MiniSonic MS10 Specifications

General Information

Size 215 x 160 x 33 mm. Weight 600g.

Display 32-bar LED single-mark display with 'shadowbar' (reduced brightness) for R channel, cursor, or other functions.

Microphone Dual low-noise Microphone inputs (2 minijacks) with 5V power calibrated to UniSon standard (-30dBu =100dB SPL. Precision calibrated miniature (1/4") mics available extra.

'Unison' Input and output sockets carry power (6 to 9V 1A max) on 'PowerBus'. This is 2-cell Lithium Ion voltage range, for regulation to 5V within attachments. It permits the easy use of active high-impedance probes, microphone preamplifiers (with precision electret measuring microphones), active headphone amps etc. Compatible with the proposed MiniSonic range of studio and post-production equipment. Diode feed means that only one unit in a chain of MiniSonic devices need have a battery fitted to power all the rest automatically!

Headphone Socket 3.5mm Stereo Minijack for headphones of 40ohm or greater (150 to 600 preferred), monitors the signal or distortion residue and mutes the internal speaker.

Power Slot-in Sony NP500/530/560 style Rechargeable Lithium Ion Battery included (16 hrs use) or PP3 with adapter (6hrs life) or external 12V (11-14V) smooth DC from 500mA mains adapter via 2.1mm power jack. Current only 100mA once fully charged, 300mA at start of charging. Battery charges internally in 15hrs (half charged in 4 hrs) with power connected (or use a commercial external charger).

Monitor Loudspeaker Built-in 65mm speaker and volume control for listening (L-chan) on all measurements.

Accessories User Manual, 12V 1A Switch-Mode (100 to 240V) power-supply/charger, XLR and Phono input and output adapter leads (1m), lithium ion battery and Lin4Win Windows support software CD are included with the MS10. The UniSon to XLR leads and the 12v PSU are not included with the MS1. A Test CD with manual tones, sequences and segments is available for £20 or alternatively download a copy here. MP3 test sequences are available here. Various other input adapter cables available to order.

Oscillator Specification:

Outputs Two channel (10 ohm source impedance) balanced 'Unison' on 9-pin D plug. Note - Unison to XLR leads are provided.

Freq Range 4Hz to 40kHz Sin in 1/3rd-octaves or 1/12th octaves, 1kHz 5kHz 10kHz Square waves, (special waveforms possible)

Level Range -90dBu to +19dBu in 1dB steps, balanced, centre-grounded; -96 to +13dBu single-ended

Distortion -86dB THD (0.005%) @ 1kHz (22Hz-22kHz BW) typical
-72dB typical 0dBu to +16dBu into 600 ohms (both channels loaded).

Flatness +- 0.02dB typical 20Hz to 20kHz -0.05dB @31kHz -0.6dB @16Hz and 40kHz

Mute Mute, restore, and channel selection. Auto-mute on selecting noise measurement. Auto signal source selection on crosstalk and distortion. Residual noise muted -86dBu ITU-468

Level Accuracy +-0.02dB typical @0dB +-0.05dB typical -60dBu to +19dBu

Frequency Accuracy +-0.05% of specified sythesised frequency (see tables in full manual webpage).

Sequences Four instantly available on numbered keys. 1 - 1/12th octave sweep 2 - 1/12 octave sweep -10dB 3 - ITU-468 test tonebursts weighted to give target peak -50dBu 4 - PPM test toneburst weighted to give target peak 0dBu. Other sequences under consideration (custom requests considered)

With remote commands only:
Independant levels on both channels. Flexible tone-bursts. Full Windows style control panel using 'Lin4Win' software.

Analyser Specification:

Inputs Two channel 44kohm balanced or 22kohm unbalanced on 'Unison' D socket (with 6-9v 'PowerBus' for Mic preamp etc). 'UniSon' inputs have the special feature of reading 0dB with either 0dBu balanced or -6dBu single ended inputs (provided the antisense input is left open circuit), to suit professional and consumer equipment. XLR and Phono adapter cables supplied.

Level Measurement Two-channel simultaneous bar graph -20dBu to +9dBu in 1dB steps plus 'over' and 'under'. Bigger range with use of normalisation -50dBu to +19dBu.

Vernier mode Displays one channel (selectable) plus a vernier +-0.5dB on shadowbar in 0.05dB steps for precision level line-up.
Accuracy +- 0.05dB typical -20dBu to +19dBu using vernier.
Quasi-Peak reading as standard, with fast decay, other dynamics including PPM and superfast by remote command.

Frequency display mode 25Hz to 25kHz 1/3rd octave 'shadowbar' bar display with simultanous level display of selected L or R channel.

Normalise Press and hold to normalise to any level in range +19dB to - 50dB. Toggle normalised or absolute.

PPM mode Bright, two channel simultaneous display with PPM dynamics to IEC268 typeII (BBC) standard. This mode also allows for -60 to +30dB precision variable gain on the loop-through output, which has very low noise (-85dB 468q wtd) and distortion (-90dB); so that the unit can double as a high performance stereo level adaptor or balanced to unbalanced (or unbal to bal) convertor around the studio. Ideal also for setting and monitoring final levels to VCR in post production.

Noise Measurement IEC268 (CCIR 468) weighting and Q-Pk dynamics, reads -40 to -70dB relative to nominal (or normalised) level. Though true CCIR dynamics can be selected, a faster fall-back time is normally provided as this has been found to give no difference in reading for all practical sources, with much faster settling. Measurement range covers the best 16-bit systems (-66dB 0q) and can be extended by gain adjustment to easily measure the best 24-bit 96kHz or noise-shaped systems (noise -77dB 0q). Note that 468 weighting is the best way to demonstrate the true subjective advantage of noise-shaping in digital systems, with regard to both noise and distortion residue.

Distortion+Noise Measurement Instantly measures the residue on a 1kHz tone weighted according to IEC268 (CCIR 468 curve and quasi-peak detector). Display is on a fixed scale -30 to -60dB either absolute or relative to normalised level. This is a very sensitive test, giving due emphasis to the high order components of crossover distortion etc, so that meaningful comparison of all items from speakers and power amps to digital systems is at last possible. If it measures -60 (0.1%) it's near perfect (for reference, the best speakers (Quad ESL63) only achieve -45dB at 90dB SPL!) Relative measurements made at -20dB AL can easily quantify the best 24-bit 96kHz systems (-58dB rel to -20)! Residual noise is -88dBu (468 Q-Pk) typical

Crosstalk Measurement Measures weighted crosstalk, automatically muting the channel selected, while driving the other at the selected frequency and level. Reads -40 to -70dB (468 Q-Pk Wtd) as for noise.

Sequence mode
Displays the result of a frequency sweep using the shadowbar as up-down cursor with level readings on the main bar. Uses 'smart rectifier' for fast sweep settling. Stores one set of results including 64-point two-channel frequency response. Many segments are now availalbe , including distortion, noise, headroom, PPM tone bursts, GLITS .... Sequence operation is greatly enhanced by using Lin4WinXP software, which enables graphs to be displayed or printed, with a choice of scales etc - see the Lin4WinXP page.

Phase measurement Measure the seperation between the left and right channels in degrees.

With remote commands only:
Full Windows style control panel using 'Lin4Win' software, with big twin bar graphs plus digital readouts to 0.01dB. Autoranging, or manual range selection in 10dB or 1dB steps gives a much wider measurement range on levels and noise. Frequency readout to over 50kHz with high precision (+-1Hz resolution). Unlimited storage of sequence test results on computer, with printing and scaling options.