Painting Ibox Enclosures; System Design Guidelines - Community iBOX SERIES Installation & Operation Manual

stage fill. Community ships the i2W8 with a kit of four feet that can be installed in pre-drilled holes on the
appropriate panel to protect the finish. The i2W8 comes in white or black to complement the stage appearance.
PA I N T I N G i B O X E N C L O S U R E S
The M12, i2W8 and iLF218 are available only in black and white. Other iBOX loudspeakers are
available in "natural" (unpainted) versions. If you want to paint (or stain and varnish) the enclosures, order the
natural version if available. Then, follow normal procedures for selecting and applying the coatings on wood.
The M12, i2W8, and iLF218 are only available in black and white. Black and white versions are coated
with Community's "Tuf-Coat" a two-component polyurea finish with an aliphatic top coat. Most paints are
compatible with this type of top coat. Community recommends that you consult your paint supplier for a
compatible coating and start with a primer coat. Wash the enclosure with a mild detergent before painting.
iBOX grilles are powder-coated steel. To paint the grille, carefully remove the foam backing and use
paint that is compatible with powder coating. Do not paint the foam. Reapply the foam by using a fine mist of
spray adhesive on the grille and the foam. Be careful not to clog the pores in the foam. Black woofers and
horns may be visible through the foam so you may choose to paint the entire baffle board black.
S Y S T E M D E S I G N G U I D E L I N E S
iBOX Throw Distance and Sound Levels
iBOX loudspeakers are designed for use indoors and the acoustics of an indoor environment complicate
the answer to the question "how far can it throw?" However, there are two simple guidelines that will help you
choose the right iBOX model for short-throw, medium-throw and long-throw applications.
Guideline 1: What is a "Long-Throw Loudspeaker?"
"Short-throw", "medium-throw" and "long-throw" refer to listeners located near the cluster (front of the
room), in the center of the room, or near the back of the room respectively. Short-throw, medium-throw and long
-throw loudspeakers, then, are designed to reach those categories of listeners. To do so, a short-throw
loudspeaker is designed with a wide horizontal coverage angle (90° or wider). A long-throw loudspeaker is
designed with a narrow horizontal coverage angles (usually 40°). And, a medium-throw loudspeaker is designed
with a horizontal coverage angle between these two (usually 60°). iBOX loudspeakers come in a variety of
coverage angles to fit these applications.
Guideline 2: The 3:1 Rule
Here's how to use this rule. Measure the distance from the cluster to the farthest listeners. Then,
measure the distance from the cluster to the nearest listeners. The ratio of these distances should be no greater
than 3:1. In rooms with low reverberation times and applications where feedback is not a major issue, it may be
possible to stretch this rule to a 4:1 ratio.
Following this rule achieves two goals. First, even a long-throw loudspeaker, like the iBOX iHP-1544
may have trouble reaching listeners who are located more than three times the distance to the nearest listeners.
That's because the intelligibility may be degraded by room reverberation at that distance. Second, following this
rule helps reduce feedback (howling) problems in the system.
When the room is unusually long and a central cluster would violate the 3:1 rule, there are two common
solutions. First, you may install a second cluster, part way towards the back of the room, and delay this cluster
so that listeners don't notice any echo. Second, you may change the system design from a central cluster to a
distributed system where every listener is approximately the same distance from a loudspeaker.
Community iBOX Installation/Operation Manual — Page 34
INSTALLATION