Inputs and outputs
Everything is on the rear — there is nothing on either side of this unit. Click any jack to see what it does and what it costs you.
USB
USB Type BMulti-channel audio interface, and the link to Cortex Control on the desktop.
Type B — the square printer connector, not USB-C. The Nano Cortex uses USB-C, so owning both does not mean owning the right cable. On Windows you also need Neural’s USB Audio Driver installed before Cortex Control will talk to the unit.
Gridleak: read off the unit · Quad Cortex User Manual 4.0.0The cable, the pair, and the supply
USB is Type B
The square printer connector, not USB-C. Owning a Nano Cortex does not mean owning the right cable — that one is USB-C. On Windows you also need Neural's USB Audio Driver before Cortex Control will see the unit at all.
Four outputs means two pairs
OUT 1/L and OUT 2/R are the XLR pair. OUT 3/L and OUT 4/R are the quarter-inch pair. They are not four independent outputs, and a TS cable on the quarter-inch pair halves the voltage — 6 dB you have to add back.
12 V at 3 A is not a pedal supply
Three amps is far more current than most isolated pedalboard supplies deliver on a single outlet. Check the current rating, not just the voltage, before you plan a board around it.
- Sample rate is fixed at 48 kHz
It cannot be changed. If your session runs at 44.1 or 96, the conversion happens outside the unit.
Quad Cortex Wiki: FAQ- IRs are resampled and truncated on upload
Any WAV at 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96 or 192 kHz is accepted, then converted to 48 kHz and resized to 1,024 samples — about 21 ms. A longer IR does not stay longer.
Quad Cortex Wiki: FAQ- Three jacks have no connection sensing
OUT 1/L, OUT 2/R and CAPTURE OUT never change colour in I/O Settings when something is plugged in. Everything else does.
Quad Cortex Wiki: FAQ
If you plug into OUT 1/L, OUT 2/R or CAPTURE OUT and nothing changes colour in I/O Settings, the unit is fine. Those three jacks have no connection sensing. Every other jack does, which is exactly why their silence reads as a fault.