System And Supply - PSB the CustomSound Series Installation Manual

Surround speakers will give a more diffuse sound field (a good thing) if they are
mounted fairly high on the walls and somewhat removed from the listener. Don't be
afraid to mix in-wall and in-ceiling mounting.
The CW88R is a special ceiling mount (round) system for use where space is limited.
In some rooms of the house, typically in bathrooms, space is limited such that there
isn't room for two ceiling speakers. Mounting a single speaker forces a choice of
whether to use the left or right channel signal. This can lead to strange effects were
a number of the musicians or some of the members of a talk show drop out entirely.
Creating a mono signal ahead of the driving amplifier is a possibility but adds
unnecessary wiring complications. The CW88R solves these problems by offering a
dual channel system built into one speaker assembly. The woofer utilizes dual voice
coils with separate electrical crossovers for each. For high frequencies, the system
features two tweeters both coaxially mounted and angled to give a modest stereo
effect.
The location of subwoofers will interact with the dimensions of the room to determine
the low frequency response of the overall system. Unlike with a free standing
subwoofer the in-wall subwoofer can't be mounted away from the wall surfaces!
The key question is: Where on the wall should they best be located?
Generally the main front speakers should be located first by following the guidelines
for placement (above) with regard to angles around the listener. Their location is
more critical than the location of the subwoofers. Once the main front speakers and
surround speakers are located then you may want to mount the in-wall subwoofer in
a spot that visually looks appropriate relative to the front speakers. This might be in
the same stud bay but directly below the front left or right. Alternatively they may be
mounted at just the same height as the other front speaker, yet outside them and
more towards the corners. Either approach is generally acceptable. Be aware that
mounting the in-wall subwoofer nearer a corner will generally increase the overall
bass level and that will increase its output capability, a good thing.
Avoid mounting the subwoofers at the rear of the room or on the side walls far from
the front wall. Although our sense of location for very low frequencies is poor it will
still degrade the blend between bass and upper frequencies when the subwoofer
and the front speakers are mounted far apart. An exception to this is when one
subwoofer is mounted in the center of the front wall and a second subwoofer is
mounted in the center of the rear wall. Recent studies have shown such a technique
to generally give a very good low frequency room response.
Each CustomSound speaker carton contains a full-size template of the front of the
speaker. These templates can be used when initially locating speakers and then
when marking and cutting out speaker locations. We encourage temporarily taping
templates in the intended locations and then sitting in the primary listening location
and considering the above guidelines again—also realizing that behind-the-wall
conflicts will probably require some adjustment to the intended locations before they
are final.
C. System and Supply
Typically, a cable with a wire pair must connect every speaker to the sources. This
amplified and controlled source supply may go directly from a power amplifier or
through a local, supplemental volume control. In some, mono-only systems, a single
wire may "daisy chain", entering and exiting from one speaker to
another—beginning and ending at the amplifier.
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