Rupert Neve Designs Portico 500 Series User manual

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Operations Manual
Portico 543
500 Series Compressor-Limiter

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Portico 543: 500 Series Compressor-Limiter
Thank&you&for&your&purchase&of&the&543:&500&Series&Compressor-Limiter.&Everyone&at&Rupert&Neve&De-
signs&hope&you&enjoy&using&this&tool&as&much&as&we&have&enjoyed&designing&and&building&it.&Please&take&
note&of&the&following&list&of&safety&concerns&and&power&requirements&before&the&use&of&this&or&any&Portico&
Series&product.
&
Safety
It’s&usual&to&provide&a&list&of&“do’s&and&don’ts”&under&this&heading&but&mostly&these&amount&to&common&
sense&issues.&However&here&are&some&reminders:
Don’t&operate&your&Portico™&module&in&or&around&water!&Electronic&equipment&and&liquids&are&not&good&
friends.&If&any&liquid&is&spilled&such&as&soda,&coffee,&alcoholic&or&other&drink,&the&sugars&and&acids&will&
OH]LH]LY`KL[YPTLU[HSLMMLJ[:\NHYJY`Z[HSZHJ[SPRLSP[[SLYLJ[PÄLYZHUKJHUWYVK\JLUVPZLJYHJRSLZ
L[J:>0;*/6--044,+0(;,3@ILJH\ZLVUJLJ\YYLU[Z[HY[Z[VÅV^[OLTP_[\YLOHYKLUZJHUNL[]LY`
OV[I\YU[[VMMLLHUKJH\ZLWLYTHULU[HUKJVZ[S`KHTHNL7SLHZLJVU[HJ[Z\WWVY[HZZVVUHZWVZZPISL
at&[email protected]&for&resolution.
Don’t&be&tempted&to&operate&a&Portico&module&with&the&cover&removed.&The&cover&provides&magnetic&
ZJYLLUPUNMYVTO\THUK9-Z[YH`ÄLSKZ
Power Requirements
,HJO7VY[PJVPZÄ[[LKMVY\ZL^P[OZ[HUKHYK:LYPLZ9HJR4V\U[ZHUKYLX\PYLZT(TWZ
'=
Portico 543: Block Diagram

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Portico 543: Block Diagram
Portico 543: Front Panel
Portico 543:
Back Panel

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THE NEED FOR DYNAMIC CONTROL OF SOUND LEVELS
;OLK`UHTPJYHUNLVMZV\UKZ^LOLHYHYV\UK\ZPUUVYTHSSPMLNYLH[S`L_JLLKZ[OLJHWHIPSP[`VMV\Y
best&recording&and&processing&equipment&-&but&even&if&this&were&not&so,&the&scale&of&dynamic&range&
T\Z[ILHJJVTTVKH[LK[V[OL]LU\LPU^OPJOP[PZ[VILYLWYVK\JLK-VYL_HTWSLHJ[\HS]VS\TL
levels&of&the&dance&hall&would&be&deafening&in&a&students&bedroom.&In&the&same&way,&late&night&
listening&in&a&quiet&living&room&demands&careful&adjustment&of&dynamic&range.&In&the&constantly&
changing&background&noise&of&a&car,&drama&dialog&does&not&work&without&constant&attention&to&the&
SL]LSJVU[YVS0U[OLÄLSKVMJVTT\UPJH[PVUZP[PZVM[LUULJLZZHY`[VLUZ\YL[OH[[OLILZ[WVZZPISL
signal-to-noise&ratio&is&obtained,&in&the&interest&of&intelligibility,&within&the&limited&performance&of,&
say,&a&reporter’s&recording&device.&
Digital&recorders&are&unforgiving&when&overloaded.&Overload&can&be&avoided&with&careful&use&of&
high&ratio&compression&-&on&the&verge&of&limiting&-&with&careful&choice&of&time&constants.&A&
recording&that&still&sounds&“loud”&can&be&produced&without&non-musical&harmonic&distortion.&
A&compressor-limiter&is&one&of&the&most&powerful,&yet&subjective&items&in&the&sound&engineer’s&
armory.&&Compression&should&never&be&obvious&to&the&listener&and&this&needs&intuitive&and&effective&
controls&on&the&part&of&the&designer&together&with&considerable&skill&on&the&part&of&the&sound&
engineer.
A NOTE ON DISTORTION
;OLO\THUOLHYPUNZ`Z[LTPZHYLTHYRHIS`JVTWSL_TLJOHUPZTHUK^LZLLT[VILSLHYUPUNTVYL
KL[HPSZHIV\[P[Z^VYRPUNZHSS[OL[PTL-VYL_HTWSL6VOHZOPKLTVUZ[YH[LK[OH[HYIP[YHYPS`ÄS[LYPUNV\[
ultrasonic&information&that&is&generally&considered&above&our&hearing&range&had&a&measurable&effect&on&
listener’s&electroencephalo-grams.&Kunchur&describes&several&demonstrations&that&have&shown&that&our&
OLHYPUNPZJHWHISLVMHWWYV_PTH[LS`[^PJL[OL[PTPUNYLZVS\[PVU[OHUHSPTP[VMR/aTPNO[PTWS`
-$;VY;$-/PZWLLYYL]PL^LKWHWLYZKLTVUZ[YH[LK[OH[^LJHUOLHY[PTPUNYLZVS\[PVUH[
HWWYV_PTH[LS`^P[OTPJYVZLJVUKYLZVS\[PVUR/aPTWSPLZH TPJYVZLJVUK[LTWVYHSYLZVS\[PVU
^OPSLH*+H[RZHTWSLYH[LOHZHILZ[JHZL[LTWVYHSYLZVS\[PVUVMTPJYVZLJVUKZ
0[PZHSZV^LSS\UKLYZ[VVK[OH[^LJHUWLYJLP]LZ[LHK`[VULZL]LU^OLUI\YPLK\UKLY[VK)VM
UVPZL(UK^LRUV^[OH[TVZ[NHPUZ[HNLZL_OPIP[YPZPUNKPZ[VY[PVUH[OPNOLYMYLX\LUJPLZPUJS\KPUN
TVYL04KPZ[VY[PVU6ULJVTTVU04[LZ[PZ[VTP_ R/aHUKR/aZPUL^H]LZZLUK[OLT[OYV\NO
HKL]PJLHUK[OLUTLHZ\YLOV^T\JOR/aPZNLULYH[LK $(SS[OPZOPU[ZH[[OLPTWVY[HUJL
VMTHPU[HPUPUNHZ\MÄJPLU[IHUK^PK[O^P[OTPUPTHSWOHZLZOPM[^OPSLH[[OLZHTL[PTLTPUPTPaPUN
OPNOMYLX\LUJ`HY[PMHJ[ZHUKKPZ[VY[PVUZ(SSVM[OLHIV]LHUKV\YL_WLYPLUJLSPZ[LUPUNHUKKLZPNUPUN
suggest&that&there&are&many&subtle&aspects&to&hearing&that&are&beyond&the&realm&of&simple&traditional&
TLHZ\YLTLU[JOHYHJ[LYPaH[PVUZ
;OL^H`PU^OPJOHUHUHSVNHTWSPÄLYOHUKSLZ]LY`ZTHSSZPNUHSZPZHZPTWVY[HU[HZ[OL^H`P[ILOH]LZ
H[OPNOSL]LSZ-VYSV^KPZ[VY[PVUHUHUHSVNHTWSPÄLYT\Z[OH]LHSPULHY[YHUZMLYJOHYHJ[LYPZ[PJPUV[OLY
^VYKZ[OLV\[W\[ZPNUHST\Z[ILHUL_HJ[YLWSPJHVM[OLPUW\[ZPNUHSKPMMLYPUNVUS`PUTHNUP[\KL;OL
THNUP[\KLJHUILJVU[YVSSLKI`HNHPUJVU[YVSVYMHKLYJVUZPZ[PUNVMHOPNOX\HSP[`]HYPHISLYLZPZ[VY
[OH[I`KLÄUP[PVUOHZHSPULHY[YHUZMLYJOHYHJ[LYPZ[PJ(K`UHTPJZJVU[YVSSLYPLHJVTWYLZZVY
SPTP[LYVYL_WHUKLYPZHNHPUJVU[YVS[OH[JHUHKQ\Z[NHPUVM[OLHTWSPÄLY]LY`YHWPKS`PUYLZWVUZL[V
[OLÅ\J[\H[PUNH\KPVZPNUHSPKLHSS`^P[OV\[PU[YVK\JPUNZPNUPÄJHU[KPZ[VY[PVUPLP[T\Z[OH]LHSPULHY
[YHUZMLYJOHYHJ[LYPZ[PJ)\[I`KLÄUP[PVUYHWPKS`JOHUNPUNNHPUTLHUZ[OH[HZPNUHS¸Z[HY[PUNV\[¹[VIL
linear&and,&therefore&without&distortion,&gets&changed&on&the&way&to&produce&a&different&amplitude.

5
0UL]P[HIS`V\YKH[HIHURVM¸UH[\YHS¹ZV\UKPZI\PS[\WVU[OLIHZPZVMV\YWLYZVUHSL_WLYPLUJLHUK
[OPZT\Z[Z\YLS`LTWOHZPaL[OLPTWVY[HUJLVMSPZ[LUPUN[V¸UH[\YHS¹ZV\UKHUKOPNOX\HSP[`T\ZPJHS
instruments&within&acoustic&environments&that&is&subjectively&pleasing&so&as&to&develop&keen&awareness&
[OH[^PSSJVU[YPI\[L[VHYLSPHISLKH[HIHUR/\THUZ^OVOH]LUV[L_WLYPLUJLKLUV\NO¸UH[\YHS¹
ZV\UKTH`^LSSOH]LHÅH^LKKH[HIHUR8\HSP[`YLJVYKPUNLX\PWTLU[ZOV\SKILJHWHISLVMYL[HPUPUN
“natural”&sound&and&this&is&indeed&the&traditional&measuring&stick.&And&“creative”&musical&equipment&
should&provide&the&tools&to&manipulate&the&sound&to&enhance&the&emotional&appeal&of&the&music&without&
destroying&it.&Memory&and&knowledge&of&real&acoustic&and&musical&events&may&be&the&biggest&tool&and&
advantage&any&recording&engineer&may&possess.
6ULULLKZ[VIL]LY`JHYLM\S^OLUVULOLHYZ[YHJLZVMKPZ[VY[PVUWYPVY[VYLJVYKPUNILJH\ZLZVTLÅH]VYZ
VMKPZ[VY[PVU[OH[TPNO[ZLLTHJJLW[HISLVYL]LUZ[`SPZOPUP[PHSS`TH`SH[LYWYV]L[VJH\ZLPYYLWHYHISL
KHTHNL[VWHY[ZVM[OLZV\UKMVYL_HTWSL¸^HYTSV^Z¹I\[¸OHYZOZPIPSHUJL¹VYPUSV\KLYVYX\PL[LY
ZLJ[PVUZVM[OLYLJVYKPUN,_WLYPLUJLZOV^Z[OH[TPJWYLHTWZHUKIHZPJJVUZVSLYV\[PUNWH[OZZOV\SK
VMMLYZ\WYLTLÄKLSP[`V[OLY^PZL[OLLUNPULLYOHZSP[[SLJVU[YVSVYJOVPJLVMYLJVYKLK¸JVSVY¹HUKSP[[SL
recourse&to&undo&after&the&fact.&Devices&or&circuits&that&can&easily&be&bypassed&are&usually&better&choices&
when&“color”&is&a&consideration&and&this&particularly&is&an&area&where&one&might&consider&comparing&
ZL]LYHSZ\JOKL]PJLZ)L^HYL[OH[\Z\HSS`KL]PH[PVUZMYVTSPULHYP[`JHYY`H[SLHZ[HZT\JOSVUN[LYT
penalty&as&initial&appeal,&and&that&one&should&always&be&listening&critically&when&recording&and&generally&
“playing&it&safe”&when&introducing&effects&that&cannot&be&removed.
1.##Tsutomu#Oohashi,#Emi#Nishina,#Norie#Kawai,#Yoshitaka#Fuwamoto,#and#Hishi#Imai.#National
Institute#of#Multimedia#Education,#Tokyo.#“High#Frequency#Sound#Above#the#Audible#Range,Affects#Brain#Electric#Activity#and#
Sound#Perception”#Paper#read#at#91st.#Convention#of#the#A.E.S.October#1991.#Section#7.#(1),#Conclusion.
2.##Miland#Kunchur,Depart#of#Physics#and#Astronomy,#University#of#South#Carolina.#“Temporal#resolution#of#hearing#probed#
by#bandwidth#restriction”,#M.#N.#Kunchur,#Acta#Acustica#united#with#Acustica#94,#594–603#(2008)#(http://www.physics.
sc.edu/kunchur/Acoustics-papers.htm)
3.##Miland#Kunchur,Depart#of#Physics#and#Astronomy,#University#of#South#Carolina.Probing#the#temporal#resolution#and#
bandwidth#of#human#hearing#,#M.#N.#Kunchur,#Proc.#of#Meetings#on#Acoustics#(POMA)#2,#050006#(2008)#
543 DESCRIPTION
The&Portico&543&Mono&Compressor&delivers&the&unobtrusive,&musical-sounding&dynamic&control&and&
brick-wall&limiting&made&famous&in&the&Portico&5043&to&the&500&series&format.&The&543&features&a&fully&
controllable&compressor-limiter&with&feed-forward&/&feedback&modes,&Peak&/&RMS&detection&and&a&built&
PUZPKLJOHPUOPNOWHZZÄS[LY>P[OHU\UYP]HSLKOLYP[HNLHUKH[YLTLUKV\ZMLH[\YLZL[[OL`PLSKZH
JVTIPUH[PVUVMYPJO^HYT[OÅL_PIPSP[`HUKWYLJPZPVU[OH[HSSV^ZP[[VIL\ZLKLMMLJ[P]LS`VU]PY[\HSS`HU`
source&material.
THE WAY THE 543 WORKS&
(WHY[VM[OLH\KPVZPNUHSPZYLJ[PÄLKHUKZTVV[OLK[VWYVK\JLHZ\P[HISLJVU[YVS]VS[HNLMVY[OL=*(
which&has&to&respond&very&quickly&and&have&low&distortion.&If&the&response&is&too&fast,&low&frequency&
signals&will&themselves,&be&“gain&controlled”!&If&the&response&is&too&slow,&the&signal&will&overshoot&
HUK[OLÄYZ[ML^J`JSLZ^PSSUV[NL[JVTWYLZZLK;OLZWLLKHUKHJJ\YHJ`VM[OLYLZWVUZLRUV^UHZ
the&“attack”,&and&the&time&frame&that&gain&remains&under&the&initial&control,&known&as&“release”&or&
“recovery”,&&play&a&large&part&in&the&way&a&compressor&sounds.
;OL7VY[PJVTHRLZ\ZLVMH]LY`HJJ\YH[LSV^UVPZLSV^KPZ[VY[PVU=*(OH]PUNLZZLU[PHSS`UV