Audio Zone Tuning and Level Handover Pack

A handover checklist for yacht audio zones covering DSP presets, limiter notes, source levels, room names, service modes, and exterior operational constraints.

Audio handover is often where a technically good installation becomes hard to operate. A zone may sound acceptable during commissioning but remain weak operationally because no one records the DSP file, source trim, limiter intent, zone names, exterior restrictions, networked-audio clocking, or retuning triggers.

The handover pack should let the ETO/AVIT engineer support the system without guessing, let interior crew understand normal operating levels, and let the Captain or management approve changes with context. It should also prevent the common pattern where every new vendor visit overwrites the last vendor's work without a known-good baseline.

• DSP project file, export date, software version, Core/processor name, and storage location.
• Zone names matched across control UI, drawings, rack labels, amplifier channels, DSP outputs, and stewarding language.
• Amplifier channel map, speaker map, subwoofer map, and exterior-zone grouping.
• Source-level notes for streaming, satellite TV, media server, local HDMI, DJ/event feeds, microphones, and guest inputs.
• Limiter thresholds, compressor use, maximum intended level, and reason for restrictions.
• Snapshots/presets/modes for dining, party, cinema, quiet, night, event, or linked-deck operation.
• Networked-audio details: Dante/AES67/Q-LAN names, clock source, VLAN, switch ports, and QoS assumptions.
• Known problem zones, approved workarounds, and retuning triggers.

1. Confirm naming: Walk the yacht with interior crew and match zone names to how spaces are actually requested during service.
2. Play reference material: Use agreed music, speech, TV, and event material. Note source-level differences rather than retuning around one source only.
3. Check level range: Test low, normal service, energetic service, and maximum intended levels. Confirm limiters protect equipment without making the zone sound obviously compressed or distorted.
4. Test linked modes: Run party mode, exterior linking, cinema mode, dinner mode, and event feeds under realistic conditions.
5. Check networked audio: Where Dante, AES67, or Q-LAN is used, confirm device names, clock status, subscriptions/routes, and QoS assumptions are recorded.
6. Freeze the baseline: Export final files, store screenshots, note subjective acceptance, and record who approved the tuning.

• Refit change: Soft furnishings, speaker replacement, exterior layout change, ceiling work, or room layout change.
• Source change: New Apple TV, media server, satellite receiver, DJ input, microphone system, or conference source.
• Complaint pattern: Repeated comments about thin bass, harsh treble, uneven coverage, lip sync, or speech/music balance.
• Protection issue: Amplifier clipping, speaker failure, thermal event, nuisance limiter, or exterior noise concern.
• Operational change: New charter profile, event use, changed deck layout, or owner preference change.

If one source is much louder or quieter than the others, fix the source trim and input structure. Retuning the whole zone around one source can make every other guest path worse.