Ivory 2 Series
Contents
1. MIC OUT SSS sm PRE AMP O o O OUT OUTPUT PHRSE GAIN E I O 1 O W INPUT GAIN PEAK LED MONITOR OUTPUT O 3 MIC HEATER POWER SUPPLY SOCKET REGULATORS LINK OUTPUT y O O PATTERN SWITCH e METER 10dB CH1 00 2 DIGITAL LINK IN OUTPUT CARD OPTION O CH2 TE tH 2 PRECAUTIONS The 5000 microphone and preamp require very little installation but like all electrical equipment care must be taken to ensure reliable safe operation The following points should always be observed All mains wiring should be installed and checked by a qualified Electrician Ensure the correct operating voltage is selected on the rear panel before connecting to the mains supply Never operate the unit with any cover removed Do not expose to rain or moisture as this may present an electric shock hazard Replace the fuse with the correct type and rating only Warning This equipment must be earthed 3 INSTALLATION 3 1 Mains Supply The unit is fitted with an internationally approved 3 pin IEC connector mating socket with power cord is provided with the unit wired as follows Brown live Blue Neutral Green Yellow Earth Ground All mains wiring should be performed by a qualified electrician with all power switched off and the earth connection must be used Before connecting the unit to the supply check that the voltage selector switch on t2. be obstructed Do not locate the unit where it will be subject to external heating for example in the hot air flow from a power amplifier or on a radiator If used free standing ensure that the equipment is protected against rain and spillage of liquid The 5000 may be free standing or mounted in a standard 19 rack via the supplied rack ears 3 9 Rear Panel The rear panel connectors are identified in Fig 6 Make sure that all settings mains and audio connections have been made as described above before attempting to operate the equipment 4 MICROPHONE OPERATION 4 1 Microphone Overview The Ivory 5000 microphone employs a large dual gold diaphragm which enables a variety of directional polar patterns to be selected The polar and frequency responses for the microphone in cardioid mode are shown in Fig 4 The front of the microphone for normal cardioid pickup settings i e the side of the microphone that would face the sound source is where the TL Audio logo badge is situated however by altering the directional polar pattern from the preamp the dual diaphragm allows omnidirectional and figure of 8 patterns to be selected with 6 intermediate positions On the rear of the microphone a high pass filter switch rolls off low frequencies below 120Hz at a slope of 648 per octave There is also a 10 switch for padding down the output of the microphone in situations where the source signal has a very high sound pressure lev
3. 8kHz and the card can be clocked to an external digital source via the BNC wordclock input When docking the 00 2 to an external source the sample rate setting on the 00 2 needs to be set to match the external sample rate otherwise correct locking may not occur and audible clicking may appear on the digital output In terms of gain the 00 2 will generate a signal level of OdBfs in the digital domain when 184 of output level is generated at the balanced line output of the 5000 preamp 5 12 Link Facility The Link In and Link Out jack connectors are designed to allow a pair of 5000 mic preamps to be used in conjunction with a single 00 2 card thereby providing a stereo pair of microphone outputs in 24 bit digital format The 00 2 card is fitted to the second preamp only and the Link Out connector of the first preamp is connected to the Link In of the second preamp via a balanced stereo jack cable See Figure 7 The 00 2 thus carries both microphone signals panned hard left hard right on a single digital SPDIF connector This set up is ideal for recording a stereo pair of 5000 mics directly into a 2 T DAT or CD R machine stereo location recording or onto pair of tracks on a DAW to create a stereo image of the source being recorded In this mode the relative level from each preamp fed into the DO 2 card is controlled by the output level control of that particular preamp so care may be needed in accurately balancing
4. Illuminated VU meter OVU 4dBu ref balanced XLR output 1048 meter pad switch 20Hz to 35kHz 0 2dB 20dB gain Dimensions 2U case with supplied rack ears 483mm wide x 88mm high x 200mm deep 19 x 7 9 x 3 5 rack mounting 432mm wide x 88mm high x 200mm deep 17 x 7 9 x 3 5 free standing Power Requirements Rear panel selectable for 220 240V 50Hz or 110 120V 60Hz operation Rear panel fuse 20mm IAT 250V Power consumption 20VA typical Detachable 3 pin IEC connector mating connector and cable supplied Front panel On Off switch with green LED Shipping Weight includes microphone preamp and all accessories 8595 17 6lbs The above specifications are typical figures and are subject to change without notice 1 SERVICE Should the 5000 microphone or preamp require service it must be taken or posted to an authorised dealer Please retain the original packing for possible future use and ensure the unit is suitably protected during transit The manufacturer cannot accept responsibility for damage caused during transportation The microphone and preamp are supported by a limited warranty for a period of one year from the date of purchase During this period any faults due to defective materials or workmanship will be repaired free of charge The warranty excludes damage caused by deliberate or accidental misuse operation on the incorrect mains voltage or without the correct type and value of fuse f
5. aining straightforward to operate and represent excellent value for money The 5000 microphone amp preamp package consists of a premium quality valve condenser microphone with a I gold diaphragm and an individually matched PSU and discrete microphone preamp Featuring very low noise and an exceptionally wide bandwidth the 5000 PSU preamp provides continuously variable input and output gain controls a phase reverse switch selectable 9 position polar pattern switch and a backlit VU meter which monitors preamp output level The microphone itself is shown in Figs l amp 2 It utilises a single 12AT7 dual triode valve powered from a high quality stabilised 200V DC supply from the PSU preamp unit The microphone is provided with a 1048 pad and a 120Hz low cut filter switch and comes complete with a 10 metre interconnecting cable shock mount and foam pop shield The block diagram of the PSU preamp unit is shown in Fig 3 The microphone and preamp are connected via the supplied 10 metre cable which carries both the balanced audio output from the microphone and the power connections for the valve stages of the microphone The gain of the preamp input stage is controlled by a continuously variable rotary control providing between 16 and 60dB of gain A Peak LED indicates internal headroom by illuminating around 648 before the onset of dipping Phase reverse may be applied before the output level control The output control itself functions as a fa
6. ctly to the 5000 preamp output socket This output socket can then be connected directly to the mic input connector of an external preamp or vocal processor enabling the user to employ his own choice of preamp stage if preferred In this mode the controls of the 5000 preamp become inactive as does the Monitor output and the feed to the optional DO 2 card The connections remain the same as those detailed in 3 4 only the signal level changes J 6 Unbalanced Monitor Output unbalanced line output is provided on a 0 25 mono jack socket Tip Signal Phase or hot Screen Ground This output functions simultaneously with the balanced output and is designed as an extra feed for recording or monitoring purposes 20Hz 50 100 200 50 10k 20k 3 7 Link In and Link Out Connections Both these connections are provided on a separate balanced 0 25 stereo jack socket Tip Signal Phase or hot Ring Signal Non Phase or cold Screen Ground These connections are provided to allow a pair of 5000 microphone preamp systems to be used with a single 00 2 digital output card see section 5 12 3 8 Ventilation The unit generates a small amount of heat internally This heat should be allowed to dissipate by convection through the grills in the side panels and front panel which must not
7. der by allowing correct matching to the sensitivity of the following equipment e g mixing console or multitrack machine The main preamp output is at balanced 4dBu line level although the adjacent Mic out switch allows the preamp stage to be completely bypassed so that a low level mic signal is provided on the main output allowing connection to a different choice of mic preamp if desired The 5000 preamp also has an extra unbalanced line level output entitled Monitor This output duplicates the main preamp output and is ideal for monitoring the preamp signal directly thus avoiding latency problems delays when using digital based recording systems The optional 00 2 digital output card can be fitted to the preamp which provides 24bit SPDIF output at 44 1 48kHz If two 5000 microphone preamps are used and the Link Out connector from the first preamp is connected to the Link In of the second then a single 00 2 card fitted to the second preamp will provide a stereo SPDIF signal consisting of the two preamp outputs panned hard left and right in this way a stereo pair of microphones can be outputted directly in digital format Please read this manual fully before installing or operating the 5000 microphone amp preamp FIG 1 FRONT OF MICROPHONE FIG 2 REAR OF MICROPHONE 120Hz LOW CUT FILTER 10dB PAD DIAPHRAGM TUBE CONDENSE MICROPH LLL CONNECTION TO 5000 PSU PREAMP FIG 3 BLOCK DIAGRAM
8. e maximum output level of the preamp is 26dBu which is sufficient to fully modulate a digital multitrack recorder for direct to disk recording This technique is gaining in popularity as a means of recording a very high quality signal directly to the recording device thus completely avoiding the noise and colouration added by recording through a mixing console In other applications such as feeding into an analogue console or signal processor a much lower output level will normally be sufficient 5 9 VU Meter The large backlit VU meter monitors the preamp output level and will show a reading of OVU when 4dBu of level is generated at the preamp s balanced XLR output 5 10 1048 Meter Switch Below the VU meter is a IOdB switch This switch simply reduces the meter reading by 1098 but not the signal level so that very high output levels can be accurately monitored without fully deflecting the VU needle This setting is often used when recording directly into a DAW HD recorder where high preamp output levels necessary to drive the recorder 5 11 Optional 00 2 Digital Output Card The 5000 preamp is designed to accept the optional 00 2 24 bit digital A to D converter card to allow easy interfacing of the 5000 with devices such as sound cards and digital recorders The card feeds the converted 5000 mono preamp output to both sides of the stereo SPDIF phono output The sample rate is switchable between either 44 1kHz or to 4
9. el 4 Warm Up Period It is important that the microphone preamp is allowed to reach its natural working temperature before use The 2 valve within the microphone is heated using a current limiting circuit this ensures that the valve is not over stressed but also means that the valve heater voltage is gradually ramped up to its normal working level Because of this we would normally recommend that the microphone is left for 5 minutes to warm up before recording commences It is also important that the microphone is stored at normal room temperature and in dry conditions since cold and moisture can affect the noise performance of the capsule 4 3 Elastic Suspension Mount Use of the supplied suspension mount is advised to prevent strong mechanical vibrations being transmitted to the microphone either from the air or the microphone stand The suspension mount can be attached to the microphone stand via the threaded adaptor 44 Pop Shield The supplied pop shield fits over the top section of the microphone and is a useful filtering device to help prevent sibilance and popping side effects Sibilance is an undesirable side effect where the pronounced letter is accentuated by the microphone Popping is a low frequency thump caused by the extreme expulsion of air experienced by the pronounced letters B or P Another important role of the pop shield is in protecting the microphone diaphragm from contamination throug
10. g two vocalists together enabling each to perform on either side of the microphone and allowing some visual interaction between each artist Another application for this response is in the MS recording technique This involves using two microphones one set to any pattern from omni to highly directional and pointed at the centre of the sound source the or Mid signal while the other is set to figure of 8 and has its positive recording axis pointing to the left of the sound source but at a right angle the S or Side signal Mixing the two resultant microphone outputs together in phase yields the left channel signal and mixing them out of phase provides the right channel signal this process is known as matrixing There are a number of advantages in using the M S technique including the ability to easily alter the width of the stereo signal by varying the amount of 5 level in the playback signal 5 5 Input Gain The gain of the input stage is continuously variable from 16 to 60dB This is a very wide range to cater for all types of recording situations but care must be taken not to apply large sudden changes in gain as this may result in unexpectedly large output signals Start with the 5000 input gain control set to minimum and the output level control at the mid point 12 o clock position The input gain can then be gradually increased until the 5000 VU meter reads OVU on normal signal level The output level contr
11. h moisture food and smoke particles exhaled by the performer particularly in close miked situations 4 5 104 Pad The 1048 pad is located on the rear face of the microphone allowing the engineer to access the switch without having to obstruct the performer who will be facing the front face of the microphone The pad reduces the sensitivity of the microphone by 1088 thus allowing the microphone to cope with very high sound pressure levels such as those produced by percussive instruments or the close miking of powerful vocalists 4 6 12087 Low Cut Filter The Low Cut Filter Switch is also located on the rear face of the microphone and filters signals below the 120Hz cut off frequency at a rate of 6dB per octave This restricts the low frequency response of the microphone to effectively remove rumble or LF noise from the signal The filter can be useful in restricting popping on vocals or even low frequencies caused by contact with microphone stands or microphone cables Popping is described in section 4 4 and since it contains a lot of low frequency content the low cut filter can help to reduce the problem along with the use of a pop shield 5 PREAMP OPERATION The layout of the 5000 preamp front panel is shown in Fig 5 5 1 Directional Polar Pattern Switch The 5000 preamp is provided with a 9 position variable polar pattern switch which allows omnidirectional cardioid and figure of 8 pick up patterns to be selected along with 6 i
12. he rear panel is correctly set The unit may be set for 1151 accepting voltages in the range 110V to 120V 60Hz AC or to 230V for voltages in the range 220V to 240V 50Hz AC Adjustment to the operating voltage should be made by sliding the selector switch up or down with a small screwdriver until the desired voltage is displayed The mains fuse required is 20mm anti surge rated at 250V If it becomes necessary to replace the fuse only the same type and rating must be used The power consumption of the equipment is 20VA Warning attempted operation on the wrong voltage setting or with an incorrect fuse will invalidate the warranty 3 2 Audio Operating Level The 5000 preamp is equipped with outputs suitable for connection to a wide variety of other audio equipment such as multitrack recorders and mixing desks Generally the balanced XLR output connector will be required for interfacing to other professional equipment where the operating level line up level or nominal level will be 4dBu or about 2V rms The unbalanced Monitor jack connector is an unbalanced duplicate of the main preamp output and has an operating level of 2dBu This output is designed to feed an alternative recorder or for monitoring purposes Both the balanced and unbalanced outputs may be used simultaneously if required Balanced interconnection is always preferable to obtain the best headroom and noise rejection but can only be used if the other equipment i
13. itted It is the user s responsibility to ensure fitness for purpose in any particular application The warranty is limited to the original purchase price of the equipment and excludes any consequential damage or loss If claiming repair under warranty please enclose proof of purchase date Please record the following details Serial Number Date purchased Dealet z ues
14. n the chain e g the recorder or mixing console also has provision for balanced connections 33 Microphone Input The microphone is connected to the PSU Preamp via a 7 pin XLR type connector matching 10 metre cable is supplied that connects the microphone to the preamp with the following pin wiring Pin Valve HT supply Pin 2 Valve heater supply Pin 3 Polar Pattern Bias Pin 4 Ground Pin 5 Mic output signal Pin 6 Mic output signal Pin 7 Ground This connector is designed only to interface with the Ivory 5000 microphone do not attempt to connect any other microphones via this connector or damage may result to both microphone and or preamp Also ensure that the microphone and preamp are connected to eachother before powering up the preamp The 10 metre cable provided is the maximum length that is recommended to connect the microphone and preamp using longer cables will almost certainly compromise the noise performance of the system 3 4 Balanced Preamp Output The line level output is via a balanced 3 pin male XLR connector The mating connector should be wired as follows Pin Ground Screen Pin 2 Signal Phase or hot Pin 3 Signal Non Phase or cold 3 5 Microphone Out witch Adjacent to the preamp output is the Mic Out switch which bypasses the entire 5000 preamp stage and connects the low level unamplified microphone signal dire
15. ntermediate positions FIG 5 FRONT PANEL DETACHABLE RACK EARS OUTPUT GAIN O 0 DIRECTIONAL INPUT GAIN IVO RY PATTERN 438 Z 5000 16 dB 60 VALVE MIC PSU amp PREAMP PREAMP SECTION OUTPUT SECTION FIG 6 REAR PANEL SLOT FOR OPTIONAL DO 2 CARD CAUTION WARNING ATTENTION RISK OE ELECTR C SHOCK THIS APPARATUS MUST BE EARTHED DO NOT OPEN FOR CONTINUED PROTECTION ATTENTION AGAINST RISK OF FIRE REPLACE ONLY CAUTION O O RISQUE DE CHOC ELECTRONIQUE WITH SAME TYPE AND RATING OF FUSE NE PAS OUVRIR UTILISER UN FUSIBLE DE RECHANGE DE VOLTAGE SELECTED MEME TYPE ET CALIBRE PREAMP OUT TO MIC TO AC MAINS SUSPLY Manufactured by TL Audio Limited England O O LINK IN LINK OUT MONITOR OUT 5000 VALVE MIC PSU amp PREAMP FUSE T1AL 250V 230V 25VA 115 25 WARNING MIC OUT SERIAL NUMBER TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRICAL SHOCK _ _ C DOROTEXPOSETHIS EQUIPMENT JACK UNBALANCED TIP VE SLEEVE GND JACK BALANCED TIP VE RING VE SLEEVE GND TO RAIN OR MOISTURE JACK ICED IG 1 G XLR PIN 1 GND PIN 2 VE PIN 3 VE IEC INLET MONITOR OUTPUT PREAMP OUTPUT LINK CONNECTORS CONNECTION TO MICROPHONE 5 2 Omnidirectional response In this position the diaphragm responds equally to sound pressure changes irrespective of which direction they are coming from so this setting is useful for recording sources where plenty of room ambience is desirable in the rec
16. ol should then be adjusted to produce the required output 5 6 Phase Reverse This switch reverses the polarity of the preamp signal and is a correctional function either for incorrect microphone wiring or for out of phase microphone positioning The latter problem is encountered when two or more microphones are used on the same signal source and phase cancellation can occur A symptom of phase cancellation is often a loss of low frequency content but incorrect phase may not be obvious to an inexperienced ear It is possible to verify correct phase using a device called a phase correlation meter 5 7 Peak LED The red Peak LED operates as a conventional warning that dipping is about to occur The operating level of the entire signal chain is monitored and the LED illuminates when there is less than 6dB of headroom remaining Normal operation would be to set the input gain so that occasional lighting of the Peak LED occurs on transients 5 8 Output Level The output level control acts as a continuously variable output fader and simultaneously feeds the balanced preamp output the monitor output and the optional DO 2 digital output if fitted At the fully anticlockwise minimum setting the output level control provides complete level attenuation thus effectively muting the output The centre point of the level control is the OdB setting unity gain with up to 1598 of additional gain available as the control reaches its maximum setting Th
17. orded sound This might include choral or organ music where the acoustics of the recording location are integral to the quality of the recording Some engineers find the omni position can yield a better sound quality and bass response but the disadvantage can be that once the room ambience is captured on the recording it can t be removed For this reason the cardioid pattern is often a more popular choice for pop or rock recordings where reverb can be electronically controlled during the mixing process 5 3 Cardioid response The cardioid position can be thought of as the combination of an omnidirectional and a figure of 8 pattern superimposed upon eachother This yields a very directional pattern whereby sound at the rear of the microphone is rejected in favour of sound arriving from the front This makes the cardioid pattern ideal for recording sources where the room ambience is largely rejected and a dry sound is captured Vocals are typically recorded using the cardioid characteristic since this dry quality gives the engineer the ability to really control the vocal and ensure that it sits at a comfortable level within the overall mix 5 4 Figure of 8 response The figure of 8 position responds to differences in sound pressure between either side of the microphone capsule so sounds received from the front and back of the microphone will be the strongest with sounds from either side being largely rejected This response can be useful when recordin
18. the levels from both preamps to create an even stereo image MIC 2 DO 2 CARD kk zx VS PREAMP 2 PREAMP 1 5 O x 4 STEREO TRS JACK TO JACK CABLE SPDIF STEREO DIGITAL OUTPUT FIG 7 LINK FACILITY 6 SPECIFICATIONS Microphone Directional Pattern 9 positions from Omni via Cardioid through to Figure of 8 Sensitivity I4mV Pa 37dB 0dB IV Pa Frequency Response 20Hz 20kHz Low Cut Filter 12087 6dB octave Impedance Less than 300 Ohms Max SPL 13048 IkHz 1 THD Equivalent Noise I8dB A 268 4 A weighted SNR 16dB ref Pa Dimensions 190mm length 59mm diameter Net Weight 700g PSU Preamp Microphone Input Input Gain Range Output Gain Fader Outputs Link Facility Peak LED Meter Frequency Response Input impedance greater than 2kohm Gain range 1698 to 60dB Noise 127dBu EIN with 150 ohm source 22Hz 22kHz 60dB gain 1 pin female XLR connector to supplied cable only 1698 to 60dB continuously variable Centre detent at 048 max gain 1508 Balanced XLR nominal level 4dBu max level 26dBu Unbalanced monitor jack nominal level 2dBu max level 20dBu Balanced jack Link in and Link out sockets 4dBu nominal level allows connection to channel 2 of optional 00 2 digital output card Monitors pre and post output fader threshold 20dBu ref balanced XLR output 6dB prior to clipping
19. user manual Ivory 2 Series GOLD DIAPHRAGM VALVE CONDENSER amp PREAMP y TL Audio Ltd Letchworth Herts SG6 1AN UK email infoQtlaudio co uk web http www tlaudio co uk CONTENTS 3 1 32 3 3 34 3 5 3 6 3 1 3 8 3 9 4 4 4 3 4 4 4 5 4 6 5 1 5 5 3 5 4 5 5 5 6 5 1 5 8 5 9 5 10 5 11 5 12 Introduction Precautions Installation AC Mains Supply Audio Operating Level Microphone Input Balanced Preamp Output Microphone Out Switch Unbalanced Monitor Output Link In and Link Out Connections Ventilation Rear Panel Microphone Operation Microphone Overview Warm Up Period Elastic Suspension Mount Pop Shield 1048 Pad 120 7 Low Cut Filter Preamp Operation Directional Polar Pattern Switch Omnidirectional response Cardioid response Figure of 8 response Input Gain Phase Reverse Peak LED Output Level VU Meter 10dB Meter Switch Optional 00 2 Digital Output Card Link Facility Specifications Service INTRODUCTION Congratulations on purchasing the lvory 5000 valve microphone amp preamp by TL Audio The Ivory 2 Series consists of a range of hybrid valve signal processors which utilise low noise solid state electronics in conjunction with classic valve circuitry to produce units offering very high quality signal paths with the unique valve audio character The Ivory 2 Series units offer comprehensive control facilities whilst rem
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