EUREKA MICROPHONE PREAMPLIFIER COMPRESSOR PARAMETRIC EQUALIZER USER' MANUAL S v ersion 1.0 ? 2003, PreSonus Audio Electronics, Incorporated. All rights reserved. WARRANTY PreSonus Limited Warranty PreSonus Audio Electronics Inc. warrants this product to be free of defects in material and workmanship for a period of one year from the date of original retail purchase. This warranty is enforceable only by the original retail purchaser. To be protected by this warranty, the purchaser must complete and return the enclosed warranty card within 14 days of purchase. During the warranty period PreSonus shall, at its sole and absolute option, either repair or replace, free of charge, any product that proves to be defective on inspection by PreSonus or its authorized service representative. To obtain warranty service, the purchaser must first call or write PreSonus at the address and telephone number printed below to obtain a Return Authorization Number and instructions of where to return the unit for service. All inquiries must be accompanied by a description of the problem. All authorized returns must be sent to the PreSonus repair facility postage prepaid, insured and properly packaged. PreSonus reserves the right to update any unit returned for repair. PreSonus reserves the right to change or improve the design of the product at any time without prior notice. This warranty does not cover claims for damage due to abuse, neglect, alteration or attempted repair by unauthorized personnel, and is limited to failures arising during normal use that are due to defects in material or workmanship in the product. Any implied warranties, including implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, are limited in duration to the length of this limited warranty. Some states do not allow limitations on how long an implied warranty lasts, so the above limitation may not apply to you. In no event will PreSonus be liable for incidental, consequential or other damages resulting from the breach of any express or implied warranty, including, among other things, damage to property, damage based on inconvenience or on loss of use of the product, and, to the extent permitted by law, damages for personal injury. Some states do not allow the exclusion of limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you. This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights, which vary form state to state. This warranty only applies to products sold and used in the United States of America. For warranty information in all other countries please refer to your local distributor. PreSonus Audio Electronics, Inc. 7257 Florida Blvd. Baton Rouge, LA 70806 (225) 216-7887 (800) 750-0323 www.presonus.com ? 2003, PreSonus Audio Electronics, Incorporated. All rights reserved. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Overview 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Features 4 4 2 Controls & Connections 2.1 Front Panel Basic Layout 2.2 Preamplifier 2.3 Compressor 2.4 Equalizer 2.5 Master 2.6 Back Panel 2.7 Power Supply 7 9 10 12 13 13 14 3 Operation 3.1 Microphones 3.2 Send and Return 3.3 192k/24-Bit Digital Output Card 3.4 Application Settings 15 15 16 17 4 Technical 3.5 Specifications 22 3 1 OVERVIEW 1.1 INTRODUCTION Thank you for purchasing the PreSonus EUREKA. PreSonus Audio Electronics has designed the EUREKA utilizing high-grade components to insure optimum performance for an infinite period of time. We believe the EUREKA to be an exceptional sounding unit and an exceptional value. We encourage you to contact us at 1-800-750-0323 with any questions or comments you may have regarding your PreSonus equipment. PreSonus Audio Electronics is committed to constant product improvement, and we value your suggestions highly. We believe the best way to achieve our goal of constant product improvement is by listening to the real experts, our valued customers. We appreciate the support you have shown us through the purchase of this product. Please pay close attention to how you connect your EUREKA to your system. Improper grounding is the most common cause of noise problems found in studio or " live" sound environments. We would like to suggest that you use this manual to familiarize yourself with the features, applications and correct connection procedure for your EUREKA before trying to hook it up to your system. Thank you, once again, for buying our product and may we wish you Good Luck and enjoy your EUREKA! 1.2 FEATURES The following information is a summary of your EUREKA' features: s Microphone Pre-Amplifier. Your EUREKA contains a Class A discrete input buffer followed by a dual servo gain stage. This arrangement results in ultra low noise and wide gain control allowing the EUREKA user to boost desirable signal without increasing unwanted background noise. ? 48 Volt Phantom Power. The EUREKA has 48V Phantom power available. This assures optimum performance of your condenser microphones that require Phantom power and that the power supplied will be free of noise or distortion. Pad. A 20dB pad is available for reducing the in-coming signal level. This pad provides a more manageable signal from high output devices giving ? 4 OVERVIEW greater control over the in-coming signal and a much reduced chance of over-driving the input and avoiding distortion. ? +22dBu Headroom. The EUREKA mic-pre has +22 dBu of headroom. This feature gives you wide dynamic range and excellent transient response characteristics. Saturation Control. The EUREKA offers a very high quality transformer and features an SATURATION control (this control adjusts the drain current on the input FET amplifier altering the even harmonic levels of the signal being passed) with an adjustment range of 0% to 100%. The 0% position passes a pure signal. As the control is rotated to the 100% position, the signal' s even harmonic series is boosted giving the signal " warmth"very much like a vacuum tube or similar to the sound of analog tape saturation. This remarkable effect gives you the sound of a tube without the headache of uneven performance often encountered with vacuum tube devices (" tube no to pick-up RF or to age and become "microphonic" ). Variable Microphone Input Impedance. This feature enables you to " tune" your microphone ­ by matching the output impedance of your microphone with your microphone preamplifier. This works especially well for ribbon microphones. Changing the input impedance is also effective for dynamic and condenser microphones and can be the perfect solution for a given recording application. Phase Reverse. Use the phase reverse switch to combat phase cancellation with other open microphones. ? ? ? Full Featured Compressor with High Pass Filter. The EUREKA is equipped with a Compressor with a high pass side chain filter designed especially for frequency specific processing. ? ? Soft Knee Compression. Soft Knee Compression causes the compression to set in gradually producing a more musical response Bypass. The Bypass switch lets you compare the compressed sound quickly to the uncompressed sound. 5 OVERVIEW 3-Band Parametric Equalizer. Total tonal control is what the Equalizer section provides. The EQ will let you fine tune the sound to suit your taste with exacting precision. ? ? ? Bypass Switch. A bypass switch is provided to audition the signal in an equalized version as compared to a direct unaffected signal. Variable Q. Adjusts the width of the frequency band between wide and narrow during equalization. EQ? COMP. Switches the order of the signal chain putting EQ before the Compressor. Master Section ? ? Gain Reduction to Meter. Shows gain reduction on the meter implemented by the compressor. Level. The output of the EUREKA is adjusted by the Level control and is useful for compensating for gain loss due to compression or to decrease output signal that boosting frequencies with the Equalizer section may have caused. The output is variable from ­80 dB to +10 dB. VU Meter. The VU meter provides an accurate reading of the output level and a reference of signal presence. It can also be switched to monitor gain reduction when using the compressor. ? 6 2 CONTROLS & CONNECT IONS 2.1 FRONT PANEL BASIC LAYOUT The front panel of the EUREKA is divided into four sections ­ Preamplifier, Compressor, Equalizer and Master. Preamplifier section: ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Gain Control Impedance Control Saturation Control +48 Volt Switch -20db Pad Phase Reverse Button 80Hz Filter Line Input Select Button LED Input Meter 7 CONTROLS & CONNECTIO NS Compressor Section: ? ? ? ? Level Control (Attack, Release, Ratio, Threshold, Gain) Soft Knee Switch Bypass Switch Hi-pass Sidechain Filter Equalizer Section: ? ? ? 3 Band Parametric 80 Hz Filter Switch Bypass Switch Master Section: ? ? Level Control Gain Reduction to Meter Button 8 CONTROLS & CONNECTIO NS 2.2 PREAMPLIFIER GAIN: Provides +52dB of gain for the microphone input and +44dB of gain for the instrument input. IMPEDANCE SELECTOR: Selects the amount of resistance that is applied to the microphone input. This selector allows you to match (or intentionally mismatch) the input impedance of the Eureka with the impedance of your microphone. As the Eureka' impedance is lowered, different filtering effects can result delivering a s tailored sound for a particular application. SATURATION CONTROL: Selects the amount of increase (0% to 100%) applied to the even harmonic series of the signal being amplified by the EUREKA. The effect of manipulating the harmonic distortion is of increasing or decreasing the apparent " warmth"of the signal. This feature is derived from manipulating the drain current of the FET input buffer of the Mic Preamp. Experiment with the SATURATION control and see what type of sounds you can get from your present microphone selection. LINE: Selects the line input on the back as the input in use. When using the Line input, the microphone preamplifier stage is bypassed and thus the GAIN, IMPEDANCE and SATURATE controls are inactive. +48V: The 48 volts supplied by way of the XLR connector, provides power for condenser mics and any other devices requiring continuous phantom power through the XLR input. This power is supplied at a constant level to prevent any degradation 9 CONTROLS & CONNECTIO NS of audio quality. XLR connector wiring for Phantom Power Pin 1= GND Pin 2= +48V Pin3= +48V PAD: Engaging the Pad switch provides -20dB of attenuation with the push of a button. This is a very useful feature for rapidly reducing the level coming into the EUREKA and thus preventing the input signal from over-driving (distorting) the input. This may occur due to high output level from a microphone or other device. Padding the input serves to provide increased " headroom"for the operator while lessening the likelihood of input signal overload. 80Hz: The 80Hz button is a low-end roll-off filter. When pushed in, the 80Hz button causes all frequencies below 80Hz to be attenuated (dropped) by 12dB. This filter can be handy in live and studio applications. For example, the 80Hz filter can help to reduce the " boominess"or "muddiness"of a vocal and improve the overall clarity. Ø (Phase Reverse): Reverses the polarity of the signal. Use the phase reverse when recording with more than one open microphone to combat phase cancellation between microphones. INSTRUMENT: ¼"TS connector. When an instrument is plugged into the instrument input, the microphone preamplifier is bypassed and the Eureka becomes an active instrument preamplifier. 2.3 COMPRESSOR 10 CONTROLS & CONNECTIO NS THRESHOLD: Sets the level at which compression begins. The below and above LED' over the Threshold knob indicate whether the input signal is s below or above the Threshold setting. When the signal is above the Threshold setting, it becomes ` eligible' for compression. Basically, as you turn the Threshold knob counter-clockwise, the input signal is compressed. (If you have a ratio setting of greater than 1:1.) RATIO: Sets the compression slope. This is defined as the output level versus the input level. For example, if you have the Ratio set to 2:1, any signal level above the Threshold setting will be compressed at a compression ratio of 2:1. This simple means that that for every 1dB of level increase into the compressor, the output will only increase ½ dB, thus producing a compression Gain reduction of 0.5 db. As you increase the Ratio, the compressor gradually becomes a limiter. A limiter is defined as a processor that limits the level of signal to the setting of the Threshold. For example, if you have the Threshold knob set at 0 dB, and the Ratio turned fully clockwise, the Compressor acts as a Limiter at 0 dB. This means the signal will be limited to an output of 0 dB regardless of the input signal. ATTACK: Sets the speed at which the compressor ` acts'on the input signal. A slow attack time (fully clockwise) al ...