Gain up to 60 dB
Microphone preamplifier with dynamics
De-esser adjustable from 800 Hz - 10 kHz
Compressor with drive (compression rate) and density (duration) controls
Symmetrical mic and line input
The dbx 286 S has a balanced XLR jack for microphones and a balanced jack input for line level. Input signals can be amplified by up to 60 dB, the level is displayed with four LEDs. Low frequency hum, wind noise and other noise below 80 Hz are effectively filtered with the "High Pass" function. High-quality studio microphones can also be operated with the 48 V phantom power. An insert jack allows external effects devices to be looped in before dynamic processing.
For dynamic processing of the signal, an effective compressor is available for limiting and compression. The gain reduction is indicated by eight LEDs. The de-esser is used to remove unwanted sibilance, two LEDs help for visual control.
The enhancer is an intelligent tone control: "LF-Detail" raises the range around 80 Hz and simultaneously lowers the range around 250 Hz - this gives rich bass without intrusive and mulish low mids. "HF-Detail" not only boosts the high frequencies, but also creates additional harmonics through phase and amplitude changes, which make the sound image sound more present and "shine" more.
The noise gate can be used to remove crosstalk and noise. Two LEDs inform if the set threshold value is under- or exceeded. The gain control adjusts the output level very flexibly to subsequent devices.