4
S
PEAKER
C
ONNECTIONS
Connection Tips
Speakers and electronics have corresponding (+) and (–) terminals. Most
manufacturers of speakers and electronics, including JBL, use red to denote the (+)
terminal and black for the (–) terminal. It is important to connect both speakers iden-
tically: (+) on the speaker to (+) on the amplifier, and (–) on the speaker to (–) on the
amplifier. Wiring “out of phase” results in thin sound, weak bass and a poor stereo
image. With the advent of multichannel surround sound systems, connecting all of
the speakers in your system with the correct polarity remains equally important in
order to preserve the proper ambience and directionality of the program material.
If two S4S subwoofers are used, the wires for both speakers should be the same length. If one speaker is placed
closer to the amplifier than the other, hide the excess wire behind the wall. If bass response seems low, there may
be a phase problem, with the sound waves from the two subwoofers canceling each other out. If bass response
seems low, try inverting the polarity on one subwoofer – i.e., connect the (+) terminal on the amplifier to the (–)
terminal on the speaker, and the (–) terminal on the amplifier to the (+) terminal on the speaker.
To use the push-type terminals on the S4S baffle, depress the colored cap until the pass-through hole in the binding
post is revealed. While holding the cap down, insert the bare end of the wire, or a banana plug, into the pass-
through hole. Release the cap and tug gently on the wire to ensure that it is secure.
To use the binding-post speaker terminals on the terminal cup located on the top panel of the S4SBB back box enclo-
sure (sold separately), unscrew the colored knob until the pass-through hole in the center post is visible under the
knob. Insert the bare end of the wire through this hole, then screw the knob down until the connection is tight. The
hole in the center of each knob is intended for use with banana-type connectors.
Since the S4S is a passive loudspeaker, only speaker-level connections are available. Use the S4S with a high-quality
dedicated subwoofer amplifier as recommended by your JBL Synthesis custom installer, such as the JBL Synthesis
S800. The amplifier should be capable of outputting up to 500 watts per channel with flat frequency response from
20Hz to 500Hz.
Connect your main receiver or processor’s line-level subwoofer output to the line-level input on your subwoofer
amplifier.
After you have installed the S4SBB back box enclosure as described in the next section, connect the speaker termi-
nals on your subwoofer amplifier to the speaker input terminals in the terminal cup located on the top panel of the
back box, making sure to observe the correct polarity.
You will observe two wires hanging down into the opening of the S4SBB enclosure. These are to be connected to the
terminals on the back of the S4S loudspeaker baffle just before installing the S4S in the enclosure. Again, remember
to connect the wires to the correct terminals to maintain polarity. The solid black wire is to be connected to the nega-
tive (–) terminal on the baffle, and the solid red wire is to be connected to the positive (+) terminal on the baffle.
You may prefer to use two S4S subwoofer systems in Stereo mode for improved performance and superior imaging,
and to meet THX Ultra2 requirements. Use two mono subwoofer amplifiers, each connected to either the left or right
subwoofer output on your receiver/processor, or use a single two-channel subwoofer amplifier and connect the left
and right line-level subwoofer outputs on your receiver/processor to the corresponding inputs on your amplifier. Then
connect the positive and negative terminals for each channel to one S4S subwoofer system.
Wire Length
Recommended Size
Up to 20 ft.
16-gauge
Up to 30 ft.
12-gauge
Greater than 30 ft. 10-gauge
S4S OM 10/18/05 12:02 PM Page 5
