Tapco 6915 - Manual (Page 7)

7
Placement
Your new Series 69 loudspeakers are
designed to sit on the floor or a tabletop. In
addition, the 6912 and 6915 are designed to
be pole-mounted or fit on a standard tripod
speaker stand. The 6925 and 6918s ARE NOT
designed to be pole-mounted.
Warning: The Series 69
enclosures have no rigging
points and are not suitable
for rigging. NEVER attempt to
suspend any of the Series 69
enclosures by its handles.
As with any loudspeakers, protect them
from moisture. If you are setting them up
outdoors, make sure they are under cover if
you expect rain.
Room Acoustics
The Series 69 loudspeakers are designed
to sound as neutral as possible. However,
room acoustics play a crucial role in the
overall performance of a sound system.
Here are some placement tips to get
the best performance from the Series 69
loudspeakers:
• Avoid placing loudspeakers in the corners of a
room. This increases the low-frequency output and
can cause the sound to be muddy and indistinct.
• Avoid placing loudspeakers against a wall. This,
too, increases the low-frequency output, though
not as much as corner placement. However, if you
do need to reinforce the low frequencies, this is a
good way to do it.
• Avoid placing the speakers directly on a hollow
stage floor. A hollow stage can resonate at
certain frequencies, causing peaks and dips in
the frequency response of the room. It’s better to
place the loudspeakers on a sturdy table or tripod
stands.
• Position the loudspeakers so the high-frequency
drivers are two to four feet above ear level for
the audience (make allowances for a standing/
dancing-in-the-aisles audience). High frequencies
are highly directional and tend to be absorbed
much easier than lower frequencies. By providing
direct line-of-sight from the loudspeakers to the
audience, you increase the overall brightness and
intelligibility of the sound system.
• Highly reverberant rooms, like many gymnasiums
and auditoriums, are a nightmare for sound system
intelligibility. Multiple reflections off the hard walls,
ceiling, and floor play havoc with the sound.
Depending on the situation, you may be able to
take some steps to minimize the reflections, such as
putting carpeting on the floors, closing draperies to
cover large glass windows, or hanging tapestries or
other materials on the walls to absorb some of the
sound.
However, in most cases, these remedies are not
possible or practical. So what do you do? Making
the sound system louder generally doesn’t work
because the reflections become louder, too.
The best approach is to provide as much direct
sound coverage to the audience as possible. The
farther away you are from the speaker, the more
prominent will be the reflected sound.
Use more speakers strategically placed so they are
closer to the back of the audience. If the distance
between the front and back speakers is more than
about 100 feet, you should use a delay processor
to time-align the sound. (Since sound travels about
one foot per millisecond, it takes about 1/10 of a
second to travel 100 feet).
ADDITIONAL TIDBITS OF WIDSDOM:
• Never listen to loud music for prolonged periods.
Please see the Safety Instructions on page 2 for
information on hearing protection.
• When you shut down your equipment, turn off the
amplifiers first to prevent thumps and other noises
generated by any upstream equipment from
coming out the speakers. When powering up, turn
on the amplifiers last.
• Save the shipping boxes and packing materials!
You may need them someday. Besides, your cat
will love playing in them and jumping out at you
unexpectedly. Remember to pretend like you are
surprised!
• Save your sales receipt in a safe place.
• Also record the serial numbers in the space
provided on page 3, along with where and when
you bought them.