Niles HD-CTRBX Original operating instructions

BLENDING HIGH FIDELITY AND ARCHITECTURE
™
INSTALLATION & OPERATION GUIDE
®
HD•CTRBX
HD•CTRBX
HIGH DEFINITION
MODEL

Congratulations!
Thank you for choosing a Home Theater Loudspeaker from Niles. With proper
installation and operation, you'll enjoy years of trouble-free use.
Niles manufactures the industry's most complete line of custom installation
components and accessories for audio/video systems. For a free full line catalog
write: Niles, Catalog Request, P.O. Box 160818, Miami, Florida 33116-0818 or
visit our website at www.nilesaudio.com.
©1998 Niles Audio Corporation, Inc. All rights reserved. Because Niles strives to continuously improve its products,
Niles reserves the right to change product specifications without notice. ® Blueprint Series In-wall Loudspeakers is a
registered trademark of Niles Audio Corporation, Inc. ® Dolby is a registered trademark of Dolby Laboratories Licensing
Corporation. ® Decora is a registered trademark of Leviton Manufacturing Co., Inc.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 2
FEATURES AND BENEFITS 2
INSTALLATION CONSIDERATIONS 3
SPEAKER PLACEMENT 4
OPERATION 9
SPECIFICATIONS 9
LIMITED WARRANTY 10

Features and Benefits
Dolby Digital®Ready
The HD•CTRBX is specifically designed for
Home Theater. It exceeds the specifica-
tions set forth by Dolby Laboratories for the
accurate reproduction of Dolby Digital
encoded sources.
Directed Sound Field Geometry™
(DSFG)
The HD•CTRBX employs Niles’ Directed
Sound Field Geometry (DSFG). With
DSFG, the tweeter is offset from the center
of the dual woofers. The resulting acoustic
interaction between the woofers and the
offset tweeter results in the flattest frequen-
cy and phase response approximately 15°
off-axis from the tweeter. This gives opti-
mum performance to a seated listener
even if the HD•CTRBX is mounted above
or below a TV or screen.
Mica Filled Polypropylene Woofers
with Inverted Butyl Rubber Suspension
The unusually stiff and light polypropylene
cone is filled with mica to enhance its rigid-
ity for the fastest, most accurate response.
Additionally, the use of an Inverted Butyl
Rubber Suspension offers substantial bene-
fits including: increased movement without
mechanical limitations; weather resistance;
and improved midrange damping for better
detail and clarity.
ElastoDynamic™Hybrid Dome Tweeter
Constructed from a composite matrix of
elastomers and natural fiber substrates, the
ElastoDynamic™ tweeter offers extended
high frequency response without any harsh
ringing or overshoot.
Video Shielding
The HD•CTRBX utilizes special video
shielding to enable it to be installed in
close proximity to a video monitor without
negative effects on picture quality.
Acoustic Fine Tuning
The HD•CTRBX features rear-panel mounted
Acoustic Fine Tuning Controls. The
HD•CTRBX’s controls enable optimization of
the high frequencies and dialog with 3dB of
Treble Cut and 3dB of Dialog Enhancement.
DSFG™Defeat
The HD•CTRBX features a rear-panel mount-
ed switch which enables the installer to
switch the Directed Sound Field Geometry
feature ON or OFF. (It is useful to switch it
Off when the speaker is installed at ear level,
for example, behind a perforated screen).
BumpBack™Woofer Magnet(s)
Niles engineers have utilized a unique
magnet construction allowing far greater
“throw” or voice coil excursion. This
allows a new level of deep bass perfor-
mance to be achieved.
Introdu tion
The HD or High Definition group of Niles Home Theater Loudspeakers offers speakers
expressly designed for superior sonic quality. They employ advanced technology compo-
nents designed to extract the subtle nuances in recorded music or the thunderous action in a
movie. They are perfect anywhere that quality of sound is the most important consideration.
2
Features and Benefits

Recommended Amplifier Power
For satisfactory performance, we recom-
mend an amplifier with a power rating of
ten to one hundred fifty watts. Curiously,
most speakers are not damaged by large
amplifiers but by small amplifiers. If your
system is playing loudly, a small amplifier
will run out of power very quickly. When
an amplifier runs out of power it creates
damaging “clipping” distortion. A more
powerful amplifier will play at the same
volume without distorting. See the section
labeled Operation on page 9 for more
information about clipping distortion.
Speaker Wire
Use 2-conductor speaker wire when con-
necting HD speakers to your receiver or
amplifier. For most applications, we recom-
mend you use 16 or 18 gauge wire. For
wiring runs longer than 80 feet we recom-
mend 14 gauge wire. The five-way binding
post connection terminals on the rear of the
HD•CTRBX will accommodate up to 12
gauge wire directly. Larger sizes can be
accommodated via pin connectors.
When you run wire inside walls, special
jacketing (CL-2 or CL-3) is required to
both protect the wire and for fire preven-
tion. In some areas conduit is required.
For a trouble-free installation, low voltage
wire such as speaker wire must be run in
accordance with the National Electrical
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, consid-
er the advantages of installing a Niles IR
Repeater system. You are able to control all
of the functions of your system even if the
AV equipment is hidden or located in
another room. Niles makes a number of IR
sensors which install in the wall, in the ceil-
ing, in cabinetry, or on tabletops.
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.
Installation Considerations
3
Installation Considerations
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.

Placement of the Front Left and Right
Speakers (HD•LRS) Left Right Surround
In-Wall Loudspeaker
In a home theater, the intelligibility of dialog
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 guidelines 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 example; 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 the HD•LRS too close to a direct
Speaker Pla ement
4
Speaker
Placement
Zone
Speaker
Placement
Zone
10’5’
10’
Figure 2
Speaker Pla ement

view TV monitor as they may cause pic-
ture discoloration the Niles HD•CTR
(video shielded) in-wall may be substitut-
ed for an HD•LRS in such an installation).
In general, try to keep an HD•LRS at least
24 inches away from the TV. With larger
CRT screen sizes, you should test for pic-
ture degradation before installing.
The Boundary Effect
Corners can affect the bass response of the
speaker powerfully! This is called the
boundary effect. You will emphasize partic-
ular bass frequencies and cancel out other
bass frequencies when you place speakers
close to the wall/ceiling boundary or a cor-
ner wall boundary. This can make the
speaker sound excessively boomy and inac-
curate to some listeners, while to others it
just seems like more bass sound. A good
rule of thumb is if you always listen to your
current pair of speakers with the bass turned
up, you’ll enjoy corner placement. If you
keep your tone controls at neutral, try to
keep the speakers at least one or two feet
from the boundaries of the room. The Niles
HD•LRS features a front baffle-mounted
adjustment switch labeled “Bass Cut” which
enables you to compensate for the bound-
ary effect by reducing bass output by 3dB.
Placement of the Center Channel
Speaker (HD•CTRBX)
The center channel speaker is the work-
horse in a home theater system. It handles
all of the critical dialog so it’s vitally impor-
tant in creating the illusion of sounds ema-
nating directly from the picture.
The HD•CTRBX is specially optimized for
this important job. Its dual magnetically
shielded woofers enable it to be placed
directly adjacent to a direct view televi-
sion without affecting picture quality. In a
typical installation, the HD•CTRBX will be
placed horizontally, directly above the
television or projection screen. Try to
insure that the center channel speaker is
not placed too high relative to the left and
right speaker. (See Figure 3).
For installations where a perforated pro-
jection screen will be used, optimum per-
formance can be obtained by placing the
HD•CTRBX, either horizontally or vertical-
ly, behind the screen at ear level. (See
Figure 4). When placed at ear level, the
HD•CTRBX’s crossover configuration
switch should be set to “DSFG Defeat”.
(See the section on Defeating DSFG on
page 8 for more details).
5
Speaker Pla ement
TV
HD•LRS HD•LRS
HD•CTRBX
Not Greater
than 24"
Figure 3
For an HD•CTRBX placed above a
TV, install the speaker with the
tweeter up. For an HD•CTRBX
placed below a TV, install the
speaker with the tweeter down.

6
Placement of the Rear Channel
Speakers (HD•LRS) Left Right
Surround In-Wall Loudspeaker
In a home theater, the goal is to reproduce
the experience of a great movie theater in
our homes. The biggest difference between
your home and the theater is the surround
speaker array. In a commercial theater, it is
not uncommon to see twenty or thirty
speakers around the audience. This huge
array of speakers assures that you will feel
completely surrounded by the ambient
soundtrack of the movie. Film makers try to
use the “surround” soundtrack to envelope
you in the environment on screen. They
will place background music, rain sounds,
traffic noise, etc. on the “surround” sound-
track. In a home with a single pair of speak-
ers it is easy for the jungle sounds to sound
like they are “in the middle of your head”
just like headphones!
A single pair of HD•LRS Loudspeakers,
properly placed, can create a very con-
vincing simulation of an array of speakers.
If you place them near a hard reflecting
surface you can make one pair of speakers
sound like several. Create as many reflec-
tions as possible by mounting the speaker
up high in the wall so that the ceiling will
act as a powerful reflector. (See Figures
5 and 6). If you mount the speakers as far
away as you can from the listening area,
more reflections will occur. However, all
Speaker Pla ement
HD•LRS HD•LRS
Perforated Screen
HD•CTRBX
Figure 4
Figure 5
If the primary listening position is towards the back of the room as depicted in figure 5, place the rear
speakers high up on the side wall or in the ceiling as pictured.

7
Speaker Pla ement
of these placement techniques require that
you work your surround sound amplifier
channels harder. If the surround sound sys-
tem you are using has a small five or ten
watt amplifier for the rear speakers, stay
within five to eight feet of the listening loca-
tion. If you are using a 25 to 50 watt amplifi-
er you can mount the speakers 10 to 15 feet
away from the listening location and still
achieve reasonably high volume levels.
Of course, the best way to emulate the
sound of multiple speakers is to use multi-
ple speakers. In large or unusually shaped
rooms this might be the only way to
achieve a good effect. (See Figure 7).
If you like to listen to music surround
modes which emulate concert hall
acoustics, more than two surround speakers
will prove extraordinarily effective. With
Niles HD•LRS loudspeakers it is easy to
add another pair without affecting the
decor of the room. However, you will need
to use a much more powerful amplifier
than that which is built into a typical sur-
round sound receiver or amplifier. Niles
makes a number of Systems Integration
Amplifiers™ with proprietary features that
make them uniquely suited to enhance a
good surround sound system. Consult your
Niles dealer for more information.
TV
Figure 6
If the primary listening position is towards the center of the room as depicted in figure 6, place the
rear speakers high up on the rear wall or in the ceiling as pictured.
Figure 7
If you use multiple rear speakers or have an
irregularly shaped listening area as shown in
figure 7, place the speakers high up on the rear
and side walls or in the ceiling as pictured.
Figure 8
The switches on the rear panel enable you to
utilize the HD•CTRBX’s Treble Cut, Dialog
Enhance, and DSFG features.

Speaker Orientation for Directed
Sound Field Geometry™
The Directed Sound Field Geometry
(DSFG) provides optimum off axis phase
and frequency response due to the
acoustic interaction between the woofers
and the tweeter. The flattest response will
be obtained approximately 15 degrees off
axis in the direction opposite the tweeter.
Therefore, the orientation of the speaker is
important for optimum performance. For
an HD•CTRBX placed above a TV, install
the speaker with the tweeter up. For an
HD•CTRBX placed below a TV, install the
speaker with the tweeter down. For
HD•LRS’s placed in the front, install the
speakers with the tweeters facing out.
Acoustic Fine Tuning
The rear-mounted switches on the
HD•CTRBX enable the speaker to be opti-
mized regardless of positioning or room
acoustics by providing 3dB of Treble Cut
and 3dB of Dialog Enhancement.
(See Figure 8). Start by listening to the
speaker with the Treble Cut switch in the
“Flat” position. If the sound seems to have
too much treble move the switch to the
“-3dB” position. Next, listen to the speaker
with the Dialog Enhance switch in the
“Normal” position. If you desire to make
the dialog in a movie more pronounced
move the Dialog Enhance switch to the
“Enhanced” position.
Defeating DSFG
A switch on the rear panel of the
HD•CTRBX enables you to defeat the
Directed Sound Field Geometry (DSFG)
feature. This is useful when the speaker is
mounted at ear level directly in front of
the primary listening position as would be
the case when the speaker is mounted
behind a perforated screen. To eliminate
the DSFG feature simply set the DSFG
switch to the “Defeat” position.
Speaker Phase
Speaker wire has two conductors. One
conductor is attached to the negative (-)
terminals and one conductor is attached to
the positive (+) terminals of both your
speaker and your amplifier. Usually, the
wire is marked for your convenience.
There are different ways wires are marked:
a stripe on one wire, a ribbed area of one
conductor you can only feel, different col-
ors of metal wire on each conductor, or
there might be a fabric strand or string
wound into one of the conductors. Of
course, there are some wires which appear
completely identical. Be careful, or you
might make a mistake.
If you make a mistake, one speaker will be
playing “out-of-phase” with the other
speaker. An out-of-phase pair of speakers
work against each other and the sound of
the two speakers playing together will be
lacking in bass and be “phasey” sounding.
If you suspect the sound is not right and
you cannot see any markings on the wire,
try this simple test:
1. Connect the HD•CTRBX to your amplifi-
er’s center channel output.
2. Play some music in Prologic or Dolby
Digital surround mode.
3. Listen to the richness of the bass and the
loudness of the sound coming from the
center channel.
4. Turn off the amplifier and reverse the
connections.
5. Repeat the listening test with the same
setting of the volume control. When the
sound has a richer bass and is slightly
louder, the center channel speaker’s polar-
ity is set correctly.
8
Speaker Pla ement

9
Operation & Spe ifi ations
Operation
Listening at Higher Volumes
It requires more power to achieve a rea-
sonable volume of sound in a large room
than it does in a small room. It is possi-
ble (even if you are not a teenager) to
turn the volume so high that the amplifi-
er runs out of power. This creates “clip-
ping” distortion.
Clipping distortion makes treble sound
very harsh and unmusical. When you hear
harsh sounding treble from any good
speaker, turn the volume down immedi-
ately! Those harsh sounds are masking
some much more powerful ultra-high-fre-
quency sound spikes which will quickly
damage any fine loudspeaker. You are
much less likely to damage a speaker with
a large amplifier because it will be very
loud indeed before it produces any clip-
ping distortion.
Cleaning
You can clean the speaker enclosure with
a dampened soft cloth or paper towel.
Spe ifi ations
Model HD•CTRBX
Driver Compliment
(2) 5-1/4” Magnetically Shielded Mica-Filled
Polypropylene Woofers
1” ElastoDynamic™Hybrid Dome Tweeter
with fluid cooling
Design Principle
Acoustic suspension with a tuned port.
Directed Sound Field Geometry™for opti-
mum phase and frequency response
Recommended Amplifier Power
Ten to One Hundred Fifty Watts per
Channel
Nominal Impedance
8 Ohms
Frequency Response
45 Hz to 21,000 Hz, plus or minus 3 dB
(on axis)
Sensitivity
90 decibels for 2.83 volts of Pink Noise,
measured at 1 meter on axis
Overall Exterior Frame Dimensions
21” L x 7-1/4” W x 9-3/4” D
Weight
18 lbs.
Wiring Requirements
We recommend 16 to 18 gauge for up to
80 feet, 14 gauge for up to two hundred
feet. Connectors accommodate 12 to 22
gauge wire.

Limited Warranty
Niles Audio Corporation, Inc. ("NILES") warrants its loudspeaker products to the original pur-
chaser to be free of manufacturing defects in material and workmanship for a period of two
years from date of purchase.
This Warranty is subject to the following additional conditions and limitations. The Warranty
is void and inapplicable if NILES deems that the product has been used or handled other than
in accordance with the instructions provided by the manufacturer, including but not limited to
damage caused by accident, mishandling, improper installation, abuse, negligence, or normal
wear and tear, or any defect caused by repair to the product by anyone other than NILES or an
authorized NILES dealer.
To obtain warranty service, take the unit to the nearest authorized NILES dealer, who will test
the product and if necessary, forward it to NILES for service. If there are no authorized NILES
dealers in your area, you must write to NILES and include your name, address, model and
serial number of your unit, along with a brief description of the problem. A factory Return
Authorization Number will be sent to you. DO NOT RETURN ANY UNIT WITHOUT FIRST
RECEIVING WRITTEN AUTHORIZATION AND SHIPPING INSTRUCTIONS FROM NILES.
If the above conditions are met, the purchaser's sole remedy shall be to return the product to
NILES, in which case NILES will repair or replace, at its sole option, the defective product
without charge for parts or labor. NILES will return a unit repaired or replaced under warranty
by shipping same by its usual shipping method from the factory (only) at its expense within the
United States of America. THERE ARE NO OTHER WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT
LIMITATION, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FIT-
NESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WITH RESPECT TO THE PRODUCT.
REPAIR OR REPLACEMENT AS PROVIDED UNDER THIS WARRANTY IS THE EXCLUSIVE
REMEDY OF THE CONSUMER/PURCHASER. NILES SHALL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR
ANY INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT PROVIDED
(OR PROHIBITED) BY APPLICABLE LAW.
Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages,
so the above limitation may not apply to you. This warranty gives you specific legal rights,
and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state.
For the name of your nearest authorized NILES dealer contact:
NILES AUDIO CORPORATION, INC.
P.O. BOX 160818, Miami, Florida 33116-0818.
Please fill in your product information and retain for your records.
Model____________________________________________________________________________________
Serial No._________________________________________________________________________________
Purchase Date_____________________________________________________________________________
10
Limited Warranty

Niles Audio
Corporation, Inc.
12331 S.W. 130 Street
Miami, Florida 33186
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
www.nilesaudio.com
Printed in Taiwan
©1998 Niles Audio Corporation, Inc. DS00211