Well, we all have skeletons in the closet. I foolishly started a modest music publishing company many decades ago, ran into trouble with it almost immediately, and shut it down before the bleeding became arterial. The journal I advertised in got a bit stiffed on that one, I have to admit. Groceries were on the line, but by the time they weren't, the ship had sailed.I did no work particularly w Henry, but covered him as a journalist before dbx and then some freelance manual writing for videobeam afterward, and he too stiffed me to the tune of $4k, and in that regard was indeed kind of like Aczel. I must sound like a dope as a freelancer .
Hmmm. Jumpering ins and outs for the noise reduction unit loops. I thought also of shorting plugs on unused tape-loop inputs--I'm using the Tape 1 output to go through an ADC to the computer, but not the input. The other two tape loops are populated (I take the computer into the preamp directly--no use case for recording from the computer onto tape, but certainly use cases for sending tape 2 and 3 outputs to tape 1, which is easy on this unit). I'm using the processor 1 output to a headphone amp, but not the other two loops, or the input to that one. "Pre" sends line in or tape monitors to the headphone amp, and "post" ignores it.
I can't quite recall the sequence of events that led me to hear increasing (but low) line-in signal as I switched in EQ loops closer to the line-in plugs, but it suggested to me that the inputs from the EQ loops (left side of the design) might be heard in the line out even when not directly routed to it.
I've only been using it for a week or two though, so I'm still experimenting.
(I loved the line in the manual about using the record selector in lieu of the source selector on the preamp. "We emphasize this because the impulse of most people is the opposite." With my setup, I don't have to do that--when I want to listen to the source directly, I just don't press the tape monitor switch on the preamp--the advantage of a processor loop on the preamp where I put room-correction EQ. The preamp's Record selector feeds the 400x independently from the source selector, making it possible to feed an amp in a different room with a different source.)
It's a powerful piece of equipment! All power tools need care and practice.
Rick "it would take a lot of Advent loudspeakers to pay off a $4000 debt" Denney