Definitive Technology Mythos Six User manual

Mythos™ Six &
Mythos™ Seven
On-Wall and On-Shelf
AudioMdeo Magnetically ShieldedLoudspeakers
Owner's Manual
Congratulations
Congratulations on your purchase of aDefinitive Technology
Mythos
AudioNideo Loudspeaker System. These superb
loudspeakers utilize state-of-the-art components (homopolymer-
coned bass-midrange drivers, moving coil ferroftuid-cooled pure
aluminum dome high frequency radiators, long excursion pressure
coupled woofers, uniphase crossover networks, etc.), anon-reso-
nant aircraft-grade aluminum monocoque cabinet, low diffraction
construction and complete magnetic shielding in order to achieve
the most lifelike sound possible in your listening room for many
years to come.
The Definitive Technology Mythos loudspeakers are compact
high-definition loudspeaker systems designed for use in audio/
video systems
of the highest quality. Because of their compact
size, wide range, high
power handling and natural articulate
clarity, they are ideal for use as aleft main, right main, and
center speaker (which may be on-wall
or in-cabinet mounted) in
conjunction with all surround sound decoding systems, including
Dolby Pro Logic*, Dolby Digital AC-3*, DTS*, Dolby Digital
EX*, as well as all 6.1 and 7.1 systems. In addition, the Mythos
loudspeakers are ideal for use as rear or side surround speakers
in all surround sound decoding systems or as audiophile quality
main speakers
in ahigh quality stereo system.
*Registered Trademark

Unpacking Your Mythos Loudspeakers
Please Inspect For Shipping Damage
Each loudspeaker leaves our plant in perfect condition. Any visible or
concealed damage most likely occurred in handling after it left our plant
and should be reported at once to your Definitive dealer or the delivery
company that delivered your loudspeaker. Please unpack your system
carefully. Save all cartons and packing materials in case you move or
need to ship your system. Record the serial number found on the back
of
the Mythos loudspeakers in the appropriate place on your warranty card.
Positioning Your Mythos Speakers in Your Room
Your new Mythos speakers are very flexible in tenns of positioning
and placement options.
The Mythos Six will generally be positioned vertically.
It can be easily
mounted on awall using its unique mounting system. When attached to
its optional glass base, it can be placed on atabletop, on abookshelfor in
acabinet, etc. The Mythos Seven is designed for horizontal mounting and
it can be easily mounted on awall, using its unique mounting system.
It can also be placed on atabletop, on top
of a TV (ifthe top provides a
deep enough platfonn for stable placement), on ashelf, etc. when used
with its rear stabilizing/angle adjustment foot.
Please remember that although the following recommendations are
usually valid, all rooms and listening set-ups are somewhat unique, so
do not be afraid to experiment with the speakers. Remember, whatever
sounds best to you is correct.
Positioning Mythos Six as Left/Right Main Speakers
Because of its vertical orientation, the Mythos Six will nonnally be
used as aright or left main front speaker
or as arear or side surround
speaker. Nevertheless, it can certainly be used as acenter speaker if its
vertical orientation is appropriate for acenter speaker in your installation.
When used as left and right front speakers, the Mythos Sixes can be
placed right next to the
TV with excellent results or may be separated by
adistance greater than the width of the TV. As with any speaker, agreater
separation (5 to 7feet or more) will nonnally result in abigger sound-
stage and this is recommended from asonic point
of view.

Positioning Mythos Six as Rear/Side Surrounds
When used as rear or side surround speakers, Mythos Six may be
located on the side or behind the listeners. When used on the sides,
take care never to locate the speakers forward
of the listeners. The
speakers may be placed at
or above ear level. If the speakers are placed
on the rear wall, it is suggested that they be positioned fairly wide apart
if possible. (For instance, if there is acouch in the center of the rear wall
on which the listeners will sit, try to position the speakers wider apart
than the couch.)
Positioning Mythos Seven as a Center Channel
The Mythos Seven is designed for horizontal use and will normally
be used as afront or rear center channel speaker.
Of course, if you have
aneed for ahorizontal Mythos for left and right main channel use or
surround use, the Mythos Seven is perfect for that also.
As acenter channel, the Mythos Seven can be positioned either above
or below the
TV. Of course, it can be mounted on the wall, placed on a
shelf, or on top
of the TV itself if the top of the TV is big enough and flat
enough to provide asafe mounting surface.
Mythos Seven Vertical Angle Adjustment
Your Mythos Seven has asimple built-in device which stabilizes it and
allows you to adjust the vertical angle when the system is placed on aflat
horizontal surface.
If the foot is not screwed in, screw it into the threaded
hole on the bottom
of the speaker. When you set the speaker down, the
speaker will lean back and rest on the foot. By varying how far you screw
in the foot, you can adjust the vertical angle
of the speaker. We suggest
that you aim the speaker so that it points directly towards the height
of the
listeners' ears.
Speaker Break-In
Your Mythos loudspeakers should sound good right out of the box;
however, an extended break-in period
of 20-40 hours or more of normal
playing is required to reach full performance capability. Break-in allows
the suspensions to work in and results in fuller bass, amore open
"blossoming" midrange and smoother high frequency reproduction.

Connecting Your Mythos Loudspeakers
Hooking Up Your Mythos Loudspeakers
Your Mythos loudspeakers each have one pair of gold 5-way
binding posts. Normally, you will hook up the left main/front channel
red(+) terminal
of your receiver or amplifier to the red(+) terminal of
your left Mythos loudspeaker and the left main/front channel black(-)
terminal
of your receiver or amplifier to the black(-) terminal of your
left Mythos loudspeaker. Connect the right channel main/front
channel red(+) terminal
of your amplifier or receiver to the red(+)
terminal of your right Mythos loudspeaker and the black(-) terminal of
the right main/front channel of your receiver or amplifier to the
black(-) terminal
of your right Mythos loudspeaker.
If you are using the Mythos as acenter channel, connect the center
channel red(+) terminal
of your amplifier or receiver to the red(+)
terminal of your Mythos center channel speaker and the black (-)
terminal
of the center channel of your receiver or amplifier to the
black(
-) terminal of your Mythos center channel loudspeaker.
If you are using the Mythos as side/rear surround speakers, hook up
the left surround red(+) terminal
of your receiver or amplifier to the
red(+) terminal
of your Mythos left surround speaker and the left sur-
round black(-) terminal
of your receiver or amplifier to the black(-)
terminal
of your Mythos left surround speaker. Connect the right sur-
round red(+) terminal
of your amplifier or receiver to the red(+) termi-
nal
of your Mythos right surround loudspeaker and the black( -) termi-
nal
of the right surround channel of your receiver or amplifier to the
black(
-) terminal of your Mythos right surround loudspeaker.
If your receiver/ decoder has abass management system and you
are using aseparate subwoofer, set bass management
to "Small" left
and right main speakers, "Small" center channel, "Small" surround
speakers and "Yes" subwoofer.
If your receiver/decoder has achoice
of crossover frequencies, set the crossover to 80 Hz or 100 Hz if avail-
able (for greater dynamic range).
If you are not using aseparate sub-
woofer, set bass management to "Large" left and right main speakers,
"Large" center channel and "Large"surround speakers, and
"No" sub-
woofer.
We strongly recommend the use of aseparate subwoofer.

Setting Bass and Treble Controls on Your
Receiver
or Amplifier
Normally we recommend that you set the Bass and Treble controls
on flat or 0dB. This will give you the most linear and natural sound.
Also,
if your amplifier or receiver has agraphic equalizer, we recom-
mend that you leave it flat. The reason for this is that we have spoken
with many consumers about what they thought were improperly
sounding speakers when, in fact, the problem was misadjusted tone
controls. When in doubt, leave them flat; this almost always
sounds the best.
Usually ifdistortion is heard when the speakers are being driven
at loud levels, it is caused by driving (turning up) the amplifier too loud
and not driving the speakers with more power
than they can handle.
Remember, most amplifiers
put out their full-rated power well before the
volume control
is turned all the way up! If your speakers distort when you
play them loud,
turn down the amplifier or get abigger one.
Mounting Your Mythos Six with the Supplied
Wall-Mount Bracket
Your Mythos Six comes with an optional wall-bracket designed to
securely mount your speaker flush to your wall. The bracket can ONLY
be used with avertical installation. (For horizontal installations, the
Mythos Seven speaker should be used instead.) For safety, it
is extremely
important that this bracket be installed with molly-bolts
or similarly
effective fasteners appropriate for the construction
of your wall. Be sure
to use all six
of the mounting holes when fastening the bracket to the
wall. Never use unanchored or improperly anchored screws in your wall.
Professional installation is strongly recommended. Your dealer can either
arrange this for you, or refer you to aqualified installer.
To determine the bracket's position on the wall, the following measure-
ments will be helpful. When the Mythos Six
is installed on the bracket,
the top edge
of the speaker is 1 5/ xinches (41 mm) from the top edge of the
bracket, the bottom edge
of the speaker is 7inches (177 mm) from the
bottom
of the bracket, and the outer edges of the speaker are l"!x inches
(35 mm) from the sides
of the bracket. Ifyou are mounting your Mythos
Six close to anything above it, please allow an extra
1'/2 inches (38 mm)
for the speaker to slide onto its bracket.
If your speaker wires are to be hidden inside the wall, be sure to
conform to your local building codes. When installed on the bracket,

the center of the Mythos Six speaker tenninals will be 3'/4 inches (82 mm)
below the bottom edge
of the bracket.
To install the Mythos Six on its bracket, securely fasten the two mount-
ing screws supplied into the two threaded holes on the rear
of the speaker,
screwing them in as far as they will go. The speaker will then hang in the
two "keyholes" on the bracket. After placing the screws in these open-
ings, pressing down finnly on the top
of the speaker will seat the speaker
properly and avoid any rattles during use.
Using Your Mythos Six on aShelf or Furniture
Your Mythos Six comes with an optional tempered glass base for
standing the speaker on ahorizontal shelfor on furniture. (For horizontal
installations, the Mythos Seven speaker should be used instead.) For
safety, please make sure the location where you place the speaker is flat
and level. The base must be installed with the included plastic spacer's
smooth silver side against the glass on the surface opposite the feet.
Please make sure that the plastic washers are used with the four supplied
mounting screws.
Do not over-tighten the mounting screws.
Mounting Your Mythos Seven with the
Supplied Wall-Mount Bracket
Your Mythos Seven comes with an optional wall-bracket designed to
securely mount your speaker flush to your wall. The bracket can ONLY
be used with ahorizontal installation. (For vertical installations, the
Mythos Six speaker should be used instead.) For safety, it is extremely
important that this bracket be installed with molly-bolts or similarly
effective fasteners appropriate for the construction
of your wall. Be sure
to use all six
of the mounting holes when fastening the bracket to the
wall. Never use unanchored
or improperly anchored screws in your wall.
Professional installation is strongly recommended. Your dealer can either
arrange this for you, or refer you to aqualified installer.
To detennine the bracket's position on the wall, the following measure-
ments will be helpful. When the Mythos Seven is installed on the bracket,
the top edge
of the speaker is 1inch (25 mm) from the top edge of the
bracket, the bottom edge
of the speaker is 11 /4 inches (32 nun) from the
bottom
of the bracket. The right outer edge of the speaker is 31 /2 inches
(89 mm) from the sides
of the bracket. The left outer edge of the speaker
is 5inches (129 mm) from the sides
of the bracket. The center of the
Mythos 7speaker tenninals will be 11
/2 inch (37 mm) from the sides of the
bracket.
If you are mounting your Mythos Seven below your display

(or any other solid object), please allow an extra 1inch (35mm) for the
speaker to slide onto its bracket.
If your speaker wires are to be hidden inside the wall, be sure to
conform to your local building codes. When installed on the bracket,
the Mythos Seven speaker terminals will be even with the right edge
of the bracket.
To install the Mythos Seven on its bracket, securely fasten the two
mounting screws supplied into the two threaded holes on the rear
of the
speaker, screwing them in as far as they will go. The speaker will then
hang in the two "keyholes" on the bracket. After placing the screws
in
these openings, pressing down firmly on the top of the speaker will seat
the speaker properly and avoid any rattles during use.
Using Your Mythos Seven on aShelf or Furniture
Your Mythos Seven may be used on ashelf or on the top of a
television, as long as the flat surface chosen has 5inches
of depth. Please
find the supplied threaded foot for your speaker and screw into the
threaded hole on the bottom
of the speaker. This foot can be used
to adjust the vertical angle
of the front of the speaker up or down. For
optimum performance, we suggest that you aim the speaker toward the
height
of the listeners' ears.
The Mythos™ Home Theater Systems
Acomplete Mythos Home Theater System will normally combine
afront left, right and center Mythos loudspeaker with rear surround
speakers (which can also be Mythos speakers
or any other Definitive
Surround Loudspeaker including our Bipolar In-Walls, ProMonitors,
StudioMonitors, etc.) and one or more Definitive subwoofers. These
superb systems offer exceptional music and home theater performance
with all decoding technologies. Remember, to achieve proper blending
and full performance, it is essential to use only Definitive speakers to
complete your home theater system.

Using Your Mythos Loudspeakers with
aSeparate Subwoofer
If you use asubwoofer, we strongly suggest using a Definitive
PowerField SuperCube, PowerField or ProSub in order to achieve
the highest level of sound quality possible.
With Dolby Digital Receivers and Decoders
Most systems using the Mythos loudspeakers with asubwoofer will
be Dolby Digital Systems. Simply hook the Mythos speakers up to the
left and right front (main) channels (assuming you are using them
as
front speakers) and hook the Mythos Seven to the center channel
(assuming you are using
it as acenter channel). Using alow-level
RCA cable, hook the subwoofer up to the LFE output on your receiver
or processor.
If you are using aDefinitive subwoofer, input this LFE
cable into the LFE input on the sub. Then set the bass management
system on the receiver or decoder to "Small" left and right main speak-
ers, "Small" center, and "Yes" subwoofer.
If your receiver/decoder has
achoice
of crossover frequencies, set the crossover to 80 Hz. The cir-
cuitry inside the receiver or decoder will perform the necessary
crossover functions.
With Non-Dolby Digital Systems
With non-Dolby Digital systems, there are many options for using
your Mythos loudspeakers with asubwoofer. The specific hook-up
will depend on the specific subwoofer you are using. With Definitive
subwoofers, you can run the Mythos loudspeakers full range (i.e. hook
them up normally to the amplifier receiver) and connect the subwoofer
to the sub-out with alow-level RCA cable. With Definitive sub-
woofers this would input into the left or right channel input. You
would then set the woofer's low-pass crossover: we would suggest
starting around 80 Hz and then experiment up or down from there.
You also have the option with Definitive subwoofers
of using the
subwoofer's built-in speaker level high-pass crossover as described in
the subwoofer instruction manuals. In this case, also start with the
subwoofer low-pass crossover at about 80 Hz and experiment.
Use of Mythos Six as Rear or Side Surround Speakers
Mythos loudspeakers make excellent rear or side surround speakers.
In order
to use the Mythos speakers as rear or side surround speakers,

simply hook them up as normal to the rear or side channel amplifier out-
puts
of your system. Set the bass management system of your decoder to
"Small" rear and/or side surrounds ifyour system is using aseparate
subwoofer, or "Large" rear or side surrounds ifyour system
is not using
aseparate subwoofer.
Technical Assistance
It is our pleasure to offer assistan.ce if you have any questions
regarding your Mythos loudspeakers or their set-up. Please contact
your nearest Definitive Technology dealer or contact us directly at
410-363-7148 or www.definitivetech.com.
Service
Service and warranty work on your Definitive loudspeakers will
normally be performed by the Definitive Technology dealer from
whom you have purchased your loudspeakers. If, however, you wish
to return the speaker to us, please contact us first, describing the prob-
lem and requesting authorization as well
as the location of the nearest
factory service center. Please note that the address given in this
booklet is the address
of our offices only. Under no circumstances
should loudspeakers be shipped to our offices or returned without
contacting us first and obtaining return authorization.
Definitive Technology Offices
11433 Cronridge Drive
Owings Mills, Maryland 21117
Phone: [phone]
Visit us at www.definitivetech.com