Sound Devices MixPre-D User Manual
MixPre-D
User Guide and Technical Information
Sound Devices, LLC
E7556 State Road 23/33 • Reedsburg, WI • USA
+1 (608) 524-0625 • fax: +1 (608) 524-0655
Toll-Free: (800) 505-0625
www.sounddevices.com
support@sounddevices.com
Table of Contents
MixPre-D User Guide and Technical Information
Table of Contents ..............................1
Front Panel Description ........................2
Side Panels Description ........................3
Inputs .......................................4
Mic / Line Setting ...................................4
Phantom Power ....................................4
Input Gain Control ..................................4
High-pass Filter ....................................5
Limiters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Pan Switch ........................................5
Inputs 3 and 4 .....................................5
Input Linking .......................................6
X/Y Stereo Link ................................... 6
MS Stereo Linking ................................6
Outputs ......................................6
XLR Outputs ......................................7
Tape Output .......................................7
AES Digital Output ..................................7
Sampling Rate .................................... 7
Monitoring ...................................7
Headphone Gain ...................................7
Headphone Source Selection .........................8
Metering ..........................................8
Tone Oscillator & Slate Microphone ..............8
Slate Microphone ...................................8
Tone Oscillator .....................................8
Powering .....................................9
Power Switch and LED ..............................9
Internal Batteries ...................................9
External DC Sources ...............................9
Computer Interface ............................9
Installation and Connection with Mac OS ...............10
OS X Audio / MIDI Setup ...........................10
Adjusting Sample Rate in OS X ...................... 10
Windows Installation and Connection ..................10
Windows Vista and Windows 7 Sound Control Panel .....10
Adjusting Sample Rate in Windows Vista and Windows 7 . 10
Windows XP Sound Control Panel ................... 10
Front Panel Button Shortcuts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Specifications ...............................12
Warranty and Technical Support ................14
CE Declaration of Conformity ...................15
Copyright and Release
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means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the expressed written permission of SOUND DEVICES,
LLC. SOUND DEVICES is not responsible for any use of this information.
SOUND DEVICES, LLC shall not be liable to the purchaser of this product or third parties for damages, losses, costs, or expenses
incurred by purchaser or third parties as a result of: accident, misuse, or abuse of this product or unauthorized modifications, repairs, or
alterations to this product, or failure to strictly comply with SOUND DEVICES, LLC’s operating and installation instructions.
Microsoft Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Macintosh is a registered trademark of Apple, Inc. Other product
and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
The sound waves logo is a registered trademark of Sound Devices, LLC.
Limitation of Liability
LIMITATION ON SOUND DEVICES’ LIABILITY. SOUND DEVICES, LLC SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO THE PURCHASER OF THIS
PRODUCT OR THIRD PARTIES FOR DAMAGES, LOSSES, COSTS, OR EXPENSES INCURRED BY PURCHASER OR THIRD PARTIES AS A RESULT OF: ACCIDENT, MISUSE, OR ABUSE OF THIS PRODUCT OR UNAUTHORIZED MODIFICATIONS, REPAIRS,
OR ALTERATIONS TO THIS PRODUCT, OR FAILURE TO STRICTLY COMPLY WITH SOUND DEVICES, LLC’S OPERATING AND
INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, SOUND DEVICES SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY
TO THE END USER OR ANY OTHER PERSON FOR COSTS, EXPENSES, DIRECT DAMAGES, INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, PUNITIVE
DAMAGES, SPECIAL DAMAGES, CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR OTHER DAMAGES OF ANY KIND OR NATURE WHATSOEVER
ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE PRODUCTS, THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OR THE PARTIES’ RELATIONSHIP,
INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES RESULTING FROM OR RELATED TO THE DELETION OR OTHER LOSS OF AUDIO
OR VIDEO RECORDINGS OR DATA, REDUCED OR DIMINISHED AUDIO OR VIDEO QUALITY OR OTHER SIMILAR AUDIO OR
VIDEO DEFECTS ARISING FROM, RELATED TO OR OTHERWISE ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE PRODUCTS OR THE END USER’S USE
OR OPERATION THEREOF, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER SUCH DAMAGES ARE CLAIMED UNDER CONTRACT, TORT OR ANY
OTHER THEORY. “CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES” FOR WHICH SOUND DEVICES SHALL NOT BE LIABLE SHALL INCLUDE, WITHOUT LIMITATION, LOST PROFITS, PENALTIES, DELAY DAMAGES, LIQUIDATED DAMAGES AND OTHER DAMAGES AND LIABILITIES WHICH END USER SHALL BE OBLIGATED TO PAY OR WHICH END USER OR ANY OTHER PARTY MAY INCUR RELATED TO
OR ARISING OUT OF ITS CONTRACTS WITH ITS CUSTOMERS OR OTHER THIRD PARTIES. NOTWITHSTANDING AND WITHOUT
LIMITING THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT SHALL SOUND DEVICES BE LIABLE FOR ANY AMOUNT OF DAMAGES IN EXCESS
OF AMOUNTS PAID BY THE END USER FOR THE PRODUCTS AS TO WHICH ANY LIABILITY HAS BEEN DETERMINED TO EXIST.
SOUND DEVICES AND END USER EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT THE PRICE FOR THE PRODUCTS WAS DETERMINED IN CONSIDERATION OF THE LIMITATION ON LIABILITY AND DAMAGES SET FORTH HEREIN AND SUCH LIMITATION HAS BEEN SPECIFICALLY BARGAINED FOR AND CONSTITUTES AN AGREED ALLOCATION OF RISK WHICH SHALL SURVIVE THE DETERMINATION
OF ANY COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION THAT ANY REMEDY HEREIN FAILS OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE.
1
MixPre-D User Guide and Technical Information
Front Panel Description
3
4
1
2
5
1) Link LEDs
Indicates linked status of inputs. Both
LEDs off: no link; Bottom LED illuminated: stereo linking; Both LEDs
illuminated: MS stereo linking. See Input
Linking
2) Input Gain Controls
Potentiometers to adjust input gain.
Fully counter-clockwise is off.
6
7
8
9 10
11
12
13
7) Limiter Switch
Activates both the input and output limiters. Middle: (LIM) dual-mono limiter
operation; Right: (LINK) stereo operation. Threshold is adjustable. See Front
Panel Shortcuts
8) Headphone Connector
Accepts stereo and mono headphones
with 1/4-inch connectors.
3) High-Pass Filter LEDs
Indicates that the high-pass filter is
engaged for the input. One LED illumi-
nated: 80 Hz; Both LEDs illuminated:
160 Hz.
4) Input Buttons
Toggles between high-pass filter settings
for the input (Off / 80 Hz / 160 Hz).
5) Pan Switches (Input Assignment)
Three-position switch pans input to Left,
Center (both left and right) or Right
outputs. When inputs are linked, Input 2
Pan Switch function is altered. See Input
Linking
6) Tone Oscillator/Slate Microphone
Switch
Toggle switch activates a 1 kHz tone
oscillator when switched to the left position and activates the slate microphone
when in the right (momentary) position.
Microphone inputs are muted when
tone or slate are activated.
9) Return Signal LED
Indicates presence of signal on RTN
input or Channel 3 & 4 input. See Inputs
3 and 4
10) Monitor Source LED
Indicates monitor source. Off: output
bus. Solid: Return signal; Flashing: USB
output signal. See Computer Interface
11) Headphone Controller
Rotating controls headphone gain. Push
to cycle between monitor sources. Also
controls various secondary functions.
See Front Panel Shortcuts
12) Sample Rate LEDs
Indicates the current sample rate when
AES output is active or USB is connected.
13) Power Switch and LED
Three position switch: Middle: off;
Left: (INT) internal power; Right: (EXT)
external power. Power illuminates green
for adequate voltage and flashes green
when voltage is low.
2
v1.0 Features and specifications are subject to change. Visit www.sounddevices.com for the latest documentation.
Side Panels Description
MixPre-D User Guide and Technical Information
3
42 7 7 10
1) XLR Inputs
Transformer balanced input stage. Pin 1:
ground; Pin 2: ‘hot’ (+); Pin 3: ‘cold’ (-).
Can be unbalanced by grounding pin 3
to pin 1 of the XLR connector.
2) Mic/Line and Phantom Power Switch
Selects the input level of the adjacent
XLR input. Left: (48V) mic level with
phantom power; Middle: (MIC) mic
level without phantom power; Right:
(LINE) line level. Mic level has 40 dB
more gain than line level.
3) Stereo Mic-level Output
Unbalanced stereo signal on a TA3 connector. Signal from this output is mic
level (-36 dBu). Pin 1: ground; Pin 2: left;
Pin 3: right.
4) Stereo Line-level Output (Tape Out)
Unbalanced, stereo, 3.5 mm output
connector. Signal from this output is
aux level (-10 dBu). Tip: left; Ring: right;
Sleeve: ground.
11
2 5
9866
7) XLR Output Switch
Sets level of output XLRs. Left: (MIC)
mic level (-40 dB); Middle: (LINE) line
level; Right: (AES) AES digital. The AES
setting is available on the right output
only. AES signal carries 2 channels on
one balanced connector.
8) USB Port
USB connector for interconnection with
the computer. USB 1.1 and 2.0 compliant.
9) Return Input
Unbalanced, stereo, 3.5 mm input connector. Feeds return signal to monitors
or 3,4 Inputs. See Inputs 3 and 4. Tip: left;
Ring: right; Sleeve: ground.
10) DC Input
Accepts input voltage from 10 to 17
V for mixer powering. Pin 1: negative
(-); Pin 4: positive (+). External DC is
isolated (floating) from the rest of the
circuitry.
5) 12V Phantom LED
Illuminated: phantom power is set to 12
V; Off: phantom power is set to 48 V.
6) XLR Outputs
Active-balanced outputs. Mic or Line
switchable. Right output can also be set
to AES. Pin 1: ground; Pin 2: ‘hot’ (+);
Pin 3: ‘cold’ (-).
3
MixPre-D User Guide and Technical Information
Inputs
The MixPre-D features two transformer balanced analog inputs. Each input provides enough gain
to amplify a variety of signals from low-sensitivity ribbon and dynamic microphones, medium-level
wireless and condenser microphones, and “hot” line level signals.
The XLR inputs of the MixPre-D are transformer-balanced. The isolation characteristics of transformers are superior to other balancing techniques and are ideal for the hostile and uncontrolled environments of field production. Transformers provide galvanic isolation from the driving source, meaning
there is no direct electrical connection. Signals are “transformed” magnetically. The input transformers in the MixPre-D use premium magnetic core material to achieve high signal handling capability
(especially at low frequencies) while keeping distortion to a minimum. Because of their inherently
high common mode impedance, transformers are unrivaled by any other type of input for commonmode noise rejection.
The inputs of the MixPre-D can be used as balanced or unbalanced. When unbalancing, ground
pin-3 to pin-1 of the XLR connector. There is no change in gain between unbalanced and balanced
connections into the MixPre-D.
Mic / Line Setting
Before plugging a source into an XLR input on the MixPre-D, set the Mic/Line and phantom powering switch to the correct position:
Setting Input Source
48V Condenser microphones requiring phantom power
MIC Dynamic microphones, some ribbon microphones, devices outputting mic-level signal (for example,
LINE Devices outputting line-level signal (outputs from other mixers, for example)
wireless receivers).
Phantom Power
Phantom powering is a fixed DC voltage at either 12 or 48 volts. This voltage is resistively applied
to pin-2 and pin-3 of an XLR connector relative to pin-1. There is no voltage difference between the
signal pins-2 and -3. Dynamic microphones will operate as normal when phantom power is applied
to them.
The MixPre-D can provide up to 10 mA to each input at 48 V, sufficient for the most power-hungry
condenser microphones. Many phantom powered microphones do not require 48 V and can be properly powered with 12 V. When acceptable, use 12 V phantom to extend the MixPre-D’s battery life.
The phantom voltage level can be set to either 12 V or 48 V and is applied across all inputs where
phantom power is selected.
To change the phantom voltage between 12 V and 48 V, hold down the Headphone Controller
and slide the Slate switch into the slate position. The 12 V Phantom LED on the left side panel
illuminates green when the phantom voltage is set to 12 V.
Input Gain Control
The amount of gain applied to an input is adjusted with the Input Gain Control. A fully
clockwise position results in no signal passing from the input to the output bus (muted).
Up to 66 dB of gain is available from for microphone inputs.
4
v1.0 Features and specifications are subject to change. Visit www.sounddevices.com for the latest documentation.
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