Niles Audio AT5, AT8, AT6 User Manual
B LENDING H IGH F IDELITY
AND
A RCHITECTURE
®
INSTALLATION & OPERATION GUIDE
®
MODELS
Congratulations!
Thank you for choosing an Advanced Technology In-Wall Loudspeaker from Niles.
With proper installation and operation, you'll enjoy years of trouble-free use.
Niles manufactures the industry's most complete line of custom installation components and accessories for audio/video systems. For a free full line catalog write:
Niles, Catalog Request, P.O. Box 160818, Miami, Florida 33116-0818
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 2
FEATURES AND BENEFITS 2
INSTALLATION CONSIDERATIONS 4
SPEAKER PLACEMENT 6
INSTALLATION FUNDAMENTALS 9
INSTALLATION OF BRACKETS, FRAMES AND GRILLES IN NEW CONSTRUCTION 13
INSTALLATION OF BRACKETS, FRAMES AND GRILLES IN EXISTING WALLS 15
INSTALLATION OFTHE SPEAKER, SENSOR AND GRILLE IN NEWOR EXISTING CONSTRUCTION 16
REMOVAL OF SPEAKER AND GRILLE 20
OPERATION 20
SPECIFICATIONS 21
WARRANTY REGISTRATION CARD 25
LIMITED WARRANTY 26
©2000 Niles Audio Corporation. All rights reserved. Niles, the Niles logo, Blending High Fidelity and Architecture and Systems
Integration Amplifiers are registered trademarks of Niles Audio Corporation. BumpBack and MicroSensor are trademarks of Niles
Audio Corporation. Dolby is a registered trademark of Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation. Decora is a registered trademark of Leviton Manufacturing Co. Because Niles strives to continuously improve its products, Niles reserves the right to change
product specifications without notice. The technical and other information contained herein is not intended to set forth all technical and other specifications of Niles products. Additional information can be obtained on-line at www.nilesaudio.com or by calling
Niles at 1-800-289-4434. Printed in Taiwan. 11/00 DS00280ATW
Limited Warranty
Niles Audio Corporation ("NILES") warrants its loudspeaker products to the original purchaser
to be free of manufacturing defects in material and workmanship for a period of five years
from date of purchase.
This Warranty is subject to the following additional conditions and limitations. The Warranty
is void and inapplicable if NILES deems that the product has been used or handled other than
in accordance with the instructions provided by the manufacturer, including but not limited to
damage caused by accident, mishandling, improper installation, abuse, negligence, or normal
wear and tear, or any defect caused by repair to the product by anyone other than NILES or an
authorized NILES dealer.
To obtain warranty service, take the unit to the nearest authorized NILES dealer, who will test
the product and if necessary, forward it to NILES for service. If there are no authorized NILES
dealers in your area, you must write to NILES and include your name, address, model and
serial number of your unit, along with a brief description of the problem. A factory Return
Authorization Number will be sent to you. DO NOT RETURN ANY UNIT WITHOUT FIRST
RECEIVING WRITTEN AUTHORIZATION AND SHIPPING INSTRUCTIONS FROM NILES.
If the above conditions are met, the purchaser's sole remedy shall be to return the product to
NILES, in which case NILES will repair or replace, at its sole option, the defective product
without charge for parts or labor. NILES will return a unit repaired or replaced under warranty
by shipping same by its usual shipping method from the factory (only) at its expense within the
United States of America. THERE ARE NO OTHER WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT
LIMITATION, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WITH RESPECT TO THE PRODUCT.
REPAIR OR REPLACEMENT AS PROVIDED UNDER THIS WARRANTY IS THE EXCLUSIVE
REMEDY OF THE CONSUMER/PURCHASER. NILES SHALL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR
ANY INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT PROVIDED
(OR PROHIBITED) BY APPLICABLE LAW.
Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages,
so the above limitation may not apply to you. This warranty gives you specific legal rights,
and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state.
For the name of your nearest authorized NILES dealer contact:
NILES AUDIO CORPORATION
P.O. BOX 160818, Miami, Florida 33116-0818.
Please fill in your product information and retain for your records.
Model____________________________________________________________________________________
Serial No._________________________________________________________________________________
Purchase Date_____________________________________________________________________________
26
Limited Warranty
DETACH HERE AND RETURN TO: Niles Audio Corporation Warranty Registration Dept. P.O. Box 160818 Miami, Florida 33116-0818
Model Purchased____________________________________________________________________________________
Serial Number____________________________________________________________________________________
Date Purchased (month/day/year)__________________________________________________________________
Dealer Name and Location________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
❑ Dr. ❑ Miss ❑ Mr. ❑ Mrs. ❑ Ms.
Name____________________________________________________________________________________________
Address_________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
City_________________________________________________________State________________Zip______________
Telephone (___________) ___________________________________________________________________________
Age:
❏
Under 25
❏
25-34
❏
35-44
❏
45-54
❏
55 & over
Income:
❏
Under $24,999
❏
$25,000-$34,999
❏
$35,000-$44,999
❏
$45,000-$59,999
❏
$60,000-$74,999
❏
$75,000-$99,999
❏
Over $99,999
Occupation:
❏
Arts/Entertainment
❏
Business Owner
❏
Engineer
❏
Finance/Accounting
❏
General Office
❏
Management
❏
Professional
❏
Sales/Marketing
❏
Student
❏
Tradesperson
Musical tastes:
(Please check all that
apply)
❏
Alternative
❏
Classical
❏
Country
❏
Jazz
❏
New Age
❏
Popular
❏
R&B
❏
Rock
❏
Other______________
How did you hear
about Niles?
❏
Architect/Developer
❏
Custom Installer
❏
Direct Mail
❏
Friend/Family
❏
In-Store Display
❏
Interior Designer
❏
Magazine Ad
❏
Mail-Order Catalog
❏
Newspaper Ad
❏
Product Brochure
❏
Product Review
❏
Retail Salesperson
What magazines do
you read?
1. ______________________
2. ___________________
3. _____________________
Who will install the
product?
❏
Custom Installer
❏
Electrician
❏
Friend
❏
Myself
Which factor(s) influenced the purchase of
your Niles product?
(Please check all that
apply)
❏
Ease of Use
❏
Price/Value
❏
Product Features
❏
Quality/Durability
❏
Reputation
❏
Style/Appearance
❏
Warranty
Do you . . . ?
❏
Own a House. If yes,
how many square feet?
__________________
❏
Own a Town House/
Condominium/Co-op
❏
Rent an Apartment
❏
Rent a House
Are you interested in
receiving literature on
other Niles products?
❏
Yes ❏No
Are there products/
capabilities that you
would like to see
introduced?
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
Please take a moment to fill out our warranty registration card. The information helps us to
get to know you better and develop the products you want
WARRANTY REGISTRATION CARD
Features and Benefits
Woven Carbon/Fiber Glass Woofer
with Butyl Rubber Surround,
Dispersion Stabilizer, Vented Pole
Piece and Custom Debris Screen
The Niles AT Advanced Technology series
loudspeakers employ an advanced cone
material that combines carbon and fiber glass
in a special weave that maximizes stiffness
and minimizes cone break up. The result is a
cone that delivers deep, powerful bass and
unrivaled dynamic response. The woofer also
features a vented pole piece for increased
bass linearity and a Butyl Rubber Surround
for improved midrange damping and clarity
as well as moisture resistance. A hyperbolic
dispersion stabilizer helps to maintain
smooth frequency response off-axis. Custom
debris screens keep insulation from coming
in contact with the woofer.
1” Teteron Tri-laminate Tweeter
Housed in a Precision Adjustment
Mechanism
The AT series Teteron Tweeter employs a
tri-laminate design consisting of an inner
textile layer which forms the dome, a high
damping layer to kill unwanted resonances
and an outside layer of urethane to add
stiffness and prevent breakup modes. The
result is a transparently clear, sweet, natural sounding tweeter which still maintains
extended frequency response. This
advanced tweeter is housed in a precision
adjustment mechanism which permits the
tweeter to be accurately positioned after
installation for optimum performance and
without the diffraction distortion typical of
traditional pivoting tweeters.
Antiresonant Wave Bracing
The AT speaker’s baffle design employs
specially molded ribs that increase the
rigidity of the baffle and raise the resonant
frequency so that less “out-of-phase” cancellation takes place. Equally important,
the ribs are curved and crossed to further
shift vibration modes away from low-bass
canceling frequencies. This keeps bass
tones rich and dynamic.
Front-Mounted Bass & Treble Controls
Niles Advanced Technology speaker
models feature four position bafflemounted tone controls for Bass and
Treble that enable instant fine tuning
after the speakers are installed. This feature helps to lessen the effects of less than
perfect placement or other room
acoustics anomalies.
Snap-in Baffle Assembly
This proprietary Niles design enables
installers to attach Niles loudspeaker
assemblies to installed frames without additional hardware or tools. Niles' Snap-in
design makes it easy to upgrade Niles'
speakers after installation without the hassles associated with removal and re-installation of traditional designs. Snap-in baffles
make installation of Niles speaker baffle
easier and faster than other in-wall brands.
2
Features and Benefits
Introduction
The AT or Advanced Technology group of
In-Wall Loudspeakers is designed to deliver truly stunning performance with optimum installation flexibility. All models in
the AT series are constructed using the
highest quality components and utilize
advanced materials technology to create
speakers capable of reproducing both
music and movie soundtracks with incredible realism and sonic impact. They are
perfect anywhere that ultimate sound
quality is required.
An AT5/AT6/AT8 Speaker Kit; and the
corresponding Bracket Kit (5, 6 or 8) is
required to install one pair of
AT5/AT6/AT8 In-Wall loudspeakers in
either new or existing construction.
No-Strip Speaker Terminal
Niles patented No-Strip terminal enables
speakers to be connected without stripping the speaker wire. No-Strip terminals
eliminate fumbling with wire strippers and
input terminals. They are color coded and
simply plug into the crossover circuit
boards on the back of Niles speakers,
resulting in positive in-phase connections
every time.
BumpBack™ Woofer Magnet
Niles engineers have utilized a unique
motor construction enabling far greater
“throw” or voice coil excursion. This
allows a high level of bass performance to
be achieved.
Moisture Resistant Construction
The AT loudspeakers are suitable for use
in high moisture environments. The drivers are impervious to moisture; the grille
is made of powder-coated aluminum, and
all exposed hardware is made of stainless
steel. However, the speakers are not
waterproof and direct contact with water
should be avoided.
Absolutely Flush to the Wall
Appearance
The unique mounting system of the AT
loudspeakers powerfully clamps the frame
to the bracket, sandwiching the wall material between them. Because the clamping
action is totally uniform around the frame,
there are no shadows or gaps between the
wall and the frame. Additionally, the Niles
mounting system is carefully optimized to
stiffen the surrounding drywall and prevent it from resonating. You hear only the
music, not the drywall.
Easy Retrofit Installation in your
Existing Home
Designed for ease of installation, the Niles
mounting system makes retrofit installations simple and fast. A supplied template
assures fast and accurate hole cutting. The
bracket slips behind the drywall and the
screws secure the bracket to the frame,
sandwiching the drywall between them.
The speaker baffle attaches to the frame,
and the grille mounts over the speaker.
Three Stage Installation System for
Remodels or New Construction
You install only the parts you need for a
particular stage of construction. When the
framing and wiring are finished, you install
the
bracket. After the drywall is up, but
before the painter begins to paint, you
install the
frame and provide the rustproof
aluminum
grilles to the painter so that they
can be painted to match the surroundings.
Only when construction is completely finished do you put the valuable
speaker in
the wall. You don’t have to mask or prep
the speaker for painting, and worries about
theft during the final phases of construction
are never an issue!
Low Diffraction, MicroPerf™
Aluminum Grilles
AT speakers include aluminum grilles. The
painted aluminum grille has hundreds of
precisely sized perforations, creating an
acoustically transparent grille.
Infrared Sensor Mount
The speaker baffle has a locator designed
for the Niles MS-1 MicroSensor™,a
miniature infrared sensor. The MS-1
installs discreetly behind the aluminum
grille and therefore minimizes wall clutter in your home. When you want to
control your equipment, you simply
point your remote control at the speaker
from up to 15 feet away.
Features and Benefits
3
PLEASE FILL OUT THE
WARRANTY REGISTRATION
CARD ON THE REVERSE SIDE,
DETACH, AND MAIL TO:
Niles Audio Corporation
Warranty Registration Dept.
P.O. Box 160818
Miami, Florida 33116-0818
DETACH HERE
23
Installation Considerations
Recommended Amplifier Power
For satisfactory performance, we recommend an amplifier with a power rating of
ten to one hundred watts for the AT5; and
ten to one hundred twenty-five watts for
the AT6, and ten to one hundred fifty
watts for the AT8. Curiously, most speakers are not damaged by large amplifiers
but by small amplifiers. If your system is
playing loudly, a small amplifier will run
out of power very quickly. When an
amplifier runs out of power it creates
damaging “clipping” distortion. A large
amplifier will play at the same volume
without distorting. See the section on
operating the speakers for more information about clipping distortion.
Incorporating a Local Volume Control
In a multiroom system there is one indispensible device for true convenience—a
local volume control. It allows you to
adjust the volume of the speakers without
leaving the room.
Plan to wire the system so that each pair
of speakers has its own volume control
built into the wall (think of a volume control as a dimmer switch for sound).
Niles makes a wide range of high performance indoor and outdoor volume controls. They are available in Standard or
Decora
®
style cover plates (just like your
light switches and dimmers). Volume controls are connected in line with the speak-
Installation Considerations
Figure 1
Model HD8 Shown
4
New Construction Wings
Bracket
Frame
Speaker Baffle
IR Knockout
Grille
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