Bowers & Wilkins Signature 7SE, Owner'S Manual

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1
INTRODUCTION
Thank you for purchasing B&W Signature™7SE
Audiophile 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.
The Signature™7SE is a true audiophile speaker
for installation in cavity walls and ceilings or
customer wall furniture, which offers the highest
sound quality and incorporates several features
designed to make the system simple and flexible
to install. The speaker incorporates many of the
features found in B&W audiophile speakers and
may successfully be used in conjunction with
these cabinet systems, for example, in Home
Theater installations.
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 50 countries worldwide
and maintain a network of dedicated distributors
who will be able to help should you have any
problems your dealer cannot resolve.
UNPACKING
(figure 1)
• Fold the top carton flaps right back and invert
the carton and contents.
• Lift the carton clear of the contents.
• Remove the inner packing from the product.
Check the contents:
• 2x Baffle with drive units, crossover and foam
• 2x Wall frame
• 2x Perforated metal grille with scrim backing
• 1x Alignment template
• 1x Accessory pack containing:
20x Spring clips + self tapping screws
+ washers
8x 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. The thin alloy tweeter diaphragms are
delicate and must be protected from damage.
Do not attempt to straighten a dented diaphragm;
even if it looks good the coating will be impaired,
leading to distortion and eventual fatigue.
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 satis-
factorily 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)
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 bass 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 either directly above or
directly below the screen. All other things being
equal, choose the position that is nearest ear
height. However, if this leads to a below screen
position, you should be careful to ensure that the
speaker is not too close to the floor (see above)
and that the sound will not be muffled by the
later placement of furniture. See also the comments
on baffle orientation in the preceding section.
Home Theatre Surround Speaker
Applications
The sound from surround speakers should be as
diffuse as possible. This ensures that the frontal
audio image is not distorted by changes of
listener position or head movements. The
speakers should generally be placed behind
and 0.6m (2ft) or more above ear height.
Ceiling mounting often gives good results in
this application. The orientation is less important
in this application than in other cases.
WARNING: The Signature™7SE speakers
produce a static magnetic field that extends
outside the cabinet boundary. As such They
should not be placed within 0.5m (20in) of
equipment that may be affected by such a field,
e.g. Cathode Ray Tubes in TVs and Personal
Computers.
DAMPING THE WALL CAVITY
A foam pad is supplied to damp the area
behind the drive units. In addition, loosely fill the
whole section of the wall cavity with wadding.
Fibreglass and mineral wool matting supplied for
heat insulation are suitable, but not closed cell
foam or expanded polystyrene. Check that there
is no debris that may fall into the speaker
(especially in ceiling mount situations).
IMPORTANT: YOU SHOULD CHECK THAT THE
MATERIALS YOU USE MEET THE LOCAL FIRE
AND BUILDING REGULATIONS.
FITTING THE WALL FRAME
New Construction
(figure 3)
Fit the separately available pre-mount kit –
(PMK8 For Signature™7SE) to the studding
before the drywall panels are fitted, following
the instructions supplied with the kit. The drywall
panels should be fitted up to the pre-mount frame
and plastered over.
Apply a strip of sealing compound or mastic to
the back side of the frame lipping both to provide
a seal and to prevent rattling. Screw, but do not
tighten, 6 of the screws plus washers provided
through the slots in the wall frame into the pilot
holes in the pre-mount box.