Official Manual for Ashly CLX-52 Peak Compressor/Limiter

Page - 4

Operator Manual – CLX-52 Compressor/Limiter

Safety Instructions – 3

Introduction - 4

CLX-52 – 5

Connectors & Cables – 5

Physical Description - 6

Installation – 7

Typical Applications - 8

Troubleshooting - 9

Dimensions - 9

Specifications - 10

Warranty - 11

Introduction

Congratulations on your purchase of the Ashly CLX-52 Peak Compressor/ Limiter. The CLX-52 was designed to meet the need for universal peak-sensitive automatic gain control (AGC) devices with exceptional audio performance and rugged durability. The CLX-52 has the following key features:

Threshold control

Input/output meter with select switch

Balanced XLR connectors

A single TRS patch point detector loop

Premium components throughout

Quality construction through computerized, automated assembly

We are confident that you will be pleased with the high performance, superb sound quality, and reliability that Ashly is known for.

About Ashly

Ashly Audio was founded in 1974 by a group of recording engineers, sound professionals, and electronics designers. The first products were custom consoles for friends and associates, but business quickly grew. The philosophy established from the very beginning holds true today: to offer only the highest quality audio tools at an affordable cost to the professional user – ensuring reliability and long life. More than thirty years later, Ashly remains committed to these principles.

What Compressors And Limiters Do

Limiting – All musical programs have constant changes in loudness. It is the job of a limiter to detect when the volume has exceeded a predetermined maximum safe level, and to then turn down the volume. When the incoming signal returns to its original level, the limiter should respond by restoring the gain to normal. Thus, when the level is within a specified “safe” range, the limiter has no effect. When an occasional peak occurs, the limiter responds.

Compression - A significant difference in dynamic range is achieved simply by changing the relationship between nominal signal level and threshold, as a result of either increasing the GAIN and/or decreasing the THRESHOLD control. The most interesting effect to be noted, however, is seen by comparing the original input signal with the output signal. The quietest portions of the original signal will be effectively increased in volume while the loudest portions of the original signal will be decreased. In effect, both ends of the dynamic spectrum will be pushed toward the “middle”. More than anything else, it is this double-ended effect, which distinguishes compression from limiting.