Quad Cortex - Phantom power protection on Outputs 1-2?

Quad Cortex
1

Does the Quad Cortex have any kind of transformers or other protection on Outputs 1-2? I’d like to run balanced out and I’m concerned that a venue might accidentally have phantom power running. Or has anyone else had this happen yet?

2

I’m wondering the same thing - starting to gig with it this week and keen to know if I’m risking damage unless I get some kind of buffer between the output and the desk.

3

I don’t know if there’s protection or not, but I’ve had phantom inadvertently run to mine multiple times without problem.

4

I asked the question to support since my mixer has phantom power that can’t be turned off. The response was that it does have protection but they don’t recommend doing it. It may also change your tone some. I decided if I’m running into that mixer to use 1/4 in connections or run xlr direct to the PA speaker.

5

Thanks everyone. I just spoke to someone at GuitarGuitar in Glasgow, where I got my QC from, and he said the same thing - it has protection, and it shouldn’t damage the unit but it sounds awful when phantom is being sent to it.

6

Can we get someone from neural to confirm whether phantom power is safe? I’d really like to not be concerned about this gigging. Seems to be an open question everywhere and the manual doesn’t say

@M_NDSP

7

I know this is an old thread, but I requested info from N-DSP Customer Support, and am posting the response for info:-

Question asked
"… and the mixing desk provides global phantom power to all channels - this cannot be turned off for any individual channel(s).

I want to connect to the mixing desk directly, using XLR cables ( the primary and preferred method), or by using a 1/4" → XLR adapter, and then XLR cables running to the desk (not a preferred method). Connecting using the XLR cables direct, would mean there is then phantom power on those cables, and would then be applied to the Quad Cortex when I connect the cable to the QC outputs.

Will this phantom power be an issue?
Will it, or could it, cause any damage to the Quad Cortex?
Will it, or could it, cause any noise to be generated in the Quad Cortex output signal?
Will it, or could it, cause the output amplifiers to be activated at any time, and thereby create any unwanted noise?

I have searched this question in a number of places and could not find any definitive information, so am hoping you can help."

Response received from N-DSP Customer Support:-

"Thanks for reaching out.

*Providing 48v to the outputs should be safe as Quad Cortex is protected if phantom power is accidentally applied to them. This is valid for all analog outputs. *

However, since the quality of external devices and electrical environments could vary case by case, we always recommend that the users check first and take care not to apply phantom power to the unit.

You should expect the unit to be safe as long as the mixing desk is in good condition. You should not experience any noise-related problems either.

Hope this information is useful. Thanks!"

Hope this helps

8

Answers in line…

9

Thanks for taking the time to reply, although I wasn’t looking for it or expecting it.

My intention was to try to provide the definitive response from N-DSP on this topic, which was the italics reply above (and thankfully, it aligns with your responses).

Concerning output amplifiers, I have seen comment on another forum (not related to QC) that an MFX pedal generated sound when turned off, because the phantom power was activating/powering amplifiers in the output section/circuit within the pedal (my non-technical interpretation and memory of what they said), But based on the N-DSP Customer Service response above, this isn’t an issue here.

10

Yea, shouldn’t be an issue although the QC is well known to be noisy when switched off which iirc stems from the ground lift rather than phantom power. Hope somebody else can shed more light on this…