Zones and Players
Players
Section titled “Players”A player is an audio source. Each player can load audio from one of three source types:
- Playlist — Play tracks from a playlist (sequential, shuffle, or repeat modes)
- Input device — Capture live audio from a microphone, line-in, or other input
- Loopback — Capture audio output from another device (what-you-hear recording)
Each player has its own:
- Volume control
- 10-band parametric EQ
- Compressor
- Crossfade settings (for smooth transitions between playlist tracks)
- Playback mode (sequential, shuffle, repeat one, repeat all)
A zone is an individual output channel on an audio device. When MZAP initializes a device, it automatically creates a zone for each channel. For example, a stereo device creates two zones (Left and Right), while a multi-channel ASIO interface might create 8 or more zones.
Each zone has its own:
- Volume control
- Mute toggle
- 10-band parametric EQ
- Compressor
- Real-time VU meters (RMS and Peak levels)
Routing
Section titled “Routing”Players and zones are connected through MZAP’s matrix router. This is a many-to-many relationship:
- One player can route to multiple zones (e.g., send lobby music to all lobby speakers)
- Multiple players can route to the same zone (e.g., mix background music and announcements into one speaker)
Audio is mixed in real-time with zero interruption when routing changes are made.