Introduction; Features - ESI U108 PRE User Manual

ESI

1. Introduction

U108 PRE is a special USB 2.0 Hi-Speed audio recording interface providing a solution for a very
basic requirement: connecting a lot of professional microphones for simultaneous multichannel
recording at one time.
U108 PRE provides a total of 10 high quality professional microphone preamps. Two XLR
connectors are on the front panel, the others on the rear panel of the device. For all separate
preamps, +48V phantom power can be enabled when needed and the input level can be adjusted
separately for each channel. The input level is also displayed via LEDs on the front panel. Of course
you can use all input channels simultaneously. In addition, there are two alternatively usable Hi-Z
instrument inputs for electric guitars. For playback, 8 independent line outputs and a separate mix
output (via the integrated monitor mixer) are provided.
U108 PRE provides drivers that work with very low latency - with support for WDM, ASIO 2.0 and
CoreAudio, based on our EWDM- and DirectWIRE-Technology. That means that the unit can be
used wih all common applications on both Mac and PC. With the bundled software you can start
using it right away and simply start working out of the box.
U108 PRE is the perfect solution for multichannel recording when using a multiple number of
microphones.

1.1 Features

The front panel of the U108 PRE hardware has these main features:
1. microphone and Hi-Z instrument input channel 1 with XLR/TRS combo connector, use this
connector to connect a dynamic or condenser microphone or an electric guitar. Next to it is the
Hi-Z switch that enables this input for usage with an electric guitar when pressed. When not
pressed, the input works as a microphone input. With the gain knob you can control the input
level which is indicated with the LEDs above it. The +48V switch enables phantom power if
required for a condenser microphone. Please note that for microphones you should use XLR
connection while a guitar needs to use a TRS connection.
2. microphone and Hi-Z instrument input channel 2 with XLR/TRS combo connector, use this
connector to connect a dynamic or condenser microphone or an electric guitar Next to it is the
Hi-Z switch that enables this input for usage with an electric guitar when pressed. When not
pressed, the input works as a microphone input. With the gain knob you can control the input
level which is indicated with the LEDs above it. The +48V switch enables phantom power if
required for a condenser microphone. Please note that for microphones you should use XLR
connection while a guitar needs to use a TRS connection.
3. switch for +48V phantom power for channels 3 to 6, use this switch to enable phantom
power if required for a condenser microphone for inputs 3 to 6.
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U108 PRE