8-pre Owner’s Manual v2k10 CE ©2010 ARX®
8-pre Owner’s manual v2k10 CE ©2010 ARX®
6
3
Introduction
Thank you for choosing this
ARX
8
-pre.
We hope you enjoy using this unique product
as much as we enjoyed creating it. As with all ARX equipment, it has undergone
extensive factory testing and ‘burn in’ before shipping. To ensure continued trouble free
use, please familiarise yourself with the contents of this manual before using.
About the
8
-PRE
Innovation
If you love your compact Digital (or Analog) mixing console, but wish it had more
microphone inputs, the
ARX
8
-pre
is the solution: eight channels of superb sounding
Microphone Pre-amps in a compact 1 RU chassis.
It’s the ideal console extender for those times when you need more microphone inputs.
Now you can put those unused line inputs to good use, and who knows - the
8
-pre
pre-
amps sound so good you’ll probably end up using them all the time instead of the ones
that came with your mixer!
Superb Audio Quality
The
8
-pre
’s ultra low noise figures come from extensive use of premium components
plus care and attention to board design and layout. The result is superb, transparent
audio quality and the headroom to handle anything that a mic can throw at it.
Gain
is adjustable from 20 db through to 60 dB via a trim control on the front panel, plus
we’ve included a –20dB
Pad
switch to tame the hottest condenser mic output if re-
quired. The
Clip
status LED lights up 1 dB before the onset of clipping, just to warn you
that you’re getting close.
Phantom power
is switchable in banks of four channels: 1 through 4, 5 through 8. A
Phase reverse switch is also provided on each pre-amp channel to eliminate any close
miking problems.
In short, the ARX
8
-pre
is the mic Pre-amp that you’ll wish the console manufacturer
had used.
Every day, ARX Audio interface products solve audio problems for thousands of people
around the world. We don’t make digital or analog mixers and we don’t have to cut any
corners on quality.
We’re obsessive about audio quality because we’re betting that you are, too.
The ARX
8
-pre
provides a unique solution to today’s multiple Mic Pre-amp require-
ments.
Using the
8
-PRE
Applications
The
8
-pre
has applications wherever multiple mic preamps are required: as a console
extender for time when you need more mic inputs on your compact Digital / Analog
mixer, and also for direct recording to digital multi-track recorders and sound cards
Setting Up
Setting up your
8
-pre
is very straightforward and intuitive:
Firstly, connect the unit to AC power.
Please Note:
This is a dual voltage unit. It is
essential
that you check that the voltage on the
fuseholder cover below the AC connector on the rear of the chassis is set
correctly before connecting it to AC power. See Page 2 for more details on this.
Ensure that the faders for the mixer channels you wish to use are pulled right down,
then connect the 8 balanced microphone leads you wish to use to the balanced XLR
input connectors.
Connect the jack outputs to the line inputs of your mixer (or the inputs of your hard disk
recorder, computer sound card or similar device).
If you are using
Dynamic
microphones there is no need to switch in either Phantom
power switch. If you are using a
Condenser
microphone it will need Phantom power to
make it work, so press in the Phantom switch for channels 1 - 4 or 5 - 8 on the
8
-pre
front panel. Note that if you have any dynamic microphones connected to the same
bank of channels they will be unaffected by the Phantom power.
Important:
Turn down all mixing console channel faders
before
switching in
any Phantom power.
Adjust the Gain controls on the
8
-pre
front panel to a setting that
doesn’t
make the Clip
LED light up. This is a critical operation - you want the Gain to be high enough for a
clean, noise free signal, but low enough to not overload the pre-amp.
So take your time!
Switch in the
Pad
switch if the lowest point on the Gain control still causes the Clip LED
to light up. Otherwise leave the Pad switched Out, as unneccessary use of it will
considerably worsen your signal-to-noise ratio.
Slowly bring up the levels of the individual console channels as required.
Congratulations - You’ve just installed your
ARX
8
-pre
, increased the number of mic
channels on your console by 8, and you’re ready to go!