Please Help : Setting up my Alesis monitor 1 mk2's

[satansparakeet]

Hi,

Look, this is going to be a dumb question so don't make too much fun of me . I own a Korg D16XD digital recorder and after mixing for ages using headphones, boom-boxes and car stereos, I've finally got myself some cheap near field studio reference monitors. Specifically, the Alesis Monitor 1 MKII.

I've succesflly hooked them up directly to my d16xd's "monitor out" jacks, and I can get sound out of them. The sound is quiet good, though not very loud at all. As soon as I turn the monitor volume up, it starts to distort quite badly, (while still not being very loud at all).

Now I think I know why, but I'm not techy enough to be sure. I believe they are passive speakers. They don't have any "on/off" button. Therefore they need to be running off a powered amp? I'm not sure if the d16 even has an amp, (I guess so because I'm getting sound)?

The only related specifications I can find in my Korg manual is as follows :-

Output impedance: 150 Ω or higher
Nominal Level: +4 dBu
Maximum level: +16 dBu
Load impedance: 10 kΩ or higher.

(btw, I don't even know what "Ω" means. Is it ohms? If so, what does "kΩ" mean?)

I'm thinking I actually need to buy a dedicated amp to power the speakers as it says in the Alesis guide that :-

"On the other hand, if you use too small of a power amplifer, it is possible to damage the Monitor One if you run into heavy clipping and distortion in an effort to get sufficient volume."

So do I need to get an amp now? If so, can anyone suggest something relative cheap/decent?

For information, the power specifications of the speakers in the Alesis guide are as follows :-

- 4 ohm load impedance
- 120 watt power rating

Thanks so much for any help. I really appreciate it.

Cheers,
sp.

[hasbeen]

Yes, you need an amp. If you want cheap. Alesis makes power amps like the RA-150 or RA-300 which can be had on ebay for a decent price. I have an original pair of M1's and I use an old Crown 300.

[satansparakeet]

Thanks for the reply hasbeen. Much appreciated.