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     EX66 User Guide

What’s with the Two Silver 
Woofers? 

The EX66 uses a midwoofer-tweeter-midwoofer (MTM) vertical 
array configuration to provide an extraordinarily versatile sound 
radiation  pattern  (degrees  of  arc  for  the  sound  wave,  vertically 
and  horizontally).    Consider  the  following:    conventional  2-way 
speakers  in  a  stereo  setup  require  that  you  listen  to  them  in  a 
fairly  narrow “sweet  spot”  (where  you  position  yourself  at  the 
apex of an isosceles triangle with the speakers).  By contrast, a 
stereo pair of EX66 monitors provides a wide sweet spot, creating 
a proper stereo image even when you are not exactly equidistant 
from  each  speaker.   This  means  more  people  in  the  room  can 
benefit  from  the  EX66s’  accuracy  and  detail  without  having  to 
fight for the “money” seat.

Also, while  our MTM configuration gives you a wide  horizontal 
sweet spot, it limits vertical sound diffusion to a cardioid pattern.  
This helps minimize reflections off of mixing desks and improves 
sound intelligibility.  (As near-field monitors are often positioned 
on  top  of  mix  consoles,  there  is  a  persistent  problem  of  early 
reflections off the desk surface which can “smear” sonic details; 
the EX66 vertical axis rejection characteristic greatly reduces this 
problem.)

Finally, we designed the woofers from a state-of-the-art material 
that  happens  to  be  a  nearly  perfect  reproducer  of  sound.  Our 
drivers  have  exceptional  intrinsic  damping  characteristics  and 
absolutely  no  frequency  response  peaks  (resonances)  in  the 
audible band.  They provide truly linear pistonic action over the 
entire musical spectrum, revealing more of music's subtle details, 
and  bringing  all  portions  of  each  musical  transient  into  correct 
alignment.  But don’t just take our word for it—as the old proverb 
goes, “the proof of the pudding is in the eating.”  In other words, 
listen for yourself! 

Did You Know...?

...that  our  drivers  can  withstand  extreme 

temperatures,  moisture,  humidity,  sunlight, 

and  salt?    The  material  we  use  to  make  our 

EX-series cones is very similar to that employed 

by  NASA  scientists  to  form  heat  shields  for 

Space Shuttle orbiters.

Other Noteworthy 
Characteristics 

Titanium Tweeter 

We’ve discussed the woofers in some detail, but of equal importance 
is the high-frequency driver.  Our 1” tweeter sounds as smooth as 
it looks.  Titanium is known in the aerospace industry for its high 
tensile-strength-to-weight  ratio  and  its  resistance  to  corrosion.  
We made our tweeters out of titanium in order to create a stiff, 
yet  responsive  piston  that  moves  natural  resonant  modes  well 
above  20kHz,  allowing  the  tweeters  to  track  every  nuance  of 
musical detail as accurately as possible, without smearing any high-
frequency energy.  We designed and tuned these custom tweeters 
to sound crisp and transparent, without the harshness sometimes 
associated with rigid high-frequency drivers.  The result is a natural 
complement  to  the  low-frequency  drivers,  providing  smooth, 
coherent reproduction over the entire audio band.

Bass-Reflex Port 

��

Many loudspeaker enclosures use an air vent (or port) to form 
a Helmholtz resonator, which improves bass response.  In some 
ported  speakers,  however,  you  can  hear  friction  noise  from  air 
moving in and out of the enclosure—but not here.  We developed 
a rear-cabinet port with dual flanges to minimize the vibrations 
normally generated by low-frequency signals.  This custom port 
is  extremely  efficient  in  its  air  transfer  characteristics  and  it  is 
virtually noise-free.

Enclosure

Like the other components, the EX66’s enclosure has an important 
role  in  shaping  the  overall  sonic  response.  In  order  to  provide 
more  stable  performance,  we  designed  an  enclosure  made  of  a 
special high acoustic efficiency medium density fiberboard (MDF) 
and unique interior reinforcement designed to absorb vibration 
and  impact  generated  under  extreme  conditions.    Further, 
our  custom-designed  waveguides  on  the  front  panel  minimize 
diffraction and improve stereo imaging.

Digital Signal Processing

All  mechanical  and  electrical  systems  are  inclined  to  vibrate 
(or  resonate)  at  certain  frequencies  when  excited  by  external 
forces.  For loudspeaker cabinets, resonances can be a particularly 
insidious  problem  because  they  color  the  timbre  of  the  music.  
The  human  ear/brain  mechanism  is  capable  of  perceiving  even 
extremely  subtle  resonances,  and  it’s  this  phenomenon  that 
allows critical listeners to distinguish easily between exceptional 
loudspeakers  and  mediocre  ones.  At  M-Audio,  we  decided  to 
address the problem of cabinet resonances with a novel yet highly 
effective solution.

The  EX66  contains  sophisticated  digital  signal  processing  (DSP) 
technology  to  tune  the  cabinet  and  crossover  with  exceptional 
precision.  The EX66 eradicates all resonances from the cabinet 
by  using  IIR  (infinite  impulse-response)  filters  in  its  on-board 
processor.   The  EX66  also  uses  DSP  to  achieve  its  precise  and 
maximally flat 4th-order Linkwitz-Riley crossover.

Bi-amped Efficiency

The EX66 uses two separate 100-watt PWM power amplifiers to 
drive the 4

 woofer combination and 4

 tweeter separately in a 

high-end bi-amp structure. The ultra-low distortion at 200 watts 
per channel rounds out the EX66’s profile as a truly world-class 
active loudspeaker monitor. 

Versatile Connectivity

We’ve  provided  high-impedance  (20  k

)  balanced  XLR 

  and  

TRS 

  analog inputs as well as 110 

 AES/EBU (AES3 

) and  

75 

 (S/PDIF 

) digital inputs—all to give you maximum flexibility 

in  your  connections. The  digital  inputs  automatically  detect  the 
bit depth and sample rate of the incoming signal and can lock to 
incoming clocks up to 192kHz and with 24-bit resolution—all with 
the lowest jitter specs in the industry.

Содержание EX66

Страница 1: ...User Guide ...

Страница 2: ...ate of the art driver design selectable analog and digital inputs and flexible digital signal processing combine with ultra clean built in amplification to deliver the best sound available in an active loudspeaker monitor We are pleased to present to you what we believe to be the most versatile and accurate audio monitoring solution for professional and high end applications What s in the box Your E...

Страница 3: ...s to sound crisp and transparent without the harshness sometimes associated with rigid high frequency drivers The result is a natural complement to the low frequency drivers providing smooth coherent reproduction over the entire audio band Bass Reflex Port Many loudspeaker enclosures use an air vent or port to form a Helmholtz resonator which improves bass response In some ported speakers however y...

Страница 4: ...e reflected sounds contribute mostly to the tonality and timbre of the speakers richness leanness etc Any boundary surface back wall side wall ceiling etc can cause a reflection so you should think about reflectivesurfaceswhenplacingyourspeakers Tocomplicatematters there are so called early reflections where sound bounces off of nearby surfaces as opposed to far away ones which tend to smear the image...

Страница 5: ...ctor TS or TRS plug A two conductor TS plug automatically grounds the signal negative input whereas a three conductor TRS plug wired to be unbalanced provides the option of leaving the negative input open or grounded If you choose to use an unbalanced line we recommend that you ground the unused negative input wiring the ring and sleeve of theTRS plug together The XLR and 1 4 TRS inputs are summed...

Страница 6: ...cable You must set the Input Select switch to either S PDIF L or S PDIF R depending on whether that speaker will be reproducing the left or right half of the digital bitstream Next run a high quality 75Ω S PDIF cable from the S PDIF Out jack of that speaker to the S PDIF In jack of your second EX66 monitor and make sure the Input Select switch is set to the appropriate setting for that speaker ...

Страница 7: ...6 EX66 User Guide Did You Know ...

Страница 8: ... which can lead to hearing loss It is interesting to note that while hearing loss is a common occupational illness people often ignore it because there are no visible effects most often it develops over time and usually there is no pain But we believe it s critical to protect your hearing because good hearing is so essential to communication socialization responsiveness to the environment and perh...

Страница 9: ...B SPL c weighted 1 meter variable using input sensitivity volume control Protection RF interference output current limiting over temperature turn on off transient subsonic filter external mains fuse Indicator power on off indicator on front panel Power Requirements user selectable for 100V 50 60Hz 115V 50 60Hz and 230V 50 60Hz Cabinet painted high acoustic efficiency MDF Dimension 482 6 mm H x 209 6...

Страница 10: ...pport m audio fr mac m audio fr fax 33 0 1 72 72 90 52 Site Web www m audio fr M Audio Germany Kuhallmand 34 D 74613 Ohringen Germany Technical Support e mail support m audio de tel 49 0 7941 9870030 fax 49 0 7941 98 70070 Sales e mail info m audio de tel 49 0 7941 98 7000 fax 49 0 7941 98 70070 Web www m audio de M Audio Canada 1400 St Jean Baptiste Ave 150 Quebec City Quebec G2E 5B7 Canada Techn...

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