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user manual
Compact XL
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Compact XL
user manual
Contents Page
1. Introduction 3
2. Important safety instructions 4
3. Controls and connections 5
3.1 Front side 5
3.2 Rear side 6
4. Starting up 7
4.1 Cabling and switching-on 7
4.2 Level adjustment 7
5. Functional Characteristics 8
5.1 Equalization 8
5.2 Eects 8
5.3 Footswitch 8
5.4 Phantom power 9
5.4.1 9V-Phantom power 9
5.4.2 48V-Phantom power 9
6. Technical Specications 10
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1. Einleitung
Welcome to B!
Thank you for choosing the Compact XL.
The Compact XL is a professional, compact and powerful amplier system. Especially developed for the
enhancement of acoustic instruments it is as well
suitable for other (also electrical) instruments.
Two separately adjustable channels oer you the
simultaneous operation of instrument and microphone, as additional option you can loop a playbacksignal into your performance.
The Compact XL is equipped with a highly ecient
power amplier and it’s 2-way speaker system guarantees distortion-free reproduction even at high
volumes.
All AER-systems are subtly dynamically controlled,
which ensures absolute reliability in full load operation despite strikingly small sizes and little weight.
Read on and have fun using your Compact XL!
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2. Important Safety Instructions
The following guidelines shall help minimize the risk of injury through re or electric shock.
CAUTION
RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK
DO NOT OPEN
ATTENTION
RISQUE DE CHOC ELECTRIQUE
NE PAS OUVRIR
The lightning ash with
the arrow head symbol
within an equilateral
triangle is intended to alert the
user to the presence of unisolated
´dangerous voltage´ within this
product´s enclosure that may
be of sucient magnitude to
constitute a risk of electric shock
to persons.
1. Carefully read these safety notes before you use
the device!
2. Keep these safety notes in a safe place.
3. Pay attention to all warnings, instructions and ad-
ditional texts on the unit.
4. This device was only designed for operation under
normal climatic conditions (temperate climate).
5. Do not install or use your amp in close proximity
to water or if you are wet yourself.
6. Do not subject your device to sudden and severe
temperature changes. This could cause moisture
condensation inside the unit, which could damage
it. In the event of moisture condensation allow the
device to dry out completely before use.
7. Use your amp in a safe place where nobody can
step on cables or trip over and damage them.
8. Pay attention to an unhindered air circulation
around the amp, never obstruct the air vents or grilles.
9. Always pull the mains plug before cleaning your
amp or when left unused for a long period of time.
Use only a dry cloth for cleaning. Avoid the use of detergents and do not let any liquids seep into the unit.
10. Use only the right fuses with the same current
rating and trigger characteristic as replacements.
Never mend fuses! Pull the mains plug before replacing a fuse. Should a fuse blow again after a short
while, the device needs to be checked.
11. Never install your amp close to devices with
strong electromagnetic elds such as large mains
transformers, revolving machines, neon illumination
etc. Do not lay signal cables parallel to power current
cables.
12. There are no user-serviceable components inside the unit. To avoid the risk of an electric shock,
the unit must not be opened. All maintenance, adjustment and repair works should be carried out by
The exclamation point
within an equilateral
triangle is intended to
alert the user to the presence
of important operating and
maintenance (servicing)
instructions in the literature
accompanying this product.
qualied sta only. Any unauthorized tampering will
void the 2-year warranty.
13. In keeping with the EMV regulations screened
cables with correctly tted connectors must be used
for all signal connections.
14. Always use an earthed power supply with the
correct mains voltage. If you are in doubt about the
power outlet ground, have it checked by a qualied
technician.
15. Cable up your amp only when it is powered o.
16. This device should be installed near the socket
outlet and disconnection of the device should
be easily accessible. The mains plug of the power
supply shall remain readily operable. Protect the power cord from being walked on or pinched particularly at plugs, convenience receptacles and the point
where they exit from the apparatus.
17. This product may cause permanent hearing loss.
Do not operate for long periods of time at a high
volume level or at any level that is uncomfortable.
If you experience any hearing loss or ringing in the
ears, you should consult an audiologist.
18. The product should be located away from heat
sources such as radiators, heat registers or other products that produce heat.
19. Do not place any open sources of re, like candles, on the device.
20. Care should be taken so that objects do not fall
onto the device and liquids are not spilled into the
enclosure through openings. Ensure that no objects
lled with liquids, such as vases, are placed on the
device.
21. Do not place this device on an unstable
cart, stand, tripod, bracket or table. The device may fall, causing serious injury to you
and serious damage to the device itself.
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3. Controls and Connections
3
2 5 10
1 4 46 67 8 8
CXL_IF_120731
3
11 12 131415
9
3.1 Front side
1) input (ch. 1) signal input, socket for 6,3 mm mono jackplug
2) high/low input sensitivity switch, attenuator = o = on
3) clip overload indicator
4) gain input level control
5) colour tone colour lter activation switch = not active = active
6) bass bass frequency level control
7) middle middle frequency level control
channels 1 + 2
8) treble treble frequency level control
9) input (ch. 2) signal input, combo-socket for 6,3 mm mono jackplug and
XLR-male-connectors
10) line/mic signal source selector switch (combo-socket):
line (only via jackplug) for instruments (pickup) and other line level sources
mic (only via XLR-connector) for microphones
11) pan eect signal distribution control
12) select eect select switch
13) level level control internal eect
efx
14) power-led on/o status indicator
15) master master level control
mains & master
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Compact XL
The Acoustic People
footswitch
Compact XL
gnd
lift
9 V
tip = int. e.
ring = ext. e.
phantom
power
level aux in
L
R
tuner line out
The Acoustic People
level DI-out send return headphones
footswitch
L
R
5 6 7 9 10 11 12
tip = int. e.
ring = ext. e.
CXL_IB_120731
gnd
9 V
level aux in
lift
1 3 8
2 4
phantom
power
3.2 Rear side
1) gnd lift: Signal ground/protective ground dis-
connecting switch to prevent hum caused by
ground-loops: o = not pressed.
2) 9 V phantom power: On/o-switch for 9 Volt
phantom power (channel 1, o = not pressed, see
para. 5.4.1 on page 9).
3) level: Aux signal level control
4) aux in L/R: Stereo input for additional signal
sources, e.g. CD-player, Cinch/RCA-sockets (white =
left channel, red = right channel).
5) footswitch: Stereo connection socket for a double-footswitch (on-/o-switch, tip = internal eect/
ring = external eect on/o).
6) tuner: The tuner output supplies a pre-master signal (mono jack socket, -10 dbV) to connect an external
tuner to the Compact XL.
7) line out: The line out supplies a pre-amp signal
taken after tone-control, eects and master for forwarding to other appliances.
8) level: DI-signal level control
9) DI-out: Preamp-output (XLR male socket) with
symmetrical signal, after tone-control, pre master,
without eects.
tuner line out
level DI-out send return headphones
10) send: Send is an output (mono jack socket) to
connect the Compact XL to an external eect device and in conjunction with return (input) forms a
loop here designed as external eect loop. The effect can be switched on or o via footswitch.
11) return: Return (mono jack socket) as part of the
eect loop operates as signal input from an external
eect device (from output of the eect device). The
eect can be switched on or o via footswitch. Re-
turn on its own can also be used as quasi auxiliary
signal input (-10 dbV).
12) headphones: This output enables you to connect stereo headphones and mutes the loudspea-
Warning: Only use
ker. !!!
headphones with stereo
jackplugs in this output socket!!
13) power on: Combined mains switch with mains
socket and fuse holder to switch the Compact XL on
or o.
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4. Starting up
4.1 Cabling and switching on
Before connecting to mains, please ensure that your
local mains voltage is suitable for the voltage of the
device (e.g. 120V in
the USA, 230V in Europe). The relevant specs
and safety symbols are
printed on the rear side
of the unit.
4.2 Level adjustment
Master-, gain- and level-control should be zeroed (over to far left), all other control should be in
center position, the switches should be o = not
pressed.
Connect all cables according to your application
and switch the amplier on. The green power control LED indicates operational readiness.
Note: Level adjustment
By setting the level correctly we mean the signal level in one or several devices in a signal chain is neither too high nor too low. This applies equally to all
circuits in a complete circuit design (EQs, preamps
etc.)
Consequently, care must be taken that no part of the
circuit is overloaded or that distortion is unintentionally added to the signal.
We have carefully designed the circuit to achieve this
objective whilst also providing controls for „manual“
intervention.
channel 1
channel 2
First ensure, that the master level control is zeroed
(over to far left), so that when you are setting the
sound level, the signal passes through the electronics only and does not reach the loudspeaker.
By pressing the high-/low- (attn.) resp. line-/mic-
switches you can adapt the amplier to your signal
sources (guitar pickups, microphone etc).
Turn the gain control clockwise until the red clip
indicator ashes momentarily when playing with a
strong attack. Thus you make sure that your signal
source (e.g. instrument) provides the input-stage of
the amplier with the necessary input.
The clip-LED indicates an overload. A short icker
is of no danger to AER devices. During operation a
short icker can be accepted, to be on the safe side
you should reduce the gain slightly to achieve an
optimal and distortion-free performance.
Finally set the desired overall volume level with the
master level control.
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5. Functional Characteristics
colour bass middle treble
colour bass middle treble
5.1 Equalization
Note: The active equalization of the Compact XL
eects the signal adjustment. If you spot an intensied ickering of the clip indicator, level the signal
level with the gain control (see para. 4.2 Level ad-
justment).
The triple-/dual-band equalizer of your Compact XL
provides you with an active and high quality sound
interaction tool that supports the natural tone of instruments and voice whilst simultaneously oering
you the possibility of a controlled accentuation.
With all controls in mid position the lters are set
to produce a very pleasing and natural sound impression that you can „colour up“ by using the co-
lour lter with the eect of lowering the mids and
lifting the trebles. The tone becomes more open
and light and is especially suited for ngerpicking
techniques.
The equalization can support or soften the eect of
the colour lter and allows a dierentiated midsaccentuation (see g. below).
A: with colour-lter (switch pressed)
reduce treble to soften possible sharpness
5.2 Eects
The Compact XL has a built-in (internal) digital eect
processor, with the select-switch you can choose
between 4 dierent eects:
1 = reverb 1 (short)
2 = reverb 2 (long)
3 = delay (320 ms)
4 = chorus
The efx-level-control determines the intensity of
the internal eects (left stop = no eect).
Furthermore an additional eects unit (external
eect) may be connected to the Compact XL. For
this purpose use the send and return sockets on
the rear side of the amplier (send goes to input,
return to the output of the external eects device).
The intensity of the eect is adjusted at the external
eects unit.
With the efx-pan control the dierent eects are
blended with the original signal. The efx-pan works
as follows:
left stop: internal eect on channel 1
external eect on channel 2
mid position: internal eects on channels 1 + 2
external eects on channels 1 + 2
right stop: internal eects on channel 2
external eects on channel 1
B: without colour-lter (switch not pressed)
boost treble to brighten the sound
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5.3 Footswitch
A standard double-footswitch (on-/o-switch)
can be plugged into the footswitch-socket on the
rear side of the amplier via stereo cable. By this
footswitch the internal and external eects can be
switched on and o.
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5.4 Phantom power
5.4.1 9V Phantom power
Channel 1 of the Compact XL is equipped with 9V
phantom power as current supply for external devices, e.g. active guitar electronics. A stereo-jack-
cable is required for this purpose, phantom power is
switched on by the 9V-switch on the rear side of the
Compact XL and is connected to the ring-contact
of the jack plug. Signal sources which don’t require phantom power may as usual be connected via
mono jack cable, please ensure that phantom power is switched o in that case.
Note: Wrong use of phantom power may damage
your pickup or additional equipment. To avoid harm,
please regard the following hints:
e Only units which are explicitly designed for this
operation purpose should be provided with 9V
phantom power. In all other cases (as well if you are
in doubt) keep the switch o = not pressed.
e To be on the safe side always use mono jack cable,
when no phantom power is needed.
e Make sure that cables are plugged-in completely,
avoid leaving the plug halfway pulled out.
5.4.2 48V Phantom power
The XLR-socket of channel 2 is equipped with 48Vphantom power for microphones that require this
(e.g. condenser microphones).
P.S. For further questions or suggestions contact us:
tachauch@aer-amps.com
General Note: Use of 48V or 24V phantom power
(Phantom power = remote supply, here: powering
an audio device via the connected audio line)
Turn on the phantom power only if the unit connected to an XLR socket is designed to handle it!
In general, suitable units are e.g. condenser microphones, active DI-boxes and other special audio
devices, whose power supply is drawn from the
phantom power. Such devices are also labelled accordingly; please heed the permissible power consumption (max.10mA).
High-quality dynamic microphones with a balanced
signal need no phantom power, but can handle it
anyway.
Other devices, which have not been designed explicitly for phantom power operation, can suer from
considerable malfunctions and damage may result
as well.
Examples of devices that may be damaged by incorrect application of phantom power include:
Low-cost dynamic microphones with a mono jackplug (unbalanced signal) that were tted afterwards
with an XLR connector.
Audio devices with a balanced XLR output (e.g. DIboxes, eects devices, instrument preamps with
a DI output etc.) which are not protected against
phantom power applied to their XLR output. (The
DI connectors on AER products are protected
against applied phantom power.)
Other audio devices (such as preamps, eects pedals etc.) whose unbalanced line output was replaced by an XLR socket.
If in doubt please consult the manufacturer of the
device you are using.
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6. Technical Specications Compact XL
Inputs (note 1)
Channel 1 Jack 1⁄4” (6.35 mm), unbalanced input
Phantom power:
9 V at ‘ring’ terminal (max. 100 mA).
Switchable.
High/low switch: 10 dB attenuator
Channel 2 Jack 1⁄4” (6.35 mm) + XLR combo socket
Line mode:
Mic mode:
XLR (balanced), stereo jack (balanced), or
Clip indic. Threshold: 8 dB below actual clipping
(Ch. 1 and 2)
Aux in Stereo cinch (RCA), L + R mixed and added
Return Eect return for parallel eect loop. Eect
Outputs (note 2)
Tuner Mono jack, unbalanced, 310 mV (-10 dBV),
Line out Mono jack, unbalanced, 1.5 V (+3 dBV),
DI out XLR, balanced, adjustable 0–130 mV (-18 dBV),
Send Mono jack, unbalanced, 1.25 V (+2 dBV)
Headphones Stereo jack
Sensitivity: 38 mV (-28 dBV)
Impedance: 2.2 Megohm
Noise (note 3): 1.8 µV (-115 dBV),
A-weighted
Unbalanced mono jack input only
Sensitivity: 64 mV (-24 dBV)
Impedance: 1 Megohm
Noise (note 3): 2.8 µV (-111 dBV),
A-weighted
mono jack (unbalanced) input
Sensitivity: 5.4 mV (-45 dBV)
Impedance: 1.2 k (balanced use),
or 4.2 k (unbalanced use)
Noise (note 3): 2.2 µV (-113 dBV),
A-weighted
Phantom power: 48 V (XLR only)
Voice lter: -10 dB at 270 Hz (referred to 10 kHz)
pre-master.Sensitivity: 2 x 44 mV (-27 dBV),
adjustable Impedance: 22 k
signal is added pre-master.
Mono jack, unbalanced
Relative gain of send-return loop: +2 dB
Sensitivity (note 1): 760 mV
Impedance: 20 k
post equalizer, pre eects, pre master
post master
post equalizer, pre eects, pre master
if “pan” control is set fully clockwise, post
eqalizer, pre eects, pre master
Output power: max. 100 mW / 32 ohms
Input sensitivity: 30 mV at channel 1 input for
2 x 50 mW / 32 ohms
Internal speaker is muted while headphones
are connected.
For stereo headphones only. You should not
connect anything with a mono jack plug!
Footswitch Stereo jack,
tip = internal eect on/o,
ring = external eect on/o,
sleeve = ground.
Equalizer
Channel 1 Colour: -3 dB at 700 Hz,
and +10 dB at 8 kHz
Bass: ±8 dB at 100 Hz (shelf type)
Middle: ±2 dB at 600 Hz
Treble: ±8 dB at 10 kHz (shelf type)
Channel 2 Bass: ±8 dB at 100 Hz (shelf type)
Treble: ±11 dB at 10 kHz (shelf type)
Eects
Built-in eects 1 reverb 1 (short)
2 reverb 2 (long)
3 delay (320 ms)
4 chorus
Power
Power amp 200 W / 8 ohms (THD < 1%),
discrete bipolar transistor design
Limiter threshold RMS limiter 100 W
Analog signal Subsonic lter, low distortion RMS limiter
processing
Speaker 2-way system, 8” (200 mm) low-midrange
+ 1” (25 mm) dome tweeter, light-weight
neodymium alloy magnets
Mains power AC 100, 120, 230, or 240 V models,
50–60 Hz, max. 450 W
Mains fuse 5 x 20 mm
slow 3.15 A for 230 and 240 V models
slow 6.3 A for 100 and 120 V models
General
Cabinet 12 mm (0.5”) birch plywood
Finish waterbased acrylic, black spatter nish
Dimensions Height: 320 mm (12.6”)
Width: 326 mm (12.9”)
Depth: 282 mm (11.1”)
Weight 10 kg (22.1 lbs)
Notes:
1. Input sensitivities refer to 100 watts into 8 ohms at full gain and
volume settings, neutral tone control settings and 1 kHz sine-wave
test signal.
2. Output levels refer to 50 mV / 1 kHz input at channel one, unless
stated otherwise.
3. Equivalent input noise voltage obtained by measuring noise
voltage at the speaker and dividing by the eective voltage gain of
the amplier for the respective input. Full gain and volume settings,
neutral tone control settings, input shorted, frequency range
20 Hz – 20 kHz.
Specications and appearance subject to change without notice.
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Compact XL - 2012_10_GB
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notes
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