Description
The CLEANBoxPro provides two channels of unbalanced to balanced level conversion and two channels of balanced to unbalanced level conversion in a rugged, compact, and portable unit. Balanced lines offer increased immunity to external electrical noise, such as hum. Since a balanced system minimizes induced noise, it is the preferred method of connecting audio gear, especially when long lengths of cable are used. One section of the CLEANBoxPro converts two channels of consumer-level unbalanced input signals into two channels of pro line-level balanced output signals. It has two RCA jack inputs and a stereo mini-phone jack input connected in parallel. The balanced output feeds two XLR male jacks. The other section of the CLEANBoxPro converts two channels of line-level balanced input signals into two channels of consumer unbalanced output signals. It has two XLR female input jacks. The unbalanced output feeds two RCA jacks and a stereo mini-phone jack connected in parallel. Each section has stereo level controls to optimize signal levels. An LED indicator lights when power is applied.
From the manufacturer
Overview
The CLEANBoxPro provides two channels of unbalanced to balanced level conversion and two channels of balanced to unbalanced level conversion in a rugged, compact, and portable unit. Balanced lines offer increased immunity to external electrical noise, such as hum. Since a balanced system minimizes induced noise, it is the preferred method of connecting audio gear, especially when long lengths of cable are used. One section of the CLEANBoxPro converts two channels of consumer-level unbalanced input signals into two channels of pro line-level balanced output signals. It has two RCA jack inputs and a stereo mini-phone jack input connected in parallel. The balanced output feeds two XLR male jacks.
The other section of the CLEANBoxPro converts two channels of line-level balanced input signals into two channels of consumer unbalanced output signals. It has two XLR female input jacks. The unbalanced output feeds two RCA jacks and a stereo mini-phone jack connected in parallel. Each section has stereo level controls to optimize signal levels. An LED indicator lights when power is applied.
CLEANBoxPro Applications:
- Home or professional recording studios
- Live sound, PA, and permanent installs
- DJ, AV, and consumer HiFi
- Podcasting and broadcasting
- The CLEANBoxPro can be used with: mixers, audio processors, laptop computers, computer sound cards, CD/DVD players, video gaming machines, MP3 player/recorders, powered monitors and digital audio workstations
About Us
ART is a company comprised of musicians, engineers and recording enthusiasts. Since its inception in 1984, we have been striving to redefine the performance versus cost barrier with a series of innovative new audio products designed with the needs of the musician in mind.
With a full line of vacuum tube preamplifiers and compressors that deliver unmatched warmth, tone and character; innovative Graphic Equalizers that actually show you exactly where feedback may occur, and a full complement of cool little useful tools designed for stage and studio, ART offers affordable audio solutions that deliver unmatched quality, tone, versatility and reliability.
On the road, in nightclubs, arenas, recording studios, auditoriums, churches, rehearsal halls, basements or garages, ART products have gained the loyalty of customers worldwide. Our rich history reflects our true passion for music and the creative process.
Reagan Pyle –
Seems decent, but I may be using it wrongI purchased this box for meetings at work so I could run the headphone output on a PC to a 3.5mm>RCA cable into the CLEANbox. Unbalanced to balanced signal. I wanted to then be able to run long distances using the benefits of a balanced signal and XLR cable since we never know the layout of our offsite meetings and sometimes a long cable run is needed. Plus, with a volume knob on the CLEANbox, I thought it might also give the benefit of helping a weak soundcard if the PC headphone output seems low. My issue is, with this CLEANbox XLR (balanced) output plugged into an XLR channel input in the PA using even a short (3 ft or 1m) XLR cable, I get a noticeable hiss/noise/hum out of the passive PA’s speaker when the volume on the CLEANbox is turned up even relatively low (9 o’clock). This happens even if there is no unbalanced input source playing or even plugged in. It will happen when the box itself is the only signal in the chain going to the PA. My assumption is the hum must occur naturally in the CLEANbox. I can equalize and make it work, but if I really need the volume, I’m concerned the hiss will coexist with the higher volume. Perhaps the volume dial on the CLEANbox is just very sensitive. Like I said, with EQ I made it work, but I have not tested at a particularly high volume and I may need that in the future. I have multiple questions. Is this normal? Am I using the CLEANbox correctly? Did I order the wrong product for what I am interested in doing? Is there a product to help supplement the CLEANbox with the issue I am having? Any help is appreciated. Thanks!
Kevin Tisdel –
Good product. Bad customer support.Great product. Does what it needs to do. The customer support through their website is non-existent, though. I sent a message through the customer support link on their page and a week later I havent heard ANYTHING back from them. I figured out the problem myself, but if I hadnt I would have returned the product.
TimmyMcG –
Works great, excellent price!A device intended to increase the voltage of a pre-out from your receiver. I can’t think of a better use for this than to hook up a Pro AMP with a consumer HT Receiver for subwoofer use.Why? That Pro AMP will want a higher level of voltage before it will decide to do anything with it and your HT Receiver doesn’t provide a good amount of voltage on the LFE Pre-Outs without running it super hot.Why don’t you want to run the pre-outs at max? Well a few things can happen; 1 – can cause artifacts in the signal which can affect the sound, 2 – lower the lifespan of the pre-out and 3 – not be enough to drive the external AMP to max power. (#3 is the most important)Why use a Pro AMP? Cheap power for great performance AND most give you DSP (Hooray!).Now, consider this, DSP (Digital Signal Processing) IS important and these don’t provide that but there are products that will provide signal boost and DSP capabilities. They are more expensive but at the same time a better solution than going Boosted Signal -> AMP w/DSP. For an introductory to setting up your HT, going with a CLEANBox Pro -> Pro AMP w/DSP is probably safer, easier and cheaper, maybe just not the best approach.Been using mine for almost 2 years now, honestly I forgot I had it till the other day when I had to move it. My major qualm is the form factor, I know car use was a consideration so smaller sizes are important but for HT use the size is somewhat a pain on initial set up. After that though its fine, still wish I could get it in a bigger box style.The uses for the CLEANBoxPro has been restated many times, figured I’d put in mine! Would I buy again? no, but that’s not against the product itself, I just want something with DSP so I can put a bunch of power amps after it.
Amazon Customer –
Works great, a bit overpricedI needed to connect a balanced output to an unbalanced input with a long cable run. I put this box at the end of the cable near the unbalanced input, and it cuts out all the electrical noise I was getting from the cables.No complaints on the build or sound quality. I feel like the price is a bit much for what you get, but I couldn’t find any cheaper alternatives.
John Canny –
Surprised by the improved sound and reduced noise.I was a little hesitant about this purchase. I was using RCA > XLR cables to connect my AVR to my Crown XLS2502 powering my LR Axiom M60s. It sounded “good”, but I was never blown away by the quality. My main criticism was the amount of noise put out by my amp. The longer I listened the more aware of the noise I became. It was especially audible when listening at night after the fam was asleep when I had to keep the volume down. So, failing to just “live with it” any longer I decided to roll the dice and purchased the ART box and a pair of good XLR cables. After installing and spending about 10 minutes adjusting the gains I must say that it has made a huge difference. The noise is virtually non-existent, barely audible even when I have my ear pressed against the tweeter. I can listen with the volume much higher with less distortion. Overall, the quality is noticably improved with increased detail.
CinemaPete –
Does The JobI needed this unit to resolve an issue with a long cable run of around 30 feet that was picking up hum and interference along the way: I was feeding the left and right channels audio output of an OPPO 205 blu-ray player to the inputs of a Marantz preamp. Unfortunately, the Marantz tube-based preamp does not have balanced inputs, only unbalanced RCA level inputs, so I couldn’t take advantage of the OPPO’s balanced outputs. And unfortunately, I had to place the Marantz far from the OPPO. Using the unbalanced outputs of the OPPO and the long cable run resulted in picking up significant hum from other cables running parallel to the unbalanced RCA cable between the OPPO and the Marantz. One obvious solution was to place both components in close proximity to avoid the long cable run altogether, but unfortunately that is not possible. The ART CLEANBoxPro solved the problem completely: I ran a pair of shielded mic cables from the balanced outputs on the OPPO player into the ART CLEANBoxPro positioned right at the Marantz preamp then used the unbalanced output on the ART to feed into the Marantz’s unbalanced RCA inputs – it completely cleared up the hum and interference issues. Problem solved. However, be aware that the ART inserts a significant thump when powered on so you may want to turn it on first before any power amps are turned on to avoid the thump, and reverse the turn off procedure when turning the equipment off. Other than that issue, the ART is an excellent tool to solve a particular problem.
KennyM –
Excellent and versatile productExcellent and versatile product
Larry S –
I have a terrible ground loop problemI wanted to connect my powered Mackie PA speakers with XLR inputs to my higher-end Onkyo multimedia receiver that has the typical consumer level RCA preamp output jacks. For whatever reasons I have not been able to figure out….I have a terrible ground loop problem. So, I dug out an old Roland direct box with a GROUND LIFT switch and this solved my hum problem perfectly….however….my old Roland box is just for one audio channel. To use both of my Mackie speakers, I purchased this stereo CleanBoxPro. The unit works as advertised but….purchasers should know that this unit has no GROUND LIFT switch. For those of you that simply want to output a computer, ipod or cell phone audio out to a powered speaker with XLR or RCA inputs and have no gound loop issues with your set up….this gadget will work great for you. So…if you have any weird hum problems like I do …. it would be best to find a similar unit with a GROUND LIFT switch. With such a switch….I would have given it five stars. Also….if by chance you are trying to get this two channel device to work with your single channel subwoofer….know that the level control might be channel one or channel two regardless of what input channel you use.
gornr –
Increases audio gain so consumer AVR can drive a Crown amp for home surround sound sub.The subwoofer output from our AVR wouldn’t drive a Crown pro amp to drive a passive subwoofer. This level converter worked perfectly boosting the AVR subwoofer output. Our sub shakes anything not nailed or screwed down! LOL!
P_Espi –
It’s a transparent box and very usefulIt’s a great sounding box and very useful to interface professional balanced gear with unbalanced gear back and forth. Level control is great as it is stereo and not per channel and it has a variety of connectors. I think it is probably the most versatile, transparent converter in the market.