COMICA LinkFlex AD5 Feature Packed Audio Interface User Manual

LinkFlex AD5 Feature Packed Audio Interface
User Manual

Foreword

Thanks for purchasing Comica feature-packed audio interface LinkFlex AD5

Main Features

• 48kHz/24bit Audio Recording, Integrated Dual XLR/6.35mm Interfaces Design
• Support Recording/Streaming Mode Switch and Direct Monitor
• Support 48V Phantom Power Mics and Hi-Z Instruments Input
• Dual USB-C Interfaces for Connecting Two Computers or Mobile Devices
• Multiple I/O Interfaces to Connect Phones, Tablets, and Computers
• Up to 65dB Gain Range for Wider Mic Compatibility
• Class-leading AD/DA Conversion to Deliver the Most Detailed Sound
• Individual Mic Preamps, Guitar Amps, Monitor Volume and Output Gain Control
• Digital Signal Processing and Three EQ and Reverb Modes for Unlimited Creativity
• Featured with Loopback for Sampling, Streaming and Podcasting
• Support One-key Denoise and Mute, Easy to Use
• High-definition LCD Screen for Flexible and Intuitive Operation
• Built-in Rechargeable Lithium Battery, Operating Time Up to 6 Hours

Notice
When working with other products which have high sensitivity, it is recommended to adjust the gain of AD5 to the minimum before turning it on. Users can then adjust the gain step by step to avoid sound peak or audio feedback.
When connecting mics not requiring 48V phantom power, please make sure to turn off 48V phantom power to avoid damaging the mics.
Before connecting/disconnecting the microphone/instrument, please turn off the 48V phantom power/Inst switch to avoid damaging the devices.
Please read this user manual thoroughly before using the product, and keep it for future reference.
Please do not expose the product to rain or moisture, and avoid having water or other liquids spilled on it.
Please do not use or store the product near any heat sources such as radiators, stoves, or other heat-producing appliances.
This product is a high-precision product, please prevent it form dropping or colliding.

When connected to mac OS system, please follow the steps below to set up:

1. Open ‘Audio MIDI Setup’
2. Click the plus button on the bottom left corner and select ‘Create Aggregate Device’
3. Select the 2 ins and 2 outs of AD5 in the new aggregate device

Packing List

Main Part:

Accessories:

Components Introduction

Top Panel:

1. LCD Screen
   To show the device status intuitively. Please refer to the following “Screen Display” for more information.

2. MIX Knob
   In Recording mode, to adjust volume level of the output audio from Line Output ports; In Streaming mode, to adjust volume level of the output audio from 3.5mm and USB-C ports；the volume indicators will change according to the volume level.

3. Volume Indicator
   Indicating the volume level of the output audios.

4. Recording/Streaming Mode Switch Button
   Short press to switch between Recording mode and Streaming mode.
   AD5 outputs stereo audio in recording mode, IN1 stands for the left channel, and IN2 the right channel; AD5 outputs mono audio in streaming mode.

5. Mute Touch Button
   Touch to turn on/of Mute.

6. Denoise Touch Button
   Touch to turn on/switch/turn of denoise. Please switch to denoise 1 mode when using dynamic mics; Please switch to denoise 2 mode when using condenser mics.

7. EQ/REV Touch Button
   Long press to switch to EQ or Reverb; short press to choose EQ/REV modes.

Front Panel:

1. Input Port IN1/2
   6.35 TRS instruments and XLR micrphones can be connected to AD5 through the input ports IN1/2. In Recording Mode, IN1 stands for the left channel and IN2 the right channel.

2. Gain Control Knob 1/2
   Adjust the preamp gain for input signals at IN1/2 respectively.

3. 48V Phantom Power Switch 1/2
   Turn on/of 48V Phantom Power. When you turn this switch on, phantom power will be supplied to the XLR jack connected to the IN1/2 ports. Please turn it on when using a phantom powered microphone.
   1. When connecting/disconnecting microphones to AD5, please set the gain of AD5 to the minimum before turning on/of 48V Phantom power to avoid damaging the devices.
   2. When connecting devices not requiring 48V phantom power to IN1/2 port, please make sure to turn of 48V phantom power.

4. Inst Switch 1/2
   Turn on/off the input impedance. Please turn the inst switch on when connecting Hi-Z instruments such as an electric guitar/bass to achieve better input effects.
   1. It’s recommended to set the gain of AD5 to the minimum before turning on/off Inst switch to avoid feedback problems and damage to the devices.
   2. When connecting devices not requiring high inpedance to IN1/2 port, please make sure to turn off Inst switch.
   3. To protect your speaker system, leave the monitor speakers turned off when turning the Inst switch on/off.

5. 3.5mm Monitoring Port 1
   Plug in 3.5mm TRS/TRRS headphones to monitor.

6. Monitoring Mode Switch
   Switch monitoring mode. In direct monitoring mono mode, the monitoring audio is mono; In direct monitoring stereo mode, the monitoring audio is stereo (IN1 stands for the left channel and IN2 the right channel); In direct monitoring mode, AD5 will route the audio signals from IN1/2 directly to the monitor outputs and headphones with zero latency. In input monitoring mode, audio signals from IN1/2 will be routed to the DAW software and then to the monitor outputs and headphones with mixed audio, which will cause a delay in monitoring.

7. Loopback Switch
   Loopback uses the ‘virtual’ inputs, which have no physical connectors on the audio interface itself but can directly route the digital signal streams back to DAW software, it can capture all the audio signals from your computer(e.g., the audio signal output from a web browser) to input to the audio interface.
   Short press to turn on/of Loopback. When Loopback is on, AD5 will output audio signals both from IN1/2 and USB-C ports; When Loopback is o, AD5 will output
   audio signals from IN1/2 ports.
   Loopback only affects the audio output of the USB-C port, not the 3.5mm port.

8. Monitoring Volume Control Knob
   In Recording mode, to adjust monitor volume level of the 3.5mm ports; In Streaming mode, to adjust monitor volume level of the 3.5mm and Line Output ports.

Back Panel:

1. Power/Language Switch Button
   Long press to turn on/off; short press to switch the language of AD5
   between Chinese and English.

2. USB-C Charging Port
   Users can charge AD5 through the 2 in 1 cable.

3. USB Port 1/2
   To connect phones/computers to input/output audio signals via the 2 in 1 audio cable. Phones/computers can route audio singals to AD5 and AD5 can achieve the digital output of audio signals from both phones/computers and IN1/2.

4. 3.5mm Port 1/2
   To connect phones to input/output audio signals via the 3.5mm TRRS-TRRS audio cable. Phones can route audio signals to AD5 and AD5 can achieve analog output of the audio signals from phones and IN1/2. The 3.5mm port can capture all the audio signals from your phone(e.g., the audio signal from a guest on the phone) to AD5. The audio signal from the phone won’t be routed back. Thus the guest on the phone can hear the whole podcast mix, but without their own voice. This type of mix is
   known as ‘mix-minus’.

5. 3.5mm Monitoring Port 2
   Plug in 3.5mm TRS/TRRS headphones to monitor.

6. Line Output Port
   Connect to the monitor speakers, L means the left channel and R the right channel.

7. Reset Hole
   If the device cannot be charged or is unable to function, insert the reset pin into the reset hole to reset it.

Screen Display:

Installation and Usage

Devices Connection
Users can connect the corresponding devices to the audio interface referring to the following pictures：

1. Connect microphones/ instruments
   Connect 6.35mm TRS instrument/XLR microphone to AD5 via the input ports IN1/2. In Recording mode, IN1 stands for the left channel, IN2 the right channel; when using a microphone powered by 48V phantom power, please turn on the 48V phantom power; when connecting to a Hi-Z instrument like an electric guitar/bass, it’s necessary to enable the Inst switch to achieve better input effects; adjust the preamp gain for the input singals of IN1/2 via gain control kn b.
   1. When connecting/disconnecting microphones to AD5, please set the gain of AD5 to the minimum before turning on/off 48V Phantom power/inst switch to avoid damaging the devices.
   2. When connecting devices not requiring 48V phantom power/high inpedance to IN1/2 port, please make sure to turn off 48V phantom power/inst switch.

2. Connect mobile phones/computers
   Users can connect mobile phones/computers to AD5 through the USB-C/3.5mm ports for audio signals input/output. Audio signals such as music from the computers/phones can be routed to AD5, and AD5 outputs audio signals to phone/computer.

3. Connect monitoring headphones
   Users can connect the headphones to the 3.5mm monitoring port1/2 of AD5, adjust the monitoring volume level through the monitoring volume control knob.

4. Connect the monitor speaker
   Monitor speakers can be connected to AD5 via the two 6.35mm Line Output ports.

DAW Software Setting

When recording with Digital Audio Workshop, please follow the instructions below to set up (Take Cubase and Pro Tools as examples.).
Cubase

1. Please download and install the driver ASIO4ALL in advance;
2. Connect AD5 to the computer, open Cubase, and create a new project;
3. Click ‘Devices – Device Setup’;
4.  Select ‘VST Audio System – ASIO4ALL v2’;
5. Click ‘ASIO4ALL v2 – Control Panel’ to activate the ‘Comica_AD5-USB 1’ or ‘Comica_AD5-USB 2’ input/output port (click to lighten the power and play icons);
6. Add a new audio track in the Cubase, click the ‘Record’ icon to start recording, and click the ‘Monitor’ icon to achieve input monitor.

ProTools

1. Please download and install the driver ASIO4ALL in advance;
2. Connect AD5 to the computer, open ProTools, and create a new project;
3. Click ‘Setup- Playback Engine’, and choose ‘ASIO4ALL v2’;
4. Click ‘Setup – Hardware – ASIO4ALL v2 -Launch Setup App’ to activate the ‘Comica_AD5-USB 1’ or ‘Comica_AD5-USB 2’ input/output port (click to lighten the power and play icons);
5. Add a new audio track using key combo ‘Ctrl+Shift+N’;
6. Click the ‘Record’ icon to start recording, and click the ‘Monitor’ icon to achieve input monitor.
   1. If ‘Comica_AD5-USB 1’ or ‘Comica_AD5-USB 2’ cannot be found on the software, please make sure that AD5 is connected to the computer and open the sound settings in the computer to see if AD5 has been set as the default output device of the computer.
   2. When direct monitoring mode is on, please turn off the “Monitor” of the DAW software, otherwise you will hear both the audio signal you’re monitoring and the echo effect the signal coming back from the DAW software; when input monitoring mode is on, please turn on the “Monitor” of the DAW software, in which case users can hear the audios edited by the DAW software.

Specifications

Interface

Input Interface| 2 x XLR/6.35mm
Digital Interface| 2 x USB-C
Analog Interface| 2 x 3.5mm
Line Output Interface| 2 x 6.35mm
Monitoring Interface| 2 x 3.5mm
Audio Resolution
Sampling Rate| 48kHz
Bit Depth| 24bit
Microphone Input
Dynamic Range| 100dB(A-weighted,as per IEC651)
Frequency Response| 20Hz – 20kHz, ±0.1dB
THD+N| 0.003%, 1kHz, -3dBFS, 22Hz/22kHz BPF
Equivalent Noise| -128dBu(A-weighted,as per IEC651)
Input Impedance| 5k0
Microphone Input Maximum Level| -2dBu
Preamp Gain Range| 6dB – 65dB
Instrument Input

Dynamic Range| 100dB(A-weighted,as per IEC651)
Frequency Response| 20Hz – 20kHz, ±0.1dB
THD-FN| 0.003%, 1kHz, -3dBFS, 22Hz/22kHz BPF
Equivalent Noise| -128dBu(A-weighted,as per IEC651)
Input Impedance| 50k0
Instrument Input Maximum Level| 4dBu
Preamp Gain Range| 0 – 60dB
Line Output(Balanced)
Dynamic Range| 100dB(A-weighted,as per IEC651)
Frequency Response| 20Hz – 20kHz, ±1dB
Output Impedance| 6000
Line Output Maximum Level| 4dBu
Headphone Output
Dynamic Range| 100dB(A-weighted,as per IEC651)
Frequency Response| 20Hz – 20kHz, ±1dB
Output Impedance| 30
Headphone Output Maximum Level| 4dBu
Others

Battery| Polymer Lithium Battery 3000mAh 3.7V
Operating Time| 6 Hours
Charging Specification| USB-C 5V2A
Phantom Power Output| 48V
Net Weight| 470g
Dimension| 170 x 85 x 61mm
Working Temperature| 0 C — 50 C
Storage Temperature| -20 C — 60 C

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