Niles Audio DS8..5, DS8.3 Operation, Loudspeaker Phase, Listening at Higher Volumes, Cleaning

O p e rat i o n

Loudspeaker Phase

Loudspeaker wire has two conductors. One conductor is attached to the negative (-) terminals and one conductor is attached to the positive (+) terminals of both your loudspeaker and your amplifier. Usually, the wire is marked for your con- venience. There are different ways wires are marked: a stripe on one wire, a ribbed area of one conductor you can only feel, different colors of metal wire on each con- ductor, or there might be a fabric strand or string wound into one of the conductors. Of course, there are some wires which appear completely identical. Be careful, or you might make a mistake.

If you make a mistake, one loudspeaker will be playing “out-of-phase” with the other loudspeaker. An out-of-phase pair of loudspeakers work against each other and the sound of the two loudspeakers playing together will be lacking in bass and be “phasey” sounding. If you suspect the sound is not right and you cannot see any markings on the wire, try this simple test:

1.Stand half way between the loud- speakers.

2.Play some music with the amplifier or radio set to Mono.

3.Listen to the richness of the bass and the loudness of the sound.

4.Turn off the amplifier and reverse the connections on one amplifier chan- nel only.

5.Repeat the listening test with the same setting of the volume control. When the sound has a richer bass and is slightly louder the loudspeak- ers are working together or “in-phase”.

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 immedi- ately! Those harsh sounds are masking some much more powerful ultra-high-fre- quency sound spikes which will quickly damage any fine loudspeaker. You are much less likely to damage a loudspeaker with a large amplifier because it will be very loud indeed before it produces any clipping distortion.

Cleaning

You can clean the loudspeaker 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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