User Guide

1. The Input Section
The DTC™ has a comprehensive input section
consisting of a line-level input, an instrument
input and a microphone input. You can add
a digital input by installing the MindPrint
DI-Mod 24/96 expansion module.
1.1 Microphone input
Connections:
An XLR jack is provided on the back of the DTC™
for each channel for microphones of all types.
To accommodate condenser microphones,
48-volt phantom power can be applied from
a switch on the front panel.
Impedance is 5 kOhms.
Operation:
MIC IN: switches on the microphone input. This
switch has priority over all other input switches.
MIC GAIN: adjusts the input sensitivity of the
microphone signal within a range of +20 dB to
+72 dB.
-20 db: switches a passive pad of -20 dB before
the microphone channel preamp stage to avoid
distortion from high-output microphones.
48 V: applies phantom power to the channel.
Warning : DO NOT turn on the 48V
phantom power with unbalanced
microphones or ribbon mics,
as these can be damaged by
the phantom power!
6
MindPrint-DTC
TM
Inner workings of the
High-Zensitivity™ Transformer
Question: At 5 kOhms, the impedance of the micro-
phone input is considerably higher than normal. Why
does MindPrint deviate so greatly
from the 600-Ohm standard?
Answer: The impedance of microphones is not a
constant but is frequency dependent. Within the
frequency range of microphones there exist certain
impedance peaks which can far exceed 1000 Ohms.
If the input impedance of a microphone preamp is
less, these peaks are damped, which in effect
automatically changes the frequency response. Since
these peaks occur especially in the treble region, the
automatic damping of low-impedance preamps leads
to a loss of brilliance. The DTC™, due to its high-
impedance design, can handle even extreme peaks
and thereby avoids losses in the highs. This especially
makes dynamic microphones sound more transparent
and natural. Condenser microphones also sound
better, since their amplifiers, which are not loaded
down as much, can operate with less distortion.
ctrical signal with a very broad frequency range and
amplify it and "shape" it. But this electrical signal has
its own peculiarities: depending on whether the
induction and the capacitance is set up in the circuit
to run in parallel or in series, these can have a
damping effect on the bass and treble. With all
analog sound sources, whether pickup or
microphone, or even a normal cable, the capacitance
and inductance play a role and influence the sound.
The special input circuitry of the DTC™ respects them
in a very special way, so that they do have the
necessary "raw form" required for the subsequent
frequency and dynamics processing.
MIC IN A
BALANCED
DTC_BDA_1.1 14.01.2002 16:32 Uhr Seite 6