AEA TRP2
OWNER’S MANUAL
THE ORIGINAL 2-CHANNEL RIBBON PREAMP
WELCOME
Congratulations on your purchase of the TRP2 preamp and welcome
to the AEA family. AEA takes sonic integrity seriously and have created
preamps that have been specially designed to meet the particular
challenges of ribbon mics and to bring out their full potential. Building
on the obstacles identied when designing preamps in the 50’s,
we now use tools like quiet JFETs and transformer-less designs to
construct clean, high gain, high impedance preamps. A passive ribbon
mic is only as good as the preamp you match it with. Whether you are
using an AEA ribbon or any other passive ribbon mic, we understand
how much you can enhance the sound of your ribbons with the right
preamp. The TRP2 is the perfect companion for any and all ribbons,
condensers, and moving-coil microphones – whenever a true and
pristine signal path is desired.
Your TRP2 is 100% handcrafted in Pasadena, CA. AEA is a family owned
company with a small crew of skilled technicians – most of them being
musicians themselves. Proudly independent, we still manufacture all
our ribbon microphones and preamps by hand from locally sourced
parts.
We hope that the TRP2 will help you capture many magical
performances that touch the heart. Please read this manual thoroughly
to make sure that you get the best sound and longevity from your
new preamp. We invite you to become part of the AEA community by
sharing your experiences with the TRP2 via e-mail, phone or our social
media.
Wes Dooley
President of AEA
CONTENTS
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WELCOME
INTRODUCTION
WARRANTY
SUPPORT
GENERAL GUIDELINES
FRONT PANEL GUIDE
CONNECTIONS GUIDE
SETTING THE GAIN
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OTHER FEATURES
SPECIFICATIONS
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INTRODUCTION
The TRP2 is a half-rack, two-channel, high gain and high impedance
microphone preamp. Specifically designed for ribbon microphones,
the TRP2 (The Ribbon Preamp) excels at drawing out the warmth
and lush sound ribbons are uniquely known for. With 85dB of sweet
JFET gain, the TRP2 delivers the quietness, and headroom needed
for today’s high-resolution recordings. The TRP2 is a cost-effective,
high-quality solution providing a pure and transparent signal path
for all ribbons, condensers, and moving coil microphones that do
not need or do not want phantom power. The TRP2’s exceptionally
high input impedance of 63,000 Ohms means it will not load down
a mic and change its sound. The JFET discrete front end provides
all the dynamics, subwoofer bass, and fast transients that your
microphones can deliver.
WARRANTY
Your TRP2 comes with a one-year limited warranty on parts
and labor, shipping not included. Registering your preamp
with AEA will extend the warranty to a full three years.
Please register your TRP2 preamp at AEAribbonmics.com
SUPPORT
If you should encounter any problems with your preamp or have
questions regarding using the TRP2 in specific application, please
contact our customer support team at support@ribbonmics.com.
To talk to a live human being, call +1 (800) 798-9127, between 9:00
A.M.- 5:00 P.M. PT Monday through Friday.
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GENERAL GUIDELINES
To maintain the best performance from your new AEA TRP2, take
note of these two requirements:
1) Never place preamp on or close proximity to electro-magnetic
fields or hot surfaces. Electromagnetic fields created by power
transformers, motors, or RF transmitters can potentially damage
or interfere with the preamp functionality. Make sure to keep your
preamp away from these sources in addition to hot surfaces.
2) Before turning on the power, all connections to the preamp
should be made and the gain controls set at their minimum
settings. Be sure to examine your signal chain before powering up
the preamp to ensure sudden loud noises are not emitted which
could damage your system or hearing.
FRONT PANEL GUIDE
1- Input Gain rotary switch
12 position Grayhill switch ranging from +7 to +63 dB.
2 - Phantom Power (P48) switch
OUT is off; IN applies full-spec P48 phantom power to the input.
The red LED below the switch will indicate when P48 phantom
power is engaged.
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3 - Polarity Invert switch
OUT is normal; IN is inverted.
4 - Output Level control
This continuously variable control provides up to +19dB
additional output gain.
5 - Low-Cut Filter In switch
OUT is bypass; IN inserts 100 Hz, 12 dB per octave high pass
filter.
6 - Audio Signal Level indicators
The green LED snaps on at -20 dBu to indicate the presence of
signal; the yellow LED snaps on at 0 dBu; the red LED snaps on
at +24 dBu to warn of approaching signal overload.
7 - Power switch
OUT is off; IN powers on unit. Green LED above switch will
indicate if unit is on.
CONNECTIONS GUIDE
The TRP2’s rear panel supplies one Neutrik 3-pin XLR input per
channel. Microphone input connections are made via female XLR
connectors with Pin-2 + or high, Pin-3 – or low, and Pin-1 ground.
Mic Input mode can be activated with the Mic/Line switch (ref. #8)
in the OUT position.
The XLR Input routes through the preamp gain stage, high-pass
filter EQ, and Output Level control to the XLR output.
The output of the TRP2 emulates a transformer-coupled output and
can be used as either a balanced or unbalanced signal (depending
on how your cable/system is configured).
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When balanced, the maximum output level is +28 dBu; when
unbalanced, the maximum level is +22 dBu. (These are as measured
into a 600 Ohm load; the recommended load is > 10K Ohms; 0 dBu
= 0.7746 V rms.)
When unbalancing the XLR Output, pin-3 must be tied to ground at
the receiving end (i.e. the input of the following device). Do not tie
pin-3 to ground directly at the output of the TRP2.
To prevent damaging the equipment in your system, it is a good
idea to test your microphone cables regularly to determine whether
they have any open, shorted, reversed, or intermittent connections.
SETTING THE GAIN
Despite the small half-rack footprint, the TRP2 packs several key
features that are critical for professional recording. Designed
by Fred Forssell to handle extreme dynamics, the TRP2 recovers
instantaneously from unexpected “solid red” overloads. The gain
structure of the 2-channel (dual mono) preamp consists of an input
gain control and an output level control.
The TRP2’s JFET circuit design generates up to 85dB of clean
and quiet gain, with extended bandwidth from below 1 Hz to
beyond 200 kHz, for dynamic range and transient response that
complements all microphones.
As with any piece of audio equipment, setting and maintaining
proper signal levels are critical to obtaining optimum performance:
if the level is too low, you sacrifice noise performance; if too
high, you risk overload distortion. The AEA TRP2 provides an easy
method for setting and monitoring the system gain.
The Mic Gain control (ref. #1) provides from about +7dB to +63dB
of gain for the preamp input stage. The Output Level control (ref.
#11) adds another +22dB of output gain for a total of +85dB of
gain.
Start with the Output Level control (ref. #4) pointing at the 0dB
indicator and the Mic Gain control fully counterclockwise. Then,
with the microphone in position increase the Mic Gain control until
you are happy with the input level in your DAW, console, or tape
machine. On the TRP2, if the red LED is illuminated too often or
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too long, reduce the Mic Gain control one step at a time until it
illuminates only briefly at the loudest peaks. The red LED is only
triggered when the input level is 4dB or less away from clipping
the preamps output. If the red LED occasionally flashes while
recording, it does not necessarily mean that the preamp is clipping.
The Output Level control can apply up to +22dB of gain in the full
clockwise position, or it can attenuate the signal as much as -55dB
just like a fader on a console. Though the optimum position of the
Output Level control is unity at 0dB, the Output Level control may
be used to fine tune the overall output level.
Also remember, the energy and excitement generated during
a performance guarantees that it will always be louder than the
rehearsal, so after determining the gain during the sound-check it
is a good idea to set the Mic Gain control one or two clicks lower
for the performance to allow yet a little more margin for headroom.
We actively encourage users to visit AEAribbonmics.com to
access our comprehensive collection of in-depth articles and
tutorials featuring AEA preamps, along with a library of audio
and video demonstrations of the preamps in action.
OTHER FEATURES
Internal audio switching for polarity reversal and Low-Frequency
filters are handled by gold-contact Aeromat relays. These high-end
components help keep the audio patch short and simple for best
sound.
Low-Cut Frequency Filter
The TRP2’s Low-Frequency filter (ref. 5) features a 12dB per
octave slope from 100Hz. This Low-Frequency filter is intended to
moderate the bass boost “proximity effect” inherent with a ribbon
microphone when used up close.
Directional microphones when moved closer on-axis to a
sound source become more sensitive to low frequencies. This
proximity effect, otherwise known as “bass tip-up,” becomes more
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pronounced the closer the distance. With some large transducer
microphones such as the AEA R44C proximity effect begins at
six feet and is extremely pronounced at a distance of one inch.
However, sometimes such strong low frequency content can mask
high frequency intelligibility. The TRP2’s high-pass filter helps
diminish this low frequency energy.
Polarity
All inputs and outputs maintain proper polarity with each other
and international standards. The 3 pin balanced mic input and line
output connectors are wired Pin-2 + or high, and Pin-3 – or low.
As noted before, to prevent damaging the equipment in your
system, it is a good idea to test your microphone cables regularly
to determine whether they have any reversed connections.
Power Supply
An external switching power supply with a grounded AC plug is
used with the TRP2 so hum fields can be kept away from the highgain electronics. The power supply allows the TRP2 to be used in
any country without any modifications made to the unit.
The power supply is a universal switching supply, it provided 3
regulated outputs +/-18.5VDC and 52VDC, these voltages are then
regulated internally again to provide clean power for the unit.
The power supply transformer is not designed to be used in a wet
environment.
No-Blow Mode
Each channel of the TRP2 is equipped with individual internal
phantom power kill switches. Armed in the off position, the internal
toggle switch prevents accidental phantom power activation from
the P48 buttons on the TRP2 front panel.
Before accessing the internal switches, power down the TRP2 and
unplug it from any power sources. To access the internal power
switches, simply remove the screws from the top panel of the TRP2
using a screwdriver. Slide the switch to the OFF position to engage
No-Blow mode. ON and OFF positions are labeled on the unit.
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TRP2 Single Line Drawing
SPECIFICATIONS
Gain at 1kHz:
Noise gure, rms A-weighted:
Noise gure, rms unweighted:
EIN:
Frequency Response:
THD:
Input Impedance:
Input Impedance (P48 En-
gaged):
Mic Gain Control:
Output Level Potentiometer:
Low-Cut Filter:
XLR output maximum level
into 600Ω load:
XLR connectors polarity:
LED signal level indicators:
85dB of gain at 1kHz, balanced-in to
balanced-out in Microphone Input mode
<2dB
<3dB, 20 kHz LPF bandwidth
<-130 dBu A-weighted, 150 Ohm resistive
source
-3dB <1Hz and >100 kHz
<0.02% at 1 kHz
63K Ohms
10K Ohms
Twelve-position switch provides from +7dB
to +63dB of gain for the preamplifier
circuit, as measured between the input
and the before the output line driver.
25dB
12dB per octave from 100 Hz
+28 dBu, balanced; 0 dBu = 0.7746 V rms
Pin-1 is ground, pin-2 is high, pin-3 is low
The green LED snaps on at -20 dBu to
indicate the presence of signal; the
yellow LED snaps on at 0 dBu; the red
LED snaps on at +24 dBu to warn of
approaching signal overload.
Dimensions:
Weight:
Power Supply Weight:
Power Supply Length:
Half-rack wide, rack unit high (measured
with knobs):
8.5” w, 8" d, 1.8” h (21.59 cm x 20.32 cm x
4.6 cm)
2.2lbs (1 kg)
13 oz (0.37 kg)
7 feet 8.5 inches (2.3 m)
Power supply length may be
supplemented with longer IEC cable.
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AEARIBBONMICS.COM | @RIBBONMICS | INFO@RIBBONMICS.COM | (800) 798-9127
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