Arcam Delta 2 - Manual (Page 2)

Arcam Delta 2 Loudspeaker
Instructions for use
Introduction
Thank you for buying the Arcam Delta Two loudspeakers.
These loudspeakers have been designed to produce a high standard of
sound reproduction at an affordable price. Although suitable for use with
any good quality hi-fi equipment, the speakers are an excellent sonic and
physical match for the rest of the Arcam Delta range of electronics. They
also work well with our entry level Arcam Alpha amplifier.
Installation Instructions
Positioning
For optimum results these speakers should be placed on
rigid stands 15 to 40cms from a rear wall and at least 60cms (2 feet) from
any side wall. They should never be used on the floor or in corners.
The final sound will of course depend on the acoustics of
the listening room, and experimentation with speaker positioning and
furnishings is definitely worthwhile. As a starting point we suggest that the
speakers should be placed 2.4 - 3m (8-10 feet) apart with their backs
lOcms (4 inches) from the rear wall. The bass output may then be raised
or lowered by moving the speakers closer to or further away from the
wall. Toeing-in the speakers, so that their axes cross just in front of the
listener may also be benificial to treble balance and stereo imagery.
Loudspeaker Stands
The more firmly a speaker is held, the better it will sound.
The Arcam STM3 stand is matched to the requirements of the Delta Two
and is available from your Arcam dealer.
Alternatively, use rigid metal stands of 40-60cms (14-24 _
inches) height. Properly damped types that do not "ring" when tapped
with a pencil, either by virtue of construction, or by filling with dry silver
sand, will bring out the best in the loudspeaker.
It is possible to obtain a good sound balance when shelf
mounting the Delta Two (though stands are recommended tor optimum
performance). The rear of the loudspeakers should be no less than
50mm from the wall to allow free flow of air from the reflex port and it
should be mounted at least 450mm from a corner and 600mm from the
floor (these distances may be interchanged if more convenient).
Speaker Cables
The speakers should be connected to the amplifier using
good quality, high purity copper cables with a cross sectional area of at
least 1 mm2 per conductor. Solid core cables or those with surface only
conductors are particularly suitable. Bell wire and very cheap or giveaway
speaker cables should be avoided - they are a false economy and can
badly degrade the sound quality. Neither do we recommend the use of
fat, heavily stranded cables, as these often impart a harsh and hashy
sound to the system. We recommend AudioQuest cables. Your dealer
will be able to give you advice on the differences between the various
models available.
The cable runs to the two speakers should be of roughly
equal length and yet as short as practicable (a long run of speaker cable
always sounds worse than a short one). The usual care should be taken
over speaker phasing. Both loudspeakers should be connected to the
amplifier with the same phase (black to black and red to red). All speaker
cables will be colour coded or have some physical identification (such a
small "rib" along one wire) to aid correct phasing.
Bi-wiring
Bi-wiring loudspeakers is a cost effective way of improving
the sound quality of a hi-fi system. The bi-wiring principle involves
electrically isolating the treble and bass sections of the loudspeaker’s
crossover network and bringing out the connections to four, rather than
two, terminals on the back panel. The use of separate cables to each half
of the crossover then enables the complete isolation of the signals fed
from the amplifier to the treble and bass speaker units. A reduction in
low level intermodulation and crosstalk effects is achieved, resulting in a
cleaner sound with improved imaging and separation o* instruments.
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