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Please visit www.focusrite.com to download the latest version of the free LiquidControl™
software application, for Mac OS X or Windows XP. The application allows you to edit The
Liquid Channel™ remotely, plus load, save and archive the mic-pre and compressor replicas
and programs. The LiquidControl™ user guide is also available to download in PDF format.
Contents
Introduction............................................................................ 1
Important Safety Instructions............................................. 1
Power Connections.............................................................. 1
Liquid Channel™ Architecture ......................................... 2
Rear Panel Connections ...................................................... 3
Front Panel Controls............................................................ 3
Mic-Pre and A/D.................................................................... 4
Session Saver .......................................................................... 4
Clock Select and Synchronisation ..................................... 5
Main LCD and Controls ...................................................... 5
Harmonics ............................................................................... 6
Compressor Settings............................................................ 6
3-Band EQ ............................................................................... 7
Comp & EQ Settings ............................................................ 8
Data Select .............................................................................. 8
Linking Multiple Units.........................................................10
Connections and Applications .........................................11
Frequently Asked Questions............................................16
Specifications ........................................................................21
Disclaimer .............................................................................22
Accuracy ................................................................................22
Copyright ..............................................................................22
Warranty ...............................................................................22

Introduction

Thank you for purchasing The Liquid Channel™
brought to you by the Focusrite team - Ian, Trevor,
Peter, Martin, Tom, Mick A'C, Phil, Chris G, Micky,
Pauline, Melissa, Chris W, Rob J Snr, Simon J, Vernon,
Giles, Rob J Jnr, Mick G, Tim, Dave, Nick, Paul, Peter
and Simon.
The chaps at Focusrite are a jolly hard working bunch
and take a great deal of pride in designing, building and
delivering products which are considered the best
audio units around; we hope your new Focusrite unit
lives up to that reputation and that you enjoy many
years of productive recording. If you would like to tell
us about your recording experiences then email us at:
sales@focusrite.com
The Focusrite Team
LiquidControl™ Software
1

Important Safety Instructions

Please read all of these instructions and save them for future
reference. Follow all warnings and instructions marked on
the unit.
Do not obstruct air vents in the rear panel. Do not
insert objects through any apertures. Ensure adequate
ventilation at all times.
Do not use a damaged or frayed power cord.
Unplug the unit before cleaning. Clean with a damp
cloth only. Do not spill liquid on the unit.
Unplug the unit and refer servicing to qualified service
personnel under the following conditions: if the power
cord or plug is damaged; if liquid has entered the unit; if
the unit has been dropped or the case damaged; if the
unit does not operate normally or exhibits a distinct
change in performance. Adjust only those controls that
are covered by the operating instructions.
Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarised or
grounding type plug. A polarised plug has two blades
with one wider than the other. A grounding type plug
has two blades and a third grounding prong. The wider
blade or the third prong are provided for your safety.
When the plug provided does not fit into your outlet,
consult an electrician for replacement of the obsolete
outlet.
This unit is capable of operating over a range of mains
voltages as marked on the rear panel. Ensure correct mains
voltage setting and correct fuse before connecting mains
supply. Do not change mains voltage settings while mains
supply is connected. To avoid the risk of fire, replace the
mains fuse only with the correct value fuse, as marked on
the rear panel. The internal power supply unit contains no
user serviceable parts. Refer all servicing to a qualified
service engineer, through the appropriate Focusrite dealer.
WARNING:
THIS UNIT MUST BE EARTHED BY THE
POWER CORD. UNDER NO
CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD THE MAINS
EARTH BE DISCONNECTED FROM THE
MAINS LEAD.

Power Connections

There is an IEC mains lead supplied with the unit, which
should have the correct moulded plug for your country. The
wiring colour code used is:
For units shipped to the USA, Canada, Taiwan and Japan:
Live Black; Neutral White; Earth Green
For units shipped to any other country:
Live Brown; Neutral Blue; Earth Green & Yellow
ENGLISH

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Table of Contents
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Summary of Contents for Focusrite LiquidControl

  • Page 1: Table Of Contents

    ENGLISH LiquidControl™ Software Please visit www.focusrite.com to download the latest version of the free LiquidControl™ software application, for Mac OS X or Windows XP. The application allows you to edit The Liquid Channel™ remotely, plus load, save and archive the mic-pre and compressor replicas and programs.
  • Page 2: Liquid Channel™ Architecture

    Liquid Channel™ Architecture The Liquid Channel™ is fundamentally different from Finally, to account for variances in amounts of second, any other Focusrite product previously built – and third and fifth order harmonic distortion (usually indeed any other dynamics processor currently perceived as warmth) from one pre-amp to the next, a available.
  • Page 3: Rear Panel Connections

    The WORDCLOCK OUTPUT BNC remote operation at a greater distance (up to 45m), connector allows The Liquid Channel™ to supply a contact Focusrite for information about purchasing a clock source to external equipment. See page 9 for USB to CAT5 (Ethernet) converter.
  • Page 4: Mic-Pre And A/D

    ENGLISH Power +48V Applies power to the unit. Turn on The Liquid Pressing the +48V switch provides +48V phantom Channel™ before powering up devices to which the power, suitable for condenser microphones, to the outputs are connected. rear panel XLR microphone connector. This switch does not affect the other inputs.
  • Page 5: Clock Select And Synchronisation

    ENGLISH Clock Select and Synchronisation This switch allows Liquid Channel™ to synchronise to an external source, either the Wordclock or AES input on the rear panel, each shown by an LED. When a lock is achieved, the corresponding LED will illuminate. If the LED flashes the unit is not locked and jitter will be evident.
  • Page 6: Harmonics

    sound.
  • Page 7: 3-Band Eq

    (‘modelled’ rather than ‘convolved’) EQ, loosely based compression is removed once the level of the source on the classic Focusrite sound of the original ISA 110. signal has fallen below the threshold. When in the This is designed to allow small amounts of corrective anti-clockwise position, the compression releases very shaping.
  • Page 8: Comp & Eq Settings

    ENGLISH Parametric mid-band parameters be preferred, then this switch can be pressed to revert to the previously saved settings. The two dials in the centre control the frequency (left N.B. Any edits made to the program dial) and gain (right dial) of the parametric mid-band. settings will then be permanently lost.
  • Page 9 ENGLISH Recall regenerate 88.2/176.4 96/192 respectively, depending on the clock destination. This switch allows a program memory to be loaded, recalling all settings for a particular session. Once the Digital Link Bus (Gain Linkage) Recall switch has been pressed and is flashing, the If using more than one Liquid Channel™, this setting DATA wheel will scroll through the 100 program specifies how many machines are to be linked.
  • Page 10: Linking Multiple Units

    ENGLISH If all units are to be controlled by the master, USB ID then the slave units must all have their ‘Slave Controls to Master’ option in the Setup menu set This setting allows the USB ID to be set between 1 to ‘Yes’.
  • Page 11: Connections And Applications

    ENGLISH Connections and Applications 1. All-analogue signal path 2. Digital out, Liquid Channel™ is clock master 3. Digital out, Liquid Channel™ slaved to Wordclock...
  • Page 12 ENGLISH 4. Digital out, Liquid Channel™ slaved to AES clock (Liquid Channel™ receives clock from AES connection.) 5. Stereo tracking, 44.1-96 kHz, Liquid Channel™ slaved to Wordclock (See ‘Linking Multiple Units’ on page 10 for more information.)
  • Page 13 ENGLISH 6. Four-channel tracking, 44.1-96 kHz, Liquid Channel™ slaved to Wordclock (See ‘Linking Multiple Units’ on page 10 for more information.)
  • Page 14 ENGLISH 7. Stereo tracking 176.4 kHz/192 kHz, Liquid Channel™ slaved to AES clock (For 176.4 kHz/192 kHz operation set DAW to send/receive in ‘dual wire’ mode. See ‘Linking Multiple Units’ on page 10 for more information.) 8. Digital in/out mono for digital insert, 44.1-192 kHz (For 176.4 kHz/192 kHz operation set DAW to send/receive in ‘dual wire’...
  • Page 15 ENGLISH 9. Digital in/out stereo for digital insert, 44.1-96 kHz (See ‘Linking Multiple Units’ on page 10 for more information.) 10. Digital in/out stereo for digital insert, 176.4 kHz/192 kHz (For 176.4 kHz/192 kHz operation set DAW to send/receive in ‘dual wire’ mode. See ‘Linking Multiple Units’ on page 10 for more information.)
  • Page 16: Frequently Asked Questions

    A: No, that’s pretty specialised stuff and best left to AA while back, Focusrite set about driving a huge set the Focusrite R and D team, but the unit ships with 40 of impulse responses into the best collection of mic-pres and 40 compressors ready to go in the box.
  • Page 17 12 kHz, since before 1970 few people cared about HF matters. (Designers A: Focusrite plan to make the sound of further pres and compressors available as downloads from a new used to just roll off at 12 kHz to filter out problems above this threshold.)
  • Page 18 Focusrite ‘Liquid’ transformer, designed and built in A: Yes. By not selecting Comp or EQ in, the signal will the UK by Focusrite’s R and D department to be pass through the analogue front-end, A/D and mic-pre extremely flexible: transparent or coloured section of the DSP, then straight through to the AES required.
  • Page 19 A: The latest 192 kHz/120 dB spec AKM™ 5394s. gain controls for example. Focusrite do also plan to have more than one replica for certain devices that Q: I notice there’s an extra parameter may require them.) In addition, The Liquid Channel™...
  • Page 20 2nd/3rd/5th order distortion via the dedicated Harmonics detecting compressor such as a Focusrite) the encoder afterwards? compressor side-chain will follow the curve of the signal that’s coming in and compress in a manner that A: Yes. At full gain on an old mic-pre you may have 60 follows that curve.
  • Page 21: Specifications

    ENGLISH Specifications Converter Performance CMRR Transformer: 123 dB @ 60 dB of gain Electronic: 102 dB @ 60 dB of gain Sample Rates 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4 and 192 kHz Line Input Bit Depth Gain Range 24-bit +10 dB to –10 dB, switched in 1 dB steps Frequency Response 0 dB ±0.1 dB between 20 Hz and 20 kHz Signal to Noise Ratio...
  • Page 22: Disclaimer

    Digital Link Bus Output craftsmanship for a period of one year from the date RCA connector of purchase. Focusrite in the UK, or its authorised distributor worldwide will do its best to ensure that Weight any fault is remedied as quickly as possible. This 8.6 kg...

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