Dangerous Music D-Box - Manual (Page 6)

4 | DANGEROUS MUSIC
Front Panel Features & Benefits
1. HEADPHONE JACkS AND LEVEL CONTROL kNOBS
Feature: Two independent, 20 watt headphone amplifiers (1).
Benefit: Tons of
headroom
, to audition intelligibly, make intelligent decisions and drive an inspired performance. Separate
volume knobs to accommodate different users tastes and varying headphone impedances. Please exhibit caution
when selecting a level. (See “
tip
”)
Operation: First choose a source to monitor from, by depressing the appropriate
input select
button (4). Then determine a
moderate listening level via the volume knobs.
Tip:
,
Always start with the level control completely counter clockwise (minimum). The headphone amplifiers are very
powerful and there is no solution for destroyed hearing, even from the pros at Dangerous Music.
2. TALkBACk MIC & LEVEL CONTROL kNOB
Feature: Communicate with the talent via the built-in
talkback mic
directly into their headphones.
Benefit: Avoid figuring out a separate means of communication to the artist (i.e. complicated mic setups) Keep it quick,
easy, and simple.
Operation: Hit the
tb
(talkback) switch (3) to activate this function. Then starting at the minimum, gently increase the volume
utilizing the
level knob
until the sweet spot is achieved. More magic revealed about this switch in the next segment.
(Hint:
momentoggle
.)
Tip:
,
Always start with the level control completely counter-clockwise (minimum). You don’t want to be the cause of
someone’s hearing loss.
Tip:
,
To create an isolated talkback output, choose one of the headphone outputs and turn the volume completely counter-
clockwise. The talkback level is independent of the headphone level.
3A. FuNCTION BuTTONS (TB, MONO, ALT SPkR)
Feature: The
tb
switch (3) injects the microphone into the Headphones.
Benefit: See section 2 and
momentoggle
for more.
Feature: The
mono
switch (3) combines the left and right channels to the monitors.
Benefit: Always check phase by depressing this button. Did things get quieter? Louder? Instruments missing? This is an
indication that left and right are not playing nicely together.
Tip:
,
Many formats are still delivered in mono. Consider television and radio in developing countries. Or what about all
those folks listening to music on their iPhone’s built-in speaker?
Feature: The
alt spkr
switch (3) allows the engineer to switch between two sets of monitors.
Benefit: Every studio should have at least two points of reference. Not all switchers are equal! The D-Box achieves this
noiselessly, without drop outs or phase shift. Remember... every decision you make while tracking and mixing is
affected by your monitor management system. It is the only piece of gear that EVERYTHING goes through.
Tip:
,
Make certain to level match your monitors, so one is not louder, since humans are often fooled by the “louder is
better” illusion. These adjustments should be made on the monitors themselves.
Feature:
momentoggle
is a feature built into the three function buttons above. It provides either a momentary or latching mode,
at the user’s discretion.