TC Electronic Finalizer Express

Product Description

Based upon TC's Multi-Award winning Finalizer Mastering Technology, the TCE Finalizer Express delivers the finishing touches of clarity, warmth, and punch to your mixes, putting the world of professional mastering within your reach.

Insert the Finalizer Express between the stereo output of your mixer or workstation and your mastering recording media to refine your tracks with powerful mastering tools, adding real energy to your mix without worrying about "overs."

Punch up your mix with the fast intuitive user-interface and deliver the ultimate sound quality you deserve--quick and clean. Spectral balance is improved, bass is tightened, the level is optimized and your mix sounds like a final master.

Punch Up

Insert the Finalizer Express between the stereo output of your mixer or workstation and your master recording media to refine your tracks with powerful mastering tools, adding real energy to the mix without worrying about "overs." Punch up your mix with the fast, intuitive user interface and deliver the ultimate sound quality you deserve--quick and clean. Spectral balance is improved, bass is tightened, the level is optimized and your mix sounds like a finished CD...it's that simple.

Main Features

- Bring your mixes to life with TC's unique Multi-band Compressor and Limiter algorithms
- Boost and cut over 3 bands with the Spectral Balance Controls
- Prevent "overs" from occurring with Soft Clipping
- Foresee incoming peaks with Look Ahead Delay, allowing for faster, more accurate response
- Use the Finalize Matrix for 25 variations in style and rate
- Optimize your overall level with the Automatic Make-Up Gain
- Add extra compression in each band by using the Emphasis keys
- Record your fades from the built in Digital Fader or the optional TC Master Fader via MIDI

Other Features

- 24-bit resolution A/D and D/A converters
- 16- and 20-bit dithering
- Industry standard connectivity: AES/EBU, S/PDIF, Optical Tos-link, and MIDI I/Os
- High Resolution LED Metering of I/O and multi-band gain reduction

Really Fast

Acquiring a piece of high-quality 24-bit digital equipment often means hours of manual reading, keeping you away from the main focus point of your work. With the Finalizer Express, you plug it in and you're on the fast track to a great sounding mix.

Express Yourself

The Finalizer Express combines the advantages of analog and digital equipment to bring intuition and creative flow into your work. With the aid of an analog style interface and TC's proprietary dynamics processing technology inside, your ideas come to life at the very moment you create them.

Advanced Technology

With TC Electronics' award winning multi-band compression technology, you are actually equalizing your track with selective compression, adding real energy and clarity into the mix without having to worry about "overs." The Finalizer Express delivers the "no compromise" audio quality your mixes deserve. If you are working either in the analog or the digital domain the Express has you covered with: 24 bit A/D & D/As, AES/EBU, SPDIF, and Tos-link I/Os.

Fast and Simple Power

Power up the Finalizer Express by pressing this button. Holding it down for more than three seconds turns the Express off and prevents sudden accidental power downs that could damage your precious equipment.

Connecting the Finalizer Express

Finalize
Welcome to the heart of the Finalizer Express. You select which style of compression you need and how you want it to work with the adjust cursor keys. Move the LED to the lower left corner to use very subtle dynamics processing or to the upper right light corner for the heaviest and fullest dynamics processing you can imagine. Then there is everything in between--you have complete control.

Select Input
Select analog balanced XLR input or digital input via AES/EBU, S/PDIF, or Tos-link with a single touch of this button.

Analog Level
Set the analog input level to fit your source.

Meters
This section gives you a clear readout of what is happening inside the Express e.g. how hot are your input, output, soft-clipping, and compression levels.

Normalize Soft-clip
Turned on when lit. This section emulates the input stage of analog preamplifiers, giving you that sought after analog sounding soft saturation that adds warmth to your signal.

Gain
Gain immediate control over your input and output levels using gain.

Look Ahead Delay
Press this button to make the Finalizer Express process your signal even more smoothly. By 'Looking Ahead' and foreseeing any unwanted peak or transient information the Finalizer Express is prepared to control the level at the exact moment the anomoly occurs.

Soft-clip
With the output soft-clipper on, you can emulate the sound and feel of analog equipment, while retaining all the advantages of staying inside the Digital domain.

MIDI Channel
Press these 2 buttons and use the arrow buttons to select which MIDI channel you wish the Finalizer Express to send and receive from. It is especially useful when controlling a master fade with a sequencer.

Spectral Balance
This is the EQ section that will allow you to adjust the spectral balance of your signal. The Emphasis buttons affect the band that corresponds to the knob below for adjusting the low, mid, and high-end frequencies.

Fade in/Fade out
Control your fades using the Fader knob, a remote Master Fader, or a MIDI sequencer. The Express also transmits Fader values via MIDI, so you can record a fade with a sequencer and play it back later, (controlling the fade via MIDI), any way you like.

Output
The Bypass button gives you the ability to hear the enhancements the Finalizer Express adds to your signal. Bypass and listen, compare the two, and adjust the Finalized signal to give you exactly what your mix needs.

Analog out
From -26 to +6dB, the Knob in this section lets you turn your analog out level up or down quickly and easily. The clear numbering actually tells you exactly what level is coming out of the Finalizer Express. zZounds is an authorized dealer of TC Electronic and TC-Helicon products.

Digital Inputs and Outputs
- Connectors: XLR (AES/EBU)
- RCA Phono (S/PDIF)
- Optical (Tos-link)
- Formats: AES/EBU (24-bit), S/PDIF(20-bit), EIAJ CP-340, IEC 958, EIAJ Optical (Tos-link)
- Output Dither: HPF TPDF dither 16-, 20-, and 24-bit
- Sample Rates: 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz
- Processing Delay: 0.2 ms @ 48 kHz
- Frequency Response DIO: DC to 23,9 kHz +/- 0,01 dB @ 48 kHz
- Compressor THD+N: 20 Hz to 20 kHz

Analog Inputs
- Connectors: XLR balanced (pin 2 hot)
- Impedance: 20 kohm
- Max. input level: +22dBu (balanced)
- Min input level (for dBFS): -10 dBu
- Sensitivity: @ 12 dB headroom: -22 dBu to +10 dBu
- A to D Conversion: 24-bit (1 bit, 128 times oversampling)
- A to D Delay: 0.8 ms @ 48 kHz
- Dynamic Range: >103 dB (unweighted), >106 dB (A)
- THD: -95 dB (0.0018%) @ 1 kHz, -6 dBFS (FS @+16 dBu)
- Frequency Response: 10 Hz to 20 kHz: +/- 0.2 dB
- Crosstalk: <-80 dB, 10 Hz to 20 kHz typical -100 dB @ 1 kHz

Analog Outputs
- Connectors: XLR balanced (pin 2 hot)
- Impedance: 100 ohm (active transformer)
- Max. Output Level: +22 dBu (balanced)
- Full Scale Output Range: -10 dBu to +22 dBu
- D to A Conversion: 24-bit (1 bit, 128 times oversampling)
- D to A Delay: 0.57 ms @ 48 kHz
- Dynamic Range: >100 dB (unweighted) >104 dB(A)
- THD: -86 dB (0.005 %) @ 1 kHz -6 dBFS (FS @ +16 dBu)
- Frequency Response: 10 Hz to 20 kHz: +0/-0.5 dB
- Crosstalk: <-60 dB, 10 Hz to 20 kHz typical 90 dB @ 1 kHz EMC
- Complies with: EN 55103-1 and EN 55103-2, FCC part 15, Class B, CISPR 22, Class B Safety
- Certified to: IEC 65, EN 60065, UL 1419, CSA E65

Environment
- Operating Temperature: 32 degrees F to 122 degress F (0 degrees C to 50 degrees C)
- Storage Temperature: -22 degrees F to 167 degrees F (-30 degrees C to 70 degrees C)
- Humidity: Max. 90 % non-condensing

PCMCIA Interface
- Connectors: PC Card, 68 pin type 1 cards
- Standards: PCMCIA 2.0, JEIDA 4.0
- Card format: Supports up to 2 MB SRAM

Control Interface
- MIDI: In/Out/Thru: 5 Pin DIN
- GPI, Pedal, Fader: Phone jack, 0 ohm to 50 kohm

General
- Finish: Anodized aluminum front
- Plated and painted steel chassis
- Dimensions: 19 x 1.75 x 8.2 in. (483 x 44 x 208mm)
- Weight: 5.2 lbs. (2.35 kg)
- Mains Voltage: 100 to 240 VAC, 50 to 60 Hz (auto-select)
- Power Consumption: <20 W
- Backup Battery Life: >10 years

Dimensions and Weight in Packaging

Base Item

Shipping Weight: 7 lbs

Shipping Dimensions: 23 x 11 x 5 in