ASHLY CLX 52 Stereo Compressor Limiter

  The CLX Series compressor/limiters use an "infinite soft-knee" characteristic and timing based on compression ratio. This, combined with a dual release time, allows program density to increase as the input signal increases. The result is a peak controller with very low noise, smooth sound, and excellent stereo tracking without the usual "constricted" limiter sound. The CLX-51 and CLX-52 have many ways to deal with any gain structure. The mechanical design is ready for years of rugged service and we back our quality with Ashly's exclusive Five Year Worry-Free Warranty. The CLX series is extremely useful for such diverse applications as loudspeaker protection, vocal level control, broadcast limiting, musical instrument sustain, special effects, and CD to cassette transfers.  

In today's recording and sound reinforcement environments, the need for multiple channels of high quality, easy to use compression is growing rapidly. The new dbx® 1046 is designed to provide the audio professional with just that: 4 channels of great sounding dbx compression for a variety of applications. Incorporating the industry standard dbx designs and the latest available manufacturing techniques, the dbx 1046 provides pristine sonic quality with that classic dbx sound.

The 1046 provides 4 channels of smooth classic dbx OverEasy® or Hard Knee compression that are perfectly suited for use on individual tracks of your multitrack recorder, and in virtually all applications the separate channels can be individually interfaced and used for entirely independent purposes. Additionally the newly developed PeakStopPlus™ is ideal for protecting your system from the oppressive peaks that can take out valuable drivers in your sound reinforcement rig or studio monitors.

All four channels have the following controls:

Threshold - allows you to set the level at which the compressor starts affecting the gain

OverEasy - allows you to select between soft compression for overall gain control or Hard Knee compression based on the characteristics of the original dbx 160.

Ratio - allows you to set the slope of gain reduction affecting the signal over the threshold level.

Input/Output Meter - allows you to set the meter to check the input and output levels for maximum signal-to-noise ratio and best level matching.

Output Gain - allows you to add make-up gain or to adjust the output level for that channel to match the next device's input gain.

Bypass - hard wire bypass allows you to hear how the compressor is affecting your signal.

PeakStopPlus - allows you to set the maximum signal level you want to pass through this channel. While it's virtually impossible to eliminate distortion, the PeakStopPlus circuit does it gracefully and effectively with minimal distortion.

Stereo Link - allows you to link channels 1&2 and 3&4 for two channels of true stereo compression.

All four channels feature balanced gold plated XLR and 1/4" inputs and outputs, and switchable +4dBu or -10dBV operating level to interface each individual channel with any other device.

So whether you need to control the level, placement in the mix, or overall characteristics of 4 independent signals or control the gain leveling on a couple of stereo pairs, the dbx 1046 is for you.

• Four independent channels of operation, stereo linkable in two pairs
• PeakStopPlus™ limiting control for setting maximum allowable level regardless of compressor settings
• Independent Threshold and ratio controls
• Switchable OverEasy® or Hard Knee compression
• Classic dbx® compression
• Differentially balanced gold-plated XLR and 1/4" inputs and outputs
• True RMS level detection
• Precision metering of input level, output level, and gain reduction
• Dual True stereo or quad mono operation
• Switchable +4dBu or -10dBV operation per channel

The S com 4 is a compact and versatile single-rack space device that provides
four channels of high quality dynamics processing with an Expander/Gate and
Compressor/Limiter on each channel.
The four channels operate independently or in stereo pairs. Its multi-segment LED
metering displays input/output level as well as gain reduction. The Expander/Gate
section features a continuously variable Threshold control as well as a switch for
fast or slow release times.
The Compressor/Limiter section includes variable Threshold, Ratio and Output levels.
S com 4's Enhancer switch restores high frequencies that are sometimes diminished
by heavy compression. This wide-ranging combination of features makes the S com
4 an efficient and versatile audio tool for a wide variety of applications. Its clean and
quiet audio characteristics make it ideal where high sonic integrity is imperative. 
 
FEATURES:

4 Channel Compressor/Limiter, Expander/Gate with Enhancer
Linkable in two Stereo pairs
Expander/Gate with variable Trigger control and switchable Fast/Slow Release
5 Segment LED meters for Input/Output levels and Gain Reduction on each channel
Advanced circuit design utilizing Low Noise Operational
Amplifiers and High Quality VCA's
Servo Balanced Inputs and Outputs on XLR and 1/4" connectors
SKD (Smart Knee Detector) circuit automatically switches from soft to hard knee
based on the level of Input signal applied
Individual Threshold and Ratio controls on each channel
Three-year extended warranty 

Features
Enhance switch to restore spectral balance of compressed signal
Switchable Mode - Dual Channel or Stereo linked
Above or Below Threshold LEDs
Balanced XLR and Jack Inputs and Outputs
Intuitive, user friendly layout
Flawless performance

Innovation
The ARX COMPO? is a unique compressor/limiter designed for use in any
professional audio dynamics control application, packaged in a compact 1
RU chassis.The COMPO operates as two independent compressor/limiters,
with 'industry standard' variable Threshold, Ratio and Output gain controls.
A Stereo Link switch on the front panel lets both channels track as a stereo
pair in a Master/Slave configuration.
Enhance Switch
The COMPO features an 'Enhance' switch, which provides frequency restoration
to preserve the spectral balance of the audio signal, compensating for the sagging
Low and High frequency response of compressed program material.
The best way to think of it is as a 'smart' loudness control.
Wide Scale metering
There is comprehensive LED indication of all operating functions and status. Above
or Below Threshold LEDs on each channel give you instant visual confirmation of
compressor activity, as well as easy to read LED Gain Reduction meters.
Balanced Inputs and Outputs
On the rear panel, each channel has true differential Balanced inputs and outputs,
on both XLR and TRS jack connectors. Other features include an Active/Bypass
switch for each channel, and passive RFI filters on the inputs.
Universal AC Power
AC power range is a universal 100 to 120V or 220 to 240V AC, and is connected to
the unit via a removable power lead and standard 3 pin IEC connector, with built-in
fuse and voltage change switch.
ARX Quality
With its smooth compression, intuitive user friendly layout, high density precision
circuitry, and extensive user-variable operating parameters, the ARX COMPO is the
ideal installation 'set and forget' compressor, and is also equally at home in Studio,
Broadcast and Sound Reinforcement environments.

Every day, ARX Audio interface products solve audio problems for thousands of people
around the world.

T E C H N I C A L S P E C I F I C A T I O N S
Input Impedance Balanced 20 Kohms, Unbalanced 10 Kohms
Input Headroom + 22 dB
CMRR >60 dB, 20 Hz-20 KHz
Output Impedance Balanced 300 ohms, Unbalanced 150 ohms
Output Level (Max) + 22 dB
Frequency Response 20Hz to 20KHz ±0.4dB
Signal to Noise ratio -85 dB Unweighted, -99 dB 'A' weighted
Distortion .02% THD @ 0dB,1KHz
Dynamic Range 107 dB
Enhance Section
Low Enhance 50 Hz, High Enhance 10 KHz
Power Requirements 100/120 V AC, 220/240 V AC
Weight 5 lbs/2.2 Kg
Dimensions 19“W x 1?“H x 6“D, 482 x 44 x 155mm
Input/OutputConnector type XLR, Balanced Jack

Front Panel Controls
Channel A Active/Bypassed IN/OUT switch
Threshold, Ratio and Output Gain controls
Numbered marker panel for labelling compressor assigns
5 segment LED Gain Reduction display
Above/Below Threshold status LEDs
Enhance switch and status LED
Stereo link switch and status LED
Channel B controls identical to Channel A
Rear Panel Connectors
Balanced XLR Input and Output connectors.
Balanced TRS jack Input and Output connectors.
AC input connector, with voltage switch and fuse.
 

OPTIMOD-FM 5500 puts coveted five-band and two-band OPTIMOD processing into a single rack unit package and brings it to you at the most affordable price ever.

Quality sound is what 5500 is all about-sound that attracts audiences by providing a polished, professional presentation regardless of format and source material. Exceptional versatility allows you to adjust the processor's audio texture to brand your audio, knowing that the resulting signature sound will remain consistent, cut-to-cut and source-to-source. Branding builds businesses and no other processors have the consistency to brand your sound like OPTIMOD.

With the 5500, your signature sound is just a preset away. An easy, one-knob Less/More adjustment allows you to customize any factory preset, trading cleanliness against processing artifacts according to the requirements of your market and competitive environment. Full Control gives you the versatility to customize your audio further. And, if you're a hard-core processing expert, you can explore Advanced Control to tweak presets at the same level as Orban's factory programmers. This versatility makes the 5500 a superb choice for any format. Its five-band processing is ideal for any pop music format (even the most competitive and aggressive CHR), while phase-linear two-band processing yields ultratransparent sound for classical, classic jazz, and fine arts formats. Regardless of your choice, 5500's optimized technology ensures unusually high average modulation and coverage for a given level of subjective quality. Unlike many lesser processors, the 5500 handles speech particularly well. It's always clean, even when you process for loudness.

If you're concerned about latency because you need to feed live talent headphones off air, be assured that the 5500's ultra-low-latency (5 ms delay) processing will keep the most finicky talent happy. Or use optimum latency (15 ms delay) processing for the most competitive sound with delay that's still low enough to satisfy most any talent.

The 5500 can also be used as a superb stand-alone stereo encoder with latency as low as 2 ms and full overshoot limiting in both the left/right and composite baseband domains.

When used in this mode, the 5500 must be driven (usually via an STL) by a full-featured FM audio processor (like Orban's 8600) that incorporates pre-emphasis aware HF limiting and peak control. In both modes, the 5500's stereo encoder helps deliver a transmitted signal that's always immaculately clean and perfectly peak limited, with full spectral protection of subcarriers and RDS/RBDS regardless of the amount of composite limiting.

It is the ideal choice for network broadcasters who process with Orban's flagship OPTIMOD-FM 8600 at the network origination point and who need a processor at every transmitter to eliminate STL overshoots (using the 5500's stand-alone stereo encoder mode) and/or to process local insertions while also eliminating network STL overshoots (using the 5500's audio processor / stereo encoder mode). Moreover, the 5500's two modes make it easy for large government and network broadcasters to manage its inventory of spares because any 5500 can be used as a stereo encoder with or without audio processing.

Available in both modes, the built-in, defeat-able ITU-BS412 multiplex power controller allows the 5500's output to meet even the most stringent European government regulations.

A 10 MHz frequency reference input allows the stereo pilot tone frequency to be locked to GPS or another high-accuracy frequency standard. This improves the performance of single-frequency networks in areas where coverage of the transmitters overlaps.

The 5500's built-in stereo encoder, AES/EBU digital inputs and outputs, and analog I/O permit hasslefree interfacing to any broadcast plant, whether the 5500 is located at the studio or the transmitter. Tight band limiting to 15 kHz means you can use any uncompressed digital STL to pass 5500- processed audio from studio to transmitter without compromising on-air loudness - there's no need to use STL's having 44.1 or 48 kHz sample-rate.

The stereo encoder's stereo sub-channel modulator can operate in normal double sideband mode and in an experimental compatible single sideband mode (SSB/VSB) that is offered to enable users to compare and assess the two modes.

Analog Fallback to Digital control that allows Silence Sense to switch the active input from Analog to Digital if silence is detected in the analog input signal but not on the digital input signal. This function works vice versa as well on both analog and digital AES input. The silence sense parameters apply to both simultaneously and both detectors are available to drive the 5500's tally outputs and sending SNMP Traps/Alerts.

If you want to locate the 5500 away from the studio, you'll be pleased by its three separate remote control ports - GPI contact closures, RS232 serial and built-in Ethernet for TCP/IP networks. The serial and Ethernet ports are supported by the supplied 5500 PC Remote Control application. This Windows® 2000/XP/Vista/7/8 application allows you to do even more with the 5500 than you can do through its front panel, making remote control a pleasure.

5500 PC Remote software allows you to access all 5500 features and allows you to archive and restore presets, automation lists, and system setups (containing I/O levels, digital word lengths, GPI functional assignments, etc.)

Built-in clock-based automation lets you automatically day-part the processing. You can control many other 5500 operating parameters too.

The 5500's feature set fully exploits the processor's DSP and computer-based control architecture. To ensure absolute accuracy, you can automatically synchronize the clock to an Internet timeserver. It has a cool-running, energy-efficient switching power supply and uses the latest dual-core DSP chip technology from Freescale Semiconductor.