AEA RPQ2, Owner'S Manual

Page 1: ...ribbonmics preamps since 1964 www ribbonmics com tel 1 626 798 9128 made in california OWNER S MANUAL aearpq2 2 CHANNEL FULL RACK PREAMP WITH EQ DI Revision 1 September 2016 ...

Page 2: ...ce the sound of your ribbons with the right preamp The RPQ2 is the perfect companion for any and all ribbons condensers and moving coil microphones whenever a true and pristine signal path is desired Your RPQ2 is 100 handcrafted in Pasadena CA AEA is a family owned company with a small crew of skilled technicians most of them being musicians themselves Proudly independent we still manufacture all ...

Page 3: ... CONNECTIONS 8 Input Connections 8 Microphone Input Mode 8 Line Input Mode 9 Direct Input Mode 9 Output Connections 10 Input Impedance 10 SETTING THE GAIN 12 Microphone Input Mode 12 Line and Direct Input Mode 13 THE EQ SYSTEM 13 Using the LF Filter 13 Using the HF CurveShaper EQ 15 SPECIFICATIONS 18 WARRANTY 20 SUPPORT 20 ...

Page 4: ... particularly useful for bypassing the preamp section when you want to use the unit in Line Input mode for post EQ processing Engineers have discovered that the RPQ2 also complements their moving coil and condenser microphones Like our Big Ribbons we designed the RPQ2 to have a natural and musical tonality GENERAL GUIDELINES To maintain the best performance from your new AEA RPQ2 preamp take note ...

Page 5: ...4 preamp output 3 Phantom Power P48 switch OUT is off IN applies full spec P48 phantom power to the input The red LED below the switch will indicate when P48 phantom power is engaged 4 Polarity Invert switch OUT is normal IN is inverted 5 Output Level control This continuously variable control provides up to 19dB additional output gain following the optional CurveShaper EQ circuitry 0dB marker on ...

Page 6: ...dB to maximum approx 20dB the slope of the Curve Shaper EQ varies as Curve Frequency and Curve Gain settings interact 11 Audio Signal Level indicators The green LED snaps on at 20 dBu to indicate the presence of sig nal the yellow LED snaps on at 0 dBu the red LED snaps on at 24 dBu to warn of approaching signal overload 12 Hi Z Direct Input switch OUT is bypass IN engages signal to pass through H...

Page 7: ...de connector Bypasses the mic preamp gain stage to accommodate line level signals Depress the Mic Line switch ref 1 to utilize this Line Mode input C Balanced 1 4 Preamp Output Direct output of preamp gain stage before EQ and Output Level control D Balanced Input XLR Mic Input mode connector Male three pin XLR pin 1 is ground pin 2 is high and pin 3 is low ...

Page 8: ...s recommended that the P48 switch ref 7 is in the OUT position before and while they are connected to prevent possible damage to the microphones The red LED below the phantom power switch lights up when P48 is engaged To prevent damaging the equipment in your system it is a good idea to test your microphone cables regularly to determine whether they have any open shorted reversed or intermittent c...

Page 9: ...nt of the Output Level control and CurveShaper EQ circuitry To use the inserts with an effect plug a mic into the XLR Input ref D and take the 1 4 balanced Preamp Out ref C into another piece of hardware such as a compressor Connect the output of the compressor and plug it directly into the 1 4 Line In ref B The standard XLR Output ref A is the post EQ output While in Line Mode connecting the Line...

Page 10: ...ll sources going to the XLR Output If you do not hear output from the XLR and are not using the direct input check if the DI switch is engaged The output of the RPQ2 emulates a transformer coupled output and can be used as either a balanced or unbalanced signal depending on how your cable system is configured When balanced the maximum output level is 28 dBu when unbalanced the maximum level is 22 ...

Page 11: ...clean and quiet gain with extended bandwidth from below 1 Hz to beyond 200 kHz for dynamic range and transient response that complements all microphones As with any piece of audio equipment setting and maintaining proper signal levels are critical to obtaining optimum performance if the level is too low you sacrifice noise performance if too high you risk overload distortion The AEA RPQ2 provides ...

Page 12: ...sal so after determining the gain during the sound check it is a good idea to set the Mic Gain control one or two clicks lower for the performance to allow yet a little more margin for headroom Line and Direct Input Mode When using Line or Direct Input mode the Mic Gain control ref 10 is bypassed The Output Level control ref 11 allows you to control the overall level of the Line and DI sources The...

Page 13: ...g rumble traffic noise P pops and breath noise However a fixed frequency constant slope low cut filter cannot handle all situations effectively The RPQ2 offers a flexible LF filter that can be tailored to satisfy the varying and critical demands of both speech and music Pushing in the LF Filter switch ref 5 inserts a 20dB maximum low cut shelving filter The Low Frequency control ref 6 adjusts the ...

Page 14: ...tially act as a high frequency shelf The Curve Frequency knob at its lowest setting will yield a gentler slope and wider bandwidth As the frequency is raised the slope becomes steeper while the bandwidth narrows To activate the CurveShaper EQ section depress the High Frequency switch ref 3 Start by adjusting the continuously variable Curve Frequency control ref 4 The frequency markings on the Curv...

Page 15: ...veShaper HF Response at Half Boost Note When the Curve Gain is fully counter clockwise set in the 0 position no EQ will be introduced into the signal It essentially the same as having the HF In Switch ref 8 disengaged ...

Page 16: ...16 AEA RPQ2 CurveShaper HF Response at Full Boost ...

Page 17: ...vides from 13dB to 62dB of gain for the preamplifier circuit as measured between the input and the before the output line driver 3dB break frequency tunable from 22 Hz to 515 Hz maximum reduction 20dB 3dB break frequency tunable from 2 5 kHz to 30 kHz HF gain adjustable from 0dB to 20dB the slope of the HF filter varies interactively and directly with the CurveShaper frequency and gain settings 28...

Page 18: ...AEA RPQ2 Single Line Diagram One channel 18 ...

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Page 20: ...line at www bit ly aeawarranty SUPPORT If you should encounter any problems with your preamp or if you have questions regarding using the RPQ2 in specific application please contact our customer support team at support ribbonmics com To talk to a live human being call 1 626 798 9128 between 9 00 a m 5 00 p m PT Monday through Friday There are a number or audio and video recordings of various AEA m...