INSTALLATION & OPERATION GUIDE
MODELS
B LENDING HIGH FIDELITY
AND ARCHITECTURE
®
®
Congratulations!
Introduction
dens or living rooms; as main or surround
speakers in home theaters.
Features and Benefits
Thank you for choosing a Performance 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. To see the complete Niles
product assortment, visit us on the Internet at: www.nilesaudio.com
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 2
FEATURES AND BENEFITS 2
INSTALLATION CONSIDERATIONS 4
LOUDSPEAKER 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 OF THE LOUDSPEAKER, SENSOR AND GRILLE IN NEW OR 16
EXISTING CONSTRUCTION
REMOVAL OF LOUDSPEAKER AND GRILLE 20
OPERATION 20
SPECIFICATIONS 21
©2008 Niles Audio Corporation. All rights reserved. Niles, the Niles logo, MicroSensor, Blending High Fidelity and Architecture
and Systems Integration Amplifier are registered trademarks of Niles Audio Corporation. BumpBack and MicroPerf are trademarks
of Niles Audio Corporation. Kaladex is a registered trademark of DuPont Teijin Films. 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. DS00279B
The PR or Performance group of
in-wall loudspeakers offers speakers
expressly designed for an optimum balance of performance and value. They
employ high performance components
and materials that make them perfectly
suited as primary speakers in bedrooms,
Features and Benefits
Talc-Filled Polypropylene Woofer with
Butyl Rubber Surround and Custom
Debris Screens
The Niles PR Performance series loudspeakers employ a high performance
woofer made of vacuum formed polypropylene with talc added for stiffening. The resulting cone offers low mass,
good damping and superb musicality.
Additionally, the woofer employs a Butyl
Rubber Surround for improved midrange
clarity as well as moisture resistance.
Custom debris screens prevent insulation
from coming in contact with the woofer.
3/4” Kaladex
Precision Adjustment Mechanism
The PR Performance series Kaladex
Tweeter employs DuPont’s latest material technology to produce a dome tweeter with exceptional frequency response
and low distortion. Highs are crystal clear
and extended without the harshness often
associated with polycarbonate designs.
The Kaladex
sion adjustment mechanism which permits
the tweeter to be accurately positioned
after installation for optimum performance
without the diffraction distortion endemic
to other speaker brands utilizing traditional
pivoting tweeters.
®
Tweeter housed in a
®
tweeter is housed in a preci-
®
A PR5/PR6 Speaker Kit; and the corresponding Bracket Kit (5 or 6) is
required to install one pair of PR5/PR6
in-wall loudspeakers in either new or
existing construction.
Antiresonant Wave Bracing
The PR 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 Performance speaker models
feature baffle-mounted 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 baffles easier
and faster than other in-wall brands.
2
Features and Benefits
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 PR 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 PR
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 frame to the bracket,
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
PR 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 MS110 MicroSensor
iature infrared sensor. The MS110 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 (5 meters) away.
®
, a min-
New Construction Wings
Bracket
Frame
Installation Considerations
Recommended Amplifier Power
For satisfactory performance, we recommend an amplifier with a power rating of
ten to one hundred watts for the PR5; and
ten to one hundred twenty-five watts for
the PR6. 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
light switches and dimmers). Volume controls are connected in line with the speak
Figure 1
Model HD8 Shown
Speaker Baffle
IR Knockout
®
style cover plates (just like your
Installation Considerations
Grille
3
4
Installation Considerations
er, 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 PR 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
(25 meters) we recommend 14 gauge
stranded 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 professional audio/video
installer, your building contractor, or the
local building and inspection department.
An IR sensor requires that a 2-conductor
shielded wire (West Penn D291 or equivalent) be home run from each sensor location to the main equipment location. This
wire is normally run beside the speaker
wire at the same time. Typically, the sensor is placed in a location that faces your
listening position. Most remote controls
will have an effective line of sight range of
18 to 30 feet (6-10 meters) with any Niles
sensor placed in a wall, ceiling, on a cabinet or tabletop. However, when you place
a Niles MS110 MicroSensor behind the
perforated aluminum grille of a speaker
the effective range is reduced to 9 to 15
feet (3-5 meters).
Insulating the Wall Cavity
For best performance from your speakers
fill the wall cavity behind the speaker with
fiberglass insulation (e.g. R-19 unbatted
insulation). Try to keep the same amount
of insulation for each speaker, particularly in the same room, for consistent
bass response.
Speaker Placement
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, you are a critical listener.
In a home theater, the intelligibility of
dialog and action reproduced by the front
speakers is paramount! The position of
the speakers plays a very important role in
how clear the sound is and how a stereo
image is created. Here are some guidelines to make the process of placement
quick and easy.
Make sure the sound will not be blocked
or reflected off of furniture or other objects.
You should have a direct line of 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 wall
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 good placement zone for music. For
example; if you are ten feet back from the
wall, the speakers should be between five
and ten feet apart (See Figure 2).
Speaker Placement
5
Incorporating a Remote Control
If you are planning to use a stereo system
with a hand held IR remote control, consider the advantages of installing a Niles IR
Repeater system. You are able to control
all of the functions of your system from
the room via the remote pair of speakers.
Niles makes a number of IR sensors which
install in the wall, in the ceiling, in cabinetry, on tabletops, or even behind the grille
of some of your Niles speakers.
Wire size is expressed by its AWG (American Wire
Gauge) number. The lower the number, the larger
the wire, i.e. twelve AWG is physically larger than
TECH TIP
fourteen AWG.
Figure 2
10’
(3 meters)
Speaker
Placement
Zone
Speaker
Placement
Zone
5’
(1.7 meters)
10’
(3 meters)
6
Speaker Placement
The Boundary Effect
Corners can affect the bass response of
the speaker powerfully! This is called the
boundary effect. You will emphasize particular bass frequencies and cancel out
other bass frequencies when you place
speakers close to the wall/ceiling boundary or a corner wall boundary. This can
make the speaker sound excessively
boomy and inaccurate to some listeners,
while to others it just seems like more
bass sound. A good rule of thumb is if
you always listen to your current pair of
speakers with the bass turned up, you’ll
enjoy corner placement. If you keep your
tone controls at neutral, try to keep the
speakers at least two or three feet from
the boundaries of the room.
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
of listening area. Curiously, this is not
so 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 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.
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
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
and clarity) and reflected sound (the
ambient or “all around you” effect). By
trying to place the speakers so that they
create as much reflected sound as possible you emphasize the ambient effect.
They can be up high in the wall or even
down low at power outlet height , in
the ceiling, near corners, or directed at
reflective objects and walls. 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 Rear Home Theater
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 array in a commercial theater.
Here, it is not uncommon to see twenty
or thirty speakers around the audience.
This huge array of speakers assures that
you will feel completely surrounded by
the ambient soundtrack of the movie.
Film makers try to use the “surround”
®
which enable one room to
soundtrack to envelope you in the environment on screen. They will place background music, rain sounds, traffic noise,
etc. on the “surround” soundtrack. In a
home with a single pair of speakers it is
easy for the jungle sounds to sound like
they are “in the middle of your head” just
like headphones!
A single pair of PR loudspeakers, properly placed, can create a very convincing
simulation of an array of speakers. If you
place them near a hard reflecting surface
you can make one pair of speakers sound
like several. Create as many reflections
as possible by mounting the speaker up
high in the wall so that the ceiling will act
as a powerful reflector. If you place the
speakers near a corner, wash the sound
down a wall from a ceiling location, or
mount the speakers as far away as you
can from the listening area, more reflections will occur. However, all of these
placement techniques require that you
work your surround sound amplifier channels harder. If the surround sound system
you are using has a small five or ten watt
amplifier for the rear speakers, stay within
five to eight feet of the listening location.
If you are using a 25 to 50 watt amplifier
you can mount the speakers 10 to 15 feet
away from the listening location and still
achieve reasonably high volume levels.
Of course, the best way to emulate the
sound of multiple speakers is to use multiple speakers. In large or unusually shaped
rooms this might be the only way to
achieve a good effect. If you like to listen
to music surround modes which emulate
concert hall acoustics, more than two surround speakers will prove extraordinarily
effective. With Niles PR loudspeakers it is
easy to add another pair without affecting
the decor of the room. However, you will
need to use a much more powerful amplifier than that which is built into a typical
surround sound receiver or amplifier. Niles
makes a number of Systems Integration
Amplifiers
make them uniquely suited to enhance a
good surround sound system. Consult your
local Niles dealer for more information.
®
with proprietary features that
Speaker Placement
7
8
Installation Fundamentals
Installation
Fundamentals
Running the Speaker Wire in New
Construction
If you have doubts about whether you are
capable of installing a Niles PR loudspeaker in your walls, consult a Niles dealer or
professional installer. They have special
tools, techniques, and experience to make
the impossible possible. The installer can
provide you with an estimate before any
work is done.
Scheduling and Preparation
Plan to schedule the speaker wiring after
the electrical wiring is finished. That way
you can avoid wire routes which could
potentially induce hum over the speaker
wire. The basic rules are:
• Never run speaker wire through the
same hole as an electrical cable.
• Never run speaker wire into the same
J-box as electrical cable.
• Avoid running the speaker wire beside
the electrical cable. Keep your speaker
cable at a distance of at least 18”-22”
(46-56 cm) from any electrical power
Figure 3
cable. Side-by-side wiring is unavoidable
in particular spots in every house, just
move the speaker wire route away as
soon as possible. If construction forces a
side by side run for more than ten feet,
install metal conduit or shielded speaker
wire. Low-voltage wires such as doorbells, intercoms, telephone, security, or
television cannot cause interference or
hum on your speaker wires, so you can
safely run all of them at the same time,
through the same holes, side-by-side.
Before you drill any holes, mount the
speaker brackets in the desired speaker locations and mount p-rings or open
backed J-boxes where the in-wall volume
controls and stereo equipment will be.
Safety First!
Wear gloves, safety goggles and head protection when drilling. Avoid nails, they ruin
bits and they can create injury. Pay particular care when using “hole-hogs” and other
powerful electric drills; the torque of the
drill when suddenly stopped by a nail can
break the wrist of a strong man.
Drilling
Use a bit that is large enough for the wires
you plan to run. An auger bit is the preferred bit for rough-in wiring. It will actually pull itself through the wood, so that
the drill motor, not you, does most of the
work. You may be drilling a lot of holes,
so this is an important consideration.
Always drill the holes in the center of the
stud. If you have to notch the stud or drill
the hole closer than one inch from the
edge of the stud, protect the wire with a
nail plate (See Figure 3).
When drilling holes in ceiling joists drill
in the center of the joists and try to locate
the hole near the end of the joist. DO
NOT drill through a “gluelam” or any
load bearing beam without the direction
of your contractor.
Try to line the holes up perfectly, because
it makes pulling the wire much easier.
A good technique is to snap a chalk line
across the face of the studs or against the
bottom of the ceiling joists. Then work
backward so that you can always see the
holes you have already drilled. Paying
careful attention to this will save you a lot
of time later on!
Pulling the Cable
Pull the cable in sections (from the stereo
to the volume control, from the volume
control to the speaker). Start with the longest sections and use left over wire to
complete the short sections. If you plan
to pull many rooms at the same time
through a central route, walk off the distance to each destination, add a generous
fudge factor for turns and other obstacles,
then cut off each section so that you have
a bundle of wires you can pull at once.
Whenever you run the wire further than
four and one half feet from a hole in a
stud or joist (open attic space, going up
walls, etc.), fasten the wire to the joists or
studs using cable clamps or appropriately
sized wire staples. The wire should not
have large sags in it, nor should it be too
tight. Try to protect the wire from being
stepped on in attics or other unfinished
crawl spaces. There are guard strips, raceways and conduits which can be used to
protect the cable. Consult the local building code for special requirements in your
area.
Concealing Speaker Wire
in Existing Walls
This is actually a fairly simple task if you
restrict your choice of speaker locations
and wire routes to the interior walls or
ceilings of your home. Interior walls in
almost all North American residences are
hollow, so that it is easy to flush mount
speakers into them and route new speak-
er cable around the house. What you
see when you look at the painted wall
board, plaster, or paneling is only the
skin of the wall. Behind the skin is the
skeleton; two-by-four wood or metal
“studs” running vertically from the floor
to the ceiling in walls and two-by-six or
larger “joists” running horizontally in the
ceilings and floors. In between the studs
and the joists is the space for the wiring
and plumbing of your home.
Exterior walls are different. They must
insulate the house from the heat and cold
outside, so they are stuffed with insulation.
The national building code requires that
the hollow wall space in exterior walls
be broken by a horizontal stud placed
between the vertical studs. This “fire
blocking” makes it very difficult to retrofit
long lengths of wire. In some areas of the
country the exterior walls are constructed
of solid masonry, and have no hollow
space for speakers or wires.
Start by examining all the possible routes
you might take to run the speaker wire
from the speaker to the volume control
and back to the stereo. Use a stud sensor or other device to locate the internal
structure of the wall. You want to avoid
all studs or joists. A typical route would
be: from the speaker location up the
inside of the wall to a new hole drilled
into the top “plate” (horizontal two-byfour at the top of the inside of the wall),
into the attic crawl space, then down
to the volume control location through
another top plate, back up to the attic,
across the attic, and finally down another plate to the wall behind the stereo
system itself (See Figure 4). The other
very common route is through the bottom plate of the wall into an unfinished
basement or crawl space.
Installation Fundamentals
9
10
Installation Fundamentals
Speaker
Location
Figure 4
Identify where all of your electrical, phone,
and TV wiring is likely to be and plan to
route around it all. You can accidentally
induce 60 Hz hum on your speakers if
you run your speaker wire right beside
electrical wire for more than a few feet.
Try to keep speaker wire running parallel
to power cables at least 3 feet away. To
find exactly where an electrical cable is
routed, try inspecting the inside of the wall
by turning off the breaker for a particular
power outlet or switch, removing the cover
plate and switch or receptacle, and shin-
Volume
Control
Location
Stereo
Location
ing a penlight into the wall.
If you have access to an attic
or basement space you can
quickly see which part of the
wall space is free of obstructions (See Figure 5).
When you don’t have access
above or below the wall, try
to estimate the existing wire
and pipe locations from the
positions of electrical outlets
and plumbed fixtures on both
sides of the wall. Take a look
at the outside of your house
too, sometimes conduit, vents
or drain pipe will be visible
that give useful information.
Choose the route with the fewest potential obstacles.
If your house is built on a slab
or you are wiring between two
finished floors, look for baseboards which
could be removed and replaced with the
wire behind them. Doorjambs can be
removed and often have enough space for
speaker wire all the way around the door
(See Figure 6).
Sometimes, an under-the-carpet run is
possible (there are special flat speaker
wires made for under-the-rug wire runs).
As a last resort, heating and air conditioning vents can be used as wire raceways
for plenum rated wire (check your local
building codes, some municipalities
require conduit).
In traditional wood stud/drywall construction you can cut the hole for the speaker
and utilize the large hole to auger holes
across, up or down the wall for as far as
your drill bit will take you. If you have
matching paint and take reasonable care
in patching you can cut a hatch in the drywall at each stud, run your wire, and patch
and touch-up the wall (See Figure 7).
When you are dealing with the unknown
because of the structure of your home,
or with difficult to patch wall materials
like plaster, lath and plaster, faux finishes,
wallpaper etc., be patient. A careful study
of the potential problems before you start
the job will pay off.
Figure 7
Figure 6
Installation Fundamentals
11
Unobstructed space
for speaker wiring
Figure 5
12
Installation of Brackets, Frames and Grilles in New Construction
Installation of
Brackets, Frames
and Grilles in New
Construction
Stage One: Before Drywall is Hung.
Insulating the Wall Cavity.
If feasible, fill the wall cavity with insulation at this point.
Attach the wings to the bracket by snapping them into the sides of the bracket.
The wings can be shortened by breaking
them along the scored lines if their length
will interfere with a corner or eaves. You
can mount the bracket horizontally or vertically (See Figure 8).
Screw one side of the assembled bracket
with wings to the stud using one of the
supplied screws. Level the bracket. Screw
the other side of the bracket to the stud.
Two or three screws (depending upon the
size of the model) on each side makes for
a very secure installation. Attach the wire
to the bracket at the indicated wire tie
points (See Figure 9).
Stage Two: Before Paint
Screw the frame to the installed bracket
using the supplied screws. Do not overtighten the screws. This will distort the
frame and the grilles will not fit (this is not
permanent, just loosen the screws and the
grille will pop in) (See Figure 10).
Painting the Aluminum Grilles
The grille is important to the sound of the
PR loudspeakers. Do not fill the holes of
Figure 9
Figure 10
the grille with paint. The grille is constructed of aluminum with a perfectly even
powder coat overall. This powder coat is
an ideal primer.
Remove the grilles before painting. If you are
using spray paint, use two thin coats without
any primer. If you are using a compressor
and a spray gun, use the finest, most diffuse setting. Practice first on some paper if
you have no experience painting with spray
paint.
If you are using an applicator or brush,
and a can of paint, thin the paint first. You
do not want to have to poke hundreds of
holes in your beautifully painted grilles.
Installation of Brackets, Frames and Grilles in New Construction
13
Figure 8
14
Installation of Brackets, Frames and Grilles in Existing Walls
Installation of
Brackets, Frames
and Grilles in
Existing Walls
IMPORTANT: Before you cut into any
wall, review the sections on running
wire and speaker placement.
1. Drill a 1/8” pilot hole just barely
through the wallboard or dry wall (1/2”
to 5/8” deep in most homes) about an
inch below the center of your proposed
speaker location (an inch to the side if
you are mounting the speaker horizontally). BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO DRILL
THROUGH EXISTING WIRES, PIPES, OR
STRUCTURE. IF YOU FEEL ANY EXTRA
RESISTANCE AS YOU ARE DRILLING,
STOP. Cut a piece of coat hanger equal
to the width of the bracket. Bend the wire
in half creating a right angle. Poke the “Lshaped” wire into the pilot hole and turn
Figure 12
it in a complete circle. If it turns freely,
repeat the procedure from a hole about
an inch above the center of your proposed
speaker location (See Figure 11).
If the wire’s movement is obstructed by a
pipe or cable, fill the hole (s) with spackle or other patching compound and try
another location.
2. When determining the final location of
the cutout keep in mind that the frame and
bracket will extend beyond the cutout.
Make sure that you do not place the edge
of the cutout directly next to a stud. Locate
the studs using a stud sensor or handknocking. Once you have determined the
correct position for the cutout, hold the
supplied template up to the wall surface.
Level the template in either the horizontal
or the vertical position and mark the wall
with a pencil. Drill the four corners
Figure 11
with a 1/4” drill bit.
3. If you are cutting a painted
or wall papered drywall use
a sheetrock or keyhole saw.
Cut the hole with the saw at
a 45 degree angle.
That way, the drywall section can be
replaced cleanly if there is an unseen
obstruction behind the wall. BE VERY
CAREFUL NOT TO SAW THROUGH
EXISTING WIRES, PIPES, OR STRUCTURE.
IF YOU FEEL ANY EXTRA RESISTANCE AS
YOU ARE CUTTING, STOP.
4. If you are cutting into lath and plaster
walls, use masking tape to outline your
penciled marks, drill the four corners with
a 1/4” bit and use a razor to score the
plaster down to the lath beneath. Then use
a chisel to remove all of the plaster within
the taped outline. Finally, insert a metal
cutting blade into a sabre saw and very
slowly and carefully saw the lath. Sawing
the lath can easily vibrate plaster off the
wall. If you have the patience, use a pair
of tin snips to slowly nip away at the lath
instead. There is no risk with this method,
it is just time consuming.
5. Fill the wall cavity with insulation at this
point. Remember to use equal amounts of
insulation for each speaker.
6. Slip the mounting bracket through the
hole and pull it toward you so that its front
edge slides into the hole and stops in place.
7. Attach the frame to the bracket by
screwing the frame to the bracket using
the supplied screws. Do not overtighten
the screws, this will distort the frame and
the grilles will not fit (this is not permanent, just loosen the screws and the grille
will pop in). The screws should pull the
frame and bracket together (sandwiching
the drywall) so that the frame is absolutely flush with the wall surface. There
should be no gaps between the wall and
the frame (See Figure 12).
Installation of the Speaker, Sensor and Grille in New or Existing Construction
Installation of the
Speaker, Sensor
and Grille in New or
Existing Construction
Installing a Niles MS110 MicroSensor
There is a 1/2” round molded “IR Sensor
Knockout” on the face of the speaker baffle. To prevent damage to the crossover
network you must remove the knockout from the rear of the speaker. Do not
attempt to remove the knockout with the
speaker face up. Lay the speaker face
down on a clean carpet or rug. Put the
tip of a screwdriver into the center of the
round “knockout” and sharply tap the
screwdriver handle as necessary. Install
the MS110 using its mounting hex nut
and washer so that it is tightly secured to
the speaker. Connect all wires and continue your installation.
15
16
Installation of the Speaker and Grille for New or Existing Construction
Installing the Speaker
If the grille is already
installed, remove it by
using a bent paper clip or
the tip of a corkscrew and
pulling it away from the
frame (See Figure 13).
1. Separate the speaker
end of the two-conductor speaker-wire run to
free at least 2” of each conductor.
Figure 1
2. Strip 1/2” of insulation from the end of
each conductor. (See Figure 1)
3. To connect the stripped end of one
conductor to the black terminal, push
down on the black terminal lever. Insert
the stripped end of the conductor into
the opening. Release the pressure on
the lever.
4. Repeat #3 with the other conductor and
the red terminal.
5. Connect the opposite ends of these conductors to their respective amplifier terminals. Pay attention to the markings
on the wire. If you are unsure which
conductor to insert into which terminal,
see the section titled “Speaker Phase” in
the owner’s manual.
Figure 13
6. Repeat these instructions
for each speaker you are
connecting to the amplifier.
7. Place the speaker baffle
in the frame by inserting
the tabs at the base of the
speaker baffle into the cor-
responding holes in the
frame and pushing the speaker forward
until the snaps engage. (See Figure16)
8. IMPORTANT: When installing the
speakers in the ceiling, or if the installation is in an earthquake zone, it is recommended that you utilize the enclosed
sheet metal screws to secure the baffle
to the frame.
a. Locate the dimples on the front baffle.
b. Place the self-tapping sheet metal screw
in the dimple and turn it with a screw
driver until it cuts through the baffle
and anchors securely in the frame.
(See Figure 17)
Figure 16
Figure 17
Speaker Phase
Speaker wire has two conductors. One
conductor is attached to the negative (-)
terminals and one conductor is attached
to the positive (+) terminals of both your
speaker and your amplifier. Usually, the
wire is marked for your convenience.
There are different ways wires are marked:
a stripe on one wire, a ribbed area of one
conductor you can only feel, different colors of metal wire on each conductor, or
there might be a fabric strand or string
wound into one of the conductors. Of
course, there are some wires which appear
completely identical. Be careful, or you
might make a mistake.
If you make a mistake, one speaker will
be playing “out-of-phase” with the other
speaker. An out-of-phase pair of speakers
work against each other and the sound of
the two speakers playing together will be
lacking in bass and be “phasey” sounding.
If you suspect the sound is not right and
you cannot see any markings on the wire,
try this simple test:
1. Stand half way between the two speakers.
2. Play some music with the amplifier or
radio set to Mono.
3. Listen to the richness of the bass and the
loudness of the sound.
4. Turn off the amplifier and reverse the connections on one amplifier channel only.
5. Repeat the listening test with the same
setting of the volume control. When the
sound has a richer bass and is slightly
louder the speakers are working together
or “in-phase”.
Adjusting the Bass and Treble
Controls
The PR Performance loudspeakers feature
separate baffle-mounted bass and treble
controls for fine tuning after installation.
Each control provides for approximately
3dB in steps of 1dB of Bass or Treble
reduction. This is useful if the speakers
are placed near boundaries (Bass Cut)
or in a room with highly reflective surfaces like glass or tile. (Treble Cut). (See
Figure 18)
Figure 18
Installation of the Speaker and Grille for New or Existing Construction
17
18
Installation of the Speaker and Grille in New or Existing Construction
Adjusting the Tweeter
The tweeter is housed in a precision adjustment mechanism which enables precise
aiming of the directional high frequencies
to provide optimum performance. To adjust
the tweeter:
1. Carefully grasp the tweeter housing by
placing your thumb and forefinger in the
indentations provided.
2. Rotate the tweeter housing either clockwise or counter clockwise as required.
The mechanism is indexed at equal
intervals so that both speakers in a pair
can be adjusted equally. Simply count
the number of “clicks” as the first tweeter is adjusted. Repeat the process for the
second speaker, rotating the tweeter the
same number of “clicks” in the opposite
direction (See Figure 19).
3. Pivot the tweeter on both speakers
equally by depressing the housing at
the arrows until the desired angle is
achieved (See Figure 20).
Installing the Grille
Carefully fit the grille into its recess so that it
is barely in place. Starting with one corner,
go around the speaker, pushing the grille in
a little bit each time. You should be gentle,
the aluminum grille can be easily bent out
of shape. The speaker will have an absolutely flush appearance when it is properly
installed.
Figure 19
Figure 20
Removal of Speaker
and Grille
Removing The Speaker
If the grille is already installed, remove it by
using a bent paper clip or the tip of a corkscrew and pulling it away from the frame.
Utilizing two small screwdrivers or two
needle nose pliers, release the snaps that
hold the speaker to the frame. Insert the
screwdrivers into the holes in the snaps
and exert force straight down (towards the
woofer) until the snaps release. Once the
snaps release, the speaker can be tilted
away from the frame to be removed. Do
not attempt to use the frame for leverage,
as this may damage the surface of the
frame (See Figure 21).
Operation
Operation
Listening at Higher Volumes
It requires more power to achieve a reasonable volume of sound in a large room than
it does in a small room. It is possible (even
if you are not a teenager) to turn the volume
so high that the amplifier runs out of power.
This creates “clipping” distortion.
Clipping distortion makes treble sound
very harsh and unmusical. When you
hear harsh sounding treble from any good
speaker, turn the volume down immediately! Those harsh sounds are masking
some much more powerful ultra-high-frequency sound spikes which will quickly
damage any fine loudspeaker. You are
much less likely to damage a speaker with
a large amplifier because it will be very
loud indeed before it produces any clipping distortion.
Cleaning
You can clean the speaker with a dampened soft cloth or paper towel. If the
speaker is mounted high up on a wall or
ceiling, use a broom to gently brush it off.
19
Figure 21
20
Specifications
Specifications
Specifications
Specifications
Model PR5
Driver Complement
5-1/4” Talc-Filled Polypropylene Woofer
with Custom Debris Screen and Butyl
Rubber Surround
3/4” Kaladex
Low Diffraction Precision Adjustment
Mechanism
Design Principle
Infinite baffle for large and varying air
volumes
Recommended Amplifier Power
Ten to One Hundred Watts per Channel
Nominal Impedance
8 Ohm
Frequency Response
70 Hz to 20,000 Hz, plus or minus 3dB
(on axis)
Dispersion Pattern
90 degrees Horizontally or Vertically
(plus or minus 5dB)
Sensitivity
88 decibels for 2.83 volts of Pink Noise,
measured at 1 meter on axis
Overall Exterior Frame Dimensions
7-1/8” x 9-7/8” (18.1 cm x 25.1 cm)
Depth Behind Wall
3-1/8” (7.9 cm) Deep
(assumes 1/2” drywall)
Wall Cut-Out Dimensions
6-1/4” x 9” (15.9 cm x 22.9 cm)
Wiring Requirements
We recommend 16 to 18 gauge stranded
for up to 80 feet, 14 gauge stranded for up
to two hundred feet. Connectors accommodate 12 to 18 gauge stranded wire.
®
Tweeter Housed in a
Model PR6
Driver Complement
6-1/2” Talc-Filled Polypropylene Woofer
with Custom Debris Screen and Butyl
Rubber Surround
3/4” Kaladex
Low Diffraction Precision Adjustment
Mechanism
Design Principle
Infinite baffle for large and varying air
volumes
Recommended Amplifier Power
Ten to One Hundred Twenty Five Watts
per Channel
Nominal Impedance
8 Ohm
Frequency Response
60 Hz to 20,000 Hz, plus or minus 3dB
(on axis)
Dispersion Pattern
90 degrees Horizontally or Vertically
(plus or minus 5dB)
Sensitivity
89 decibels for 2.83 volts of Pink Noise,
measured at 1 meter on axis
Overall Exterior Frame Dimensions
8-3/4” x 11-11/16” (22.2 cm x 29.7 cm)
Depth Behind Wall
3-1/8” (7.9 cm) Deep
(assumes 1/2” drywall)
Wall Cut-Out Dimensions
7-5/8” x 10-5/8” (19.4 cm x 27.0 cm)
Wiring Requirements
We recommend 16 to 18 gauge stranded
for up to 80 feet, 14 gauge stranded for up
to two hundred feet. Connectors accommodate 12 to 18 gauge stranded wire.
®
Tweeter Housed in a
21
22
Niles Audio Corporation
12331 S.W. 130 Street
Miami, Florida 33186
Tel: (305) 238-4373
Fax: (305) 238-0185
www.nilesaudio.com
©2008 Niles Audio Corporation. DS00279B
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