9
satellites differently to take advan-
tage of the room in
both
the lower
and upper ranges. Yet the units are
so compact that even when placed
optimally, they have little or no
visual impact on your living space.
We urge you to take full advan-
tage of
Ensemble IV
by trying the
speaker units in different locations
within your listening room. Of
course, if the system sounds
satisfactory from the moment you
connect it and first turn it on, you
may wish to go no further. But if
you have any doubts or simply
wish to see if an improvement can
be made, we suggest you experi-
ment with placement using the
following guidelines:
• Let your ears be your guide, and
trust them. When
Ensemble IV
sounds right to you, you’ve
found the best placement.
• Low-bass increases as you move
the subwoofer closer to the
intersecting room surfaces.
The sound is apparently
brighter with the satellites close
to the listening area than with
them across the room. The
apparent fullness of the sound, a
function of mid-bass rather than
low-bass, is greater with the
satellites against a wall than
with them out in the room.
This is not to imply that “more
is better,” be it bass, brightness,
or fullness. The point is that a
change
can be easily affected
simply by moving one or more of
the speaker units—and with
Ensemble IV
, that is easy to do.
• The recorded quality of program
material varies
greatly
, so be
sure to listen to a variety of
recordings to prevent being
misled by unusual characteristics
of a particular recording.
• If it is necessary to place the
satellites close to the listening
area and you find the sound too
bright, try placing the units at an
angle so that listeners aren’t
directly on their axis
(
J
, previous page). In a small
room, you might even try aiming
the satellites away from the
listeners altogether into the
corners of the room, to scatter
the highs for a more spacious
sound (
K
, below).
• The subjective “fullness” of the
sound is not so much a function
of the low-bass as it is of the
mid-bass. Similarly, the subjec-
tive “openness” of the sound is
not so much a function of the
high treble as it is of the
lower
mid-range
. Both of these critical
ranges are reproduced by the
satellite units, and so are affected
by their placement.
Mid-bass and mid-range bal-
ance are usually best with the
satellites against a wall. If they
are out from the wall and sound
too thin, particularly on vocal
recordings, try moving them back
against the wall. Conversely, if
they are against the wall and
sound too heavy or boomy,
particularly on male voices, move
them out from the wall.
• Remember that the strength of
low-bass sounds is markedly
affected by the position of the
subwoofer. Refer to the illustra-
tion on page 5 for guidance if the
low-bass is either too strong or
not strong enough.
K
