MANLEY LABORATORIES, INC. OWNER'S MANUAL STEREO "VARIABLE-MU" LIMITER / COMPRESSOR MANLEY LABORATORIES, INC. 13880 MAGNOLIA AVE. CHINO, CA. 91710 TEL: (909) 627-4256 FAX: (909) 628-2482 email: emanley@netcom.com http://www.manleylabs.
CONTENTS SECTION PAGE INTRODUCTION 3 MAINS CONNECTIONS 4 INSTALLATION 5 FRONT PANEL 6 REAR PANEL 7 EXAMPLE SETTINGS 8 FRONT PANEL ADJUSTMENTS 9 OPERATIONAL NOTES 10 TECHNICAL NOTES 11 MASTERING AND M/S MODELS 12 GAIN REDUCTION CURVES 13 SPECIFICATIONS 14 SERVICE ADJUSTMENTS 15 WARRANTY 16 WARRANTY REGISTRATION 17 BLANK TEMPLATE TO STORE SETTINGS 18
INTRODUCTION THANK YOU!... for choosing the Manley Laboratories Stereo Variable-MU Limiter Compressor . The heart of this limiter is the variable gain vacuum tube. In tube-talk MU refers to gain and only a few types of tubes were ever designed for variable-mu operation. This limiting circuitry was designed by David Manley over thirty years ago. Our current version of this unique piece combines that classic sound with the precise cleanliness of modern componentry.
MAINS CONNECTIONS Your unit has been factory set to the correct mains voltage for your country. The voltage setting is marked on the serial badge, located on the rear panel. Check that this complies with your local supply. Export units for certain markets have a moulded mains plug fitted to comply with local requirements. If your unit does not have a plug fitted the coloured wires should be connected to the appropriate plug terminals in accordance with the following code.
INSTALLATION Please refer to the REAR PANEL section for a full layout of the rear panel of your Stereo limiter compressor. 1. Set the voltage change-over switch on the back of the unit to the voltage you are using. 2. Be certain that the unit has a 2 Amp SLO-BLO (120 Volt operation) or 1 Amp SLO-BLO (for 240/220 Volt use) fuse. 3. Connect the input signal(s) to the 3 pin female XLR's on the rear panel.
FRONT PANEL 12 10 8 6 MANLEY STEREO "VARIABLE-MU" LIMITER COMPRESSOR 4 2 RECOVERY 0 MANLEY SLOW OUTPUT DUAL INPUT 12 10 8 6 4 2 RECOVERY SLOW FAST LABORATORIES INC. REDUCTION dB REDUCTION dB THRESHOLD ATTACK ATTACK IN THRESHOLD LIMIT SEP LINK MIN BALANCE ADJUST H MAX SLOW SLOW FAST FAST MIN MAX POWER METER B IN COMPRESS COMPRESS BYPASS 0 MANLEY FAST LABORATORIES INC.
REAR PANEL 110 220 I N P U T A 1A SLO BLO B I N P U T 2 AMP SLO-BLO O U T P U T A B O U T P U T A A FUSE HOLDER Houses a standard 2 Amp SLO-BLO fuse. Replace only with the same type and size. B IEC MAINS SOCKET Standard 3 pin AC mains socket. See the section MAINS CONNECTIONS for more details. C VOLTAGE CHANGEOVER SWITCH Selects between 110,117,120 Volts or 220,227,240 Volts. This switch should be set for the mains AC voltage of your country.
this page for example settings
FRONT PANEL ADJUSTMENTS Initial basic settings for line level use: 1 -Begin with POWER ON, BYPASS, SEP and COMPRESS 2 -Set all controls at 12:00 ( or THRESHOLD at min) (for calibration feed in a 1Khz oscillator at 0 VU and confirm the return from the unit is actually 0 VU. Switch from BYPASS to IN and adjust the individual OUTPUTs to also return 0 VU.) 3 -Switch from BYPASS to IN and adjust the DUAL INPUT to get 3 to 6 dB of gain reduction on the meter with either COMPRESS or LIMIT.
OPERATION NOTES The "MANLEY STEREO VARIABLE MU LIMITER - COMPRESSOR" is designed for multiple purposes. The unit can be used stereo or as 2 individual channels of limiting or compression. It can be used as a balanced line amp capable of 24 db! of gain and as a pre-amp for low level signals. . With higher input gain settings the unit can be used to create gentle tube distortion if desired.
TECHNICAL NOTES SWITCHING ON The power switch is located on the right hand corner of the front panel. Flip the switch up to turn on the Limiter Compressor and down to turn off . TUBE LIFE As with all tubes, their quality degrades with age. This is due to cathode emission, a natural process found in all tubes. We recommend that you have your unit checked every 4-5 years, depending on usage, usually the limiter will require re-tubing after this time has elapsed.
NOTES ON MASTERING MODIFICATIONS The Mastering Version of the Variable MU Limiter Compressor uses expensive Greyhill rotary switches with gold contacts where conductive plastic pots were used. The steps are determined with a large number of 1% precision metal film 1/2 watt resistors. The best conductive plastic pots only have 10% or 20% tolerance. The ten fold improvement in precision helps a great deal in left-right matching. There is a subtle audible improvement with stepped switches as well.
this page is for G.R.
SPECIFICATIONS Electronics Transformer Input, 3 dual triodes in balanced symmetrical variable mu circuit / line amp and Transformer Output per channel. Vacuum tube audio rectification for side chain. Custom Meters, Attenuators, etc. Input and output transformers designed by David Manley and wound inhouse at Manley Lab's magnetics department.
SERVICE ADJUSTMENTS These are factory presets. These should only be altered after a re-tube. A METER CAL - GR ACCURACY 1. Supply a line level input signal 1K TONE @ 0 VU (or between 1 and 1.5 volts)(0 VU = 1.228 volts ) 2. Adjust front controls for NO LIMITING 3. Back down the reduction control to achieve 6dB of actual limiting as observed on an external VU meter or AC volt meter. 6 dB of limiting will reduce the volts by 1/2. If you start with 1 volt expect .5 volts after limiting 6dB. 4.
WARRANTY All Manley Laboratories equipment is covered by a limited warranty against defects in materials and workmanship for a period of 90 days from date of purchase to the original purchaser only. A further optional limited 5 year warranty is available to the original purchaser upon proper registration of ownership within 30 days of date of first purchase.
WARRANTY REGISTRATION We ask that you please fill out this registration form and send the bottom half to: MANLEY LABORATORIES REGISTRATION DEPARTMENT 13880 MAGNOLIA AVE. CHINO CA, 91710 Or you can FAX this page in: (909) 628-2482 Registration entitles you to product support, full warranty benefits, and notice of product enhancements and upgrades. You MUST complete and return the following to validate your warranty and registration. Thank you again for choosing to use Manley Laboratories.
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