Niles Audio CM8MP Speaker Placement, Speaker Wire, Incorporating Remote Control, Introduction

Installation Considerations

Incorporating a Local Volume Control In a multiroom system there is one indis- pensible device for true convenience—a local volume control. It enables you to adjust the volume of the speakers without leaving the room.

Plan to wire the system so that each pair of speakers has its own volume control built into the wall (think of a volume con- trol as a dimmer switch for sound).

Niles makes a wide range of high perfor- mance indoor and outdoor volume con- trols. They are available in Standard or Decora® style cover plates (just like your light switches and dimmers). Volume con- trols are connected in line with the speak- 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 MP Multipurpose speakers to your receiver or amplifier. For most applica- tions, we recommend you use 16 or 18 gauge stranded wire. For wiring runs longer than 80 feet we recommend 14 gauge stranded wire. The no-strip termi- nals of the MP speakers will accommo- date 12 to 18 gauge wire.

professional audio/video installer, your building contractor, or the local building and inspection department.

Incorporating Remote Control

If your stereo system operates with a wire- less Infrared (IR) remote control, consider the advantages of installing a Niles Infrared Extender System. Niles manufactures a number of congealable IR sensors and wall mounted keypads which send a copy of your hand-held remote command via a wire to your main equipment location, where it is repeated to your stereo system. The wire is typically installed with the speaker wire, since the speaker signal and the IR signal will not interfere with each other. This makes almost no difference to the installation time, and the cost of the recommended IR control cable (West Penn D291 or equivalent) is reasonable.

The correct routing for IR control cable is to home run an IR control cable from the main equipment location beside the speaker wire to the planned volume con- trol location; and then on to the proposed sensor location. The combination of IR control cable and speaker wire enables a programmable Niles IntelliPad® to be installed at a later date (the IntelliPad has a convenient speaker mute feature in addi-

Speaker Placement

Introduction

Although the MP Multipurpose speakers have extensive ability to compensate for unusual placements with their unique piv- oting tweeters, placement is still the pri- mary tool for satisfying your particular lis- tening needs. In the following section, we discuss how speakers should be placed and how tweeters should be directed and how the acoustic fine-tuning switches should be set for different purposes.

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 individual instruments, or you listen criti- cally to movie soundtracks or music videos in your home theater, you will need your speakers placed so that they are optimized for critical listening. Here are some guidelines 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” distance between the ideal lis- tening position (your favorite chair or couch) and the location 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 distance apart (this maintains a large pleasant stereo “image”). In home theater applications where there is a center channel you may choose to space the left and right main speakers far- ther apart for a “bigger than life” sound with Dolby® encoded movies and TV shows. However, for combined music and movie usage stay within the good place- ment zone for music. For example; if you are ten feet back from the speakers, the speakers should be between five and ten feet apart (See Figure 4).

Tweeters should be directed at the listen- ing position.

Speaker Placement

When you run wire inside walls, special jacketing (CL-2 or CL-3) is required to both protect the wire and for fire preven- tion. In some areas conduit is required. For a trouble-free installation, low voltage wire such as speaker wire must be run in accordance with the National Electrical Code and any applicable 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

TECH TIP

Wire size is expressed by its AWG (American Wire Gauge) number. The lower the number, the larger the wire, i.e. 12 AWG is physi- cally larger than 14 AWG.

tion to automating and controlling your stereo system). An IR sensor is best placed where it is convenient for you to point the hand-held remote. Both an IntelliPad and an IR sensor can be connected in one room with one home run IR control cable.

Insulation Behind The Speaker

For best performance from your speakers lay a batten of fiberglass insulation (example: R-19 un-batted insulation) on top of the speaker. Try to keep the same amount of insulation for each speaker, particularly in the same room, for consis- tent bass response.

					Figure 4
					In this example,
					the speakers
		Direct tweeter			could be
					placed from
		towards listener
					five to 10 feet
					apart, since the
					listener is 10
					feet back from
					the speakers
Critical
	10'		5'	10'
Listening

Position

Direct tweeter

towards listener

5 6