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HS-550 Audio Inputs, Levels, and Meters
Audio Monitoring
For output audio monitoring with headphones, set the rotary headphone volume control knob to the center. (4.); to
monitor through an amplifier and speakers, push the MASTER fader to -12 in the Audio Faders (1.) section.
Audio Input Level Calibration Procedure
The first step in setting up the audio for a session with your SE-500 consists of adjusting the levels on which
channel you will be using. Slide the Master fader to Max, and set the other faders to 0. Then, listening to the audio
and watching the Audio Level Meters (see below), set the level with the fader so that the sound is consistently at
between +0 dB (green LED) and +8 dB (yellow LED) and just barely peaks occasionally to +10 dB (red LED). The
idea is to avoid any audible distortion (clipping), caused by making the signal level too high at this stage.
Three faders on the left represent the input volumes (CH-1, CH-2, AUX), which determine what signals are
present at the Main Output. If any of the faders are all the way down, there will be no audio from that input
channel heard at the output.
These faders correspond with each input and control the relative volume of each input in the master output as
well as the master output level. When the faders are set to 0, they pass the audio signal through at the same level
it was at when it entered this bus. You can increase or decrease the volume of each channel by moving the fader
up or down.
These meters show the audio signal level at the Main output. The strength of any audio signal that is routed to the
output will be displayed here. As mentioned above, these meters play a vital part in correctly setting the audio
levels to avoid clipping or other distortion. You'll notice that the LEDs are green up through the +0 dB level, turn
yellow at +4 dB, and turn red at +10 dB. As you set the audio level for each input, make sure that the signal peaks
to +8 dB or very occasionally to +10 dB. Every time the signal goes to +12 dB, it will be distorted.
Use the Headphone section to accurately monitor with the "Master" volume output. In
many cases, headphones may be a more useful and accurate choice than speakers
for audio monitoring. For example, in a noisy club or at a concert, you won't be able to
hear any additional sound coming through speakers. Headphones will also more
accurately reproduce the sound you wish to monitor at a lower cost than speakers.
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