User`s manual

Chart. 1 The dynamic range capabilities of various devices

Chart. 2 The interactive relationship between the operating level and the headroom

2.1.3 More technical stuff about Compressor/Limiters

Clipping Signal heavily distrortedClipping Signal heavily distrorted

Low level signal drowned out by noiseLow level signal drowned out by noise

Clipping Aera

Noise Aera

2.2 Voltage Controlled Amplifier (VCA)

2.3 Inputs

2.3.1 Take it easy: Balanced Inputs

So the operating level must be as high as possible but not high enough to generate distortion.

Tricky uh?

There is a very easy way to obtain this. With the volume knob in hand you increase the volume during low

passages and decrease the volume during loud passages. Unfortunately even the Great Houdini would not

be fast enough to monitor carefully the speed of the musical signal and it would be impossible to detect sig-

nal peaks and consequently levelling them out. Manual control is therefore out of question. The answer is

AGC (automatic gain control); a device that will monitor the signal in real time and that will adjust the gain

for the best S/N ratio without producing distortion. So, the name of this device is "Compressor/limiter".

Try to measure the dynamic range of musical instruments. You will find out that your ear will handle such

range during which the distortion and overloading will be generated in your audio equipment.

To avoid these, compressor/ Limiters will be used. Both Compressors and Limiters more or less do the same

job but Limiters brutally limit the audio signal above a set threshold, while Compressors handle signal in a

much more civilised way and over a wide range of levels. If an audio signal exceed the threshold set by the

User the limiter will kill any audio signal above that threshold. Period! Also Compressors perform their function

when the audio signal exceed a certain threshold but the signal is not killed brutally. The audio signal will be

reduced in gain in proportion with the amount above the set threshold.

The VCA is the soul of the CLE 4.0 and it is one of the best components available today in his category thanks to

its excellent performances in terms of distortion, linearity, noise and temperature stability.

To make your life easy and clean we have provided CLE 4.0 with electronically balanced inputs. Even if you

operate at high signal levels, hum and noise will be reduce automatically. There is also a servo-function that

will automatically adjust the internal level when unbalanced connectors are detected. The correction if of 6dB

and it will avoid differences in level in between input and output signal.