Optimizing The Sound Of Your System - Cambridge SoundWorks New Ensemble II Instructions Manual

Optimizing The Sound Of Your System

It is almost impossible to find an
acoustically ideal placement for a
conventional speaker in a listening
room. This is because room acous-
tics affect low-bass differently from
the rest of the range of sound. If you
place a speaker so the room helps its
bass, it is likely to hinder the upper
ranges (and vice versa). Thus,
placing conventional speakers
inevitably entails a sonic compro-
mise, even before proper stereo
effect, decor, and convenience are
taken into account.
This compromise doesn't apply to
the New Ensemble II. It separates the
low-bass from the rest of the range.
This means you can place the
subwoofer and the satellites differ-
ently to take advantage of the room
in both the lower and upper ranges.
Yet the units are so compact that
even when placed optimally, they
have little or no visual impact on
your living space.
We urge you to take full advan-
tage of the New Ensemble II by
trying the speaker units in different
locations within your listening
room. Of course, if the system
sounds satisfactory from the mo-
ment you connect it and first turn it
on, you may wish to go no further.
But if you wish to see if an improve-
ment can be made, we suggest you
experiment with placement using the
following guidelines:
• Let your ears be your guide, and
trust them. When the New
Ensemble II sounds right to you,
you've found the best placement.
• A small change in placement can
have a large effect on the sound.
For example, low-bass increases as
you move the subwoofer closer to
the intersecting room surfaces. The
sound will be brighter with the
satellites close to the listening area
than with them across the room.
And the apparent fullness of the
sound, a function of mid-bass
rather than low-bass, is greater
with the satellites against a wall
than with them out in the room.
This is not to imply that "more
is better," whether it be bass,
brightness, or fullness. The point is
that a change can easily be effected
simply by moving one or more of
the speaker units. And with New
Ensemble II, that is easy to do.
• Program material varies greatly, so
be sure to listen to a variety of
recordings to prevent being misled
by unusual characteristics of
a particular recording.
• If it is necessary to place the
satellites close to the listening
area and you find the sound too
bright, try placing the units at an
angle so that listeners aren't
directly on their axis (I).
Mid-bass and mid-range
balance is usually best with the
satellites against a wall. If they
are out from the wall and sound
too thin, particularly on vocal
recordings, try moving them back
toward the wall.
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• The subwoofer reproduces only the
lowest bass, such as bass drum, organ
pedals, and the lowest notes of string
basses and synthesizers. Refer to the
illustration on page 4 for guidance if
the low-bass is either too strong or
not strong enough. Also, not all
recordings have truly low-bass on
them, so be sure to make judgments
on recordings which do.
• If you're not happy with what you hear
and are having trouble improving it,
check with your store, or call a Cam-
bridge SoundWorks Audio/Video
Consultant at 1-877-YES-HIFI toll-free.
I