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1. PAGE 12 www americanmusical com 4 4 FREQUENCY CHART RELATING THE FREQUENCY RANGES OF THE BIG BOTTOM AND AURAL EXCITER TO THE FUNDAMENTALS AND HARMONICS OF SOUND Big Bottom Range Aural Exciter Range Audible Harmonics eee a DWV ENTERTAINMENT company PAGE 13 www americanmusical com 5 0 SERVICE amp WARRANTY 5 1 LIMITED WARRANTY PERIOD One year from date of purchase SCOPE All defects in workmanship and materials The following are not covered a Voltage conversions b Units on which the serial number has been defaced modified or removed c Damage or deterioration 1 Resulting from installation and or removal of the unit 2 Resulting from accident misuse abuse neglect unauthorized product modification or failure to follow instructions contained in the User s Manual 3 Resulting from repair or attempted repair by anyone not authorized by Aphex Systems 4 Occurring from shipping claims must be presented to shipper WHO IS PROTECTED This warranty will be enforceable by the original purchaser and by any subsequent owner s during the warranty period so long as a copy of the original Bill of Sale is submitted whenever warranty service 15 required WHAT WE WILL PAY FOR We will pay for all labor and material expenses for covered items We will pay return shipping charges if the repairs are covered by the warranty LIMITATION OF WARRANTY No2. by additional har monics Our latest patent the Transient Discriminate Harmonics Generator can recognize transients transient discriminate over a wide dynamic range and generate harmonics on them The result is a more predictable and natural sounding enhancement over a wider range of inputs The Aural Exciter extends the high frequencies unlike EQ s and other brightness enhancers which only boost the high frequencies and often alter the overall tonal balance The stereo image is enhanced with the Aural Exciter resulting in a greater perceived loudness without an introduction of noise into the audio path It should be pointed out that the Aural Exciter is a single ended process that can be inserted at any point within the audio chain Single ended means that the unit will receive the incoming audio signal process the program material through Aphex s patented Aural Exciter Big Bottom technology then output the effected signal with no further processing required to achieve the desired aural signal qualities Even though the added information is low in level the perception is a dramatic increase in mid and high frequencies PAGE 6 www americanmusical com Original Signal Sidechain Processing SIMPLIFIED SIDECHAIN DIAGRAM As illustrated above the unit splits the input signal into two paths One path goes directly to the output unmodified while the other path known as a sidechain goes through the Aural Excite
3. warranty is made either expressed or implied as to the merchantability and fitness for any particular purpose Any and all warranties are limited to the duration of the warranty stated above EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES Aphex Systems liability for any defective unit is limited to the repair or replacement of said unit at our option and shall not include damages of any other kind whether incidental consequential or otherwise Some States do not allow limitations on how long an implied warranty lasts and or do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages so the above limitations and exclusions may not apply to you This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other rights which vary from State to State PAGE 14 www americanmusical com 5 2 SERVICE INFORMATION If it becomes necessary to return this unit for repair you must first contact Aphex for a Return Authorization RMA number which will need to be included with your shipment for proper identification If available repack this unit in its original carton and packing material Otherwise pack the equipment in a strong carton containing at least 2 inches of padding on all sides Be sure the unit cannot shift around inside the carton Include a letter explaining the symptoms and or defect s Be sure to reference the RMA number in your letter and mark the RMA number on the outside of the carton If you believe the pr
4. 500 front panel to the 500 series rack These screws have a pretty tight fit please be careful not to cross thread 6 Plug your 500 series rack back into the AC source and power up your rack Your 500 will automatically power up with your 500 series rack EU a DWV ENTERTAINMENT company PAGE 5 www americanmusical com 2 0 INTRODUCTION 2 1 THE AURAL EXCITER AND BIG BOTTOM TECHNOLOGIES EXPLAINED The Aural Exciter is an audio processor that recreates and restores missing harmonics Harmonics are musically and dynamically see a the original sound revealing the fine differences between voices and various instruments Reproduced sound is audibly dif ferent than the original live sound because of the loss in harmonic detail often counts dull and lifeless The Aural Exciter adds har monics restoring natural brightness clarity and presence effec tively improving detail and Using the Aural Exciter on specific instruments or in the final mix brings life back to the recording The original Aural Exciter patent disclosed a method for generating sonic harmonics which was amplitude dependent In nature gener ally speaking the higher the amplitude the higher the amount of harmonics However there are instances where there are high level sinusoidal waveforms most of which should not have harmonics added and other instances where there are waveforms which have low level transients which could be enhanced
5. NTRODUCTION 2 1 The Aural Exciter and Big Bottom Technologies Explained 2 2 Simplified Block Diagram 3 0 CONTROLS AND INDICATORS 3 1 Big Bottom Drive Control amp Indicator 3 2 Big Bottom Frequency Control 3 3 Big Bottom Amount Control 3 4 Aural Exciter Harmonics Control 3 5 Aural Exciter Frequency Control 3 6 Aural Exciter Amount Control 3 7 Process On Off Buttons 4 0 OPERATION AND APPLICATIONS 4 1 Optimizing Aural Exciter Effects 4 2 Optimizing Big Bottom Effects 4 3 Recording Tracking and Mixing 4 4 Frequency Chart 5 0 WARRANTY AND SERVICE 5 1 Limited Warranty 5 2 Service Information 6 0 SPECIFICATIONS 7 0 PATENT NOTICE PAGE 4 www americanmusical com INSTALLING THE EX BB 500 IN A 500 SERIES RACK 1 Turn off and unplug your 500 series rack frame Inspect the card slot you intend you use to make sure that it is clean and free of any debris 2 Before removing your 500 from its box discharge any static electricity buildup you may have by touching your 500 series rack 3 Pull your 500 module out of its box and carefully slide it into place in the designated opening Sight down the back of the module use a flashlight if necessary and ensure the card edge connector is aligned to seat into the card slot of the frame 4 Firmly and evenly push the 500 module into place until its is positively seated in the card slot 5 Use the 2 thumb screws in the module to mount the
6. ass enhancement frequency band Where this is set depends upon your sound system and the type of music being played Typically 12 00 is a universal position However you may want to experiment with other settings The range is from 50Hz to 200Hz At center you are tuned to about 80Hz 3 3 BIG BOTTOM AMOUNT CONTROL This control adjusts the amount of Big Bottom enhancement being added to the original signal The lower the setting the subtler the effect until there is no effect at all The higher the setting the more dramatic the effect One of the benefits of the Big Bottom is that it can increase the bass power without greatly increasing the peak output level That means that loudspeakers and amplifiers will not be over driven even though the bass has been extended and increased in power Extreme settings of the Big Bottom Amount control however will increase the peak output level significantly so we recommend staying within some reasonable limits Generally the best results are found between the 9 and 2 o clock settings Try working the Big Bottom Tune Drive and Mix controls when maximizing the bass enhancement eee a DWV ENTERTAINMENT company PAGE 9 www americanmusical com 3 4 AURAL EXCITER HARMONICS CONTROL This control adjusts the amount of harmonics being generated by the exciter It controls the texture and detail of the effect The MIN posi tion is generally considered NORMAL and is useful for vo
7. c you can make the effect 5 Vary the Tune control to find what point gives you the most powerful or most pleasing effect eee a DWV ENTERTAINMENT company PAGE 11 www americanmusical com 4 3 RECORDING TRACKING AND MIXING The Aural Exciter restores presence and clarity improving transient response of individual tracks or whole mixes Increased harmonic detail enables specific instruments to stand out in the mix offering a more live or spacious sound Imaging is improved with an open airy quality Any instrument such as a guitar processed through the Aural Exciter circuit will have greater penetration crispness and clarity Specific instruments pop out in the mix giving the instrument its own sonic identity without raising the volume of the instrument in the mix Using Big Bottom on bass instruments tightens the sound allow ing individual notes to be more articulated and recognizable Big Bottom provides more feeling resembling a live sound In the recording studio post production suite or similar environ ment post processing of previously recorded sound tracks can restore lost vibrancy and realism even to the extent of saving dialog or sound effects which were thought to be unusable Instruments and vocals can be made to stand out in the mix without substan tially increasing the mix levels or using equalization Use the Aural Exciter and Big Bottom in place of equalization whenever possible
8. ices and total mixes The MAX position is most useful on specific tracks espe cially percussive instruments horns guitars and digital instruments 3 5 AURAL EXCITER FREQUENCY CONTROL The Aural Exciter Frequency control adjusts the corner frequency of the high pass filter thus setting the range of frequencies being enhanced by the Aural Exciter The range of the corner frequency is 600Hz fully counter clockwise and 5kHz fully clockwise The 12 o clock setting is approximately 3kHz As the tune control is adjusted clockwise less and less mid frequency enhancement will take place 3 6 AURAL EXCITER AMOUNT CONTROL This control varies the amount of enhance ment mixed back into the original signal from the sidechain 3 7 PROCESS ON OFF BUTTONS These lighted Process On Off buttons allow you to turn each processor on and off individually The buttons glow green when processing is on They are dark when processing is off Switching the button back and forth offers a quick A B sorrom Serer comparison allowing you to hear the enhance ments from the Aural Exciter and or Optical Big Bottom separately in your program content Note This is not a hard wired bypass The audio still passes through the input and output stages but enhancement sidechains are turned off PAGE 10 www americanmusical com 4 0 OPERATION amp APPLICATIONS 4 1 OPTIMIZING AURAL EXCITER EFFECTS Experiment with the Aural Exciter control
9. oblem should be covered under the terms of the warranty you must also include proof of purchase Insure your shipment and send it to APHEX 3500 N San Fernando Blvd Burbank CA 91505 USA PH 818 767 2929 FAX 818 767 2641 6 0 SPECIFICATIONS OPERATING LEVEL CONNECTOR PINOUT Switch Setting 4dBu INPUT 1 CHASSIS GROUND Type Transformerless active balanced OUTPUT 4 LEVEL Impedance 40KQ Unbalanced 20KQ unused Nominal Level 4dBu OUTPUT 4 LEVEL Maximum Level 24dBu CMRR gt 40dB COMMON unused unused Impedance 1100 Nominal Level 4dBu INPUT 4 LEVEL Maximum Level 24dBu Unloaded unused INPUT 4 LEVEL unused AUDIO 16VDC Frequency Response 0 5dB 10Hz 38KHz Dynamic Range 120dB THD 10Hz 22kHz max output 16VDC IMD 0003 10Hz 22kHz 0 max output unused 0007 POWER SUPPLY COMMON eee a DWV ENTERTAINMENT company PAGE 15 www americanmusical com This product is protected under one or more of the following Aphex patents 4578648 4633501 4843626 4939471 5115471 5155769 5334947 5359665 5422602 5424488 5450034 5463695 5483600 5485077 5612612 5737432 5848167 5896458 5898395 5930374 3500 N San Fernando Blvd Burbank CA 91505 USA PH 818 767 2929 FAX 818 767 2641 www APHEX com 2012 Aphex LLC EES a DWV ENTERTAINMENT company
10. r circuit which is comprised of a tunable high pass filter and a harmonics generator The Aural Exciter circuit applies frequency dependent phase shift and transient discriminate harmonics The output of the Aural Exciter s harmonic circuit is mixed back with the unmodi fied signal but much lower in level When used at nominal settings the Aural Exciter circuit does not add significant level to the original signal Even though the added information is low in level the per ception is a dramatic increase in mid and high frequencies The 500 also incorporates another exclusive Aphex patent Big Bottom providing a stronger more powerful bass increased sustain and density without an increase in the peak output While static bass boost EQ s and subharmonic generators will increase the bass energy level the resultant large boost in peak level often increases overload distortion Big Bottom resembles the Aural Exciter in that a processed signal is mixed back into an unmodified signal to produce an enhanced output signal The sidechain path goes through the Big Bottom circuitry comprised of a variable low pass filter and a phase and dynamics processor Big Bottom circuitry dynamically contours the bass response of a complex range of shapes in the SOHz to 200Hz range Big Bottom increases the perception of low frequencies without significantly increasing the maximum peak output The bass frequency response is dynamically optimized
11. s to hear how each one enhances the original audio signal 1 Make sure the Process Switch is IN 2 Put the Aural Exciter Amount control at 12 o clock to make it easy to hear the effect as it changes 3 Vary the Tune control and listen for the frequency range that s being enhanced The Tune control can be used to enhance a particular instru ment so it stands out in the mix 4 Go between MIN and MAX Harmonics and listen for the change in har monics being added to the original audio signal 5 After your experimental tour set the Amount control to taste Keep in mind that a little Aural Exciter goes a long way 4 2 OPTIMIZING BIG BOTTOM EFFECTS The Drive control needs to be set at a point where the processor receives the optimum level required for Big Bottom to work effectively The Amount control adjusts the amount of Big Bottom enhancement being added to the unmodified signal The Frequency control sets the frequency below which the bass enhancement effects are generated Above the Drive control is a green LED indicator This LED should illuminate on bass peaks BIG BOTTOM EXPERIMENTING 1 Make sure the Process Switch is IN 2 Set the Tune and Amount controls to 12 00 3 Vary the Drive control and listen to how the bass gets fuller Start by adjusting the Drive control until the green LED just flashes on bass peaks then advance the Drive incrementally 4 Vary the Amount control and listen for how subtle or dramati
12. the regulatory compliance which would place you at risk of losing your authority to operate the 500 WARNING Do not place objects on top of this unit if they weigh more than 10 pounds PAGE 2 www americanmusical com SAFETY DECLARATIONS This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device pursuant to part 15 of the FCC rules These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation This equipment generates uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions may cause harmful interference to radio communications However there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular instal lation If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures 1 Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna 2 Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver 3 Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected 4 Consult the dealer or an experienced radio TV technician for help C KC E a DWV ENTERTAINMENT company PAGE 3 www americanmusical com TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 0 INSTALLATION 2 0 I
13. to isolate and enhance the lowest bass frequencies to provide a deeper and more resonant bass U a DWV ENTERTAINMENT company PAGE 7 www americanmusical com 2 2 SIMPLIFIED BLOCK DIAGRAM 4 10 Oper Big Bottom 5 gt Tune S0Hz 200Hz Effects are created through dynamic phase frequency and amplitude modification and recombination 3 0 CONTROLS amp INDICATORS 3 1 BIG BOTTOM DRIVE CONTROL amp INDICATOR This control allows you to adjust the input signal to optimum levels required for Big Bottom to work effectively To find the optimum level turn the control clockwise until the green LED at the right of the Drive control pulses on the bass peaks Longer and brighter pulsation means a longer bass sustain is being cre ated You will find a range of settings that yields very musical and powerful bass Please note there are valid reasons for why the green LED may not pulse by the time this control reaches 2 o clock The input signal may be too low to trigger the Big Bottom processor On the other hand if the green LED is pulsing strongly at settings as low as 9 or 10 o clock the input signal may be too hot This can cause overload distortion Additionally the LED may not pulse when the incoming audio does not have significant low frequency content PAGE www americanmusical com 3 2 BIG BOTTOM FREQUENCY CONTROL This control lets you optimize the b
14. www americanmusical com APHE JC EX BB O O AURAL EXCITER amp OPTICAL BIG BOTTOM 500 SERIES MODULE OWNER S MANUAL PY a DWV ENTERTAINMENT company www americanmusical com SAFETY DECLARATIONS PREVENT FIRE OR SHOCK HAZARD DO NOT EXPOSE THIS DEVICE TO RAIN OR MOISTURE DO NOT REMOVE THE COVER NO USER SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE SHOCK HAZARD REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED PERSONNEL ONLY DO NOT OPEN ATTENTION AFIN DEVITER DES CHOCS ELECTRIQUES NENLEVEZ PAS LE COUVERCLE IL N Y A AUCUNE AVIS RISQUE DE CHOC ELECTRIQUE PIECES D ENTRETIEN L INT RIEUR REFEREZ LES NE PAS OUVIR REPARACIONES A UNE PERSONNE QUALIF E CAUTION For continued protection against risk of fire replace only with the same type and rating of fuse ATTENTION pour une protection continue contre les risques d incendie ne remplacer qu avec la m me valeur et m me type de fusible WARNING Do not place objects containing liquid on this unit as it is not designed to protect against spillage Do not expose this unit to dripping or splashing of liquids as the unit is not designed to protect against these occurances WARNING This unit must be connected to a mains socket outlet with a protective earthing connection WARNING The 500 has been tested and meets the FCC CE and European Union rules regulations and guidlines for use Do not attempt to modify or change the 500 as this could void
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