Niles Audio AT8700 Operation, Setting the Tone Controls, Listening at Higher Volumes, Cleaning

Installation of the Speaker and Grille in New or Existing Construction

When utilizing AT8500 or AT8700 speakers to reproduce rear channel information in a home theater, the goal is to create as many reflections as possible by mounting the speakers up high in the wall or in the ceiling and aim the Midrange/Tweeter Array into the corners or at an adjoining wall to diffuse the sound (See Figures 5 and 6 on page 8).

Of course, the best way to emulate the sound of multiple speakers is to use multi- ple speakers. In large or unusually shaped rooms this may be the only way to achieve good results (See Figure 7 on page 9).

Once again, experiment with the position- ing of the Array using your favorite movie soundtracks until you find what works best in your theater.

Setting the Tone Controls

The AT8500 and AT8700 speakers feature baffle-mounted, 4 position level controls for the Bass, Midrange and Treble frequen- cies. Additionally, the AT8700 features two LinearTrack™ filters and a Sub-Bass Boost control which adds 3dB at 60Hz to enhance the speaker’s low frequency per- formance if desired. These tone shaping fil- ters enable each of the frequency bands to be cut or boosted to compensate for less than ideal room acoustics, or to suit the lis- tener’s preference.

The AT8700’s two LinearTrack™ Filters which enable you to fine tune the perfor- mance of the crossover. These two filters each adjust an octave wide band of fre- quencies most affected by the interaction between the woofer and midrange, and between the midrange drivers and the tweeter. The controls can be adjusted to provide 2dB of Boost or Cut centered at 1KHz and 3.5KHz. When used in con- junction with the Bass, Midrange, and Treble Tone Controls (which directly affect the frequency response of the woofer, midrange drivers, and the tweeter respec- tively), the LinearTrack™ Filters will help smooth out the seams in the frequency spectrum between the Tone Controls to optimize performance in less than ideal lis- tening environments.

As an example, a speaker installed within one or two feet of a corner or ceiling may exhibit excessive bass response caused by the boundary effect. Cutting the Bass by 3 dB can minimize the boundary effect and enable the speaker to sound much more accurate and natural despite it’s proximity to the adjoining wall or ceiling (For more information on the boundary effect, see The Boundary Effect on page 6).

In contrast, a large room with lots of drapes, upholstered furniture and textured wall paper may sound dead and lifeless. Boosting the Treble 2 or even 4dB may substantially increase the ambience and presence in an absorbent room.

The key to good sound is experimentation. Set the controls to the “flat” position to start with, then adjust until the desired results are achieved.

Operation

Listening at Higher Volumes

It requires more power to achieve a reason- able volume of sound in a large room than it does in a small room. It is possible (even if you are not a teenager) to turn the volume so high that the amplifier runs out of power. This creates “clipping” distortion.

Clipping distortion makes treble sound very harsh and unmusical. When you hear harsh sounding treble from any good speaker, turn the volume down immediately! Those harsh sounds are masking some much more powerful ultra-high-frequency sound spikes which will quickly damage any fine loudspeaker. You are much less likely to damage a speaker with a large amplifier because it will be very loud indeed before it produces any clipping distortion.

Cleaning

You can clean the speaker with a dampened soft cloth or paper towel. If the speaker is mounted high up on a wall or ceiling, use a broom to gently brush it off.

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