The SPL Analog Elector Preamp is based on the Director Mk2 and designed as a pure analog preamplifier. It features a total of six analog inputs. Three of which are balanced with XLR connectors. The Elector is equipped with the big remote controllable aluminum volume control with marker LED and two mechanical VU meters. External audio processors or analog tape machines can be inserted in the Tape Monitor loop.
Volume
Volume is controlled in the 120 V rail VOLTAiR volume stage and an ALPS RK27 "Big Blue" potentiometer with excellent feeling and channel matching. Being motorized Volume can be remotely controlled. Please refer to the chapter "Remote Control" for more information.
AMP CTL
Up to two power amplifiers can be wire-linked and triggered for simultaneously switching power on/off with the Elector. To achieve this connect the AMP CTL sockets with 3.5 mm mono-jack cables to the power amplifier. The Elector sends out a 12 V trigger voltage on the sockets A & B to switch one or two stereo amps or two mono blocks on and off.
Remote Control
Volume can be remotely controlled using any existing infra-red (IR) remote control. The cool part is that the Elector learns the remote commands. Take, for example, the remote control of the CD player. Out of the many buttons there are mostly two you hardly use if at all and which do not directly trigger a function on the CD player. Assign Volume Up / Volume Down to two buttons and let the Elector learn them. The procedures are described in the manual and in the video "Learning Remote Control".
VU METERS
The two VU meters display the source's level. It's mechanical design 'slows' the measurement, averaging out peaks of short duration, and reflects thereby more the perceived loudness or 'energy'.
VU means Volume Units. A typical VU meter shows a range of -20 dB to +3 dB. The VUs go slightly above +5 dB. A mastered CD can produce much higher levels depending on the settings of the DA converter which would glue the needles to the right side.
To prevent this the VU toggle switch set to position 6 shows a dB value with the needle pointing at 0 of +6 dB. Set to position 12 the value is +12 dB when the needle points at 0.
With the VU switch set to +12 dB the VU meter can display levels slightly above +17 dB. If the needle goes beyond that it does not indicated that the Elector is clipping. Thanks to the VOLTAiR technology there is still more than 15 dB headroom.
Tape Monitor
In the 70s and 80s cassette recorders were very popular and a hifi equipment used to offer a tape monitor function. Later this feature went away, but fans of recording and processing found the lack of this feature in today's preamps being a real drawback.
Well, this feature is re-introduced in the Elector. It is possible again to insert a tape machine and to listen back while recording (tape monitoring) or to insert beloved equalizers or other processing devices to room-EQ or to tune sound.
On the rear of the unit is a level calibration switch besides the tape send and tape return sockets. Consumer tape machines, cassette desks or consumer equalizers may clip when being exposed to the levels that the Elector easily handles. To prevent peaks and distortion this switch reduces the outgoing level by 10 dB and lifts it again by 10 dB when coming back into the Elector. Thereby no level difference will be audible and your gear performs on level it can handle.