5
SONANCE
M
ERLOT
®
M
Preparing the Installation Location
Building a Back Box into the Wall Stud Bay
Sonance
M
erlot
M
-series speakers are designed to provide exceptionally musical performance in a wide variety of enclosure
volumes. You can get the very best performance from your speakers by partitioning a section of the stud bay to form a
sealed back box with a specific internal volume. Building such an enclosure will create a dramatic improvement in your
speakers’ bass performance and power handling. The ideal back box volume for the
M
erlot 423
M
and 422
M
is 0.25 ft
3
.
Optional Merlot M-Series Speaker Enclosures
For installations where it isn’t possible to partition the stud bay into a back box, installing optional
M
erlot
M
Acoustic
Enclosures (part #92444) will noticeably improve your speakers’ bass performance and power handling and will
significantly reduce sound transmission into adjacent rooms and spaces. These enclosures are made from ½”-thick
M
DF
and are designed to be installed in new construction only.
To reduce sound transmission into adjacent rooms
in installations where it isn’t possible to install a
M
erlot
M
Acoustic Enclosure (such as when you’re
retrofitting the speakers into an existing wall), you
can fit the speakers with optional
M
erlot
M
-Series
Retrofit Enclosures (part #92442). This enclosure
is designed specifically to be used with
M
erlot
M
-
series speakers, and will noticeably reduce sound
“spillover” from the rears of the speakers into
adjacent rooms and spaces.
Insulating the Wall Cavity
You can also reduce sound transmission to adjacent
rooms and improve speaker performance by
inserting a sheet of unfaced fiberglass insulation
over the back of the speaker. To reduce mechanical
noise produced by unsupported drywall, install
fiberglass insulation in the stud bays adjacent to
the speaker location.
Sonafill
®
Sonafill (part #91698) is a retrofittable acoustical treatment system consisting of two pillows and four tiles that virtually
eliminates noises produced by resonating drywall. The tiles have pressure-sensitive adhesive and are installed on the back
of the drywall on either side of the speaker between the wall studs; the pillows are then stuffed in place behind the tiles.
The system dramatically improves midbass sound quality and reduces sound transmission into adjacent rooms.
Installing the Speakers
Before Installation: New Construction
For installations in new construction, Sonance recommends using a
M
erlot
M
FlexBracket (part #92336) to reserve a
location for the speaker. The FlexBracket has perforated wings that can be positioned anywhere around the bracket, and
is nailed or screwed to the studs. This serves as a guide for the drywaller so that the speaker hole will be in the desired
location once the drywall is installed.
Before Installation: Retrofit
1. Determine the location for the speaker (see
Speaker Placement on pages 2 – 4).
2. Perform an obstruction survey to be certain that there are no studs, conduit, pipes, heating ducts, pocket doors or air
returns in the wall cavity that will interfere with the speaker.
3. The cutout for all
M
erlot
M
speakers is 8
1
/
16
” x 4
5
/
8
” (205mm x 117mm). There also must be at least 3” (76mm) depth
within the wall cavity for the speaker.
Optional Accessories
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FF ll ee xx B
B rr a
a cc kk ee tt (( p
p a
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# 9
9 1
1 9
9 7
7 0
0 )) :: Plastic template to reserve a
mounting hole for
M
erlot
M
-series speakers in new construction. Designed
for use with the RotoLock
®
mounting system.
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M
ee rr ll o
o tt
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M
M
M
a
a ss o
o nn rr yy B
B rr a
a cc kk ee tt (( p
p a
a rr tt #
# 9
9 2
2 0
0 6
6 7
7 )) :: Thin plastic bracket for
walls constructed of brick and finished with plaster. Provides surface in
brick walls that can accommodate RotoLock
®
mounting system.
M
M
ee rr ll o
o tt
M
M
A
A cc o
o uu ss tt ii cc EE nn cc ll o
o ss uu rr ee (( p
p a
a rr tt #
# 9
9 2
2 4
4 4
4 4
4 )) :: ½”
M
DF enclosure that
provides ideal acoustic performance and maximum reduction of sound
transmission into adjacent spaces. Designed for use only in new
construction.
M
M
ee rr ll o
o tt
M
M
R
R ee tt rr o
o ff ii tt EE nn cc ll o
o ss uu rr ee (( p
p a
a rr tt #
# 9
9 2
2 4
4 4
4 2
2 )) ::
M
olded enclosure that
reduces sound transmission into adjacent rooms and spaces. Can be used
in both new construction and retrofit installations.
S
S o
o nn a
a ff ii ll ll
®
®
II nn --
W
W
a
a ll ll S
S yy ss tt ee m
m (( p
p a
a rr tt #
# 9
9 1
1 6
6 9
9 8
8 )) :: Retrofittable acoustical treat-
ment consisting of two pillows and four tiles that virtually eliminates nois-
es produced by resonating drywall. Dramatically improves midbass sound
quality and reduces sound transmission into adjacent rooms.
