Niles Audio OS-20 manual Installationconsiderations, Installation Considerations, Wiring, Tech Tip

INSTALLATION CONSIDERATIONS

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INSTALLATIONCONSIDERATIONS

Tools and Materials Required

•A wire stripper

•A pencil

•A level (optional)

•Three screws or bolts suitable for the mounting surface

•The proper screwdriver for your mounting hardware

•A drill bit of the right size and type

•An electric drill

Wiring

The OS-20connects to your receiver or amplifier using 2-conductor speaker wire (See Figure 2). For most applications, we recommend using 16 or 18 gauge wire. For wiring runs longer than 80 feet, we recommend 14 gauge wire. The binding posts of the OS-20will accommodate up to 12 gauge wire direct- ly. Larger sizes can be accommodated using spade, banana, or pin connectors.

TECH TIP

Wire size is expressed by its AWG (American Wire Gauge) number. The lower the number, the larger the wire, i.e. twelve AWG is physically larger than fourteen AWG.

When you run wire inside walls, outdoors or in marine installations, special jacketing or conduit is required for a trouble-free installation and conformation to the local and national building codes. If you are not sure of the correct wire jacket or type of conduit to use, consult a professional audio/video installer, building contractor, or the local building and inspection department.

INSTALLATION CONSIDERATIONS

Figure 2	Figure 3
Wiring directly from a receiver or	Incorporating a volume control
amplifier

Incorporating a Volume Control

It’s possible to control the volume of the sound at the speaker location. Plan to wire the system so that each pair of speakers has it’s own volume control. Niles makes a wide range of indoor and outdoor volume controls. Consult your local Niles dealer for more information. Volume controls are connected in line with the speaker, so you must connect the wire from the amplifier to the volume con- trol and then from the volume control to the speaker (See Figure 3).

Recommended Amplifier Power

We recommend an amplifier with a power rating of five to one hundred watts per channel for optimum performance. Ironically, most speakers are not dam- aged by large amplifiers but by small amplifiers. If you are playing at high vol- ume, a small amplifier will run out of power very quickly. When an amplifier runs out of power it creates damaging “clipping” distortion. A large amplifier will play at the same volume without distorting. See the section "Operation" for more information about clipping distortion.

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