Nady CL-5000 operating instructions

CL-5000

DUAL CHANNEL COMPRESSOR LIMITER WITH GATE

OWNER'S MANUAL

CL-5000

DUAL CHANNEL COMPRESSOR LIMITER WITH GATE

Congratulations!

You have just purchased on of the finest professional compres­sor limiters on the market today. This unit was developed using
the expertise of professional sound engineers and working
musicians. You will find your new NADY AUDIO CL-5000 has
superior performance and greater flexibility than any other
compressor in its price range.

Read this manual carefully to get the most out of your new
unit. Thank you for selecting NADY AUDIO

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Features

• Two independent compressor/limiter/gates in a road-tough steel single-rack-space (1U) housing

• Utilizes a unique circuitry which combines hard and soft knee compression styles, thus providing excellent
inaudible and music program compression as well as providing creative and effective dynamics processing

• Advanced operating features include fully automatic or manually variable attack/release times, compression
ratio, and threshold control

• Dual 12 stage gain reduction and 8 stage input/output metering

• Dual-mono or stereo operation; servo-balanced inputs (with automatic hum and noise reduction) and outputs

• Built-in adjustable dynamic enhancer (selectively replaces high-end loss during even severe compression brought
on by high-energy low-end content)

• IRC (Interactive Ratio Control) expander/gate (which automatically adjusts expansion per the program material,
thus eliminating the noise floor during quiet sections or music pauses)

• TRS side-chain applications, including de-essing, emphasizing/de-emphasizing certain instruments during
recording, eliminating feedback in live applications, and ducking

• Shielded internal power supply and voltage selector for switching between ~115VAC (60 Hz)/~230V AC/(50Hz)

An equilateral triangle enclosing a lightning flash/arrow­head symbol is intended to alert the user to the pres­ence of uninsulated “dangerous voltage” within the
product’s enclosure, which may be of sufficient magni­tude to constitute a risk of electric shock.

An equilateral triangle enclosing an exclamation point
is intended to alert the user to the presence of important
operating and service instructions in the literature en­closed with this unit.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

WARNING – When using electric products, basic precautions should always be followed, including the following:

1. Read all the instructions before using the product.

2. Do not use this product near water (e.g., near a bathtub, washbowl, kitchen sink, in a wet basement, or near a swim­ming pool, etc.)

3. This product should be used only with a cart or stand that will keep it level and stable and prevent wobbling.

4. This product, in combination with headphones or speakers, may be capable of producing sound levels that could cause
permanent hearing loss. Do not operate for a long period of time at a high volume level or at a level that is uncomfort­able. If you experience any hearing loss or ringing in the ears, you should consult an audiologist.

5. The product should be located so that its location or position does not interfere with its proper ventilation.

6. The product should be located away from heat sources such as radiators, heat vents, or other devices ( including
amplifiers) that produce heat.

7. The product should be connected to a power supply only of the type described in the operating instructions or as marked on
the product. Replace the fuse only with one of the specified type and size and with the correct rating.

8. The power-supply cord should : (1) be undamaged, (2) never share an outlet or extension cord with other devices so that
the outlet’s or extension cord’s power rating is exceeded, or (3) be left plugged into the outlet when left unused for a long
period of time.

9. Care should be taken so that objects do not fall into and liquids are not spilled through the enclosure ‘s openings.

10. The product should be serviced by qualified service personnel when:

A. The power-supply cord or the plug has been damaged; or
B. Objects have fallen, or liquid has been spilled onto the product; or
C. The product has been exposed to rain; or
D. The product does not appear to operate normally or exhibits a marked change in performance; or
E. The product has been dropped, or the enclosure damaged.

11. Do not attempt to service the product beyond that described in the user-maintenance instructions. All other servicing
should be referred to qualified service personnel.

This product may be equipped with a polarized line plug (one blade wider than the other). This is a safety feature.
If you are unable to insert the plug into the outlet, contact an electrician to replace your obsolete outlet. Do not defeat
the safety purpose of the plug.

(For use in the U.S.A.)

IMPORT ANT: THE WIRES IN THIS MAINS LEAD ARE COLORED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FOLLOWING CODE.

BLUE : NEUTRAL BROWN : LIVE

As the colors of the wires in the mains lead of this apparatus may not correspond with the colored markings identifying
the terminals in your plug proceed as follows: The wire which is colored BLUE must be connected to the terminal which
is marked with the letter N or colored BLACK. The wire which is colored BROWN must be connected to the terminal which
is marked with the letter L or colored RED. Under no circumstances must either of the above wires be connected to the
earth terminal of a three-pin plug.

(For use in Europe)

CONTENTS

A INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................................... 5

B. CONTROLS, CONNECTIONS, OPERATION .............................................................................................................. 6

Expander Gate Section (Operation) ................................................................................................................... 6

Compressor/Limiter Section (operation) ............................................................................................................. 7

Dynamic Enhancer Section (Operation) .............................................................................................................. 9

C. APPLICA TIONS ....................................................................................................................................................... 10

1. MAIN APPLICA TIONS AND INITIAL SETTINGS ............................................................................................. 10

1.1 Compression/Leveling/Limiting/Clipping ........................................................................................... 11

2. EXP ANDER/GA TE SECTION ......................................................................................................................... 12

2.1 Controlling Leakage in the Studio ...................................................................................................... 12

2.2 Initial Settings for the Expander/Gate Section ..................................................................................... 12

2.3 Reducing Leakage in Stage Mics ....................................................................................................... 12

2.4 Reducing Ambient Sound Pickup and Feedback in Stage Mics .............................................................. 13

2.5 Noise Reduction on Effects Paths ....................................................................................................... 13

3. THE COMPRESSOR FUNCTION .................................................................................................................... 13

3.1 Initial Settings for the Compressor Function ........................................................................................ 13

3.2 The CL-5000 as a Sound Effects Unit ................................................................................................. 14

4. THE LIMITER FUNCTION .............................................................................................................................. 14

4.1 Initial Settings for the Limiter Function ................................................................................................. 14

D. SPECIAL APPLICA TIONS ......................................................................................................................................... 14

1. USING THE CL-5000 FOR RECORDING AND CASETTE DUPLICA TION .......................................................... 14

1.1 The CL-5000 in Digital Recording and Sampling ................................................................................. 15

1.2 The CL-5000 in Mastering ................................................................................................................. 15

2. THE CL-5000 AS A PROTECTIVE DEVICE ..................................................................................................... 15

2.1 Protection of a System with a Passive Crossover .................................................................................. 16

2.2 Protection of a System with an Active Crossover .................................................................................. 16

2.3 Improving the Sound of a “Processed” System ..................................................................................... 17

3. USING THE CL-5000 WITH T APE RECORDERS ............................................................................................. 17

4. THE CL-5000 IN BROADCAST ..................................................................................................................... 17

5. USING THE CL-5000 TO CHANGE SOUND ................................................................................................ 17

5.1 Reshaping Sampled Sounds ............................................................................................................... 17

5.2 Altering the T exture of Musical Instruments .......................................................................................... 18

E. EXTERNAL SIDECHAIN APPLICA TIONS .................................................................................................................... 18

1. THE DETECTOR LOOP CONNECTOR ........................................................................................................... 18

2. USING AN EQUALIZER IN THE SIDECHAIN P A TH ......................................................................................... 18

2.1 The CL-5000 as a “De-Esser” ............................................................................................................ 18

2.2 Frequency Selective Filtering of Unwanted Signals .............................................................................. 19

2.3 Suppressing Instruments During Recording .......................................................................................... 20

2.4 Emphasizing Musical Instruments During Recordin .............................................................................. 20

2.5 Reducing Feedback in P A Systems ..................................................................................................... 20

3. ANTICIP A TED COMPRESSION ...................................................................................................................... 21

4. “VOICE-OVER” COMPRESSION (“DUCKING”) ............................................................................................. 21

F. SPECIFICA TIONS .................................................................................................................................................... 22

INTRODUCTION

The CL-5000 incorporates several new state-of-the-art circuit designs which make it an extremely efficient and universal dynam­ics processor: intelligent program recognition, interactive Expander/Gate and a new Dynamic Enhancer.

IKA (Interactive Knee Adaption) Compressor

The IKA (Interactive Knee Adaption) circuitry successfully combines the traditional “Hard Knee” compressor concept with the
“Soft Knee” feature. The “Soft Knee” mode, with its “soft” control characteristics, is the basis of the “inaudible” and “musical”
compression of the program material, while the “Hard Knee” function is a prerequisite both for creative and efficient dynamics
processing and for limiting signal peaks reliably and precisely. This latter function is required to protect subsequent equipment
against distortion, and possible damage.

The Interactive AUTO Processor

The CL-5000 offers an interactive AUTO processor and intelligent program detection. In the AUTO mode, the attack and release
times are derived automatically from the program material, thus effectively eliminating common adjustment errors. This feature
enables optimum results by allowing you to heavily, yet “musically”, compress the signal’s dynamic range without any audible
“pumping”, “breathing” or other side effects.

Manually Adjustable Attack and Release Controls

The response of a compressor and the quality of dynamics processing largely depend on the control times, i.e., the attack and
release functions. When processing signals from individual instruments such as drum, guitar, etc., and when using the compres­sor to protect the audio system against signal transients, it is imperative that the control times be user- adjustable. The CL-5000
offers this feature by providing both ATTACK and RELEASE controls to allow for variable sound processing.

IRC (Interactive Ratio Control) Expander/Gate

A common problem in using compressors is that the noise floor can be highly amplified during quiet sections or when there are
music pauses. This effect is exaggerated when the compression ratio is inappropriate.
An IRC (Interactive Ratio Control) Expander/Gate has been integrated into the CL-5000. The expansion ratio is automatically
adjusted, dependent on the program material (The response characteristics of conventional expanders tend to cut into the signal
abruptly, often resulting in unacceptably greater attenuation than desired). With the added IRC, the expander is less critical of
adjustment and more tolerant of useable signals only slightly above the noise floor.

Dynamic Enhancer

One of the most common negative effects of compression is the “dulled” or “squashed” sound that is produced when it is
applied to composite music. Since high-energy low frequency instruments cause a compressor to reduce the overall gain, any
high frequency instrument signals occurring simultaneously will also be reduced in level. This “spectral intermodulation” causes
the “squashed” sound effect.

The solution to this problem is the Dynamic Enhancer which allows for selective replacement of high-end loss accrued through
use of compression. Since the Enhancer tracks the amount of compression, enhancement will not be added when no compres­sion is taking place. No altered sound or any additional noise. This feature allows you to apply compression throughout the mix
without any additional outboard enhancer, etc.

The following operational manual will introduce you to the CL-5000 and its various functions. AFTER READING THE MANUAL
CAREFULLY, MAKE SURE IT IS ALWAYS ON HAND FOR FUTURE REFERENCE.

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FRONT PANEL

CONTROLS, CONNECTIONS AND OPERATION

39A89B12

710

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1. POWER Switch:

This switches the AC power ON or OFF.

Note: In order to avoid possible undesired noise transients in a live sound reinforcement application, switch on the power to
your CL-5000 before switching on the amplification system.

Expander/Gate Section (Operation)

Audio, in general, is only as good as the source from which it was derived. The dynamic range of signals will often be restricted
by noise. synthesizers, effects devices, guitar pickups, amplifiers, etc., generally produce a high level of noise, hum or other
ambient background hiss, which can disturb the quality of the program material. Normally these noises are inaudible if the level
of the desired signal is significantly above the level of the noise. This perception by the ear is based on the “masking” effect:
noise will be masked and thus become inaudible as soon as considerably louder sound signals in the same frequency band are
added. Conversely, the further the level of the desired signal decreases, the more the noise floor becomes a disturbing factor.

Expanders or noise-gates offer a solution for this problem by attenuating signals when their amplitudes drop, thereby fading out
the background noise. Expanders extend the dynamic range of a signal and are therefore the opposite of compressors.
Expansion over the entire dynamic range is not desirable. For example, with an expansion ratio of 5:1 and a processed dy­namic range of 30 dB, an output dynamic range of 150 dB would result, exceeding all subsequent signal processors, as well as
human hearing. Therefore the amplitude control is restricted to signals whose levels are below a certain threshold. Signals above
this threshold pass through the unit unchanged. Due to continuous attenuation of the signals below this threshold, this kind of
expansion is termed “downward” expansion.

The noise-gate is the simplest form of an expander. In contrast to an expander, which continuously attenuates a signal below the
threshold, the noise gate cuts off the signal abruptly. In most applications this method is not very useful, since the on/off transi­tion is too drastic. The onset of a simple gate function appears very obvious and unnatural. To achieve an inaudible processing
of the program material, it is necessary to be able to control the signal’s envelope parameters.

The CL-5000 is equipped with an IRC (Interactive Ratio Control) Expander, so that its expansion ratio is automatically adjusted
dependent on the program material. Critical signals in the vicinity of the threshold level are processed with a minute expansion
ratio, whereas signals that reduce in level will be subjected to an increasingly higher ratio, which will result in greater attenua­tion. The result is expansion, which is less critical to adjust and more tolerant of useable signals whose level is only slightly above
that of the noise floor. Expansion therefore occurs extremely “soft” with low ratio settings, while the known negative effects of
expansion are inaudible. The Attack time of the IRC expander is set automatically and program-dependent, i.e., extremely short
for quickly changing signals and slower for a more balanced program material. Since the expander/gate adapts itself automati­cally to the program material, you will note that the IRC circuit produces considerably better results than conventional expanders.

2. THRESHOLD Controls:

Use the THRESHOLD controls to determine the threshold point below which expansion occurs. The range of these controls are
from OFF to +10dB.

3. INAUDIBLE Indicators:

For a signal above the threshold value, the “+” LED lights up. For a signal below the threshold, the “-” LED lights up, indicating
expansion mode.

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Compressor/Limiter Section (Operation)

By measuring the dynamic range of musical instruments in live recording situations, you will find that extreme amplitudes will
occur which can lead to overload in subsequent signal processing equipment. In most application, these signal peaks can lead to
heavy distortion. To avoid this kind of distortion or, for example, to prevent loudspeakers from being damaged by overload,
compressors or limiters are used. These devices use automatic gain control to reduce the amplitude of loud passages and
therefore restrict the original dynamics to a desired range. This application is particularly useful in microphone recording to
compensate for level changes caused by varying microphone distances. Although compressors and limiters perform similar
tasks, there is one essential difference. Limiters abruptly limit the signal above a certain level while compressors control the
signal “gently” over a wider range. A limiter continuously monitors the signal and intervenes as soon as an adjustable threshold
level is exceeded. Any signal exceeding this threshold will be immediately reduced back to the adjusted threshold level. A
compressor also monitors the program continuously and has a certain threshold level. However, in contrast to the limiter, signals
exceeding the threshold are not reduced abruptly, but gradually. Above the threshold, the signal is reduced in level relative to
the amount the signal exceeds this point. Generally, threshold levels for compressors are set below the normal operating level to
allow for the upper dynamics to be musically compressed. For limiters, the threshold level is set above the normal operating level
in order to provide reliable signal limiting and thus protect subsequent equipment.

The extensive controls of the Compressor section provide a great range of dynamic effects: from musical and soft compression to
limiting signal peaks, right up to extreme and effective compression of the overall dynamics. For example, a low ratio and very
low threshold setting can be used to achieve soft and musical processing of the general dynamics of the program material.
Higher ratios, together with low threshold settings, create relatively constant volume (leveling) for instruments by preventing the
output level from significantly exceeding the threshold point (provided the OUTPUT controls in the 0 dB position). Please note
that the compression of the entire program material (achieved by low threshold settings) sounds less natural with higher ratio
settings. Ratio settings in the range of 4:1 and lower affect the dynamics of the program material less and are often used to
compress the sound of a bass guitar, a snare drum or a vocal. Sensitive and moderate settings are generally used in mixing and
for leveling of program material in broadcasting.

In the CL-5000, control of the dynamics process is achieved by means of a high quality VCA (Voltage Controlled Amplifier) with
an operating range of about 60 dB, i.e., the input signal level can be reduced or increased within a range of 60 dB. Input signal
levels below the adjusted threshold are not reduced. However, as soon as the input signal exceeds the threshold level, dynamics
control is activated. The amount of compression (gain reduction) is proportional to the amount by which the input signal exceeds
the threshold level. With the threshold control completely turned clockwise, the threshold value is +20 dB. Since such a value will
not be reached in practice, you can use it to disable the compressor section and work exclusively either the expander/gate and
the dynamic enhancer circuits.

Rotate the THRESHOLD control counterclockwise until an appropriate amount of gain reduction is indicated on the GAIN
REDUCTION meter. This operation will be accompanied by an audible drop in output level. The OUTPUT control should now be
turned clockwise to reinstate the output level. Final adjustments of the controls can then be made to suit your particular require­ments, including the RATIO, ATTACK and RELEASE controls. The AUTO function of the attack and release times provides pro­gram dependent dynamic processing, which suits most standard uses. If a “condensed” or “wider” sound processing technique
is required, the attack and release times can also be manually adjusted.

The experienced user will be in a position to specify parameters while in bypass mode and thus realize the effect before the unit
is actually switched into operation. This is important in live situations, where a signal needs to be managed efficiently by the
sound technician, without the convenience of continuous A/B comparison. For using the Compressor/Limiter as a Limiter, you
should set Ratio turned fully clockwise to
Release times. Use the THRESHOLD control to set the threshold for the limiting level.

∞ :1, switch out the AUTO function and manually adjust short Attack and maximum

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4. THRESHOLD Controls:

The THRESHOLD controls set the threshold point for the compressor sections. They have a range of -40 to +20 dB.

5. RATIO Controls:

The RATIO controls determine the ratio between the input and output level for all signals exceeding the threshold point. The
control range can be adjusted from 1:1 to
output. A ratio of 2:1 indicates, that for every 2 dB increase in input level above the threshold, there will be a corresponding in
increase in output level of 1 dB. Similarly, a ratio of 10:1 indicates that for every 10dB increase in input level above the thresh­old, there will be a corresponding increase in the output level of 1 dB. If the RATIO control is set fully clockwise, this corresponds
to a ratio of infinity:1. This means that all input levels are reduced to the threshold point and are thus kept constant. (

Although a “hard” or infinite ratio limit has applications in certain specialized situations, in general, this setting is neither
appropriate nor necessary as it would cause audible side effects.)

.

∞ :1. A ratio of 1:1 indicates that the there is no level change between the input and

Note:

6. ATTACK controls:

The ATTACK controls determine the rate by which the compressors respond to a signal exceeding the threshold. These controls
can be adjusted from 0.1 to 200 milliseconds.

(Note: A short attack time is required for very fast transients (level peaks) such as handclaps, snare drums, etc., so that the
compressor is in a position to regulate these types of peaks. With other kinds of program material, it can be advantageous to
apply longer attack times. In fact, it’s always recommended to begin processing with longer attack times and only reduce the
times carefully as required, as the danger of dynamic distortion usually increases with shorter attack times.}

7. RELEASE controls:

The RELEASE controls determine the rate by which the compressors return to unity gain after falling below the threshold level.
These controls can be adjusted from 0.05 to 4 seconds.

the time is incorrectly set, this can lead to 2 fundamental problems: (1) If the release time is too short, the overall volume will
fluctuate when signals peak above the threshold level, giving sound an unpleasant pumping effect; (2) If the release time is too
long, pumping and breathing side effects will result when a loud passage is abruptly followed by a quiet passage.)

(Note: The release time is largely dependent on the program material. If

8. AUTO Switches:

By activating the AUTO switches, the ATTACK and RELEASE controls are disabled and the attack and release rates are automati­cally derived from the program material by means of intelligent program recognition, so that setting errors can be effectively
avoided. The AUTO processor eliminates side effects such as pumping, modulation distortion, etc., which are found in conven­tional compressors. This function allows for unobtrusive musical compression of signals or mixes with widely varying dynamics.
The settings of the attack and release controls will function only when these switches are set to MANUAL position.

9A. GAIN REDUCTION Meters:

The 12-segment GAIN REDUCTION meters indicate how effectively the gain is reduced by the compressor, within a range from
1 to 30 dB.

entire range, as in practice, such a broad control range will hardly ever be required. The visual range of the GAIN REDUCTION
meter is thus only 30 dB)

(Note: Although the VCA of the CL-5000 features a control range of almost 60 dB, it is not useful to display the

9B. INPUT LEVEL Meters:

The 8-segment INPUT/OUTPUT meters display the input signal levels to the CL-5000 when the IN/OUT switch (11) is in the OUT
position (bypass). When the IN/OUT switch is set to IN, the INPUT/OUTPUT meter displays its channel signal output level.

10. OUTPUT Controls:

The OUTPUT controls allow for the increase or decrease of the output signals by a maximum of 20 dB. This allows compensation
for a level loss due to the compression or limiting process.

11. IN/OUT Switches:

The IN/OUT switches activate the corresponding channel. This switch acts as a so-called “hard-bypass” so that when the switch
is OUT, the input jack is directly linked to the output jack. Normally, this switch is used to perform a direct A/B comparison
between the unprocessed and the compressed or limited signals.

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