Sonus Faber Principia 1 - Manual (Page 12)

INSTALLATION RECOMMENDATIONS:
IN THE LISTENING ENVIRONMENT
Sonus faber’s PRINCIPIA Collection speakers were
designed to be easily driven by the amplifier, and just as
easy to integrate into the listening environment.
The high structural rigidity, front positioning of the reflex
channel for the floor-standing models and angle of the
speaker for perfectly positioning the drivers are design
solutions that make the interaction of the speaker with
the listening environment smoother and afford great and
immediate satisfaction in listening without requiring special
attention and adjustments.
For those who wish to obtain the best possible
performance, these suggestions may be useful:
1. The PRINCIPIA 1 and 3 stand models are
recommended for small listening environments. The
PRINCIPIA 5 and 7 models are excellent for larger
listening environments. Should you wish to set up a
multi-channel or home theatre system, the perfect
solution is to combine the aforementioned models
with the PRINCIPIA Center central channel.
IMPORTANT: If the PRINCIPIA 1 and 3 models are
used without their stand and placed directly on a
shelf or piece of furniture, we highly recommend
making sure that the entire base of the speakers
rests on the surface. The lower reflex port needs
to rest completely on a smooth surface to ensure
proper reproduction of low frequencies.
2. The choice of the listening room and the speaker
position influence the performance of the
whole system. A room with an irregular shape is
preferable; this type of room improves the response
in the environment because it limits the formation of
standing waves;
3. Rugs and curtains (without exaggerating) positively
influence the acoustic response, because they
contribute to absorbing reflections and standing
waves that are created in the listening room.
4. There are no hard and fast rules for every
environment. A good approach to the problem,
however, is to virtually divide the listening environment
into three equal parts, as shown by the broken lines
in
fig. 11. At this point, position the speakers on
the first of these lines and well away from the side
walls. The listening position should be placed on the
other line, as shown in
fig. 11/A. This will ensure a
good amount of air all around the subjects involved
in the stereo reproduction, because the speakers
can work freely while the listener is shielded off from
the acoustic reflections that generate near the walls
and corners of the room.
Fig. 11 also shows how
the speakers should be angled to converge towards
the listening point, so creating the typical ‘isosceles
triangle’ configuration. This final adjustment,
consisting of angling the speakers literally towards
the ears of the listener, greatly improves the focus
of the stereophonic image.
5. We are aware that many of our customers will not be
able to create these quasi-ideal listening conditions
because of objective problems connected with the
organization of spaces and furniture in the home
environment; we therefore advise positioning the
speakers away from room corners and keeping
them at a distance of 70-80 cm min. from the
side and back walls. Keeping a distance of 150-
250 cm between the speakers improves stereo
reproduction.
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