Page 6
Listening Position
This is the final link which again can make the
difference between a “good” system and an
“excellent” system, and is relatively easy:
Position the FRm’s similar to the page 5 diagram
and list
en to the bass. If it is a little “boomy” bring
the speakers forward a little at a time until the
desired bass quality is achieved. Moving your
speakers further away from the corners whilst
keeping the same distance from the rear wall may
also help as more bass is reflected from the
corners than the rear walls. Also consider your
listening position. The least bass will be heard in
the centre of your room so sitting closer to the
rear wall will improve your bass. Do not have your
speakers too far apart;
this can “stretch the image
so that it is not well defined. Remember that you
should be also be hearing sounds outside, to the
left and right of your speakers. Ideally 1m or 3 ft
from the side wall is required to get the full effect.
When correctly set up you will be able to hear
sounds that appear to coming from either side and
even from behind of you! (Depending on the
recording).
Whilst it may not be possible to do all the things
suggested here, a compromise may be found
which is acceptable to the room layout and other
functions of the room, sometimes on a temporary
basis e.g. for serious listening, moving your
speakers to a better position, or moving a chair or
sofa out of the way. Experiment is the name of the
g
ame! And don’t forget as the speakers “run in”
the sound will change so you may need to make
adjustments.
7. Use of the Filter
First, it is not essential to use the filter, in some
circumstances you may feel that the sound is
“correct” without. But this sound is not for
everyone and the filter gives a sound closer to a
conventional
speaker
whilst
retaining
the
advantages of full range. Feel free to connect your
amplifier directly to the FRM 1 and 2.
The design the 8” FRm unit was achieved by a
great deal of planning and design especially by
our listening panel. We have manufactured the
finest quality drive unit possible, but any full range
speaker will always have the disadvantage of a
frequency peak in the upper midrange. To counter
this we have used a very simple circuit of a high
quality inductor (coil of pure copper wire),
capacitor and resistor to reduce the impact of this
peak, so the tonal balance is more linear. This is
not a crossover where power would be wasted.
Instead it is a filter to reduce the amount of
midrange in all three models. This has the effect
of raising the impedance of the speaker and
therefore limits the output at certain frequencies,
this way no power is wasted, having the
advantage with lower powered amplifiers that this
unused power is then available for another
frequency especially bass, thereby improving the
performance and lowering the distortion of the
amplifier.
In most situations no connection or adjustment is
necessary. If a brighter sound is desired a simple
copper link inserted
between “Filter 2” positions
will reduce the effect of the filter. If the copper link
is inserted in “Full Range” position the filter is out
of circuit so the effect will be the same as if the
filter box was not used.
Future Proof
Because we have kept the filter outside the
cabinet, this allows for easy modifications for the
future, or upgrades to the circuit, capacitors and
choke. Also only the filter box need be returned
for upgrades rather than returning the whole
speaker.
As each hi fi system, room acoustics, music and
listeners ears are unique we are able to fine tune
each filter if required. Contact David Shaw. For
further information.
8. Maintenance
The FRm series requires little maintenance. If the
loudspeakers have been well looked after and kept in a
dry environment they should give many years of service
with no problem. The connections on the rear, to the
filter box and amplifier will benefit from “breaking and
making” at least annually by disconnecting and
reconnecting several times to ensure a good low
impedance connection is maintained. Copper wire is
prone to corrosion, the exposed wire should be bright
and shiny, dull corroded wire will have a high resistance
and degrade the sound. The drive units are quite strong
and are able to deliver a high level of sound even in a
medium to large room. Handling power is approximately
75 watts of undistorted speech and music (NOT
continuous sine wave). Amplifiers of up to 100 watts may
be used. However the FRm series does not have any
protection against abuse and accidents so beware of
“switch on thump” and other accidental surges.*
Cabinet Care
To remove dust we suggest gentle wiring with a
slightly damp cloth with an occasional polish. The
cabinets are real veneer. Avoid sunlight as this will
both fade the natural colour and damage the drive
unit, UV light in sunlight will cause premature
deterioration of the cone roll surround and may
distort the shape of the cone causing mis-alignment
and failure of the unit. *
*These faults are not covered by the warranty.