Niles Audio cm5at User Manual
INSTALLATION & OPERATION GUIDE
MODELS
CM5AT
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY
CM6AT
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY
CM8AT
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY
B LENDING H IGH F IDELITY
AND A RCHITECTURE
®
®
Congratulations!
Thank you for choosing an Advanced technology Ceiling Mount 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 IN NEW CONSTRUCTION 13
INSTALLATION IN EXISTING CONSTRUCTION 14
FINAL INSTALLATION IN NEW OR EXISTING CONSTRUCTION 15
OPERATION 17
SPECIFICATIONS 18
WARRANTY REGISTRATION CARD 21
LIMITED WARRANTY 22
Introduction
The AT or
ceiling mount 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 Technology group of
Features and Benefits
Carbon/Glass Fiber with
Butyl Rubber Surround
The CM5AT, CM6AT and CM8AT 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.
1" Fluid-Cooled Ultra-Wide Dispersion
Tri-Laminate Teteron Tweeter in
Custom Pivoting Coaxial Enclosure
The 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.
No-Strip Speaker Terminal
Niles patented No-Strip terminal enables
speakers to be connected without strip
ping the speaker wire. No-Strip terminals
eliminate fumbling with wire strippers and
input terminals. They are color coded and
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.
simply plug into the crossover circuit
boards on the back of Niles speakers,
resulting in positive in-phase connections
every time.
Moisture and UV Resistant Construction
The CM5AT, CM6AT and CM8AT loudspeakers are suitable for use in high moisture environments. The drivers are resistant to moisture and UV exposure; the
grille is made of powder-coated aluminum. However, the speakers are not
waterproof and direct contact with water
should be avoided.
Engineered for Ceiling Placement
The CM5AT, CM6AT and CM8AT have
been specifically designed and tuned for
optimum performance when mounted in a
ceiling. The custom designed low diffraction tweeter housing is mounted coaxially
to avoid the “venetian blind” effect common with ceiling speakers that employ
sub-baffles as tweeter mounts. The 20°
tweeter pivot angle ensures optimum
high-frequency coverage.
Installer Selectable Acoustic
Fine Tuning
Installers can select to de-emphasize the
bass or treble by 2dB to accommodate
reflective surfaces and corner loading.
This selection is accomplished via baffle-
mounted controls that are accessible after
the speaker has been installed.
contined on next page
Features and Benefits
2
Features and Benefits
4 or 8 ohm Selectable Impedance
The dual voice coil feature of the CM5AT,
CM6AT and CM8AT gives the installer
flexibility to select the speaker’s impedance — 4 ohms for systems where maximum current transfer and output level is
desired; 8 ohms for systems utilizing multiple speaker pairs where amplifier loading
is a consideration.
MicroPerf™Grilles
The CM5AT, CM6AT and CM8AT employ
Niles exclusive MicroPerf grille construction. the exceptionally tight hole pattern
provides acoustic transparency at all audio
frequencies and enables the speaker elements to remain invisible. MicroPerf
grilles can also be painted to blend seemlessly with the surrounding decor.
Easy Installation
The CM5AT, CM6AT and CM8AT employ
a bracketless mounting system in existing
ceilings. Simply cut a hole in the mounting surface, remove the grille from the
speaker, connect the wires and place the
speaker in the hole. Then tighten the four
mounting “dogs” via the front panel
screws. The dogs first swivel 90°, then
clamp the speaker frame to the drywall as
you tighten the screws.
Hole Saving Bracket
Available as an optional accessory, CM5
Series, CM6 Series and CM8 Series New
Construction Brackets can be installed as a
“hole-saver” before the drywall goes up.
The drywall contractor cuts the holes as
the drywall is installed, reducing installation time and minimizing the chance for
lost wires
3
Installation Considerations
20
Recommended Amplifier Power
For satisfactory performance, we recommend an amplifier with a power rating of
10 to 100 watts for the CM5AT; 10 to 125
watts for the CM6AT and 10 to 150 watts
for the CM8AT. Curiously, most speakers
are not damaged by large amplifiers but
by small amplifiers. If your system is play-
Figure 1
The illustration shows how a
typical CM loudspeaker
mounts into a ceiling.
New Construction Bracket serves as a
“hole saver” when drywall has not
been applied. It is not necessary when
retrofitting to existing ceilings.
ing 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
Knockout wire tie allows the wire to be
secured to the bracket throughout the
new construction process. It knocks
out cleanly when the speaker is
installed.
New construction wings
instantly snap into the
bracket without screws.
Installation Considerations
Dogs swivel 90°, then
clamp the speaker
frame to the drywall.
Frames are molded with a
slight texture to assure
good paint adhesion.
Mounting screws tighten the
“dogs”, clamping the speaker
to the drywall.
Rust-proof aluminum grilles make the CM
series perfect for moist environments.
Figure 2
The CM5AT, CM6AT
and CM8AT include
easy access, baffle
mounted tone
controls that enable
you to accommodate
varying room
acoustics
Wings are scored for
easy size trimming.
Brackets and wings
attach to the ceiling joists
with nails or screws.
Figure 3
The CM5AT, CM6AT and
CM8AT tweeter is
housed in a custom
designed, low diffraction
enclosure, pivots up to
20° to provide optimum
high frequency coverage
4
Installation Considerations
In a multiroom system there is one indispensible device for true convenience—a
local volume control. It enables 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 speaker, so you must connect the wire from the
amplifier to the volume control and then
from the volume control to the speaker.
Speaker Wire
Use 2-conductor speaker wire when connecting CM5AT, CM6AT and CM8AT
speakers to your receiver or amplifier. For
most applications, we recommend you
use 16 or 18 gauge stranded wire. For
wiring runs longer than 80 feet we recommend 14 gauge stranded wire. The nostrip terminals of the AT speakers will
accommodate 12 to 18 gauge wire.
When you run wire inside walls, special
jacketing (CL-2 or CL-3) is required to
both protect the wire and for fire prevention. In some areas conduit is required.
For a trouble-free installation, low voltage
wire such as speaker wire must be run in
accordance with the National Electrical
Code and any applicable provisions of the
local building code. If you are unsure of
the correct installation techniques, wire
jacket or type of conduit to use, consult a
TIP
H
TEC
ize is expressed by
s
e
r
i
W
its AWG (American Wire
Gauge) number. The lower
the number, the larger the
re, i.e. 12 AWG is physi-
i
w
cally larger than 14 AWG.
professional audio/video installer, your
building contractor, or the local building
and inspection department.
Incorporating Remote Control
If your stereo system operates with a wireless Infrared (IR) remote control, consider
the advantages of installing a Niles Infrared
Extender System. Niles manufactures a
number of concealable IR sensors and wall
mounted keypads which send a copy of
your hand-held remote command via a
wire to your main equipment location,
where it is repeated to your stereo system.
The wire is typically installed with the
speaker wire, since the speaker signal and
the IR signal will not interfere with each
other. This makes almost no difference to
the installation time, and the cost of the
recommended IR control cable (West Penn
D291 or equivalent) is reasonable.
The correct routing for IR control cable is
to home run an IR control cable from the
main equipment location beside the
speaker wire to the planned volume control location; and then on to the proposed
sensor location. The combination of IR
control cable and speaker wire enables a
programmable Niles IntelliPad
®
to be
installed at a later date (the IntelliPad has a
convenient speaker mute feature in addition to automating and controlling your
stereo system). An IR sensor is best placed
where it is convenient for you to point the
hand-held remote. Both an IntelliPad and
an IR sensor can be connected in one
room with one home run IR control cable.
Insulation Behind The Speaker
For best performance from your speakers
lay a batten of fiberglass insulation
(example: R-19 un-batted insulation) on
top of the speaker. Try to keep the same
amount of insulation for each speaker,
particularly in the same room, for consistent bass response.
5
10'
5' 10'
Speaker Placement
Introduction
Although the CM5AT, CM6AT and CM8AT
have extensive ability to compensate for
unusual placements with their unique pivoting tweeters and acoustic fine-tuning
switches, placement is still the primary
tool for satisfying your particular listening
needs. In the following section, we discuss
how speakers should be placed and how
tweeters should be directed and how the
acoustic fine-tuning switches should be set
for different purposes.
Placement for Critical Listening
If you like to imagine that the band or
orchestra is playing in front of you as you
listen to music, or you are very conscious
of clarity, detail and the textures of the
individual instruments, or you listen critically to movie soundtracks or music
videos in your home theater, you will
need your speakers placed so that they are
optimized for critical listening. Here are
some guidelines to make the process of
placement quick and easy.
Speaker Placement
Critical
Listening
Position
Make sure the sound will not be blocked
or reflected off of furniture or other
objects. You should have a direct line of
Figure 4
In this example,
the speakers
Direct tweeter
towards listener
Direct tweeter
towards listener
could be
placed from
five to 10 feet
apart, since the
listener is 10
feet back from
the speakers
6
Speaker Placement
sight with the front of the speaker. To
determine the best position, measure the
“listening” distance between the ideal listening position (your favorite chair or
couch) and the location in which you plan
to install the speakers. Try to place the
speakers so that they are equally distant
from your listening spot and at least one
half of the listening distance apart (this
maintains a large pleasant stereo “image”).
In home theater applications where there
is a center channel you may choose to
space the left and right main speakers farther apart for a “bigger than life” sound
with Dolby
®
encoded movies and TV
shows. However, for combined music and
movie usage stay within the
ment zone
for music. For example; if you
good place-
are ten feet back from the speakers, the
speakers should be between five and ten
feet apart
(See Figure 4).
Tweeters should be directed at the listening position.
room you will notice that when the sound
is perfect in one part of the room, it is too
loud near the speakers. By placing more
than one pair in the room you will avoid
these “hot spots” of loud sound and you
will create more sonic ambiance while
maintaining clarity and a rich sound
everywhere
(See Figure 5).
You can make listener position still less
critical by using mono rather than stereo.
This can be difficult to achieve with normal stereo amplifiers. However, Niles
manufactures Systems Integration
Amplifiers
®
which enable one room to be
wired in stereo while other rooms are
wired in mono! Consult your local Niles
dealer for more information.
In smaller rooms or rooms that are infrequently used, you typically can’t justify
the expense of more than two speakers.
Try to bracket the room with the two
speakers. Diagonal placement is a very
effective way to stretch the coverage pattern of two speakers. You can also compromise between direct sound (for detail
Placement for Varying
Listening Positions
If you want the freedom to sit anywhere in
a room facing any direction, and/or find
that you prefer the “all around you” sound
of some car stereos to a conventional
“sound stage” facing you, consider the
speaker placement techniques professional installers use in restaurants and bars.
They place speakers in an array around
the listening area, so that the music is
always surrounding you, regardless of the
direction you face.
The rule of thumb is to add one pair of
speakers for every 100 to 200 square feet
, this is not so
of listening area. Curiousl
y
that you can play the music louder, but so
that you can play it softer!
When you
have only one pair of speakers in a large
and clarity) and reflected sound (the
ambient or “all around you” effect). The
speakers can be placed near corners to
create more reflected sound. By directing
the tweeters to point away from the listener, so they create as much reflected sound
as possible, you emphasize the ambient
effect. The more reflected sound there is
in the room the stronger the ambient
effect at low volumes. You should use
moderation, however, otherwise the compromise becomes too one sided and at
high volumes, the sound will be blurred
and less distinct.
Placement for Home Theater
Rear Applications
In a home theater, the goal is to reproduce
the experience of a great movie theater in
our homes. The biggest difference between
the two is the rear or surround speaker
7
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