Crane Song SPIDER User Manual

spider

OPERATOR'S MANUAL

Version 1

20090110

LTD.

2117 East 5th Street

Superior, WI 54880 USA

tel: [phone]

fax: [phone]

www.cr anesong.com

© 2004, 2005, 2006 Crane Song, LTD. Subject to change without notice. Printed in the U.S.A.

IMPORTANT

The Power Cable must not be

connected or disconnected with

the power on. You should wait 60

seconds before disconnecting the

cable after powering off. Please

tighten down the thumb screws to

prevent the cable from coming dis-

connected.

2

spider

The Power supply is an external 2 rack space box that is about 12 inches deep. Spider it s self is 4 rack
spaces and 6 inches deep. There is a 3-foot power cable to connect the 2 units.

V entilation is a must if you block air flow you will have trouble. The total
power is in the range of 100 watts of heat. It is best to have one rack
space above and below each part of the system. If you mount them
together leave a space between. Class A circuits run hot, but it turns
out that the discrete class A analog circuits can handle heat much bet­ter that the digital component s.

THE INPUT CHANNEL

The GAIN SWITCH is a 11-position step control which is adjustable from 6 to 66 dB of gain in 6 dB
steps.

The CHANNEL LEVEL CONTROL is a variable control that controls the channel output level and the
stereo bus mix level.

The P AN OR P ANORAMIC CONTROL positions the channel output on the left - right stereo bus. This
affects the stereo bus only .

The PHANTOM POWER SWITCH turns on or off the 48V power for phantom power and is active when
the switch is pressed in

The LINE/MIC SWITCH selects between the line and mic inputs for the channel. When the switch is out,
the mic input is selected and when it is pressed in, the line input is selected.

The PHASE SWITCH provides phase reversal for the channel. When the switch is out the channel
operation is with normal phase. When the switch is pressed in the phase is reversed. This is referenced
to pin 2 signal + on the mic input and tip signal + on the line input. The mic connector is an XLR where as
the line input connector is a 1/4" TRS connector .

The LOW CUT FIL TER is engaged when the switch is pushed in with a cutoff frequency of approx. 80
Hz. The filter is intended to be used in eliminating rumble, undesired low frequency content, and mud,
while keeping the effect on the desired audio to a minimum. The slope reaches 12 dB pre octave. When
the switch is out, the filter in not engaged and the low frequency response is to 3Hz.

3

When the STEREO BUS ASSIGNMENT SWITCH is pushed in the channel is assigned to the stereo
bus. When the switch is out the channel is not assigned to the bus. The channel outputs are always
assigned to the 8 channel outputs.

The FA T AMPLIFIER is enabled when the switch is active (pressed in). The fat amplifier is used to
provide a different sound by inducing tube like distortions. This distortion content is almost all second
harmonic with some third harmonic. The level of distortion is such that it reaches 6.5% at digital zero. It is

0.3% at +4dbm at the analog output which is 20 dB below digital zero.
The LEVEL METER is a 16-segment peak reading meter and is referenced to the A/D convertor . Ana-

log head room is such that there is 6 db of analog head room above the level that is digital zero. This is
to allow up to 6db of limiting before the A/D convertor . An “over” on the meter is a digital over , but not
necessarily an indicator of analog clipping. (There is 6db of analog headroom above digital 0 with out
the limiter engaged) There is also a clip indicator on each channel. This is a small red light in the upper
left hand corner of the channel. This indicator shows an input or pre-amp overload. The level meter is an
analog device that is feed from the A/D convertor input.

The LIMITER is for peak overload protection and is in front of the A/D convertor in the signal path. The
level meter is post limiter. There is an indicator on the channel next to the limiter button that lights when­ever limiter action is taking place. The limiter is enabled by pushing the LMT button down. The signal
structure is such that the input channel can provide 6 dB more level that the A/D convertor needs. This
headroom is for the operation of the peak limiter . The limiter will bring the level down thus protecting the
A/D convertor from overload.

The ANALOG INSERT POINT is a 1/4" phone jack and is wired as tip send and ring return. This insert
point is unbalanced and has a maximum signal level of +24 dbm.

8 CHANNEL DIGITAL SECTION

The SAMPLE RATE SELECTION SWITCH allows the selection of 1 of 4 sample rates from 44.1K to
96K or the selection of a word clock source. The WC source is the same for both the stereo and 8
channel sections.

The STEREO BUS can be assigned to digital channels 7 and 8. This is to allow a mix to be recorded by
a recorder on channels 7&8 of the 8 channel output. The assignment takes place by pushing the “bus
7&8” switch in. When this is done the normal connections from input channels 7 and 8 are disconnected.
The limiter on the digital stereo module is still used to prevent digital overload on the bus signal.

The DITHER CONTROL provides dithering to different bit levels. This source is unique to CRANE
SONG and is generated by analog means. The audio signal and the dither source are mixed together
going into the A/D convertor. This is the best place to create dithering. The switch has many selections.
There are 16 and 20 bit choices and some options for play and experimentation.

DSP ANALOG TAPE EMULA TION is adjustable by channel. The tape emulation feature provides a
means to have analog tape sound in Spider’s digital outputs. By selecting the channel, the LEDs around
the process knob will light showing the current level of the process

4

By turning the process knob the control becomes active and allows the setting a new level. After a short
pause the value is stored in internal memory and will be recalled the next time S pider is powered up. 8
channel digital output options are AES or ADA T Optical. The tape emulation is the same as that in
HEDD-192

THE STEREO OUTPUT SECTION

The STEREO BUS MASTER F ADER is pre insert point. It af fects the stereo digital output and the
analog level that is available at the insert point. The S tereo level meter is referenced to the stereo A/D
convertor . The red LED shows “overs” on the digital stereo bus. The insert point is in between the bus
master control and the A/D convertor . This insert point also functions as an unbalanced analog output.

The STEREO PEAK LIMITER is for overload protection of the stereo A/D convertor . The limiter is
designed as a stereo device, and phase relationships between the stereo channels do not affect limiter
action.

A switch selectable ANALOG DITHER control with selections from15 to 24 bits is provided. The sample
rates are selectable from 44.1K to 192K. With the word clock input and output connections on the stereo
master module. DSP ANALOG T APE EMULA TION is also provided on the stereo digital bus. The
digital outputs for the stereo bus are AES, S/PDIF and tos link.

THE BACK PANELS

The input module back panels consist of and XLR connector for mic input pin 2 is signal (+), pin 3 signal
(-) and pin 1 ground or shield. The line input is an 1/4" TRS jack with the tip signal + and the sleeve
signal -. There are a set of jumpers on the top of the unit in each channel to change the sensitivity of the
line input. The standard mode will allow up to a +18 dbm on the input with the 6db gain setting providing
6db of gain. In the padded mode there is a 20 db pad inserted on this input. The hi gain mode which is
the standard mode will work in most cases and is recommended. The insert point is a 1/4" TRS with tip
being the send and the ring being the return. If you want to leave this normal and also have the analog
output available connect the tip and ring together and use this as you signal output.

The stereo master back has a left and right insert jack that works like the channel insert point. It also has
an accessory connector to allow the analog sections of up to 3 spiders to be tied together and the power
connector.

The stereo digital sections back panel has an XLR connector for AES output, a RCA connector for S/
PDIF output, a optical connector for stereo optical output and 2 word clock connectors. The WC connec­tors are BNC connectors for WC in and WC out. This provides the WC connection for both the stereo
and 8 channel outputs

The 8 channel digital output connectors depends on the type of interface. For AES output s it has 4 XLR
connectors and the ADAT interface it has 2 optical outputs, and supports SMUX to 96K.

5

Things to be aware of

When the stereo bus is assigned to digital outs 7 and 8. Be aware that the S tereo bus limiter still ap­plies, but the DSP control
is still adjusted by channel. This is because the DSP is post A/D convertor and we are reassigning the
analog routing, not the digital routing.

The limiters are for peak control. If the limit light is on a lot they are being used more than intended
Boot up takes approx. 10 seconds this is to allow the A/D convertors to reach their highest accuracy

level before use
Spider cont ains 3 DSP parts for 300 mips of computing power 1.5Mbytes of memory, and 17 micro

processors
But you will not see General Fault trying to protect you.

LEVEL METER SEND TO INPUT MODULE

ANALOG TAPE LEVEL

AUDIO INPUT FROM CHANNEL OUTPUT

LIMITER CONTROL FROM CHANNEL

SUMMING
AMP

STEREO BUS
INPUT

STEREO FADER

AMP

LIMITER

TRS

INSERT POINT

ANALOG

DITHER

GENERATOR

LIMITER

CONVERTOR

LEVEL METER

A/D

ONE OF EIGHT CHANNELS SHOWEN

200 MIPS

DSP

8 CHANNEL OUTPUT
AES
ADAT
TDIF

8 CHANNEL, A/D, DSP AND OUTPUT

ANALOG TAPE LEVEL

STEREO BUS
INPUT

SUMMING
AMP

STEREO FADER

ANALOG

DITHER

GENERATOR

LEVEL METER

AMP

STEREO LIMITER ENABLE

TRS

INSERT POINT

LIMITER

STEREO MASTER, A/D AND DSP

STEREO

A/D

DSP

STEREO OUTPUT
AES
S/PDIF
TOSLINK

GAIN SWITCH

6 TO 66 DB OF GAIN

LEVEL METER

8 CHANNEL

LIMITER
ENABLE

METER SIGNAL
FROM 8 CHANNEL A/D

CHANNEL OUTPUT
TO 8 CHANNEL A/D

MIC INPUT

LINE INPUT

PRE-AMP

GAIN

FILTER

PHASE

BUFFER

INSERT POINT

CLEAN

FAT

TRS

BUS

ASSIGN

FAT

AMP

SPIDER INPUT MODULE

BUFFER

PAN CONTROL

BUFFER

LEFT OUTPUT
TO STEREO MASTER

RIGHT OUTPUT
TO STEREO MASTER

CHANNEL OUTPUT
TO 8 CHANNEL A/D

INTERFACING - SPECIFICATIONS

Input:

Output:

Input XLR connectors Pin 2 is Sig + , Pin 3 is Sig- , Pin 1 is GND

Power: 100, 120, 230,240 volt; 50/60 Hz; 55 watts

MDL 2.0A Fuse for 100V and 120V
MDL 1.5A Fuse for 230V and 240V

Clipping: +25 dbm in the analog section

Pilot Lamp: # 7335

Shipping
Weight:

Depth
Behind Panel:

Panel Height: 2 rack spaces

4 rack spaces for main unit

for power supply

CRANE SONG LTD.

2117 E. 5th Street

Superior, WI 54880 USA

tel. [phone]

fax. [phone]

SPIDER 8 CHANNEL A MIC-PRE MIXER, A/D

REGISTRATION FORM

Please fill out this form and return it so we can send you updates and
pertinent information as it becomes available.

Thank you.

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STUDIO NAME___________________________________________

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