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Table of contents for the manual
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Page 1
® A Harman International Company MODEL 160A COMPRESSOR LIMITER[...]
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W ARNING FOR YOUR PROTECTION, PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING: WATER AND MOISTURE: Appliance should not be used near water (e.g. near a bath- tub, washbowl, kitchen sink, laundry tub, in a wet basement, or near a swimming pool, etc). Care should be taken so that objects do not fall and liquids are not spilled into the enclosure through openings. POWER SO[...]
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M ANUAL C ONTENTS Q UICK S ET -U P . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 I NSPECTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 I NTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 A PPLICA TION[...]
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QUICK SETUP To get your unit up and running as quickly as possible, do the following steps. For more detailed information, refer to the specified pages. ¥ Unpack and Inspect the 160A Package. ¥ Set Levels and Controls as Needed. ¥ Connect the 160A to Your System. INSPECTION Verify that the 160A package contains the following: ¥ 160A Unit ¥ AC [...]
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APPLICA TIONS The dbx 160A is capable of handling a wide range of applications. In the studio, the 160A can be used on everything from vocals to percussion. In live sound reinforcement, the 160A can allow the engineer to get that Òfat studio soundÓ out of the drum kit or provide protection limiting for the speakers. It is also an excellent line d[...]
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OUTPUT GAIN Control: Adjust this control to vary the amount of fixed gain (up to +20dB) in the 160A's output amplifier stage. The OUTPUT GAIN control does not interact with the threshold of compression. DISPLAY Button and LED: Depress this button to make the upper LED array display the INPUT LEVEL to the 160A. With the button out, the OUTPUT L[...]
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+24dBu. This jack accepts 1/4Ó phone plugs. In normal operation the TRS phone jack is internally wired with the TIP HOT (+), and the RING and SLEEVE connected to ground. In Bypass mode, however, the RING is connected to the COLD (-) leads of the input jacks, to allow for balanced connections. GROUND (GND) Lift Switch: This switch allows for troubl[...]
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160A by 1dB. See Figure 3 above. The control curve of the RATIO potentiometer has been designed to provide total oper- ator control, with scale expansion at the subtle lower ratios for easy, repeatable settings. METER CALIBRATION Control: The INPUT/OUTPUT LEVEL display in the 160A is factory-calibrated to indicate Ò0Ó when the signal is +4dBu (1.[...]
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Negative ratios can also be used to prevent musicians from continually increasing the volume of their instrument (e.g., in live applications where there is no sound engineer to control the house levels). With their signal compressed by a neg- ative COMPRESSION RATIO, each volume increase initiated at the instrument or amp would actually decrease th[...]
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As a general rule, compressors should be as close to the amplifiers as possible in the signal chain. If the 160A is placed before the EQ (equalizer), for example, a potentially damaging boost in the EQ won't be seen by the 160A and the speakers may be damaged. (see Multi-way speaker systems, page 9.) For maximum sound pressure levels, large so[...]
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The converse of the above EQ technique may be used: dipping the equalizer bands causes any sound with dominant energy in the affected register to pull the level up because the 160A will detect a need for less compression. De-Essing To apply de-essing to vocals (i.e., a reduction of sibilance), use a parametric equalizer in the level detector circui[...]
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CONNECTING THE 160A T O YOUR SYSTEM Basic Connection The 160A has balanced inputs and outputs, and can be used with any line-level device. Some common examples include: mixing consoles, musical instruments, patch bays and other signal processors. For more specific cabling information, refer to Installation Considerations, page 12. For all connectio[...]
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Using External Level Detector Inputs To control the compressor by signals other than the audio input (via an auxiliary device), connect the auxiliary device's output to the 160A's DETECTOR INPUT jack, and feed the auxiliary device's input with the same signal fed to the 160A's INPUT (Figures 4 and 5). This requires a Y-adaptor, [...]
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Note: DO NOT CONNECT the output of a power amp or the speaker out of an instrument to the input of the 160A. Severe damage to system components may result. Patch Bay In the studio, the 160A may be connected to a patch bay to allow it to be used anywhere in the studio system. If your stu- dio is not fully balanced, you must ground the unused XLR pin[...]
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Grounding For maximum hum rejection with a balanced source, avoid common grounding at the 160A's input and output. Most bal- anced (3-conductor) cables have the shield connected at both ends. This can result in ground loops which cause hum. If hum is a problem, try changing the position of the rear panel GROUND LIFT switch. This switch disconn[...]
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SPECIFICA TIONS Input (1/4Ó TRS Phone and XLR) Floating Balanced; XLR: Pin 2 Hot, Phone: Tip Hot Impedance 100k½ balanced, 50k½ unbalanced Maximum Level +24dBu, Balanced or Unbalanced CMRR >45dB (any frequency) Detector Input (1/4Ó TRS Phone) Floating Balanced Impedance 400k½ balanced, 200k½ unbalanced Maximum Level +28dBu, Balanced or Unb[...]
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NOTES dbx 160A COMPRESSOR / LIMITER 15[...]
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NOTES 16 ® PROFESSIONAL PRODUCTS dbx 160A COMPRESSOR / LIMITER[...]
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® 8760 South Sandy Pkwy . Sandy , Utah 84070 Phone: (801) 568-7660 Fax: (801) 568-7662 IntÕl Fax: (219) 462-4596 Questions or comments? E¥mail us at: customer@dbxpro.com or visit our World Wide W eb home page at: www .dbxpro.com 18-2040-C 7-98 A Harman International Company[...]