Quadral AURUM VIII - Manual (Page 3)

Setting up
To obtain optimal sound results, it is generally necessary to try out different set-ups.
Since the room conditions have a major effect on sound reproduction, we suggest
below a few useful approaches for positioning your AURUM loudspeakers.
Main speakers (front)
Where the speakers are positioned in the listening space has a decisive effect on
their sound. Placing the speakers near the corners of the room will essentially give
you loud bass reproduction but with little outline. On the other hand, speakers
positioned well away from the walls sound precise, but also very bright and thin. The
best solution is to place the speakers with at least 30 cm between their backs and
the nearest wall. To avoid loud wall reflections, the distance from the side walls of the
room can even be 50 cm or more. With their slanted fronts, the floorstand speakers
are specially adapted to acoustic demands. Bookshelf speaker units sound best on
a speaker stand or shelf, with the tweeters arranged at ear height. The cases should
be angled and slightly tilted to achieve this.
So far as possible, the speakers should be equidistant from the listening position,
while the distance of the speakers from each other can be rather less than the
distance from the listener.
Front center speaker
Due to the proliferation of plasma and LCD TVs, these speakers are no longer
shielded magnetically. This causes colour and geometrical errors and can occur
on older TVs with picture tubes. Since it can’t be placed on the TV set, the center
speaker can be set lying down underneath it. The speaker should be at least 30 cm
from the television, and a minimum of 20 cm from the floor. Apart from the above, we
recommend angling the center speaker so that the tweeter is aimed at the listener
in order to enjoy its full sound potential.
Rear center speaker
In contrast to 5.1 surround sets, 6.1 systems have an additional rear center
• At high volumes, voltage levels of 30–50 V can be present at speaker terminals
and components. Be very careful not to touch uninsulated terminal contacts of
speakers when in operation. To avoid injury, never put hands or arms into sound
outlets (bass reflex tubes). Children and pets, in particular, are at risk from this.
• For safety reasons, we generally forbid the opening of loudspeaker cabinets
when in operation or connected since, as explained in the above paragraph,
voltages of up to 50 volts can be present inside.
• Improper handling of mains voltage can cause fatal injury!
Passive loudspeakers must on no account be connected to the electricity
supply!
Speaker terminals may only be connected to the appropriate output terminals of
the amplifier. You should never connect these terminals to the electricity supply
(230 V/115 V) in any way since that will otherwise also immediately destroy the
loudspeaker and all connected products. Avoid fitting plugs to ends of speaker
cables that could even remotely be confused with mains supply plugs.
• Loudspeakers that are not magnetically shielded can affect the colour of the
TV picture or cause distortion. A distance of 50 cm is generally sufficient to avoid
problems of this kind. Avoid placing items such as credit cards, diskettes, audio or
video cassettes or other magnetic media on the loudspeaker. This could destroy
the information stored on them. Similarly,