M-Audio TAMPA 81602 User Manual

TAMPA Manual

version: Tampa-081602

Table of Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Temporal Harmonic Alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Dual Optical Servo Compressor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Your TAMPA’s Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Front and Rear Panel Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Front Panel Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Rear Panel Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Setup and Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

AC p o w er . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Connecting Your Tampa’s Outputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Power-Up Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Connecting To Your Tampa’s Inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

TAMPA Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Setting Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

The Input Impedance Selector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Using the Phase Invert Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Using the Low-Cut Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Setting the Compressor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

TAMPA Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Preamp Specs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Analog Compressor Specs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Technical Support & Contact Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Your TAMPA’s Warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

Introduction

Congratulations on your purchase of the TAMPA, designed and manufactured by M-Audio. TAMPA is a professional, single channel microphone/instrument preamp unlik e any other.That’ s because our design team set out to discover just why expensive tube technolog y sounds so good, and devise a way to land that sound at affordable solid state prices. The result is far beyond tube modeling.It’s a whole new technology called Temporal Harmonic Alignment™.

Temporal Harmonic Alignment

—the Secret Behind the Sound: In natural sound sources such as strings, drum heads and vocal chords, harmonics share a characteristic temporal (phase) relationship to the fundamental. Our ears exhibit the same qualities.Solid state electronics induce distortion in the form of additional harmonics that are out of phase with the original source. Tube-based devices strike the ear as having such a “warm” sound because the added harmonics have the same temporal relationship as natural mechanisms (although predominantly in the midrange).This results in a sweet spot that makes vocals, guitars and other midrange-rich content sound especially pleasing. TAMPA’s revolutionary new Temporal Harmonic Alignment technology produces that same phase relationship found in both tubes and nature.And unlike tubes, TAMPA’s sweet spot spans the full spectrum of your sound—from bass to cymbals.

Dual Optical Servo Compressor

TAMPA also includes a dual optical ser vo compressor that is worth the price alone. Three fundamental problems plague engineers in designing compressors—distortion,noise and accuracy.The VCA technology used in inexpensive compressors exhibits less than professional specs on all three counts.Simple optical servo technology is much more quiet and accurate, yet has its own issues with distortion. The dual optical ser vo technology we use in TAMPA yields low noise, consistent accuracy,low distortion and exceptional transparency—and it comes built-in to a great mic preamp.

Your TAMPA’s Features

•Professional mic/instrument preamp with Temporal Harmonic Alignment

• Built-in dual optical servo compressor

• Balanced phantom-powered XLR mic input with variable impedance for

optimized performance with vintage mics

• Balanced/unbalanced TRS instrument input

• 24-bit digital S/PDIF and AES/EBU output for direct connection to your digital recording gear

• 20dB gain switch for an amazing maximum system gain of 66dB

• 20dB passive output pad switch

•Low-cut switch to eliminate rumble

• Discrete,class A circuitry throughout

•VU-style meters for output level and compression gain reduction

• Clip indicator

Front and Rear Panel Descriptions

Front Panel Features

1. POWER:Turns master power on/off for the unit.

2. +48V: Provides 48-volt phantom power to the XLR microphone input when engaged. Switch to the ON position when using a microphone requiring phantom power.

3. +48V INDIC ATOR: Lights when +48V switch is engaged to indicate that phantom power is on.

4. MICROPHONE/INSTRUMENT: Neutrix connector accepts both an XLR microphone input and a 1/4” TRS balanced or TS unbalanced instrument input.

5. INST/MIC: Switches between instrument and microphone inputs. Set to “INST” when using the 1/4” input jack, and set to “MIC” when using the XLR input jack.When INST is selected,the XLR input is disabled,and when MIC is selected,the 1/4” input is disabled.

6. INPUT IMPEDANCE: Allows user to select input impedances of 2400 ohms, 1200 ohms, 600 ohms or 300 ohms. This is particularly useful in conjunction with vintage mics requiring one of these impedances.For many modern mics, the recommended setting is 2400 ohms, though the load impedance setting is much more critical for vintage mics.

7. GAIN: Master preamp gain where fully counterclockwise yields minimum gain (0db) and fully clockwise delivers maximum gain (34dB).

8. +20dB: Provides an additional 20dB of preamp gain when engaged.

Figure 1 - TAMPA Front Panel Features

9. LOW CUT: Rolls off 12dB per octave at 80Hz and below when engaged. Use this to avoid rumble from passing traffic , footsteps and so forth.

10. COMPRESSOR IN/OUT: Engages/disengages the TAMPA’s entire compressor stage. When disengaged, TAMPA’s compressor circuitry is removed from the signal path.

11. COMPRESSOR IN/OUT INDICATOR: Lights when the COMPRESSOR IN/OUT switch is set to the “IN” position to indicate that the compressor is on and is part of the signal path.

12. THRESHOLD:Threshold level at which the compressor engages. Range is from –20dB to +20dB.

13. RATIO: Ratio of the input dynamic above the compression threshold to the output dynamic above the compression threshold.Range is from 1.1:1 to 10:1.

14. ATTACK: Controls the amount of time required for the compressor to reduce the gain once the threshold level is reached. Range is 1 millisecond to 11 milliseconds.

15. RELEASE:Controls the amount of time it takes the compressor to r eturn to normal or zero gain reduction.Range is from 250 milliseconds to 5 seconds.

16. GAIN REDUCTION METER: Provides metering (in decibels) of the gain reduction resulting from compression, where 0 VU represents zero gain reduction.

17. OUTPUT METER:Provides metering (in decibels) of T AMPA’ s ov erall output level (prior to the 20dB PAD),where 0 VU represents +26dBu.This meter is unaffected by the 20dB PAD switch. Note that this is a `quasi-peak type’ meter whose ballistics respond with approximatel y the same dynamics as the human ear.

18. CLIP: Indicator illuminates when output signal reaches +26dBu (approx. 0VU on OUTPUT METER). This is equivalent to approximately 4dB below the digital clipping level of 30.5dBu.

19. PHASE:Reverses the phase of TAMPA’s output.The INVER T position for ces TAMPA’s analog audio output to be 180 degrees out of phase from the input, where the NORM position leaves the analog output in phase with the input.NOTE: Digital output is always in phase with the input.

20. 20dB PAD:When engaged, attenuates TAMPA’s analog output by 20dB— useful in avoiding the overload of subsequent equipment in the sound chain. The 20dB pad will also allow you increase the gain on the TAMPA preamp and force the signal into an area of greater soft-clipping/tube emulation.The 20dB PAD appears in the TAMPA circuit after the OUTPUT LEVEL METER.NOTE: Digital output level is not affected by the 20dB pad.

21. SAMPLE RATE:Adjusts the sample rate of TAMP A’s digital outputs to match the sampling rate of the digital gear T AMPA is feeding.Settings are 44.1kHz, 48kHz,88.2kHz and 96kHz.

Rear Panel Features

1. S/PDIF OUTPUT: Outputs a mono 24-bit S/PDIF signal on both left and right channels at the sample rate specified by the SAMPLE RATE selector. This female coaxial RCA jack accepts a digital coaxial cable with a male RCA plug,and connects to external gear that will receive a S/PDIF digital signal.

2. AES/EBU OUTPUT: Outputs a mono 24-bit AES/EBU signal on both left and right channels at the sample rate specified by the SAMPLE RATE selector.This male XLR jack accepts a digital coaxial cable with a female XLR plug, and connects to external gear that will receive an AES/EBU digital signal.

3. BALANCED/UNBALANCED 1/4” TRS OUTPUT: Outputs a balanced analog line-level signal when using a 1/4” TRS plug,or an unbalanced analog line-level signal when using a 1/4” TS plug.

4. BALANCED XLR OUTPUT:Outputs a balanced analog line-level signal on a male XLR jack, and accepts a standard audio cable with a female XLR plug. Pin 2 is positive. (You should verify that other equipment you are connecting is also wired with pin 2 positive.)

5. 12VAC: Power connector for TAMPA’s external power supply. (WARNING: Do not use any power supply other than the model that shipped with your TAMPA,as damage to your equipment may result.)

Setup and Connection

Connecting TAMPA to your equipment is simple.

AC power

To route AC power to TAMPA, connect the external power supply that comes with TAMPA between the 12VAC jack on the rear panel and AC power .

WARNING: Do not use any other power supply than the model that shipped with your TAMPA, as damage to your equipment may result.

Figure 2 - TAMPA Back Panel Features

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