Wheatstone AirAura X1

• iAGC Intelligent Audio Management measures amplitude and density for perfect leveling

• Insert point with digital I/O for inserting a ratings encoder

• 5 Band Spectral Controller perfects tonal consistency

• 10 Band Mastering Limiter auto adjusts attack and release times based on program content

• Separate bass enhancement, EQ and Peak Control for FM and HD processing paths

• Integrated diversity delay of 0-10 seconds, adjustable in 100 μS steps

• Codec conditioning to maximize audio quality from various sources
  

• FM peak control via oversampled distortion masked clipper

• Precision FM stereo MPX generator with multiplex mask filters and dual composite outputs

• Composite audio processor increases competitiveness without MPX degradation

• Digitized SCA inputs for reliable subcarrier generation and recovery

• HD Radio Automatic Time Alignment (with compatible monitoring system)

• BS412 Loudness Management

• Analog, digital and WheatNet-IP audio I/O with automatic ‘failback to primary’

• Exclusive stereo multipath controller technology for enhanced stereo reception

• Remote processor control via wired Ethernet and Windows based GUI

• Front Panel touchscreen control with Guru GUI for easy setup and processing adjustments

• Wheatstone® baseband192 built in for digital link to transmitter

• WheatNet-IP compatible
  

The AirAuraX1 Toolbox

The processing power inside AirAuraX1 puts enormous control in your hands

AirAuraX1: 5-Band Spectral Controller

Competitive audio in any market requires the use of multiband. Since the dawn of the multiband AGC/Compressor, the goal has been to improve tonal consistency and increase loudness by making algorithms smarter and, in turn, making the effects of multiband control less audible. We have something very new and very exciting in X1 that takes that control to a new level.

Most processors have AGC or Compression or maybe both. At any given time, these algorithms are working based on user settings, regardless of the type of audio being fed to them. We sat and thought about that for a bit. We also have AGC and Compression in our 5 band processing and it’s really a good performer. But how can it be better?

The iAGC in the FM55 and AirAura X3 is a very smart algorithm and we collect a lot of data from it. We can slow down and speed up the processing based on dynamic range and amplitude. But what if we could also use that data in our 5 band AGC/Compressor to make IT even smarter?

Introducing our 5 Band Spectral Controller. Calling it an AGC or Compressor is not really valid anymore because it’s both… or one or the other… or sometimes neither. In our effort to minimize processing artifacts wherever and whenever possible, the development of the 5 band Spectral Controller allows us to use the iAGC technology built into X1 to map not just amplitude and dynamic range, but also to chart spectral history. This data can be used to dynamically adjust our 5 band spectral controller to yield unprecedented tonal balance cut to cut WITHOUT the audio sounding over-equalized, artificial or “boxed in” to a signature.

Of course, if consistency to the SOURCE is what you are after, that can easily be attained as well. What’s the purpose of having your cake if you can’t eat it?

AirAuraX1: 10-band Mastering Limiter

New challenges bring new ideas. It’s behind everything we do at Wheatstone, and processing is no exception. You’ve read about how we customize audio for consistent level and tonal balance, now it’s time to really get serious. Peak management that doesn’t distract from the sound you’re after.

Introducing another first in a Wheatstone audio processor – the 10 Band Mastering Limiter. There’s one for FM and one for HD.

It starts with something that sounds pretty simple: a 10 band limiter. What’s so special about that? When the limiter works in conjunction with the data pulled from the iAGC and 5 band spectral controller, things start to sound more interesting. When we tell you that the 10 band limiter makes on-the-fly decisions from the real world data we have collected to maximize clarity, things become exciting. And when we tell you the audio from each band of the 5 band Spectral Controller is managed by not ONE but TWO limiter bands to allow for more precision, the choice is obvious. 

AirAuraX1: Intelligent Audio Management

The AGC (Automatic Gain Control) in a modern broadcast facility works harder than ever before. More and more often, studios are unmanned and the levels on your console become set it and forget it. If your sources aren’t carefully controlled it’s up to the AGC to make those corrections. But even then a competent AGC is not enough. Differences in amplitude AND dynamic range must be considered for an AGC to properly operate in “the zone”. That’s where iAGC comes in. Not just a leveler, the iAGC is an amplitude AND dynamics manager that helps ensure the right amount of processing is added to your source material.

Is it too dense? The iAGC relaxes the processing so that dense material doesn’t sound “double processed”. Does your audio need more punch? If there is a lot of dynamic range in your audio, you can choose to leave it alone, or let the iAGC make real time adjustments to “program match” your audio to yield a consistent audio signature.

The choice is ultimately yours, but the possibilities are endless!

AirAuraX1: BS412 Multiplex Loudness Manager

Our new Multiplex Power Wizard utilizes a program-dependent prediction, detection, and measurement algorithm that continuously adapts the controller’s behavior to the incoming program content. The algorithm allows for the extremely tight multiplex power control desired by many European broadcasters, but without contributing noticeable or undesirable control-related audio artifacts.

AirAuraX1: Matching the Medium

The HD and FM side of your audio processor require much different approaches for peak control and bass management. What sounds good on FM may be too much for the HD component. You want to emulate your FM signature on HD, but also make it stand out on its own. When the receiver blends to HD, the sound should have more detail and should be engaging to listen to but not SO different that it becomes distracting.

With X1, you have the tools to create on your audio canvas on both the FM side and the HD. There’s no real worry that adjustments made to the 5 Band Spectral Controller will improve one path and degrade the other. With our separate 10 Band Mastering Limiters, the right amount of virtually everything is applied, matching your signature sound to the medium.

AirAuraX1: Perfectly Aligned

With our partners at Belar and DaySequerra, you can now guarantee that your HD and FM audio is perfectly time aligned. With either the Belar FMHD-1 modulation monitor or the DaySequerra Series 2 M4 Time Loc, you can continuously measure your FM/HD time alignment and transmit closed-loop diversity delay corrections back to the Wheatstone on-air processor via our ACI interface.

AirAuraX1: Insert Point

Essential to the livelihood of most major market stations is the ratings watermark. We will admit that there is a lot of information available out there on how to deploy and use these watermark encoders. We’re just here to say we give you an extra option; the option to insert your watermark encoder towards the back of the processor, where it just may be a bit easier to detect by the meter. It also doesn’t hurt to place the watermark encoder AFTER processing stages that have maximized your source material so that it’s as consistent as can be, yielding even more opportunities for the watermark encoder to embed its signals.

Wheatstone® Baseband192

Wheatstone’s baseband192 is an open standard technology that eliminates the use of an analog composite interface between processing and transmission, which has been the last holdout to the 100% digital air chain. A single AES/EBU cable between a Wheatstone processor and a current solid-state FM transmitter carries the baseband signal, bypassing the need 
for multiplexing in the exciter and eliminating the resulting signal overshoot with associated loudness tradeoff. The baseband192 interface is now available as a standard feature in Wheatstone AirAura X3, AirAura X1, FM-55(e), FM-55, FM-25 and Aura8-IP audio processors.

See more at:  Wheatstone Audio Processing Technology Overview 

AirAuraX1 Bass Tools

AirAuraX1 has a new and better Bass Tools system with new tuning features that enhance deep bass without affecting the cleanliness of mid and high frequency program. Bass detail and the clarity of higher frequency audio are enhanced by this more powerful algorithm. If you thought second-generation AirAura bass was something, you will be amazed at the deep and natural sounding bass coming from the AirAuraX1.

 

Yep. Bass So Big It Will Blow Your Doors Off...

AirAuraX1 Exclusive Multipath Control

Exclusive to the Wheatstone line of audio processors is the Multipath Limiter. This single user control can help mitigate the audible effects of multipath as well as reduce receiver-induced stereo blend by limiting the amount of L-R as a percentage of L+R for a more consistent and predictable sound.

Results can include an increase the range of your reception coverage. 

For more info, click here

The Bigger Picture

AirAuraX1's Built-In Touchscreen LCD & PC GUI Gives You Incredible Control

 

AirAuraX1 gives you brand new ways to interact with your processor. Far more than pretty lights, this detailed graphic display is a touchscreen that provides a level of sound editing sophistication never before seen in our industry. It's also pretty durned cool....

WheatNet-IP Extends Wheatstone Processors’ Power

With WheatNet-IP BLADE-3s, you get a virtual rack room in a 1-rack space box. They handle all the I/O (AES/EBU, SPDIF, AOIP, MADI, SDI and AES 67) and provide full routing capabilities. Each BLADE-3 gives you two 8x2 utility mixers, 12 universal GPI/O ports, 128 software logic ports, silence detection, built-in audio clip player, stereo multi-band audio processing, and much more, assignable anywhere on the network. With it you can create workflows that would require a ton of third-party gear.

In a modern broadcast facility, your gear needs to talk with other devices to get the job done. Along with its brothers the FM55 and AirAura X3, the X1 does this with aplomb. Whether it’s streaming AES 67 compatible WheatNet-IP, talking with an HD time alignment product or sending composite audio down an AES pipe, the X1 blends the biggest features into one affordable box. Add in the processing smarts and you’ve got a processing SYSTEM that meets today’s demands and the promise of tomorrow.