MK Sound 125C & S-85C Center Channel Usage, Optimizing Speaker Placement, Height or Angle

S-125/S-125C/S-85/S-85C page 6

If you have a separate electronic high-pass filter (such as the M&K VF-80 or HP-80), always use the WIDE RANGE terminals, as you do not want to have this combination of dual filters operating. This also applies if your amplifier or controller has built-in high-pass filters (such as THX-approved components and AC-3 units).

4. S-125C & S-85C CENTER CHANNEL USAGE

Because the S-125C and S-85C center channel speakers are designed to match their left and right channel counterparts, the instructions in section 3 apply identically to both speaker versions. These center channel speakers are designed to be oriented horizontally and located above or below your television screen. The front baffle of these speakers is angled so that its sound can be focused towards your ears when you are seated in the main listening position. When the speaker sits on top of a television set, place it so that it aims down. When it is underneath or below the screen, place it so that it aims up. For a more discussion of center channel speaker placement, see page 8.

CAUTION: If you are feeding your subwoofer with speaker wires from your amplifier's left and right channels (not with an RCA - RCA cable from the processor's SUBWOOFER OUTPUT), you MUST set the processor's center channel switch to the NORMAL position. If you do not, the center channel bass will not be fed to the subwoofer. You should still use the LOW CUT (HIGH PASS FILTER) terminal, as the combination of both filters will be about 12 dB/octave.

5. OPTIMIZING SPEAKER PLACEMENT

The sound quality produced by your speakers can be significantly enhanced by careful attention to their placement. While we understand that you may not redesign your room to accommodate your speakers, coming as close as possible to the ideal placement will give you much better sound.

The left and right channel speakers can be oriented either horizontally or vertically (if you have the S-125s, the preferred orientation is vertical, but horizontal orientation is acceptable. When oriented vertically, the angle on the front baffle should point towards the center of the room, not to the side walls (see Figure 2 on page 7). When oriented horizontally, the angle on the front baffle should point down if the speaker will be above your head when you are listening, and up if the speaker will be below your head. The Center channel speaker is designed for horizontal orientation (tweeter and woofer drivers next to each other), and should be angled towards your listening position.

Three factors are important in getting the best sound. They are:

A.Height (or angle).

B.Location away from room walls or reflecting surfaces.

C.Separation between Left and Right speakers.

A. HEIGHT (OR ANGLE)

Your M&K Satellites will always deliver sound superior to conventional speakers, regardless of where you locate them. However, because they are designed for very fast and accurate transient response, they achieve even better sound quality, and the flattest frequency response when properly oriented relative to your ear.

Ideally, the tweeters should be at the same height from the floor as your ears, when you are sitting in your main listening position.

If you have the speakers mounted above or below this height, we recommend that you angle the speakers so that the tweeters are aimed at your ears when you are in the main listening position.

If you have a helper move the speakers while you sit and listen, you should be able to hear the difference when the speakers are in the best location by listening for the brightest high frequencies and for the best "focus" of sound, where you hear the sharpest sonic imaging of voices and instruments.

B. LOCATION AWAY FROM REFLECTING SURFACES

Your Satellites should be located, whenever practical, away from walls, the floor, furniture, or any other reflecting surfaces. Do the best you can. Objects close to the speaker will reflect sound, and this reflected sound arrives at your ear slightly later than the direct sound, which blurs sonic imaging and makes transients seem muted.

The delay is very slight, so instead of hearing an echo, you hear a "blurred" sound with less clarity that is not as sharp and distinct as it should be. This time delay also affects frequency response and sonic imaging.