Alesis ACTIVE M1 Technical document

Bi-Amplified Studio Reference Monitor
Quick Start Owner’s Manual
Manual de inicio rápido para el usuario
Manuel d’utilisation du propriétaire
Kurzbedienungsanleitung
Manuale rapido di utilizzo
CONTENIDO DE LA CAJA
•DOS MONITORES M1ACTIVE 520 Ó 620
•DOS CABLES DE ALIMENTACIÓN
•ESTA GUÍA DE INICIO RÁPIDO
•INSTRUCCIONES IMPORTANTES DE SEGURIDAD
INHALT DER VERPACKUNG
•ZWEI M1ACTIVE 520 ODER 620 MONITORE
•ZWEI STROMKABEL
•DIESE KURZBEDIENUNGSANLEITUNG
•WICHTIGE SICHERHEITSHINWEISE
CONTENUE DE LA BOÎTE
•DEUX M1 ACTIVE 520 OU 620
•DEUX CÂBLES D'ALIMENTATION
•GUIDE D'UTILISATION SIMPLIFIÉ
•CONSIGNES DE SÉCURITÉ
BOX CONTENTS
•TWO M1ACTIVE 520 OR 620 MONITORS
•TWO POWER CABLES
•THIS QUICK START GUIDE
•IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS
CONTENUTO DELLA CONFEZIONE
•DUE MONITOR M1ACTIVE 520 O 620
•DUE CAVI DI ALIMENTAZIONE
•QUESTO MANUALE
•IMPORTANTI ISTRUZIONI DI SICUREZZA

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1
M1Active 520/620
Quick Start User’s Guide
(English)

2
Introduction
Thanks for choosing the Alesis M1Active 520/620 studio monitor. Alesis has a
long history of making best-selling, high performance studio monitors and the
M1Active 520/620 series builds upon everything we’ve learned from the past.
Our M1Active line of speakers (including the M1Active 520 and its “bigger
brother,” the M1Active 620) were engineered from the ground up to be the
perfect studio monitor. The biamplified design, active crossover, and carefully
matched woofer/tweeter combination ensures perfectly accurate and uncolored
playback of your music. These speakers are like a “sound microscope” that will
allow you to hear every nuance of your mix and help you make better mixes.
We’ve made this quick start guide as short as possible, but please read it carefully.
It teach you how to get the most out of your M1Active monitors.
We hope your new M1Active 520/620s will serve you well for many years.
Sincerely,
The People of Alesis

3
Key Features
M1Active 520 Monitors feature the following:
•75-watt biamplified design with active crossover
•5” Low Frequency woofer for punchy bass and clear midrange
•¾” Silk dome tweeter for smooth highs without ear-fatiguing harshness
•Top mounted power switch/clip light
•Acoustical waveguide for superior imaging and minimal diffraction
•Rear port for deep bass extension and increased loudness
•Acoustic Space switch allows speaker placement in any location
•Magnetic shielding for close placement to TVs and computer monitors
•3 EQ switches to tailor the speaker for any control room environment
•XLR and 1/4” TRS Inputs
M1Active 620 Monitors feature the following:
•100-watt biamplified design with active crossover
•6.5” Low Frequency woofer for punchy bass and clear midrange
•1” Silk dome tweeter for smooth highs without ear-fatiguing harshness
•Top mounted power switch/clip light
•Acoustical waveguide for superior imaging with minimal diffraction
•Rear port for deep bass extension and increased loudness
•1” thick front baffle virtually eliminates speaker resonance
•Acoustic Space switch allows speaker placement in any location
•Magnetic shielding for close placement to TVs and computer monitors
•3 EQ switches to tailor the speaker for any control room environment
•XLR and 1/4” TRS Inputs

4
Product Registration
Please go to http://www.alesis.com and register your M1Active 520/620 speakers.
Registering helps us to keep you up-to-date on any last minute product issues. If
you would like, we can also send you information on other products that might
interest you.
By registering with us, you let us know what products you use (or dream about)
and this helps us bring you better products in the future.

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Front Panel
1. Power Switch/Clip Light- This bar
turns blue when the M1Active 520/620 is
powered up (the power switch is found on
the top of the speaker) and the bar turns
red when the speaker is being overloaded.
2. Acoustic Waveguide- Besides giving
the speaker its devilishly good looks, our
distinctive silver acoustical waveguide helps
spread the tweeter’s high frequency sound
evenly across your control room.
3. Tweeter- Our silk dome tweeter is
designed to handle all frequencies above 3
kHz. This driver was carefully selected
because of its ability to match the woofer
and provide crystal clear sound without
ear-fatiguing harshness.
4. Woofer- The ultra-light, super-stiff
material found in our woofer cone helps
the M1Active 520/620 deliver punchy bass
and solid midrange (even at loud levels)
without distortion.

6
Back Panel
1. TRS Input – This ¼” input accepts
balanced “TRS” or unbalanced “TS”
cables from your mixer, computer, or
any other line level source. Both types
of cabling will work, but we
recommend balanced TRS (or XLR)
cables since they give you better
performance and lower noise
(especially if you’re using longer
cables).
2. XLR Input – This jack functions
exactly the same way as the TRS input
(see above), but it uses balanced XLR
cabling.
3. Gain – This knob sets the input
gain of the speaker. Use this knob to
set a comfortable loudness level for
monitoring.
4. Rear Port – The rear port
augments the bass generated by the
woofer to increase the low frequency
SPL over that of non-ported speakers.
Make sure this hole is not obstructed
since this will adversely affect bass response.
5. Acoustic Space Switch – This switch
compensates for placement near walls and corners.
Please see section titled “About the Acoustic Space
Switch” for more on these settings.
6. Hi Boost – This switch allows you to tailor the
speaker’s high frequency response to your control
room. Please see the section “About the Hi-Boost
Switch” for more about these settings.
7. Mid Boost – This 2-position switch provides a 2.5 dB wide-band boost in the
midrange at 1.8kHz. This has the effect of moving the soundstage “forward”
closer to the mix position. Some engineers prefer to have this boost if the
speakers are positioned farther than a few feet away. We recommend you try
either the boosted “+” or bypassed “0” settings for a few mixes and select
whichever one makes your mixes translate better.
Both XLR and TRS
connectors have been
provided for your
convenience, but please use
only one connection at a time
to avoid overloading the
inputs.

7
8. Lo – This high-pass filter switch lets you pick the point at which the speaker
will roll off low frequencies. Many subwoofers roll off frequencies above 80 Hz,
so if you want to use your M1Active 520/620 speakers with a subwoofer, set this
switch to “80.” If you do not have a subwoofer, leave this set to the lowest
number to let the M1Active 520/620 play its full range of sound.
Alternatively, you may want to hear how your mix will translate on smaller
speakers (such as a TV, or radio). Set this switch to 80Hz or 100Hz (if you have a
subwoofer, turn it off) and you’ll get a sense of how your mix will sound on
smaller speakers with reduced bass output.
9. AC Voltage Selector – This 2-position switch sets the AC input voltage for the
speaker. US users should set this switch to “100-120V” whereas UK and most
European users will need to set this to “220-240V.”
10. AC Input – This jack accepts standard 3-prong IEC power cables. Make sure
your AC Voltage Selector (see item #9 above) is set to the correct voltage for your
country.

8
About the Acoustic Space Switch
The bass response of a speaker is greatly affected by the
speaker’s proximity to walls. You’ll notice a buildup in
bass frequencies as a speaker moves closer to a wall and
even more buildup as the speaker moves closer to a
corner. This happens because low frequencies radiate in
all directions from the speaker cabinet and are reflected
off your walls back into your control room. When this
happens, the reflected sound mixes with the direct
sound of the speaker itself resulting in “reinforced” bass.
We know that most home and project studios are set up under less than ideal
conditions, so we’ve added the Acoustic Space Switch to help you optimize your
speakers to your room.
If your speakers are farther than about 3 feet away from the walls of your studio,
leave this switch set to the default “0” setting. This “full space” setting outputs
bass normally.
If the speaker is up against a wall, set the Acoustic Space Switch to “2.” This
setting is known as “half-space” and compensates for boosted bass due to your
speakers being placed near one wall.
Finally, if your speaker is positioned in a corner, set this switch to “4.” This is
known as a “quarter-space” setting and compensates for placement next to two
walls.
Unlike bass frequencies, midrange
and high frequency sounds are
much more “directional” and only
radiate forward. Because of this,
the Acoustic Space Switch only
deals with bass frequencies—there
is no need for high frequency
com
p
ensation near walls.

9
About the Hi-Boost Switch
This switch engages a 2dB shelving filter starting at 3 kHz that will boost when set
to “+”, cut when set to “-”, and will be bypassed when set to “0.”
If your mixing environment has many acoustically reflective surfaces and sounds
overly “bright,” you can compensate for this by reducing the high frequency
output of the M1Active 520/620. Conversely, if you are mixing in an acoustically
“dead” room with lots of sound absorption and little reflection, you can boost the
high frequency output.
If you’re not sure about your control room, leave this setting to “0,” mix a few
songs, and play those songs in different environments (i.e., your living room, car,
boombox, etc.) Your mixes should fall into one of the following three categories:
1.) Too bright: If your mixes have too much high frequency content and
consistently sound too bright, then set Hi-Boost to “+” because your control
room is acoustically “dead.”
2.) Too dull: If your mixes consistently lack high frequency “sparkle” and sound
“dull” it means your control room is too acoustically reflective and that you
should set your Hi Boost switch to “-.”
3.) Just right! If your mixes translate well, then leave this switch set to “0” since
your control room is well balanced and you don’t need any high frequency
compensation from the speaker.

10
Speaker Placement
The placement of your speakers has a huge impact on how well they will perform
in your studio.
Although nearfield studio monitors (such as these M1Active 520/620s) are
designed to be more forgiving when it comes to placement, you should do your
best to make sure they form an equilateral triangle relative to your head. In other
words, make sure that each speaker is equally distant from both your head as well
as the other speaker. Once each speaker has been placed, rotate the speakers
slightly so that the drivers are pointing toward the engineer.
Take a look at the diagram below. Notice that the distance from the engineer’s
head to each speaker is the same as the distance between the left and right
speakers. Also note that the speakers are turned slightly so that the drivers are
facing the engineer.
This is an ideal setup but if it is not practical (or possible) to do this, try to match
this setup as closely as possible.
Prime Listening Position
The speakers and
listener should be at
the three corners of
a triangle having
equal length sides

11
Speaker Height:
The ideal height for M1Active 520/620 speakers is so that the speaker is parallel
to the ground and that the midpoint of the woofer and tweeter is at ear-height.
The diagram below demonstrates the ideal placement height of the speakers
relative to the engineer. Notice that the engineer’s ears are directly between the
woofer and tweeter.
If possible, use speaker stands and move the monitors off of your desk (or meter
bridge, if you are using a mixer). This usually results in better imaging since the
monitor is decoupled from your desk and there is less chance reflected sound
from the desk (or mixer) reaching your ears and smearing the imaging of your
studio monitors.
W
oofer/tweeter midpoint

12
Speaker Orientation:
The M1Active 520/620 has been designed for maximum flexibility when it comes
to speaker orientation (i.e., whether the speaker is upright or laying down on its
side). For best performance, place the speakers vertically with the tweeter on top.
If this is not practical in your control room, go ahead and lay each speaker on its
side, but make sure the tweeters are on the “inside” and are closer to the engineer.
This will give you the best possible soundstaging for this orientation. Avoid
having the tweeter on the “outside” since the added distance between the tweeters
may result in a “gap” in the middle of your soundstage.
Ideal Orientation
Acceptable Orientation
(
tweeters on the inside
)
Poor Orientation
(
tweeters on the outside
)

13
Hookup Diagrams
The following two hookup diagrams should give you an idea of how your
M1Active speakers can fit into your recording rig.
If you are using a mixer in your studio, your setup will probably be similar to the
one below. All audio is routed through the mixer into your M1Active monitors. If
you wish to record the output of your mixer, you can take the output of the mixer
and send it back to your computer (the diagram below is configured this way).
The M1Active has both XLR and ¼” TRS inputs on the back for maximum
flexibility, but remember to use only one input at a time.

14
For a more portable recording setup without a mixer, you may want to use a
portable USB or Firewire interface. The diagram below illustrates how a portable
setup might look. The interface to the computer via USB and sends audio out to
the speakers through ¼” or XLR cables. Remember that the M1Active will accept
both balanced and unbalanced signals, but we recommend balanced cabling for
best performance.
Note that the M1Active 520/620 is an “active”
loudspeaker with built-in amplifiers for the woofer and
tweeter. This means that you do not need any
additional amplifiers and that the line-level audio output
of your mixer or digital audio workstation should be
connected directly to the speaker.
Do not use an external
amplifier with the M1Active
520 speaker. The speaker
has built-in amplification and
using an external amplifier
could damage the speaker.

15
M1Active 520 Technical Specifications
Woofer: 5” lightweight, magnetically-shielded, ultra-stiff
polypropylene cone with rubber surround and high
power handling voice coil.
Tweeter: ¾” silk dome with magnetic shielding
Frequency Response: 56 Hz – 20 kHz
Crossover Frequency: 2.8 kHz
Signal-to-Noise Ratio: >100 dB below full output, unweighted
Inputs: XLR and ¼” supporting both balanced and
unbalanced cabling.
Polarity: Positive signal on “+” pin creates forward cone
displacement
Input Impedance: 20k ohms balanced or 10k ohms unbalanced
Input Sensitivity: 85 mV noise (pink) produces 90 dB(A) output SPL
at 1 meter. Gain knob turned fully clockwise
(maximum).
Dimensions (W x H x D): 6.5” x 10.5” x 7.75” / 16.5 cm x 26.7 cm x 19.7 cm
Net Weight (each speaker): 13.0 lbs / 6.0 kg

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M1Active 620 Technical Specifications
Woofer: 6 ½” lightweight, magnetically-shielded, ultra-stiff
polypropylene cone with rubber surround and high
power handling voice coil.
Tweeter: 1” silk dome with magnetic shielding
Frequency Response: 49 Hz – 20 kHz
Crossover Frequency: 2.8 kHz
Signal-to-Noise Ratio: >100 dB below full output, unweighted
Inputs: XLR and ¼” supporting both balanced and
unbalanced cabling.
Polarity: Positive signal on “+” pin creates forward cone
displacement
Input Impedance: 20k ohms balanced or 10k ohms unbalanced
Input Sensitivity: 85 mV noise (pink) produces 90 dB(A) output SPL
at 1 meter. Gain knob turned fully clockwise
(maximum).
Dimensions (W x H x D): 8.5” x 15.0” x 10.25” / 21.6 cm x 38.0 cm x 26.0cm
Net Weight (each speaker): 21 lbs / 9.6 kg

17
M1Active 520/620
Guía de inicio rápido del usuario
(Español)

18
Introducción
Gracias por elegir el monitor de estudio Alesis M1Active 520/620. Alesis se
enorgullece de contar con una larga historia de fabricación de los monitores de
estudio de alta performance más vendidos y la serie M1Active 520/620 está
cimentada en todo lo que aprendimos de esta historia.
Nuestra línea de altavoces M1Active (que incluye al M1Active 520 y a su
“hermano mayor”, el M1Active 620) fue diseñada desde la base a fin de lograr el
monitor de estudio perfecto. El diseño biamplificado, el crossover activo y la
combinación woofer/tweeter cuidadosamente adaptada aseguran una
reproducción perfectamente exacta y transparente de su música. Estos altavoces
son como un “microscopio sonoro”, que le permitirá oír todos los matices de su
mezcla y le ayudará a lograr mezclas mejores.
Hemos hecho esta guía de inicio rápido lo más breve posible, pero léala
detenidamente. Le enseñará cómo obtener lo mejor de sus monitores M1Active.
Esperamos que sus nuevos M1Active 520/620s le brinden un excelente servicio
por muchos años.
Atentamente
La Gente de Alesis