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Owner’s Manual

Dual Mono/Stereo Automatic Level Controller

with Analog & Digital I/O

Manual P/N 999-4260 • Revision 1 • 09/30/03

Compellor

320D

Compellor

S Y S T E M S

11068 Randall St., Sun Valley, CA 91352 U.S.A.

Summary of Contents for Compellor 320D

Page 1: ...er with Analog Digital I O Manual P N 999 4260 Revision 1 09 30 03 Copyright 2003 Aphex Systems Ltd All rights reserved Printed in U S A Written and produced by Donn Werrbach Compellor 320D Compellor...

Page 2: ...mful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment This equipment generates uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and if not installed and used in accordance with the o...

Page 3: ...onnector 4 11 Reference Level Setting 4 12 Input Connections 4 12 1 Analog 4 2 2 Digital 4 13 Output Connections 4 13 1 Analog 4 13 2 Digital 4 14 Summary 5 Specifications Page 14 5 1A Analog Inputs 5...

Page 4: ...pressor Function 8 6 DRC 8 7 DVG 8 8 Silence Gate 8 9 Stereo Enhance 8 10 Stereo Linking 8 11 Meter Selection 8 12 Limiter 8 13 Process Balance 8 14 Drive Control 8 15 Output Control 8 16 Process Swit...

Page 5: ...Page 5...

Page 6: ...to 0 NOTE This switch only affects the analog I O The digital input is internally calibrated and is guaranteed to match 20dBFS to 0VU on the Compellor s meter 4 Set the Process Balance to 12 o clock...

Page 7: ...changes were wide ranging Now imagine these things without any background swells pinched voices or holes punched by a transient hitting the limiter If you can then you realize just a few things the Co...

Page 8: ...t the Audissey record ing studio where he was intrigued by its possibilities Finally in 1983 an agreement was reached between Werrbach and Marvin Caesar the president of Aphex Systems to produce the C...

Page 9: ...h the FDL Compellors became even more transparent and useful than ever before Now in 2003 as this manual is being written the Compellor is still the most advanced and effective audio level controller...

Page 10: ...ugh the transparent fuse cover on the rear of the chassis AC Line power is supplied to the unit via an integral receptacle fuse holder on the rear panel This receptacle meets the various international...

Page 11: ...space which severely restricts air ventilation around the unit such as a totally sealed rack enclosure unless you can provide an empty rack space above and below the unit to facilitate cooling Typical...

Page 12: ...ia that define operating levels according to a maxi mum level rather than an average level we have found the 10dBV position most often pro vides the correct match 4 12 Input Connections 4 12 1 Analog...

Page 13: ...escribed for input wiring Refer to Appendix 1 for complete details about wiring and interfacing to other equipment 4 13 2 Digital The AES EBU output conforms to the 110 ohm standard using a 3 pin XLR...

Page 14: ...V ref 10 Max level out unbal 20dBu ref 4 10 8dBV ref 10 5 2B DIGITAL OUTPUTS Connector 3 pin XLR male Type transformer balanced Impedance 110 ohms 5 3 AUDIO Frequency response 1dB 10Hz to 65KHz Hum no...

Page 15: ...ram dependent Leveler fast 3 Sec Leveler slow 10 Sec Limiter 200 mSec 5 9 DIGITAL AUDIO Input SR Locks to 44 1 48 88 2 96kHz 3 I O Type AES EBU 110 ohms XLR Default Output SR User definable by replaci...

Page 16: ...evel of the digital audio source to the 0dB reference within the Compellor circuits The digital audio now looks as if its 20dBFS level is the same as the nominal operating level of an analog input Pro...

Page 17: ...Hz crystal already installed and a kit of extra crystals for the sample rates of 32 44 1 and 96kHz is packed inside each 320D If you need to change the 320D s default sample rate use the following pro...

Page 18: ...in better signal to noise performance in the recording medium 7 3 Mixing Layering elements within a mix so that each sits in its own pocket not interfering with other elements is a critical part of as...

Page 19: ...playing from a juke box and the selections all have different levels one speaker in a confer ence room trying to shout down a more soft spoken individual The Compellor controls the level variations wi...

Page 20: ...k to average ratio e g a live news broadcast it speeds its release time Segues between program and commercials are much smoother Another complaint made to cable systems is the difference of levels cha...

Page 21: ...d be nice to have a way to even out those levels so the on air segues will always be smooth and fat The Compellor can do that without adding artifacts across the whole inven tory of titles Simply tran...

Page 22: ...ain controller This means that it responds to the aver age power level of the audio signal much as the ear hears the loudness or relative volume level It constantly but slowly adjusts the VCA gain att...

Page 23: ...gue without resorting to excessive compression effects 8 7 DVG The dynamic verification gate continuously detects the Compellor s processed VCA output signal and computes the historical average of pea...

Page 24: ...ndicate the meter mode as the selector is repeatedly depressed to cycle through the selections Selection 1 displays the Compellor s incoming signal level Selection 2 shows the Compellor s output level...

Page 25: ...rotary switch for each channel selects the normal operating level for the Compellor You can chose 10dBV 4dBu and 8dBu as the reference level This switch sets the dynamic range of the Compellor s circ...

Page 26: ...duction if any The amount of gain reduc tion contributed by compression is inferred from the remainder of gain reduction indicated above the red dot If all gain reduction is due to compression then th...

Page 27: ...ted above EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES Aphex Systems liability for any defective unit is limited to the repair or replacement of said unit at our option and shall not include damages of any other kind...

Page 28: ...teach you about the principles of balanced and unbalanced lines wiring standards and how to effectively interface them Standards Professional audio equipment usually comes equipped with inputs and ou...

Page 29: ...ment grounds are connected to power outlet grounds and there can be a sig nificant difference of ac voltage between alternating wall outlet grounds For this reason unbalanced sys tems can sometimes ne...

Page 30: ...the socket That may reduce the ground current generated by the internal electronics of the offending gear Redirect Ground Loops Sometimes it just comes down to brute force ground ing That means provi...

Page 31: ...good common sense engineering practice which is what you would expect from us course Unfortunately many prod ucts are designed so that the noisy currents from the shield drain into signal ground inste...

Page 32: ...o balanced inputs is ultimately simple and the same cable will work for all flavors of output stages Connecting a balanced output to an unbalanced input requires a little more knowledge and care You s...

Page 33: ...ment together Preferred for Line Levels Shield grounded at receiving end only Positives Stops ground loops and reduces noise Negatives None OK Standard store bought cable Shield is grounded at both en...

Page 34: ...Outputs Used on the 207 Mono Phone Plug Female XLR SIMPLIFIED SCHEMATIC Don t Ground or Connect Pin 3 Ground Pin 3 Directly to Pin 1 Alternatively Carry Pin 3 Through Twisted Pair Cable and Ground at...

Page 35: ...S Phone Plug Stereo TRS Phone Plug Standard Method Standard Cable Guitar Cord Mono TS Phone Plug Stereo TRS Phone Plug Enhanced Method Pseudo Balanced Advantage Reduced Hum and Noise Pickup Mono TS Ph...

Page 36: ...rence an assumption is made of an average reference level For peak referenced systems such as the 6dBu German system the average program level will reside far below the reference level typically 10 to...

Page 37: ...eaks hardly ever exceed 8dBFS These discrepancies reveal the widespread problem of misunderstanding the technology COMPELLOR TO THE RESCUE A Compellor can make necessary corrections to the average lev...

Page 38: ...he same However since sound waves are complex their peak to average ratio varies depending on the sound characteristics and that ratio can vary from 3dB to as much as 15dB So in the real world peak an...

Page 39: ...indicate the peak levels of the audio In VU meter practice audio electronics must be designed to have sufficient peak headroom to allow safe passage of all unseen audio peaks To allow this at least 20...

Page 40: ...meters have emerged with instant peak response no peak integration like the PPM with 0dB at the very top of the scale The new scale is called dBFS dB referred to full scale This allows you to accurate...

Page 41: ...Dominator pair is the best audio packaging system there is for effectiveness and sonic trans parency Handling Codecs Digital STL s Studio Transmitter Links The Ideal Audio Package Digital audio that i...

Page 42: ...le or add an external attenuator to the coder s analog input to get the 20dBFS digital reference conver sion Reducing the Compellor s analog output gain will not solve the problem because it will also...

Page 43: ...Page 43...

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