AVID HIFI REFERENCE FOUR LOUDSPEAKER User manual

REFERENCE FOUR LOUDSPEAKER
USER MANUAL

2
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 3
SAFETY 3
GETTING STARTED 3
PLACEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS 4
CONNECTING UP 5
SYSTEM MATCHING 5
OPTOMISING SOUND QUALITY 6
LOOKING AFTER YOUR LOUDSPEAKERS 6
SPEAKER STAND 7
STAND ASSEMBLY 8
SPECIFICATION 10

3
INTRODUCTION
Congratulaons on the purchase of your new AVID Reference Four
loudspeakers. We are sure that with care they will provide you with years of
unrivalled musical enjoyment.
As with all AVID products, these loudspeakers are the result of many hundreds
of hours of development and tesng to ensure that they exceed the
performance we know our customers expect from AVID.
Please read these instrucons fully before aempng to setup and use the
loudspeakers—failure to do so may result in damage or possibly injury
SAFETY
Although compact, these loudspeakers are extremely heavy and it is highly
recommended that a minimum of two people are needed to assemble and
posion the Reference Four loudspeakers.
As with all loudspeakers, the exposed drive units are suscepble to damage if
touched.
GETTING STARTED
If you have chosen to use a third-party loudspeaker support, please ensure that
they are capable of supporng the weight of the Reference Fours, also ensure
that they are suciently stable, so there is no risk of them being knocked over.
If you purchased the matching AVID stands, a simple assembly procedure is
required (see “Assembling stand”) - again, take care, as parts involved are
heavy and can easily be damaged or cause injury—please take care to avoid
scratching any of the cosmec surfaces.

4
PLACEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS
Like any loudspeaker the Reference Four is aected to a great extent by the
listening environment. The Reference Four is quite easy to accommodate, but
following some simple guidelines will help:
• Posion the loudspeakers symmetrically in the room (e.g. equal distance
from either side wall). Where possible avoid asymmetrical rooms (e.g.”L”
shaped or rooms with a single alcove
to one side) - any asymmetry will
result in an imbalance of the stereo
image, and an uneven frequency
response.
• Don’t place the loudspeakers too far
apart—the distance between the two
speakers should be slightly less than
the distance from them to the
listening point—again, experimentaon is required. If the sound is lacking
bass, and the centre image is vague, try placing the speakers closer
together, conversely, if the sound is bass heavy, move the speakers further
apart, and away from the rear walls
• Twist the two speakers so that they are poinng slightly toward, but not
directly at, the listening posion—this should produce a nice sharp stereo
image, but create enough spread for several people to enjoy the
performance
• Posioning the loudspeakers close to the wall immediately behind them
will increase bass output, but at the expense of clarity and stereo image —
experiment to nd out the best compromise for you, but start at around
45cm (18”), and adjust unl you are happy with the sound
• Try to avoid locang the listening posion such that your head is too close
to the wall behind you—if this is unavoidable, try to ensure there are some
so furnishings or heavy curtains between you and the wall.

5
CONNECTING UP
The Reference Four uses a single pair of connectors that should be connected
back to your amplier/receiver. Always ensure that the ‘+’ terminal on the
loudspeaker connects to the ‘+’ terminal on the amplier, and likewise, the ‘-’
terminal connects to the ‘-’ terminal on the amplier. Connecng the speakers
incorrectly could result in the loudspeakers being connected “out of phase” -
this normally results in negligible bass response, and a poor stereo image.
SYSTEM MATCHING
The Reference Four is a benign load, and most ampliers will be able to drive
them without diculty. High quality ampliers of 40W per channel or more
should be more than capable of aaining sensible sound levels in a typical
listening room—however there are real benets to be enjoyed by using quality
ampliers with even greater power. Don’t be too concerned about matching
amplier power to speaker power, in fact, damage is far more likely to occur
when using an underpowered amplier than a supposedly overpowered
amplier (though care is sll needed in extreme cases).

6
OPTOMISING SOUND QUALITY
The ulmate sound quality of your sound system relies on a host of variables,
though there are some key points that you should take in to consideraon
• Ensure that all your audio equipment is securely posioned—not just the
loudspeakers. A good quality equipment rack can dramacally impact on
the performance of your complete system.
• Make sure there is a mix of hard and so furnishings in your listening
room—to much so furniture can result in a dull, “closed-in” sound,
whereas hard furnishings tend to create a very lively sound, which can
sound harsh and also suer from echoes.
• Try to remove any unnecessary electrical equipment out of the room– if
powered on, they can create electrical noise that will impact on your Hi-Fi
system, and in the case of televisions, the large at screen panel causes
reecons disrupng the stereo image.
• Use good quality interconnect and loudspeaker cable. With regard to
loudspeaker cable, there are large currents owing between the amplier
and speaker, so long lengths of cable should be avoided, as resistance
increases directly with length. Having stated this, it is important that both
le and right channels are both of the same length, even if one
loudspeaker is nearer to the amplier than the other.
LOOKING AFTER YOUR LOUDSPEAKERS
The only cleaning required should be a light dust with a lint-free cloth - no
harsh cleaning uids should be used. DO NOT touch the high frequency dome
as this is extremely fragile, and any creases will aect the overall sound quality.
The Low frequency driver can be gently dusted if necessary, but again, care is
required.
Be careful when using heavy speaker cable—this can put a heavy load on the
terminals, which could ulmately break—avoid sudden shocks, such as allowing
the cables to be pulled, or tripped over.

7
SPEAKER STAND
The Speaker stands are supplied as an easily assembled kit.
Each stand comprising:
(A) 1 x Base
(B) 2 x Pillar
(C) 4 x 15mm countersink hex bolt (use for base to speaker plinth)
(D) 4 x 35mm countersink hex bolt (use for base to pillar)
(E) 4 x Spike/locknut combinaon
A
B
C
D
E

8
STAND ASSEMBLY
Please follow the following steps closely to minimise the risk of
damage to the product and ensuring that the stand and speaker are
securely mounted.
The stand makes use of the plinth aached to the boom of the
speaker. This plinth must be removed from the speaker rst.
Find create a space on the oor and cover it with some so material
to protect the cabinet nish.
 Carefully remove the loudspeaker
from the carton, and place it on its
top on the protecve blanket, so that
the boom of the plinth is accessible.
 Using the supplied 4mm Allen key,
remove the six M6 bolts (DO NOT
remove the single bolt near the
centre of the plinth—highlighted in
green here). Store the bolts safely, as
you will need them later!
 Carefully li the plinth. Leave the
anodised legs where they are, but if
any have moved, make sure they are
returned to their correct recessed
locaon on the boom of the
speaker.

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 Using the supplied 25mm
countersink bolts (D), aach the two
pillars (B) to the base of the speaker
stand (A).
 Locate the spikes (E), and screw them
into place on the plinth using the
supplied lock nuts to secure them in
place—ensure all four spikes are set
to the same level.
Now place the stand so that it is
resng on the oor, on its spikes

10
 Take the plinth you previously
removed from the loudspeaker
and bolt it to the top of the pillars
(ensuring that the anodised
deector is poinng upwards),
using the four 15mm M6 bolts (C)
supplied. Ensure they are done
up ghtly—there should be no
movement between the plate
and the pillars.
 Note the posion of the anodised
deector (shown in green)—this
denes the rear of the stand
when aaching the speaker (it
will align with the port on the
boom of the loudspeaker
cabinet). Failure to ensure this
will result in damaging both the
deector and the boom of the
loudspeaker cabinet—please take
care!