Gate Threshold:; 4.2.7 Duck Priority; 4.2.8 Input Compressor- Page 17

Page 17

IQ–AMB-5 / IQ–SMX-6

 Reference Manual

AMB-5 / SMX-6

  IQ Mixer/Multiplexer

+25 dB in 

1

/

2

-dB steps.

•

•

•

•

•

Gate Threshold:

  the input level above which

the gate will “open” and below which the gate
will “close.” Control range is from –100 to +25
dB in 

1

/

2

-dB steps.

• Low Set:

 the gain setting that will be used

when the gate is “closed.” Control range is
from –100 to +25 dB in 

1

/

2

-dB steps.

• Delay:

 determines how long the gate will stay

open after the incoming signal drops below the
Threshold. Control range is from 0.2 to 30 sec-
onds.

4.2.7 Duck Priority

“Ducking” is the attenuation of an input when an-
other input with a higher priority is activated by the
Gate function. When the higher priority gate opens,
all inputs with lower priorities drop or “duck” to their
Low Set values. Up to six levels of priority can be
established between input channels. With the IQ–
SMX-6, each output channel can have a different
priority structure. There are two different parameters
which control this feature:

• Duck Priority On/Off:

 turns this feature on or

off.

• Duck Priority Level:

 a setting from 1 to 6

where 1 is highest  priority and 6 is lowest prior-
ity. Each VCA is set independently.

4.2.8 Input Compressor

The input compressor/limiter function “reins in”

input signals that suddenly become too loud.
The compressor is a feed-forward type, which
performs the compression after the level sen-
sor. This allows it to work more smoothly than
conventional-type compressors. There are pa-
rameters which control this feature:

• Compressor/Limiter On/Off:

 This control

turns the function on or off for the indicated in-
put/output channel.

• Max Gain:

 the gain setting when no compres-

sion is taking place. Control range is from –100
to +25 in 

1

/

2

-dB steps.

• Threshold:

 the input level above which com-

pression begins.  A signal at this level or below
is not affected. Control range is from –100 to
+25 in 

1

/

2

-dB steps.

• Compression Ratio:

 the amount of compres-

sion that is applied for every step over the
Threshold. Choices are 1:1, 2:1, 4:1, 8:1, 16:1,
32:1, infinity:1.

• Release Time:

 determines how long it takes for

the gain to return to normal once the level
drops below the Threshold. Control range is
from 0.2, to 30 seconds.

• Slow Compression (IQ–SMX-6 only):

 This

control applies to all input channels.  When
Slow Compression is set to off, the compressor
is set to the fastest attack time possible.  This
will be very fast—so fast the compressor can
stop extremely sudden transients like the
sound caused by a dropped microphone.  This
is a good setting for rapid speech.  You can
turn the Slow Compression on for more gentle
sound sources such as most music.

4.2.9 Auto Level

Auto Level is designed to control long-term changes
in signal level.  With Auto Level on, the average
output level can be kept relatively constant over a
longer time interval while transients are allowed to
pass.  Auto Level creates a more natural sound with
increased dynamic range. There are five different
parameters which control this feature:

• Auto Level On/Off:

 This control turns the func-

tion on or off for the indicated input/output
channel.

• Max Gain:

 the upper limit for input gain. This

level serves as a gain “ceiling” when the Auto
Level function is attempting to raise the gain on
a low-level signal. Control range is from –100 to
+25 in 

1

/

2

-dB steps

• Auto Level control:

 sets the desired average

output level.  This level can best be understood
as a “target” level.  If the output signal level is
above this level, the gain will be reduced to at-
tempt to hit this target.  Likewise, if the output
signal is lower than this level, the gain will be
increased.  In no case will the gain level be set
to greater than Max Gain. Control range is from
–100 to +25 in 

1

/

2

-dB steps.

• Idle Gain:

 controls the initial gain when the

gate first opens. Idle Gain can be thought of as
the “starting gain” because it overrides the Max
Gain when the gate opens, and can compen-
sate for undesirable side-effects caused by
Max Gain being set above the Auto Level
value.  Start with Idle Gain equal to Max Gain.

* There is only one Max Gain that is shared among all of the Auto functions
that use it.  This means that if you change the Max Gain on one page of the
Auto functions, the Max Gain is changed for all pages.