dbx Pro 260 manual

User Manual Complete Equalization & Loudspeaker Management System 260 ® F eaturing Custom T unings[...]

W ARNING FOR YOUR PROTECTION PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING: KEEP THESE INSTRUCTIONS HEED ALL W ARNINGS FOLLOW ALL INSTRUCTIONS DO NOT USE THIS APP ARA TUS NEAR W A TER CLEAN ONL Y WITH A DRY CLOTH. DO NOT BLOCK ANY OF THE VENTILA TION OPENINGS. INST ALL IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE MANUF ACTURER’S INSTRUCTIONS. DO NOT INST ALL NEAR ANY HEA T SOURCES SUCH A[...]

U.K. MAINS PLUG W ARNING A molded mains plug that has been cut off from the cord is unsafe. Discard the mains plug at a suitable disposal facility . NEVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMST ANCES SHOULD YOU INSERT A DAMAGED OR CUT MAINS PLUG INTO A 13 AMP POWER SOCKET . Do not use the mains plug without the fuse cover in place. Replacement fuse covers can be obtai[...]

Ta b le of Contents DriveRack ™ Intr oduction 0.1 Defining the 260 DriveRack ............................ii 0.2 Service Contact Info ........................................iii 0.3 W arranty ...........................................................iv Section 1 - Getting Started 1.1 Rear Panel Connections ...................................2 1.2[...]

INTRO CUSTOMER SER VICE INFO Defining the DriveRack W ARRANTY INFO ® INTRODUCTION DriveRack ™[...]

Intr oduction ® DriveRack™ User Man ual ii DriveRack ™ Congratulations on your purchase of the dbx ® DriveRack™ 260 Complete Equalization and Loudspeaker Management System! For over 30 years, dbx has been the industry leader in dynamics processing. With the DriveRack 260, dbx Professional Products has redefined the stan- dard by which all o[...]

® Intr oduction DriveRack ™ DriveRack™ User Man ual In addition to the amazing menu of processors available, the 260 also affords you the luxury of utilizing dbx Zone-Controller series wall-mounted control panels that will allow you to remote- ly control various parameters of the 260. The ZC-1 offers remote programmable V olume con- trol to an[...]

Intr oduction ® DriveRack™ User Man ual iv DriveRack ™ This warranty is valid only for the original purchaser and only in the United States. 1. The warranty registration card that accompanies this product must be mailed within 30 days after purchase date to validate this warranty. Proof-of-purchase is considered to be the bur- den of the consu[...]

® Getting Started Section 1 DriveRack ™[...]

Getting Star ted ® DriveRack™ User Man ual 2 Section 1 DriveRack ™ IEC P ow er Cord Receptacle The DriveRack 260 comes with a power supply that will accept voltages ranging from 100V- 120V at frequencies from 50Hz-60Hz. An IEC cord is included. EU version accepts 220V-240V at frequencies from 50Hz-60Hz. Po w er Switch The Power Switch turns th[...]

® LCD Displa y The backlit LCD display of the DriveRack 260 provides the user with all of the vital processing information of the DriveRack 260 including: signal routing, effect block editing and Wizard Setup functions. The display will also notify the user if any internal clipping is taking place within the unit by displaying “CLIP” in the di[...]

Getting Star ted ® DriveRack™ User Man ual 4 Section 1 DriveRack ™ Output Meters The DriveRack 260 provides the user with six independent six-segment Lightpipe™ output meters that range from -30 to +22 dBu. For those of you that wish to jump right in, the following information has been provided to act as a quick start guide for optimizing pe[...]

® of the signal path from the input to the output section. The features of the front panel of the DriveRack 260 are as follows from left to right. LCD Displa y - All operational information of the 260 DriveRack is displayed here. The display will also notify the user if any internal clipping is taking place within the unit. The following message w[...]

Getting Star ted ® 6 Section 1 DriveRack ™ System Setup • The arrow will indicate the selected Wizard setup. T o select any one of the three options, rotate the <D A T A> wheel. If you are per forming the System setup, press either the <NEXT PG> button or the <D A T A> wheel and the display will appear as follows: • Simply [...]

® • Rotate the <Data> wheel to select any one of the numerous custom-tuned SUB speaker options available. Once you have selected your SUB speaker option, press the <NEXT PG> button and the display will appear as fol- lows: • Y ou are now prompted to select a power amp by rotating the <D A T A> wheel to select any one of the n[...]

Getting Star ted ® 8 Section 1 DriveRack ™ • Once you have completed your amp level settings, you will press the <NEXT PG> button, where you will be asked to select a bridged or normal setting fro your low amp (if used). The display will appear as follows: • Once have made a bridged or mono selection, press the <NEXT PG> where th[...]

® to. Be certain to raise the pink noise level to the level to be used during the perfor- mance. Once the Pink level has been adjusted to the desired volume. The mic level indicator will register the signal level. Press the <NEXT PG> button and the Auto EQ sequence will begin. The display will either show the graphic EQ or the RT A. Rotating[...]

Getting Star ted ® 10 Section 1 DriveRack ™ ton and the display will read: • Y ou will now use the <D A T A> wheel to select the number of fixed filters. This will range from values 0-12. The total number of filters will stay at 12, and the number of live filters will be = To tal Num Filters – Num Fixed. Live and Fixed filter types dif[...]

® • Y ou are now prompted to raise the output gain of the mixer to the level of the per- formance. At this point, mics should be open (on) and you should slowly increase the mixer gain. Once the desired level has been set and all of the fixed filters have been assigned, the unit will automatically move you to the page that indicates the fixed fi[...]

Getting Star ted ® 12 Section 1 DriveRack ™[...]

EDITING FUNCTIONS ® Editing Functions Section 2 DriveRack ™[...]

Editing Functions ® 14 Section 2 DriveRack ™ Navigational aspects of the 260 DriveRack is simple and as follows. 1 . FX buttons - This array of 12 FX buttons is your primary mode of directly accessing any effect module. 2 . NEXTPG & PREVPG page buttons - Successive presses of the NEXTPG or PREVPG page buttons will move the user from one page[...]

® ST ORE(Delete) - The store button is used to store program edits.When pressed and held, the 260 will enter the PROGRAM DELETE module. RT A (Wizard) - This enters the RT A mode, or when held, enters the 260 DriveRack Wizard setup menu which includes: System Setup, Auto EQ setup and AFS Wizard. Fr eq- 19.7kHz to Out Slope - BS, BW , LR (6,12,18,24[...]

Editing Functions ® 16 Section 2 DriveRack ™ The Comp/Limiter button toggles through the AGC Compressor or Limiter modules used in each channel of the selected program. COMP Comp On/Off A uto On/Off Over Easy Off , 1-10 D YNAMICS Threshold -40 to-20dB Ratio 1:1 to ∞ Inf:1 Gain -20 to 20dB Attack 0.1 to 200ms Hold 30 to 200ms Release 360 to 5.0[...]

® <PREV PG NEXT PG> Successive presses of the Data wheel will select eff ect parameters within the currently selected page. Noise gate- AGC - Limiter Limiter 4-6 LCD Contrast 1-16 AEQ Plot - RT A/GEQ UTILITY PUP Prog. - Current/Stored PUP Mute - Current/Stored ZC Panel - 1-6 (Store) - Edit Panel Security Level - Module Select Security Level-[...]

Editing Functions ® 18 Section 2 DriveRack ™ The NEXT and PREV buttons scroll through the pages of selected module. Input Lev el 1 -Inf to 20dB Input Lev el 2 -Inf to 20dB Master Lev el -Inf to 20dB Pink Noise On/Off Pink Noise Lev el -10 to 10dB Output Channel 1-6 On/Off Po la r ity +/- Phase -180 to 0 FEEDBACK I/O Section Fr om program mode, p[...]

CONFIGURA TION FUNCTIONS ® SOFTW ARE Section 3 DriveRack ™[...]

Configuring the Driv eRack™ ® 20 Section 3 DriveRack ™ DriveRack™ User Man ual The Configuring section of the 260 DriveRack will be your key to successful navigation of the configuration functions of the DriveRack. The following information provides, descriptions about program functions and in depth configuration options of the 260 DriveRack[...]

® Configuring the Driv eRack™ Section 3 DriveRack ™ 21 DriveRack™ User Man ual Na vigation Modes Once you have selected a program with a configuration that accommodates your application, the DriveRack offers instant access to edit effect types within the configuration. To instantly access an effect module, simply press the corresponding butt[...]

Configuring the Driv eRack™ ® 22 Section 3 DriveRack ™ DriveRack™ User Man ual Once you are satisfied with the changes that have been made to a factory or user program, the DriveRack allows you to save these changes to the program as a custom USER program by pressing the ST ORE button. The display will appear something like this: • Rotatin[...]

® Configuring the Driv eRack™ Section 3 DriveRack ™ 23 DriveRack™ User Man ual User Configuration is an ideal feature available in the 260 DriveRack. Even with the versatility of the Factory configurations within the DriveRack, there may be an application that requires a unique “custom” program configuration. The DriveRack gives you the [...]

Configuring the Driv eRack™ ® 24 Section 3 DriveRack ™ B modules. Note that the same EQ types must be selected to link. Use the PREV PG and NEXT PG buttons to move through A and B, and then to the next module screen which will appear something like this: • Y ou are now in the Pre-Crossover Insert module. The arrow (in correspondence with the[...]

® Configuring the Driv eRack™ Section 3 DriveRack ™ 25 • Y ou are now in the Post-Crossover EQ module. The arrow indicates that EQ type is selected. Rotate the DA T A wheel to select the Parametric EQ type. Use the PREV PG and NEXT PG buttons to move through outputs 1-6, and then to the next mod- ule screen which will appear something like t[...]

Configuring the Driv eRack™ ® 26 Section 3 DriveRack ™ • Once all of the naming assignments have been made, press the UTILITY button to return to Configuration mode. If all Configuration modifications you can press the PROGRAM button to return to program mode where you will proceed to Store your new USER configuration. Once changes have been[...]

DET AILED P ARAMETERS ® P ARAMETERS Section 4 DriveRack ™[...]

Detailed P arameters ® 28 Section 4 DriveRack ™ DriveRack™ User Man ual Section 4 The 260DriveRack offers complete editing flexibility, by of fering in-depth control over every parameter within each effect module. The following section will provide you with descriptions and explanations of all parameters within the 260 DriveRack. The 260 Drive[...]

® Detailed P arameters Section 4 DriveRack ™ 29 DriveRack™ User Man ual Slope 9 3-12dB/Octa ve Sets the slope of the high shelf parametric EQ. Le v el 9 -12 to 12 dB Sets the overall gain of the high shelf parametric The 260 DriveRack offers the exclusive patent pending AFS (Advanced Feedback Suppression) feedback elimination module. Feedback [...]

Detailed P arameters ® 30 Section 4 DriveRack ™ DriveRack™ User Man ual Section 4 is replaced where a new feedback is detected and notched out. This mode is useful because feedback frequencies may change as the microphone is moved, and/or as the characteristics of the venue change. Note- Only the fixed filter settings will be stored with the n[...]

® Detailed P arameters Section 4 DriveRack ™ 31 DriveRack™ User Man ual 24-36Hz and 36-56Hz (Subharmonic Synthesis) Le v el - 0 to 100% These controls individually let you customize the amount of the respective synthesized fre- quencies to be added in, tuning the ultimate bass response of your system to taste. For example, if the sound is too [...]

Detailed P arameters ® 32 Section 4 DriveRack ™ DriveRack™ User Man ual Section 4 The AGC is used to keep the average level of a signal at a constant level. This is done by selecting a desired T arget output level and Window. The AGC keeps the signal within the Wi ndow about the selected Tar get by slowly adjusting the gain. The maximum gain t[...]

® Detailed P arameters Section 4 DriveRack ™ 33 DriveRack™ User Man ual The notch filter is the perfect tool for dropping out undesirable frequencies that may appear in the input signal. Up to six Notch filters are available for all six outputs. Notch On/Off Tur ns the notch filters on and off. Fr equency (1 to 6) 20 to 20K Selects the desired[...]

Detailed P arameters ® 34 Section 4 DriveRack ™ DriveRack™ User Man ual Section 4 Flatten/Restore This parameter either flattens the PEQ or restores the PEQ to its original shape. T ype This parameter selects the PEQ type. Types include: 1. Bell-All parametrics are bell-shaped 2. HShelf - One shelf is High, while all others are bell 3. LShelf [...]

® Detailed P arameters Section 4 DriveRack ™ 35 DriveRack™ User Man ual Threshold (T) -40 to +20dBu Threshold is the signal level at which the unit starts to compress the signal. If the level is set to -10 dBu, than any signal larger than -10 dBu is compressed while any signal that has a level that is lower than -10dBu is left at the same sign[...]

Detailed P arameters ® 36 Section 4 DriveRack ™ DriveRack™ User Man ual Section 4 OverEasy (O) Off to 10 There are ten levels of OverEasy® that can be used for the limiters. The point when the com- pressor starts to compress is the "knee." When the compressor starts to reduce the level of a signal abruptly as it passes over the thre[...]

® reduction needed to keep the output signal below the ceiling set by the Instantaneous T ransient Clamp™. Note that since the PeakStop+™ limiter is a fail-safe limiter , it must come after the OUTPUT GAIN control. Overshoot 1-6 This parameter sets the amount of overshoot for the Instantaneous T ransient Clamp™. The 260 DriveRack offers alig[...]

Detailed P arameters ® 38 Section 4 DriveRack ™ Noise Le v el -10 to 10 (Mix er and Router) Adjusts the overall level of the pink noise generator . The output section 480, 481 and 482 DriveRack™ units provide the user with the ability to con- trol output levels of the unit and adjust phase compensation of loudspeakers within the signal path. T[...]

UTILITIES/ METERS SECTION ® Utilities/Meters Section 5 DriveRack ™[...]

Utilities/Meters ® 40 Section 5 DriveRack ™ ® DriveRack™ User Man ual The Utility section of the 260 DriveRack gives you the ability to perform several key operational functions to the DriveRack including: Security settings, Power-up features, Program list organi- zation, Auto EQ plotting, adjustment of Output Jumper settings and Display cont[...]

® Utilities/Meters Section 5 DriveRack ™ 41 ® DriveRack™ User Man ual Current : After cycling the power (or power failure), the unit will automatical- ly reload a configuration exactly as it was prior to powering down. This includes any adjustments made to any effect modules including: delays, EQs... etc. Y ou also have the option of changing[...]

Utilities/Meters ® 42 Section 5 DriveRack ™ ® DriveRack™ User Man ual • Pressing the DA T A wheel will give you the option of selecting the range of the boost and the cut of the potentiometer on the ZC-2 or ZC-2. Once the boost and cut range has been selected, pressing (select) and rotating the DA T A wheel will let you select any one of th[...]

® Utilities/Meters Section 5 DriveRack ™ 43 ® DriveRack™ User Man ual different levels of access, this ensures limited access to different users. This security system also allows you to create unique passwords which will limit/prevent any other users from access to the system. The following infor- mation is provided to help you set all securi[...]

Utilities/Meters ® 44 Section 5 DriveRack ™ ® • Press the DA T A wheel to select password to edit. When the level password has been selected, press the store button to select a name. The display will appear as follows: • Once the password has been entered, press the ST ORE button to save. Since the security system has three levels (high, me[...]

® Utilities/Meters Section 5 DriveRack ™ 45 ® DriveRack™ User Man ual • Once you have entered your security password, press the ST ORE button to store the password and the clearance level will be changed. T o abort this procedure at any time, press PROGRAM/CONFIG button. • Press the PROGRAM/CONFIG button to return to nor mal operation. ?[...]

Utilities/Meters ® 46 Section 5 DriveRack ™ ® DriveRack™ User Man ual • T o set the program number that will correspond with the index number , press the DA T A wheel. once this is selected, rotate the DA T A wheel to select the desired program number . • Once your program list has been built, press the PROGRAM/CONFIG button to exit. Prog[...]

® To meter various aspects of the 260, press and hold the UTILITY button until the display enters the Metering section. • Use the PREV PG and NEXT PG button to move to the page that appears as follows: This page meters the gain reduction of any Dynamic block configured in the Insert 1 or Insert 2 block. • Use the PREV PG and NEXT PG button to [...]

Utilities/Meters ® 48 Section 5 DriveRack ™ • Use the PREV PG and NEXT PG button to move to the page that appears as follows: This (as well as the following) page show the amount of T rim and Net Reduction within the output section. Trim 0.0 Net 0.0 dB Trim 0.0 Net 0.0 dB Trim 0.0 Net 0.0 dB 1 2 3 Output Trims[...]

Remote Control DriveW are ™ ZC-Remote Zone Controllers ® Section 6 DriveRack ™[...]

Remote Contr ol ® 50 SECTION 6 DriveRack ™ DriveRack™ User Man ual To make operation of the DriveW are™ units even more convenient, dbx professional prod- ucts includes the option of using the DriveRack PC GUI software (included) and the ZC- Remote Controllers (optional). The following section contains some basic information regarding the ut[...]

® The utility menus will appear as follows: • T o customize the mode of operation to best suit your needs, it is recommended that at this point, you set your desired preferences in the preference folder , which can be accessed in the file menu and will appear as follows: Remote Contr ol SECTION 6 DriveRack ™ 51 DriveRack™ User Man ual[...]

Remote Contr ol ® 52 SECTION 6 DriveRack ™ Note: The Baud rate must be set to 38400. GUI Recommended Cable Specifications: PC GUI Interface - DB-9 female-to-female nul modem cable. (10 feet) DriveRack™ User Man ual[...]

® Zone Contr oller Installation The installation of the Zone Controllers MUST be accomplished with the use of cable which is rated VW-1 or higher . Common NEC designations which meet this rating include: CMP , CMR, CMG, CM and CMX. The Zone Controllers offer additional utility to the DriveRack™ 260. They allow real-time adjustment of output leve[...]

Remote Contr ol ® 54 SECTION 6 DriveRack ™ DriveRack™ User Man ual[...]

® Zone Contr oller Wiring The DriveRack 260 Zone Controllers, (ZC-1, ZC-2, ZC-3, ZC-4) can be wired serially or in par- allel. T o wire in series each Zone Controller must have an identification or zone number cho- sen using the DIP switches on the side of the controller (see diagram A). Each controller must have a unique number chosen although th[...]

Remote Contr ol ® 56 SECTION 6 DriveRack ™ 480 User Manual ZC-BOB ZC-1 ZC-2 ZC-3 ZC-4 Cable Specification: Cat 5 Cable - 4-T wisted P airs of 24 A WG wire RJ-45 (8-P osition) RJ-45 (8-P osition) White/Orange Orange White/Green White/Blue Green Blue White/Bro wn Bro wn -VREF -Zone 1 -Zone 2 -Zone 4 -Zone 3 -Zone 5 -Zone 6 -GND 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2[...]

® Driv eW ar e Functions SECTION 6 DriveRack ™ 57 DriveRack™ User Man ual Diagram A Diagram B Note - The following cable lengths were achieved using Cat5 Enhanced cable exhibiting a max- imum D.C. resistance of 29 Ohms per 1,000 feet. When connecting Zone Controllers in series, the following cable length restrictions apply: As shown in Diagram[...]

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APPLICA TION GUIDE ® Section 7 DriveRack ™[...]

Application Guide ® 60 Section 7 DriveRack ™ This Application guide section is provided to offer suggested installation applications of the DriveRack™ units that will allow you to optimize peak performance of the units. Note that the six included applications represent the extensive flexibility of the DriveRack™ units. These applications can[...]

® Hardwar e 1. Connect the outputs from the mixer to the inputs of the DriveRack™. 2. Connect the outputs of the DriveRack™ and run to the selected speaker amplifier . 3. Making sure that all outputs are muted, apply power to the mixer and amplifiers. Software 1. Select a program (Factory: 2x6 Stereo) as a template. 2. Load the program by pres[...]

Application Guide ® 62 Section 7 DriveRack ™ Hardwar e 1. Connect the outputs from the mixer to the inputs of the DriveRack™. 2. Connect the outputs of the DriveRack™ and run to the selected speaker amplifier . 3. Making sure that all outputs are muted, apply power to the mixer and amplifiers. 4. Make connections between the Zone Controllers[...]

® Hardwar e 1. Connect the outputs from the mixer to the inputs of the DriveRack™. 2. Connect the outputs of the DriveRack™ and run to the selected speaker amplifier . 3. Making sure that all outputs are muted, apply power to the mixer and amplifiers. 4. Make connections between the Zone Controllers (see Section 6.2) and the 260. Software 1. S[...]

Application Guide ® 64 Section 7 DriveRack ™ DriveRack™ User Man ual[...]

® Appendix DriveRack ™[...]

® DriveRack™ User Man ual 66 Appendix A DriveRack ™ In the event that a reset is required, the DriveRack™ 260 offers you the option of perfor ming a “Soft” or “Hard” reset. The Soft Reset resets all operating parameters except user programs. The Hard Reset Procedure will reset all program- mable information back to the factory defaul[...]

® Analog Inputs: Number of Inputs: (2) Line inputs. (1) RT A Mic input Connectors: (2) Female XLR line inputs, XLR RT A Mic input T ype: Electronically balanced/RF filtered Impedance: > 40k Ω Max input line level: +20dBu CMRR: > 45dB RT A Mic Phantom V oltage: +15VDC RT A Mic EIN: < -117dBu, 22Hz-22kHz, 150 Ω Analog Outputs: Number of[...]

® DriveRack™ User Man ual 68 Appendix A DriveRack ™ By using the setup wizard, cross over output gains and post cross over parametric EQ settings are set to match your system. The Auto-EQ can be used to adjust your system to compensate for room effects, and adjust the response of the entire system to your liking. After allowing Auto EQ to “p[...]

® 2X3(2-band) BP LH BP RH + L R L R L Mono L Mono 2X4(2-band) BP LH BP RH LL RL 2X2 BP L R L R 2X6 (3-band) BP LH BP RH LM BP RM LL RL L R L R 2X5 (3-band) BP LH BP BP RH + LM RM BP 1X1(1-band) BP BP 1X2(2-band) BP H L BP 1X3(3-band) 1X4(4-band) BP H BP BP M L BP H BP BP MH ML BP L 1X5(4-band) BP H BP BP MH ML BP L BP L 1X6(4-band) BP H BP BP MH M[...]

® DriveRack™ User Man ual 70 Appendix A DriveRack ™ A.6 Pr ogram List/ Speak er T unings/ P ow er Amp T unings F actory Pro gram List 1. 2x3w/3Zones 2. LCRw/Cluster 3. 1x4w/2Zones 4. 2x5w/1Zone 5. 2x4Tri-Amped 6. 2x4w/2Zones 7. LCRw/Monitor 8. STw/2Delays 9. Multi-Zone 10. 2x3w/Bal&Dly 11. AM4315/64 12. AC2215/64 13. SR4731X 14. AM6340/95 [...]

® 260 Signal P ath WIRE RT A MIXER ROUTING A B A+B RT A A.7 Block Diagram Appendix A DriveRack ™ DriveRack™ User Man ual 71[...]

® DriveRack™ User Man ual 72 Appendix A DriveRack ™ 1-4 Input 1 Gain DSP DSP Input 1 Eurobloc k DSP Input 2 XLR 1 XLR 2 Input 2 Gain Input 1 Gain Input 2 Gain 5 6 A.8 Input and Output Diagrams[...]

® The 260 DriveRack gives you the option of changing the input gain level settings. There are 3 hardware configurable gain settings. They are: +14 dBu, +22 dBu and +30 dBu. For these cases, use the following procedure to change the gain level settings. Please be advised however , that once the gain level has been changed from the factory settings,[...]

® 74 Appendix A DriveRack ™ One thing that is critical to system setup is maximizing gain structure. Gain structure refers to aligning the gain of each device so that they all clip at the same point, and the noise floor of the entire system is at its absolute minimum. Quite often P A systems are setup with the ampli- fier input controls turned a[...]

8760 South Sandy P arkwa y • Sandy , Utah 84070 Phone: (801) 568-7660 • F ax (801) 568-7662 Int’l F ax: (801) 568-7583 Questions or comments? E-mail us at: customer@dbxpr o .com or visit our W orld Wide W eb home pag e at: www .dbxpr o .com or www .driv erack.com A Harman International Company 18-1796-A ®[...]