Speakers; Speaker Placement; Speaker Wiring Options - Arcam P777 Handbook

speakers

Speaker placement

The P777 allows connection of up to seven
loudspeakers. All speakers, with the exception of the
subwoofer, should be arranged around your normal
viewing/listening position (see diagram). The subwoofer
can be placed almost anywhere and we recommend
experimenting with it in various positions to obtain the
best result.
The closer you place a speaker to intersecting room
surfaces (corners, wall and ceiling, wall and floor),
the stronger the bass output. This can help bass-shy
speakers, but it can also add too much bass. Again, just
moving a speaker a few inches can often make a big
difference in sound.
Position your front left (L) and right (R) speakers
to achieve a good stereo image for normal musical
reproduction. If they are placed too close together there
will be a lack of spaciousness. Alternatively if they are
placed too far apart the stereo image will appear to have
a hole in the middle and will be presented in
halves.
The centre speaker (C) allows for a more
realistic reproduction of dialogue and
centre sounds as well as wider and
better imaging for stereo effects
and background sounds for
home cinema use. Do not
SL
compromise on the quality
of your centre speaker as it
carries all the dialogue for a
home cinema system.
The surround left (SL) and right (SR) speakers
reproduce the ambient sound and effects present in a
multichannel home cinema system.
The surround back left (SBL) and surround back right
(SBR) speakers are used to add extra depth, a more
spacious ambience and sound localisation.
A subwoofer (SW) will greatly improve the bass
performance from your system. This is useful for
reproducing special cinema effects, especially where
a dedicated LFE (Low-Frequency Effects) channel is
available, as with Dolby Digital or DTS Digital Surround
encoded discs.
two
L
R
C
SW
SBL SBR

Speaker wiring options

Single wiring
Single wiring is the conventional wiring method of
running a single cable per channel between the amplifier
and the speaker; this is the easiest technique.
bi-wiring
Bi-wiring is running two separate cables between the
amplifier and each speaker, with one cable carrying
the low-frequency information, the other the higher-
frequency signals.
Bi-wiring can improve the sound of your system because
the separation of high- and low-frequency signal
currents into different speaker cables avoids distortions
caused by the different currents interacting with one-
another within a single cable, as occurs in single-wired
systems.
The P777 is designed to allow easy bi-wiring, but you
will need to connect to loudspeakers that provide
separate terminals for the two cables. Each speaker
must have two pairs of terminals; one pair labelled
or 'High Frequency' , the other pair labelled
Frequency' .
bi-amping
Bi-amping is the separation of the amplification of
low- and high-frequency signals over two amplifiers.
Bi-amping requires the use of two amplifiers per
SR
channel.
e-6
notes on making speaker
connections
Do not make any connections to any amplifier
<
while it is switched on. We recommend that
your amplifier is completely disconnected
from the mains supply before starting.
Before switching your amplifier on for the
<
first time after connecting to speakers, please
check all connections thoroughly. Ensure
that bare wires or cables are not touching
each other or the amplifier's chassis (which
could cause short circuits), and that you
have connected positive (+) to positive and
negative (–) to negative. Be sure to check the
wiring for both the amplifier and the speaker.
After making connections: switch the
<
amplifier on, with the pre-amplifier volume
set to a low setting. Select a source signal, then
gradually increase the volume to the required
listening level.
HF
or 'Low
If you are unsure as to how your system
lF <
should be connected, or need advice on
bi-wiring or bi-amping, please contact your
Arcam dealer who will be happy to help you.