M1Active 520/620 Quick Start User’s Guide (English) 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 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 • .” 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 Product Registration Please go to 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. 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. Back Panel 1. TRS Input – This .” 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. Both XLR and TRS connectors have been Please see section titled “About the Acoustic Space provided for your Switch” for more on these settings. convenience, but please use only one connection at a time to avoid overloading the 6. Hi Boost – This switch allows you to tailor the speaker’s high frequency response to your control inputs. 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...