Samson Q5 Owner's Manual page 8

Setting Up and Using the Q5
6. Repeat step 5 for all connected headphones, making sure to start
with the Channel Output knob completely counterclockwise and then
slowly raising it until the desired level is achieved. If you have
connected different models of headphones to the various Channel
Headphone jacks, you may find that some require more gain than oth-
ers to achieve the same volume. This kind of disparity will occur if the
various headphones have different impedances. The lower the imped-
ance, the louder the headphone will sound compared to another, higher
impedance headphone at the same Channel Output setting. Another
factor affecting headphone loudness is called sensitivity. This is gener-
ally measured by determining the decibel (dB) level generated by 1 mW
of power input. The higher the dB rating, the louder the headphone.
See the Reference chart on page 9 of this manual for more details.
7. To achieve optimum signal-to-noise ratio, the master Input Level
should generally be set as high as possible, short of audible distortion.
However, if this results in your getting blasted with signal even though a
Channel's Output is near minimum, you'll need to decrease the master
Input Level while raising one or more Channel Output levels.
Conversely, if you find that you have to raise one or more headphone
Channel Output knobs to maximum or near maximum to achieve the
desired level, try increasing the master Input Level while decreasing the
Channel Output(s).
8. To check mono compatibility of a stereo signal being input to the Q5,
press the Stereo/Mono button so that it is down—all five headphone
Channels will then receive the incoming signal in mono.
If you have followed all the steps above and are experiencing
difficulties, call Samson Technical Support (516-932-1062) between
9 AM and 5 PM EST.
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