User Manual
DL16S • DL32S Owner’s Manual
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Glossary Of Terms Continued...
Impedance — The A.C. resistance, capacitance, and inductance in an electrical circuit, measured in ohms [ ].
In audio circuits (and other AC circuits) the impedance in ohms may ofen be much dierent from the circuit resistance
as measured by a DC ohmmeter.
Maintaining proper circuit impedance relationships is important to avoid distortion and minimize added noise.
Our input and output impedances are set to work well with the vast majority of audio equipment.
Knee — A knee is a sharp bend in a compressor gain curve, not unlike a sharp bend in your leg.
Level — Another word for signal, voltage, power, strength or volume. Audio signals are sometimes classified according
to their level. Commonly used levels are: microphone level (–40 dBu or lower), instrument level (–20 to –10 dBu),
and line level (–10 to +30 dBu).
Line Level — A signal whose level falls between –10 dBu and +30 dBu.
Main (House) Speakers — The main loudspeakers for a sound reinforcement system. These are usually the largest and loudest
loudspeakers, positioned facing the audience; the sound is typically delivered from the stage. This is also called the PA.
Mains — Short for main or house speakers in a sound reinforcement system.
Master — Me. I am your master. Obey! The master on the Master Fader app, though, refers to the master fader.
It aects the total level of the selected output in which one or more signals are mixed together.
Mic Amp — See Mic Preamp.
Mic Level — The typical level of a signal from a microphone. A mic level signal (usually – but not always – coming from
a microphone) is generally lower than –30 dBu. With a very quiet source [a pin dropping?] the signal may be –70 dBu or lower.
Some microphones, notably vintage or vintage-style condenser mics, deliver a higher signal level than this for the same sound
pressure level. A “hot” mic output level isn’t necessarily a measure of the microphone’s quality; it’s just an option that the
designer(s) chose.
Mic Pre — Short for Mic Preamp.
Mic Preamp — Short for microphone preamplifier. An amplifier whose job is to bring the very low microphone level signal
up to line level, or in the case of a mic preamp built into a mixer, the mixer’s internal operating level [approximately 0 dBu].
Mic preamps ofen have their own volume control, called gain, to properly set the gain for a particular source.
Setting the mic preamp gain correctly is an essential step in establishing good signal-to-noise ratio and sucient headroom.
The DL Series mixers are oufitted with Onyx mic preamps.
Mixer — An electronic device used to combine various audio signals into a common output. Dierent from a blender,
which combines various fruits and alcohol into a common libation.
Monaural — Long for mono. Literally, pertaining to or having the use of only one ear.
In the audio field, monaural describes a signal or system which carries audio information on a single channel with the intent
of reproducing it from a single source. One microphone is a mono source; many microphones mixed to one channel is a mono
mix; a stereo (or – to be picky – a two-channel) mix of many microphones panned lef and right is a stereo mix of mono sources.
Monaural listening, and therefore mono compatibility of a stereo mix, is more important than you might realize.
Most people hear television audio and clock radios in mono.
Monitor — In sound reinforcement, monitor speakers [or monitor headphones or in-ear monitors] are used by performers to hear
themselves. In the video and broadcast world, monitor speakers are ofen called foldback speakers. In recording, the monitors
speakers are those used by the engineer and production sta to listen to the recording as it progresses. In zoology, the monitor
lizard is the lizard that observes the production sta as the recording progresses. Keep the lizard out of the mixer.
Mono — Short for monaural (and mononucleosis for that matter).