Apex dBQ-zero
Contents
1. dBbO zero i i am me ttt ttt Jser s Manual dB SERIES TWO CHANNEL EQUALISER WITH FILTER SECTION User s Manual version 1 0 0 APEX NV Schoebroekstraat 62 3583 Beringen Paal BELGIUM Tel 32 0 11 28 61 91 Fax 32 0 11 25 56 38 email info apex audio be website www apex audio be Environmental precaution EU Directive 2002 96 EC Remark This notice applies only to countries within the European Union EU and Norway Electrical and electronic equipment may contain hazardous substances for humans and their environment The crossed out wheelie bin symbol present on the device and represen ted above is there to remind one of the obligation of selective collection of waste This label is applied to various products to indicate that the product is not to be thrown away as unsorted municipal waste At the end of life dispose of this product by returning it to the point of sale or to your local municipal collection point for recycling of electric and electronic devices Customer participation is important to minimize the potential affects on the environment and human health that can result from hazardous substances that may be contained in this product Please dispose of this product and its packaging in accordance with local and national disposal regulations including those governing the recovery and recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment Contact your2. and in out switches an overall level control and LED VU meter with signal LED and clip LED If you are used to working with graphic equalisers you will probably be able to operate the unit straight out the box without further reading of the manual However to get the most out of the dBQzero we invite you to read the rest of this manual DESCRIPTION REAR PANEL TQ JACK balanced XLR balanced R TIP HOT PIN 2 HOT 69 S RING COLD COLD SLEEVE GND PIN 1 GND OUT wars lt CLASS 1 EQUIPMENT dB0zern WARNING THIS EQUIPMENT erial nr 5 MUST EARTHED 100 230V AC 30 VA POWER 50 60 Hz gt agen H 250V Balanced input of channel on XLR female Balanced input of channel A on TRS 6 35 Jack Balanced input of channel A on Screw Terminal Balanced output of channel A on Screw Terminal Balanced output of channel Aon XLR male Balanced output of channel Aon TRS 6 25 Jack Le 2 2 4 5 6 The identical layout is used for the connections of channel B T Power switch turns the unit on or off 8 AC inlet 100 240 V AC 9 Fuse Holder FRONT PANEL 1k2e e7k a Pi 700 Ors Hz NOTCH 2 in sig SIGNAL dB Dei 1k2e e7k 700 Ors cores in H
3. as a last advice avoid extreme settings between adjacent bands they will create big phase shifts Try to make your equalising curve as smooth as possible The Level Control 2 This is an overall gain control which controls the input level The purpose of this control is to be able to adjust the level according to the used overall equali sation If you have boosted a lot of frequencies your overall signal will be much hotter and could overdrive the equaliser or the following equipment adjust your signal with the level control The same goes of course if you have cut a lot of frequencies use this control to boost the overall level back to normal 10 APEX The 6 15 switch with LED indication 3 Via this switch you can change the scale maximum boost cut of the graphic EQ In its normal position LED out the scale is 6dB use this scale for minor adjustments but with great precision When you push the button the LED will light and you will have access to the full scale of the graphic EQ 15dB High Pass Filter Frequency Selection 4 Via this rotary control you can adjust the high pass filter This is a filter with a fixed slope of 12dB octave use the control to adjust the cut off frequency between 20Hz and 250Hz With this section you can get rid of unwanted low frequency noise such as rumble or microphone handling noise Again it is better to use this filter to cut off low frequency noise than to use several bands of
4. equipment may be damaged Do not use anything other than stands and mounting systems that are certified by the manufacturer or that are sold with the device Make sure that the mounting of the device is done properly Observe all safety instructi ons provided by the the manufacturer 9 A device mounted in a mobile rack must be treated with care A sudden stop or pushing it too roughly in combination with a rugged surface can make the rack tip and so injure someone or damage the equipment that is in the rack 10 Ventilation The perforations in the casing of the device are there to make sure that the device can ope rate at the correct temperature and cooling of the inte rior be guaranteed You must make sure that these openings are not blocked in any way such as by panels or tissues or papers The device should not be mounted in a closed case where no passive or active ventilation is possible 11 Power you must connect the device to a power line described in the manual or at the back of the device If you are not sure that the unit as supplied is correct for your supply voltage please contact a technician or your local reseller 12 Grounding and polarisation this device can be equipped with a polarised power connector that only connects one way round which can provide additional safety features If you are unable to put the power plug into the socket try it again the other way If you do not succeed to put the power plug into th
5. fundamental fre quency first Since the notch filter have a cut of 30dB and a narrower Q than the graphic filters they are much more efficient for removing feedback than the graphic section only 20 15 10 5 dB 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 25 31 40 50 63 80 100 120 160 200 250 315 400 500 630 800 1k 1k25 1k6 2k 2k53k15 4k 5k 6k3 8k 10k12k5 16k 20k Hz Notch filter with centre frequency at 140Hz attenuation of 30dB and Q 2 Low Frequency Notch Filter on off Switch 9 With this switch you can turn the low frequency notch filter on and off Standard position is off LED out Push the button if you want to switch the notch filter in the signal path the LED will light 13 APEX High Frequency Notch Filter 10 This Filter is identical to the Low Frequency Notch Filter except that you can select a higher centre frequency via the rotary control between 800Hz and 20kHz High Frequency Notch Filter on off Switch 11 With this switch you can turn the high frequency notch filter on and off Standard position is off LED out Push the button if you want to switch the notch filter in the signal path the LED will light Equaliser Bypass Switch 12 The bypass switch will connect the input straight to the output thus bypassing all equalising In case of Power Failure the bypass is automatically activated LED VU meter and Clip LED 13 There is an eight section VU meter and one signal LED with a scale in 3dB
6. limited substances as to weight in homogeneous materials are as follows Lead 0 1 Mercury 0 1 Hexavalent Chromium 0 1 Polybroombifenylen 0 1 Polybroomdifenylethers 0 1 Cadmium 0 1 Apex takes all possible steps to document the supplier statement This document is made for the distributors of Apex products see above product Director Edition 0 1 01 06 2006 Document 90 44 11 000010 16
7. steps which measu res the signal on the output after all the filter sections A separate Clip LED will light when you have reached the maximum level of the dBQzero and no more headroom is left this Clip circuit monitors the signal at three different points in the signal path input post level control and post filters If the clip LED lights verify your EQ setting but do not forget to bypass all the filters and make sure your input signal is correct Check this before the start of any show too make sure you are feeding the unit with a correct level signal Power on present indication LED 14 When the power switch on the backside of the unit is on and mains power is present this LED will light to assure you In case of a power failure or if you have turned off the mains power switch on the back of the unit the unit will be go in hard bypass mode hereby linking the inputs to the outputs so that the signal goes true the unit unaltered 14 ZN APEX Technical Specifications Line Inputs Balanced high impedance line level input 10kOhms TRS jack XLR and screw terminal connector Maximum Input Level 20dB Gain adjustable 10dB via rotary control Line Outputs Electronically balanced low impedance outputs Maximum Output Level 21dB into 600 Ohms Noise 92dB 20Hz 20kHz A weighted Crosstalk Better than 80dB THD lt 0 005 20Hz 20kHz Frequency Response 0 5dB 20Hz 20kHz all controls flat Po
8. the graphic section since less filters is always better 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 25 31 40 50 63 80 100 120 160 200 250 315 400 500 630 800 1k 1k25 1k6 2k 2k53k15 4k Sk 6k3 8k 10k12k5 16k 20k Hz high pass filter set at 50Hz High Pass Filter on off switch 5 When the accompanying LED is out the filter is not in the signal path Push the switch to activate the filter the LED will light You can use this switch to compare between filter in en out to verify if the used setting thus not degrade your musical signal too much 11 APEX Low Frequency Shelving Filter 6 The low frequency shelving filter is a filter with a fixed slope and a fixed frequency at 100Hz Via the rotary control you can adjust the boost cut of the filter between 9dB This filter acts in similar way as the bass control of a hi fi amplifier it is great if you are lacking or having a bit too much some low end And again it is only a single filter compared to a number of graphic faders 25 31 40 50 63 80 100 120 160 200 250 315 400 500 630 800 1k 1k25 1k6 2k 2k53k15 4k 5k 6k3 8k 10k12k5 16k 20k Hz low shelving filter with fixed frequency of 100 2 and cut of 9dB High Frequency Shelving Filter 7 The high frequency shelving filter is a filter with a fixed slope and a fixed frequency at 14kHz Via the rotary control you can adjust the boost cut of the filter between 9dB This filter acts in a similar way as the treble cont
9. device performs abnormally showing signs of malfunction 19 Spare parts if it is necessary to replace certain parts make sure that only certified parts are used or that the used parts have the same characteristics as the originals Using incorrect parts can change the device s performance or even destroy it completely 20 Verification after repairs make sure to test the device thoroughly Not only the functionality but also the safety of the device must be tested 21 Mounting on the ceiling or wall the device can not be mounted on a wall or ceiling because this will cover the ventilation perforations causing the device to over heat 22 Heat the device must be kept away from all heat sources such as radiators stoves or other devices mounted in the same rack including amplifiers A Introduction APEX Thank you for buying the Apex dBQzero equaliser Apex is manufacturing equalisers since 1991 and has build up a reputation of outstanding quality With the dBQzero we have tried to offer a high quality dual channel graphic equaliser with some extra filters for a very affordable price In our humble opinion this is probably the best sounding equaliser in its price range The unit consist of two identical chan nels Each channel consists of a graphic equaliser section with 30 bands a frequency selectable high pass filter with in out switch high and low shelving filters two notch filters with selectable frequencies
10. e socket ask a technician Never try to modify the plug so that it will fit the socket 13 Protection of the power cable Make sure that the power cable is not damaged in any way for instance by other machines that are mounted above or below the device 14 Usage for extra safety and environmental rea sons we recommend disconnecting the mains if the device is not being used for a longer period 15 Power overload do not overload your power lines Make sure that you do not exceed that maximum load your power cabling can handle Doing so may pose a fire hazard 16 External objects and liquids make sure that no external object and or liquid can enter the device There is a risk of electrical shock and the machine may be damaged and need servicing Make sure that you never poor liquids onto the device 17 Maintenance There is no need to open the machine for servicing There are no serviceable parts in the machine 18 Repairs unplug the device and refer to a qualified technician in the following cases a The power cord is hot or damaged in any way b An object or liquid has entered the device c The device was exposed to rain or moisture d The device does not seem to work properly accor ding to the manual Do not use more and other com mands than you will find in the manual Contact a certified technician to help you restore the standard commands e The device has fallen or the chassis is deformed f The
11. local waste administration waste collection company or dealer 7 SAFETY ADVICE APEX CAUTION To reduce the risk of electric shock do not remove the cover back or front No user serviceable parts inside Refer servicing to qualified service personnel The lightning flash with arrowhead symbol within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the presence of un insulated dangerous voltages within the product s enclosure that may be of sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of electric shock The exclamation point within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the presence of important operating and maintenance servicing instructions in the literature accompanying the appliance IMPORTANT Do not modify the power cord If the power cord does not correspond with the power cord you need or if it is too short to connect to the power socket please buy a certified power cord at a distributor If the power cord is damaged in any way please replace the cord with a new certified power cord If the power cord is not equipped with a power plug please follow these instructions carefully IMPORTANT The wire colour codes correspond with the following GREEN YELLOW GROUND BLUE NEUTRAL BROWN PHASE LIVE ATTENTION This device must be grounded If these colours do not correspond with the symbols or colours you are using please follow the fol lowing instructions The GREEN YELLOW wire
12. must be connected to the connector representing the letter E the grounding symbol 1 or the colour GREEN The BLUE wire must be connected to the connector represented by the letter N or the colour BLACK The BROWN wire must be connected to the connector represented by the letter L or the colour RED If in any case you need to replace a fuse please make sure that you use the same value and that you correctly reposition the protective cover for the fuse IN CASE OF DOUBT PLEASE CONTACT A COMPETENT TECHNICIAN APEX ATTENTION 1 Read instructions all the safety instructions must be read before the usage of the device 2 Following the instructions the instructions must be a reference for all that follows 3 Taking the signs into account all the signs on the device and in the manual must be taken into account 4 Following the instructions all the following instructi ons must be followed without exception 5 Cleaning Disconnect the power cord before all clea ning Do not use alcohol or benzene to clean the device nor any other liquid Clean the device with a lightly damp cloth 6 Accessories do not use accessories that are not certified by the manufacturer or that can cause injuries 7 Water and humidity The device may not be used near water for instance near a bath river damp room swimming pool or any similar environment 8 Stands do not use an unstable stand It can fall and injure someone and the
13. n of the filters This should make it clear why some equalisers like the dBQzero sound better and more accurate than others The centre frequencies should be very precisely set the Q factor really constant and similar for all bands or the interaction between all those filters will create an unpredictable result When using a graphic filter for adjusting your sound start from the lower frequencies and work your way up to the higher ones work from left to right Most individual sounds consist of a fundamental frequency and more or less harmonics depending on the nature and or origin of that sound When working from left to right you ll make sure to first touch the fundamentals and when altering those you will also act on their harmonics A good example is mains hum 50Hz or 60 2 this is mostly a dirty sound with some harmonics if you work from right to left you will try to get rid of all the harmonics first to finally get to the fundamental When working from left to right you will get to the fundamental first and take out more or less some of the harmonics so you will actually use less correction And with equalising less is better Another good advise is it is better to cut than to boost When boosting frequencies or frequency bands you will reduce the overall headroom of your system If for example you think there is a lack of high frequencies in your sound you can either push those frequencies or you can cut some of the low frequencies And
14. rol of a hi fi amplifier it is great if you are lacking or having a bit too much some high end And again it is only a single filter compared to a number of graphic faders 40 25 31 40 50 63 80 100 120 160 200 250 315 400 500 630 800 1k 1k25 1k6 2k 2k53k15 4k 5k 6k3 8k 10k12k5 16k 20k Hz high shelving filter with fixed frequency of 14kHz and boost of 5dB 12 APEX Low Frequency Notch Filter 8 This is a parametric filter with 2 fixed parameters a fixed cut of 30dB and a fixed Q of 2 You can select the centre frequency of the low frequency notch filter between 20Hz and 1200Hz via the rotary control The purpose of this filter is to quickly remove a feedback frequency To be able to quickly find the feedback frequency the Q has been chosen to an intermediate value Reducing this Q would make the filter narrower thus avoiding cutting out too much musical signal but it would take too much time for you to find the exact frequency If you want or need more accurate notch filters we would recommend you our Apex PE analogue models who have full parametric filters who enable you to zoom in on the offensive frequency Another alternative is our Apex IntelliQ digital system optimiser When trying to remove unwanted feedback start with the low frequency notch filter and then move on to the high frequency notch filter Feedback mostly consists of more than one fre quency starting with the low frequency notch filter assures you to find the
15. s 1 3rd Octave with constant Q But what exactly is this Q Q can be determined as the ratio of filter centre frequency to bandwidth Q f Bw Bandwidth is measured between the 3 dB down points on either side of resonance and usually where the phase has been shifted 45 If a tuned circuit has a centre frequency of 1 kHz and 3 dB down points at 900Hz and 1 1kHz the bandwidth 200Hz and the Q 5 1000Hz 200Hz The greater the Q the smaller the bandwidth With constant Q the bandwidth at the 3 dB down points of each of the graphic filters stays constant whatever the boost or cut of that filter 25 31 40 50 63 80 100 120 160 200 250 315 400 500 630 800 1k 1k25 1k6 2k 2k53k15 4k 5k 6k3 Bk 10 12 5 16k 20k Hz centre fr equency of 1kHz boost of 5dB all images taken from the Apex IntelliQ digital system optimiser 20 15 10 5 dB 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 25 31 40 50 63 80 100 120 160 200 250 315 400 500 630 800 1k 1k25 1k6 2k 2k53k15 4k Sk 6k3 8k 10k12k5 16k 20k Hz centre frequency of 1kHz boost of 12dB the bandwidth at the 3dB points stays the same APEX All analogue equalisers will introduce some phase shift when used and different equaliser bands will also interact when used together A graphic equaliser can be considered as a combination of 30 distinct equalisers with fixed centre frequencies and in the case of the dBQzero with a constant Q factor You can only change the gain attenuatio
16. vided with the EQ or get a power cord suitable for use in your country The dBzero has an automatic switchable power supply which accepts a wide range of AC power from 100V to 220V Do Never replace the fuse in the Fuseholder 9 with a type different than indicated on the back panel All audio inputs and outputs of the dBQzero are balanced and use common cabling rules XLR pin 1 GND pin 2 HOT pin 3 Cold JACK TIP HOT RING COLD SLEEVE GND When making connections in a fixed installation you can gain time and money by directly con necting your cables to the screw terminal connectors Turn the unit on via the mains power switch 7 there will be a very short delay before the unit will start working and the equaliser circuit is switched into circuit to avoid loud cracks and bangs When no power is present or the mains power switch is off the unit will be go in hard bypass mode hereby linking the inputs to the outputs so that the signal goes true the unit unaltered APEX Using the dBQzero If you are used working with graphic equalisers using the dBQzero will pose you no problem you will just be surprised by its accuracy and musicality However if you like to know the fine details of this equaliser we invite you to read on The two channels of the dBQzero are identical so only one channel is described The Graphic Section 1 The graphic section consists of 30 faders adjusting the 30 ISO centered frequency band
17. wer Supply Auto detect 110 230V 50 60Hz switching power supply Power switch and fuse on the back panel Power LED on the front panel Dimension H x W x D 3U rack Case x 483mm 19inch x 133mm 5 25inch Weight 4 kg 15 EE amp RoHS Compliance Certificate For Apex dBQ Zero Paragraphic Equaliser Code Number 80 00 11 000010 01 06 2006 Apex NV Schoebroekstraat 62 3583 Paal Beringen Belgium WEEE Apex shall be WEEE compliant based on EU regulation 2002 96 EC On 01 07 2006 All our products will have the WEEE directive label placed on the case So the products can be returned to Apex if the product have reached the end of use at the end of the life cycle RoHS Based on information provided by our suppliers Apex indicates the dBQ Zero as RoHS compliant for orders placed on or after the date of this certificate RoHS compliant means that supplier has confirmed that the product concerned is RoHS compliant We apply rigorous and persistent processes to confirm and document this Wherever applicable we perform material content tests Soldering Apex only uses Lead Free Soldering Techniques See norm IEC 61760 Lead free wave soldering PCB Apex only use RoHS Compliant and compatible PCB s Lead free finishes amp lead free laminate requirements Component Checking We assembly and purchased components with RoHS Compliant certification For these purposes the maximum concentration values of the
18. z NOTCH2 in Graphic equaliser section 30 bands on ISO frequencies Input level control 6 15dB switch with LED indication changes the maximum boost attenuation of the graphic Eq High Pass Filter frequency selection High Pass Filter on off switch with LED indication Low Frequency Shelving filter High Frequency Shelving filter Low Frequency Notch filter frequency selection 9 Low Frequency Notch filter on off switch with LED indication 10 High Frequency Notch filter frequency selection 11 High Frequency Notch filter on off switch with LED indication 12 Equaliser Bypass switch with LED indication 13 LED VU meter and Clip LED 52 EN po ie ae The identical layout is used for the connections of channel B 14 Power on present indication LED A APEX Before use Mounting the dBQzero a rack or flight case The dBQzero can be mounted in a standard 19inch rack or flight case via the four holes in the front panel Use the correct screws not delivered and fix the unit with all four screws For normal use no extra support is needed but in more extreme conditions on the road we advise to support the unit underneath the back The dBQzero will not run very hot in normal operating conditions but again under extreme hot temperature conditions we advise you to leave 1U of ventilation space above and under the unit Connecting the dBQzero Connect power to the dBQzero via the Power inlet 8 use the power cord pro
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