Niles Audio HDCTR, HDLRS manual Boundary Effect, Placement of the Center Channel Speaker Hdctr

Speaker Placement

the HD•LRS too close to a direct view TV monitor as they may cause picture discol- oration (HD•CTR may be substituted for HD•LRS in such an installation). In general, try to keep an HD•LRS at least 24 inches away from the TV. With larger CRT screen sizes, you should test for picture degrada- tion before installing.

The Boundary Effect

Corners can affect the bass response of the speaker powerfully! This is called the boundary effect. You will emphasize par- ticular bass frequencies and cancel out

Placement of the Center Channel Speaker (HD•CTR)

The center channel speaker is the work- horse in a home theater system. It handles all of the critical dialog and as such it is vitally important in creating the illusion of sounds emanating directly from the picture.

The HD•CTR is specially optimized for this important job. Its dual Magnetically Shielded woofers enable it to be placed directly adjacent to a direct view televi- sion without affecting picture quality. In a typical installation, the HD•CTR will be

HD•LRS

Perforated Screen

HD•CTR

Figure 4

Speaker Placement

HD•LRS

other bass frequencies when you place speakers close to the wall/ceiling bound- ary or a corner wall boundary. This can make the speaker sound excessively boomy and inaccurate to some listeners, while to others it just seems like more bass sound. A good rule of thumb is if you always listen to your current pair of speak- ers with the bass turned up, you’ll enjoy corner placement. If you keep your tone controls at neutral, try to keep the speak- ers at least one or two feet from the boundaries of the room. The HD•LRS fea- tures a front baffle-mounted adjustment switch labeled “Bass Cut” which enables you to compensate for the boundry effect by reducing bass output by 3dB.

placed horizontally, directly above the television or projection screen. Try to insure that the speaker is not placed too high relative to the left and right speaker. (See Figure 3).

For installations where a perforated projec- tion screen will be used, optimum perfor- mance can be obtained by placing the HD•CTR, either horizontally or vertically, behind the screen at ear level. (See Figure 4). When placed at ear level, the HD•CTR’s crossover configuration switch should be set to “DSFG Defeat”. (See the section on Defeating DSFG on page 18 for more details).

Placement of the Rear Channel Speakers (HD•LRS)

In a home theater, the goal is to reproduce the experience of a great movie theater in our homes. The biggest difference between your home and the theater is the surround speaker array. In a commercial theater, it is not uncommon to see twenty or thirty speakers around the audience. This huge array of speakers assures that you will feel completely surrounded by the ambient soundtrack of the movie. Film makers try to use the “surround” soundtrack to envelope you in the environment on screen. They will place background music, rain sounds, traffic noise, etc. on the “surround” sound-

track. In a home with a single pair of speak- ers it is easy for the jungle sounds to sound like they are “in the middle of your head” just like headphones!

A single pair of HD•LRS Loudspeakers, properly placed, can create a very con- vincing simulation of an array of speakers. If you place them near a hard reflecting surface you can make one pair of speakers sound like several. Create as many reflec- tions as possible by mounting the speaker up high in the wall so that the ceiling will act as a powerful reflector. (See Figures 5 and 6). If you mount the speakers as far away as you can from the listening area, more reflections will occur. However, all

Figure 3

For an HD•CTR placed above a TV, install the speaker with the tweeter up. For an HD•CTR placed below a TV, install the speaker with the tweeter down.

HD•CTR

Not Greater than 24"

TV

HD•LRS HD•LRS

Figure 5

If the primary listening position is towards the back of the room as depicted in figure 5, place the rear speakers high up on the side wall or in the ceiling as pictured.

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