Prestige Kensington SE Owner's Manual

3

Initial Positioning

Locate the loudspeakers so that the favourite listening position is approximately 15¡ from the axes of the cabinets. The
axes of both cabinets should intersect at a point slightly in front of the listening position. Remember that the proximity
of the loudspeakers to walls and corners will affect the sound. Some experimentation will probably be needed to fine-tune
the stereo image depth and low frequency sound quality. Close-to-wall positions - and room corners more so - have the
effect of increasing very low frequency sound energy. Reflective adjacent walls may upset the stereo image by causing
unwanted reflections.

The loudspeakers are designed to be used at least 1m from any sidewall or reflective surface and at least 0.5m away from
a rear wall. Only in this position will their exceptional stereo image depth capabilities be realised.

Holes are provided in the base of the speakers for down-spikes that give maximum stability, these special floor coupling
spikes are provided in the accessory pack and these should be screwed into the base of the loudspeakers, taking care not
to over-tighten them. When the loudspeaker is installed in its upright position, the spikes should pass between the weave
of your carpet to contact the floor beneath. Adjust the spikes for maximum stability.

For polished wooden floors, hard nylon self-levelling ’ball-and-cup’ feet are provided.

Unpacking Instructions

Unfasten the bottom of the carton. Fold the end leaves out of the way and remove the packing tray to reveal the
plinth and bottom of the loudspeaker cabinet. Locate and remove from the carton the accessories pack. Turn the carton
and loudspeaker over so that the cabinet now stands on the floor inside the carton. Lift the carton upwards to reveal
the loudspeaker.

Examine all packing material and inspect the carton for signs of external damage. If there is evidence of excessive mishandling
in transit, resulting in damage to the loudspeaker, inform the carrier and supplier immediately. Always keep the packing
in such circumstances for subsequent examination.

Tannoy strongly suggests that you store the complete packaging set for possible future use.

Kensington

SE

In combining the best of traditional crafts with the latest production and design skills Tannoy presents the Kensington SE
loudspeaker. The Kensington SE embodies the Tannoy philosophy. Cabinets in selected hardwoods are hand finished and
polished to a standard that is unsurpassed.

The Kensington SE is a truly special loudspeaker. The speaker uses the classic Alcomax 3 version of the famous Tannoy
Dual Concentric driver. This magnet system endows the Dual Concentric with an exceptional transient response and
increased sensitivity. This high performance driver is installed in braced birch-ply and particleboard cabinet with hardwood
veneers and solid wooden mouldings. Acrolink 99.9999% (6N) high purity copper wiring is used throughout, together
with specially selected crossover components, inlcuding Hovland capacitors. High frequency energy can be tailored
through a high current gold-plated switch block with controls for both treble energy and roll off. Low frequency alignment
is through the Tannoy Distributed Port System (DPS). The specially designed twin-roll impregnated fabric surround used
on the drive unit’s cone ensures midrange purity combined with tight, controlled bass.

5

Loudspeakers need power signals to produce acoustic energy when reproducing music. The range of electrical currents
passing down the cable from the amplifier to the loudspeaker is very wide. In decibel terms this is called the dynamic
range. Modern loudspeakers are capable of resolving a dynamic range of at least 80 dB with a suitable power amplifier.

An 80 dB dynamic range corresponds to voltages of between 50 Volt and 0.005 Volt at the loudspeaker terminals or
equivalent currents of between 0.0006 and 6 Amp. This is a truly wide range of electrical signals to pass down one cable
without some interactions causing a loss of resolution in the very small signals.

When electricity passes down a wire or cable, what goes in at one end is unfortunately different from what comes out at
the other. The degree of loss or modification of a signal depends on the physical characteristics of the cable and the nature
of the signal. Heavy electrical currents flowing down thin conductors cause heating effects. Very high frequency signals
passing along conductors or cables of certain lengths cause electromagnetic radiation effects (aerials). Electrical cables
are selected for minimum loss and maximum information resolution considering the type of electrical signals they are
designed to carry.

A good solution to the problem is to ’Bi-Wire’ the loudspeakers to the amplifier. This means providing two separate sets
of cables from the power amplifier to each loudspeaker and dividing the electrical signals into high current, ’slow’ signals
and light current, ’fast’ signals. Of course, the loudspeaker must be fitted with two pairs of terminals to take the two sets
of cables; your Tannoy loudspeakers are of course equipped for just this type of connection.

Please note in bi-wire mode that the link leads, which are supplied in the accessory pack, should NOT be fitted.

¥ Be sure that the amplifier is switched OFF and then prepare the two sets of cabling for each ’side’ of the system

separately. Measure and cut four lengths of cable, two per speaker.
Label two of the cable lengths Left LF and Left HF (low frequency and high frequency) then repeat this process for
the right pair.

¥ If your amplifier is not equipped with separate output terminals for bass and treble information then, at the amplifier

end of the cables, twist the Left LF+ (positive) and the Left HF+ (positive) together. Connect these to the amplifier
Left channel positive terminal marked + (plus) or coloured red.
Twist the Left LF- (negative) and the HF- (negative) cables together and connect them to the amplifier Left channel
negative terminal marked - (minus) or coloured black.
At the loudspeaker end connect the cables labelled Left LF+ and Left LF- to the left hand loudspeaker LF terminals,
ensuring that you note the polarity markings on the cable sheathing.
Then proceed to connect the Left HF+ and Left HF- to the HF terminals on the same loudspeaker.

¥ Repeat this process to connect the right hand loudspeaker to the amplifier right channel output, once again ensuring

that polarity is correct throughout.

¥ Switch the amplifier on with the volume control set at its lowest setting. Select a favourite source and slowly turn

up the volume to a low level. Check that bass and treble information is being reproduced from both speakers - if
not, switch off the amplifier and recheck the connections.

Connection in Bi-Wire Mode

(See fig. 3)

Bi-Wiring Theory