPL meter shows the desired level. You may now use the 
SPL REFERENCE LEVEL control to reduce the monitoring level, but only increase it  if the material permits.
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[SYSTEM]
Dimmer      - 60dB
SPLRefLevel  65dB
SurroundLvl -10dB 
						

							Setting up the TASCAM DS-M7.1
Adjusting the surround level
You may want to adjust the surround level (the level of the rear speakers) so that they are anything up to 10 dB qui-
eter than the front speakers. Use the SYSTEM menu above to set this value.
NOTE
The setting of the LFE crossover and relative level is handled by the dedicated bass management sys-
tem, and is treated in detail in the main manual. Typically, the default settings will handle this.  
Delay setting
Another important aspect of working with surround monitoring is setting up delay times, so that the signals from 
the different channels all arrive at the same time at your monitoring position. If this is not done properly, the re-
sulting mix may not be quite what you expect.
The DS-M7.1 contains delay circuits to allow the monitoring to be adjusted. 
For this process you will need some kind of  tape measure or ruler to measure the distance between the listening 
position and the speakers.
Measure the distance from your listening position to the different speakers.  Treat the longest such distance as the 
“reference” distance.  The reason for this is that it is easy to “move” other speakers “further away”  by introducing 
delay, but adding negative delay, which involves time travel, is still under development! 
As a rule of thumb, one foot (30 cm) of difference equals one millisecond of delay.
Work out how many milliseconds of delay you will need for each channel.
The L and R speakers should be equidistant from the listening position. If you can arrange the C speaker so that it 
is the same distance from the listening position as the L and R speakers (that is, in an arc with the listening posi-
tion at the center, then you do not need to make different adjustments for the L, R and C channels. If the C speaker 
is in a straight line with the L and R speakers, you will need to make the C speaker electronically further away, 
and add delay to the sound.
Likewise, the LS and RS speakers should be equidistant from the listening position (the recommended angle for 
these speakers is about 20° behind the listening position).
With  the SHIFT indicator  lit,  press  the DELAY key,  so  that 
you  see  a  screen  like  the  one  at  the  left  (this  is  for  a  5.1  ar-
rangement—if you have a different setup, the screen may ap-
pear different).
On the top row, move the cursor and use the VALUE dial to 
turn the delay ON from OFF.
Move the cursor to the different channels and adjust the delay time according to the values you have worked out. 
You can adjust the delay for each channel in 0.1 ms steps up to a maximum of 50.0 ms.
Further reading
We strongly suggest that if you are unfamiliar with surround sound techniques, or the concepts described in this 
guide,  you  obtain  some  of  the  excellent  reference  material  available  from  the  Internet,  or  reference  works  pub-
lished on the subject.
[DELAY]  ON
L 50.0 C 50.0 R 50.0
      LFE50.0
LS50.0        RS50.0
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