Connecting The Tm500 - Samson TM 500 Owner's Manual

Connecting the TM500

The actual connections you'll make to and from the TM500 will vary according to the
environment you use it in and the particular equipment you have. Here are a few basic
rules concerning TM500 connections that will apply in most situations:
• In general, it's best to make all connections with the TM500 turned off. If you must
make connections with the power on, make sure that all faders are completely down
(at their " " position). If the TM500 is connected to any external power amplifiers,
turn them off first. Wait a few seconds for their power supplies to discharge and
then turn off all other connected equipment, turning the TM500 off last.
• Try to use balanced connectors and cabling wherever possible. These kind of
connections do a better job of rejecting extraneous noise and hum and generally
provide a cleaner signal. Although the TM500 will accept unbalanced connectors
throughout, it specifically provides electronically balanced inputs for all mono
channel line inputs. The wiring diagram below shows how 1/4" TRS
(Tip/Ring/Sleeve) connectors should be wired:
SLEEVE
TIP
RING
XLR connectors for mono channel mic-level inputs should be wired as follows:
3 - SIGNAL
1 GROUND
2 + SIGNAL
Unbalanced cables use standard 1/4" phone connectors, wired as follows:
+ SIGNAL
GROUND
• Always make one connection at a time and then monitor the incoming signal. If you
hear a distinct hum or buzz, you may have a grounding problem with that particular
device. See the "Grounding Techniques" section on page 16 in this manual for
information on how to avoid grounding problems.
• NEVER connect a microphone and line level input to the same channel
simultaneously—use one or the other. You can have some channels connected to
microphones and others to line level signals (for example, you might want to plug
mics into channels 1 - 4 and line level signals into the remaining channels)—just
don't have both kinds of inputs connected to the same channel.
• There are two "hidden" (or at least not so obvious) stereo inputs to the TM500; these
are the Auxiliary returns. Use these whenever you want to bring in stereo signals
that will not need to be equalized or otherwise processed.
• Channel and Main insert cables (sometimes called "Y-cords") should terminate in
standard 1/4" TRS jacks (ring to send and tip to return), wired as follows:
TIP (RETURN)
RING (SEND)
SLEEVE (GROUND)
12
TIP +
GROUND
RING -
T
TO MIC
+ SIGNAL
GROUND