Knoll 21K installation instructions Making rear panel connections, Power control connections

speaker cones will be moving in, while others move out. This will cause indistinct or confusing imaging, and muddled and cloudy sounds. To avoid incorrect phasing or polarity, be sure to use wire that has distinct markings, colors, stripes, wording, or grooves on each side of the speaker cable. When making connections to the amp and speakers, follow a consistent pattern of using one side of the wire to the red terminals and the other side to the black. When using cable with markings on one side only, standard convention is to consider the marked side of the wire as the red, or positive (+) connection, and the non-marked side as the black or negative (-) connection.

Next loosen the knobs of the amplifier’s speaker output terminals far enough so that they pass through hole is revealed. Follow the proper connection instruction for your system with regard to which terminals are used. Once the connections are made, twist the cap back so that the connection is secured but do not over tighten or use tools, as this may break the delicate wire strands and decrease system performance.

If you are using spade lugs, connect them to the speaker wire using the manufacturer’s instructions, and then loosen the caps on the speaker terminals. Place lugs between the plastic cap and the back of the terminal. Be sure to observe proper polarity. Use your fingers to tighten to obtain a positive contact.

When using banana plugs, connections may be made by inserting the jack affixed to your speaker wire into the hole provided on the rear of the colored screw caps on the binding posts. Before using banana –type jacks, make certain that the plastic screw caps are firmly tightened down by turning them in a clockwise direction until they are snug against the chassis. This ensures that the maximum surface area of the plug is in contact with the jack. Watch for proper polarity.

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.

Making rear panel connections

When connecting the amplifier to your source equipment, match the output channel designations on the rear of your source equipment to the input jacks on the rear panel of your amplifier that have the same channel name. Correct polarity connections are important to maintain proper speaker phasing. When making connections to the amp and speakers, follow a consistent pattern of using one side of the wire to the red terminals and the other side to the black terminals.

Power control connections

The 21k amplifier features a built-in remote turn-on system that can automatically switch the amplifier on when another device in the system is switched on.

Remote turn-on using products equipped with a low- voltage trigger jack: Make sure the 21k front panel power switch is in the out of “OFF” position. Use an accessory cable with a 3.5mm mono mini-plug on each end to connect the trigger output jack on the rear of the source device to the trigger input jack on the back panel of the amplifier. The trigger needs to be 12 VDC and about 35 mA. When trigger power is switched on, the amplifier will automatically turn on at the same time.

Remote turn-on using external AC to DC power converter: If your source device does not have a dedicated trigger jack, it is still possible to activate the unit for automatic turn on when a Switched Outlet is available on the rear of the source device. To control the 21k amplifier this way, you will need a small AC to DC power converter like our PS1202, capable of delivering 12 volts DC and over 35 mA. The DC voltage should terminate in a standard 3.5mm type mini plug (this will have to be added to the PS1202). This type of converter may be obtained as a power adapter from many electronic retailers.