INSTALLATION & OPERATION GUIDE MODELS CM5MP CM6MP MULTIPURPOSE MULTIPURPOSE CM8MP MULTIPURPOSE www.nilesaudio.com Niles Audio Corporation 12331 S.W. 130 Street Miami, Florida 33186 Tel: (305) 238-4373 Fax: (305) 238-0185 Printed in Taiwan © 2003 Niles Audio Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Niles, the Niles logo, and Blending High Fidelity and Architecture are registered trademarks of Niles Audio Corporation. MicroPerf is a trademark of Niles Audio Corporation. Kaladex is a registered trademark of DuPont Teijin Films. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Because we constantly strive to improve our products, Niles reserves the right to change product specifications without notice. The technical and other information contained herein is not intended to set forth all technical and other specifications of Niles products. Additional information can be obtained on-line. Printed in Taiwan. DS00289CTW ® B LENDING AND H IGH F IDELITY ® A RC H I T ECT U R E Congratulations! Thank you for choosing a Multipurpose 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 Introduction The MP Multipurpose group of ceiling mount loudspeakers offers speakers designed for utility and flexibility. These are quality "general purpose" speakers. They function well as primary speakers in bedrooms, dens or living rooms; as main or surround speakers in home theaters; or in large arrays in commercial applications. Their superb value makes them perfect for a wide variety of applications. Features and Benefits 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 Features and Benefits High Output, Talc-Filled Polypropylene Woofer The talc-filled polypropylene woofer utilized in the MP Multipurpose series is optimized for low distortion and efficiency. The talc-filling adds stiffness to the cone without adding weight. This allows the speaker to deliver high output levels with low distortion when using as little as five watts of power. 3/4" Fluid-Cooled Ultra-Wide Dispersion Kaladex® Tweeter in Custom Pivoting Coaxial Enclosure The MP Multipurpose series Kaladex ® Tweeter employs DuPont's latest material technology to produce a dome tweeter with exceptional frequency response and low distortion. Highs are crystal clear and extended without the harshness often associated with polycarbonate designs. The Kaladex® tweeter can pivot up to 20° within its mount. This allows for perfect alignment of the high frequencies and optimum performance without the diffraction distortion endemic to other speaker brands utilizing traditional pivoting tweeters. Moisture, UV Resistant Construction The MP Multipurpose series 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 MP Multipurpose series speakers 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. MicroPerfTM Grilles The MP Multipurpose series speakers 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 seamlessly with the surrounding decor. contined on next page 2 Easy Installation The MP Multipurpose series speakers 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 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. Installer Selectable Acoustic Fine Tuning (CM8MP Only) 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. Installation Considerations Recommended Amplifier Power For satisfactory performance, we recommend an amplifier with a power rating of five to 60 watts for the CM5MP, five to 75 watts for the CM6MP and five to 100 watts for the CM8MP. 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. Features and Benefits 3 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. 20° Figure 3 The MP Multipurpose tweeter is housed in a custom designed, low diffraction enclosure which pivots up to 20° to provide optimum high frequency coverage 4 Incorporating a Local Volume Control 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 MP Multipurpose 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 no-strip terminals of the MP 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 congealable 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. Speaker Placement Introduction Although the MP Multipurpose speakers have extensive ability to compensate for unusual placements with their unique pivoting tweeters, 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. Make sure the sound will not be blocked or reflected off of furniture or other objects. You should have a direct line of 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. Installation Considerations 5 Speaker Placement 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' 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. Direct tweeter towards listener 6 Placement for Varying Listening Positions If you want the freedom to sit anywhere in a room facing any direction, and/or find that you prefer the "all around you" sound of some car stereos to a conventional "sound stage" facing you, consider the speaker placement techniques professional insta ...