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Speaker Installation
24 M1 ACTIVE REFERENCE MANUAL
1/4” jacks; you may use a TRS-to-TRS balanced phone cable, or an XLR-to-1/4 inch
phone TRS (tip-ring-sleeve) cable, as shown below. The advantage of using an XLR
on the speaker side is that it is a locking connector and cannot be accidentally
disconnected.
NOTE: Use high quality input connectors which conform to industry standard sleeve
dimensions. Some off-brand connectors, particularly cheap 1/4” TRS plugs, do not
provide reliable connections because of slight dimensional differences.
Setting the Input Level control
In most cases, the INPUT LEVEL control should NOT be set at full rotation.
For best system dynamic range, follow the instructions below.
The goal is to set the input level of the M1 Actives for the desired listening level,
when all the rest of the system is at its nominal operating level. “Nominal” means its
normal average level, expecting peaks from 8 to 15 dB above that on occasion. For
the best signal-to-noise ratio, everything before the M1 Active should be as loud as
possible. The M1A’s INPUT LEVEL control, being last in the signal chain, is the
worst place to make up gain lost earlier in the system.
To set the level with a mixer:
1. Turn on all system components (the M1 Actives last) and turn the M1 Active’s
INPUT LEVEL control all the way down.
2. Play program through the mixer and raise the mixer’s fader levels until its meter
averages around “0 VU”.
3. Raise the Control Room Output to its nominal position (usually “2 o’clock” or
3/4 of the way up).
4. On one speaker, raise its INPUT LEVEL CONTROL for a comfortable level in the
engineer’s seat (if you have a sound pressure meter, 85 dB SPL is a common
standard for listening).
5. Match the level for the other speaker. Note that the numbers on the back panel
are only a rough guide; for precise left/right imaging, use pink noise or test
tones and a sound pressure meter.
The Input Level control has a 28 dB range with a center detent. The detent has no
particular meaning, but helps in adding a mental “reference position” when
attempting to set levels from in front of the speaker. With the control at a maximum
clockwise rotation, 2.0 volt input will produce full amplifier output (102 dB SPL “A”
weighted from two speakers at 1 meter).