NHT SB 1 Speaker User Manual


 
In many situations, it won't be possible to place the rear
speakers in their ideal positions. If this is the case in
your room, try to place the rear speakers equidistant
from the center of the main seating area. If you must
place the rear speakers close to the main seating area,
position them so that they are above the ear height of the
tallest listener, and toe them in so that imaginary lines
coming from the center of each speaker cross in front of
the main seating area. You can add time delay to the
rear channels with your surround sound processor to
make the rear speakers seem farther from the seating
area than your room setup will allow.
Placement Accessories
Sometimes, current furniture and where it's placed won't
allow the speaker placement you prefer. Two quick ways
around this are to use speaker stands, or to mount them
on walls.
NHT offers a stand - the Last Stand - specifically
matched for the SB1, available through your NHT Dealer.
The SB1 has threaded inserts for wall mounting. You
may use the Omnimount Systems model RST 25. For
more information visit the Omnimount Systems web site
at www.omnimount.com or call them at 1-800-668-6848.
Connections
Before connecting your SB1 loudspeakers to your
system, turn off the power to your amplifier / receiver to
avoid damaging the components or the speakers.
First, take a look at the five-way binding posts on the
back of your speakers. They'll accept raw wire, banana
plugs or spade plugs. Note that posts should be
tightened by hand, since pliers can strip or break them.
Next, choose your speaker wires. Like all wires,
speaker wires are rated by a gauge number. The guage
number gets smaller as the wire gets thicker. Thicker
wire is preferable; we recommend 16-guage for shorter
runs, and 12-guage for runs longer than ten feet (your
authorized NHT dealer can help with wire). Equal lengths
of wire for all speakers is ideal, but not absolutely
necessary.
Prepare the wires by stripping 1/4" to 3/8" of insulation
from the ends and, if the wire is stranded rather than
solid, tightly twisting the exposed wire strands.
Finally, connect your speakers to your amplifier or
receiver, connecting all conductors "in-phase;" that is,
the same half of the wire-pair to the positive / red
amplifier terminal and the positive /red speaker terminal.
Similarly, connect black outputs and inputs. If you have
trouble following which wire half is which, look closely,
and you'll see that your speaker wires have some sort of
marking -- lettering, ridges, or color difference - to help.
Before powering up your amplifier or receiver, separate
different kinds of cables to minimize noise. Keep
speaker wires at the maximum practical distance from
line-level, digital, and power cables, and if they must
cross, keep them at right angles.
Operation
The NHT SB1's are compatible with virtually all quality
amplifiers, and are designed to handle a wide range of
listening levels.
Every speaker, however, has limits, and it's important to
listen for them. Speaker damage most often results not
from brief loud musical peaks, but from sustained high
volume levels in some or all frequencies. For this reason,
extreme volume settings and excessive bass, treble or
equalizer boosts are not recommended.
If you hear unusual distortion or breakup, or notice heat
coming from either your woofer or tweeter, decrease
volume immediately, neutralize any excess bass, treble
or equalizer boosts, and avoid setting any controls to
similar extremes again.
Maintenance
Your speakers require no or minimal maintenance under
normal use, as long as you avoid exposing them to direct
sunlight, high temperatures, or moisture. Clean
cabinets, when necessary, using a damp cloth or a mild,
non-abrasive cleaner; to clean grilles, remove from
speaker and use a soft brush or a vacuum on its lowest
setting. Do not attempt to clean the actual drivers.
Satisfaction
Your satisfaction with your new NHT SB1 loudspeakers
is important to us. Please note the matched products
and accessories we provide for them, and your warranty,
printed on the back of this manual. And again, if you
have any questions regarding your speakers' use, feel
free to call NHT at 1-800-NHT-9993. Enjoy your listen-
ing and viewing!
Fig. 2
REV 6-02