TDM Audio 32CL-2 v.2 - Manual (Page 9)

© 1996 TDM Design, Inc. Compressor/Limiter Owner’s Manual Page 9
It is very important that both pins 1 and 3 are wired to the sleeve. Some adapters leave pin 3
floating, and with TDM compressor/limiter units this will cause problems.
If you have a TDM 32CL series compressor/limiter with ¼” connectors, you may connect directly
to other equipment using ¼” connectors whether the other equipment is balanced or not. If you
wish to connect a TDM 32CL series compressor/limiter with ¼” connectors to another piece of
equipment that has XLR connectors, and you are making the adapters yourself, use tip-ring-sleeve
type ¼” phone plugs, and wire them this way.
•
Wire pin 1 of the XLR connector to the sleeve of the tip-ring-sleeve plug.
•
Wire pin 2 of the XLR connector to the tip of the tip-ring-sleeve plug.
•
Wire pin 3 of the XLR connector to the ring of the tip-ring-sleeve plug.
The Basic Hook-Up
Begin by connecting the unit to a power source. Turn the power switch off. The power switch is
located near the power cord at the rear of the unit. It is off when it is in the “out” position. Press-
ing the switch toggles it between off and on states. Next, plug the power cord that emerges from
the back of the unit into an electrical outlet capable of supplying the correct voltage, current, and
frequency. This information is printed on the rear panel of your TDM 32CL series compres-
sor/limiter. Leave the unit turned off until all connections are made and you are ready to operate
the unit.
The normal way to connect a compressor/limiter is to insert it into the signal path. A signal source
is fed into the input of a channel, and the compressed and/or limited signal comes out of the out-
put. For example, if you wanted to compress some music before it went out over a PA system,
you would feed the music source into the input of a channel of the compressor/limiter (2 channels
for stereo), and then feed the compressed signal from the output of the compressor/limiter into
the amplifier.
Compressing and/or Limiting a Mix
If you are using a mixing console to mix several sound sources, and you would like to compress
and/or limit the entire mix, use the following hookups.
•
Connect the output from the mixer to the input of a channel of the compressor. If the mix is
stereo, use two channels and connect the left mixer output to the input of one and the right
mixer output to the input of the other. If there will be other processing in the signal path be-
tween the output of the mixer and the input of the amps or tape recorder or transmitter, make
sure the compressor/limiter is the last in the chain.
•
Connect the output of the TDM 32CL series compressor/limiter to the input of whatever you
are sending the mix to. If you are mixing a recording, the output goes to the tape machine. If
you are mixing a live event, the output goes to the sound system. If you are mixing for broad-
cast, the output goes to the transmitter. The idea is that you break the signal path between the
mix and its destination and insert the TDM compressor/limiter into it. Again, if more than one
signal processor is inserted, the TDM compressor/limiter should be the last thing in the chain.