PSB Speakers Synchrony 2 Owners manual

Owner’s Manual

Synchrony Series

Guide d’utilisation

Manual de Propietario

Congratulations on purchasing your new PSB Synchrony loudspeaker.
We hope that you enjoy our product for many years to come. This
owner's manual will give you many useful tips about connecting, placing
and using your loudspeaker. We recommend you read it thoroughly and
it should answer all of your product related questions. If not, feel free to
contact us through our website: www.psbspeakers.com

Synchrony design background

A little technical background might give you an appreciation of the
technology that went into the design of your Synchrony product.

Our intention in designing the PSB Synchrony range of products was to
bring to bear all that we have learned in 35 years of crafting fine
loudspeakers to create a line of high performance systems of truly
elegant design.

The Synchrony models use advances in three core technologies, the
cabinet, the drivers, and crossover design.

THE CABINET

Cabinets for a high performance loudspeaker must be heavy, rigid and
vibration free. Sound must come from the drivers only, never from the
cabinet itself.

Cabinets for Synchrony models are unlike any other. They are a blend of
two very different materials: aluminum and wood. Front and back
surfaces are from very solid double wall aluminum extrusions. The
strength and stiffness of aluminum allows a very rigid structure that can
be precisely machined to accept drivers and other components. Special
contours can be achieved in aluminum that preserve the sonic
characteristics of the drivers.

Owner’s Manual

The curved side panels are made from multiple layers of wood. Wood is
stiff relative to its weight and has inherently high damping properties to
absorb sonic energy that might otherwise color the sound. The sides of
the Synchrony models are made from seven layers of 3mm MDF
individually laminated/formed onto a curved surface which improves the
panel's stiffness. Additionally, the sides are clad in finely finished
veneers to enhance the beauty of the systems.

DRIVERS

Drivers (woofers and tweeters) are a key component to the performance
of the new Synchrony models. A number of enhancements elevate them
over previous components.

Distortion Reduced Motor

The field generated by a signal driving the voice coil reacts with the field
in the magnetic structure's air gap. A long four layer voice coil normally
results in high self induction and impedance that varies with excursion.

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These two factors causing distortion in bass drivers are practically
eliminated by the combination of an aluminum shorting ring within the
magnet structure, the aluminum phase plug on the pole piece, and a
shorted copper turn on top of the pole piece. The aluminum phase plug
smoothes response and also contributes as a heat sink for the voice coil,
reducing power compression. Long voice coils for all woofers (in a
narrow gap) ensure high and uniform BL vs. excursion, to maintain
dynamic linearity. The result is unbelievable clean bass/midrange
reproduction.

Owner’s Manual

Laminated Sandwich Cone

The cones are constructed from a fine weave fiberglass cone material
along with a laminate of compressed, felted fiber laminate. This creates a
stiff but still dampened cone that will remain stable even under very large
sound pressures. In addition, a central dustcap gives a second
connection between the cone and voice coil. This triangulation provides
an incredibly rigid assembly for clean response to high level inputs.

CROSSOVER DESIGN

Great components and construction alone will not guarantee a good
sounding system. More than anything, the crossover is what defines the
sound of a speaker. The crossover determines the band of operation of
each driver and determines how seamlessly the units transition from one
range to the next. It sets the octave-to-octave balance that defines the
personality of the system. At PSB, years of design experience, highly
tuned sets of ears, and the unsurpassed facilities of the National
Research Council in Ottawa, lead to superior crossover design.

With the Synchrony One and Two Towers a unique driver/crossover
arrangement minimizes the unwanted effects of floor bounce induced
early reflections. These reflections interfere with the direct sound and
contribute peaks and dips to the response.

For the entire Synchrony series the crossover slopes are acoustical
fourth order Linkwitz-Riley type with attention paid to the direction of the
“in phase lobe”. The lobe, an inevitable effect of transitioning from driver
to driver, is optimally aimed. Whether seated or standing, the frequency
response of the system does not vary.

Crossover components are chosen to be the best quality possible.
Heavy multi-lamination iron cores are used for large value inductors.
High gauge wire air cored inductors are used medium and small value
inductors. All capacitors are especially low loss. Film capacitors are
used for mid and treble sections. Tight component tolerances and
exhaustive testing in manufacturing ensure that each system is a match
to the engineering references, giving you the sound quality that PSB
designed in.

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Additional features of the Synchrony models:

?1" Titanium Tweeter/Neodymium Motor/Aluminum Heat Sink. Low

mass for required stiffness needed for wide bandwidth response.
High efficiency and high power handling.

?Three chamber individually ported cabinet design (tower models)

gives greater control over the system tuning, resulting in deeper bass.
Doesn't suffer from the standing wave problems found in a typical
tower.

?Perforated Hex Acoustically transparent Metal Grill covered in cloth.

?Heavy duty gold plated five way binding posts (bi-wireable).

?Rigid Cast Aluminum Baskets with high flow design.

?Woofer suspensions (spiders) are ventilated to allow air to flow freely,

creating a cooling effect for the voice coil

?Woofers utilize a progressive (gradually tightening) suspension to

achieve soft clipping and low distortion even under extreme
excursion.

?Woofer surrounds are made from SBR rubber for wide operating

temperature range, low creep and long term reliability.

?Woofer magnets are 20mm thick, 5mm higher than the normal 15mm

magnets. This prevents bottoming of the coil to the pole piece for
widest dynamic range.

Owner’s Manual

Warranty Registration

We recommend you take a few moments now to register your warranty
on-line at psbspeakers.com so that we will be able to serve you better in
the future.

Unpacking

The packing materials of your PSB Synchrony speakers are designed to
protect them from damage during shipping. Retain the packaging in case
the need arises to transport the speakers in the future.

Notes on environmental protection

At the end of its useful life, this product must not be disposed of with regular household
waste but must be returned to a collection point for the recycling of electrical and electronic
equipment. The symbol on the product, user's manual and packaging, point this out.

The materials can be reused in accordance with their markings. Through re-use, recycling
of raw materials, or other forms of recycling of old products, you are making an important
contribution to the protection of our environment.

Your local administrative office can advise you of the responsible waste disposal point.

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Adjusting Rubber Levelers
and Spikes

(Tower Speakers)

Attach the supplied spikes or rubber
levelers to the bottom of the speaker
as shown in the diagram at right. On
carpets, position the speakers and
adjust spikes to the desired height

Owner’s Manual

(higher for thicker carpet) and hand
tighten the locknuts against the bottom
of the cabinet.

Adjusting Rubber Foot

(For Center Channel Models)

The Synchrony One C and Two C
center channel speakers come supplied
with a multi-position foot that allows
them to be placed at a variety of
angles.

Notice that the foot has a long edge and a
short edge. Either surface may be
attached to the system depending on the
angle of tilt required. An adhesive strip is
provided to permanently attach the foot to
the cabinet.

When placed below your viewing screen
you can tilt the system upwards by placing
the foot under the front edge of the
system. To aim the system straight
outward, place the foot under the rear
edge with the longer side in contact with
the system. It will be raised by the shorter
dimension. If the system is well above
your viewing screen and a downward tilt is
required, then attach the shorter
dimension to the back of the cabinet. This
will give the maximum rise for the greatest
downward tilt.

Apply the provided felt discs to the corners
of the opposite edge (front or back) to
prevent marring your system or equipment
cabinet.

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Wall Mounting Synchrony S Surrounds

Select and install wall-mounting brackets and hardware sufficient to hold
the weight of the speakers on the walls safely.

1. Use the “3 finger” style flush mount bracket (provided in Owner's
Manual Kit).

2. The speaker should be mounted at a minimum height of five feet
measured from the bottom of the speaker to the ground. The speaker
can be mounted on the wall beside or behind the listener. Screws
with sufficient length and located to solidly enter wood are preferred.
Metal anchors, which partially collapse inside the wall, provide greater
holding power than individual screws. Screws into plastic (or metal)
shield anchors in wallboard, tile, masonry, or concrete can provide
great holding power. Do not use the simple expanding type anchors
in wallboard. These are intended for use in masonry only. If a
fastener does not tighten securely, install another, larger fastener.

3. One of the brackets has already been installed on the cabinet. Install
the other matching bracket, with the interlocking finger facing up, on
the wall. Ensure the bracket is level and aligned to the desired
position and secure in place. Use the appropriate screws/fasteners
for the type and construction of the surface, taking into consideration
the weight of the speaker.

4. Wire the speaker before mounting on the wall. Maintain electrical
polarity throughout the system. Use the following polarity indicators
as applicable: red connects to: rib/+/print/copper wire and black to
smooth/-/blank/silver wire.

5. Place the speaker against the mounting surface and slide down,
interlocking the fingers of the brackets.

6. Carefully load test the installed speaker to ensure that it is secure and
safe.

7. THE INSTALLER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR A SAFE AND SECURE

INSTALLATION.

Owner’s Manual

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Speaker Placement — Maximizing Your Enjoyment

Proper loudspeaker placement is an essential ingredient to getting the
best sound from your high performance stereo, multi-channel audio or
home theater system. The goal is to reproduce faithfully the audio
soundtrack the movie director or music producer created without calling
any attention to the speakers themselves.

Owner’s Manual

All distances are equal

All distances

are equal

5.1 surround speaker placement 6.1/7.1 surround speaker placement

Fortunately, it is a straightforward process that just takes some care and
patience. Should you have a large room and the possibility to arrange
the room as you wish or if you are designing a room for home
entertainment refer to the diagrams shown here for ideal speaker
placement. In this arrangement all speakers (except the subwoofer) are
placed the same distance from the listener. In most cases, you’ll need to
adapt your speaker placement to a given room that’s less than ideal.
Here are a few speaker placement basics to keep in mind as you get
started:

A. You will generally get the best imaging and other spatial qualities if

your front left/right speakers and your usual seating position form
an almost equilateral triangle, with the speakers not quite as far
apart from each other as they are from you. If you must sit closer
to one speaker than the other, use the Balance control on your
electronics (or the individual level controls on home theater
channels) to give the more distant speaker a balancing boost in
volume.

B. Our tower speakers are designed for optimal listening from the

seated to standing position. For our monitors, we offer accessory
speaker stands to achieve the right height if you are not using
existing shelves or furniture.

C. The best high-frequency dispersion, producing the widest “sweet

spot” in which you and others can sit and enjoy optimum high­frequency definition, will result when your main speaker

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enclosures are positioned vertically rather than horizontally. If you
are placing your monitors horizontally, the speakers will still
perform very well, but the seating area where you will enjoy
optimum sound will become narrower. We suggest you position
the tweeters to the outside away from the center line. You may
prefer to tilt the speakers towards ear level.

D. If you sit equally distant from both speakers, angling the speakers

inward (“toeing them in’) about 5 to 10 degrees usually produces
the best convergence of high frequencies where you listen.
Different listening positions may require different toe-in.

E. Surround speaker placement is covered in Section 4. Beyond

these basics, experiment with positioning for optimum
performance. Please read the placement guidelines that follow.
They are about the speakers, the room, and you.

1. The Speakers in Relation to Room Boundaries

The position of your speakers with respect to the walls, floor, and
ceiling of your listening room will often affect their sound in major
ways.

A. The closer you place speakers to the boundary surfaces of your

room, the greater the proportion of bass in their overall sound.
This is due to the enclosing, “focusing” effects of nearby surfaces
on longer-wavelength (lower) frequencies. Positioning the
speakers near the intersection of two surfaces (wall and wall, wall
and floor, or wall and ceiling) will produce more apparent bass
than placement near a single surface. The greatest proportion of
bass is delivered by placement near three intersecting
surfaces—in a room corner near the floor or ceiling, where the
convergence of the two walls and the floor/ceiling produces an
amplifying effect that is a bit like that of a megaphone. And the
least bass comes from placing a speaker away from all
boundaries. Your own tastes should decide what proportion of
bass response seems right in your room.

Owner’s Manual

B. The combination of the three dimensions of your room generally

will produce at least three points in the room where the frequency
response you experience related to a given position (of either the
speaker or you) will either greatly increase or almost disappear.
The most obvious effects are on low frequencies, but mid­frequency effects, while usually subtler, are also often present.
Keep in mind, then, that very small changes in positioning (of the
speakers or you) may produce major or subtle changes.

C. Distances of speakers from the walls can make great differences

in the number, strength, and particular frequencies of secondary
reflections—changing frequency-balance, sonic spaciousness,
and definition. Most listeners prefer their speakers at least a few

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