SONANCE SYMPHONY® SST, SSTR and SRS1

SELECTING THE PROPER SPEAKER WIRE

For the best sound we recommend that you use premium

Sonance

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wire resistance in Ohms vs. length of cable run

 

MediaLinQ® speaker

cable,

which also complies with UL fire rating codes.

 

 

You may

also

experiment

with

audiophile

brands

of speaker

cable

and

 

Distance in Feet

 

50'

100'

150'

200'

250'

300'

 

interconnects, but be sure

to check local

codes governing wire

 

that

may

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20 gauge

 

1.04

2.07

 

3.11

4.14

5.18

 

6.22

 

be installed within walls or ceilings. Different brands of wire can have

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

different sonic characteristics, and some may be more compatible

with the

 

18 gauge

 

.65

1.30

 

1.96

2.61

3.26

 

3.91

 

sonic “signature” of

your

various

audio

system components.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16 gauge

 

.41

.82

 

1.22

1.63

2.04

 

2.45

 

For the best sound

you should

never

use

thin-gauge speaker

wire

–

it

 

 

 

 

 

 

14 gauge

 

.26

.52

 

.77

1.03

1.29

 

1.55

 

will constrict the sound and diminish

bass response. Extra resistance

in

 

 

 

 

 

 

12 gauge

 

.16

.32

 

.49

.65

.81

 

.97

 

the speaker wire can make a speaker sound less dynamic and reduce

 

 

 

 

 

definition

of

the

bass

frequencies.

In

extreme

cases, it

can

even

 

10 gauge

 

.10

.20

 

.31

.41

.51

 

.61

 

attenuate high frequencies. Also, amplifier power is wasted in

 

thin

wire

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

with extra resistance, reducing your system’s maximum output

level. To

 

F i g u r e 5 :

S p e a k e r

W i r e

R e s i s t a n c e

T a b l e

 

 

prevent degrading sound quality, the total wire resistance should be less

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

than 10% of the speaker’s impedance. This means that for an

8-ohm speaker, the total resistance

of the wire should

be less than

0.8 ohms. Refer to

Figure 5

when

selecting the proper wire gauge for

your system.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PREPARING THE INSTALLATION LOCATION

Building a Back Box into the Ceiling or Wall Bay

Sonance Symphony SST/SSTR and SRS1 speakers are designed to

provide exceptionally musical performance in a wide variety of enclosure volumes. You can

get the very best performance from your speakers by partitioning a

section of the ceiling or wall bay to form a sealed back box with a specific internal

volume. Building such an enclosure will create a dramatic improvement in your speakers’ bass performance and power handling.

Ideal back box volume requirements:

 

 

 

Symphony

S623SST:

1.5

ft3

Symphony

S621SSTR:

1.0

ft3

Symphony

S623SSTR:

1.5

ft3

Symphony

SRS1:

1.0

ft3

Optional Symphony Speaker Enclosures

For installations where it isn’t possible to partition the ceiling bay into a back box, installing optional Symphony Acoustic Enclosures (SSTR/SRS1 part # 91688; SST part # 91687) will noticeably improve your speakers’ bass performance and power handling and will significantly reduce sound transmission into adjacent rooms and spaces. These enclosures are made from ½”-thick MDF and are designed to be installed in new construction only.

To reduce sound transmission into adjacent rooms in installations where it isn’t possible to install a Symphony Acoustic Enclosure (such as when you’re retrofitting the speakers into an existing ceiling), you can fit the speakers with optional Symphony Retrofit Enclosures (SSTR/SRS1 part # 92343; SST part # 92342). These enclosures are designed specifically to be used with Symphony-series speakers, and will noticeably reduce sound “spillover” from the rears of the speakers into adjacent rooms and spaces.

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