Heritage Audio SUPER-8 Rackmount 8 Channel Transformer Class A Mic Preamp User Manual

Heritage Audio SUPER-8 Rackmount 8 Channel Transformer Class A Mic Preamp

INTRODUCTION

Thank you for choosing the Súper 8. Heritage Audio is dedicated to bringing you ´the sound of yesterday for tomorrow´. We specialize in capturing that unique, enticing sound that everybody has fallen in love with. For years engineers, producers and musicians have been yearning for that classic vibe. Usually the only option is to search for old, used original equipment that is almost always in a questionable state of operation. This brings with it a whole lot of other issues, making the experience less than desirable. Not to mention the very high prices asked for this equipment, which makes them virtually unobtainable for the great majority. Now it´s possible to obtain that same sound with a brand new piece that will give you all the problem- free, heavy-duty use you´ll need for years of music-making history.

Peter Rodriguez CEO Heritage Audio – Madrid, Spain

© 2022 Heritage Audio S.L. is the sole owner of the copyright of all information and drawings contained in this manual which are not to be copied or reproduced by any means or disclosed in part or whole to any third party without written permission.

Heritage Audio reserves the right to alter specifications without notice. The information in this manual has been carefully checked and is believed to be accurate at the time of publication. However, no responsibility is taken by us for inaccuracies, errors or omissions nor any liability assumed for any loss or damage resulting either directly or indirectly from use of the information contained within it.

DESCRIPTION

The Súper 8 offers a fantastic, compact solution for when several high quality preamps and top class conversion is needed.
Using our Class A 73 Preamp building experience we were able to fit 8 MIC/Line preamps into a sturdy 2 unit rack. All 8 are faithful to our 3 stage all Class A design with Carnhill transformers fitted at the input and the output. The first two channels also include our high quality JFET DI as well as a fully sweepable Lo-cut filter. All 8 channels include switches for 48 V, Line, Lo- cut(-3 dB at 82 Hz) and Phase.

There is built in analog to digital conversion available on 3 different digital formats: ADAT, AES/EBU and SPDIF with BNC connectors for reliable word clock syncing.
Selectable sampling frequencies from 44.1 kH to 192 kH. Not only can the MIC/Line Preamp outputs be directly sent to the DAC, but there also exists the possibility of choosing an alternative input, per channel, for the digital conversion, making this an extremely flexible unit. This can really come in handy if you need to output the preamps to an EQ or compressor before returning them for digital conversion.

GETTING STARTED

FRONT

INPUT GAIN SWITCH

5 dB Steps From 30 to 80

| MIC INPUT IMPEDANCE

(Lo z)

1200 Ω or 300 Ω when pressed

| MIC PAD PUSH BUTTON

– 20 dB Pad, Ahead of the Input Transformer

| OUTPUT ATTENUATOR

Attenuates from 0 to Infinity

| HIGH PASS FILTER

-3 dB at 82 Hz, Discrete Class A

6| 7| 8| 9| 10
PHASE PUSH BUTTON

Flips phase 180º

| LINE PUSH BUTTON

Switches from MIC/D.I. to Line

| HIGH PASS FREQUENCY SELECTOR

Continually Adjustable CutOff for HPF

| PHANTOM POWER SWITCH

Turns Phanton Power On

| D.I. INPUT

High Impedance Class A JFET

11| 12| 13| 14|
ADC ROUTING BUTTONS

Switch Between the Preamp Or the Returned Signal for ADC

| FREQUENCY INDICATOR

Sampling Frequency of the ADC

| FREQUENCY SELECTOR FOR ADC

To Choose the Desired Sampling Frequency of the ADC

| POWER BUTTON ON/OFF

Turns the Unit On

REAR

75 Ohm TERM PUSH BUTTON

Push to Activate Termination

| 25 PIN D-SUB(DB25) CONNECTOR

ADC Returns 1-8

| 25 PIN D-SUB(DB25) CONNECTOR OUTPUTS

Line Outputs 1-8

| 25 PIN D-SUB(DB25) CONNECTOR INPUTS

Line Inputs 1-8

| INPUTS

On Gold Plated XLRs

6| 7| 8| 9| 10
BNC IN & OUT CONNECTOR

Connect for Wordclock Syncing

| AES/EBU or SPDIF PUSH BUTTON

Alternates Between AES/EBU and SPDIF Formats

| AES/EBU & SPDIF 9-PIN CONNECTOR

Connect Cable to Use Either Format

| ADAT – S/MUX Optical Ports

Outputs on Digital ADAT Format

| EXTERNAL POWER INPUT HA-PSU02

On Gold Plated XLR5

11|
OUTPUTS

On Gold Plated XLRs

DIGITAL CONNECTION OPTIONS

APPLICATIONS

MIC PRE WITHOUT CONVERSION

LINE PROCESSING

MIC PRE-ADAT CONVERSION

EXTERNAL INPUT TO ADC

WIRING FOR DB25 CONNECTORS

All DB25 multi-pin connectors are TASCAM protocol. This same protocol is also used by AVID amongst many others, and is as follows Pin-out for TASCAM DB25 8 Channel Balanced Connector

• H = HOT
• C = COLD
• G = GROUND

The list of the DB25 connectors used and their corresponding channels are as follows:

| CHANNEL INPUTS 1-8:|
---|---|---
TASCAM DSUB CHANNEL #| CHANNEL I/P 1-8
1| INPUT # 1
2| INPUT # 2
3| INPUT # 3
4| INPUT # 4
5| INPUT # 5
6| INPUT # 6
7| INPUT # 7
8| INPUT # 8
| CHANNEL OUTPUTS 1-8:|
---|---|---
TASCAM DSUB CHANNEL #| CHANNEL O/P 1-8
1| OUTPUT # 1
2| OUTPUT # 2
3| OUTPUT # 3
4| OUTPUT # 4
5| OUTPUT # 5
6| OUTPUT # 6
7| OUTPUT # 7
8| OUTPUT # 8
| ADC RETURNS 1-8:|
---|---|---
TASCAM DSUB CHANNEL #| ADC RETURNS 1-8
1| ADC RETURNS # 1
2| ADC RETURNS # 2
3| ADC RETURNS # 3
4| ADC RETURNS # 4
5| ADC RETURNS # 5
6| ADC RETURNS # 6
7| ADC RETURNS # 7
8| ADC RETURNS # 8

It is worth noting that, in order to avoid ground loops, the DB25 ground connections are lifted on the Súper 8 side, leaving the ground paths of your DB25 snakes only acting as shields and preventing any current returns.

SPECIFICATIONS

ANALOG I/O

• Microphone input impedance only channels 1 & 2: High=1200 Ω minimum; Low= 300 Ω minimum. Higher gain positions gradually have greater impedances, optimum for low gain ribbon mics. Input is transformer balanced and floating.
• Microphone input impedance only channels 3-8: High=1200 Ω
• Line input impedance: 10 kΩ bridging, transformer balanced and floating.
• Output impedance: Less than 75 Ω, transformer balanced and floating, to drive a load of 600 Ω.
• D.I. input impedance: Greater than 2 MΩ, unbalanced (Only Channels 1 & 2).
• Maximum output: Greater than +26,5 dBu into 600 Ω (internally terminated).
• THD: Less than 0,025 % at 1 kHz, Less than 0,05 % at 100 Hz.
• Frequency response: 20 Hz (+0,3 dB) to 20 kHz (-0,2 dB).
• Maximum Gain: Slightly greater than 80 dB.
• Equivalent Input Noise: Less than -125 dBu.
• Output stage noise: Less than -100 dBu.

DIGITAL CONNECTIONS

S/PDIF

• Connector Type: 9 PIN Breakout Cable (RCA).
• Format: IEC 958.
• Supported Sample rates (kHz): 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192.

AES/EBU

• Connector Type: 9 PIN Breakout Cable (XLR).
• Format: IEC 60958.
• Supported Sample rates (kHz): 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192.

ADAT

• Connector Type: Optical TOSLINK JIS
• Format: ADAT Digital Lightpipe with S/MUX.
• Supported Sample rates (kHz): 1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192.
• Channel Assignments @ 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz: Port 1 = Channels 1 – 8, Port 2 = 1 – 8 (mirrored).
• Channel Assignments @ 88.2 kHz, 96 kHz: Port 1 = Channels 1 – 4, Port 2 = Channels 5 –
• Channel Assignments @ 176.4 kHz, 192 kHz: Port 1 = Channels 1 – 2, Port 2 = Channels 3 –

Word Clock

• Connector Type: BNC.
• Word Clock Input Termination: 75 Ω, switchable.

Synchronization Sources

• Internal, Word Clock (EXTERNAL).

Dimensions/Weight

• Dimensions (W x H x L): 280 mm x 88 mm (2 Rack units) x 482 mm.
• Weight: 9,450 Kg

SIGNAL FLOW

TROUBLESHOOTING

sure the GAIN knob is not in the ´Off´ position.
There still doesn´t appear to be any signal at all arriving at the back XLR.| Check to see if a jack cable has been left plugged into the front panel D.I.
Even at the lowest position on the GAIN knob I still have too much gain.| When this happens you should activate the PAD button. This will reduce the input by 20dB ahead of the input transformer.
Condenser microphones don´t seem to work with Súper 8.| Make sure the red +48 V button is pressed in to activate the phantom power sent to the microphone.
There doesn´t seem to be any output at all from the unit.| Check to see if the OUTPUT knob is fully turned down as this will attenuate the signal completely.
Sending a signal to the unit from a DAW overloads it terrible.| It is necessary to press the LINE button when sending it a line level source.

If not, it is expecting a Microphone signal with a very different impedance.

There is no signal arriving from the ADC.| Make sure the corresponding button in the ADC Routing is pressed if the Preamps direct out is desired.
There is still no signal arriving from the ADC.| Double check that the appropriate connector is indeed inserted properly.
There are clicks being generated.| Make sure Frequency.| you| have| selected| the| correct| Sampling
There are clicks being generated.| Make sure you are using a BNC cable to connect the Word Clock if being slaved.
There are unexpected noises and/or jitter being produced.| If your unit is the last in a group of digitally synced units you should press the ´75 Ohm Term´ button.
I have everything connected correctly but I’m still not receiving any signal in my DAW.| Make sure you have selected the correct INPUT routing in your DAW.
I have everything connected correctly to use the SPDIF output but there is no signal arriving at the DAW.| Make sure you have correctly selected the button that choose either SPDIF or AES/EBU.

• For any further doubts or questions please get in contact with us at: support@heritageaudio.com

WARRANTY STATEMENT

LIMITED 2 YEAR WARRANTY

Heritage Audio Súper 8 is warranted by Heritage Audio SL to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for the period of 2 years to the original purchaser. In the event of such defects, the product will be repaired without charge or, at our option, replaced with a new one if delivered to Heritage Audio prepaid, together with a copy of the sales slip or other proof of purchase date. The warranty excludes problems due to normal wear, abuse, shipping damage or failure to use the product in accordance with the specifications.

Heritage Audio shall not be liable for damages based upon inconvenience, loss of use of the product, loss of time, interrupted operation or commercial loss or any other damages, whether incidental, consequential or otherwise.

This warranty is not transferable.  Heritage Audio and the Heritage Audio “H” logos are registered Trademarks owned and/or licensed by Heritage Audio.

REGISTRATION

Please visit our website:https://heritageaudio.com/registration/

RECALL SHEETS

References

• Heritage Audio
• Product Registration - Heritage Audio

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