266XL Compressor / Gate Owner/Operator Manual Manuel d'utilisation Bedienungsanleitung Manual de instrucciones IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS CAUTION RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK DO NOT OPEN WARNING FOR YOUR PROTECTION READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS: KEEP THESE INSTRUCTIONS HEED ALL WARNINGS FOLLOW ALL INSTRUCTIONS DO NOT USE THIS APPARATUS NEAR WATER CLEAN ONLY WITH A DRY CLOTH. DO NOT BLOCK ANY OF THE VENTILATION OPENINGS. INSTALL IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE MANUFACTURER'S INSTRUCTIONS. DO NOT INSTALL NEAR ANY HEAT SOURCES SUCH AS RADIATORS, HEAT REGISTERS, STOVES, OR OTHER APPARATUS (INCLUDING AMPLIFIERS) THAT PRODUCE HEAT. ONLY USE ATTACHMENTS/ACCESSORIES SPECIFIED BY THE MANUFACTURER. UNPLUG THIS APPARATUS DURING LIGHTNING STORMS OR WHEN UNUSED FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME. Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarized or grounding-type plug. A polarized plug has two blades with one wider than the other. A grounding type plug has two blades and a third grounding prong. The wide blade or third prong are provided for your safety. If the provided plug does not fit your outlet, consult an electrician for replacement of the obsolete outlet. Protect the power cord from being walked on or pinched particularly at plugs, convenience receptacles, and the point where they exit from the apparatus. A T T E N T I O N : RISQUE DE CHOC ELECTRIQUE - NE PAS OUVRIR W A R N I N G : TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRIC SHOCK DO NOT EXPOSE THIS EQUIPMENT TO RAIN OR MOISTURE The symbols shown above are internationally accepted symbols that warn of potential hazards with electrical products. The lightning flash with arrowpoint in an equilateral triangle means that there are dangerous voltages present within the unit. The exclamation point in an equilateral triangle indicates that it is necessary for the user to refer to the owner's manual. These symbols warn that there are no user serviceable parts inside the unit. Do not open the unit. Do not attempt to service the unit yourself. Refer all servicing to qualified personnel. Opening the chassis for any reason will void the manufacturer's warranty. Do not get the unit wet. If liquid is spilled on the unit, shut it off immediately and take it to a dealer for service. Disconnect the unit during storms to prevent damage. SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS NOTICE FOR CUSTOMERS IF YOUR UNIT IS EQUIPPED WITH A POWER CORD. WARNING: THIS APPLIANCE MUST BE EARTHED. The cores in the mains lead are coloured in accordance with the following code: GREEN andYELLOW - Earth BLUE - Neutral BROWN - Live Use only with the cart stand, tripod bracket, or table specified by the manufacture, or sold with the apparatus. When a cart is used, use caution when moving the cart/apparatus combination to avoid injury from tip-over. As colours of the cores in the mains lead of this appliance may not correspond with the coloured markings identifying the terminals in your plug, proceed as follows: · The core which is coloured green and yellow must be connected to the terminal in the plug marked with the letter E, or with the earth symbol, or coloured green, or green and yellow. · The core which is coloured blue must be connected to the terminal marked N or coloured black. · The core which is coloured brown must be connected to the terminal marked L or coloured red. This equipment may require the use of a different line cord, attachment plug, or both, depending on the available power source at installation. If the attachment plug needs to be changed, refer servicing to qualified service personnel who should refer to the table below. The green/yellow wire shall be connected directly to the units chassis. Refer all servicing to to qualified service personnel. Servicing is required when the apparatus has been damaged in any way, such as power-supply cord or plug is damaged, liquid has been spilled or objects have fallen into the apparatus, the apparatus has been exposed to rain or moisture, does not operate normally, or has been dropped. POWER ON/OFF SWITCH: For products provided with a power switch, the power switch DOES NOT break the connection from the mains. MAINS DISCONNECT: The plug shall remain readily operable. For rack-mount or installation where plug is not accessible, an all-pole mains switch with a contact separation of at least 3 mm in each pole shall be incorporated into the electrical installation of the rack or building. FOR UNITS EQUIPPED WITH EXTERNALLY ACCESSIBLE FUSE RECEPTACLE: Replace fuse with same type and rating only. MULTIPLE-INPUT VOLTAGE: This equipment may require the use of a different line cord, attachment plug, or both, depending on the available power source at installation. Connect this equipment only to the power source indicated on the equipment rear panel. To reduce the risk of fire or electric shock, refer servicing to qualified service personnel or equivalent. This Equipment is intended for rack mount use only. CONDUCTOR L N LIVE NEUTRAL WIRE COLOR Normal BROWN BLUE Alt BLACK WHITE GREEN E EARTH GND GREEN/YEL WARNING: If the ground is defeated, certain fault conditions in the unit or in the system to which it is connected can result in full line voltage between chassis and earth ground. Severe injury or death can then result if the chassis and earth ground are touched simultaneously. IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS LITHIUM BATTERY WARNING CAUTION! This product may contain a lithium battery.There is danger of explosion if the battery is incorrectly replaced. Replace only with an Eveready CR 2032 or equivalent. Make sure the battery is installed with the correct polarity. Discard used batteries according to manufacturer's instructions. U.K. MAINS PLUG WARNING A molded mains plug that has been cut off from the cord is unsafe. Discard the mains plug at a suitable disposal facility. NEVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU INSERT A DAMAGED OR CUT MAINS PLUG INTO A 13 AMP POWER SOCKET. Do not use the mains plug without the fuse cover in place. Replacement fuse covers can be obtained from your local retailer. Replacement fuses are 13 amps and MUST be ASTA approved to BS1362. ADVARSEL! Lithiumbatteri - Eksplosjonsfare.Ved utskifting benyttes kun batteri som anbefalt av apparatfabrikanten. Brukt batteri returneres apparatleverandøren. DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY ADVARSEL! Lithiumbatteri - Eksplosionsfare ved fejlagtig håndtering. Udskiftning må kun ske med batteri av samme fabrikat og type. Levér det brugte batteri tilbage til leverandøren. Manufacturer's Name: Manufacturer's Address: dbx Professional Products 8760 S. Sandy Parkway Sandy, Utah 84070, USA VAROITUS! Paristo voi räjähtää, jos se on virheellisesti asennettu. Vaihda paristo ainoastaan laitevalmistajan suosittelemaan tyyppin. Hävitä käytetty paristo valmistajan ohjeiden mukaisesti. declares that the product: Product name: dbx 266XL Note: Product name may be suffixed by the II & EU. VARNING! Explosionsfara vid felaktigt batteribyte. Använd samma batterityp eller en ekvivalent typ som rekommenderas av apparattillverkaren. Kassera använt batteri enligt fabrikantens instruktion. Product option:None conforms to the following Product Specifications: Safety: IEC 60065 (1998) EMC: EN 55013 (1990) EN 55020 (1991) Supplementary Information: ELECTROMAGNETIC COMPATIBILITY This unit conforms to the Product Specifications noted on the Declaration of Conformity. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: · this device may not cause harmful interference, and · this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation. Operation of this unit within significant electromagnetic fields should be avoided. · use only shielded interconnecting cables. The product herewith complies with the requirements of the Low Voltage Directive 73/23/EEC and the EMC Directive 89/336/EEC as amended by Directive 93/68/EEC. Vice-President of Engineering 8760 S. Sandy Parkway Sandy, Utah 84070, USA Date: 6/23/03 European Contact: Your local dbx Sales and Service Office or Harman Music Group 8760 South Sandy Parkway Sandy, Utah 84070 USA Ph: (801) 566-8800 Fax: (801) 568-7583 2 MANUAL CONTENTS ENGLISH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 FRANÇAIS DEUTSCH ESPAÑOL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 ENGLISH CONTENTS INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 OPERATING CONTROLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 COMPRESSOR SECTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 EXPANDER/GATE SECTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 CONNECTING THE 266XL TO YOUR SYSTEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 TECHNICAL SUPPORT / FACTORY SERVICE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 REGISTRATION AND USER FEEDBACK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 SPECIFICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 BLOCK DIAGRAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 266XL Compressor / Gate 266XL Compressor / Gate 3 4 INTRODUCTION Congratulations on choosing the dbx 266XL Compressor/Gate. The 266XL provides traditional dbx sonic quality and performance for the working musician, DJ, studio operator or anyone who needs a friendly compressor/gate to achieve quality compression, gating and downward expansion quickly and easily. We recommend that you take a moment and read through the manual as it provides information that will assist you in using your unit to its fullest potential. The 266XL's compressor is packed with just the right features to effectively reduce and control the dynamic range of your audio, add punch to flabby, loose sounds, or add sustain to instruments. The 266XL begins with the classic dbx compression made famous by our 160 line of compressors. Just set the 266XL's Attack and Release controls to 12:00 to get the same response as those units. But there's more. We scaled the program-dependent Attack and Release controls with dbx's AutoDynamicTM circuitry, so that the 266XL's full range of controls produce voicings that extend from slow leveling to aggressive peak limiting. Common Compressor Applications: · Fattening a Kick Drum or Snare Drum · Adding Sustain to Guitar or Synthesizer String Sounds · Smoothing Out a Vocal Performance · Raising a Signal Out of a Mix · Preventing Sound System Overload · Digital to Analog Transfers The 266XL's gate is ready to tackle all your gating needs, whether you need to remove unwanted noise or other background sounds, tighten drum sounds, or change the characteristic envelope of an instrument. The 266XL's gate provides more flexibility than traditional switch gates because it actually functions as a combination gate/expander. Where switch gates are generally only suitable for a limited number of uses (e.g., gating percussion), the gate on the 266XL acts as a gentle downward expander at low Ratio settings (suitable for vocals, guitar, mixed program, etc.), and can effectively work as a switch gate when used at high Ratio settings. Common Gating Applications: · Gating Dry Percussive Sounds (e.g., Snare Drum, Kick Drum) · Gating Sounds That Have Longer Decay (e.g., Cymbal, Piano) · Gating Hum or Buzz From Live Instruments or Recorded Tracks · Downward Expansion to Reduce Noise Under Smooth Sounds (e.g., Vocals, Woodwinds) Refer to the following pages for suggested initial settings. These settings should suffice for traditional compressing and gating requirements. However, the 266XL can accomplish many more changes to sound quality. We recommend that you experiment with the 266XL's controls; take our suggested settings and run with them, try totally different settings, and try unorthodox combinations of compressor and gating controls. You might be surprised at what you hear. Best of all, you may create the perfect sound quality for your needs. 266XL Compressor / Gate 266XL Compressor / Gate OPERATING CONTROLS 5 Front Panel STEREO COUPLE Switch This switch sets the 266XL for Stereo or Dual Mono operation. Press the STEREO COUPLE switch in for stereo operation where Channel 1 becomes the master controller for both channels. All of Channel 2's controls, switches, and LEDs will be disabled (except for Channel 2's GAIN REDUCTION meter), since Channel 2 is the slave. With the STEREO COUPLE switch out, the unit functions as two separate mono compressor/gates, each with its own independent c ...