JBL SAM1HF User Manual

SYNTHESIS®ARRA Y™MODULE

SAM1HF, SAM2LF

ODULAR ARRAY

M LOUDSPEAKER

OWNER INSTALLER MANUAL

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S AND

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CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................................3

NCLUDED.............................................................................................................................................................4

PEAKER PLACEMENT .............................................................................................................................................4

EFT AND RIGHT SPEAKERS ..............................................................................................................................4

ENTER CHANNEL SPEAKERS ...........................................................................................................................4

MBIENT SURROUND SPEAKERS .......................................................................................................................5

HANNEL SYSTEMS ..........................................................................................................................5

5.1-C

HANNEL SYSTEMS ..........................................................................................................................6

6.1-C

HANNEL SYSTEMS ..........................................................................................................................6

7.1-C

SAM1HF

ONNECTING THE SPEAKERS TO THE REST OF YOUR SYSTEM.......................................................................................10

ROUBLESHOOTING...............................................................................................................................................15

PECIFICATIONS...................................................................................................................................................16

AND SAM2LF CONFIGURATION AND ASSEMBLY .........................................................................................7

REPARING THE HOOKUP WIRE .......................................................................................................................10

ONNECTIONS TO THE SYNTHESIS ELECTRONICS ................................................................................................10

NPUT/OUTPUT ASSIGNMENTS WITH ACTIVE CROSSOVER ....................................................................................11

NPUT/OUTPUT ASSIGNMENTS WITH PASSIVE CROSSOVER...................................................................................13

ONNECTION NOTES .....................................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION

Thank you for purchasing this JBL Synthesis®Array™Module home theater speaker. This product represents the synthesis of everything that JBL has learned about the emotional power of audio and video in sixty years of preeminence in the field. It sets new benchmarks in the use of “high technology” and provides you with the experience of being in some of the world’s greatest movie houses and concert halls, right at home! JBL’s Synthesis Array speaker systems feature the following:

THX ULTRA2™-LICENSED HOME AUDIO SYSTEM: When used with a THX

speaker system will deliver a state-of-the-art THX home theater experience to your living room. You will hear in your home exactly what the director and sound engineer heard in the recording studio. The system will reproduce the audio flawlessly and without distortion.

ULTRAHIGH-FREQUENCY COMPRESSION DRIVER: 1" (25mm) Pure-titanium compression driver with aluminum

edge-wound voice coil and 2" (51mm) neodymium motor assembly, mounted in a SonoGlass horn for extended high-frequency response to exceed SACD

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and DVD-Audio specifications.

HIGH-POWER COMPRESSION HORN: Horns are commonplace in movie theaters across the world, because

of their high power handling and well-defined high-frequency output. The horns employed in SAM1HF have very low dis

tortion and a well-controlled directivity, to put the dialogue at the center of the screen and the effects all

around you.

ACCURATE MID-BASS DRIVERS AND SUBWOOFERS: The 8" (200mm) mid-bass drivers incorporate many of

JBL’s patented technologies – such as Symmetrical Field Geometry and Vented Gap Cooling sound without harshness, stridency or listener fatigue. From two to as many as four 15" or 18" (380mm or 457mm) high-power subwoofers complete the experience with earth-shattering, deep bass.

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(VGC) – as well as unique cone and dome materials, to provide tight, smooth midrange

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(SFG), Symmetrical Inductance Modulation (SIM)

controller and amplifiers, your

constant-directivity

COMMON VOICING: Synthesis Array uses common voicing across the front three channels. Since identical drivers

are used, each speaker has the same tonal qualities, thus as a sound is panned from one side to the other, there will be no change in timbre.

MAGNETIC SHIELDING: All front speakers are magnetically shielded, allowing you to place them near video mon-

itors without generating interference or distorting the picture.

DUAL “INSIDE” NEODYMIUM MOTOR STRUCTURE: Two neodymium magnets are used. The “top” neodymium

magnet is magnetized with opposite polarity to the main, lower neodymium magnet. This inverted dual-magnet configuration improves magnetic shielding and offers increased acoustic output.

DEEP-ANODIZED CONE AND DOME MATERIAL: The special deep-anodized aluminum cone and dome material,

together with the motor features, helps to reduce midband distortions to very low levels (approximately 50dB to 60dB below the fundamental signal driven at 100dB output).

TWO-STAGE PHASE PLUG: The phase plug is a key element in this compression driver. The accuracy of the phase

plug geometry is most important to achieve a wide and flat frequency response. The pressure distribution in the phase plug is manipulated by adjustments to the number and width of the slots and is optimized to achieve a coherent pressure front across the operating range at the exit of the phase plug.

SYMMETRICAL INDUCTANCE MODULATION (SIM): The flux-stabilizing ring and copper gap ring are also

optimized for size and position, to help minimize or eliminate “asymmetrical inductance modulation.” Minimizing this asymmetrical inductance modulation leads to even further distortion reduction and improved vocal clarity.

RCL

VIEWING

POSITION

FLOOR PLAN

INCLUDED

SAM1HF

(2) mounting brackets: metal brackets for mounting to the SAM2LF module (4) knobs: used to securely hold the mounting brackets to the cabinet

SAM2LF

(2) mounting brackets: metal brackets for mounting to the SAM1HF module (4) knobs: used to securely hold the mounting brackets to the cabinet

SPEAKER PLACEMENT

Positioning your loudspeakers properly is critical in order to achieve the sonic performance of a home theater. Please read the following section for guidance in correct and optimal placement.

LEFT AND RIGHT SPEAKERS: If you have purchased a Synthesis Array

Module digital home theater system, then one of the configurations of the SAM1HF/SAM2LF modules will serve as your front left and right main speakers. Please see the Configuration and Connection diagrams in the “SAM1HF and SAM2LF Configuration and Assembly” section to correctly configure your main speakers.

Since the left and right speakers have been designed for maximum localization of sound, they should be placed with the center of the speakers at about the same height on screen as the actors would be, to aid in the illusion that the actors’ voices are coming directly from their on-screen images. Ideally, the speakers will be placed about 45 degrees apart from each other, viewed from the listening position, so that the distance between the speakers is the same as each speaker’s distance from the listener (see Figure 1).

CENTER CHANNEL SPEAKERS: Please see the Configuration and

Connection diagrams in the “SAM1HF and SAM2LF Configuration and Assembly” section to correctly configure your center speaker. Regardless of the configuration you have chosen, it is important to place the horn array vertically during installation in order to take advantage of its sounddispersion characteristics. If you mount it horizontally, it will not provide the correct dispersion pattern. If the speaker is being used with a perforated projection screen, it should be mounted behind the center of the screen (see Figure 2).

If a nonperforated projection screen, plasma display or other fixed video device is being used in the installation, then the recommended location is directly below (and as close as possible to) the video display (see Figure 3), although the inverse of this method will work also.

Figure 1. 5.1-Channel system

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

Min. 2'-0"

SPEAKER PLACEMENT

NOTE: It is extremely important to place the tweeter/mid-bass arrays for each of the center, left and right speakers

at the same height. The horn array containing the tweeter in the center channel speaker should be no more than two feet (0.6 meter) higher or lower than those in the left and right speakers. This preserves the “localization integrity” of “sound pans,” in which the sound appears to move from left to center to right. If the program material also appears to travel up and down, it can destroy the illusion of panning effects and so should be avoided.

AMBIENT SURROUND SPEAKERS: Although it has been common for many years to use a number of surround

speakers in commercial movie houses, until recently, the traditional home theater configuration called for 5.1 channels, i.e., front left, center, front right, surround left and surround right, plus a low-frequency effects channel. The newer surround formats that are appearing in consumer audio equipment are calling for more complicated 6.1and 7.1-channel systems. The advantages of using additional speakers are many. Additional channels enable a more versatile use of directionality for a more accurate surround presentation. Also, a higher overall sound-pressure level can be achieved with less energy expenditure from any individual speaker. Placement of the surround speakers remains critical.

5.1-CHANNEL SYSTEMS

The ambient surround speakers work optimally if they are placed as far back from the screen as the viewing chairs are. If there are two rows of chairs, these speakers should be placed between them.

The ambient surround speakers should be placed higher than the seating area, at least two feet (0.6 meter) above (seated) ear level (see Figure 4).

The preferred method to mount the ambient surrounds is to put them directly in the side walls. This lets each speaker radiate to the front and back of the room and to reflect off the side walls.

There are a few instances in which the ambient surrounds would perform better if mounted in the ceiling rather than the walls. If one or both of the walls are “acoustically dead,”due to the presence of windows, fabric, furniture or other absorption, it may be necessary to turn the ambient speakers sideways and, instead of mounting them in a vertical orientation, mount them in the ceiling in a horizontal orientation.

Figure 4.

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