Focusrite ISA 428 Pre Pack User Manual Download Page 1

ENGLISH

1

Introduction

Thank you for purchasing the ISA 428 Pre Pack brought to
you by the Focusrite team – Martin, Crispin, Helen, Tim,
Tom, Mick, Dave, Simon, Paul, Phil, Micky, Pauline, Jo, Chris,
Giles, Chris, Rob and Simon.

The chaps at Focusrite are a jolly hard working bunch and
take a great deal of pride in designing, building and delivering
the best audio units around. We hope your new Focusrite
unit lives up to that reputation, and that you enjoy many
years of productive recording. If you would like to tell us
about your recording experiences then please email us at:
[email protected]

The Focusrite Team

Contents

Introduction ..............................................................................................1

Contents.....................................................................................................1

Important Safety Instructions.............................................................1

Power Connections ...............................................................................1

Signal Connections .................................................................................2

Getting to know the ISA 428.............................................................3

Metering .....................................................................................................3

Input Stage .................................................................................................4

Analogue to Digital converter (ADC) Soft Limiter...................5

8 Channel Digital Output Option ....................................................5

Digital Output Front Panel Controls..............................................6

Applications...............................................................................................7

Other Compatible Focusrite Products .......................................10

FAQs.........................................................................................................11

Specifications .........................................................................................13

Warranty.................................................................................................14

Accuracy..................................................................................................14

Copyright ................................................................................................14

Important Safety Instructions

Please read all of these instructions and save them for
future reference. Follow all warnings and instructions
marked on the unit.

 

Do not obstruct air vents in the rear panel. Do not
insert objects through any apertures.

 

Do not use a damaged or frayed power cord.

 

Unplug the unit before cleaning. Clean with a damp
cloth only. Do not spill liquid on the unit.

 

Unplug the unit and refer servicing to qualified service
personnel under the following conditions:
If the power cord or plug is damaged; if liquid has
entered the unit; if the unit has been dropped or the
case damaged; if the unit does not operate normally or
exhibits a distinct change in performance. Adjust only
those controls that are covered by the operating
instructions.

 

Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarised or
grounding-type plug. A polarised plug has two blades
with one wider than the other. A grounding type plug
has two blades and a third grounding prong. The wider
blade or the third prong are provided for your safety.
When the plug provided does not fit into your outlet,
consult an electrician for replacement of the obsolete
outlet.

WARNING:

THIS UNIT MUST BE EARTHED BY THE POWER

CORD.

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD THE

MAINS EARTH BE DISCONNECTED FROM THE

MAINS LEAD

This unit is capable of operating over a range of mains
voltages as marked on the rear panel. Ensure correct mains
voltage setting and correct fuse before connecting mains
supply. Do not change mains voltage settings while mains
supply is connected. To avoid the risk of fire, replace the
mains fuse only with the correct value fuse, as marked on
the rear panel. The internal power supply unit contains no
user serviceable parts. Refer all servicing to a qualified
service engineer, through the appropriate Focusrite dealer.

Power Connections

There is an IEC mains lead supplied with the unit, which
should have the correct moulded plug for your country.
The wiring colour code used is:

For units shipped to the USA, Canada, Taiwan and Japan:
Live  - Black Neutral  - White Earth  - Green

For units shipped to any other country:
Live  - Brown Neutral  - Blue Earth  - Green and Yellow

Summary of Contents for ISA 428 Pre Pack

Page 1: ... following conditions If the power cord or plug is damaged if liquid has entered the unit if the unit has been dropped or the case damaged if the unit does not operate normally or exhibits a distinct change in performance Adjust only those controls that are covered by the operating instructions Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarised or grounding type plug A polarised plug has two blades...

Page 2: ...nt Inputs These outputs also connect to the ADC internal channels 1 4 via the Soft Limiter circuit Insert Send and Return Allows an external unit such as a Red 3 Compressor or Red 2 EQ to be placed within the signal chain prior to the output and post the high pass filter ADC Inputs 5 8 The ADC inputs 5 8 act as line level inputs and are used to route external signals to the optional ADC channels 5...

Page 3: ... user of the signal level in the channel after gain has been applied by the pre amp and also shows the level of the signal being sent to any external equipment connected to the insert send output The meter is calibrated relative to the overload point of the optional ADC card 0dBfs on the meter refers to the maximum level that can be converted by the ADC and relative to the analogue overload point ...

Page 4: ...settings ranging from 20dB to 10dB indicated on the front panel by the arc of white numbers around the gain knob The 30 60 switch is inactive when the line input is selected as the gain range for Line level inputs is restricted to 20dB to 10dB in 10dB steps An additional 20dB of gain can be applied to the signal after the Mic line gain knob using the Trim knob See Trim control text below for full ...

Page 5: ...the optional ISA 428 digital output board The 4 external ADC inputs and the main channel inputs can all be fed to the ADC via the Soft Limiter ensuring eight super clean protected high quality paths to digital A single ISA 428 unit can act as an 8 channel digital input expansion unit to any DAW Channels 1 4 always route respectively to ADC output channels 1 4 Alternatively two ISA 428 units with a...

Page 6: ...gital channels of a single AES connection known as 2 wire Therefore one AES channel can only send a single channel of digital data and thus the 9 pin D type is switched from transmitting 8 channels of data to sending 4 channels of data Therefore to send all 8 channels from the ISA 428 in this mode requires two AES connectors one sending channels 1 to 4 AES SPDIF connector and the other sending cha...

Page 7: ...se ratio pre amps have traditionally been designed to have an input impedance about ten times greater than the average microphone around 1 2kΩ to 2kΩ The original ISA 110 pre amp design followed this convention and has an input impedance of 1 4kΩ at 1kHz Input impedance settings greater than 2kΩ tend to make the frequency related variations of microphone output less significant than at low impedan...

Page 8: ...ENGLISH 8 Signal Connections ...

Page 9: ...I O Calibration Mode Instructions Digital Mode Connecting the ISA 428 AES digital output 9 way connector to the HD unit 25 way AES EBU I O connector requires two cables The Focusrite ISA 428 9 way cable to 4 off XLR is required to retrieve the AES signals from the ISA 428 ADC card and this should be connected to the AES input connectors on the Digidesign 25 way to AES I O XLR cable This cable is a...

Page 10: ...th the powerful Bass Expander makes this unit a must have for any dance music engineer or musician Platinum MixMaster An analogue stereo audio processor designed primarily for project studio mastering However with so many useful features in one box anyone involved in the business of making music will quickly find it indispensable at other stages of the recording process too Platinum Penta Every dy...

Page 11: ... convert a 4 pre to digital system to an 8 pre to digital system Q Can I use 2x ISA 428s with 1x A D card If so how does the routing work A Yes Mic pre s 1 to 4 on the first unit route directly via the limiter to digital outputs 1 2 3 4 Mic pre s 5 to 8 on the second unit then route out of their respective analogue outputs and loop back in to the line inputs 5 6 7 8 on the first unit These then ro...

Page 12: ... compared to the old 16 bit 44 1kHz standards This is especially important if further digital signal processing is to be applied to the signal once converted to digital as any mathematical operations taking place on the data for example as a result of a gain change or dynamic effect process may result in quantization and rounding errors The higher the resolution of the digital data the smaller the...

Page 13: ...Response Gain range 10dB to 40dB continuously variable Input Impedance 1Meg Ohm Noise at minimum gain 0dB 90dBu measured with a 20Hz 22kHz bandpass filter Noise at maximum gain 40dB 78dBu measured with a 20Hz 22kHz bandpass filter THD at minimum gain 0dB 006 measured with 10dBu input signal and with a 20Hz 22kHz bandpass filter Frequency Response at 10dB gain 0 2dB down at 26Hz and 0dB at 32kHz Fr...

Page 14: ...se first contact the dealer from which the product was purchased If the product is to be shipped back please ensure that it is packed correctly preferably in the original packing materials We will do our best to remedy the fault as quickly as possible Please help us to serve you better by completing and returning the Warranty Registration Card or registering online at http www focusrite com Thank ...

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