The Speaker Company bookshelf/center channel/surround speakers Connecting Your Speakers

Connecting Your Speakers

Now that you’ve got your speaker placed properly, it’s time to connect them.

Before you begin connecting your speakers, turn your system components OFF. That way, you won’t run any chance of “shorting” your amplifier and possibly damaging it as you’re hooking up your speak- ers. And, of course, turn your system back ON when you’re done!

Polarity and Proper Phasing

Don’t let these words scare you. They both refer to making sure you get all the sound your speakers are capable of giving you.

Here are step-by-step instructions for connecting the Left front output from your receiver or amplifier to the Left front speaker.

TSC speakers have two “binding posts” for connecting the speaker cable from your amplifier. One of the posts is red (positive or “+”), the other black (negative or “-“). Speaker wire, in turn, has two conductors, one for the “+” side of the signal, one for the “-“.

Note: Some TSC speakers include dual “bi-wire” terminals. More about them shortly.

Now look at your speaker wire. You’ll see that it has two conductors separated by insulation and identified by color (if the insulation is clear) or by differences in the insulation itself (ridged vs. plain is the most common). Choose one conductor to carry the “+” signal and the other for the nega- tive signal. It makes no difference which one you pick – just maintain that choice for all your connections.

Prepare the wire by exposing about 3/8” of each conductor by stripping the insulation with a wire stripper or sharp knife. Twist all the individual strands of each conductor together before inserting the end into the hole in the binding post. Then tighten the end cap down over the

wire so that there’s a firm connection.

Don’t Over-Tighten!

A firm mechanical connection is obviously better than a loose one. Just don’t go overboard! If you can make the speaker wire slip with just a gentle tug, tighten the connection a bit. Not too much, though. You can strip connectors by over-tightening them.

Speaker Back

+_

1)Locate the Left front speaker output on the receiver or amplifier. Note the two connectors – one marked “+” (the positive terminal – usually red) and one marked “-“ (the negative terminal – usually black).

2)Connect the “+” conductor of the speaker wire to the “+” terminal on the amplifier.

3)Connect the ”-“ conductor of the speaker wire to the “-“ terminal on the amplifier

4)At the speaker end of the same wire, connect the “+” conductor to the “+’ terminal on the speaker

5)Connect the “-“ conductor to the “-“ speaker terminal.

Then follow steps 1 through 5 for all other amplifier-speaker connections in your system. Maintain the same pattern for all amplifier-speaker connections!

Why are we placing as much emphasis on consistency here? We want you to get all the performance you’ve paid for!

When your amplifier-to-speaker connections are consistent (when “+” is always connected to “+” and “-“ is always connected to “-“), your speakers are connected “in phase.” That means the drivers in each speaker will push out when they get a common positive signal from an amplifier and pull in when they get a negative signal.

When speakers are connected “out of phase,” the drivers fight each other – some move out while others move in. The result? You’ll get less bass and blurred imaging. That’s a pretty heavy price to pay for not taking just a few extra seconds to make sure your connections are correct.

Some Advice On Speaker Wire

Please use 16 gauge wire if your amplifier-to-speaker runs are under 50’. For longer runs, we strongly suggest 14 gauge. For your reference, standard “lamp cord” available at most hardware stores is 18 gauge. Better to use heavier wire such as 16 or 14 gauge.

Bookshelf / Center Channel / Surround: PAGE 4