SPL Sound Performance Lab CHARISMA-2
2 Channel Processor

CHARISMA-2

Charisma is a tube processor designed to improve the power, punch, dynamics as well as the subjective loudness of the signal being processed. Charisma also optimizes the headroom exploitation of digital recording systems by helping to prevent overload while recording. It introduces tonal warmth and a smooth bottom end into digital recording. Charisma represents a solution that exceeds by far the mere simulation of tape saturation - Charisma's tube saturation characteristic can actually be manipulated. The concept of operation is kept simple: each Charisma channel has three potentiometers with which you can drive the tubes (Drive), change the tube saturation characteristic (Charisma) and set the output level (Output).

Drive
The Drive control sets the drive level to the tubes. You have control over the tube's onset of saturation to find the optimum point of processing. The higher the Drive, the more tube harmonics are being generated. At the same time, limiting gets stronger, increasing the density of the tube distortion.

Charisma
This unique control varies the tube saturation sound and allows you to create varying sound characteristics from soft to hard. Creating different tube sounds results in varying harmonic structures, and adjustments in the soft control range bring in the harmonic distortion and the tube limiting very slowly (you can compare this with the soft-knee characteristic of a compressor). In comparison to the hard control range, the soft effect starts off at relatively low levels. The sound becomes smooth and warm, is a little softer, and contains more harmonic distortion than the hard sound. In the hard control range, Charisma operates comparably to the hard-knee characteristic of a compressor. The processing starts with full effect at one point whereupon the signal is sharply limited, and at this point, the sound becomes punchy and crisp. Depending on the selected characteristic and intensities, a readjustment of the Drive control may further emphasize the desired effect.

Output
The Output control sets each channel's output gain to compensate for the level increase when the Drive control has added level to drive the tube circuitry. The bypass switch switches each Charisma channel in and out of processing (hard-bypass), and the bypass switch is labelled according to channel number.

Charisma is equipped with high quality Neutrik TRS stereo jacks for balanced operation. The SSM precision input and output stages feature laser trimmed resistors that make possible common mode rejection of better than 87 dB. Mono-jacks may be used for unbalanced operation without level change - a valuable feature as most desks have unbalanced insert points!

Our Part #  CHARISMA-2CHANNEL