PSB Speakers speakers III. Speaker PLACEMENT-MAXIMIZING Your Enjoyment, Bi-wiring and Bi-amping

D.Be sure all wiring terminals, are tightened firmly secure, but be careful not to overtighten and damage the connectors.

Figure 1: Wiring in Phase Between Speakers and Amplifier

E.Bi-wiring and Bi-amping

The metal jumper strap that connects the two sets of terminals on some of our speak- ers is removable. This allows you to connect either separate cables to the separated woofer and tweeter terminals (“bi-wiring”) or separate amplifiers (“bi-amping”). With Bi-Amp hookup you must use either identical amplifiers or amplifiers adjusted to have the same voltage gain. Consult your PSB dealer for further information. (Illustrations are for one speaker hookup only). With single cable inputs, the jumper straps must be in place and both sets of terminals tightened firmly.

BI-WIRE HOOKUP BI-AMP HOOKUP

Figure 2: Bi-wire and Bi-amp Wiring Between Speakers and Amplifier

III.SPEAKER PLACEMENT—MAXIMIZING YOUR ENJOYMENT

A.The optimum placement height for main speakers is normally with their tweeters at about the same height as your ears when you are seated. Our tower speakers are designed for optimal listening when seated. For our compact monitors, we offer accessory speaker stands to achieve the right height if you are not using existing shelves or furniture. You may prefer to tilt the speakers towards ear level if the proper height is not possible.

B.You will generally get the best imaging and other spatial qualities if your speakers and your usual seating position form an almost equilateral triangle, with the speakers not quite as far apart from each other as they are from you. If you must sit closer to one speaker than the other, use the Balance control on your electronics (or the individual level controls on home theater channels) to give the more distant speaker a balancing boost in volume.

C.The best high-frequency dispersion, producing the widest “sweet spot” in which you and others can sit and enjoy optimum high-frequency definition, will result when your speaker enclosures are positioned vertically rather than horizontally. If you need to place compact monitor enclosures horizontally, the speakers will still perform very well, but the seating area where you will enjoy optimum sound will become more nar- row. We suggest you position the tweeters to the outside away from the center line.

D.If you sit equally distant from both speakers, angling the speakers inward (“toeing them in’) about 5 to 10 degrees usually produces the best convergence of high fre- quencies where you listen. Different listening positions may require different toe-in.

E.To go beyond these basics and experiment with positioning for optimum performance, please read the placement guidelines that follow. They are about the speakers, the room, and you.

1.The Speakers in Relation to Room Boundaries

The position of your speakers with respect to the walls, floor, and ceiling of your listening room will often affect their sound in major ways.

a)The closer you place speakers to the boundary surfaces of your room, the greater the proportion of bass in their overall sound. This is due to the enclosing, “focusing” effects of nearby surfaces on longer-wavelength (lower) frequencies. Positioning the speakers near the intersection of two surfaces (wall and wall, wall and floor, or wall and ceiling) will produce more apparent bass than placement near a single surface. The greatest proportion of bass is delivered by placement near three intersecting sur- faces—in a room corner near the floor or ceiling, where the convergence of the two walls and the floor/ceiling produces an amplifying effect that is a bit like that of a megaphone. And the least bass comes from placing a speaker away from all boundaries. Your own tastes should decide what proportion of bass response seems right in your room.

The positioning of your main left-right speakers for stereo or home theater can play a major role in their performance. We hope you will read through the placement discussion on these next few pages, beginning with these basics: