Niles Audio SI-1260 - Manual (Page 8)

7
SYSTEM DESIGN CONSIDERA
TIONS
Using Mono For Smoother Coverage
In large or irregularly shaped rooms, you may find that the main listening area may be
closer to one of the speakers. If the speakers in the room are connected to a stereo
amplifier you will only hear half the music. The SI-1260's BusMatrix
™ enables you to
create mono sound from one speaker without impacting the stereo quality in the rest
of the system. You can configure each room to either stereo or mono as needed with
no ill effects. Some of the most popular areas where mono will greatly enhance the
sound quality would be:
• Large rooms with many seating areas and/or many pairs of speakers.
• Irregularly shaped rooms.
• Bathrooms with one speaker over the tub and one speaker over the sink(s).
• Hallways or passageways (including those with multiple speakers).
• Small rooms, such as walk-in closets where more than a single speaker is not
required.
Bridging Channels for Areas that Require More
Volume and Power
There are several situations where bridging is an excellent way to improve the
sound. There are also applications where bridging would seem to be appropriate but
is not recommended. Bridging channels increases the power to 120 watts per chan-
nel with an 8 ohm impedance.
These are some of the most common Do's and Don'ts:
1. Outdoors (DO) - Sound dissipates faster outside than it does in a room where the
walls enclose the sound and reflect it back to the listener. A pair of speakers play-
ing into a large patio or yard will greatly benefit from bridging four channels into
two 120 watt channels.
2. Surround Sound Systems (DO) - The dynamic demands for the center channel
are much greater than the left, right or surround channels. This is an excellent
application for two channels to be bridged into one 120 watt channel.
3. More than one pair of 8-ohm speakers (DON'T) - In a large room or a long hall-
way, often the best way to get good background music is to install multiple pairs of
speakers. You will actually deliver more power to two pairs of 8 ohm speakers by
using two unbridged amplifier channels than you would if you bridged four ampli-
fier channels into two and connected the two pairs of speakers in parallel.