C2
Operators Manual
Page 13
The last region of interest is region 3 where the signal returns once again to below
the threshold. The green shaded area represents the recovery time for the
compressor to stop applying gain reduction and effectively ‘recognise’ that the signal
is to pass through unaffected. This represents the Release time and again must be
carefully set so as to prevent audible artefacts.
Note the level
difference marked as
‘Overshoot’. This
phenomenon cannot be
avoided because the
compressor has no way
of knowing when the
signal will reach the
threshold, and so
cannot ‘prepare in
advance’ for this
happening.
Consequently, there will always be a brief period before it can react, even at the
minimum attack setting (fastest rate of gain reduction application).
What makes the XTA Compressor different?
Being a totally digital dynamics processor, the
C2
has several advantages over
conventional compressor designs. By inserting a short delay into the sidechain signal
path, the compressor is able to ‘look ahead’ and anticipate peaks before they occur.
This gives it the ability to prevent the overshoot that is unavoidable with analogue
compressors. In this way, the compressor behaves in a more predictable and
controllable manner, with no compromises in performance.
It is quite common practice to insert some EQ into the sidechain of a compressor to
make it ‘frequency conscious’. This would normally involve patching an external
equaliser through the external sidechain loop (or external key), tying up a valuable
resource in the process. the
C2
’s compressor has a band of fully featured
parametric equalisation built into the sidechain. Each band can be swept from 20Hz
to 20kHz and is selectable as either a parametric filter, or a shelving filter.
Additionally, the filters can be bypassed, so that, in conjunction with the ‘Key Listen’
facility, its effect on the sidechain can be quickly and accurately determined.
Modelling all the dynamics processing digitally allows the time constants set by the
user to be one hundred per cent accurate all the time, with no drift due to
atmospheric changes. The ability to link the two channels together also permits
completely accurate stereo tracking.
Summary of Contents for C2
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