M-Patch 4M
Manual
September 2012
SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS
CAUTION: To reduce the risk of electrical shock, do not remove the cover or rear
panel of this unit. No user serviceable parts inside. Please refer servicing to qualied
personnel only.
WARNING: To reduce the risk of re or electrical shock do not expose this appliance
to rain or moisture.
DETAILED SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS:
All safety and operation instructions of this manual should be read and adhered to
before operation.
Retain Instructions:
Please retain all safety and operating instructions for future reference.
Follow instructions:
All operation and user instructions should be followed.
Water, liquid and Moisture:
The appliance should not be used near water, rain or other liquids. Make sure that
no liquid can leak, spill or otherwise seep into the appliance.
Ventilation:
Please place the appliance so no obstacles interfere or impede the ow of air through
the ventilation openings.
Heat:
The appliance should be situated away from other heat sources such as heaters,
radiators, ovens, or other appliances that produce heat.
Power Source:
Make sure your appliance is set to the correct voltage for the country in which it will
be use before switching the device ON.
Grounding and Polarization:
Precautions should be taken so that the grounding or polarization means of an appliance is not defeated.
Power-Cord Protection:
Power supply cords should be routed so that they are not likely to be walked on,
pinched, damaged, worn, or rubbed by any other device or obstacle.
Cleaning:
The appliance should be cleaned only with a light soft cloth. Do not use any damaging or corrosive products on the unit.
Periods of inactivity:
The power cord of the appliance should be unplugged from the outlet when left unused for a long period of time or in case a lightning storm occurs.
Damage Requiring Service:
The appliance should be serviced by qualied service personnel when:
• The power supply cord or the plug has been damaged; or
• Objects have fallen, or liquid has been spilled into the appliance; or
• The appliance has been exposed to rain; or
• The appliance does not appear to operate normally or exhibits a marked change
in performance; or
• The appliance has been dropped, or the enclosure damaged.
Servicing:
The user should not attempt to service the appliance beyond that is described in the
Operating Instructions.
All other servicing should be referred to qualied service personnel.
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Foreward
Dear Customer, Thank you very much for expressing your condence in SM Pro
Audio products by purchasing this unit. The M-Patch 4M was designed to be a comprehensive studio monitor controller for home, project and professional studios,
sound equipment rental companies, repair centers, schools and xed installations—
in short, virtually any and all venues where audio products are used. Drawing on
years of hands-on experience in the audio industry and valuable suggestions from
our customers, our engineers have developed a product that we are certain will more
than meet your expectations. As with all SM Pro Audio equipment, the M-Patch 4M
was designed to provide you with superb performance, excellent technical specications, and uncompromising audio quality at an extremely affordable price.
Regards, SM Pro Audio
IMPORTANT: High output volumes may damage your ears, your monitors, and/or your
headphones. Turn down the LEVEL controls before you switch on the M-Patch 4M.
INSTALLATION
Your SM Pro Audio M-Patch 4M was carefully packed at the factory and the packaging was designed to protect the unit from rough handling. Nevertheless, we recom-
mend that you carefully examine the packaging and its contents for any signs of
physical damage that may have occurred in transit.
If the unit is damaged, please do not return it to us, but notify your dealer and the
shipping company immediately, otherwise claims for damage or replacement may
not be granted. Shipping claims must be made by the consignee.
PLACEMENT
The SM Pro Audio M-Patch 4M utilizes an electronic circuit. Be sure that there is
enough air space around the unit for cooling. To avoid overheating, please do not
place the unit on high temperature devices, such as power ampliers, or near other
units, such as wireless devices, that may transmit high frequencies.
Mains voltage
The M-Patch 4M can be used with voltages ranging from 100V AC to 240V AC. Please
make sure that you have selected the correct voltage range on the back of the unit,
and that the required fuse setting is correct, before switching the unit ON. Any damage
occurring as a result of incorrect voltage selection may not be covered under warranty.
M-Patch 4m OVERVIEW
The M-Patch 4M is a multichannel passive analog attenuator designed to provide sonically transparent level control over a variety of stereo audio signals. It allows you to connect multiple input signals, route them to various destinations, and control their levels
via a series of rotary volume attenuators. The Master Attenuator utilizes discrete 0.5%
resisters with a switched mechanism—a design that offers superior accuracy over standard variable resistor designs, especially at critical low volume levels.
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Multiple switches provide for mute, source selection, output assignment, and stereo/
mono operation. A built-in talkback microphone, which automatically ducks the Control
Room outputs -20dB when engaged, an on-board headphone ampli er, and con gu-
rable desktop or rackmount operation, make the M-Patch 4M an ideal centerpiece for
monitor control in home, professional, and project studio applications.
M-PAtch 4M Input Section
Here you choose which input sources (bal-
anced BL1/BL2 or unbalanced UB1/UB2) are
routed to the outputs “Studio 1” and “Studio 2”.
Here you decide, if the balanced
inputs 1 or 2 are outputted to the
control room outs 1 or 2.
Here you adjust the volume of the
balanced inputs which are outputted
at the control room outputs 1 and 2.
Here you adjust the volume of the un-
balanced inputs which are outputted
at the control room outputs 1 and 2.
M-PATCH 4M Master Section
M-PATCH 4M Output Section
Balanced/Aux switch: Here you decide, if you want to hear
the balanced or unbalanced inputs in the control room.
Switch between Stereo or
Mono in the control room.
The Master Rotary Volume Attenuator adjusts the volume of
all signals in the control room.
Here you decide, if the unbalanced
inputs 1 or 2 are outputted to the
control room outs 1 or 2.
„All Mute“ mutes all sig-
nals in the control room.
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M-PatCH 4M REAR PANEL
Mutes the control room
outputs 1 and/or 2.
Mic On: Switches the talk-
back microphone on or off.
Adjust the volume of the
talkback microphone.
Here you choose what to hear via
the headphone out: Studio 1 or 2
or Control Room 1 or 2.
Mutes the outputs of the
outputs Studio 1/Studio 2.
Adjusts the volume of the
Studio 1/Studio 2 outputs.
Your M-Patch 4M is designed to accommodate a wide variety of balanced and unbal-
anced audio connections, allowing for a great deal of exibility in adapting the unit for
use in almost any studio environment.
Inputs
• Dual L/R Combination Balanced XLR – 1/4” TRS
• Dual L/R Unbalanced RCA
• Dual 1/8” (3.5mm) TRS
• Balanced XLR Talkback Microphone (w/ Built-In Mic Preampli er)
• TS Talkback Microphone Remote Activator (w/ INT/EXT Selector Switch)
• TS Mute Function Remote Activator
Outputs
• Dual L/R Balanced XLR Control Room Out
• L/R XLR Balanced Studio Out
• L/R 1/4” Unbalanced TS Studio Out
• L/R Unbalanced RCA Studio Out
• 1/8” (3.5mm) TRS Studio Out
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installation
The M-Patch 4M can sit comfortably on your desktop, with all controls within easy reach.
Alternately, the included rack ears can be used for situating the unit in a standard 19”
rackmount con guration.
Audio input Connections
The M-Patch 4M features four types of inputs, two of which are balanced and two of
which are unbalanced. The Balanced Inputs feature combination XLR – 1/4” TRS connectors, while the AUX Inputs feature RCA and 1/8” TRS unbalanced connectors. All
inputs are located on the M-Patch 4M’s rear panel.
IMPORTANT!
The M-Patch 4M accepts mic or line level input signals only. Do not
connect your power ampli er outputs to the M-Patch 4M’s inputs—this will damage the internal circuitry, and will NOT be covered under warranty.
Balanced Inputs
The main Balanced Inputs 1 and 2 are ideally suited for connecting to your
audio interface(s) and/or mixer. Simply connect the outputs of your interface
to the inputs of the M-Patch 4M, and use the rotary volume controls under
the Studio 1 and Studio 2 Input Selectors to attenuate the signals as needed.
(Note: Set the attenuators fully clockwise if no attenuation is necessary.)
AUX Inputs
The Aux input channels features two different connector types, ideally
suited for signals from unbalanced devices such as CD players (RCA)
and MP3 players or computer soundcards (1/8” TRS).
*NOTE: You can connect up to six different devices to the physical connectors simultaneously. Use the front panel Studio 1 & 2 and Master Balanced / Aux selector switches to choose the signal(s) you wish to monitor.
AUDIO output connections
Control Room Outputs
The M-Patch 4M has two sets of Control Room
(C/R) outputs, each of which will carry the input sig-
nals chosen by the front-panel Control Room 1 and
2 input selector switches. Use these outputs to route
input signals to your monitor speakers. The levels
appearing at the Control Room 1 & 2 outputs can be
attenuated using the front-panel Master rotary vol-
ume control. The C/R signal path is totally passive.
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Studio Outputs
MUTE MUTE
HeadphoneOUTPUT SELECTOR
100
vOLUME
C/R 1C/R 2
STUDIO
C/R 1
2
Studio 1
Studio 2
Mic ON
1010 1000 0
MUTE MUTE
Mic ON
MUTE MUTE
HeadphoneOUTPUT SELECTOR
100
vOLUME
M-PATCH 4M
C/R
2
1
2
Studio 2
Studio 1
C/R 1C/R 2
STUDIO
C/R 1
2
Studio 1
Studio 2
Mic ON
1010 1000 0
MUTE MUTE
Mic ON
BL2
UB1
UB2
BL1
BL2
UB1
UB2
0
BALANCED Aux
All MUTE
The M-Patch 4M has two sets of Studio outputs (balanced and unbalanced), each of
which will carry the input signals chosen by the front-panel Studio 1 and 2 input selector switches. Use these outputs to route your input signals to headphone systems,
to monitoring systems in the recording room, or to any device at which you want the
talkback signal to appear.
Output selector switches
Each of the four outputs can be individually muted via their corresponding front-panel
MUTE switches. In addition, the Studio 1 and
Studio 2 output levels can be adjusted using the
Studio 1 and Studio 2 rotary volume controls.
These controls can also be used to balance the
volume of the Studio 1 and 2 signals with the
level of the talkback mic.
When talkback is engaged (MIC ON), all output signals are attenuated by -20dB, however the talkback mic signal only appears at the Studio 1 and 2 outputs.
vOLUME
STEREO MONO
100
Mic
TalkBACK MICROPHONE
-
The M-Patch 4M features a built-in talkback system. An internal
microphone is provided on the front panel, or you can plug your
own microphone into the balanced XLR microphone input on
the rear panel. The INT(ernal) / EXT(ernal) switch on the rear
panel determines which microphone is used for talkback.
Pushing the front-panel MIC ON switch engages talkback. It
can also be engaged via a switch plugged into the rear-panel
Mic Remote input.
Talkback level is controlled by the rotary MIC ON volume control. When talkback is
engaged, the signals appearing at the Control Room 1, Control Room 2, Studio 1,
and Studio 2 outputs are attenuated by -20dB. Note, however, that the talkback mic
signal only appears at the Studio 1 and 2 outputs.
Using the M-Patch 4m
You can use M-Patch 4M anywhere you want to trim the voltage of, i.e., reduce the
volume of analog audio signals. Other than its primary use as a professional moni-
toring controller, you could, for example, use the M-Patch 4M to trim the output
of a microphone preamplier. With its high-quality potentiometers and precision
lm-resistor master attenuator, the M-Patch 4M passes signal more accurately
and with far greater transparency than the built-in volume controls found on most
audio equipment.
You can use the MPatch 4M...
• To A/B between different audio sources
• As a switcher for multiple monitor systems
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• To trim the output level of a digital-to-analog converter, such as those found in
high end pre-ampliers
• As a local volume control for distributed audio systems
• To monitor directly from the outputs of your computer sound card or audio in-
terfaces without using a mixer, and without degrading bit-resolution by reducing
volume within your DAW
Simple Ideas for Studio Use
Typically you would connect the output of your computer soundcard or audio inter-
face to the input of the M-Patch 4M via the RCA, TRS, or XLR jacks.
However, you can connect multiple devices as required. For example, your could
connect the outputs of your audio interface to the balanced XLR inputs, and your
soundcard’s mini-jack output to the stereo 3.5mm AUX input. At the same time you
could also connect your CD player or other line level device to the AUX RCA
inputs, and the output of a mixer to the second set of balanced inputs.
Connect XLR cables from the outputs of the M-Patch 4M directly to your active monitors or the amplier that powers the monitors. Since you have multiple
outputs available simultaneously, you could easily route a second M-Patch 4M
output to a subwoofer. In this sceario, simply connect the C/R 1 outputs to your left
and right monitor speakers and the C/R 2 output output your subwoofer.
To avoid the bit-degradation that results from lowering the master volume output
of your computer DAW, connect the output of your computer audio interface to an
M-Patch 4M input, and an output of the M-Patch 4M to the input of your powered
studio monitors (or amplier driving passive monitors). Turn the volume of your monitors up all the way, set your DAW and audio interface software volume control panel
to 0dB, and use the M-Patch 4M control your monitoring level.
The M-Patch 4M: Simple, effective, transparent!
SPECIFICATIONS
AUDIO INPUTS
Connectors 4 x Combination XLR – 1/4” TRS
2 x stereo RCA pair (L&R)
2 x stereo 3.5mm jack
AUDIO OUTPUTS
Output Connectors 3 x XLR L/R pairs
1 x RCA L/R pair
1 x 1/4” L/R pair
HEADPHONE OUTPUT
Output Connectors 1 x 14” TRS stereo
Frequency response 20Hz – 20Hz +/- 0.5dB
Maximum output level 320mW into 32Ù
POWER
External DC12-16V adaptor
PHYSICAL
Dimensions (no rack ears) 37cm x 15.5cm x 8.5 cm
Net weight approx. 5kg
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Warranty
1. Warranty Card
To be protected by this warranty, the buyer must complete and return the enclosed
warranty card (signed/stamped by retail dealer) within 14 days of the date of
purchase to SM Pro Audio (see address below 3). Failure to return the card in due
time (date as per postmark) will void any extended warranty claims.
2. Warranty
2.1. SM Pro Audio warrants the mechanical and electronic components of this
product to be free of defects in material and workmanship for a period of one (3)
years from the original date of purchase, in accordance with the warranty regula-
tions described below. If any defects occur within the specied warranty period that
are not caused by normal wear or inappropriate use, SM Pro Audio shall, at its sole
discretion, either repair or replace the product.
2.2. If the warranty claim proves to be justied, the product will be returned freight
prepaid by SM Pro Audio within Australia. Outside of Australia, the product will be
returned at the buyer‘s expense.
2.3. Warranty claims other than those indicated above are expressly excluded.
3. Return Authorization Number
3.1. To obtain warranty service, the buyer must call SM Pro Audio during normal
business hours BEFORE returning the product (Tel.: +61 3 9555 8081). All inquiries must be accompanied by a description of the problem. SM Pro Audio will then
issue a return authorization number or by email to service@smproaudio.com
3.2. The product must be returned in its original shipping carton, together with the
return authorization number, to the following address:
SM Pro Audio
Service Department
W25, 26-28 Roberna St
Moorabbin
Melbourne, Victoria
Australia 3189
4. Warranty Regulations
4.1. Warranty services will be furnished only if the product is accompanied by an
original retail dealer‘s invoice. Any product deemed eligible for repair or replace-
ment by SM Pro Audio under the terms of this warranty will be repaired or replaced
in the best possible manner.
4.2. If the product needs to be modied or adapted in order to comply with applicable technical or safety standards on a national or local level, in any country which
is not the country for which the product was originally developed and manufac-
tured, this modication/adaptation shall not be considered a defect in materials or
workmanship.
The warranty does not cover any such modication/adaptation, irrespective of
whether it was carried out properly or not. Under the terms of this warranty, SM Pro
Audio shall not be held responsible for any cost resulting from such a modication/
adaptation.
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4.3. Free inspections, maintenance/repair work and replacement of parts are
expressly excluded from this warranty, in particular if caused by inappropriate use.
Likewise, the warranty does not cover defects of expendable parts caused by
normal wear of the product. Expendable parts are typically pots, potentiometers,
switches and similar components.
4.4. Damages/defects caused by the following conditions are not covered by this
warranty:
• Misuse, neglect or failure to operate the unit in compliance with the instruc-
tions given in the user or service manuals.
• Connection or operation of the unit in any way that does not comply with the tech-
nical or safety regulations applicable in the country where the product is used.
• Damages/defects that are caused by any other condition beyond the control of
SM Pro Audio.
4.5. Any repair carried out by unauthorized personnel will void the warranty.
4.6. Products which do not meet the terms of this warranty will be repaired exclusively at the buyer‘s expense. SM Pro Audio will inform the buyer of any such
circumstance. If the buyer fails to submit a written repair order within 4 weeks after
notication, SM Pro Audio will return the unit C.O.D. with a separate invoice for
freight and packing. Such cost will also be invoiced separately when the buyer has
sent in a written repair order.
5. Claim for Damages
Failure of SM Pro Audio to provide proper warranty service shall not entitle the
buyer to claim (consequential) damages. In no event shall the liability of SM Pro
Audio exceed the invoiced value of the product.
6. Other Warranty Rights
This warranty does not exclude or limit the buyer‘s statutory rights provided by
national law, in particular, any such rights against the seller that arise from a legally
effective purchase contract.
The information contained in this manual is subject to change without notice. No
part of this manual may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording of any kind, for any
purpose, without the express written permission of SM Pro Audio.
All illustrations, descriptions and technical specications are subject to change
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2012 SM Pro Audio
without prior notice.
SM Pro Audio Service Department
W25, 26-28 Roberna St Moorabbin Melbourne, Victoria Australia 3189
www.smproaudio.com
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