ECHO2 User Guide Version 1.
Echo 2 User Guide ©2012 by Echo Digital Audio Corporation 402 E. Carrillo Street Suite A Santa Barbara, CA 93101 Echo® is a registered trademark of Echo Digital Audio Corporation.
Echo 2 User Guide Important Safety Instructions Please read the following safety instructions completely. It is very important to heed all warnings and follow all instructions while operating the Echo 2. Do not use the Echo 2 near water or any heat sources such as heaters, stoves, or amplifiers. Protect the power cord from being damaged in any way. Only use attachments/accessories specified by Echo. Unplug the Echo 2 during lightning storms and when not being used for long periods of time.
Echo 2 User Guide Contents INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 4 PACKAGE CONTENTS ..................................................................................................... 4 ECHO 2 CONNECTIONS ............................................................................................... 5 INPUTS ..................................................................................................................
Echo 2 User Guide Introduction Thank you for choosing the Echo 2. We think you’ll find it to be a flexible, high-quality tool for live or studio performance. The Echo 2's touch controls, built-in studio grade preamps, and compact design make it an ideal personal mixer. No additional hardware is required; you don't need a microphone preamp or an instrument direct box.
Echo 2 User Guide Echo 2 Connections The main inputs and outputs are the four jacks on the rear of the Echo 2: Inputs The Echo 2 has two ¼” TRS (Tip-Ring-Shield) balanced input jacks labeled “IN1” and “IN2”. The inputs will accept virtually any type of analog signal, such as guitars, keyboards, microphones, line level signals, or mixer boards. Each input has a built-in, acoustically transparent, quiet, studio-grade preamp.
Echo 2 User Guide Main Outputs There are two output jacks, labeled “OUT L” and “OUT R”. These are standard low impedance, balanced outputs that can be connected directly to a mixer board or powered speaker. Headphone Output The front jack is a high quality stereo headphone output: The touch panel controls the headphone volume. Please refer to the Touch Panel for more information on using the touch controller.
Echo 2 User Guide Power The Echo 2 may be powered either from a computer over the USB cable, or with the included power adapter. The adapter plugs into the DC power jack on the right side as shown below: Please note that the Echo 2 must be powered with the external AC adapter whenever phantom power is switched on. USB power can be noisy, resulting in audible ground hum, or decreased audio performance. If you are experiencing these problems, try using the external power adapter.
Echo 2 User Guide Touch Panel The touch panel controls the Echo 2's built-in mixer. The panel uses capacitive touch technology to sense the touch of a finger. A light touch is all that is needed: the panel can’t differentiate between a light or hard press. The active area for each touch control is in the center of the rounded gray rectangle to the right of the LED indicator. For the slider, the active area is directly beneath the horizontal gray lines.
Echo 2 User Guide Input Selection Each input can be switched between one of three modes. Pressing either input button will cycle between MIC, LINE, and GUITAR. The default input type is LINE. Any time a cable is unplugged from the input jack, the input will revert to this setting. Changing the input type resets the input gain to 0 dB to avoid any potential audio feedback. Phantom Power Condenser microphones typically require power to operate. This is commonly known as phantom power, or +48 volts.
Echo 2 User Guide Levels Input gains, monitoring, and output volumes are all controlled using the “slider” control in the middle of the touch panel. Touch one of the selector buttons to select what the slider does: Input 1 gain Input 2 gain Monitor volume Main output volume Headphone volume Touching one of these buttons changes the slider control to show the current setting for that selection The LED indicators on the left side of the slider show the current position.
Echo 2 User Guide The range of the slider control will change depending on your selection. The various ranges for the slider are shown below: Input Gain (dB) Output Attenuation (dB) Line Guitar Mic +63 +69 +75 ── ── 0 +53 +59 +65 ── ── -6 +42 +48 +54 ── ── -12 +32 +38 +44 ── ── -21 +21 +27 +33 ── ── -30 +11 +17 +23 ── ── -40 0 +6 +12 ── ── MUTE Main Mute Pressing the mute button will mute the main outputs.
Echo 2 User Guide EZ Trim The ideal input gain setting provides the maximum gain without clipping when the loudest signal is coming into the input. While it is possible to use the input gain slider control to set the gain while shouting into a microphone, pounding on drums, or wailing on a guitar, it’s both quicker and more accurate to let the Echo 2 do it automatically for you with EZ Trim.
Echo 2 User Guide Headphone Routing Normally, the headphones have their own D/A converter separate from the main outputs. This means that one track can play out of the main outputs, while another track plays out of the headphones. This is useful for DJ applications, or if you want to send different mixes to different musicians. There are times, such as listening to an iTunes playlist, when it is useful to have the headphones mirror the main outputs, and playback channels 1 and 2.
Echo 2 User Guide Using Echo 2 with a Computer To use the Echo 2 with a Windows or Mac computer, you will need an available USB 2.0 or 3.0 port, and a high-speed USB 2.0 cable, such as the one supplied with the Echo 2. The Echo 2 can be powered directly from the computer USB port. However, if you want to use phantom power, you will need to use the external power supply supplied with the Echo 2. For best audio performance, do not use a USB hub. Instead, connect the Echo 2 directly to your computer.
Echo 2 User Guide Mac OS X To use the Echo 2 with a Macintosh, you will need Mac OS X 10.6.8 or later. Connect the Echo 2 to your Macintosh using a high-speed USB 2.0 cable. The Echo 2 will automatically be detected as an audio device by Mac OS X. You can check this by opening Audio MIDI Setup on your Mac (found in the Applications/Utilities folder).
Echo 2 User Guide Windows To use the Echo 2 with a Windows computer, you'll need Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. Both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows Vista and Windows 7 are supported. You will also need an available USB 2.0 or 3.0 port; USB 1.0 or 1.1 ports will not work. First, you will need to install the Echo 2 driver. Drivers are available on our website: http://www.echoaudio.com/echo2 Leave the Echo 2 disconnected from your computer, and download the driver.
Echo 2 User Guide ASIO On Windows, the Echo 2 supports ASIO 2.0. ASIO is an audio driver that enables low latency and tight synchronization between tight inputs and outputs. Windows ASIO is the preferred driver for audio applications.
Echo 2 User Guide The Echo 2 ASIO driver can be configured to balance low latency performance with reliability. The Echo 2 control panel allows you to set both the USB buffer size and the ASIO buffer size: In general, you will want to get the buffer sizes as low as possible without audio playback or recording breaking up. The USB buffer size controls how often buffers of audio data are exchanged with the USB host controller.
Echo 2 User Guide Specifications Analog Inputs • • • • • • • • • Two ¼" TS/TRS inputs with selectable microphone, balanced line, or highimpedance instrument. Switchable +48 V phantom power EZ Trim - Precisely set your inputs to the optimal level with the touch of a button Low noise (-129 dBu EIN) studio grade mic preamps, up to 75 dB of gain Input impedance - Mic: 1.8K ohms, Line: 20K ohms, Instrument: 1 Meg Two female XLR to male 1/4" TRS cables included Frequency Response: 10 Hz – 20 kHz, +/- 0.
Echo 2 User Guide Warranty Echo Digital Audio Corporation warrants this product, when purchased at an Authorized Echo Dealer in the United States of America, to be free of defects in materials and manufacturing workmanship for a period of one year from the date of original purchase. During the warranty period Echo shall, at its option, either repair or replace any product that proves to be defective upon inspection by Echo. Final determination of warranty coverage lies solely with Echo.
Echo 2 User Guide Declarations of Conformity USA This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits of a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications.
Echo 2 User Guide CE This product complies with the European Unicon Council Directives and Standards relating to electromagnetic compatibility EMC Directive (2006/95/EC) and the Low Voltage Directive (2004/108/EC) RoHS Notice Echo Digital Audio has conformed and this product conforms, where applicable, to the European Union’s Directive 2002/95/EC on Restrictions of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) as well as the following sections of California law which refer to RoHS, namely sections 25214.10, 25214.10.
