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15
INTRODUCTION
Congratulations on your purchase of athena TECHNOLOGIES
®
speakers! Proprietary
technology and high quality manufacturing will allow you to enjoy the most natural and
accurate music reproduction for many years. The advice offered in this manual is aimed at
helping you maximize and maintain peak performance, and therefore, your listening
satisfaction. Please take the time to read all of the instructions contained in this manual to
make certain your system is properly installed and functioning correctly.
BREAK-IN PERIOD
We strongly advise that you resist the temptation to play the athena TECHNOLOGIES
®
speakers to their full capabilities or experiment with critical placement and listening until
they have been properly broken in. This process should last approximately 50 to 100 hours
of music playback. This can be easily be done by putting your compact disc player on Repeat
mode, while playing a CD with a wide dynamic range at normal listening levels.
athena TECHNOLOGIES
®
COMPANY
BACKGROUND
athena TECHNOLOGIES
®
is the newest division of Audio Products International Corp., known
throughout the industry as "API". A Canadian company founded in 1975, The API factory is a
modern 165,000 square foot research, development and manufacturing facility located in
Toronto, Canada. API is one of the largest speaker manufacturers in the world, distributing
products to over 60 countries worldwide. A talented research and development team utilizes
advanced computer-based design and sophisticated measurement techniques in its ongoing
quest for new and better acoustic technologies.
This research is based upon the years of pioneering psycho-acoustic research developed in
conjunction with the Canadian "National Research Council" (NRC), to create speakers that
achieve high performance in typical home listening environments. Extensive research into
every aspect of the speaker is analyzed and evaluated before the design stage begins, a
concept that we refer to as a holistic design approach. This method guarantees that the
finest components and materials are made and tested with sophisticated manufacturing and
quality control techniques to ensure exceptional performance that is superior to speakers
costing several times their price.
AMPLIFIER REQUIREMENTS
The athena TECHNOLOGIES
®
Audition series was designed to be extremely efficient and
therefore very undemanding of the connected amplifier. The entire series is designed to be 8
ohm compatible allowing playback on almost any amplifier or receiver on the market. Most
amplifiers with a power rating of 20-100 watts per channel will efficiently drive athena
TECHNOLOGIES
®
Audition speakers. If more than one pair of speakers are being used on the
same amplifier channel, (an additional pair of speakers for another room, for example) check
with the amplifier manufacturer to confirm that the amplifier can handle loads under 8 ohms.
Warning: If an amplifier is over-driven, the resulting distortion is actually many
times greater than its rated power. Over-driven amplifier distortion is called
"Clipping", easily identified by its fuzzy, distorted sound, and can damage any
speaker. The volume control of most amplifiers and receivers is a logarithmic
type, which means that full power may be reached with the volume control set at
as little as the halfway point. Operating the loudness, treble, or bass controls
increases power output well beyond rated levels. The warranty on your speakers
is therefore void if the voice coils are burned or damaged as a result of
overpowering or clipping.
CABINET CARE
Great care and craftsmanship have gone into the construction and finish of the cabinet.
Periodically use a soft, dry cloth to remove dust or fingerprints. Do not use paper towel or
other abrasive materials as it may damage the finish.
NOTE: Please retain the carton and packing material for the athena TECHNOLOGIES
®
speakers to protect them in the event of a move or if they need to be shipped to a
service center. Product received damaged by a service center that has been
shipped by the end user in other than the original packaging will be repaired,
refurbished and properly packaged for return shipment at the end user's expense.
SPEAKER PLACEMENT
Front Speaker Placement
AS-B1.2, AS-B2.2, AS-F1.2, AS-F2.2
For best stereo imaging, the left and right speakers should be the same distance from their
respective side walls. If the distance from one speaker to the listener is very different from
the other it can affect the soundstage or stereo imaging. Therefore, the ideal position is
having the speakers equidistant to the listener.
A general guideline for speaker placement is to set up the space between speaker and
listener at approximately 1-1/2 times the distance between the speakers. For example, if
the speakers are placed a minimum of 6-feet (1.8m) apart (the absolute minimum), the best
seating position would be
9-feet (2.4m) away. See Diagrams 5-6
Center Channel placement
AS-C1.2
A center channel can be expected to reproduce as much as 60% of a movie's soundtrack,
most of which is dialogue. In order to maintain the effect of voices emanating from the
actor's mouth, the AS-C1.2 should be centrally located between the left and right main
channels and placed above or below the television. Be sure that the AS-C1.2's front baffle is
flush with the front face of the television or cabinet to maximize dispersion.
See diagrams 5-7
NOTE: All models of athena TECHNOLOGIES
®
Audition series speakers, except
AS-R1.2, are magnetically shielded, so placement near your Television is possible.
If you notice any discoloration of the TV's picture, the speaker needs to be
repositioned until the discoloration has disappeared.
Surround Speaker placement
AS-R1.2
The surround speakers can be positioned in a variety of locations. The most popular places
used for surround speaker placement are the following:
Side walls: To maximize the ambient field for side wall mounting, position the speakers
adjacent to and slightly behind the primary listening area at a height of approximately 6
feet.
Rear walls: To maximize the ambient field for rear wall mounting, position the speakers so
they flank the main listening area and point towards the front of the room. They should be
raised to a height of approximately 6 feet and should ideally have a space of at least 6 feet
between them.
Stand mount: Place the stand mounted speakers slightly behind and on each side of the
main listening area. They can be anywhere from 1-6 feet behind or to the side of the main
listening area.
If you have followed these guidelines, then there should be speakers surrounding your
listening area, which will result in the encompassing surround sound feeling. These
are basic guidelines and can be tailored to suit the décor of your room.
See Diagrams 5-6
SPEAKER MOUNTING - AS-R1.2
Please see Diagram 8.
SPEAKER CONNECTIONS
Caution: Turn off all power in your audio/video system before proceeding with
your installation. Not doing so could result in potential damage to the system.
Connecting the Speakers
On the rear of your athena TECHNOLOGIES
®
speakers are two binding posts, one marked red,
the other black. Using standard speaker wire, connect the system one channel at a time,
and start your process at the Receiver. Connect the speaker wire from the positive (RED +)
terminal on the receiver to the positive (RED+) terminal on the speaker. Connect the
negative (BLACK-) terminal on the receiver to the negative (BLACK-) terminal on the speaker.
Do this one channel at a time until all of your speakers are connected properly. Be careful to
correctly match positive and negative, as well as the correct speaker to the correct channel.
See Diagrams 1 and 2.
NOTE: If you inadvertently reverse one of the connections (i.e, red to black), you
will notice a severe lack of bass from your system. This is called wiring the
system "Out of Phase". If this occurs, check the wiring and re-connect as
necessary.
A Note about Speaker Wire
Contrary to popular belief, not all speaker wire is the same. The speaker wire is the only
contact the speaker has with the amplifier. If thin, low quality cable, such as "lamp cord" is
used, then the overall sound quality will suffer, particularly in lengths of 10 feet or more.
We strongly recommend the use of high quality speaker cable to obtain the best
performance from your speakers.
WARRANTY OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED
STATES AND CANADA
Outside of North America the warranty may be changed to comply with local regulations.
Ask your local athena
TECHNOLOGIES
®
retailer for details of the limited warranty applicable
in your country.
Warranty for United States and Canada
(SEE BACK COVER)
athena TECHNOLOGIES
®
, SCT
™
, and Create Your Sound
™
, are trademarks of Audio Products
International Corp. "Dolby", "Dolby Pro-Logic", and "Dolby Digital" are trademarks of Dolby
Laboratories Licensing. "DTS" is a trademark of Digital Theater Systems Inc.
owners manual
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