7TRUTH B2031A/B2030A User Manual

(11)

(12)

(13)

Fig. 2.6: Rear panel control elements

The following control elements are found only on the B2031A:

(11)POWER MODE: This switch allows you to toggle between “ON”, “OFF” and “AUTO” power-up modes (see chapter 3.1).

(12)MUTE LOW: Disables the woofer for servicing and maintenance.

(13)MUTE HIGH: Disables the tweeter for servicing and maintenance.

3. Applications

3.1 Connection

Use the enclosed power cord to connect the TRUTH to the mains. To avoid ground loops, both speakers and the mixing console should be fed from the same outlet. For your convenience, the B2031A features an automatic power-up system which activates the TRUTH as soon as a signal is present on its input, and deactivates the speaker after signal pauses of more than five minutes (only B2031A).

Function: The switch for the automatic power-up system (11) has three positions. When set to OFF, the speaker is completely switched off and cannot be activated with the POWER switch (6). Position AUTO allows the automatic operation as mentioned above. In position ON, the B2031 is activated all the time and can be switched off only with switch (6).

◊Be sure to switch the TRUTH off with the POWER switch during longer pauses.

Now connect both speakers to your console by means of commercial XLR or

TRS cables. Since the TRUTH is an active speaker system, instead of conventional speaker cables you will need normal TRS or XLR cables.

Connect the TRUTH to the control room outputs of your console, so as to be able to control the monitoring volume independently of the main mix level. If your console does not have such outputs, you can also use the main mix outputs. However, in this case the speaker volume cannot be set independently of the main mix level, i.e. you must adjust the monitoring volume on the TRUTH. Please consult the operating instructions accompanying your console to find out whether it has balanced or unbalanced outputs. Connect these outputs to the TRS or XLR (3) input. If possible use the balanced connectors, so as to avoid interference and hum. It won’t help, however, to connect unbalanced outputs with balanced inputs. The benefits mentioned above will apply only when both inputs and outputs are of the balanced type.

◊Be sure to mute the signal sources before you put the TRUTH into operation.

Once the TRUTH has been connected as described above, you can activate the speaker with the POWER switch.

3.2 Level setting

When the TRUTH has been connected properly and switched on, you can now turn up the console output that feeds the B2030A/B2031A. Provided you have a signal source connected, you now hear the audio material as it is played back by the TRUTH. The INPUT TRIM control (7) on the rear panel is set to 0 dB ex-factory, i.e. unity gain, which is okay when you feed the TRUTH from a pro-level console. In this case, the TRUTH automatically operates at maximum level, provided that your console has been set up correctly and its output is set to 0 dB.

The LIMIT LED (2) helps you control the level. It lights up as soon as overloading causes one of the internal protections to respond. The TRUTH doesn’t

get damaged when the LIMIT LED lights up with occasional signal peaks. However, please make sure that it won’t light up all the time, because sooner or later this will activate the thermal protection system and temporarily mute the built-in amplifiers, to warn you that you are driving the TRUTH too hard. If so, you can reduce levels either on your console or using the INPUT TRIM control (7). If the outputs on your console don’t provide studio-level signals, you can turn up the INPUT TRIM control. If you connect the TRUTH to the preamp output of your stereo system, it may also be necessary to raise the level on the TRUTH itself.

To build up a rudimentary stereo system, you can directly connect the outputs of a CD player to the TRUTH’s inputs, and use the CD player to adjust the volume.

◊The TRUTH is capable of producing high volume levels. You should mix your recordings at moderate levels, so as to avoid listening fatigue and hearing impairment.

3.3 Speaker placement suggestions

Since the sound of a speaker depends to a great extent on its surroundings, placing your TRUTH correctly is very important. Please try to follow these suggestions through. Your efforts will be rewarded with better sound and higher resolution.

Both speakers are built identically. There is no need to concern yourself with which speaker should be placed left and which speaker should be placed right. Place the TRUTH on a flat and stable surface, if possible use a dedicated speaker stand. In this way, the speaker is acoustically decoupled and won’t induce vibrations in nearby objects, which would affect the bass response. If you cannot use a stand, put the TRUTH on spikes or damping foam material. Another aspect is the distance between speaker and wall: keep the speaker away from the wall, as this would emphasize the bass response, particularly in corners, where two walls form an angle.

The BEHRINGER TRUTH B2030A/B2031A are so-called near-field monitors,

which means that the impact of the room acoustics on the sound will be reduced considerably owing to the short distance between speaker and listener.

Fig. 3.1: Incorrect speaker setup

This illustration shows how you shouldn’t do it: you can clearly see that a portion of the sound bounces back from the walls before it reaches the listener’s ears. Thus, direct and reflected sound waves overlap which results in a coloration

of the sound.