Thermionic Culture THE PHOENIX SB Stereo valve compressor User Manual

Page 5

Standby and metering

The Standby switch is provided to extend valve and
capacitor life. When the Phoenix is on 'standby' the HT
current through the valves is less than 50% of normal. The
meters, which read the current through the input valves, will
be at about half full scale. Always have the switch up (red
light on) when switching on from cold and leave for at least
20 seconds before switching down. Once switched on its
best left on all day, but switch to standby if not actually being
used. It will come back to normal operation instantly.

When warmed up and settled down off standby, the meters
should read '0' for no compression. The meters will vary a
little with mains voltage and may drop as valves age. The
zeros should be adjusted by inserting the tool provided into
the pre-sets between the meters. The meter adjustment
does not affect the performance of the compressor so having
the meters reading exactly '0' is not critical, but its best if
they are the same when compressing a stereo track. The
small screws actually on the meters are only to adjust the
needle so that it is horizontal when the unit is switched off.