286A (discontinued)

Mic Pre-Amp Processor

286A
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The dbx® 286A's Mic Preamp and Five processors can be used independently or in any combination. Why mic up vocals and instruments through a noisy, blurry mixer? The dbx 286A's sonically pristine Mic Preamp has all the features you need, including wide-ranging input gain control, switchable 48V phantom power and an 80Hz high-pass filter. Use the 286A's newly designed and patented OverEasy® Compressor to transparently smooth out uneven acoustic tracks or deliver that classic "in your face" rock vocal. Take out vocal sibilance and high frequency distortion in cymbals with the 286A's frequency tunable De-Esser. Fine-tune the Enhancer's HF Detail control to add sparkle and crispness to tracks. LF Detail control adds fullness and depth to vocals and bass instruments while simultaneously cleaning up muddy low midrange frequencies. And, the Expander/Gate's separate threshold and ratio controls allow you to subtly reduce headphone leakage or radically gate noisy guitar amps.

The dbx® 286A's full complement of metering and status LEDs visually guide you to achieving the right sound. The floating balanced XLR mic input accepts balanced or unbalanced inputs. An additional 14" TRS phone jack can accept balanced/ unbalanced line signals to process live electronic instruments or pre-recorded tracks at mixdown. An insert jack between the 286A's Mic Preamp and signal processing sections can be used to "loop out" to external processors (such as EQ) or to mix the Mic Preamp's signal out to an external destination.

The cost and hassle of patching together multiple processors for use on one track can be frustrating. The dbx® 286A gives you all the tools you'll need in one box, with the shortest signal path to help keep your music sounding clean.

Recommended for: Studio.

Features

  • New dbx® standard internal power supply
  • Frequency control for De-Esser
  • Expanded meter to show heavy De-Essing
  • Above/Below threshold indicator for gate
  • +48VDC Phantom Power
  • Precision detented controls

Downloads

  Version Language Size Uploaded
file type icon 286A CAD drawing front
en updated: Mar 2024
  en  166 KB Mar 2024
file type icon 286A CAD drawing rear
en updated: Mar 2024
  en  208 KB Mar 2024
file type icon 286A Cut Sheet-English
en updated: Mar 2024
  en  241 KB Mar 2024
file type icon 286A Owner's Manual-English
en updated: Mar 2024
  en  1000 KB Mar 2024
Quick Start Guides
file type icon 286A Quickstart Guide
updated: May 2020
    29.5 KB May 2020

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Specifications

Mic Preamp Connector XLR Floating balanced, Pin 2 Hot
Mic Preamp Input Impedance 1.75kΩ
Mic Preamp gain +10dB to +60dB
Mic Preamp Phantom Power +48 V
CMRR >40dB, typically 55dB
Mic Preamp max input level 0.2Vrms
Input Connectors (line) Floating balanced, TIP Hot
Input Impedance (line) 30kΩ unbalanced, 60kΩ balanced
Max Input (line) >+21dBu, balanced or unbalanced
Input Gain Range (line) -20dB to +30 dB
Insert Connector 1/4" TRS: Normalled; tip is Send, ring is Return
Insert Impedance >5kΩ (ring-return); 100Ω (tip-send)
Insert Max Level >+21dBu
Insert Noise <-84dBu, unweighted (20Hz-20kHz)
Insert Distortion <0.01% THD, 20Hz-20kHz, +10dBu
Output Connectors 1/4" Balanced/Unbalanced TRS Connectors
Output Impedance 100Ω unbalanced, 200Ω balanced
Max Output >+21dBu, >+20dBm (600Ω load)
Gain Adjustment Range -30dB to +10dB
Noise <-80dBu (typically -85dBu, unweighted (20Hz-20kHz)
Frequency Response 20Hz to 20kHz, +0.5, -0.5dB
THD <0.08%THD, 20Hz-20kHz, +10dBu, all Processing Controls OFF
Compressor Threshold Range -40dBu to +20dBu
Compressor Threshold Characteristic OverEasy®
Compressor Ratio >4:1 For input levels beyond 20dB above threshold
Max Compression 30dB
Compressor Attack Time Program-dependent; adjustable
Compressor Release Time Program-dependent; adjustable
Compressor Distortion Typically <0.05%THD, 20Hz-20kHz, 15dB G/R, +10dBu Output, DENSITY @ 0
De-esser Characteristic Wideband Gain Reduction
De-esser Frequency Range 800Hz to 10kHz High Pass
De-esser Release Time 12dB/octave Program-Dependent; approximately 1mS/dB
Enhancer HF Detail Characteristic Program-controlled shelving equalizer, approximately 15dB maximum HF boost
Enhancer LF Detail Characteristic Bell-shaped boost @ 80Hz, bell-shaped cut @250Hz, ratio is approximately 2:1
Expander/Gate Threshold Range OFF to +15dBu
Expander/Gate Ratio Adjustable 1.5:1 to 10:1
Expander/Gate Max Depth >50dB
Expander/Gate Attack Time Program-Dependent, approximately 2mS
Expander/Gate Release Time Program-Dependent, approxiamtely 10mS/dB
Expander/Gate Dynamic Range Typically 105dB
Power Consumption 15W
Operating Voltage DO: 120VAC 60Hz, 100VAC 50/60Hz; EU: 230VAC 50/60Hz
Operating Temperature 0°C to 45°C (32°F to 113°F)
Dimensions 1.75" x 5.75" x 19" (4.5cm x 14.6cm x 48.5cm)
Unit Weight 4.68 lbs/2.13 Kgs
Shipping Weight 6.54 lbs/2.97 Kgs

Support/FAQs

286A (discontinued)

Mic Pre-Amp Processor