500 Series Primary Source Enhancer Delivering the world’s most natural feedback reduction and adding focus to your primary sources, the 545 is a truly unique tool for improving your live sound. Based around the circuitry in the acclaimed Portico 5045 – which has benefited countless tours, arenas, houses of worship and broadcast stages worldwide – the 545 is a mono device for vocal or instrumental applications, and is compatible with any 500-Series rack. Exceptionally useful at reducing feedback without negatively impacting the sonic integrity of the source, the 545 effectively increases the level of a live microphone signal before feedback occurs by up to 20dB. With simply laid out, easily adjustable controls, the 545 is an invaluable addition to any setup where feedback or reverberation are problematic. All Analogue Design The 545 shares some traits with conventional “noise gates”, but operates on a different principle. One common aspect is that both reduce the gain during the absence of signal – or more specifically, both begin to attenuate when the level of a signal falls below a certain user-defined threshold. The 545 senses when someone is speaking or singing into the mic and allows the signal to pass through, and senses when the person has stopped talking or singing and reduces the gain appropriately, reducing the system’s tendency to feed back. Importantly, the 545 does not utilize filtering or digital processing to achieve its significant benefits. Built around Rupert Neve Designs’ custom input and output transformers, its all-analog circuitry provides superb control and sonic performance without compromising the integrity of the source material. This makes the 545 the most intuitive, natural-sounding and effective method of feedback reduction available on the market.
