JBL CFSERIES User Manual

CF SERIES

LOUDSPEAKERS

OWNER’S

MANUAL

SERIES

INTRODUCTION

Congratulations on choosing JBL CF Series Loudspeakers. Their high efficiency and bass response will greatly increase your enjoyment of recorded music. JBL speakers are built with careful attention to detail, using only the highest quality materials. They will provide many years of excellent performance.

Your CF Series Loudspeakers are very easy to set up. We recommend that you take a few minutes to read this owner's manual before you begin, and follow the instructions carefully.

ENGINEERING FEATURES

High Efficiency.

receivers will be able to produce acoustic levels normally associated with amplifiers of substantially higher power ratings.

Cast Frame Woofer.

cast woofer frame offers more rigidity than a stamped steel frame. The stronger frame provides a solid foundation for the magnet assembly and cone & coil resulting in a more linear woofer movement and less distortion. With the aluminum frame there is no loss of flux from the magnet assembly (as is the case with steel frames) allowing the voice coil to receive the full strength of the magnetic field.

Titanium Laminate Tweeter.

duces high-frequency sound waves with accuracy, bringing out clarity and realism.

Tuned Port Bass Design.

frequency response, reduces distortion and improves power handling capacity.

PLACEMENT

For the best stereo reproduction, the two loudspeaker systems should be an equal distance from your listening position and separated so that the angle between them, at the listening position, is between 40 and 60 degrees (see Fig. 1). For example, if your listening position is 8 to 12 feet (2.5 to 4 m) from each speaker, the two systems should be about 8 feet (2.5 m) apart. Placing the loudspeakers in corners or against a wall will result in the strongest (not necessarily the most accurate) bass. The CF80 is ported on the front to allow placement directly up against a bookshelf or wall. Since the other CF Series models are ported on the back panel, do not place these speakers closer than 12 inches (305 mm) to the wall behind it if possible.

Modest amplifiers or

The aluminum die

Repro-

Extends low-

Left Speaker

Amplifier/Receiver

Right Speaker

Red Blk.

(+)

(–)

RedRLBlk.

(+) (–)

40°-60°

Fig. 1

CONNECTIONS

To connect the loudspeaker systems to the receiver or amplifier, use two-conductor insulated wire. Your JBL dealer can recommend suitable cables, or you can buy wire at most hardware or electronic stores. We recommend #16 AWG wire as a minimum size. If your speakers are more than 30 feet (10 m) from your receiver or amplifier, use larger diameter wire. Connections are made at the terminals located on the back of the loudspeaker system. The terminals accept bare wire or dual banana plugs, either of which will provide easy, secure connections.

yarn in one conductor; thin, raised ribs on one part of the outer insulation; or a printed "+" marking on one of the insulators. It does not make any difference which of the two strands of wire go to (+) and (–) on the speakers and amplifier, as long as both speakers are connected identically. If using wire ends, unscrew the colored nut on the terminal cup, insert the wire end into the hole in the metal post, then retighten the nut until the wire is tightly secured. If using banana plugs, simply insert the plug directly into the holes on the top of the metal posts.

For each channel, the red terminal on the loudspeaker should be connected to the red or (+) loudspeaker connection terminal on the receiver or amplifier, and the black to the black or (–) speaker connection terminal (see Fig. 2). Connecting the loudspeakers in this manner ensures that they will be in phase; that is, work together rather than in opposition. Connecting the loudspeakers out of phase will not damage them, but will result in less bass and poor imaging.

Preparing the hookup wire

Carefully plan your wire lengths before cutting any speaker wire. Be sure to allow plenty of extra wire to help hide paths in corners, along baseboards, etc.

1. First determine the wire length needed between the most distant speaker and the receiver or amplifier.

2. Now make the hookup wires for both speakers this length, even if one loudspeaker is much closer to your amplifier than the other. This will help maintain proper signal balance.

3. Strip off 3/8" of insulation from both ends of each conductor.

4. Twist each set of thin wires into a tightly-bunched spiral.

5. At this point you need to identify a visual difference between the two conductors of each molded pair of speaker wire. Differentiating marks can be a different color wire (copper or "silver"); a strand of

Hooking up multiple sets of speakers

If your receiver has two complete sets of speaker terminals ("A" and "B"), it's possible to hook up an additional pair of speakers for

simultaneous

sound in another room. However, some speakers may not be usable as a second pair if you want to play two sets at once. Before hooking up another set of speakers besides your CF Series, check the following:

Fig. 2

+ 2 hidden pages