Niles Audio PR6 manual Speaker Wire, Incorporating a Remote Control, Insulating the Wall Cavity

Installation Considerations

er, so you must connect the wire from the amplifier to the volume control and then from the volume control to the speaker.

Speaker Wire

Use 2-conductor speaker wire when con- necting PR speakers to your receiver or amplifier. For most applications, we rec- ommend you use 16 or 18 gauge stranded wire. For wiring runs longer than 80 feet (25 meters) we recommend 14 gauge stranded wire. When you run wire inside walls, special jacketing (CL-2 or CL-3) is required to both protect the wire and for fire prevention. In some areas conduit is required. For a trouble-free installa- tion, low voltage wire such as speaker wire must be run in accordance with the National Electrical Code and any applica- ble provisions of the local building code. If you are unsure of the correct installation techniques, wire jacket or type of conduit to use, consult a professional audio/video installer, your building contractor, or the local building and inspection department.

Incorporating a Remote Control

An IR sensor requires that a 2-conductor shielded wire (West Penn D291 or equiv- alent) be home run from each sensor loca- tion to the main equipment location. This wire is normally run beside the speaker wire at the same time. Typically, the sen- sor is placed in a location that faces your listening position. Most remote controls will have an effective line of sight range of 18 to 30 feet (6-10 meters) with any Niles sensor placed in a wall, ceiling, on a cabi- net or tabletop. However, when you place a Niles MS110 MicroSensor behind the perforated aluminum grille of a speaker the effective range is reduced to 9 to 15 feet (3-5 meters).

Insulating the Wall Cavity

For best performance from your speakers fill the wall cavity behind the speaker with fiberglass insulation (e.g. R-19 unbatted insulation). Try to keep the same amount of insulation for each speaker, particu- larly in the same room, for consistent bass response.

Speaker Placement

Placement for Critical Listening

If you like to imagine that the band or orchestra is playing in front of you as you listen to music, or you are very conscious of clarity, detail and the textures of the individ- ual instruments, you are a critical listener.

In a home theater, the intelligibility of dialog and action reproduced by the front speakers is paramount! The position of the speakers plays a very important role in how clear the sound is and how a stereo image is created. Here are some guide- lines to make the process of placement quick and easy.

Make sure the sound will not be blocked or reflected off of furniture or other objects. You should have a direct line of sight with the front of the speaker. To determine the

best position, measure the “listening” dis- tance between the ideal listening position (your favorite chair or couch) and the wall in which you plan to install the speakers. Try to place the speakers so that they are equally distant from your listening spot and at least one half of the listening dis- tance apart (this maintains a large pleasant stereo “image”). In home theater applica- tions where there is a center channel you may choose to space the left and right main speakers farther apart for a “bigger than life” sound with Dolby® encoded movies and TV shows. However, for com-

bined music and movie usage stay within the good placement zone for music. For

example; if you are ten feet back from the wall, the speakers should be between five and ten feet apart (See Figure 2).

Speaker Placement

If you are planning to use a stereo system with a hand held IR remote control, con- sider the advantages of installing a Niles IR Repeater system. You are able to control all of the functions of your system from the room via the remote pair of speakers. Niles makes a number of IR sensors which install in the wall, in the ceiling, in cabine- try, on tabletops, or even behind the grille of some of your Niles speakers.

Speaker

Placement

Zone

			10’
		(3 meters)
10’
	5’
(3 meters)
	(1.7 meters)

Speaker

Placement

TECH TIP

Wire size is expressed by its AWG (American Wire Gauge) number. The lower the number, the larger the wire, i.e. twelve AWG is physically larger than fourteen AWG.

Zone

Figure 2

5 6