Samson MTR201A Headphones User Manual


 
6
10dB Attenuation Switch
The MTR201 includes a 10dB attenuation pad that can be selected with the slide
switch located below the grill, which is used to prevent overloading the onboard
preamplifier by lowering the input sensitivity of the microphone preamplifier
circuit. Setting the switch to the left (0dB position) the control is bypassed and
there is no effect on the signal. When the switch is set to the right (-10dB posi-
tion) the input sensitivity of the microphone will be lowered by 10dB. This is use-
ful when close miking loud sound sources with very high transient sounds, such as
drums, cymbals or brass instruments.
Before setting the attenuation pad switch to the -10dB position, it is advisable to
perform a sound check and to optimize the input signal levels using proper gain
staging. If distortion is apparent when the performer is singing or playing their
instrument at maximum level, work backwards through the signal chain to find
out where the distortion exists. First check the microphone preamp level. If it is
set to the minimum position and there is distortion, activate the preamplifier pad
switch. If the signal level drops and the distortion goes away, then the microphone
preamp was overloaded. If the level drops but the distortion remains, then the
overload is happening at the microphone input. Set the attenuation switch to
the -10dB position. If the distortion still remains, then either have the performer
lower the level of their instrument or move the microphone further away from the
sound source.