Radial Engineering JD6 User's Guide

True to the Music
Radial JD6
Six channel rack mount D.I.
User Guide
Radial Engineering Ltd. 1638 Kebet Way, Port Coquitlam BC V3C 5W9 tel: 604-942-1001 • fax: 604-942-1010 email: info@radialeng.com web: www.radialeng.com
www.radialeng.com
Radial JD6 Owner’s Manual
TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE NUMBER
1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................................1
2. The JD6 Design Concept ..............................................................................................................2
3. Development of the JD6 ................................................................................................................2
4. Rear Panel Connections ................................................................................................................5
5. Using the JD6 ................................................................................................................................6
6. Grounding Options for the System Engineer .................................................................................7
7. Typical Stage Set-up Using the Radial JD6 ...................................................................................8
8. Typical Studio Set-Up Using the Radial JD6 .................................................................................8
9. Optional Output Panels .................................................................................................................9
10. The Advantage of Going Passive! .................................................................................................9
11. Radial JD6 - Questions & Answers ..............................................................................................10
Warranty Information ......................................................................................................Back Cover
1. INTRODUCTION
Congratulations on your purchase of the Radial JD6 multi-channel direct box. The JD6 is a world-class 19" rack­mountable DI system that has been optimized for use with keyboards, audio-visual equipment, computer sound cards, samplers, electronic drums and instruments of all types.
As there are many innovative features in the JD6, we recommend that you take a few minutes to read through this manual in order to familiarize yourself with the design and features that are built in. Most importantly, the Radial JD6 features internal grounding options that will be of particular interest to engineers when integrating the JD6 with keyboard racks and audio-visual systems.
Should you have a question or application in mind that is not covered in this manual, we invite you to log onto the Radial web site at www.radialeng.com to check the Questions and Answers section for the latest updates. Of course you can also send us an email at info@radialeng.com should you have a particular need.
Have fun!
Radial Engineering 1638 Kebet Way, Port Coquitlam BC V3C 5W9 tel: 604-942-1001 • fax: 604-942-1010 email: info@radialeng.com web: www.radialeng.com
Specifi cations and appearance subject to change without notice.
Radial Engineering JD6 Owner’s Manual
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True to the Music
2. THE JD6 DESIGN CONCEPT
Over the past several years, there has been a shift in the way keyboards, digital samplers and electronic drums have been used in live sound. Most notable has been the integration of the portable PC (personal computer) and sound card as part of the musical array. Add to this the insurgence of the disk jockey and his assortment of scratch samplers and one can begin to foresee the need for a new interface to ‘tame the beast’.
Live sound is but a portion of this emerging market. The introduction of affordable 24bit / 96kHz technology has allowed the musician, artist and engineer to fashion a ‘home offi ce’ and create a completely viable project studio in the comfort of a spare room. The same live touring equipment must be able to transition from the road to the studio right along side the computer.
Ultimately it must be easy to use, be able to adapt to a variety of set-ups, be compact for maximum rack density and sound absolutely amazing. And uh… did I mention that it must solve all those nasty ground loop problems that cause keyboard technicians to have nightmares?
3. DEVELOPMENT OF THE JD6
The Radial JD6 is a 6-channel version of the highly successful Radial JDI direct box and supercedes the Radial JD4 as the new standard 19" rack mounted direct box. Upon inspection you will notice that channels 1 and 2 differ from channels 3 through 6. A ‘Swiss Army knife’ approach is introduced to allow the 1st two channels on the JD6 to be problem solvers for stage and studio. Added features include a high frequency fi lter to reduce noise, a merge function to mix left & right keyboard outputs to mono and choice of ¼” inputs or RCA ’ s for improved interfacing with audio-visual equipment and computers. The other 4 channels address basic DI requirements as normally required for keyboards, electronic drums and other electronic devices.
As with all Radial direct boxes, the audio signal path is of utmost importance. The Radial JD6 is a passive direct box and employs the Radial's fi nest Eclipse™ audio transformers for absolute performance. You can hit the JD6 with tons of level and you will never saturate the core! At less than 0.006% distortion at 20Hz, the JD6 has no equal. However harmonic distortion is only part of the story: the Radial JD6 exhibits less than 4º phase deviation at 20Hz making it the ultimate choice for keyboards where extreme dynamics and wide frequency range is required. There is nothing more demanding on electronics than a digitally sampled grand piano and the JD6 handles these dynamics without altering the tone, introducing phase shift or intermodulation distortion.
Key features on the JD6 include switching jacks for channels 1 and 2 whereby the front jacks take priority over the rear panel jacks. This is of particular importance in studio set-ups where the JD6 can act as a patch bay to quickly reconfi gure the signal path.
To add greater effi ciency for touring, a series of extension panels with individual and multipin connectors are also offered. Furthermore, each channel of the JD6 has been provided with internal grounding switches to allow the system engineer to select between fl oating and chassis grounding for maximum fl exibility.
Of course, as with all Radial products, the JD6 is designed to handle the most abusive environments. W elded 14 gauge steel construction, baked enamel fi nish, high-cycle rate switches and glass-fi lled high-impact polymer connectors with nickel silver contacts combine for maximum durability. The Radial JD6 is supported with a 3-year limited warranty.
Radial Engineering JD6 Owner’s Manual
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FRONT PANEL FEATURE AND FUNCTION SET
1. Pad, -15dB for extra hot signals
2. Filter, 8kHz high frequency roll-off
3. Polarity reverse, 180º ‘phase’ fl ip at the XLR
4. Ground lift switch lifts pin-1 at the XLR
5. Input connector from the instrument
6. Thru-put connector goes to the amplifi er
True to the Music
7. Merge mixes the input and thru to mono at XLR
8. Input selector switch selects between ¼” and RCA
9. RCA input connectors (pre-merged)
10. Wax pencil or dry-erase label ID on each channel
1. –15dB pad: All channels of the Radial JD6 feature a -15dB pad to reduce the level coming from high output sources such as CD players, tape machines and headphone outputs. It is unlikely that you will ever need to use a pad for basses or guitars.
NOTE: When using a headphone output as a ‘source’, activate the –15dB pad and make sure the headphone level is rst set to zero. Then, slowly increase the volume until it matches the output from an instrument such as a keyboard. Headphone outputs are much hotter than instrument levels and if not careful, can saturate the transformer and cause distortion.
2. 8kHz lter: Channels 1 and 2 feature a gentle low-pass fi lter that rolls off highs at 8kHz. This is designed to remove hiss and noise from older high output equipment and the upper frequency hash that is common in many of today’s electronic devices. The fi lter can often help remove induced noise from CRT monitors and other electro-magnetic stray elds. To engage the fi lter, the pad must also be depressed.
3. 180º polarity reverse: The 180º polarity reverse is used to reverse the polarity (sometimes called absolute phase reverse) at the XLR by fl ipping pin-2 and pin-3. This is used when interfacing with older equipment that was made before the AES pin-2 standard was adopted. It can also be used in a creative way when combining direct and mic’d sources.
4. Ground lift: The ground lift switch is used to disconnect pin-1 at the XLR thus providing 100% isolation. The JD6 is passive and employs isolation transformers throughout, so problems such as 60-cycle hum, ground loops and other noises associated with electronic equipment are generally eliminated. Lifting the XLR ground connection presumes you intend to ground the JD6 at the input.
NOTE: Inside the JD6 are individual chassis ground lift switches. These are factory set to fl oat thus providing isolation between adjacent channels and provide 100% fl oating circuits as if using 6 separate direct boxes. This is detailed further in the manual.
Radial Engineering JD6 Owner’s Manual
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