Russound Advantage In-Ceiling speaker User Manual

OWNER’S MANUAL

Advantage

TWIST & TILT

2

Contents

Introduction – The Russound Advantage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Space and Wall Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Impedance Matching for Amplifier and Speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Speaker Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

WHO – Installer Skills and Tools Required . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

WHAT - Speaker Usage and Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

WHEN - Pre-Construction or Retrofit Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

WHERE - Speaker Placement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

WIRE - Wire Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

HOW - Painting the Speaker Frames and Grilles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

HOW - Cutting Wall/Ceiling Opening for Speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

HOW – Hooking Up the Speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

HOW – Final Assembly of Speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

HOW - Testing Speaker Polarity and Channel Connections . . . . . .19

Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Introduction

3

THE RUSSOUND ADVANTAGE

Thank you for selecting Russound Advantage Series
speakers. Like all Russound speakers, they combine
acoustic technology with durability to provide years of
listening enjoyment. The Advantage speaker line is com­posed of the Music and Hi-Fi Series.

The Music Series is designed to provide an optimum
balance between performance and price, delivering
superior sound for all applications at a most affordable
cost. The Music Series is perfect for multi-room audio
systems as well as surround sound applications, provid­ing exemplary reproduction throughout the home.

The Hi-Fi Series combines the finest components with
our most advanced drivers to deliver exceptional per­formance in every application. From background music
to spectacular surround sound, Hi-Fi Series speakers
offer the finest sound around.

Twist & Tilt™ technology allows Advantage ceiling speak­ers to deliver the best direct listening performance by
modifying their dispersion angle 15 degrees, to focus
sound on the prime listening area. For general back­ground sound delivery, Twist & Tilt speakers can be set
for uniform dispersion, filling the room with excellent
sound. This ability to focus the sound where you want it
most provides increased location flexibility with height­ened fidelity. Better attention to aesthetic location is now
possible, without compromising performance.

In addition to Twist & Tilt focused dispersion and tool­free mounting features, Russound Advantage speakers
feature high quality drivers, sophisticated crossover net­works, and advanced designs to ensure optimum repro­duction in your home, no matter what the source mate­rial may be.

WOVEN GLASS FIBER WOOFER/MIDRANGE
CONE

Our woven glass fiber cone employs the best of modern
technology to deliver an optimum balance of perform­ance. Its superior transient response and light weight
produce excellent low distortion voice reproduction and
high efficiency. The result is exceptional sound from
deep bass through the all-critical midrange frequencies.

LARGE HIGH-ENERGY MAGNETIC MOTOR
SYSTEMS

These powerful motors drive the woofer/midrange cone
to reproduce sound. Their advanced Finite Element
Analysis design means they are optimized to mate per­fectly with the glass fiber cones, delivering all the power
needed with finesse and superior control. A dual vented
design and large Kapton® voice coil ensure adequate
power handling under the most demanding situations.

SILK OR ALUMINUM DOME TWEETERS

These fluid cooled devices utilize rare-earth Neodymium
magnet assemblies and lightweight domes to reproduce
every subtle nuance of the musical or cinema sound
source. A computer-designed lens helps smooth their
response and aids in delivering wide dispersion for
excellent sound throughout the listening area.

COMPUTER DESIGNED ASYMMETRICAL
CROSSOVERS

The crossover is the traffic cop for the audio signal,
dividing the lows from the highs and sending them off to
the proper driver element. It also matches driver effi­ciencies and phase relationships to make sure that the
different drivers work in unison. Advantage asymmetri­cal crossovers are very sophisticated designs, blending
and matching the output of our proprietary drivers into a
seamless and accurate sound field. Asymmetrical refers
to the roll-off slope of the woofer/midrange being differ­ent from the roll-on slope of the tweeter. The result is
both better driver integration and better time coherence
in the speaker’s output. We also use high quality compo­nents to ensure long life and excellent unit-to-unit consis­tency.

HIGH FREQUENCY SWITCH

This adjustment allows you to tailor the sound of
Advantage speakers to better match the listening envi­ronment. The switch offers a flat response position (-)
and a plus 3 dB position (+). It is located on the
crossover network of Twist & Tilt models.

SPACE AND WALL REQUIREMENTS

SPACE REQUIREMENTS

Russound Advantage Twist & Tilt speakers require at
least 1.4 cubic feet of space behind the speaker for opti­mal performance.

WALL REQUIREMENTS
ACCEPTABLE INSTALLATION SITUATIONS:

* Wallboard/plaster ceilings - The dense, rigid nature of

wallboard (or lath and plaster) acts as a superb
speaker baffle.

* Suspended ceiling – only if the ceiling tile is rein-

forced with wood or particle board

UNACCEPTABLE INSTALLATION SITUATIONS:

* Brick or concrete ceiling where the wallboard or pan-

eling is attached to thin furring strips – This type of
ceiling can’t provide proper depth (clearance) for the
back of the Russound Advantage speakers.

* Locations concealing pipes, heating ducts and AC

wiring - These elements can complicate speaker
mounting and installation of speaker wire. AC wiring
can induce hum caused by close proximity to the
speaker.

IMPEDANCE MATCHING FOR AMPLIFIER AND
SPEAKERS

Not all amplifiers or receivers can safely operate two
sets of speakers at once. If you intend to run your
Russound Advantage speakers and your main speakers
concurrently, or if you intend to hook up and run two
sets of speakers at the same time, it’s important to con­sider both the impedance of the speakers and the capa­bilities of the amplifier or receiver you’re using.

A speaker’s impedance rating indicates the amount of
electrical resistance it places against current flowing
from a receiver’s outputs. If the total speaker load
does not present adequate resistance, the receiver
increases its power output. Low-impedance speakers
may hamper operations of receivers not designed to
deliver large amounts of current to low-impedance

loads. This may lead to greater distortion, and causes
the receiver to run hot or activate its protection circuitry.

First, consult the owner’s manual for your amplifier or
receiver. It should state the minimum speaker imped­ance during multiple speaker operation. The impedance
may also be printed on the back of the amplifier/receiv­er next to the speaker connectors. If you can’t readily
determine this information, consult the dealer where you
purchased the amplifier or receiver, or call the manufac­turer of the product in question.

The impedance rating for your Russound Advantage
Music Series speakers is 8 ohms, and 6 ohms for the
Hi-Fi Series. Next, determine the impedance of your
other speakers. It may be printed on the back of the
speaker near the connection terminals, or you can con­sult the speaker’s owner’s manual. Speaker impedance
must be equal to or higher than the amplifier/receiver
speaker output impedance rating. For instance, an
amplifier/receiver that is rated for two pair of 8 ohm
speakers cannot support two pair of 4 ohm speakers.

If the amplifier/receiver is not rated for the speaker con­figuration desired, external volume controls and/or
speaker selectors can maintain the impedance levels
that will allow your amplifier/receiver to operate safely.
Russound makes a complete line of these products,
from Impedance-Matching Volume Controls to
Impedance-Matching Speaker Selectors. Ask your
Russound dealer for details or request a catalog from
Russound at 800-638-8055 (U.S. and Canada) or
[phone] from outside the U.S.

4

Space Requirements & Impedance Matching

Speaker Care

5

SPEAKER CARE

Russound Advantage Series speakers are built with
quality materials to last a lifetime. They should work for
as long as you own your home and longer if you avoid
the following:

• Too little power at high volumes

• Too much power

• Transients (immediate loud passages, thumps, etc.)

TOO LITTLE POWER AT HIGH VOLUMES

Speakers can be damaged when they are driven by an
amplifier/receiver that isn’t capable of delivering all the
“clean power” that is being demanded. When an ampli­fier/receiver runs out of current due to high demand
while trying to re-create musical peaks, it causes a type
of output signal distortion called clipping. Clipping not
only makes the music sound unclear, over time it can
damage or destroy the speakers. If you’re listening at
loud volumes you may be unaware that clipping is
occurring, but the damage may already be done, as clip­ping damage can be instantaneous or cumulative. If you
like your music loud, consider using an amplifier/receiv­er with at least 50 watts per channel but remember:
you can damage any speaker with clipping, no matter
how well it is built.

TOO MUCH POWER

There’s nothing wrong with driving your Russound
Advantage speakers with as much power as they are
rated for. The extra power helps them provide full, rich
sound and excellent transient response. However, you
should not be heavy-handed with the volume control. If
the music begins to sound distorted in any way, back off
the volume.

TRANSIENTS

Transients are sudden uncontrolled signal changes that
can seriously damage any speaker, including your
Russound Advantage speakers. Transients may be
caused by turning the system on or off while the volume
is at a maximum level, or by disconnecting any hook-up
cables while the system is on, creating a burst of low
frequency hum. These conditions can cause serious
speaker damage and should be avoided. As a general
rule, always unplug the amplifier from the AC mains
before connecting or disconnecting any signal or speak­er cable.

Note: Russound does not guarantee its speakers against abuse,
including too little power at high volumes and too much
power. Damage from clipping or too much power is revealed
simply by looking at the speaker’s voice coils. When used with
care and common sense, your Russound speakers should pro­vide a lifetime of listening pleasure.

6

Getting Started & WHO – Installer Skills and Tools

There are several related factors that must be considered before the installation of your Russound Advantage speakers:

WHO: Who is doing the installation, the homeowner, or a professional installer?

WHAT: What is the installation environment and the intended use (serious listening or background)?

WHEN: When will the installation be performed – during pre-construction or retrofit in an existing

home?

WHERE: Where is the best speaker location and where are the available speaker locations?

WIRE: Wire should be what gauge and what length? Can the speaker wires be run to the intended

location? Will there be any IR receivers mounted in any Iso-Mount speaker locations? If so,

what are the wiring requirements?

HOW: How are the speakers installed?

WHO – INSTALLER SKILLS AND TOOLS REQUIRED

This manual is designed to make your Advantage Series
speakers as easy to install as they are to listen to. If
you’ve had any home “do-it-yourself” experience, you
should find installation of your new speakers a manage­able job. You should have a basic understanding of
hand and power tool operations, a working knowledge of
your audio system, and be able to operate a multimeter.

TOOLS NEEDED FOR INSTALLATION IN
EXISTING WALLS:

•Drill with a 1-inch flat bit

•Drill bit 1/4” larger than the diameter of the speaker
wire

•Retractable utility knife, Roto Zip®, Dremel®, or key­hole saw

• #2 Phillips-head screw driver to fit the screws for the
integral swing-out mounting clamps

• #1 Phillips-head screw driver to fit earthquake screw

• Bubble level

• Pair of diagonal cutters or wire strippers

• Stud finder

• Multimeter

• Cardboard mounting template (included with speakers)

•Pencil

• Length of stiff wire about 3 feet long (a straightened
wire coat hanger works well)

• Insulated staples for securing speaker wire

•1.5V AA battery

• Masking tape

•Paint and applicator for painting the grille and outer
frame

• Fiberglass screening (one square foot for each Twist
& Tilt speaker only)We suggest you read through this
manual first before proceeding with installation to
familiarize yourself with the entire installation
process. If you then decide that installing your
Russound Advantage Series Speakers is beyond your
skills, call your Russound dealer to arrange for pro­fessional installation. Be ready to tell your installer if
the speakers will be used for direct listening or for
background sound, and to discuss the desired speak­er locations.

Note: For shipping, grilles are placed in protective card­board sleeves packed between the two loudspeaker
assemblies. Use caution when unpacking as the card­board sleeves are also the cutout templates.

7

WHAT – Speaker Usage and Environment

WHAT - SPEAKER USAGE AND ENVIRONMENT

Before you decide where you want to install your
Russound Advantage speakers, you’ll need to
determine their intended use. Will you be sitting in
one place listening to music or watching a movie,
or will you be playing background music during
domestic and social activities? Advantage speakers
have been designed to be suitable for most listen­ing environments.

Advantage Series Twist & Tilt speakers can be
used for both serious listening and for background
applications. The Twist & Tilt design allows these
ceiling speakers to deliver the best serious listening
performance by modifying their dispersion 15
degrees to focus sound on the prime listening
area. For background or surround sound delivery,
the same Twist & Tilt speakers can be set for uni­form dispersion to fill a room with excellent sound.

Figure 1

(0° angle) Uniform dispersion

(15° angle) Focused dispersion

WHEN – Pre-Construction or Retrofit Installation

8

WHEN - PRE-CONSTRUCTION OR RETROFIT
INSTALLATION

PRE-CONSTRUCTION INSTALLATION

Built-in speaker installation is more convenient during
home construction than after construction is completed.
Speaker wire can be routed to the destination before the
wallboard is installed, and possible hindrances such as
AC wiring, plumbing, or ductwork can be easily located
and avoided.

Speaker rough-in brackets are used in the pre-construction
phase of speaker installation during construction of new
homes and additions. Russound offers Speaker Rough-In
Brackets for the full line of Advantage speakers. These
brackets are designed to provide drywall installers the cor­rect cut-out pattern for the speakers. The brackets have
“wings” that are nailed/screwed/stapled onto the ceiling
studs. Once the wallboard is installed, the opening is cut
out and the speaker frame is inserted into the bracket.

When installing the pre-construction bracket, note that
there are holes molded into the bracket for speaker wire
tie-off. This keeps the wire from getting lost later during
the construction process. You can also tie the wire to
the bezel/mounting assembly once it’s installed, using
any of the rotating clamp towers.

DURING NEW INSTALLATION, KEEP THE
FOLLOWING TIPS IN MIND:

• Use a small level to verify that the rough-in bracket is
straight.

• If possible, run speaker wires after AC wiring is in
place to avoid induced hum caused by close parallel
proximity of the two types of wire.

• If possible, run speaker wires after plumbing is in
place; wire can bend, pipes cannot.

• Secure speaker wires in place against a stud along
vertical runs with insulated staples only, being careful
not to pierce the wire insulation. Allow a bit of slack
for expansion of building materials.

• Horizontal runs should be routed through holes
drilled in studs at roughly equal heights.

• The actual speakers should not be installed until the
wallboard is in place. In the meantime, leave several
feet of wire coiled up and secured to the back side of

the mounting frame. Excess length can be removed
during final assembly.

•Any speaker installed in a ceiling should have a safety
wire firmly tied between the back of the speaker assem­bly and the frame of the building. There is a marked
location provided for this purpose on the back of all
Advantage Twist & Tilt speakers. Use any strong insulat­ed wire and connect it to the speaker being careful not
to let it interfere with the speaker’s operation. The other
end should be firmly attached to the studs or flooring
above using a hook, nail, or other reliable fastener.

• When installing the drywall, make sure the speaker
cut-out hole doesn’t extend farther than 1/4” from
the inside of the mounting frame. The flat rough-in
brackets and wings are thin enough that they won’t
interfere with wallboard installation.

• After the wallboard is secured, install the speakers as
described in the installation instructions in this manual.

RETROFIT INSTALLATION

If you are installing Russound Advantage speakers in an
existing home, you will need to be diligent in locating
existing pipes, ductwork, and AC wiring before cutting
any holes in the ceiling or walls. In many cases, these
obstructions are indicated by wall outlets, switches,
plumbing fixtures, radiators, etc.

Figure 2 New construction use of Rough-in
Bracket
Not for use with Retrofit applications