True to the Music
Radial Engineering
J48 User Guide
11
The balanced XLR output
The J48 features a mic level, balanced output jack that uses a standard XLR male connector. This jack is wired to the
AES (Audio Engineering Society) standard with pin-1 ground, pin-2 hot and pin-3 cold. Today, pretty much all equipment
is manufactured using this standard. Connection is made to the mic-level input of the mixing console or to a standard mic
pre-amplifier. The J48 is ideally suited for interface with concert snake systems and splitters where mic and direct box
signals are directed to several destinations at the same time such as recording, monitor, broadcast and front-of-house mix
positions.
Phantom powering
The Radial J48 derives its power from the 48V phantom power supply, typically found on all mixers and mic preamplifier
channels. This standard powering system will not harm dynamic microphones or other equipment that may be connected
to the mixer.
The polarity reverse switch
A polarity reverse is provided that toggles the XLR pin-2 and pin-3 as the ‘hot’ or positive signal. This provides several
operational benefits: interfacing with older mixing consoles that have pin-3 hot is simply a matter of depressing the polarity
reverse. Also when combining a mic’d and direct signal from the same instrument, one sometimes encounters phase cancel-
lation problems. Reversing the polarity on the J48 will often alleviate this. While recording, this same process provides the
engineer with another ‘tonal pallet’ and experimenting with different settings can lead to some very pleasing results.
Mechanical attributes
One common feature you will find on all Radial products is our relentless pursuit of durability. Open up the J48 to look
inside. You will note that the J48 is essentially two boxes in one. A heavy-duty welded I-beam steel frame houses the PC
board, circuit and connectors. The PC board is two-sided which means that all components are soldered twice. Further, it
is practically impossible to torque the PC board once installed. This ensures years of performance without failure.
An innovative ‘book-end’ construction features front and back recessed panels that protect the switches and connectors
from being damaged during transport or from overzealous roadies. Five minutes before a show is no time for a switch to be
broken. Worse yet, testing and sorting out noise and ground problems and doing sound checks can sometimes take hours.
This can easily be hampered by a simple throw of a switch.
You’ll be glad our switches are tough to switch!
The finish is a baked enamel that should provide years of performance and still look great! The J48 is also outfitted with a
full bottom no-slip pad. This performs several important functions. To begin, it provides plenty of ‘stay-put’ on hectic stages.
This keeps the DIs from falling off amplifiers or sliding around when they are stacked. The no-slip pad also works as an
