PLANT A SPEAKER Speaker Instruction Manual

Plant A Speaker
INSTRUCTION MANUAL
Thank you for purchasing two or more of our beautiful
Plant A Speakers.
Please follow the instructions in this booklet to insure your
safe long-term enjoyment of beautiful music and plants.
If you have any additional questions, please contact us at
plantaspeaker@att.net or call 914-939-9155.
CONNECTING THE PLANT A SPEAKER
WARNING: Before you start to install your new speakers please be aware of the
following. Only use speaker wire rated for direct burial, full outdoor temperature range
and direct sunlight.
Do not run the speaker wires with AC electrical cables, this will cause a loud hum in the
speakers and may damage your amplifier and create a shock hazard.
Do not use amplifiers rated for over 150 Watts per channel as the amount of current
may exceed local electrical codes. We recommend an amplifier rated at 50-80 watts
RMS per channel + rated for 4 ohms.
IMPORTANT: When designing your Plant A Speaker layout please note that one pair
of speakers will cover approx. 300-400 sq. Ft. with the full musical range. When you
need to cover a larger space, add more Plant A Speakers.
Note: Do not connect more than two sets of speakers to one amplifier rated at 4 Ohms.
If there are other speakers connected to your amplifier, you will need a PROTECTED
speaker selector switch otherwise your amplifier will overload and the sound will be
distorted causing damage to the speakers and the amplifier.
SETUP INSTRUCTIONS
Design the layout of your new outdoor speakers so they will cover the area where you
spend the most time. In most cases, outdoor speakers are set up like indoor speakers,
6 to 12 ft apart except in the case where you wish to hear the sound in two different
areas (EXP: patio/deck). What is important to remember is that the Plant A Speaker
sends the sound out from all sides (360 ), so be creative with your location selection
and be aware that when placed near a neighbors yard, they will hear the sound too!
LOCATION TIPS
Outdoor locations have lower sound output because they are filling a larger air volume
with sound. For example, a normal listening level (87dB) throughout a typical 300-400
square foot room uses only 4 watts. To fill the same space outdoors requires 40watts.
We recommend one pair of Plant A Speakers for every 300-400 square feet (30m ) of
listening area.
Living rooms also boost bass 6 to 20dB relative to outdoors. If loud bass is desired
outdoors, we suggest ganging multiple pairs of Plant A Speaker.. Two speakers in
close proximity will output 6dB more bass. Placing your Plant A Speaker next to a wall
will also boost bass 5dB (10dB in a corner between two walls).
0
20"
Back leg
BACK
For every 2-4 speakers you will need a weatherproof volume control to adjust the
speaker level from outside, otherwise, you will be running back into the house every
time a disc changes as they are recorded at different sound levels.
As mentioned before, only use direct burial cable and chose the wire size according to
the following chart (From the stereo to the speaker location):
0 - 50 feet - 18 gauge stranded
50 - 100 feet - 16 gauge stranded
100 - 150 feet - 14 gauge stranded
Install the direct burial cable in PVC pipe 18" underground or drop the wire into the 18"
trench to avoid damage by gardeners and landscapers.
When the wiring is complete, connect the "Tail" of the wire (see figure 1) coming out of
the speaker to the burial cable by way of electrical "twist on" connectors and wrap with
electrical tape to seal off from water damage and corrosion.
NOTE: the tail wires tie to a rear leg with supplied wire ties.
Next, connect the amplifier and test the speaker connections at a low volume to avoid
2
damage if there is a bad connection. If OK, raise the volume to the desired level and
listen to the music.
If distortion is heard go over the complete installation to check for bad connections &
shorts.
Drain hose
Cable tie 2 places
Speaker Cable
14"
150 - 200 feet - 12 gauge stranded
200 - 250 feet - 10 gauge stranded
FIGURE 1
FRONT