Code and any applicable provisions of the
local building code. If you are unsure of
the correct installation techniques, wire
jacket or type of conduit to use, consult a
professional audio/video installer, your
building contractor, or the local building
and inspection department.
Incorporating a Remote Control
If you are planning to use a stereo system
with a hand held IR remote control, con-
sider the advantages of installing a Niles
IR Repeater system. You are able to con-
trol all of the functions of your system
from the room with the remote pair of
speakers. Niles makes a number of IR sen-
sors which install in the wall, in the ceiling,
in cabinetry, on tabletops, or even behind
the grille of your Niles HD speakers.
An IR sensor requires that a 2-conductor
shielded wire (West Penn D291 or equiva-
lent) be home run from each sensor loca-
tion to the main equipment location. This
wire is normally run beside the speaker
wire at the same time. Typically, the sen-
sor is placed in a location that faces your
listening position. Most remote controls
will have an effective line of sight range of
18 to 30 feet with any Niles sensor placed
in a wall, ceiling, on a cabinet or tabletop.
However, when you place a Niles MS-1
MicroSensor behind the perforated alu-
minum grille of a speaker the effective
range is reduced to 9 to 15 feet.
Insulating the Wall Cavity
For best performance from your speakers fill
the wall cavity behind the speaker with
fiberglass insulation (e.g. R-19 unbatted insu-
lation). Try to keep the same amount of
insulation for each speaker, particularly in
the same room, for consistent bass response.
5
Inst
allation Consider
ations
TECH TIP
Wire size is expressed by its AWG (American Wire
Gauge) number. The lower the number, the larger
the wire, i.e. twelve AWG is physically larger than
fourteen AWG.
6
Speaker Placement
Placement of the Front Left and Right
Speakers (HD•LRS)
In a home theater, the intelligibility of dia-
log and action reproduced by the front
speakers is paramount! The position of the
speakers plays a very important role in
how clear the sound is and how a stereo
image is created. Here are some guide-
lines to make the process of placement
quick and easy.
Make sure the sound will not be blocked
or reflected off of furniture or other objects.
You should have a direct line of sight with
the front of the speaker. To determine the
best position, measure the “listening” dis-
tance between the ideal listening position
(your favorite chair or couch) and the wall
in which you plan to install the speakers.
Try to place the speakers so that they are
equally distant from your listening spot and
at least one half of the listening distance
apart (this maintains a large pleasant stereo
“image”). In home theater applications
where there is a center channel you may
choose to space the left and right main
speakers farther apart for a “bigger than
life” sound with Dolby
®
encoded movies
and TV shows. However, for combined
music and movie usage stay within the
good placement zone
for music. For exam-
ple; if you are ten feet back from the wall,
the speakers should be between five and
ten feet apart
(See Figure 2)
.
The front left and right speakers should be
placed on either side of the picture source at
a height that allows their tweeters to be not
more than 24 inches above or below the
tweeter in the center channel speaker
(See
Figure 3)
. Be careful that you do not place
Speak
er Placement
Speaker
Placement
Zone
Speaker
Placement
Zone
10’
5’
10’
Figure 2
