PSB Platinum Series Manuals

SPEAKERS SPEAKERS o w n e r ’ s m a n u a l Congratulations on choosing PSB Platinum Series speakers. Please take the time to read the instructions in this guide, as they will help you enjoy the full potential of your loudspeakers in any stereo or multichannel home theater application. Warranty Registration We recommend you take a few moments now to register your warranty, preferably on-line at psbspeakers.com/w/Warranty.html or via the enclosed registration form so that we will be able to serve you better in the future. Unpacking The packing materials of your PSB Platinum Series speakers are designed to protect them from damage during shipping. Retain the packaging in case the need arises to transport the speakers in the future. Adjusting Rubber Levelers and Spikes (Tower and Monitor Speakers) Attach the supplied spikes or rubber levelers to the bottom of the speaker as shown in the diagram at left. On carpets, position the speakers and adjust spikes to the desired height (higher for thicker carpet) and hand tighten the knurled locknuts against the bottom of the cabinet. Adjusting Rubber Bumpers (For Center Channel Models) Attach supplied rubber bumpers to the bottom of the speaker as shown in the diagram. For positioning of speakers on top of a smaller surface (ie. top of TV cabinet) locate the bumpers on the bottom such that they all touch and support the speaker on the smaller surface. Bumpers across the rear of the cabinet can be left off to tilt the speaker slightly upward if located on a shelf below a screen. Bumpers across the front can be left off to slightly tilt the speaker down if located above a screen. Wall Mounting S2 Surrounds Attach supplied rubber bumpers to the lower rear panel of each speaker. Refer to the supplied template/instruction sheet to accurately and securely position the mounting hardware on the wall. Note: The middle of the three mounting screws should be screwed firmly into a wall stud. The outer two screws should then use an appropriate dry-wall mounting fastener. If it is not possible to mount to a stud then proper drywall mounting anchors must be used. There are simple expanding plastic sleeves commonly used for mounting fixtures to dry-wall. These are not adequate and must not be used. Rather, choose one of the wide expanding, permanently captured style of wall anchors designed for mounting heavier loads to dry-wall. If you don't feel confident in such matters we strongly recommend that you have your dealer or a professional contractor assist you in the mounting of your surround speakers. The installer is responsible for the correct selection and use of mounting hardware (available through local hardware retailers) that will ensure the proper and safe wall- mounting of the speakers. Rubber Washer Knurled Locknut Rubber Leveler Carpet Spike Tower Base Optional: PS B Platinum Stand (not shown) 2 Speaker Placement — Maximizing Your Enjoyment Proper loudspeaker placement is an essential ingredient to getting the best sound from your high performance stereo, multi-channel audio or home theater system. The goal is to reproduce faithfully the audio soundtrack the movie director or music producer created without calling any attention to the speakers themselves. Fortunately, it is a straightforward process that just takes some care and patience. Should you have a large room and the possibility to arrange the room as you wish or if you are designing a room for home entertainment refer to the diagrams shown here for ideal speaker placement. In this arrangement all speakers (except the subwoofer) are placed the same distance from the listener. In most cases, you’ll need to adapt your speaker placement to a given room that’s less than ideal. Here are a few speaker placement basics to keep in mind as you get started: A. You will generally get the best imaging and other spatial qualities if your front left/right speakers and your usual seating position form an almost equilateral triangle, with the speakers not quite as far apart from each other as they are from you. If you must sit closer to one speaker than the other, use the Balance control on your electronics (or the individual level controls on home theater channels) to give the more distant speaker a balancing boost in volume. B. Our tower speakers are designed for optimal listening from the seated to standing position. For our monitors, we offer accessory speaker stands to achieve the right height if you are not using existing shelves or furniture. C. The best high-frequency dispersion, producing the widest “sweet spot” in which you and others can sit and enjoy optimum high-frequency definition, will result when your main speaker enclosures are positioned vertically rather than horizontally. If you are placing your monitors horizontally, the speakers will still perform very well, but the seating area where you will enjoy optimum sound will become narrower. We suggest you position the tweeters to the outside away from the center line. You may prefer to tilt the speakers towards ear level using the adjustable levelers. D. If you sit equally distant from both speakers, angling the speakers inward (“toeing them in’) about 5 to 10 degrees usually produces the best convergence of high frequencies where you listen. Different listening positions may require different toe-in. E. Surround speaker placement is covered in Section 4. Beyond these basics, experiment with positioning for optimum performance. Please read the placement guidelines that follow. They are about the speakers, the room, and you. All distances are equal All distances are equal 5.1 surround speaker placement 6.1/7.1 surround speaker placement 3 The Speakers in Relation to Room Boundaries The position of your speakers with respect to the walls, floor, and ceiling of your listening room will often affect their sound in major ways. A. The closer you place speakers to the boundary surfaces of your room, the greater the proportion of bass in their overall sound. This is due to the enclosing, “focusing” effects of nearby surfaces on longer-wavelength (lower) frequencies. Positioning the speakers near the intersection of two surfaces (wall and wall, wall and floor, or wall and ceiling) will produce more apparent bass than placement near a single surface. The greatest proportion of bass is delivered by placement near three intersecting surfaces—in a room corner near the floor or ceiling, where the convergence of the two walls and the floor/ceiling produces an amplifying effect that is a bit like that of a megaphone. And the least bass comes from placing a speaker away from all boundaries. Your own tastes should decide what proportion of bass response seems right in your room. B. The combination of the three dimensions of your room generally will produce at least three points in the room where the frequency response you experience related to a given position (of either the speaker or you) will either greatly increase or almost disappear. The most obvious effects are on low frequencies, but mid-frequency effects, while usually subtler, are also often present. Keep in mind, then, that very small changes in positioning (of the speakers or you) may produce major or subtle changes. C. Distances of speakers from the walls can make great differences in the number, strength, and particular frequencies of secondary reflections—changing frequency-balance, sonic spaciousness, and definition. Most listeners prefer their speakers at least a few inches from all walls, but the choice is yours to determine by listening. You in Relation to the Speakers Where you sit in relation to your speakers obviously makes a difference too. The proportions of the particular triangle formed by your speakers and you matter. (You may need to send more power to the more distant speaker to compensate if you get much further from one speaker than the other.) The overall distances involved also matter. As you get further from the speakers, more sound reflected from your room’s surfaces (in contrast to the sound coming directly from the speakers) reaches your ears, and the original spatial relationships in a recording are changed as your room “takes over.” Sometimes the result is a mellower, more “integrated” sound. Other times, it’s a more strident or annoyingly “echoey”—or other—quality. Once again, the particular dimensions of your room play a part. And depending on what seems more realistic and/or enjoyable to your ears, you may choose to sit at a great distance or have close-up, “near-field” sound. Keep in mind that the right “toe-in,” the right speaker height, and a reasonably symmetrical distance from the speakers all tend to work together to deliver the best high-frequency definition and imaging. You in Relation to Room Boundaries Changing your own position with respect to a room’s boundaries may also bring a big effect, sometimes for a small change. Getting further from the wall behind you may make sound more precise and localized. Getting closer may make sound more “mellow” and integrated. Coming too close—to back wall, side wall, or (especially) a corner— you may experience a major peak or cancellation of a certain band of frequencies. It depends on factors we can’t cover fully here but do get into on our web site. Remember too, with respect to your own positioning, that it may—or may not—be easier to change your own seating location than to move your speakers. As with so much else in life, the one certain rule is that you shouldn’t fix, or worry about, what isn’t broken (audibly in this case), especially if it means moving heavy furniture. As you consider the three relationships we have outlined, the idea is to manipulate whatever variable is easiest and most productive for improving your listening experience. Be sure to base your judgements on listening to a good variety of recordings of vocals, and acoustic instruments, soloists, different movies and musical instruments to most easily recognize tonal balance shifts. 1. 2. 3. 4