Arcam Delta 2 User Manual

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Arcarti Delta 2 Loudspeaker

Handbook

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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