sonum H2O Evolution II User Manual

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H2O

Evolution II

Microphone Preamplifier

API 500 compliant

User Manual

Release 2.1 January 2014

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Summary of Contents for sonum H2O Evolution II

Page 1: Microphone Preamplifier
Evolution II Microphone Preamplifier API 500 compliant User Manual Release 2.1 January 2014...
Page 2: Table Of Contents
Page 19 INTRODUCTION Sonum © H2O Evolution II is the result of our strong desire to be the first Italian company on the market to ever create a discreet-component Class A Preamplifier/DI featuring state-of-the- art technology, unprecedented input level gain (+69db), ultra-low noise and maximum transparency. In other words, an incredible Line Mic, Hi-z preamplifier of superb quality.
Page 3: Rack Mounting The Preamp
H2O Evolution II - User Manual RACK MOUNTING 1) Remove the protective packaging 2) Remove the anti-electrostatic packaging 3) Make sure the rack is turned off and physically unplugged from the means. 4) Use a star screwdriver to remove the two blocking screws off the slot you are going to insert the preamp in (see red circles on pic 1*) 5) Touch the rack metal chassis to discharge any electrostatic charges that may damage the preamp. 6) Gently insert the preamp into the chosen slot, making sure the bottom connector perfectly fits into the rack socket (marked by a yellow rectangle on pic 1) 7) Fix the preamp using the screws you removed at step 4. Do not apply too much force during this operation. 8) Properly connect the audio input and output of the slot. Reconnect your audio cables in case...
Page 4: Manufacturers Rack
• JUICERACK - 1 slot 1/2 rack http://www.smproaudio.com • JUICERACK - 3 slot 1U rack • JUICERACK - 8 slot 3U rack • JUICEBLOCK - 3 slot desktop TONELUX ® • V4 ROADSTER - 4 slot desktop http://www.tonelux.com TUBE-TECH ® • RM2 - 2 slot desktop http://www.tube-tech.com • RM8 - 8 slot - 3U rack Note** Max one piece of H2O Evolution II, the power supply is too low.
Page 5: Front View
H2O Evolution II - User Manual PREAMPLIFIER FRONT VIEW Rack blocking screws Volume Knob Phantom Power LED Phantom Power button 12 Led Vu Meter Phase button OL (OverLoad) and M (Memory) Pad button Input selector Line and Hi-z combo input (Jack/Trs + XLR) Rack blocking screws...
Page 6: Controls
© H2O Evolution II - User Manual PREAMPLIFIER CONTROLS VOLUME Volume can be controlled as follows: ROTATION VOLUME MINIMUM ROTATION VOLUME MAXIMUM anti- clockwise decrease increase clockwise VU-METER Sonum © H2O Evolution II features the standard professional +4dBu Vu-Meter with a range of -20 dB / +3dB with a overload LED for preamp saturation. We included a M (memory) LED for temporary saturation value memory (approx. 6 seconds). C olore dei led: range - 20 dB / 0 dB: G reen Led range + 1 dB / + 3 dB: O range Led OverLoad: R ed Led Memory:...
Page 7: Controls
H2O Evolution II - User Manual PREAMPLIFIER CONTROLS LED PHANTOM POWER When the blue led (4) lights up it means that phantom power is being supplied to the mic connector correctly. PHASE Inverts the signal phase STATE BUTTON PHASE Normal Invert Reduces the gain by 17db Being a completely active gain reduction, it does not introduce passive power. Therefore it does not affect the input impedence, the final quality of the sound, or the signal/noise ratio. The only one thing it does is modifying the gain range. STATE BUTTON 0 dB -17 dB INPUT SELECTOR Fornisce tre opzioni: Gives you three different options: Mic: Enables the mic input on the back of the rack. It accepts balanced input signals up to +22dBu and features 2150 Ohm impedence. HI-z: Enables the front jack combo connector. It accepts unbalanced signals up to +11dBu and features 1.000.000 Ohm impedence...
Page 8: Front And Rear Connectors
© H2O Evolution II - User Manual FRONT AND BACK CONNECTORS The Line/Hi-z input is on the front of your H2O Evolution II. The Neutrik® combo connector (see pic. 1) equally accepts XLR Male, Jack Male Mono, Jack Male Stereo (TRS) connection types. Pic 1 Mic inputs and outputs are usually on the back of the rack in which the preamp is inserted. The connection types depend on the model of the rack you are using. Below (pic. 2) you can see a API® 500-B6 Lunchbox Pic 2...
Page 9: Technical Specifications
H2O Evolution II - User Manual SPECIFICATIONS Model H2O Evolution II Vu-Meter • Vu-Meter 12 led operating level +4dBu Led of temporary memory of OverLoad (6 second) Phantom Power • Phantom Power Rack Supplied Phantom Power +48V Circuit • Circuit Class A discreet component circuit architecture (Original Project). Compatibility • API 500 Series API 500 Compliant Absorption • Power supply +16VDC @ 100mA (No Load) - 16VDC @ 60mA (No Load) Connectors • Front Panel Balanced/Unbalanced Line input XLR/F, Unbalanced Hi-z TRS/F •...
Page 10: Taking Care Of Your Preamplifier
© H2O Evolution II - User Manual SPECIFICATIONS Cover • Stainless steel 5/10 mm Protection from Electromagnetic Interferences (EMI), from Radio frequency (RFI) and electrostatic charges (ESD). It isolates the circuits from the accidental damages. Weight 0,420 Kg Measures L x H x D 138 x 38 x 175 mm Vu-Meter TAKING CARE OF YOUR PREAMPLIFIER FRONT PANEL CLEANNESS Delicately clean the front panel using a micro-fiber damp cloth and glass detergent. Do not use abrasive detergents for this purpose. Do not spray the products directly on the preamp but always use a cloth. Do not use paper or other materials that may leave residues. You could risk plugging up the micro- holes of the VU-Meter. In case this happens do not use pins or needles to clean them up or you will irreparably damage them. Use only low- pressure dehumidified compressed air. BACK CONNECTOR CLEANNESS Normally, you don t need to clean the back connector for it is gold plated and guarantees the best quality over a long period of time. So perform this operation only when the connector is really dirt or if it has oxidized. In order to properly clean it you must remove the preamp from the rack first. (see page 3)
Page 11: Warranty
Sonum © H2O Evolution II product warranty is regulated by the Italian law in force and the legal rights it gives you may vary from country to country, state to state and province to province, according to the local jurisdiction. Total warranty period is 12 months from the original date of purchase. This warranty covers the H2O Evolution II against factory and workmanship defects, present since the date of purchase and they must be notified to Sonum © as soon as possible • This warranty DOES NOT cover damage caused by: improper installation, wrong use of the unit, bad maintenance as well as careless conservation, repairs performed by unauthorized personnel, transportation, corrosion and whenever the serial number is lost, removed, changed or unreadable.
Page 13: Recall Sheet
H2O Evolution II - User Manual RECALL SHEET Project Date...
Page 14: Certifications
© H2O Evolution II - User Manual CERTIFICATIONS Declaration of Conformity Sonum © declares the H2O Evolution II single channel microphone preamplifier module to be in material conformity with the following EC directives and related standards: • 2006/95/EC Low Voltage Directive • 2004/108/EC EMC Directive The technical documentation is available in our center. Certificate of Compliance Sonum © declares the H2O Evolution II single channel microphone preamplifier module is RoHS compliant and meet the requirements and specified limits of restricted substances according 2002/95/EC directive. RAEE Sonum © H2O Evolution II is marked with the WEEE symbol to comply with the European Union’s Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment (WEEE- European Union’s Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment) Directive 2002/96/EC. The symbol indicates that this product should not be treated as household waste. It must be disposed and recycled separately as electronic waste. Please assist to keep our environment clean Above declarations are void by modification of the device without approval, or unauthorized servicing. 05/07/2011, Firenze Sonum © Marraghini Miriano...
Page 15: Connection Outlines
H2O Evolution II - User Manual CONNECTIONS OUTLINES CABLE Most users of the Sonum © H2O Evolution II, have invested much time and money in their selection of microphones and preamplifiers. We recommend that you give some consideration to the microphone, instrument and output cables you select, as well. Use high-quality, low capacitance cable. Braided shielding and “star quad” type mic cables will perform better in electrically noisy environments. Manufacturers such as “Mogami”, “Canare”, “Belden”, etc. make high performance cable of this type. Use cables with high-quality connectors. Manufacturers such as “Neutrik”, “Switchcraft”, etc.. make high performance component. Our studio testing has shown that some of the more esoteric guitar/instrument “super-cables” do, indeed, sound better. Manufacturers such as “Klotz”, “Elixir” etc.. make cable of this type. Avoid excessive cable length and e replace damaged cable and connectors. CABLE TYPE There are two styles of audio cables used for connections to the Sonum© H2O Evolution II in a 500 seri-...
Page 16: Connection Outlines
© H2O Evolution II - User Manual CONNECTIONS OUTLINES CARD EDGE CONNECTIONS If you are using a custom card rack, or a card rack not manufactured by API®, please verify the following power supply terminations: • CHASSIS GROUND • +OUTPUT • • -OUTPUT • AUDIO COMMON • • • -INPUT • • +INPUT • • +16VDC • POWER COMMON • -16VDC • +48VDC Pin 1 is located at the top of the card edge connector.
Page 17 H2O Evolution II - User Manual OUR TECHNOLOGY A sound engineer should be amazed when listening to it. A true high end preamplifier, being the very first device where sound flows through after being picked up by the microphone, must render it in every single detail. Sonum© H20 microphone preamplifier was built keeping all of this in mind. The entire project is based on an innovative technology that makes our preamp totally different from its competitors. We set a new bar by bringing something new to the global panorama of professional API 500 compliant microphone preamps. Our strengths are the result of an innovative technological research. • A custom made front panel with a great modern look designed by Sonum© and manufactured in Italy; ergonomic knobs, high quality vu-meter. • A 4 Layer PCB Stack-up. The circuit was entirely built in Italy using the highest technological stan- dards available. We implemented a computer-based simulation method optimizing the placement of each single component so as to eliminate the risk of unwanted coupling. •...
Page 18: Our Technology Pages17
© H2O Evolution II - User Manual OUR TECHNOLOGY IMPEDENCE-BASED VOLUME & CONSTANT SIGNAL/NOISE RATIO The gain potentiometer is not used as signal partitioner, as usual. The potentiometers on the market boost the signal when turned clockwise. However the drawback is that the S/N ratio is heavily altered low volume levels, let alone when the signal is padded. This is due to the noise-floor being the same at each regulation. Inside the Sonum© H20 the potentiometer acts by modifying the circuit architecture and changing the gain alone. This way, the S/N ratio is never modified and remains constant. The input impedance does not change with the volume being regulated, as a consequence the sonic quality is not affected in the least. In order to achieve this using non-custom potentiometers (so as to cut the final costs but maintaining the same top quality) we used an inverted logarithmic potentiometer. This is why the knob is turned anti-clockwise. Here is an example using some real figures: Noise = 1mV Audio Signal= 10V Traditional preamplifier with fixed gain and input signal partitioner: volume 10% = S/N = 1V/1mV = 1000 volume 50% = S/N = 5V/1mV = 5000 volume 100% = S/N = 10V/1mV = 10000 Sonum© H2O Evolution II with variabile gain and logarithmic potentiometer volume 10% = S/N = 10V/1mV = 10000 volume 50% = S/N = 10V/1mV = 10000 volume 100% = S/N = 10V/1mV = 10000 As already stated, the pad works the same. It features a completely active gain reduction architecture that does not introduce passive power and does not alter the sound quality or the S/N ratio. Only, it modifies the active gain range of the preamp.
Page 19: Copyright
The information contained in this manual was reviewed and controlled prior to publication. You agree to hold Sonum © harmless against any loss, liability or damage due to direct or indirect omissions and/or errors. All trademarks, product names and company names appearing in this manual (A-DESIGN ©...