Miller & Kreisel Sound SURROUND-55 MkII, K-4 Tripole Operation Manual

operation manual

SURROUND-55 MkII Tripole

®

K-4Tripole

®

Miller & Kreisel Sound Corporation
9351 Deering Avenue
Chatsworth, CA 91311-5858
[phone] fax [phone]
www.mksound.com

©2001 Miller & Kreisel Sound Corp.

TRIPOLE®SURROUND SPEAKER

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. I N T RO D U C T I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2. THE TRIPOLE SURROUND SPEAKER...........................................................................3

3. M&K HIGH-FREQUENCY PRISM SYSTEM (Surround-55 Only)...................................3

4. SPEAKER HOOK-UP........................................................................................................4

5. INSTALLATION OF YOUR SURROUND SPEAKERS....................................................5

6. PLACEMENT OF THE TRIPOLE SURROUND SPEAKER........................................6

7. SPEAKER PHASING T E S T. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

8. M&K WALL AND STAND OPTIONS...............................................................................8

9. SPEAKER DAMAGE & HOW TO AVOID IT....................................................................8

10. CABINET MAINTENANCE..............................................................................................9

11. IF YOU NEED SERVICE..................................................................................................9

12. M&K 10 YEAR WARRANTY..........................................................................................10

13. S P E C I F I C AT I O N S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0

DIAGRAMS

FIGURE 1 WIRING WITH THE SURROUND SPEAKER.................................................4

FIGURE 2 B R AC K E T & SPEAKER O R I E N TAT I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

FIGURE 3 SURROUND SPEAKER PLACEMENT (ONE ROW OF LISTENERS)...........6

FIGURE 4 SURROUND SPEAKER PLACEMENT (TWO ROWS OF LISTENERS)........6

FIGURE 5 SURROUND SPEAKER PLACEMENT (REAR WALL).....................................6

FIGURE 6 M U LTIPLE SURROUND SPEAKERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

FIGURE 7 S T-SERIES WA L L B R AC K E T O P T I O N S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

FIGURE 8 S T-SERIES STA N D A N D L D M O P T I O N S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

FIGURE 9 SURROUND-55 FLUSH MOUNT BRACKET TEMPLATE.................................11

FIGURE 10 K-4 FLUSH M O U N T B R AC K E T T E M P L AT E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2

TRIPOLE®SURROUND SPEAKER

1. INTRODUCTION

Congratulations! Your new M&K Tripole®speaker will give you years of unmatched enjoyment and
excitement while listening to your favorite multichannel musical and audio/video sources, whether they are Dolby
Digital, MLP, DTS, Pro-Logic, or enhanced stereo modes.

We encourage you to read this owner’s manual, as there is a great deal of information provided here to help
you get the best possible performance.

If you have any questions about your speaker system, please contact your M&K dealer or call the M&K
factory directly at [phone], from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM Pacific Time, Monday through Friday.We will be
happy to help you with any question. Additional information may also be obtained on our web site
www.mksound.com or you may send us an e-mail to [e-mail].

2. THE TRIPOLE®SURROUND SPEAKER

M&K’s exclusive Tripole®design is a new concept in surround channel speaker design, offering the
performance aspects of two different types of speakers. Think of it as a dipole surround speaker that includes
a very high quality direct radiating speaker in the same cabinet.

As a Tripole, the front baffle drivers (direct radiator) operate full range. The side Dipole drivers also
operate, so sound is radiated on three axes. This means that the speaker can simultaneously produce a
directional stereo image in the surround channels and an enveloping sound that wraps around the listeners.
The directional qualities and stereo imaging may be preferred for playing back the "split" (stereo) surrounds of

5.1 channel discrete digital recordings.

The Tripole®design is also ideal for the back surround channel of a Surround-EX 6.1 system. If you have
such a system, we recommend using two Tripole®surround speakers to reproduce this channel.

3. THE M&K HIGH-FREQUENCY PRISM SYSTEM (Surround-55MkII Only)

Your Surround-55MkII Tripole®speaker utilizes M&K's exclusive High-Frequency Prism System to optimize
imaging and coverage of sound throughout the listening area. This system is designed to take into account the
effect of the curved mesh metal grilles on your speakers. Therefore, your Surround-55s are designed for the
best sound when the grilles are in place. We recommend that you leave the grilles on the speakers for all
listening.

You will note that the tweeter in your Surround-55MkII speakers is mounted at a slight angle (4.7 degrees).
This mounting is an integral part of the High-Frequency Prism System. When the speakers are mounted
properly, the tweeter will be angled away from the listening position. That means that the surround channel
speakers should be mounted with the tweeter angled towards the back wall of the room (when the speakers are
mounted on the side walls), and with the tweeter angled toward the closest side wall (when the speakers are
mounted on the back wall of the room).

When the speaker is mounted in this fashion, its stereo imaging and coverage of sound are optimized for a
very wide listening window that extends from the on-axis position towards the center of the room. If the
speaker is mounted with the tweeter pointed in the other direction, its sound quality will be adversely affected.

NOTE:When the speaker is mounted above the listeners’ heads, make certain that the tweeter on
the front baffle is at the bottom.

TRIPOLE®SURROUND SPEAKER

FIGURE 1

4. SPEAKER HOOK-UP

LEFT CHANNEL SPEAKER / RIGHT CHANNEL SPEAKER

Your surround speakers come in two versions - a Left Channel speaker and a Right Channel speaker. It is
critical that the correct speaker be used in each channel.

On the back panel of the speaker, there is an arrow with the printed nomenclature "Point Arrow Towards
Screen." To correctly install the Tripole®surrounds, be sure that the arrow printed on each speaker is pointed
towards the television screen. The arrows will not be visible once the speaker is installed.

To confirm that the Surround-55 speakers are correctly installed, check the angle of the tweeter (see Section
3 above). The tweeter for each speaker should be pointing towards the back wall (or the nearest side wall).

WIRING THE SURROUND SPEAKER

The Positive ( + ) lead from your amplifier or receiver should be connected to the RED ( + ) "INPUT"
terminal, and the Negative ( — ) lead from your amplifier or receiver should be connected to the BLACK ( — )
"INPUT" terminal. See Figure 1.

SPEAKER WIRE

The sound quality that you get from your speaker can be affected by the type of speaker wire that you use
to connect them. While it is possible to use speaker wire as thin as 22 gauge to hook your surround speaker
up, wire of less than 16 gauge will compromise their sound quality. For wire runs of up to 10 feet, 16 gauge wire
is acceptable. For runs up to 20 feet, you should use a minimum of 14 gauge. For up to 30 feet, use a
minimum of 12 gauge, and over 30 feet should use 10 gauge. The smaller the gauge number, the thicker the
wire.

There are a wide variety of premium speaker cables available from a number of specialist manufacturers.
We do not endorse any specific brand of premium cable, but we do recommend the highest quality cable that
fits your budget. Beware, though -- with cables, expensive is not always better. If you have any questions,
contact your M&K dealer for advice.