INTRODUCTION
Thank you for purchasing B&W Signature™7SE Audiophile Custom Wall Mount speakers.
Since its foundation in 1966, the continuing philosophy of B&W has been the quest for perfect sound reproduction. Inspired by the company’s founder, the late John Bowers, this quest has entailed not only high investment in audio technology and innovation but also an abiding appreciation of music to ensure that the technology is put to maximum effect.
The Signature™7SE is a true audiophile speaker for installation in cavity walls and ceilings or customer wall furniture, which offers the highest sound quality and incorporates several features designed to make the system simple and flexible to install. The speaker incorporates many of the features found in B&W audiophile speakers and may successfully be used in conjunction with these cabinet systems, for example, in Home Theater installations.
However, no matter how good the speakers themselves, they must work well into the listening room and time spent on planning the installation will reap the reward of many hours listening pleasure. Please read through this manual fully. It will help you optimise the performance of
the system.
B&W distribute to over 50 countries worldwide and maintain a network of dedicated distributors who will be able to help should you have any problems your dealer cannot resolve.
UNPACKING
(figure 1)
•Fold the top carton flaps right back and invert the carton and contents.
•Lift the carton clear of the contents.
•Remove the inner packing from the product.
Check the contents:
•2x Baffle with drive units, crossover and foam
•2x Wall frame
•2x Perforated metal grille with scrim backing
•1x Alignment template
•1x Accessory pack containing:
20x Spring clips + self tapping screws + washers
8x Machine screws (fixing baffles to wall frames)
We suggest you retain the packaging for future use. Remove the grilles and baffles from the wall frames and, to avoid damage, keep them in their plastic bags (and preferably in the carton) away from the work area until you are ready to fit them. The thin alloy tweeter diaphragms are delicate and must be protected from damage. Do not attempt to straighten a dented diaphragm; even if it looks good the coating will be impaired, leading to distortion and eventual fatigue.
POSITIONING – NEW CONSTRUCTION VERSUS RETROFIT
Check that there is no conflict with other
The speakers are balanced for
If possible, keep the speakers more than 0.5m (20in) from the wall edges.
The speakers may be mounted in either portrait or landscape orientation. Wherever possible, however, portrait orientation, with the drive units mounted one above the other, is to be preferred as it gives better horizontal dispersion and a more stable stereo image. If landscape orientation is used, orient the baffle so that the tweeters are towards the centre of the room. Do not mix portrait and landscape at left and right, as an imprecise stereo image will be created.
The following sections give guidance on optimum positioning, but this may be modified in line with domestic constraints.
Normal Stereo and Home Theatre Front Left and Right Applications (figure 2)
The speakers should be positioned with the tweeters at a little above ear height. If the speakers are to be used low in the wall invert the speaker so the bass unit is uppermost. The spacing between them will depend on the size of the room and distance to the listeners. As a general rule they should not be closer to the listener than 1.5m (5ft) and the distance between them should not exceed their distance from the listeners. Having the speakers and listeners approximately at the corners of an equilateral triangle is not a bad rule to follow. This arrangement generally provides the best stereo imaging. If the speakers are placed too far apart, a
For Home Theatre Installations, the speakers should not be closer together than the width of the screen and their height should be approximately at centre screen height.
Home Theatre Centre Channel Applications
Theoretically, the best position for a centre channel speaker is behind the centre of the screen, but this can only be realised when using an acoustically transparent projection screen. In most cases the speaker will be positioned in a laterally central position either directly above or directly below the screen. All other things being equal, choose the position that is nearest ear height. However, if this leads to a below screen position, you should be careful to ensure that the speaker is not too close to the floor (see above) and that the sound will not be muffled by the later placement of furniture. See also the comments on baffle orientation in the preceding section.
Home Theatre Surround Speaker Applications
The sound from surround speakers should be as diffuse as possible. This ensures that the frontal audio image is not distorted by changes of listener position or head movements. The speakers should generally be placed behind and 0.6m (2ft) or more above ear height. Ceiling mounting often gives good results in this application. The orientation is less important in this application than in other cases.
WARNING: The Signature™7SE speakers produce a static magnetic field that extends outside the cabinet boundary. As such They should not be placed within 0.5m (20in) of equipment that may be affected by such a field, e.g. Cathode Ray Tubes in TVs and Personal Computers.
DAMPING THE WALL CAVITY
A foam pad is supplied to damp the area behind the drive units. In addition, loosely fill the whole section of the wall cavity with wadding. Fibreglass and mineral wool matting supplied for heat insulation are suitable, but not closed cell foam or expanded polystyrene. Check that there is no debris that may fall into the speaker (especially in ceiling mount situations).
IMPORTANT: YOU SHOULD CHECK THAT THE MATERIALS YOU USE MEET THE LOCAL FIRE AND BUILDING REGULATIONS.
FITTING THE WALL FRAME
New Construction (figure 3)
Fit the separately available
Apply a strip of sealing compound or mastic to the back side of the frame lipping both to provide a seal and to prevent rattling. Screw, but do not tighten, 6 of the screws plus washers provided through the slots in the wall frame into the pilot holes in the
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