AUTOCOM® PRO-XL MDX1600/COMPOSER® PRO-XL MDX2600/MULTICOM® PRO-XL MDX4600
User’s Manual |
ENGLISH |
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Version 1.1 June 2002 |
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AUTOCOM PRO-XL MDX1600
COMPOSER PRO-XL MDX2600
MULTICOM PRO-XL MDX4600
www.behringer.com
AUTOCOM PRO-XL MDX1600/COMPOSER PRO-XL MDX2600/MULTICOM PRO-XL MDX4600
SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS
CAUTION: To reduce the risk of electric shock, do not remove the top cover (or the rear section). No user serviceable parts inside; refer servicing to qualified personnel.
WARNING: To reduce the risk of fire or electric shock, do not expose this appliance to rain and moisture.
This symbol, wherever it appears, alerts you to the presence of uninsulated dangerous voltage inside the enclosure—voltage that may be sufficient to constitute a risk of shock.
This symbol, wherever it appears, alerts you to important operating and maintenance instructions in the accompanying literature. Please read the manual.
DETAILED SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS:
All the safety and operation instructions should be read before the appliance is operated.
Retain Instructions:
The safety and operating instructions should be retained for future reference.
Heed Warnings:
All warnings on the appliance and in the operating instructions should be adhered to.
Follow instructions:
All operation and user instructions should be followed.
Water and Moisture:
The appliance should not be used near water (e.g. near a bathtub, washbowl, kitchen sink, laundry tub, in a wet basement, near a swimming pool etc.).
Ventilation:
The appliance should be situated so that its location or position does not interfere with its proper ventilation. For example, the appliance should not be placed on a bed, sofa, rug, or similar surface that may block the ventilation openings, or placed in a built-in installation, such as a bookcase or cabinet that may impede the flow of air through the ventilation openings.
Heat:
The appliance should be situated away from heat sources such as radiators, heat registers, stoves, or other appliances (including amplifiers) that produce heat.
Power Source:
The appliance should be connected to a power supply only of the type described in the operating instructions or as marked on the appliance.
Grounding or Polarization:
This device must be grounded.
Power-Cord Protection:
Power supply cords should be routed so that they are not likely to be walked on or pinched by items placed upon or against them, paying particular attention to cords and plugs, extension cords and the point where they exit from the appliance.
Cleaning:
The appliance should be cleaned only as recommended by the manufacturer.
Non-use Periods:
The power cord of the appliance should be unplugged from the outlet when left unused for extended periods of time.
Debris and Liquid Entry:
Care should be taken that debris and/or liquids do not enter the enclosure through openings.
Damage Requiring Service:
The appliance should be serviced by qualified service personnel when:
sThe power supply cord or the plug has been damaged; or
sDebris or liquid has entered the appliance; or
sThe appliance has been exposed to rain; or
sThe appliance does not appear to operate normally or exhibits a noticable change in performance; or
sThe appliance has been dropped, or the enclosure damaged.
Servicing:
The user should not attempt to service the appliance beyond that which is described in the operating instructions. All other servicing should be referred to qualified service personnel.
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AUTOCOM PRO-XL MDX1600/COMPOSER PRO-XL MDX2600/MULTICOM PRO-XL MDX4600
FOREWORD
Dear Customer,
welcome to the team of BEHRINGER users and thank you very much for expressing your confidence in us by purchasing this unit. It is one of my most pleasant tasks to write this letter to you, because it is the culmination of many months of hard work delivered by our engineering team to reach a very ambitious goal: Shaping a new generation of dynamic processors that suit all possible demands of dynamic processing—be it in the studio or under the most demanding live conditions.
The COMPOSER PRO, the AUTOCOM PRO and the MULTICOM PRO have for quite a long time been standard tools used by numerous studios and PA rental companies. The task to improve some of our best-selling products certainly meant a great deal of responsibility, which we assumed by focusing on you, the discerning user and musician. It also meant a lot of work and night shifts to accomplish this goal. But it was fun, too. Developing products usually brings a lot of people together, and what a great feeling it is when everybody who participated in such a project can be proud of what we’ve achieved.
It is our philosophy to share our joy with you, because you are the most important member of the BEHRINGER family. With your highly competent suggestions for new products you’ve greatly contributed to shaping our company and making it successful. In return, we guarantee you uncompromising quality (manufactured under ISO9000 certified management system) as well as excellent technical and audio properties at an extremely competitive price. All of this will enable you to fully unfold your creativity without being hampered by budget constraints.
We are often asked how we can produce such high-grade devices at such unbelievably low prices. The answer is quite simple: it’s you, our customers! Many satisfied customers mean large sales volumes enabling us to get better conditions of purchase for components etc. Isn’t it only fair to pass these benefits back to you? Because we know that your success is our success, too!
I would like to thank all people whose help on the projects COMPOSER PRO-XL, AUTOCOM PRO-XL and MULTICOM PRO-XL has made it all possible. Everybody has made very personal contributions, starting from the designers of the unit to the many staff members in my company to you, the user of BEHRINGER products.
My friends, it’s been worth the trouble!
Thank you very much,
Uli Behringer
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION........................................................ |
3 |
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1.1 |
Before you get started .................................................... |
4 |
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1.1.1 |
Shipment .............................................................. |
4 |
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1.1.2 |
Initial operation ..................................................... |
4 |
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1.1.3 |
Warranty ............................................................... |
5 |
1.2 |
The user’s manual .......................................................... |
5 |
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2. CONTROL ELEMENTS AND CONNECTORS .......... |
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2.1 |
The expander/gate section ............................................. |
5 |
2.2 |
The compressor section ................................................. |
6 |
2.3 |
The dynamic enhancer section ....................................... |
7 |
2.4 |
The de-esser section ...................................................... |
7 |
2.5 |
The peak limiter section .................................................. |
7 |
2.6 |
The rear panel control elements ..................................... |
8 |
3. EXAMPLES OF SIDECHAIN APPLICATIONS.......... |
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3.1 |
Eliminating interference .................................................. |
8 |
3.2 |
Emphasizing instruments ................................................ |
9 |
3.3 |
Time-delayed compression ............................................. |
9 |
3.4 |
“Voice over” compression (“ducking”) ............................. |
9 |
3.5 |
Triggering additional sounds from a rhythm track .......... |
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4. WIRING ...................................................................... |
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5. INSTALLATION ....................................................... |
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5.1 |
Rack installation ............................................................ |
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5.2 |
Audio connections ........................................................ |
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6. SPECIFICATIONS ................................................... |
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7. WARRANTY............................................................. |
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1. INTRODUCTION
With this new dynamics processor from the PRO-XL series you have acquired an extremely powerful and universal compressor which unites in one compact device all of those dynamics control functions that are most frequently used in practice: each channel has an independent compressor/limiter, expander/gate and peak limiter. Thus, virtually all dynamics processing problems can be remedied with little effort.
Future-oriented BEHRINGER technology
The new PRO-XL dynamics processors from BEHRINGER feature several innovative circuit designs, making them topclass dynamics processing equipment. Compared to their predecessors, they now have improvements such as the de-esser, which allows you to effectively suppress disturbing hiss noise (COMPOSER PRO-XL), additional LED displays to set the de-esser levels, plus a switchable enhancer.
The AUTOCOM PRO-XL not only includes an enhancer, but also a switchable de-esser and a peak limiter, which has already proved its versatility in the COMPOSER PRO.
The BEHRINGER MULTICOM PRO-XL has been upgraded with an expander/noise gate plus enhancer. Additionally, we have managed to improve its audio properties even further—in combination with a revised circuit design.
To give you the best operational reliability possible, we manufacture our products in accordance with the highest quality standards known in the industry. Additionally the dynamic processors are manufactured under ISO9000 certified management system.
1. INTRODUCTION |
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AUTOCOM PRO-XL MDX1600/COMPOSER PRO-XL MDX2600/MULTICOM PRO-XL MDX4600
VAD (Voice-Adaptive) De-esser
The COMPOSER PRO-XL and AUTOCOM PRO-XL incorporate a newly designed de-esser circuit specifically adapted to process the critical range of treble frequencies. Hiss noise on vocal tracks often contains high levels, giving the signals a rather edgy, unpleasant sound. The de-esser responds to those frequency ranges in which hiss noise usually occurs and limits the overall signal level as soon as the audio signal is affected by excessive energy density in this range. Unlike equalizers, however, it does not impair the frequency response of the signal. In this way, intelligibility in low-level passages is perfectly preserved, and you can even boost the treble range with a good equalizer. The sound becomes transparent and fresh, while the de-esser prevents hiss noise from becoming too dominant and disturbing the overall sound image.
IDE (Interactive Dynamic) Enhancer
Probably the best known negative side effect of a compressor is the “dull” and “compressed” sound that is likely to result from the processing of complex program material. Low-frequency instruments usually produce the highest signal energy and hence make the compressor reduce the overall level. Any instrument in the higher frequency ranges concurrently played also has its level reduced, which leads to a “compressed” overall sound.
The dynamic enhancer provides the solution to this problem, enabling you to make up specifically for the compression-induced loss of treble energy. Since the enhancer can detect the amount of compression applied, it does not change the sound image as long as the signals remain uncompressed. No treble energy is lost, even when complex mix-down material is processed.
ATS (Authentic Tube Simulation) circuitry
Even today, the warm, expressive and transparent tonal character of electronic tubes is a real “classic”. We proudly present the COMPOSER PRO-XL and its high-tech circuit design enabling the authentic reproduction of this legendary sound, and at the same time avoiding all of the technical drawbacks that go along with tube technology. Owing to state-of-the-art semi-conductor technology, there is no sound deterioration caused by tube ageing, there are no heat problems and no maintenance required at all. All that remains is the advantage of tube technology: its distinctive sound!
IKA (Interactive Knee Adaptation) Compressor
Our proven IKA (Interactive Knee Adaptation) circuit successfully combines the “hard knee” compressor concept with the “soft knee” characteristic. This program-dependent control characteristic makes it possible to both provide an “inaudible” and musical program compression and allows for creative and efficient dynamics processing.
IRC (Interactive Ratio Control) Expander
A fundamental problem when using a compressor is the fact that the basic noise floor depends on the amount of compression applied, i.e. it is amplified maximally in low-level passages and breaks in the music (compressor noise). To eliminate this problem, compressors are usually equipped with additional expander or gate circuitry, simply fading out the noise during breaks.
The dynamics processors from the PRO-XL Series feature our IRC (Interactive Ratio Control) expander, whose ratio setting changes automatically with the program material. The result is an expander that can be set quickly and easily, and does not cut off low-level wanted signals (e.g. the first or last syllable of a word in a vocal track). With the new IRC circuit, the expander/gate section of the BEHRINGER COMPOSER PRO-XL MDX2600, AUTOCOM PRO-XL MDX1600 and MULTICOM PRO-XL MDX4600 can be used as an independent device to eliminate any kind of interference, thus giving you almost unlimited flexibility of application.
IGC (Interactive Gain Control) Peak Limiter
Another outstanding feature of BEHRINGER dynamics processors is the IGC (Interactive Gain Control) limiter, an intelligent combination of a clipper and program limiter. The clipper comes in as soon as an adjustable threshold is exceeded and abruptly limits the signal gain. However, if the limiter threshold is exceeded for longer than a few milliseconds, the ICG circuit is activated automatically and reduces the gain of the overall output signal, so that audible distortion is eliminated (program limiter). When the signal drops below threshold again, its level is restored to its original value after about one second. This IGC feature is an extremely usefull tool for both live applications (e.g. speaker protection) and digital processing, in which excess levels lead to unpleasant distortion.
Safety relay
The design of the COMPOSER PRO-XL incorporates the so-called safety relays, which set the unit to bypass in case of a power failure or other malfunctions. Additionally, these relays are used to implement a switch-on delay, so as to suppress harmful switch-on thumps.
Balanced inputs and outputs
The BEHRINGER dynamics processors from the PRO-XL series are equipped with electronically balanced inputs and outputs. The automatic servo function detects any unbalanced plugs connected and adjusts the nominal level internally, so as to make sure that there is no difference in level between the input and output signals (6-dB correction).
+First, this manual describes the terminology used, so that you understand the unit and its functions. Please read the manual carefully and keep it for future reference.
1.1Before you get started
1.1.1 Shipment
Your COMPOSER PRO-XL, AUTOCOM PRO-XL or MULTICOM PRO-XL was carefully packed at the factory and the packaging is designed to protect the unit from rough handling. Nevertheless, we recommend that you carefully examine the packaging and its contents for any signs of physical damage which may have occurred during transit.
+If the unit is damaged, please do NOT return it to BEHRINGER, but notify your dealer and the shipping company immediately. Otherwise, claims for damage or replacement may not be granted.
1.1.2 Initial operation
Be sure that there is enough space around the unit for cooling and, to avoid overheating, please do not place it on power amplifiers, near radiators etc.
+Before you connect the unit to the mains, please make sure that the voltage setting on the unit matches the local voltage:
The fuse holder at the AC power connector has 3 triangular markings. Two of these three triangles are aligned with one another. The unit is set to the voltage shown next to these markings and can be switched over by turning the fuse holder by 180°.
IMPORTANT: This does not apply to export models designed exclusively for 115 V operation!
+If you set the unit to a different mains voltage, be sure to use a fuse of the correct type and rating. Please refer to the “SPECIFICATIONS” for details.
+Blown fuses must be replaced by fuses of the same type and rating! Please refer to the “SPECIFICATIONS” for details.
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1. INTRODUCTION |
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