Furman HDS-6 User manual

HEADPHONE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
AND PERSONAL HEADPHONE MIXER
HDS-6 / E
HR-6
HEADPHONE
MONITORING SERIES

HDS-6/HR-6 HEADPHONE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
INTRODUCTION
Thank you for your purchase of a
Furman HDS-6 Headphone Distribution System
and HR-6 Personal Headphone Mixer* – and
congratulations on your choice. We based this
system on our own experiences with major
recording projects and studios. You now own
a headphone system that will make all of your
sessions flow more smoothly.
Please read this manual before using
your HDS-6/HR-6 system.
FEATURES
● Every artist in the studio can have a
personalized headphone mix.
● It’s perfect for tracking, overdubbing
and rehearsal sessions.
● The HDS-6 rackmount distribution
system quickly and easily connects
to any studio console or patch bay. It
provides the interface to drive a chain
of HR-6 personal headphone mixers.
● Each HR-6 remote mixing station
provides each musician five volume
controls: four monaural (for mixer
channels or busses), one for the
stereo mix or stereo effects mix,
and a button to mute all but the
stereo channel.
● Inexpensive Ethernet-CAT5 computer
cables are used to link the HDS-6 to
HR-6s, and HR-6 mixing stations to
other HR-6s.
● The HDS-6 also features an
On-Off switch, power-on LED and a
Signal Overload LED for each chan-
nel. Other features include an LED
to indicate Link Cables Reversed,
Ground Lift switch, signal inputs and
outputs, and HR-6 link connectors.
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*HDS-6 and HR-6 are sold seperately

HDS-6/HR-6 HEADPHONE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
DESCRIPTION
The Furman Headphone Distribution System is
easy to set up, and makes your music sound
great. It provides custom headphone mixes to
a number of people in recording and rehearsal
environments.
The system consists of the rackmount HDS-6
Headphone Distribution System, and one or more
Furman HR-6 Personal Headphone Mixers.
The HDS-6 distribution system is designed spe-
cifically as a low-distortion line driver and power
supply for the most critical listening situations. The
HDS-6 typically connects to a mixing console and
provides both the interface and power to drive a
chain of HR-6 mixing stations. Since the HDS-6
provides signal, power and ground to the HR-6
remote mixers, you don’t have to worry about
locating your HR-6 remote mixing stations near an
AC power outlet.
Up to eight HR-6 mixing stations can be linked to
the HDS-6 (depending on headphone type and
impedance) and multiple HR-6s are easily daisy-
chained. You can even plug two headphones into
one HR-6. Please note that if you do, both head-
phones should be the same brand and model. If
they’re not, their listening levels probably won’t be
the same. Every musician plugged into an HR-6
mixing station can create his or her own custom
mix without assistance from the engineer in the
control room.
The HR-6 mixing station is compact, lightweight
and designed to clamp onto a mic stand. It pro-
vides a volume control for each of its four mono
channels, and a fifth volume control – assigned to
both the left and right – inputs the stereo chan-
nel. The stereo pot will most often be used for the
main control room mix, or for stereo effects from
the console. You can instead choose to use the left
and right inputs on the HDS-6 for two more mixer
channels or busses if you wish. Just remember
that the listening level of both inputs will be con-
trolled by only one volume control.
The HR-6 personal mixer provides another very
useful feature: the “Submixes Included/Excluded”
button. This button mutes the four monaural
channels. This means every HR-6 user can hear
the stereo source only, without having to alter the
HR-6’s four monaural settings. This is very helpful
when all musicians wish to hear playback of a
control-room mix.
CONNECTING THE HDS-6
Since the HDS-6/HR-6 system will be used
most often for studio tracking and playback, it is
designed to be direct-out patchable with mixing
consoles. If your system has a patch bay, we sug-
gest you connect the HDS-6 to it instead of your
console.
The HDS-6 has balanced TRS inputs, so balanced
outputs work best, but standard 1/4" phone-plug
cables will work fine too. Just connect the direct-out
of a mixer channel strip or buss to an input of the
HDS-6 and connect any stereo output of the mixer
to the stereo inputs on the HDS-6. Remember, you
can use the HDS-6 Left-Right stereo inputs for two
more mono channels or busses from your console
if your prefer.
CONNECTING THE HR-6
The HDS-6 connects to an HR-6 with two stan-
dard (10 base-T UTP) Ethernet-CAT5 cables. Two
cables, coded blue and gray and each 25 feet in
length, come with your HR-6; additional cables are
available from Furman.
Please see the following drawings.
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HDS-6/HR-6 HEADPHONE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
LINKING HDS-6 TO HR-6S
The HDS-6 links to your mixer or patch bay via
the six TRS 1/4" phone jacks on the right side of
the HDS-6 rear panel, as shown on the drawing
below. You’ll have four mono jacks for the signals
coming from the direct channel out of the busses
of your mixer and two more jacks for the Left and
Right stereo inputs from your mixer (or two more
mono signals).
The left side of the HDS-6 rear panel provides
two Ethernet-CAT5 cable connectors, labeled
“Blue” and “Gray,” to link the HDS-6 to the fi rst
HR-6 mixer in your chain.
The HR-6 mixing station, shown below, links to
your HDS-6 with the pair of Ethernet-CAT5 cables
you just connected to your HDS-6. Make sure you
connect the “Blue” and “Gray” Ethernet outputs of
the HDS-6 to the “Blue” and “Gray” inputs of the
fi rst HR-6 mixer in your chain. When daisy-chain-
ing HR-6 mixers, be sure to connect the “Blue”
and “Gray” outputs of one HR-6 to the “Blue” and
“Gray” inputs of the next one.
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Rear Panel "Link" Outputs for
the fi rst HR-6 in your chain Rear Panel Balanced Inputs for your Console
Power Switch
Ground Lift Switch
Power Indicator
Level Set Controls
Overload Indicators
Mon/Eff Mix Control
Link Cable Reversed Indicator
HDS-6 CONTROLS
The HDS-6 provides several simple controls and
indicators that make it quick and easy for you to
get optimum performance with your headphones.
First, make sure your console is connected to your
HDS-6 (either directly or through your patch bay)
and is providing a signal to your HDS-6. The HDS-
6 front panel controls are shown in the drawing
above. Just beneath the heading “SUBMIXES”
you’ll see four identical groups of controls and
indicators – one group for each of the HDS-6’s four
mono channels. See the following page for a more
detailed description of the controls.
L
R
CH 2
CH 4
INPUTS
CH 1
CH 3
CAUTION:
TO PREVENT ELECTRICAL SHOCK
DO NOT REMOVE COVER
REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED
PERSONNEL ONLY
N’OUVREZ PAS RISQUE
DE CHOC ELECTRIQUE
L I S T E D
7 Z 3 7
P R O F E S S I O N A L
A U D I O E Q U IP M E N T
AVIS:
GROUND
LIFT
ON
OFF
LINK
TO HR-6 UNITS
GRAYBLUE
120 VAC INPUT
60 HZ
12 WATTS
MADE IN U.S.A.
HDS-6 Rear Panel
HDS-6 Front Panel

HDS-6/HR-6 HEADPHONE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
LEVEL SET Control: This small trim pot controls the
amount of gain the HR-6 applies to the signal from
your console before the signal is sent. The control
is designed to be adjusted by a small screwdriver
to prevent accidental changes of its setting during
tracking or playback. The proper setting of this con-
trol is accomplished with the help of the “Overload”
LED. A white label area is provided for each of the
four mono channels to allow you to write down the
program source from your console. Use a grease
pencil for easy erasability.
OVERLOAD Indicators: To get the best signal-to-
noise ratio and maximum headroom, refer to this
LED while calibrating your HDS-6’s gain controls.
If this red LED is glowing constantly, your HDS-6
gain is set too high. Conversely, if this red LED
doesn’t glow at all, your HDS-6 gain is set too
low. What you want to see is the LED glowing oc-
casionally, on the loudest peaks only.
MON/EFF MIX Control: This trim-type screwdriver
pot controls the gain for the Left-Right stereo
inputs of the HDS-6. Both the Left and Right
program sources are affected identically with
this control. Two OVERLOAD indicators are also
provided for this stereo pair. As with the overload
indicators for each of the HDS-6 four mono chan-
nels, you’ll want to adjust the gain control so that
the LEDs marked “Left” and “Right” are glowing
just some of the time. Also, they should glow at
the same intensity. If you notice that the LEDs
marked “Left” and “Right” are not glowing at the
same intensity, you may need to adjust the output
from your console.
LINK CABLE REVERSED Indicator: As mentioned
earlier, it is necessary to connect the “Blue” and
“Gray” Ethernet cable outputs of the HDS-6 to
the corresponding inputs of the first HR-6 in your
chain of HR-6 mixers, and to follow the same pro-
cedure when daisy-chaining multiple HR-6 mix-
ers. If you accidentally reverse the color-coded
cables when connecting, don’t worry. The LINK
CABLE REVERSED indicator on the HDS-6 will
light up to alert you. Simply reconnect any cables
that are reversed.
POWER Indicator: This front panel LED glows
when the HDS-6 is on.
POWER Switch: It is on the HDS-6 rear panel.
GROUND LIFT Switch: This rear panel switch
takes the audio ground off the chassis ground,
which can prevent buzz or hum caused by ground
loops. This switch does not affect the AC safety
ground of the HDS-6. Under no circumstances
should you ever remove the third prong on your
HDS-6’s AC plug.
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Up to eight
HR-6s can be
daisy chained
depending on
the impedence
of your head-
phones.
(To Mixer Effects Return)
(To HDS-6 Stereo Inputs)