Atlantic Technology 10 CSB Placement, System Initial Set Up, How Much is Enough?

Placement 9

Instruction Manual

Placement

Place the subwoofer in the corner of the room flush up against the walls, as shown.You will still obtain perfectly acceptable results even if there is a 2 or 3-inch distance between the subwoofer cabinet and the walls because of decorative baseboard wall molding or other obstruction.

If using a single sub, either front corner is usable, however, try to avoid placement next to an open doorway, as this may cause excessive loss of bass energy.Also, try to avoid placement against a heater.The high tem- peratures may trigger the sub's protective circuitry resulting in tempo- rary loss of output. Extreme high temperatures may result in damage to the sub.

System Initial Set Up

When setting up a complete home theater we strongly recommend that you use a Sound Pressure Level meter. Radio Shack® has a good one that is very affordably priced (approximately $40-50). To use this meter, turn on your system, put the Processor/Receiver in the Test Mode and set its main volume control to 0dB.Sit in the prime listening position,set the SPL meter to the 70dB scale, Slow Response, and C Weighting. Now, holding the meter pointed up and in front of you, let the system cycle its test tone from speaker to speaker and set every speaker to the same level, typically 75dB, using the individual level settings in the Processor/ Receiver.As tempting as it may be to set the subwoofer and/or surround speakers higher than 75dB, listen again after calibration and see if you can acclimate to these levels. Try watching several different movies and keep in mind that the goal is to have a system that sounds like you’re actually“in the movie.”

For the subwoofer,begin with the processor's calibration set to zero,and

use the level control on the rear panel of the sub to make this adjustment. If you decide not to use an SPL meter try to set all the speaker levels the same using the Test Tones. Of course, this will be more difficult without the meter, especially for the subwoofer.

Subwoofer Tuning Without an SPL Meter or Test Tones

		Start by listening with the subwoofer Cross-
		ST over control set at around 100Hz (mid-
LEVEL		point) or in the Bypass position if you’re
		using a THX Certified processor or unit with
MIN	MAX	a built-in crossover. Set the phase control to
		0º, and the Variable Level Control (Figure

6)to the minimum position. Play some music that you know has good bass content,and turn the level control up until you just start to hear the subwoofer working. Now, from your normal listening position, deter- mine whether the subwoofer is playing loudly enough and filling in the bass frequencies of the music evenly. If adjustment is necessary, start by changing the setting in the processor or with the level control if your processor lacks a subwoofer level adjustment.

As you listen, adjust the phase control for image "solidity" during those frequencies/musical notes which are shared with the satellites.

How Much is Enough?

Sometimes people prefer more bass impact for movies, but using this setting for music can result in overpowering and unnatural bass repro- duction.You may wish to determine both a video level and an audio level if you find yourself falling into this camp. Remember however, the most common error people make when setting up their system is to play the subwoofer (and surrounds) too loudly. Of course, the Home Theater Police will not arrest you for this act. But should you desire the most accurate overall reproduction,a well balanced sound from lowest bass to highest treble is the best way to get it. Have fun. Experiment. Enjoy.

Using the Low Pass Frequency Crossover Control

		The Phase Control and Low Pass Frequency
		Control work together to define the behav-
FREQ		ior of the subwoofer in the frequency range
50	160	where the sub and satellites play simulta-
		neously.

The goal is to optimize the performance of the system by ensuring that the subwoofer and satellites produce a cohesive and well integrated sound“picture.”

Most surround sound receivers and processors offer a choice of several crossover frequencies,typically between 80 Hz and 120 Hz.If yours does, we recommend using the 100Hz setting when using small speakers such as those in the System 1200 or 2200. Consult your electronics owner's manual for more details.

Higher crossover frequencies pass more signals to the sub,but can sound boomy and may be more easily localized to the subwoofer.Higher cross- over frequencies may be suitable, however, when using very small satel- lites that have no real low frequency performance. Settings lower than