O
PERATION
Operation 5
Use the best speaker cables you can. The length and type
of speaker cable used in your system will have an audible
effect. Under no circumstance should a wire of gauge
higher (thinner) than #16 be used. In general, the longer
the length used, the greater the necessity of a lower gauge,
and the lower the gauge, the better the sound, with dimin-
ishing returns setting in around #8 to #12.
A variety of speaker cables are now available whose
manufacturers claim better performance than standard heavy
gauge wire. We have verified this in many cases, and the
improvements available are often more noticeable than the dif-
ferences between wires of different gauge. The effects of cables
may be masked if the equipment is not of the highest quality.
We also recommend, if possible, that short runs of speaker
cable connect the power amplifier and speaker and that high
quality long interconnect cables be used to connect the
preamplifier and power amplifier. This results in the
power amplifiers being close to the speakers, which may
be practically or cosmetically difficult, but if the length of
the speaker cables can be reduced to a few meters, sonic
advantages may be obtained.
Connections are done at the signal input section on the rear
electronics panel of the Montage (see figure 2). Use spade
connectors for optimum contact. Make certain that all of
your connections are tight.
Be consistent when connecting speaker leads to the terminals on
the back of the Montage. Take great care to assign the same
color to the (+) terminal on both the speaker and the amplifier.
WARNING!
Turn your amplifier off before mak-
ing or breaking any signal connections!
Break-In
When you first begin to play your Montage speaker, it will
sound a bit bass shy. This is due to the high-quality, long-life
components used in our woofer. Montage’s woofer requires
at least 30 hours of break-in at 90 dB (moderate listening
levels) before any critical listening. The break-in require-
ments of the crossover components (and, to a lesser
degree, the ATF transducer) are equal.
Signal Connection
Figure 2.
Single wire connection. One channel shown.
