PSB ALPHA User manual

Thank you for your purchase. The speakers in our Alpha series are designed to deliver high
performance in many uses, and we hope they add much enjoyment to your listening life.
I. FFOUR SSIMPLE SSTEPS FFOR AAQQUICK SSTART:
See Figures 1 and 2
A. Attach the supplied adhesive backed bumpers near the corners of the speaker’s bottom
surface to protect the finish of speakers and furnishings.
B. Position main sspeakers as symmetrically as possible, at a comfortable distance from your
seating position—slightly closer to each other than they are to you. If you have bought a
single speaker to use as a center cchannel for movie sound, position it, preferably, directly
above or, less desirably, underneath your TV screen. (Keep its front as much in line as
possible with the front of the picture.) Position surround sspeakers, preferably, on the side
walls a foot or more behind your seating area and at least two feet above where your ears
will be when you are seated. If you want maximum image localization, aim surround
speakers at your seating position. You can also place the speakers on the rear wall, and/or
place them to radiate them less directly. (See Section II.)
C. Using standard lamp “zip cord” (18 gauge) wire or better, connect the Red (positive) bind-
ing post of each speaker to the Red terminal of your signal source on that channel.
Similarly, connect Black (ground) on each speaker to Black on that channel’s signal source.
(If the output of the signal source is via a proprietary cable with a jack at one end, connect
the color-coded wires at the other end of the cable to the speaker’s similarly-coded posts.)
Be ssure ttoffollow ccolor-ccoding ttommake ssure tthat yyour sspeakers aare ““in pphase” ffor
smoothest ssound wwith ddeepest bbass.
D. Setting the volume low to start with, turn on your signal source, find a comfortable volume,
and enjoy the sound. (And remember to read through the rest of these brief instructions to
get maximum enjoyment.)
II. MORE OONSSPEAKER PPOSITIONING
A. Main SSpeakers:
The three factors to adjust according to your own tastes—keeping in mind that you are the
judge and the one(s) to be satisfied—are:
1. The ccloser yyou pplace sspeakers ttorroom ssurfaces, tthe ggreater tthe pproportion oofbbass iin
their ssound, because of the “focusing” effects of nearby surfaces on lower, longer-
wavelength frequencies. Positioning the speakers near the intersection of two sur-
faces (wall and wall, wall and floor, or wall and ceiling) will produce more apparent
bass than placing them near a single surface (a wall or floor or ceiling). The greatest
apparent bass will result from placement near the intersection of three surfaces—in a
room corner, near the floor or ceiling, where there will be a reinforcing effect which is
somewhat uneven, like that of a megaphone.
2. Distances oofsspeakers ffrom tthe wwall ccan mmake aaggreat ddifference iintthe ffrequency bbal-
ance, ssonic sspaciousness, aand ddefinition iinttheir ssound, because of changes in the
number, strength, and particular frequencies of secondary reflections from surfaces.
The sound will generally have greater spaciousness, especially depth, if they are out at
least a foot from the nearest wall.
3. Small cchanges iinppositioning mmay mmake aabbig ddifference iinssound qquality. Because of
the varying relationships of the dimensions of a room and their relation both to where
you place the speakers and where you sit, the wavelengths of sound and their interac-
tion both with you and with the room can vary a great deal. There can be sharp
increases or decreases in the relative loudness of different frequency bands, greatly
amplifying or almost nullifying whole ranges. Since Alphas are small and easy to
position, it’s easy to experiment with small, incremental changes until you are satis-
fied.
B. Surround SSpeakers
Begin with the knowledge of the above factors about main speakers, and re-check our
Quick Start instructions about surround placement. Then modify things as needed for your
convenience and the surround effect that works best for you. If you want maximum local-
ization and definition, you probably will want to aim the speakers toward your seating area,
both horizontally and vertically. If you prefer the surround effect to be more diffused rather
than pinpointed, aiming the speakers somewhat away from your ears probably will be more
satisfying. You may want even to place them to reflect their sound off the sides or rear of
your room rather than have them radiate toward you. Side-wall positioning, slightly behind
you as specified in our Quick Start tips, is preferable to most listeners, but rear-wall place-
ment can work well—especially for bouncing the sound off the side walls.
C. About WWall-MMounting ffor SSurround aand OOther UUses
The Alpha’s rear baffle incorporates a keyhole slot for direct wall-mounting. There are also
¼ x 20 brass inserts and screw bosses which can easily secure speakers to OmniMount,
Vogel Sat 5, and other brackets.
III. PROTECTING YYOUR SSPEAKERS
A. First aand fforemost, rrespect yyour sspeaker’s llimits. NNever tturn uuptthe vvolume aall tthe wway tto
see hhow lloud yyour ssystem wwill pplay. And avoid larger-than-life playback of music or
movies, especially in a room of ample size.
ALPHA
OWNER’S GUIDE
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B. When llistening aatlloud vvolumes, ddonnot tturn tthe bbass oorttreble uupaall tthe wway oorcclose tthere-
to. This sends greatly increased, disproportionate power into the speakers and may well dam-
age them. Loudness compensation controls, which are intended for low level listening, should
be turned off at normal and loud listening levels.
C. Turning aamplifiers uupttottheir llimits ttopproduce lloud ssound mmay ddrive tthem
into ““clipping” aand ccause ssevere sspeaker ddamage. Often the damage is done by under-
powered amplifiers, which when clipping may generate “spikes” of tremendous momentary
power.
D. If you are using your speakers at loud volume, listen carefully for any sign of harsh, garbled
midrange and diminishing intelligibility. Turn the volume down right away if you detect any
problem—particularly.
IV. CABINET CCARE
Cabinets should be treated as you would furniture with similar finishes. Dust lightly with a soft
cloth, avoiding abrasives. If necessary, wipe carefully with a cloth slightly dampened with glass
cleaner to remove heavy soil. Avoid touching speaker diaphragms. In pparticular ppushing iin
domes wwill ppermanently ddamage ttweeters.
V. IN CCASE OOFPPROBLEMS
A. If a speaker begins to sound distorted, or seems to be missing certain frequencies, check
first to see whether playing at somewhat lower volume seems to clear up the problem. It
can be especially important to turn down the volume right away if you have pushed an
amplifier or receiver past its comfortable limits.
B. Determine if the problem is the speakers, the electronics, or the wire connections. If a
problem on one speaker doesn’t go away, interchange the speaker wire connections on
your amplifier or receiver, so that the left speaker is connected to the right channel, and
vice versa. If the problem shifts to the other speaker, the problem is not in the speaker.
(Another component—or, very often, a cable or connection problem between compo-
nents—may be at fault.) If the problem stays in the same speaker, swap the speaker cables
next. If the problem remains in the same speaker, irrespective of the channel to which it’s
connected and the connecting wire used, the speaker itself probably needs service.
C. See your dealer if you require service. PSB dealers are equipped to handle almost all prob-
lems. If you have moved since your purchase, the nearest authorized PSB dealer should
be able to help you. If the problem is not resolved, please contact us, providing the Model
name, Serial Number, date of purchase, dealer name, and a full description of the problem.
Thank you again for your purchase. We hope this owner’s guide helps you enjoy the exceptional
satisfaction that PSB speaker systems have to offer. And we wish you many years of enjoyable
listening!
PSB Speakers
633 Granite Court, Pickering,
Ontario. CANADA L1W 3K1
Telephone: [phone] • [phone]
Fax: [phone]
www.psbspeakers.com
Figure 2 — Wiring in phase between Speakers and Amplifier
Figure 1 — Positioning Speakers for Music and Home Theatre

VI. SPECIFICATIONS
Alpha IIntro LLRAAlpha IIntro CCLR Alpha BBAlpha CCAlpha TTAlpha SS
Compact MMonitor Center/Monitor Compact MMonitor Center/Monitor Tower Surround
FREQUENCY RRANGE (Anechoic Chamber)
Response
On AAxis @@00º±±33dB 100-221,000Hz 90-221,000Hz 65-221,000Hz 62-221,000Hz 55-221,000Hz 85-221,000Hz
Off Axis @ 30º ± 3dB 100-10,000Hz 90-10,000Hz 65-10,000Hz 62-10,000Hz 55-10,000hz 85-10,000Hz
LF CCutoff ––10dB 90Hz 80Hz 55Hz 52Hz 45Hz 75Hz
SENSITIVITY (1W (2.83V) @ 1m, IEC-filtered Pink Noise, C-weighted)
Anechoic Chamber 85dB 86dB 89dB 90dB 89dB 86dB
Typical LListening RRoom 87dB 88dB 91dB 92dB 91dB 88dB
IMPEDANCE
Nominal 6 OOhms 8 OOhms 6 OOhms 8 OOhms 8 OOhms 8 OOhms
Minimum 4 Ohms 6 Ohms 4 Ohms 6 Ohms 6 Ohms 6 Ohms
INPUT PPOWER (RMS, Clipping < 10% Time)
Recommended 15-880WWatts 115-880WWatts 110-990WWatts 10-1120 WWatts 15-1120 WWatts 15-880WWatts
Program 60 Watts 60 Watts 60 Watts 60 Watts 60 Watts 60 Watts
ACOUSTIC DDESIGN
Tweeter (Nominal) ¾” ((19mm) ¾” ((19mm) ¾” ((19mm) ¾” ((19mm) ¾” ((19mm) 2 xx¾¾”((19mm)
Aluminum Dome with Aluminum Dome with Aluminum Dome with Aluminum Dome with Aluminum Dome with Aluminum Dome with
Ferrofluid Ferrofluid Ferrofluid Ferrofluid Ferrofluid Ferrofluid
Woofer (Nominal) 3½” ((90mm) 22xx33½” ((90mm) 55¼” ((130mm) 2 xx55¼” ((130mm) 2 xx55¼” ((130mm) 2 xx33½” ((90mm)
Polypropylene Cone Polypropylene Cone Polypropylene Cone Polypropylene Cone Polypropylene Cone Polypropylene Cone
Rubber Surround Rubber Surround Rubber Surround Rubber Surround Rubber Surround Rubber Surround
Crossover 3,000Hz, B3 3,000Hz, B3 3,000Hz, B3 3,000Hz, B3 3,000Hz, B3 3,000Hz, B3
Internal VVolume 00.07 ccufft((2.0 lliter) 0.10 ccufft((2.8 lliter) 0.29 ccufft((8.0 lliter) 0.46 ccufft((12.8 lliter) 1.19 ccufft((33.4 lliter) 0.10 ccufft((2.8 lliter)
Design TType Acoustic SSuspension AAcoustic SSuspension Bass RReflex Bass RReflex Bass RReflex Acoustic SSuspension
Sealed Sealed 1½” (40mm) Rear Port 2” (50mm) Rear Port 2¾” (70mm) Rear Port Bipole
Video SShielded Video SShielded Video SShielded Video SShielded Video SShielded Video SShielded
SIZE (W x H x D) 4¼” xx66¾” xx66¼” 99¾” xx44¼” xx66¼” 66½” xx111¼” xx99¼” 17¼ xx66½” xx99¼” 6½” xx335¼” xx112” 9¼” xx66¾” xx44¾”
108mm x 171mm x 159mm 248mm x 108mm x 159mm 165mm x 286mm x 235mm 438mm x 165mm x 235mm 165mm x 895mm x 305mm 235mm x 171mm x 121mm
WEIGHT
Net 3.3 llb((1.5kg)/each 4.8lb ((2.2kg)/each 88.8lb ((4.0 kkg)/each 15.9lb ((7.2 kkg)/each 29.0lb ((13.2 kkg)/each 4.9lb ((2.2kg)/each
Shipping 7.6 lb (3.5kg)/pair 5.6 lb (2.6kg)/each 21.4 lb (9.7kg)/pair 16.6lb (7.5kg)/each 35.0lb (15.9kg)/each 10.8lb (4.9kg)/pair
FINISH Black oorWWhite TTextured Black oorWWhite TTextured Black oorLLight CCherry Black oorLLight CCherry Black oorLLight CCherry Black oorWWhite TTextured
Woodgrained Woodgrained Woodgrained
FEATURES 55-wway GGold-pplated BBinding PPosts, 55-wway GGold-pplated BBinding PPosts, 5-wway GGold-pplated BBinding PPosts, 5-wway GGold-pplated BBinding PPosts, 5-wway GGold-pplated BBinding PPosts, 5-wway GGold-pplated BBinding PPosts,
Perforated AAluminum GGrille, PPerforated AAluminum GGrille, PPerforated SSteel GGrille, Perforated SSteel GGrille, Perforated SSteel GGrille, Perforated AAluminum GGrilles,
Structural PPlastic FFront BBaffle, SStructural PPlastic FFront BBaffle, Structural PPlastic FFront BBaffle, Structural PPlastic FFront BBaffle, Structural PPlastic FFront BBaffle, Structural PPlastic FFront BBaffles,
½” ((13mm) MMDF SSleeve, ½½”((13mm) MMDF SSleeve, 55/8” ((15mm) MMDF ssleeve, 5/8” ((15mm) MMDF ssleeve, ¾’ ((19mm) MMDF SSleeve, ½” ((13mm) MMDF SSleeve,
Structural PPlastic RRear BBaffle SStructural PPlastic RRear BBaffle SStructural PPlastic RRear BBaffle Strutural PPlastic RRear BBaffle wwith Adjustable SSpikes KKeyhole WWall MMounting PPlate
with KKeyhole SSlot &&¼¼-220 with HHorizontal/Vertical KKeyhole wwith KKeyhole SSlot &&22RRear ¼¼-220 Horizontal/Vertical KKeyhole SSlots Rubber LLevelers Rubber BBumpers
Brass IInsert, Slots &&¼¼-220BBrass IInserts, Brass IInserts, & 22ppair RRear ¼¼-220BBrass IInserts,
Wall oorBBottom RRubber BBumpers, Wall oorBBottom RRubber BBumpers, Wall oorBBottom RRubber BBumpers Wall oorBBottom RRubber BBumpers
STANDS Optional AAlpha IIntro SStands Optional AAlpha IIntro SStands Optional SSP-225iStands Optional SSP-117iStands
All specifications are subject to change without notice. PSB®is a trademark of Lenbrook, Inc. used under license by PSB Speakers, a division of Lenbrook Industries Limited. © 2000 PSB Speakers. All rights reserved.