® Owner´s Manual ® STEREO Models 9319, 9320 SOUND PERFORMANCE LABORATORY
SOUND PERFORMANCE LABORATORY STEREO VITALIZER Owner´s Manual by Paul White and Hermann Gier Version 2.2/95 The information in this document has been carefully verified and is assumed to be correct. However Sound Performance Laboratory (SPL) reserves the right to modify the product described in this manual at any time. Changes without notice. This document is the property of SPL and may not be copied or reproduced in any manner, in part or full without the authorization of SPL.
Forword Introduction Operation safety Connections Applications Studio Tape - duplication Broadcast Sound reinforcement Video & film post production First steps The control elements of the STEREO VITALIZER VITALIZER ACTIVE PEAK BASS MID-HI TUNE PROCESS HARMONICS SURROUND PROCESSOR IN STEREO WIDTH Power supply Specifications Warranty 3 4 4 5 Contents 6 7 7 8 8 9 11 11 11 11 12 13 14 15 15 15 16 17 Dear customer, Foreword Thank you for the confidence you have shown towards SPL electronics GmbH by purchas
Introduction In 1993 the »Golden Ear« Award was presented to SPL by Europe´s biggest HiFimagazine »Audio«. In 1994 the »Stage Design« Award was presented to SPL by the »Artist« magazine for the exceptionally performance on stage. Operation safety Important security advices -please read them carefully! 4 The STEREO VITALIZER is an equalizer concept which makes use of scientific psychoacoustic technology to process audio signals.
Before connecting the STEREO VITALIZER switch the power off at all connected units. Model 9320 Version 2 Model 9319 Version 1 The STEREO VITALIZER is available in two version up to autumn 1995: Version 1: unbalanced jack version (mono-1/4“ jacks wired tip hot) Version 2: professional version with unbalanced (switching mono1/4“jacks wired tip hot) and electronically balanced (3-pole XLR wired pin 2 hot) connectors.
Applications: Studio 1. The most obvious application of the STEREO VITALIZER is to process a final mix, either while mixing or during post-production prior to cutting. Insert your STEREO VITALIZER into the master-inserts of your console or right in between a playback and a recording unit.
In the field of electronic music, the STEREO VITALIZER can be used to add new range and depth to samplers and synthesizers and also to further process existing effects such as delay and reverberation. Even budget instruments and processors with limited audio bandwidths can be made sound full-bodied and detailed. If you want to use a compressor in the master chain after the console, use your STEREO VITALIZER after the compressor.
Sound Reinforcement In live performance or in club installations, the STEREO VITALIZER is a powerful ally in maintaining speech intelligibility under difficult conditions. It is also of great benefit in systems designed to play recorded music because the illusion of loudness can be maintained at lower absolute SPLs. This could be particularly beneficial with the introduction of new noise level legislation.
When setting up the STEREO VITALIZER for the first time, it is wise to approach the controls in a specific order to avoid confusion and to achieve positive results right from the start. Use a CD as source. First steps Set-up positions: BASS to zero (center position) HARMONICS to MIN (counter clockwise) MID-HI TUNE to 3,5 kHz (center position) PROCESS to MIN (counter clockwise) STEREO EXPANDER to min (counter clockwise) 1. Press the ACTIVE switch. There is no audible change in the sound at this stage. 2.
First steps 5. A section within the STEREO VITALIZER with one of the most decisive influences on the sound is PROCESS control. If you continue to turn the PROCESS control up, more of the signal is added to the BASS and MID-HI TUNE sections whilst dominant mid frequencies are reduced according human hearing at the same time. The below sections contain more detailed information on this aspect. Familiarize yourself with the sound changes before deciding on the setting which sounds best. 6.
3 2 5 4 6 The control elements of the STEREO VITALIZER® 7 1 8 The VITALIZER ACTIVE function switches the STEREO VITALIZER on or off. The status LED indicates that the STEREO VITALIZER has been activated. The VITALIZER ACTIVE function is a relais-hard-bypass function. In the event of a power failure the STEREO VITALIZER is automatically switched to hardbypass (power failure safety).
Control elements The PROCESS control determines the processing ratio between the set bass sound colour and the original signal. This results in varying bass sound structures: if you combine high bass amplification on the BASS control with a lower PROCESS value, you get a different bass structure than with a lower bass amplification combined with a higher PROCESS value. Choosing the best solution is a matter of personal taste and also depends on the type of original signal involved. Fig.
Control elements appropriate frequencies, thus changing the spectral content of the original signal. The STEREO VITALIZER , however, relies on a more subtle method of amplitude-depending phase shifting. This does not involve altering the spectral composition of the signal but it does maintain the subjective impression of loudness. Moreover, graphic equalizers produce comb-filter effects because of the interaction between adjacent filters, when broadband frequencies are raised.
Control elements STEREO VITALIZER alters the frequency spectrum in such a way that the balance is maintained between all frequency ranges even at varying monitor volumes. For the human ear, the sound is more pleasant and easier to perceive than the original. In other words, increasing the PROCESS value also increases the intensity of the MID-HI TUNE filter and the BASS filter, whilst dominant mid frequencies are damped by amplitudecontrolled phase shiftings.
filter intervenes at low frequencies. If the MID-HI TUNE filter is at 1 kHz, the HARMONICS filter affects higher frequencies. The characteristics of the two filters therefore complement each other in an ideal fashion. The IN switch switches the SURROUND PROCESSOR on or off. The status-LED indicates, that the SURROUND PROCESSOR is activ. The IN switch works only when the VITALIZER ACTIVE switch is activated.
Specifications STEREO VITALIZER Rear Panel Version 1 (Model 9319, unbalanced jack-version, until autumn 1995) - unbalanced input & output stages (0 dB) - mono-1/4inch-jacks - 2-wire power cord - relais-hard-bypass Version 2 (Model 9320, unbal. jacks & bal.
SPL electronics GmbH (hereafter called SPL) products are warranted only in the country where purchased, through the authorized SPL distributor in that country, Warranty against defects in material or workmanship. The specific period of this limited warranty shall be that which is described to the original retail purchaser by the authorized SPL dealer or distributor at the time of purchase.
