A E
VU
METERS
AND
PEAK
INDICATORS
Tw
o large VU meters in
the
Model 5220
mon
itor
the relative recording and
playback
level of each
channel.
Al l meters are
"time
sens
it
ive" devices. In oth er
words,
it
takes a
short
amount
of
time
for
the
meter to respond to a qu
ickly
appl ied signal. Even
though
the
meter
needle and
oth
er moving parts
are very lightweight,
they
still
have some inertia
and are re
latively
sluggish when compared to the
instantaneous natu re
of
audio peaks. The meters,
th
en, indicate an average value reading w
ith
whi
ch
to
mon
itor
the
average level and balance
of
the
two
channels.
The Model
5220
is also equipped w
ith
a
PEAK
indicator
wh ich, when used in conjunction w
ith
the VU meters, is a valu able aid to
pro
per
recording level adjustment. The
PEAK
indicator,
unlike
the meters, reacts instantaneously to
audio
transients du ring recording. The i
ndic
ator
illu-
minates
if
an audio
tr
ansient strong enough to
cause tape saturation (distorti on) occurs. If the
PEAK
indica
to
r flashes repeatedly, the recording
level should be reduced.
INPUT
LEVEL
CONTROLS
On the
front
panel are
four
independent slide-
type
input
level controls and a stereo
MASTER
LEVEL
control. The
MIC
controls
receive their
in
puts
from the le
ft
and r
ight
MIC jacks on the
front
panel. The
LINE
controls
receive
their
signals
from
the rear panel
LINE
INPUT jacks.
Th e four input con
tro
ls,
or
" sliders,"
combine
the ir a
udio
signals in a stereo mix in the
propor
-
ti ons chosen
by
you
,
the
re
cordist
.
They
assign
the audio
input
s to the l
eft
and right stereo
outp
uts
of
the mixer as i
ndicat
ed
by
the
l
ett
ers L
and R beside each s
lider
slot
.
NOTE:
When
microphone
are selected
for
re-
cording
, do
not
monitor
through
speakers, as th is w
ill
cause
howl
ing
(acoustic feedback)
which
could
damage
your
aud io
equipment.
Use headphones
for
mon
itoring.
MASTER
LEVEL
CON
TROL
channels without changing the
input
slider posi-
tions and without affecti ng their
pr
oportionate
audio levels.
If
,
for
instance,
the
four
input levels
are
mi
xed in the exact
proportions
you
want
, b
ut
the
VU
meters register
too
high a reading, reduce
the
MASTER
LEVE
L accord ingly.
The
MASTER
LEVEL
slider can be used
to
"fade
out"
or
"f
ade in" .
For
example, when maki ng a
cassette recording
of
a phonograph record, yo u
may wish to fade
out
the
mu sic gradually just
before th e end
of
th e tape is reached.
Thi
s way,
you will avo id th e abrupt
cut
-o
ff
of
sound that
occu rs
dur
ing
playback
wh en the cassette runs
out
of tape. Likew ise, the music cou ld be " faded
in"
at the beginn ing
of
the c
asse
tte
.
PEAK
LIMITER
The
peak
LIMITER
, when in use,
automati
cally
reduces the record level
dur
ing sudden volume
surges. By
pr
eventing the peak rec
ord
ing level
from exceeding 0
VU,
the peak LI MI
TER
mini-
mizes di
stortion
.
T he
LIMITER
is
not
the same as an
A.L.
C.
(A u
to
mat
ic Level Con
trol
) circ
uit
; it is designed
rather as a safeguard against high
input
signals
that
you had
not
antic
ipat
ed when
you
adjusted
the record levels in
iti
ally. Th e
LIMITER
is also
advantageous when record ing sources such as
radio programs or live music whose peak volume
levels are sometimes unpredictable.
If
the recording levels were set much
too
high and
the
LIM
ITER
were activated, it
would
tend
to
" compress" th e
dyn
amic range
of
th e music. In
othe
r words,
not
only
the
peaks,
but
all loud
pass
ages
would be reduced in volume.
Th
erefore,
the recording levels should be set before the
LIM
ITER
is turned on.
P
HONES
JACK
Th is jack accepts headphones
ut
ili zing a standard
thre
e condu
ctor
phon
e plug.
It
is
intern
ally
connected
to
the o
ut
put circ
uit
ry
to
provide
adequate sound level
with
popu lar low impedance
stereo headphones.
Two
or
mor
e sets
of
head-
phones may be used wi th the aid of
"Y
"
conn ec
tors
(available at yo
ur
dealer). However,
ou
tput
level
will
drop
as addi
ti
onal headphones
are added.
MEMORY
COUN
TER
Th e
MASTER
LEVEL
slider adjusts th e t
ot
al
stereo
output
level. Its
purp
ose is to
contr
ol
the
audio level
of
the
entire
mi
xture
of
th e f
our
input
The
MEMORY
COUNTER
is used
for
pr
ecise
progr
am reloc
ation,
wh
ether at th e beginning of
the side or far int o th e recorded tape.
8
I