Portico 5042 er en boks som leverer en helt unik emulering av ekte bånd på grunn av en ekte "tape driver" krets. Når "Tape" ikke er innkoblet, kan man bruke 5042 som en ren linje forsterker av høyeste kvalitet med inntil +/-12db gain. Hvis man kobler inn "Tape" drar man øyeblikkelig kjensel på den nostalgiske avrundingen av lyden og den myke kompresjonen man kun får ved hjelp av bånd. Portico 5042's "Tape Drive" krets sender signalet til et lite magnetisk hode som igjen er koblet til en EQ-behandlet avspillingsforsterker. Det eneste som ikke er der er selve båndet!

Rupert Neve er et velkjent navn for de fleste i lyd- og musikkbransjen. Etter å ha startet flere suksess-bedrifter, inkludert Neve og Focusrite, samt at han en periode lisensierte ut navnet sitt til blant andre Amek, er han nå tilbake med sitt helt egne design og en serie flunkende nye NEVE bokser. Bare det å ha en original Neve i studioet løfter deg opp fra vrimmelen av hjemmestudioer.

 

Portico serien
I byggebransjen er Portico et flott inngangsparti eller dør. Det er også Neves ide med denne serien: det skal være en elegant og solid inngangsport til lydens verden. Hver boks fungerer alene eller sammen som byggeklosser og tilbyr dermed mange av de samme mulighetene som de store konsollmikserne fra gamle dager.

 

 

  
Rupert Neve 5042 Portico "True Tape" Emulation and Line Driver details
The Rupert Neve 5042-H Portico "True Tape" Emulation and Line Driver (Horizontal), winner of the 2006 TEC award for signal processing hardware, provides a remarkable simulation of true tape sound through the inclusion of genuine tape drive circuitry. When the Tape circuit is not engaged, the 5042 may be used as a full, transformer-coupled, high-performance line amplifier that includes a Gain range of + and - 12 dB. The Portico 5042 Two Channel “True Tape” Emulation and Line Driver unit’s emulation circuit provides the nostalgic rounding and compression usually only achieved by the use of tape. This typically offsets the harshness often found in digital recordings. The Portico 5042 incorporates an actual tape drive circuit that feeds a tiny magnetic “head” which, in turn, is coupled to a correctly equalized, replay amplifier. The only thing missing is the tape itself!

 

The Portico 5042 consists of two identical Line Driving amplifiers having transformer balanced inputs and outputs. The sonic quality of these amplifiers is such that, by providing galvanic isolation, simple single-sided circuit topology and freedom from grounding problems they are capable of enhancing the sonic quality of many signal sources, especially those of digital origin. The sonic “signature” is one of extreme purity and the image is consistent with that of Rupert Neve’s original designs of 35-40 years ago.

 

The Portico 5042 host line amplifier has a much higher output level capability than the “tape” circuit embodied within it. The gain of the Record and Replay amplifiers has been adjusted so that with the TRIM control set to 0 dBu, and the ENGAGE TAPE button out, an incoming signal of 0 dBu, will cause the first meter LED to illuminate.

 

Now, with the ENGAGE TAPE button pressed and the SATURATION control at MIN, the same first meter LED will continue to light regardless of whether the meter button is set to INPUT LEVEL or TAPE LEVEL. This is the minimum recommended record level. When the SATURATION control is rotated to MAX, this is the maximum recommended record level.

 

An input signal level that is appreciably below 0 dBu (the 0 dB LED on the meter not lighting at all), for example, if you are feeding the Portico 5042 from a consumer Hi-Fi source, the tape effect still works but you might have to make up gain elsewhere in your system. Of course this would tend to bring up noise, just as it would on a real tape recorder.

 

If the incoming signal is low, (for example from a consumer Hi-Fi source), it is recommended that you rotate the TRIM control clockwise to bring the incoming signal level up to the point where the first, or LINE UP LED is just illuminated. However, with the meter switched to TAPE LEVEL, when you rotate the SATURATION control clockwise the TAPE LEVEL meter progressively illuminates. At MAX, with an incoming 0 dBu signal, the Tape circuit is running just below clipping point.

 

MAIN OUTPUTS The main output signals come from the output transformer secondary which is balanced and ground free. A ground-free connection ensures virtual freedom from hum and radio frequency interference due to ground loops. Ideally the output of this module should be fed to a balanced destination such as the input to another Portico module or one of the many high quality vintage modules still in current use. The main outputs may be used with one leg grounded without any change in performance.
Maximum output level of the Portico 5042 is + 25 dBu, which provides a large margin over and above the likely maximum requirement of any destination equipment to which the Portico 5042 is connected.