Bowers & Wilkins Signature 7NT, Installation Manual

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English
Installation Manual
Dear customer,
Thank you for purchasing Bowers & Wilkins Custom
Wall Mount speakers.
Since its foundation in 1966, the continuing
philosophy of B&W has been the quest for perfect
sound reproduction. Inspired by the company’s
founder, the late John Bowers, this quest has entailed
not only high investment in audio technology and
innovation but also an abiding appreciation of music to
ensure that the technology is put to maximum effect.
It is also our policy to make sure the advanced
features pioneered on one product are incorporated
into others we manufacture. The Custom Installation
series incorporates woven Kevlar® cone mid/bass
drive units for lowest coloration and maximum
definition.
However, no matter how good the speakers
themselves, they must work well into the listening
room and time spent on planning the installation will
reap the reward of many hours listening pleasure.
Please read through this manual fully. It will help you
optimise the performance of the system.
B&W distribute to over 65 countries worldwide and
maintain a network of dedicated distributors who will
be able to help should you have any problems your
dealer cannot resolve.
Environmental Information
All B&W products are designed to
comply with international directives on
the Restriction of Hazardous Substances
(RoHS) in electrical and electronic equipment and the
disposal of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment
(WEEE). These symbols indicate compliance and that
the products must be appropriately recycled or
processed in accordance with these directives.
Consult your local waste disposal authority for
guidance.
Unpacking
(figure 1)
Check the contents:
• 1 x Baffle with drive units, crossover and foam
• 1 x Wall frame with swing out dogs
• 1 x Loudspeaker grille
• 1 x Alignment template
• 1 x Accessory pack containing:
4 x Self-Tapping screws (for frame to PMK fixing)
4 x Machine screws (fixing baffles to wall frames)
We suggest you retain the packaging for future use.
Remove the grilles and baffles from the wall frames
and, to avoid damage, keep them in their plastic bags
(and preferably in the carton) away from the work area
until you are ready to fit them.
Positioning – new construction versus
retrofit
Check that there is no conflict with other in-wall
installations (pipe work, air conditioning, power-cabling
etc.). In existing construction, use a stud-finding tool
to map the wall construction accurately and a pipe
detector to scan the proposed installation position.
Avoid installing the speakers in the same cavity of the
wall as flimsy ducting, which may be induced to rattle.
The speakers are designed to operate satisfactorily in
a wide range of cavity volumes, ideally above 15 litres
(0.5 cu ft).
The speakers are balanced for half-space mounting
(i.e. flush in a wall or soffit). Placement near a
wall/ceiling, wall/floor junction or in a corner is to be
avoided as it may give rise to too much bass and a
boomy quality to the sound. If possible, keep the
speakers more than 0.5m (20in) from the wall edges.
The speakers may be mounted in either portrait or
landscape orientation. Wherever possible, however,
portrait orientation, with the drive units mounted one
above the other, is to be preferred as it gives better
horizontal dispersion and a more stable stereo image.
If landscape orientation is used, orient the baffle so
that the tweeters are towards the centre of the room.
Do not mix portrait and landscape at left and right, as
an imprecise stereo image will be created.
The following sections give guidance on optimum
positioning, but this may be modified in line with
domestic constraints.
Normal Stereo and Home Theatre Front
Left and Right Applications
(figure 2)
Note: The assembly should be installed with the
tweeter at the bottom.
The speakers should be positioned with the tweeters
at a little above ear height. If the speakers are to be
used low in the wall invert the speaker so the treble
unit is uppermost. The spacing between them will
depend on the size of the room and distance to the
listeners. As a general rule they should not be closer
to the listener than 1.5m (5ft) and the distance
between them should not exceed their distance from
the listeners. Having the speakers and listeners
approximately at the corners of an equilateral triangle
is not a bad rule to follow. This arrangement generally
provides the best stereo imaging. If the speakers are
placed too far apart, a hole-in-the-middle effect may
become apparent. Too close and the panoramic effect
will be lost, accompanied by a reduction in depth
information.
For Home Theatre Installations, the speakers should
not be closer together than the width of the screen
and their height should be approximately at centre
screen height.
Home Theatre Centre Channel Applications
Theoretically, the best position for a centre channel
speaker is behind the centre of the screen, but this
can only be realised when using an acoustically
transparent projection screen. In most cases the
speaker will be positioned in a laterally central position
2