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Important Safety Precautions and Explanation of Symbols ! The exclamation point within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the presence of important installation, operation, and service instructions in this manual. The lightning flash with arrowhead symbol within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the presence of uninsulated dangerous voltages within the enclosure that may be of sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of electrical shock to the user.
DO NOT defeat the safety purpose of a grounding or polarized plug by removing ground pins or using unsafe adapters. A polarized plug has two blades - one wider than the other. A grounding plug has a third ground prong in addition to the two main conductors. The wide blade or third groundling prong is provided for your safety. If the provided plug does not fit your outlet, consult an electrician to replace your obsolete outlet.
Powered Bi-Amplified Monitors Contents Important Safety Precautions and Explanation of Symbols Introduction........................................................................................................................3 About This Manual............................................................................................................4 Features................................................................................................................................5 Unpacking........
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Introduction Thank you for purchasing Emotiva airmotiv™ 5s bi-amplified powered monitors. The powerful discrete internal amplifiers, coupled with our advanced input processing circuitry, deliver exceptional performance and stunning sound quality from a moderately sized system. The airmotiv™ high-frequency transducer produces crystal clear highs with vanishingly low distortion, excellent detail, and impressive dynamics. The 5.
About This Manual This manual will provide you with all the information you need to get great performance, accurate sound, and many years of reliable service from your Emotiva airmotiv™ 5 powered monitors. Many of you are experienced studio professionals and are very familiar with powered near-field monitors. Since the airmotiv 5 is intended for several different applications, you may find that some of the sections of the manual don’t apply to you.
Features Each Emotiva airmotiv™ 5s is a fully self-contained bi-amplified powered studio monitor. The airmotiv 5s is a two-way design that features quality construction and engineering throughout and incorporates discrete power amplifiers, precision active crossovers, effective yet unobtrusive overload protection, and a wide array of professional features. Some of the more important features of the Emotiva airmotiv 5s include: • • • • • • • • • • • • Accuracy and consistency.
Unpacking Your Emotiva airmotiv™ 5s powered monitors were carefully packed and should reach you in perfect condition. If you notice any shipping damage or other issues when you unpack them, please contact Emotiva immediately. Gently remove your airmotiv 5s powered monitors from their packing cartons and remove all wrappings and shipping material.
The Emotiva Pro airmotiv™ 5s Powered Monitor 1. Emotiva’s exclusive airmotiv™ high-frequency transducer. 2. Emotiva’s exclusive airmotiv™ low-frequency transducer. 1 3. Power indicator. 3 4. Linear taper tuned port. 5. Balanced input (XLR). 6. Unbalanced input (RCA). 2 7. Level trim. 8. Low-frequency Equalization adjustment. 9. High-frequency Equalization adjustment. 10. AC Line Voltage selector. 11. IEC power cable receptacle. 12. Fuse holder. 8 4 9 5 6 10 115V 7 13. AC Power switch.
Quick Start To get the most from your Emotiva airmotiv™ 5s powered monitors, we strongly urge you to read the entire manual. If you just can’t wait to hear how great your airmotiv 5s powered monitors sound, this section will cover the basics you need to get started. Find a secure location for your airmotiv 5s powered monitors.
About Near-Field Monitors In the past most recording studios used huge monitor loudspeakers, elaborate acoustic treatments, and large power amplifiers, in a large control room. Although a control room like that sounded great (usually), and made a big impression on customers, it also required large investments of space, time, and money.
Speaker Placement Speaker placement is often a compromise between optimum performance, personal preference, and site requirements. The following guidelines will serve as a starting point to help you decide where to place your airmotiv™ 5s powered monitors to achieve the best possible performance. Positioning your airmotiv™ 5s monitors as near-field monitors The Emotiva airmotiv 5s was designed primarily as a superlative near-field monitor.
• • • • • If possible, mount your airmotiv 5s monitors upright (with the high-frequency transducer on top), vertically (not angled upwards or downwards), with the middle of the front baffle at approximately the same height as the engineer’s seated head height, and toe in each speaker so the front is directly facing towards the engineer’s head.
Positioning your airmotiv™ 5s monitors as stereo speakers The Emotiva airmotiv 5s works beautifully as a full-range speaker in a small audiophile twochannel system, and as a satellite speaker in a larger two-channel system with the addition of a sub-woofer. When choosing optimum locations for speakers in an audiophile home stereo system, the goal is usually to optimize the frequency response and imaging. • • • Mount your airmotiv 5s speakers on separate stands, or using brackets if possible.
Listener Listener Listener Typical placement of stereo speakers to cover a wide listening area • • • • • Avoid locating your airmotiv 5s speakers close to side walls if possible. If you have large reflective or sound-absorbing surfaces on the side walls, try to make them as symmetrical as possible.
Positioning your airmotiv™ 5s monitors as satellite speakers in a multi-channel mastering or surround sound system Emotiva’s airmotiv 5s powered monitors work great as satellite speakers in a high-quality multichannel playback or mastering system. When choosing optimum locations for speakers in a multi-channel system, the goal is to optimize the frequency response and imaging. However, because more speakers are required, you are more likely to encounter practical constraints on where they can be located.
Sub-woofer Display Center Left Front Right Front Right Side Surround Left Side Surround Listener Listener Left Rear Surround Right Rear Surround One example of placement for surround-sound speakers • • • • Place your front-center speaker either directly above or directly below the display.
• • • Because surround speakers carry mostly ambience information and are influenced by the listening room, and because they are also used differently by different surround-sound decoding standards, you should experiment to find the best locations and orientations for your particular installation. We suggest you try them at various angles, and in various orientations (vertical, upside down, and even sideways) to identify the location and orientation that work best with your room.
Connections NOTE: Normally, the volume level on powered monitors should be controlled by your source equipment. If you only have fixed-level outputs available, or if it is simply inconvenient to control your levels from your source equipment, you may add a passive volume control (like our Control Freak) between your source component and the inputs of your airmotiv 5s monitors.
Connecting your airmotiv™ 5s monitors to a portable player Most portable music players offer only unbalanced outputs, usually via a 1/8” jack. Connect your airmotiv™ 5s speakers to a variable output (which is often also the headphone output). Use a high quality, well shielded adapter cable to connect the output to the unbalanced (RCA) inputs of your airmotiv 5s speakers. A single “long Y-cable” is preferable to multiple separate adapters and extension cables.
Avoiding Hum and Noise The following guidelines should help you avoid or eliminate hum and noise. These aren’t rules, and may not apply in all situations, but the more closely you follow the guidelines, the more likely you are to avoid hum and noise problems. Hum and noise are most often caused by ground issues such as ground loops, non-optimal cabling or cable placement, or faulty equipment. Hum may also arise due to how equipment is arranged and connected.
Operation Once you have decided upon a location for your airmotiv™ 5s powered monitors and connected them, operation is very simple. Plug your airmotiv 5s powered monitors into a grounded electrical outlet of appropriate voltage. • Verify that the airmotiv 5s monitors you received are set for the correct operating voltage for your location (The AC line voltage that is currently selected is visible in the window on the AC Line Voltage switch.
Adjustments The airmotiv™ 5s powered monitor is calibrated at the factory to ensure that its low-frequency gain, high-frequency gain, and overall gain are within 1 dB of our reference standard. Equalization controls are provided to compensate for various room acoustics and speaker placement issues. In most situations it is strongly recommended that equalization adjustments be applied equally to symmetrical pairs of airmotiv 5s monitors. Failure to do so will adversely affect imaging and soundstage.
Care and Maintenance Periodic Maintenance Your Emotiva airmotiv™ 5s powered monitors are factory calibrated and require no periodic maintenance or calibration. Cleaning the Cabinet and Baffle • • • The cabinet of the airmotiv 5s powered monitor should normally be cleaned with a rag dampened with plain water. DO NOT spray water directly onto or into the monitor, transducers or connectors, and DO NOT use abrasive or chemical cleaners. Gently dry the surface with a clean soft rag after cleaning.
Specifications Frequency Response: 50 Hz to 27 kHz +/- 3 dB. Input Connectors: One unbalanced (RCA). One professional balanced (XLR). Driver complement: One 26 x 32 mm airmotiv™ high-frequency transducer. One 135 mm (5.25 inch) airmotiv™ low-frequency transducer. Bass Alignment: Single rear-oriented port with linear taper . Amplification: High-frequency amplifier: 50 watts RMS; S/N > 95 dB; THD+N < 0.05% @ 15W, 10 kHz. Low-frequency amplifier: 50 watts RMS; S/N > 95 dB; THD+N < 0.05% @ 40W, 100 Hz.
Troubleshooting Emotiva’s airmotiv™ 5s powered monitors are carefully designed and manufactured from highquality precision components to ensure years of trouble free operation. The troubleshooting section describes some common problems and how to eliminate them. If this doesn’t solve your problem, please contact Emotiva Technical Support, where a real person will be glad to help you get up and running.
Problem: Excessive hum or noise • • • • • • • • • Read the chapter titled Avoiding Hum and Noise in the Connections section of this manual. Check your signal source. Verify that all cables are plugged fully in, that the connectors fit tightly, and that the cables and connectors are in good condition. Try repositioning cables. If you have signal cables running near power cables, try moving them further apart. (This is especially important with unbalanced cables.
Accessories Interconnect cables Using high-quality interconnect cables will ensure that you get the best sound quality and maximum reliability from your airmotiv™ powered monitors. It is especially important to select good-quality well-shielded cables if you are using unbalanced cables, or very long cables, or have an especially noisy environment. (We do not, however, recommend or endorse fancy “boutique” audiophile cables.
Emotiva Audio Corporation Limited Warranty What does this warranty cover? Emotiva Audio Corporation (“Warrantor”) warrants its products against defects in materials and workmanship.
What is not covered by this warranty? This warranty does not apply: (i) to damage caused by use with products not manufactured by Warrantor, where the non-Warrantor product is the cause of the damage; (ii) to damage caused by service or maintenance performed by anyone who is not a representative of Warrantor; (iii) to damage caused by accident, abuse, misuse, flood, fire, earthquake or other external causes; (iv) to a product or part that has been modified after its retail purchase, where the modification c
Notes All information contained in this manual is accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication. In keeping with our policy of ongoing product improvement, we reserve the right to make changes to the design and features of our products without prior notice. Owners Manual Revision 1.
