INSTALLATION & OPERATION GUIDE MODELS ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY CM5AT CM6AT CM8AT ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY ® B LENDING AND H IGH F IDELITY ® A RC H I T ECT U R E Congratulations! Thank you for choosing an Advanced technology Ceiling Mount Loudspeaker from Niles. With proper installation and operation, you'll enjoy years of trouble-free use. Niles manufactures the industry's most complete line of custom installation components and accessories for audio/video systems. For a free full line catalog write: Niles, Catalog Request, P.O. Box 160818, Miami, Florida 33116-0818 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION FEATURES AND BENEFITS INSTALLATION CONSIDERATIONS SPEAKER PLACEMENT INSTALLATION FUNDAMENTALS INSTALLATION IN NEW CONSTRUCTION INSTALLATION IN EXISTING CONSTRUCTION FINAL INSTALLATION IN NEW OR EXISTING CONSTRUCTION OPERATION SPECIFICATIONS WARRANTY REGISTRATION CARD LIMITED WARRANTY 2 2 4 6 9 13 14 15 17 18 21 22 The AT or Advanced Technology group of ceiling mount Loudspeakers is designed to deliver truly stunning performance with optimum installation flexibility. All models in the AT series are constructed using the highest quality components and utilize Introduction Features and Benefits advanced materials technology to create speakers capable of reproducing both music and movie soundtracks with incredible realism and sonic impact. They are perfect anywhere that ultimate sound quality is required. Features and Benefits Carbon/Glass Fiber with Butyl Rubber Surround The CM5AT, CM6AT and CM8AT loudspeakers employ an advanced cone material that combines carbon and fiber glass in a special weave that maximizes stiffness and minimizes cone break up. The result is a cone that delivers deep, powerful bass and unrivaled dynamic response. 1" Fluid-Cooled Ultra-Wide Dispersion Tri-Laminate Teteron Tweeter in Custom Pivoting Coaxial Enclosure The Teteron tweeter employs a tri-laminate design consisting of an inner textile layer which forms the dome, a high damping layer to kill unwanted resonances and an outside layer of urethane to add stiffness and prevent breakup modes. The result is a transparently clear, sweet, natural sounding tweeter which still maintains extended frequency response. This advanced tweeter is housed in a precision adjustment mechanism which permits the tweeter to be accurately positioned after installation for optimum performance and without the diffraction distortion typical of traditional pivoting tweeters. No-Strip Speaker Terminal Niles patented No-Strip terminal enables speakers to be connected without stripping the speaker wire. No-Strip terminals eliminate fumbling with wire strippers and input terminals. They are color coded and simply plug into the crossover circuit boards on the back of Niles speakers, resulting in positive in-phase connections every time. Moisture and UV Resistant Construction The CM5AT, CM6AT and CM8AT loudspeakers are suitable for use in high moisture environments. The drivers are resistant to moisture and UV exposure; the grille is made of powder-coated aluminum. However, the speakers are not waterproof and direct contact with water should be avoided. Engineered for Ceiling Placement The CM5AT, CM6AT and CM8AT have been specifically designed and tuned for optimum performance when mounted in a ceiling. The custom designed low diffraction tweeter housing is mounted coaxially to avoid the "venetian blind" effect common with ceiling speakers that employ sub-baffles as tweeter mounts. The 20° tweeter pivot angle ensures optimum high-frequency coverage. Installer Selectable Acoustic Fine Tuning Installers can select to de-emphasize the bass or treble by 2dB to accommodate reflective surfaces and corner loading. This selection is accomplished via bafflemounted controls that are accessible after the speaker has been installed. contined on next page 2 4 or 8 ohm Selectable Impedance The dual voice coil feature of the CM5AT, CM6AT and CM8AT gives the installer flexibility to select the speaker's impedance -- 4 ohms for systems where maximum current transfer and output level is desired; 8 ohms for systems utilizing multiple speaker pairs where amplifier loading is a consideration. MicroPerfTM Grilles The CM5AT, CM6AT and CM8AT employ Niles exclusive MicroPerf grille construction. the exceptionally tight hole pattern provides acoustic transparency at all audio frequencies and enables the speaker elements to remain invisible. MicroPerf grilles can also be painted to blend seemlessly with the surrounding decor. Easy Installation The CM5AT, CM6AT and CM8AT employ a bracketless mounting system in existing ceilings. Simply cut a hole in the mounting surface, remove the grille from the speaker, connect the wires and place the speaker in the hole. Then tighten the four mounting "dogs" via the front panel screws. The dogs first swivel 90°, then clamp the speaker frame to the drywall as you tighten the screws. Hole Saving Bracket Available as an optional accessory, CM5 Series, CM6 Series and CM8 Series New Construction Brackets can be installed as a "hole-saver" before the drywall goes up. The drywall contractor cuts the holes as the drywall is installed, reducing installation time and minimizing the chance for lost wires Features and Benefits 3 Installation Considerations Recommended Amplifier Power For satisfactory performance, we recommend an amplifier with a power rating of 10 to 100 watts for the CM5AT; 10 to 125 watts for the CM6AT and 10 to 150 watts for the CM8AT. Curiously, most speakers are not damaged by large amplifiers but by small amplifiers. If your system is playing loudly, 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 on operating the speakers for more information about clipping distortion. Incorporating a Local Volume Control Installation Considerations Figure 1 The illustration shows how a typical CM loudspeaker mounts into a ceiling. New Construction Bracket serves as a "hole saver" when drywall has not been applied. It is not necessary when retrofitting to existing ceilings. Knockout wire tie allows the wire to be secured to the bracket throughout the new construction process. It knocks out cleanly when the speaker is installed. New construction wings instantly snap into the bracket without screws. Dogs swivel 90°, then clamp the speaker frame to the drywall. Frames are molded with a slight texture to assure good paint adhesion. Mounting screws tighten the "dogs", clamping the speaker to the drywall. Rust-proof aluminum grilles make the CM series perfect for moist environments. Wings are scored for easy size trimming. Brackets and wings attach to the ceiling joists with nails or screws. Figure 2 The CM5AT, CM6AT and CM8AT include easy access, baffle mounted tone controls that enable you to accommodate varying room acoustics 20 Figure 3 The CM5AT, CM6AT and CM8AT tweeter is housed in a custom designed, low diffraction enclosure, pivots up to 20° to provide optimum high frequency coverage 4 In a multiroom system there is one indispensible device for true convenience--a local volume control. It enables you to adjust the volume of the speakers without leaving the room. Plan to wire the system so that each pair of speakers has its own volume control built into the wall (think of a volume control as a dimmer switch for sound). Niles makes a wide range of high performance indoor and outdoor volume controls. They are available in Standard or Decora® style cover plates (just like your light switches and dimmers). Volume controls are connected in line with the speaker, so you must connect the wire from the amplifier to the volume control and then from the volume control to the speaker. Speaker Wire Use 2-conductor speaker wire when connecting CM5AT, CM6AT and CM8AT speakers to your receiver or amplifier. For most applications, we recommend you use 16 or 18 gauge stranded wire. For wiring runs longer than 80 feet we recommend 14 gauge stranded wire. The nostrip terminals of the AT speakers will accommodate 12 to 18 gauge wire. When you run wire inside walls, special jacketing (CL-2 or CL-3) is required to both protect the wire and for fire prevention. In some areas conduit is required. For a trouble-free installation, low voltage wire such as speaker wire must be run in accordance with the National Electrical Code and any applicable provisions of the local building code. If you are unsure of the correct installation techniques, wire jacket or type of conduit to use, consult a professional audio/video installer, your building contractor, or the local building and inspection department. Incorporating Remote Control If your stereo system operates with a wireless Infrared (IR) remote control, consider the advantages of installing a Niles Infrared Extender System. Niles manufactures a number of concealable IR sensors and wall mounted keypads which send a copy of your hand-held remote command via a wire to your main equipment location, where it is repeated to your stereo system. The wire is typically installed with the speaker wire, since the speaker signal and the IR signal will not interfere with each other. This makes almost no difference to the installation time, and the cost of the recommended IR control cable (West Penn D291 or equivalent) is reasonable. The correct routing for IR control cable is to home run an IR control cable from the main equipment location beside the speaker wire to the planned volume control location; and then on to the proposed sensor location. The combination of IR control cable and speaker wire enables a programmable Niles IntelliPad ® to be installed at a later date (the IntelliPad has a convenient speaker mute feature in addition to automating and controlling your stereo system). An IR sensor is best placed where it is convenient for you to point the hand-held remote. Both an IntelliPad and an IR sensor can be connected in one room with one home run IR control cable. Insulation Behind The Speaker For best performance from your speakers lay a batten of fiberglass insulation (example: R-19 un-batted insulation) on top of the speaker. Try to keep the same amount of insulation for each speaker, particularly in the same room, for consistent bass response. Installation Considerations 5 TECH TIP Wire size is expressed by its AWG (American Wire Gauge) number. The lower the number, the larger the wire, i.e. 12 AWG is physically larger than 14 AWG. Speaker Placement Introduction Although the CM5AT, CM6AT and CM8AT have extensive ability to compensate for unusual placements with their unique pivoting tweeters and acoustic fine-tuning switches, placement is still the primary tool for satisfying your particular listening needs. In the following section, we discuss how speakers should be placed and how tweeters should be directed and how the acoustic fine-tuning switches should be set for different purposes. Placement for Critical Listening If you like to imagine that the band or orchestra is playing in front of you as you listen to music, or you are very conscious of clarity, detail and the textures of the individual instruments, or you listen critically to movie soundtracks or music videos in your home theater, you will need your speakers placed so that they are optimized for critical listening. Here are some guidelines to make the process of placement quick and easy. Speaker Placement Make sure the sound will not be blocked or reflected off of furniture or other objects. You should have a direct line of Figure 4 Direct tweeter towards listener In this example, the speakers could be placed from five to 10 feet apart, since the listener is 10 feet back from the speakers Critical Listening Position 10' 5' 10' Direct tweeter towards listener 6 sight with the front of the speaker. To determine the best position, measure the "listening" distance between the ideal listening position (your favorite chair or couch) and the location in which you plan to install the speakers. Try to place the speakers so that they are equally distant from your listening spot and at least one half of the listening distance apart (this maintains a large pleasant stereo "image"). In home theater applications where there is a center channel you may choose to space the left and right main speakers farther apart for a "bigger than life" sound with Dolby ® encoded movies and TV shows. However, for combined music and movie usage stay within the good placement zone for music. For example; if you are ten feet back from the speakers, the speakers should be between five and ten feet apart (See Figure 4). Tweeters should be directed at the listening position. room you will notice that when the sound is perfect in one part of the room, it is too loud near the speakers. By placing more than one pair in the ro ...