NBB-1616 Networked Break-in/Break-out Box NBB-1616e Expansion Box Overview: The NBB-1616 is a fully digitized 16 x 16 Break-in/Break-out box which bidirectionally streams multichannel audio throughout off-the-shelf Ethernet cables and switches. The NBB-1616 is designed to be operated friendly and installed easily as well as system scalable and upgradable. The front panel features 16 clip-hold PPM meters for all the input or output channels.
Description: The NBB-1616 breakbox can be used as a stagebox and direct transceives audio to/from all kind of Danteenabled audio consoles or DAW workstations in digital domain. With a dedicated P2P Pairing button on rear panel, two NBB-1616s can even be one-to-one paired to work as a digital snake which bidirectionally transceives audio throughout a regular Ethernet cable without the need of audio console or computer involved.
Getting Started Guide: Powering On During power-on, the meter panel is blanked initially. The whole system is ready to work after a UNIKA (see the picture below) shown on the meter panel for about 3 seconds. Do not power on the device immediately following a power off. At least wait for 10 seconds before you repower the device. Fail to do so can make the power supply in the device restart from unknown state.
One-to-One Pairing You can configure two NBB-1616s to work as a digital snake right out of the box without any other other computer or console in between. Simply connect the two NBB-1616s with a Ethernet cable and long press the P2P Pairing button on the rear panel until a SET shown on the meter panel, the two NBB-1616s are then automatically paired to each other with channel mapping in one-to-one style.
Master Clock and Syncing Word Clock of digital audio is distributed throughout whole Dante Network from a clock master. There is one and only one device can distribute the master clock in the whole Dante network. The NBB-1616 breakbox by default starts up itself as slave device and to be synced by the clock extracted from the Dante network. It can, however, be automatically elevated to be a clock master if there is no clock master in the network.
Similarly, if you have the NBB-1616 to work with Soundcraft Dante-enabled console, you need to make sure the source of word clock of the console is set properly by accessing the Sync tab in the console's main MENU screen on master bay. Here is the example of setting for Soundcraft Vi3000 console. Please be informed that the Vi 3000 local MADI and Dante ports share an input and so are exclusive.
Frequently Asked Questions: The NBB-1616 fails to power recycling. And the power indicator LED and the LEDs on the buttons keep flashing. This problem sometimes happens when the device has been worked in a warmer environment for quite a long time. The high temperature in the device triggers the temperature protector in the device so that the device cannot startup normally. Simply turn off the device and wait for more than 20 seconds, you should be able to successfully startup the device again.
Why do I get intermittent sound? If the network traffic is not heavily congested, the problem is most likely caused by IP conflict. For example, if there is DHCP server or router in your network and if there are also one or more fixed-IP devices in your network, the NBB-1616 may be occasionally assigned with an IP which is permanently occupied by one of the fixed-IP devices in the network if the DHCP server or router does not recognize the existence of these fixed-IP devices.
Front Panel: The front panel of NBB-1616 breakbox features 16 clip-hold PPM meters, 5 status LEDs, and several useful audio control capabilities. Clip-Hold PPM Meters To gain the most from digitized transceiving with high dynamic range and low noise floor, audio technicians always need to keep the audio level at decent large while avoiding over clip. Each of the 16 PPM meters consists of 5 LED indicators which let audio technician easily monitor the level of input audio from clipping.
Input Audio Control To accommodate different audio sources with various signal properties, under the 16 PPM meters, it comes with several useful audio control facilities for every input signal path, +48V: phantom power to power condenser microphone or other accessories such DI box. -180°: phase inverting to temporarily invert audio phasing for acoustic control. -18dB: pad control to further attenuate signal strength for strong input signal.
Rear Panel: Power Inlet and Fuse Holder: The NBB-1616 breakbox can be powered by wide range of AC source from 100~240V. The fuse in the fuse holder must be slow blow type of fuse rated at 1A. Do not use fast acting fuse for replacement. There is also a spare fuse in the fuse holder when the machine shipped. Fan Control: The fan on the rear of NBB-1616 breakbox, by default, is always ON when the device is in operation.
DIP Switches and Set buttons: There are 4 DIP switches and 3 set buttons on the rear panel of NBB-1616 breakbox. With them, you are allowed to manipulate or setup the NBB1616 breakbox without any controller or computer involved. P2P Pairing button: long-press the button for longer than 2 seconds or until a SET shown on meter panel, the NBB-1616 enters P2P (peer-to-peer) pairing procedure.
Sample Rate set button: After determine the required sample rate with DIP switch 1 and 2, long-press the set button for longer than 2 seconds or until a SET shown on meter panel, the NBB-1616 set the audio sample rate accordingly. You can check whether the sample rate set expectedly by observing the 192KHz/96KHz/48KHz status LEDs on the front panel. Note: The NBB-1616 breakbox also supports the sample rate in multiple of 44.1KHz (i.e., 88.2KHz and 176.4KHz).
Clear Configuration setting and System Reset: For whatever reason, you may want to clear all the configuration setting to your NBB-1616 and reset the device to factory default. To do so, simply press the three set buttons (P2P Pairing, Redundant, and Sample Rate) on the rear panel momentarily and simultaneously. You will see a RST shown on the meter panel once you press the three set buttons. Please be patient to wait for the device to completely reboot by itself.
Dante Controller: Dante Controller is a free software application that enables you to route audio and configure devices on a Dante network. With automatic device discovery, one-click signal routing and user-editable device and channel labels, setting up a Dante network couldn’t be easier. Dante Controller is much more than just a configuration and routing matrix.
About Dante Dante audio networking utilizes standard IP networks to transmit highquality, uncompressed audio with near-zero latency. It's the most economical, versatile, and easy-to-use audio networking solution, and is scalable from simple installations to large-capacity networks running thousands of audio channels. Dante can replace multiple analog or multicore cables with a single affordable Ethernet cable to transmit high quality multi-channel audio safely and reliably.
Typical Deployment and Application: Digital Snake Two NBB-1616s can be paired to work as a digital snake. Simply connect them with a Ethernet cable and long press the P2P Pairing button on the rear panel of any one the devices, the input and output channels of each device then be automatically and sequentially routed to the other device in one-to-one basis. With expansion box, you can even consolidate 32x32 channels totally to be transceived in a single Ethernet cable.
Redundant For fault tolerant deployment, you can configured the two network ports in NBB-1616 to work in redundant mode. The two separated network links can then backup each other if any one of the links fails for whatever reason. System Scaling Up Since NBB-1616 can stream audio data throughout Ethernet switch, you can deploy your NBB-1616s through switch with minimum of data collision.
System Scaling Up with Redundancy By configuring all the NBB-1616s to work in Redundant mode, you can simultaneously stream your audio to two virtually independent networks to significantly improve fault tolerance. Extending Coverage with Fiber Optic To break the 100m limitation of Cat5.e Ethernet cable, the switches with fiber optic support can be adopted to extend the coverage to more than several hundreds of meters or even several kilometers.
Specifications: Model Channel Capacity Level Meter Meters Scaling Output Input Input Phase Control Input Gain Control +48V Phantom Power Encoding Sample Rate Ethernet Networking Mode Transmission Distance Audio Flows Audio Latency Frequency Response S/N Ratio (Input) S/N Ratio (Output) THD + Noise (Input) THD + Noise (Output) Crosstalk (Input) Crosstalk (Output) Operating Voltage Power Consumption NBB-1616 16 x 16 Inputs and Outputs PPM Meter with Clip Hold 0dBFS @24dBu 24dBu max., Balanced XLR 42dBu max.
Cautions and Important Safety Instructions minimum distances around the apparatus for sufficient ventilation; the ventilation should not be impeded by covering the ventilation openings with items, such as newspapers, table-cloths, curtains, etc.; no naked flame sources, such as lighted candles, should be placed on the apparatus; attention should be drawn to the environmental aspects of battery disposal; the use of apparatus in the tropical and/or moderate climates.
