User Manual

Dangerous Music 2-Bus Manual
3
Overview
The 2-Bus is a 16x2 summing amplifier designed to help the users of digital audio
workstations achieve better mix performance through the use of cutting-edge analog
circuit design in conjunction with the existing equipment in their studios. The designers
and their colleagues have noted that while DAWs offer unprecedented flexibility in
multi-track recording and editing, the resulting mixes from these systems generally don’t
equal those of high-end analog recording systems in terms of sound quality, preservation
of spatial detail, headroom and ‘no latency’ ergonomics. In today’s portable environment
and with the cost of maintaining and housing legendary recording equipment, the choice
of a big desk is impractical for many users of DAW systems. We want to bring together
the best of both worlds. It is in this spirit that the Dangerous engineering team is
designing and manufacturing an exciting array of summing, mixing, monitoring,
metering, and mastering equipment to meet the needs of today’s recording engineers,
producers, and artists.
Hook up
The 2-Bus is designed to mix the outputs of up to 16 D/A converters to any stereo
recorder (16x2). The 2-Bus is easily stackable to increase channel numbers and system
functions when linked with other 2-Busses, Monitor, Monitor ST or 2-Bus LT. All of the
XLRs are pin 2 hot, and the connector groups are described as follows:
INPUT The inputs are arranged into eight pairs of XLRs. They can be plugged
into directly from the D/A converters but system flexibility (and fun) goes way up with
the addition of a patch bay for ease of outboard equipment use.
OUTPUT There are two stereo outputs on the 2-Bus. The Main output goes to the
mixdown recorder or A to D converter (or through mix buss compressors/EQs first, if
desired). The Monitor output is identical to the main and is intended to feed a monitor
controller (Dangerous Monitor or Monitor ST.).
REM/EXP The remote/expansion connector allows for expandability of the system.
The 2-Bus has a mix buss input on this connector to stack multiple 2-Buses or link with a
2-Bus LT. The pinout is on the Connector Pinouts page (p.10).
DC IN There is a grey power cable to hook the 2-Bus to its power supply. It is
best to make sure that the power supply is off or unplugged when connecting the DC
power cable to prevent damage to contacts in the connectors.