ACI Sapphire XL Owners manual

Sapphire XL

Table of Contents:

Reference Monitor

Owner's Manual

Guarantee/Warranty …2
Specifications …4
Design Philosophy …4
Using your Speakers …6
Avoiding Damage …6
Hookup …7
Positioning the Sapphire XLs …8
Adding Subwoofers …9
Care & Cleaning …10
Troubleshooting …11
Warranty Registration …13

901 South 4th Street, La Crosse, WI 54601 Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone]

All Rights Reserved 2006

Audio Concepts, Inc.

Website: www.audioc.com Email: [e-mail] Forum: www.audiocircle.com

Sound that Satisfies… Since 1977

Audio Concepts, Inc.

Our Guarantee and Warranty

Satisfaction Guaranteed:

We’re sure you’re going to love your new Audio Concepts, Inc. (ACI) products! In the unlikely
event that you are not satisfied, please contact us within 30 days of receipt of your ACI products

for a hassle-free return.

Simply follow these procedures:

1. Return Authorization: Call us at [phone] or email [e-mail], within 30 days of receipt of your

ACI products for a return authorization number. Boldly mark the return authorization number on the outside of the
box. Include a brief note stating your name, address and daytime telephone number, along with a short description
why the products are being returned.

2. Returning: We request that you return the ACI products to us in their original packaging and include packaging

materials, manuals, etc. Ship by the most economical means (preferably UPS) and insure the products for the
invoice purchase price. The customer is responsible for return shipping. Please note: ACI can not accept C.O.D.

returns.

3. Credit: Upon receipt and inspection, we will issue a refund for the invoice purchase price and invoiced UPS

Ground service only. Please note this return policy is in effect only if the ACI products are in new condition, in their
original packaging, without drilled holes, disassembled or any other modifications.

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Speaker Manufacture’s Warranty:

ACI’s Five Year Standard Warranty and One Year Total Assurance Guarantee
For five years from receipt, Audio Concepts, Inc. will, at its option, repair or replace factory

defective components. This warranty excludes products that have been abused, modified, or
disassembled in any way. This warranty does not apply to products, which have been damaged in
shipping. Audio Concepts, Inc. liability is limited only to the replacement of defective parts. No
other liabilities or obligations are expressed or implied.

For the first year of ownership, ACI also provides a unique Total Assurance Guarantee, (TAG).
TAG from ACI not only covers everything included in our standard five year warranty, but we will

also pay for shipping to ACI and back to your front door. TAG is limited to shipping destinations in
the Continental U.S.

The ACI Five Year Standard Warranty and One Year Total Assurance Guarantee are fully
transferable from the original owner to a secondary owner provided that the original owner
notifies ACI, by phone call or by filling out the on-line form: www.audioc.com
No warranty will be transferred absent this notification.

Simply follow these procedures:

1. Return Authorization: Call us at [phone] or email [e-mail] for a return authorization number.

If the warranty repair is during the first year of ownership, additional instructions will be given to you at that time.
Boldly mark the return authorization number on the outside of the box. Include a brief note with your name,
address and a daytime telephone number, along with a short description why the products are being returned.

2. Returning: Carefully repack defective ACI merchandise in their original packaging. Ship by the most economical

means (preferably UPS) and insure the products for their full retail value. The customer is responsible for return
shipping (unless the first year TAG applies). Please note: ACI can not accept COD or Freight Collect returns.

3. Replacement: Audio Concepts, Inc. will inspect and determine the cause of failure and will pay return shipping on

the defective goods replaced or repaired.

Please ship any returns to the following address:

Audio Concepts, Inc., 901 So. 4

th

Street, La Crosse, WI 54601 [phone]

IMPORTANT NOTICE

All new speakers require a minimum of 60 hours break-in-time before
they sound the way they are supposed to. A speaker's performance improves
significantly once broken in. It is critical that you have at least 60 hours on your speakers
before you evaluate them. Don't worry if your speakers do not sound perfect the first time
you play them. This is normal until they are broken in. If you are having difficulty getting
enough hours on your speakers and your 30 day return privilege is getting near, call us.
We will work with you. Please give us the courtesy of breaking the speakers in before you
determine they don't sound right.

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Many of our customers break their speakers in by:
A) Leaving them on at moderate listening levels when they are not home.

B) Leaving them on at moderate listening levels while they sleep.
C) Running pink noise through them.

These methods are not convenient for everyone and we understand this. But
please know that you are not giving yourself, your speakers or us a fair chance if you do
not break them in before critical evaluation.

THANK YOU!

The Sapphire XL

Thank you for your order and congratulations on becoming the owner of an ACI speaker system.
These fine speakers will provide you with many years of listening pleasure!

ACI speakers are designed to offer extremely high value and performance. Read the rave reviews
of the Sapphire series going all the way back to the late 80s. The Sapphire series has the reputation of
being the best value, stand-mounted monitors that money can buy and has been frequently compared to
the most expensive high-end monitors. By purchasing directly from the factory you eliminate costly
markups. You will find that your Sapphire XLs will compare favorably with systems costing far more!

We’ll put the Sapphire XL against any speaker in the world for overall balance and musicality. The
Sapphire XL has phenomenal detail and resolution yet it does not have the somewhat harsh quality that
many detailed sounding speakers have. It is extremely coherent from top to bottom and the dynamic range
of the XL has been significantly improved from its predecessors.

The bass response of the XL is truly amazing. The response is tight, deep and tuneful. Those who
wish to have a truly full-range system may want to add our Force XL, Titan XL or Maestro XL powered
subwoofer(s). These subwoofers are adjustable for a perfect match with the Sapphire XLs. The addition of
one or a pair of these subwoofers allows for the accurate reproduction of the lowest musical tones and
increases the output capability of the system.

The Sapphire XL is the result of ongoing research and development by the ACI design team.

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Specifications

Frequency response: 48-20kHz ± 3db anechoic, 60-20kHz ± 1.5db (usable in-room response extends
cleanly to 38-40Hz)

Nominal impedance: 6 ohms, minimum impedance 4.5 ohms, low reactance
Sensitivity: 85.5db 1 watt/1 meter
Bass-loading: 4th order, low Q, rear ported system
Recommended RMS Power: 35 to 200 watts per channel
Tweeter: 1” hand-damped silk dome with aperiodic rear chamber, cast faceplate and ferro-fluid
Bass-mid: 5 1/2” cast-frame with paper cone, rubber surround; long throw, low distortion motor system

with vented pole piece
Cabinet: Variable wall thickness; 1" MDF front baffle, 3/4"- 1 1/2" MDF side and rear panels, extensive
interlocking bracing structure. Internally damped with dacron and acoustic foam.

Finish: Satin Black, Cherry, and Piano Black
Inputs: Gold plated binding posts
Dimensions: 12” H x 8 1/2" W x 12 1/2" D
Weight: 22 lbs each
Recommended accessories: Sound Anchor or Atlantis stands, Force XL, Titan XL or Maestro XL

Powered Subwoofers, DH Labs Cables.

Design Philosophy for the Sapphire XL

Modern speaker design is a combination of science, art and sweat. A successful design such as
the Sapphire XL requires thousands of hours utilizing computer modeling, several generations of
prototypes, precision testing, critical listening and many “fine tunings”.

Our design goals for the Sapphire XL were to produce a compact, attractive speaker with smooth,
uncolored, wide-range response, holographic stereo imaging, good sensitivity, high power handling, and
long term enjoyability. This Sapphire XL is the most advanced model of a speaker family first produced in

1988. The Sapphire XL had to be a true “monitor” with nearly full-range response that could be optionally
used with subwoofers. And, as an ACI product it had to sell for far less than the state-of-the-art monitors it
would compete with. We are pleased to have achieved and in some areas exceeded our goals by