Arcam Loudspeakers 882 - Manual

Arcam Model 882, 884, 886, 888 Loudspeakers
Instructions for use
Introduction
Thank you for buying Arcani loudspeakers. These loudspeakers have been
designed to produce a high standard of sound reproduction at an attordable price.
Although suitable for use with any good quality hi-d equipment, the speakers are an
e.xceUent sonic and physical match for the rest of the Arcana range of hi-fi electronics.
Installation Instructions
Positioning
For optimum results these speakers should be positioned 15 to 40cms from a
rear wall and at least 60cms (2 feet) from any side wall.
The final sound will of course depend on the acoustics of the listening room,
and e.xperimentation with speaker positioning and furnishings is definitely worthwlaile.
As a starting point we suggest that the speakers should be placed 2.4-3m (8-10 feet) apart
with their backs lOcms (4 inches) from the rear wall. The bass output may then be raised
or lowered by moving the speaken closer to or further away from the wall. Toeing-in
the speakers, so that their axes cross just in front of the listener may also be beneficial to
treble balance and stereo imagers'.
The more rigidly a speaker is held, the better it wiU sound. On floor standing
models (886, 888) we reconunend fitting the threaded spikes provided into the
loudspeaker base. For best performance, the smaller 882, 884 models should be used on
stands wherever possible. Use rigid metal stands of30-60cms (12-24 inches) height.
Properly damped types that do not "ring" when tapped with a pencil, either by virme of
construction, or by filling with dry silver sand, wiU bring out the best in the loudspeaker.
It is also possible to obtain a good sound balance when shelf mounting. The
rear of the loudspeakers should be no less than 5cm fi-om the wall to allow free flow of air
firom the reflex port and it should be mounted at least 4cm from a comer and 60cm from
the floor (these distances may be interchanged if more convenient).
Speaker Cables
The speaken should be connected to the amplifier using good qualit%% high
purity copper cables \sath a cross sectional area of at least Inim^ per conductor. Solid
core cables or those \sath surface only conductors are particularly suitable. Bell wire and
ver\- cheap or giveawav speaker cables should be avoided - they are a false economy and
can badly degrade the sound quahw. Neither do we recommend the use of fat, heavily
stranded cables, as these often impart a harsh and hashy sound to the system.
The cable mns to the two speakers should be of roughly equal length and yet as
short as practicable ( a long run of speaker cable always sounds worse than a short one).
The usual care should be taken over speaker phasing. Both loudspeaken should be
connected to the amplifier with the same phase (black to black and red to red). AH
speaker cables will be colour coded or have some physical identification (such as a small
"rib" along one wire) to aid correct phasing.