- #Audiobook creator compressor limiter digitizer manual
- #Audiobook creator compressor limiter digitizer plus
In this mode the Threshold, Slope, Attack and Release controls of the upper channel determine the compression characteristics of both channels, but the Gain, Bypass and metering controls remain independent.
#Audiobook creator compressor limiter digitizer plus
The Overload LED means exactly that - it illuminates when the signal is within 0.5dB of clipping - while the 0VU mark equates to +4dBu when the meter is switched to show output level.įinally, there is a 'jewelled' On lamp and associated mains-power toggle switch, plus a Link toggle switch to gang the two channels for stereo operation. To the right, a pair of modern back-lit rectangular VU meters each have an associated red Overload LED and a toggle switch to display either the output signal level or the amount of gain reduction being applied. However, the side-chain is of a peak-detecting type (rather than an RMS-level design), and it sounds VCA-based rather than optical to my ears.
The actual gain-controlling element is described as a proprietary design and, as it is hidden away from view on the undersides of the daughterboards, I can't tell you anything more about it. Photo: Mike CameronThe Slope control allows the compression ratio to be varied between 1.1:1 and 7:1, always with a soft-knee transition. The blue, graduated legend on the vintage-style knobs is calibrated simply 0 to 10 because, according to Summit, the controls tend to interact with one another, which means that the actual parameter values vary with the amount of gain reduction. The input Gain, Threshold, Slope (ratio), Attack (roughly 0.1 to 100ms) and Release (about 35ms to 10 seconds) can all be adjusted with the continuous (rather than switched) and surprisingly light controls.
#Audiobook creator compressor limiter digitizer manual
The manual explains that these arbitrary markings are employed because the controls tend to interact with one another, and so the actual parameter values vary with the amount of gain reduction. Next up are five large, vintage-style rotary controls, with a blue, graduated legend calibrated simply 0-10. The two channels' controls are arranged one above the other, starting with a toggle switch to bypass the channel's gain reduction (the signal circuitry remains in the path). The front panel of the DCL200 is a riot of vintage flair. The mains input is via a standard fused IEC mains inlet, with a recessed switch to change mains voltage (115 or 230V). The input and output XLRs and side-chain insert TRS sockets are cabled back to the main board, and two daughterboards mounted behind the front-panel controls carry the side-chain and gain-reduction circuitry. The majority of the circuitry is contained on a main PCB covering most of the floor area of the unit and carrying the three valves and four 990 op-amp blocks. The construction is to a very high standard, with a linear power supply fed from a transformer mounted on the right-hand side of the case. The unit occupies 2U of rack space and extends roughly 10.5 inches behind the rack ears. Interestingly, Summit Audio use a regulated heater supply voltage for the valves, which they claim increases their useful life considerably, with more than 10,000 hours being recorded! The input and output stages, as well as all of the side-chain circuitry, are solid-state, while the signal amplification is performed by the valves.
It combines both valves (three screened 12AX7 double triodes) and solid-state technologies (principally Deane Jensen-designed 990 op-amp devices, complemented with a couple of OP297s and some traditional 5534s) to deliver reliability with a 'precise but warm' sound. The Summit Audio DCL200 reviewed here is a dual-channel compressor/limiter employing hybrid circuitry. I reviewed its smaller sibling, the TLA50, in SOS March 2003, but the TLA100 is still in production 20 years on! Summit Audio's high-end designs are known for their quality and longevity - so is their new compressor a classic in the making?Ĭalifornian manufacturers Summit Audio have a history in the pro-audio business dating back to 1979, when they started providing a brokerage service for high-end audio, but it wasn't until 1985 that the company released their first product - the TLA100 Tube Levelling Amp.
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