Castle Compact Owners manual

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Guide to the installation of the Castle Compact systems.

Thank you for selecting Castle speakers to complete your system. By

following the suggestions below they will give you many years of pleasurable

listening.

Overview of the Compact Components:

The system comprises four main elements, which can be used in a wide

variety of ways: stereo; multi-channel audio and audio-visual applications.

These elements include the Compact Satellite, a small direct-radiating two-

way speaker system, using a 110mm bass/mid unit and a 20mm

soft dome tweeter with a neodymium magnet. The overall

frequency range of the Compact Satellite is from 80Hz to 40kHz.

A pair of Compact Satellites can be used: on their own in smaller rooms; for

background music in larger rooms; music in second rooms; or in conjunction

with the Compact Cube sub woofer for music reproduction with a rich, deep

bass performance. The Compact Satellite is designed to be used on or near

a rear wall. They can be used on loudspeaker stands, bookshelves, or wall

mounted.

The Compact Centre L.C.R. has been designed using the same drive units

as the satellite but in this speaker twin 110mm

bass/mid units are utilised alongside the 20mm

tweeter. The Compact Centre L.C.R. is designed to

be placed on or below a TV screen or mounted on or close to a wall.

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The Compact Centre L.C.R. can also be used as

the front pair of speakers alongside a third Compact

Centre L.C.R., which is used as a centre channel.

This is known as a L.C. R. (left, centre, and right)

configuration and offers increased headroom and

better power handling. Used as a Left or Right in a

system the Compact Centre L.C.R. should be used vertically with the

tweeters positioned on the inside on a loudspeaker stand or bookshelf close

to a wall or wall mounted. The Compact Centre L.C.R. used as a centre

channel loudspeaker in this configuration can be used vertically or horizontally

as required.

The Compact Dipole is a wide-dispersion speaker system using the same

drive units found in both the Compact Satellite and the Compact Centre. In

this model two 110mm bass/mid units are matched to two 20mm tweeters in a

double cabinet, with the pairs of drive units set at 90 degrees to each other.

The speaker is suitable for either side or rear wall positioning and gives the

whole Compact System the versatility to be used in

any configuration of 5.1, 6.1 or 7.1. Like the

Compact Satellite, the Compact Dipole has been

designed for placement close to the wall. It can be

wall mounted using the supplied wall brackets.

The Compact Dipole should be mounted as shown when mounted at head

height (or a little higher) but should be mounted with the tweeters below the

bass/mid units if the Compact Dipole is mounted high on the wall for visual

attractiveness.

The Compact Cube is the final element in the Castle Compact System. It is

an active, powered, sub woofer. It uses a 250mm bass unit driven by a

powerful 150 Watt power amplifier. There is much expert debate as to the

best place to position a subwoofer: Corner positioning gives the most room

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acoustic assistance to the output of the subwoofer and thus means that it

works less hard but it can decrease the evenness in the response. A position

along a side wall will usually reduce the

effect of the unevenness as less room

modes are actively excited but will require

the subwoofer to work harder to achieve the

same output level. There is absolutely no

right answer and consequently Castle

suggests that you position the Castle Cube

in a front corner as a starting position. If this

is not possible do not worry, good results will be achieved anywhere.

To maximise your enjoyment of the Compact System please

read the following carefully.

Unpacking:

Please be extremely careful when unboxing your new loudspeakers as

damage can easily occur, particularly to the drive units, during this process.

Also at this time please ensure that no damage has occurred to the speakers

during transit. If there is a problem contact your Castle retailer immediately.

Please retain your original packaging, as this will be required should you need

to return the speakers to either your dealer or Castle. If you discard this

packaging you will be charged for replacement packaging should the need

arise.

Wall Mounting

For the minimum difficulty in wall mounting the Compact Satellite and the

Compact Centre L.C.R. loudspeakers, Castle recommends the use of a

B-Tech BT5 bracket (available from most good hi-fi retailers or

http://www.b-tech-int.com) to locate the satellites on the wall. The cabinets

have pre-drilled pilot holes to suit this bracket and adapter.

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If you choose to use another brand of bracket which requires different pilot

holes to be drilled in the cabinet then these holes should be located as close

to the predrilled pilot holes as possible to avoid damage to the internal parts of

the speakers. Please also remember that if the screws used penetrate the

rear of the cabinet that these holes will need to be filled before the speaker

can be used without the screws fitted, as the holes will affect the sonic

performance of the system.

The Compact Dipole is supplied with mounting brackets in the carton.

Connecting your speakers:

Always ensure that your system is switched off before commencing this

procedure.

Always remember to connect the + output on the amplifier to the + input on

the loudspeaker, normally both are coloured red. Then connect the – output

on the amplifier to the – input of the loudspeaker, normally both are coloured

black.

If you are unsure how to wire up your new loudspeakers at this point please

contact the retailer from whom you purchased the speakers for advice.

Your dealer will also be able to advise you on the selection of speaker cable

to suit your system. Selecting the right cable can make a significant sonic

improvement.

BTech BT5 Bracket BTech BT5 Adapter

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The Castle Compact system will in most cases connected to a dedicated AV

amplifier. This will have outputs for each element of the system whether this

is a 5.1, 6.1 or a 7.1 configuration. In the case of a 5.1 AV amplifier there will

be the following terminal on the back to connect the 4 satellites named Front

Left, Front Right, Rear Left and Rear Right and 1 for the centre channel.

Finally, there will be an RCA output socket to connect the Compact Cube to

the amplifier. This basic arrangement is shown below in figure 1.

Fig one needed

Compact Dipole please note

The Compact Dipoles loudspeakers are supplied in a

carton containing two speakers that are handed and

hence not identical. When mounting them on the

wall please ensure that you mount them to follow the

following diagram.

No damage can be done to the loudspeakers or to

your system if you do not mount them as shown but

you will not appreciate the full performance of your

system. Technically it is a question of phase and

getting all the drive units creating a positive pressure in the room at the same

time. If one loudspeaker is trying to create negative pressure when the others

are not (out of phase) it will reduce the seamless transition of sound from the

front to the back of the room. This explanation is simplified to try to make the

reasons clearer. If you would like a full technical explanation please email

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Castle Acoutics. The illustration here shows the phasing should four

Compact Dipoles be used.

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Setting levels and balancing the speakers

We suggest that you follow the instructions included with your AV amplifier,

receiver, or AV processor – av processor is used later in this document to

indicate all of the above. If you do not have the instructions and cannot set

the levels from the built in test tone generator of the av processor then please

consult the retailer it was purchased from or try the internet to see if one can

be downloaded.

Generally levels of all the loudspeakers in the system are set to 75db with a

sound level meter (they are not expensive) set to a scale of 70 or 80dB and

set to ‘slow’ and ‘C’ weighted.

Do not be concerned if you prefer a setting varying from this by one or two db

as room positioning or personal taste may dictate a slightly modified setting.

Some people prefer the centre channel set very slightly louder (possibly by

+1db or +2dB to aid intelligibility of movie speech. Others may prefer to set

the centre channel slightly quieter for music.

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Possible Castle Compact System Configurations

N.B For ease of illustration the front loudspeakers are shown away from the front wall. The optimal
performance will be obtained with the front speakers mounted or positioned on or near the front wall.

Stereo Music

Two Compact Satellites can be used to supply high

quality music in a small room or for background music in

larger rooms. If a Compact System is upgraded to and

two Compact satellites are no longer needed in the main

system they can be used as background music speakers

in a Kitchen, Eating area, or Bedroom.

The addition of a Compact Cube subwoofer will

deliver an extended and powerful low-end register

adding scale and dynamics to the musical

performance. The Compact Satellites together with

the Compact Cube are suitable for larger rooms.

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Multi-Channel Music and AV Applications

The standard Castle Compact system is ideal for both

music and movies.

The next upgrade could be a second subwoofer

which may be used to add a little more bass into the

system but primarily the reason for adding another

sub would be to have a smoother bass response by

reducing some of the room modes – an acoustics

term for the effect that a room has on the bass

response: making it uneven.

The alternative upgrade would be to upgrade the front

left and right speakers to the Centre L.C.R.. This

would deliver an increase in power handling, dynamic

range, and overall realism. Shown hear with only one

Compact Cube subwoofer.

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The Compact Satellites displaced from the front left and right positions can

be moved to the rear to give a full 7.1 system.

Shown here with two Castle Cube subwoofers

This would represent the top system for music

reproduction but could be improved for movies at

the expense of a small compromise for music

reproduction.

To replicate the movie theatre or cinema the

surround effects need to be more enveloping than

that offered by a conventional speaker at the rear.

Compact Dipoles at the sides deliver a far more

spread of sound than a conventional loudspeaker.

The top-of-the-range system for movies would

have four Compact Dipole as shown here.

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Care and maintenance:

Each Castle speaker is hand finished in a real wood veneer, which is then

sealed with a lacquer. This means the speakers will require little in the way of

maintenance, just an occasional dust with a slightly damp cloth to remove

dust, always being very careful to avoid touching any of the drive units or

terminal housings.

Please also note that as Castle speakers use real wood veneers these

are subject to colour change due to UV light. The exact change will

depend on the veneer, some will lighten, others will go darker, but all

will change. If possible for the first few months we suggest that you

operate the speakers without their grills. These are easily removable

and this action will ensure that any colour change that occurs will be

consistent across the whole speaker.

Running in:

All Castle speakers will benefit from an extended period of use. Noticeable

sonic improvement will occur during the course of their first month of use.

Please be aware of this when first setting the speakers up in your listening

room. It is advisable to revisit the setting up procedures and to check all

levels after the running period.

How loud will they play?

The Castle Compact range of products is designed to allow music and movies

to be played at realistic sound levels. However some cognisance must be

taken of the fact that they are small loudspeakers and hence cannot and will

not play at party levels. If you hear distortion in the sound please reduce the

volume, as this is the first indication of the loudspeaker being asked to do

something it cannot. Systems using an AV amplifier or AV processor will

generally play a little louder as they redirect the low bass energy from the

satellites to the subwoofer. Also beware of running a low-powered amplifier at

high levels as the distortion an amplifier produces as it runs out of power is

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much more likely to cause damage to a loudspeaker that a more powerful

amplifier running at similar or even slightly higher outputs.

Guarantee - EU:

In addition to your statutory rights under EU law, Castle offers a five-year

period of guarantee against manufacturing defects. This guarantee is subject

to the following conditions, that original serial numbers are intact; it only

applies to the original purchaser of the speakers and excludes misuse and

faults caused by ancillary equipment. For the first year the guarantee covers

all costs, in the following four years a charge may be made to cover carriage.

Guarantee Non EU:

In addition to your statutory rights Castle speakers carry a one-year parts and

labour warranty. Please consult your dealer and distributor for further details.