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e-pre Benefits
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e-pre
Benefits
Application
Notes
The ARX e-pre represents a new way of looking at how we bring audio into the computer for hard disk recording.
It's been designed by pro audio professionals for the highest possible sound quality, not by computer engineers for the lowest possible cost! While modern computers usually come with a sound card that has an input for a microphone, the quality of sound it delivers leaves most people wanting something better. Professional sound cards realise this and have line inputs only, leaving the pre-amp option open.
Previously this has meant using an external mic preamp designed to fit into a 19" rack, plus external equalization and all the extra cabling required to connect to the computer. But now all this has changed with the launch of the e-pre from ARX. A truly professional microphone pre-amp, with all the sound qualities you'd expect from a 'State-of-the-art' design using the same components as high end mixing consoles, yet one that fits in a spare 5¼" drive bay in your computer!
Ruler flat response, ultra-low noise,
input gain and output level matching to suit all sound cards and
microphones, as well as true 48V Phantom power for condenser
microphones. The Input 'combo' connector
allows you to use the 3 pin balanced XLR section for the Mic
pre-amp, and the ¼" balanced jack input for
Line. An added bonus is the
Contour
control. This deceptively simple feature provides fast, easy
access to a whole range of useful EQ curves, ranging from
midrange boost for stringed instruments, through to the
classic Low and High frequency 'smile' curve favoured by
radio stations. 50 million car stereos can't be
wrong! Multiple output connectors
on the e-pre
suit all possible sound card requirements: mini-jack,
¼" jack, RCA (phono) connectors, plus an MPC3 socket
for connecting to the internal Audio input (CD in) of the
sound card if fitted. While the
e-pre
needs no external power supply by using a spare connector
from the computer's power supply, we haven't forgotten
mobile/laptop users. An extra DC input socket on the rear
lets you connect up an external 12V DC power supply (either
wall-wart or battery) for recording in the field. Connecting
a microphone A
Condenser
microphone needs Phantom power to make it work, so press in
the Phantom switch on the front panel A
Dynamic
microphone needs no phantom power and will just plug into
the front panel Choosing
which outputs to use If you have the lead and a
CD audio in connector on your sound card, then this
is a useful option, although it will stop your CD playing
audio through the sound card (but should play OK through the
CD ROM's headphone out) If you have a Sound card
with RCA (phono) connectors on it, then use the RCA outputs
on the back of the e-pre. You will need to find a
hole to route the leads out of the back of the
computer. Suggestions are - use one of
the punch out serial/parallel port holes on the rear of the
computer chassis; or the PS-2 port next to the mouse serial
port (if you use a PS-2 mouse, then use the unused serial
port 1 hole after removing the connector) If you have a sound card
with a mini jack Line Input, then the e-pre Front
panel mini jack output is ideal. Just make sure you connect
it to the LINE input of the card, not the
MIC. The front panel ¼”
jack can be used with an adaptor lead to suit any kind of
input, or to a recording unit (eg DAT, ADAT, MiniDisk,
Cassette, Reel to reel recorder) if you are not using the
e-pre with a computer. It’s
a Single channel unit, so why left and right
outputs? Multitrack recording lays
down a series of mono tracks that are mixed and panned to
stereo at the mixdown stage. This is not what audio for
computers is historically designed to do. Both the Windows
and Macintosh generic audio drivers are stereo, so will
require an input into both the Left and Right channels
unless you want a lot of wasted disk space (half of every
sound file will be blank, but still gobbling up disk
space). Using the
e-pre
with a laptop/notebook computer Inspiration doesn’t
always strike when you’re at home in front of your
desktop machine, and a lot of people like to do recordings
in the field, well away from it all - sound effects,
interviews, live music and more We’ve included a DC
input jack for a 12V DC power supply (either a wall-wart or
battery) so that the e-pre can be used mobile. Its
compact size and light weight means that the e-pre is
the perfect tool for the audio-recordist on the
go. Using the
e-pre
without a computer The e-pre is a true
professional Microphone pre-amp, and has the flexibility
that audio professionals expect. Although it is in a
compact, computer friendly package, it does not have to be
used with a computer. It can be used to record to
any recording media - DAT, ADAT, Audio for Video, MiniDisk,
reel-to-reel or cassette. The ¼” (6.5mm) stereo
output jack on the front panel, or the dual RCAs on the
rear, can be used with a number of adapter leads to link to
any piece of recording equipment, and deliver the same
flawless sound that it would to a computer’s hard
disk. A word
about Sound Cards Nearly every computer these
days comes with a sound card. They vary immensely in sound
quality, features and input/output options. Obviously a
computer manufacturer wanting to provide sound at the lowest
possible price will choose to bundle the cheapest possible
sound card with the computer. Many have sound card functions
built into the motherboard to further lower costs. But no matter what type of
card you have, the e-pre will work with it
However, most audio software programs offer the option of
converting each stereo track to a mono either during or
after recording, reducing both the disk space required and
processing demands on the CPU.
The mini jack output on the front panel of the e-pre
matches up with the mini jack LINE input found on most
audio-ready notebook computers
To
e-pre page
Sound
cards fall into two
distinct groups - consumer and professional.
The card that comes with the computer would slip into the
consumer group. It's usually the cheapest card that the
computer manufacturer can find, and is put there to make
noises for computer games. Professional (or
‘prosumer’ - an in between category) cards often
have multiple inputs and outputs, a much higher price and
are usually bought later as an add-on.
As an audio professional, your audio needs are rather
different from someone who just needs sound to enhance
computer games. Do some hard disk recording and pretty soon
you’ll find out the problems with using the MIC input
on your generic sound card - lots of noise, plus lack of
headroom, lumpy frequency response, thin sound. You start to
realise why people can pay very large amounts of money
buying microphone preamps!
Professional audio equipment runs at a nominal level of
+4dB, consumer at -10dB. Sound cards that are designed to
link to other pro equipment will run at +4dB, and have
greater headroom (accept a louder signal without clipping)
than a -10dB consumer card. Pro cards usually have LINE
inputs only, leaving the Mic pre-amp option open for users
to choose.
Download
e-pre brochure in PDF
format
(170K)
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please click on the Email link above.
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