after a sudden transient or a loud note has decayed. Depending on the desired effect, you might want
a very slow attack so that percussive or transient sounds are not restricted, but average volume levels
are held within the desired range.
A very fast attack setting (control maximum counterclockwise) will cause the 160S to act like a peak lim-
iter even though RMS detection circuitry is used. Slower attack settings cause the 160S to act like an RMS
or averaging detecting compressor/limiter.
Note
:
Attack
and
Release
controls operate together and in conjunction with the
Compression
ratio control. Changing one control may necessitate changing another setting.
The
Stop Level
control sets the maximum peak output level of the 160S irrespective of any other con-
trol.
PeakStop
consists of a sophisticated voltage-controlled Instantaneous Transient Clamp™ that pro-
duces a minimum of audible distortion. It rounds the corners of a peak rather than cutting it off sharply,
as “clippers” do. By making a signal's leading and trailing edges curved instead of sharp corners, it
reduces the amount of higher odd-order, offensive-sounding harmonics that conventional clipping caus-
es.
The level at which PeakStop is activated is adjustable from +4dBu to +30dBu. Note that small signal
excursions above the set value of PeakStop are possible, to allow the rounding to occur. Therefore, for
applications where you must not exceed a given ceiling, set the
PeakStop
control 1 to 2dB below the
ceiling.
To disable the PeakStop function, set the control to OFF (>+30dBu) (i.e: above the maximum output
level of the 160S).
PeakStopPlus is made up of two seperate parts. The first stage is the Instantaneous Transient Clamp™ which clamps
the signal with a soft logarithmic clamp function. This logarithmic function assures that the signal will not exceed
the level set by the
PeakStopPlus™ Level
control by more than 2 dB typically, and that it will not introduce harsh
artifacts.
The second stage is a unique program limiter featuring Intelligent Predictive Limiting™. Its function is to monitor
the input signal and intelligently predict the amount of gain reduction needed to keep the output signal below the
ceiling set by the Instantaneous Transient Clamp™. Note, since the PeakStopPlus™ limiter is a fail-safe limiter it
must come after the
Output gain
control. If the output gain is set too high as compared to the
PeakStopPlus™
Level
control, continuous limiting can occur.
While PeakStopPlus™ is typically used as a protective function, creative effects can be achieved by intentionally
driving the signal into heavy PeakStopPlus™ limiting. Great care has gone into the design of the PeakStopPlus™
limiter to keep it acoustically transparent. Appropriate use of it can protect your gear while keeping the signal free
of artifacts.
Using PeakStop®/PeakStopPlus™
21
notes
160S
Operating
