Speaker connections

The GRS44 has four stereo 30 watts per channel amplified outputs. Channel 1 also has line level outputs to connect to larger powered amplifiers.

To ensure that the high quality signals produced by your amplifier are carried to your speakers without loss of clarity or resolution, Knoll advises that you use high-quality speaker wire. Many brands of wire are available — the choice may be influenced by the distance between your speakers and the amplifier, the type of speakers you use, personal preferences, along with other factors.

Regardless of the brand or type of speaker wire chosen, we suggest that you use a wire constructed of fine, multi-strand copper with a gauge of 16 or less (the lower the number, the thicker the cable). Wire with a gauge of 16 may be used for short runs of less than 12 feet. We do not recommend that you use any wires with an AWG equivalent of 18 or higher due to the power loss and degradation in performance.

To connect the amplifiers to your speakers, a removable plug with screws is provided for each stereo channel output. Strip approximately 1/4 inch of insulation from the end of each wire and carefully twist the strands of each conductor together. Be sure not to cut the individual strands or twist them off. All strands must be used for optimal performance. Insert the wire into the plug and screw the screws very tight. Inspect that no wire “hairs” that can short circuit are not in the plug.

Correct polarity connections are important to maintain proper speaker phasing. When speaker phasing is correct, all speakers move in and out at the same time preserving the imaging of the program material. Out-of-phase connections mean that some turn off, check your speakers to verify that they are operating properly. If all other potential sources of trouble check out properly, contact Knoll for further assistance.

Run the cables to speaker locations. Do not coil any excess cable, as this may become an inductor that creates frequency response variations in your system. Lastly, connect the wires to the speakers, again being aware of proper polarity. Remember to connect the negative, or black wire, to the matching terminal on the speaker. The positive, or red wire should be connected to the matching terminal on the speaker.

Note: While most speaker manufacturers follow industry convention of using red terminals for positive connections and black terminals for negative, some manufacturers may vary from this configuration. To ensure proper phase connections, and optimal performance, consult the identification plate on our speaker terminals, or the speaker’s manual to verify polarity. Contact the speaker’s manufacturer if you do not know the polarity of your speakers.