XTZ 99.25 Center MKII Piano User manual

Page: 1
XTZ 99.25 Center MKII Piano
High-End Monitor speaker
User manual
© 2011 XTZ AB , www.xtz.se

Page: 2
Table of contents
Page:
Contents
3
About XTZ
3
Technical presentation
4
Preparations
5
Practice of sound / Installation and placement tips
6
Mounting /Area of usage
8
Sound adjustment
9
Technical specifications
10
Service & Support
11

Page: 3
Contents
Contents
Congratulations to your purchase of the XTZ 99.25
Center MKII!
When combined with surround audio/video
electronics, you will experience motion picture
sound or music records played deeply and
naturally. Now when you watch your favourite
movie or listen to your reference music CDs, you
will hear and feel the sound surrounding you in the
same way as originally intended by the mastering
engineers.
Read the manual before using the product and use
all possibilities carefully.
About XTZ
Philosophy
Our reference and starting point is to create a
natural sound, taking into account that acoustics
always is a matter of taste.
XTZ Goal
Our main goal is to provide the best value
for money.
Our concept:
- Cut down the numbers of middlemen
- Put more money into product quality
and less on advertising.
- Cost effective large volume manufacturing
- Provide perfect technical compromises
Contact
Website: www.xtz.se
E-mail: [email protected]

Page: 4
Technical presentation
Cabinet design
The cabinet shape is not only an aesthetically neat
shape, but also offer some advantages in terms of
acoustics, since nonparallel walls reduce internal
resonances of the cabinet.
The cabinet is made from 25mm MDF board,
offering good sonic qualities.
The cabinet is further strengthened with internal
bars, which in total ensures a very stable
construction.
Tweeter driver
We have selected a ribbon tweeter which provides
superior transient response and a very flat frequen-
cy response. The ribbon cone is super light and only
18 microns thick. It is a sandwich construction
made from rosin-aluminium-rosin that has been
hardened at 320 degrees Celsius.
The magnet system is a dual row high efficiency
neodymium magnets in a moulded chassis of ce-
ramic carbon steel.
Fishbone shaped contactors in aluminium, results
in a low connection resistance and good heat dis-
tribution.
The driver has high power durability and handles
frequencies up to 40000 Hz which makes it DVD-
Audio and SACD-ready.
The tweeter in can be rotated, so the
speaker can be standing up or lying down
Woofer/midrange
driver
After evaluating a large number of drivers from
different manufacturers we selected one from Seas,
a company that has a solid reputation in the area of
high quality speaker drivers. You find Seas drivers
in many well-known High End speakers.
For woofer/midrange we decided on a 6,5" magne-
sium driver from the Seas Excel series that have
extreme performance. We claim that finding a
better 6,5" driver on the market is a very difficult
task.
The surface treated magnesium cone is extremely
light but still extremely stiff and effectively reduces
resonances.
The rubber surrounding makes sure that no edge
resonances are present.
The moulded metal basket is a "high flow" type that
is acoustically transparent with high precision as
the basket is shaped exactly due to the moulding
process. This makes sure that the basket is very
stable and efficiently reduces resonances. The bas-
ket is absolutely non-magnetic, which contributes
to a higher efficiency of the driver.
A strong magnet combined with the light cone
ensures a high efficiency and a good transient re-
sponse.
Heavy copper rings mounted above and below the
T-shaped pole piece reduce non linear- and modu-
lation-distortion and increases the overload mar-
gin.

Page: 5
The copper plating of the top and bottom plates
along with a solid copper phase plug improves the
heat conduction and thus contributes to the high
power durability.
Gold plated terminals reduce contact resistance
and serves as anti-corrosion.
Large windows in the basket both above and below
the spider reduces sound reflection, air flow noise
and cavity resonances.
Crossover /
Binding post
We have selected a -12 /18 dB crossover that has a
fast transient response and a minimum of phase
shifting.
The connectors are gold plated bi-wiring types so
you can connect to the amplifier with double cables
(bi-wiring), or connect to two amplifiers (bi-
amping) for further improvement of the sound. The
following connecting methods are available:
1. Upper terminal + lower terminal (loops
present)
Default setting, the loudspeaker is fed with the
entire frequency range.
Without the loop between upper and lower termi-
nal:
2. Upper terminal. The signal is only fed to the
tweeter.
3. Lower terminal. Now the signal is fed to the
woofer only.
Preparations
Unpackning
Carefully unpack the speaker, and pay attention so
you don't break anything. If possible, save the box
for future transportations. If there should be
damage to the loudspeaker, please contact your
retailer.
Accessories
Bass reflex plug
User manual
Rubber feet
Loops for level adjustment

Page: 6
Practice of sound / Installation and placement tips
This chapter contains common information on
loudspeaker placement and installation.
These are general rules, so there are exceptions.
In which room do
you achieve the best
sound?
No matter how good the equipment is, in the wrong
listening environment it will inevitably sound bad.
There are some basic rules concerning a proper
loudspeaker installation:
Reflections
Carpets, curtains and soft furniture absorb mid
range and high frequency sound, and this is
preferable. Big empty areas, on the contrary,
produce hard reflections that may lead to a blurry
dialogue. Apart from colouring the sound, the
perspective of the sound will deteriorate.
Reflections in the room can roughly be compared to
the reflections that cause ghost pictures on a TV
screen.
Amplification of bass
frequencies
A loudspeaker that is placed near a wall, ceiling or
floor will amplify lower frequencies in a sometimes
not desirable way (since it may lead to an indistinct
sound reproduction). This amplification becomes
even more obvious if the loudspeaker is placed near
a corner. Thus, for a sound as clear as possible, the
loudspeaker should be placed at least 30 cm (about
12 inch) away from the wall.
Some constructions are made to be placed close to
a wall.
Furniture
Be aware that furniture may vibrate and cause
noise at high levels.
Room dimension
Quadratic rooms or rooms where the length is near
twice as long as the width should be avoided, since
they may create unwanted resonance.
Placement of the
subwoofer
The placement of the subwoofer in the room
dramatically affects the overall frequency response
and sound level of the system. At low frequencies
the effect of the room is strong. Even a slight
change in the subwoofer's location can make a
significant difference in the frequency balance.
Patience and experimentation is needed to find the
optimal placement. The placement affects the
phase difference between the main loudspeakers
and the subwoofer.
One basic rule is to place the subwoofer together
with or near the front system (especially important
if the front loudspeaker also covers bass
frequencies) as this will minimize the risk of phase
errors in the room.

Page: 7
Cables
Try to keep cables as short as possible. Due to its
electrical features, a long conductor will have a
bigger influence on the sound than a short one. It
may also work as an antenna and receive various
signals that may become a constant noise in an
active subwoofer for example.
Make sure that all connections are clean and not
oxidized. All connections should be mechanically
stable, both power, signal and loudspeaker cables.
Signal cables should be separated from other
cables.
Front speakers
To get the best result the front speakers should be
placed symmetrically in front of the listener. The
distance between the front speakers should be
around 80% of the distance to the listener. In other
words, the recommended angle between the front
speakers should be 45°.
Why use two
Subwoofer
There are benefits having two subwoofers instead
of one.
The maximum sound pressure level will be higher.
Less dips and standing waves in the room and a
better frequency response in the room (and in
sweet spot).
The power needed will be less to reach the same
SPL as with one subwoofer.
Finally
Please remember that good sound is a matter of
taste, so you have to experiment to obtain your
favourite one.
We wish you best of luck!

Page: 8
Mounting and connecting tips
Mounting
alternatives
Normally the XTZ 99.25 Center MKII is placed
standing by a wall. The wall behind and beside the
loudspeaker influence both the bass level and the
bass characteristics, so please be patient and try
different distances to the rear and side walls.
Connect using the
correct phase
Always connect using the correct phase, from the
+-pole on the amplifier to the +-pole on the
loudspeaker and corresponding for minus (-).
If you by accident connect the other way,
there is no risk of damage. However, the
sound will not be correct, especially in the
lower frequencies.
Overload
At high load during extensive time periods, there is
always the risk of overloading the driver and
amplifier.
All loudspeakers have a limited power
capacity, so be careful not to play
extremely loud and not to increase treble
or bass settings to much.
The initial playing
time
It takes about 50 to 100 hour of initial playing time
for the driver to sound optimal. During this time,
the speaker may be used normally.

Page: 9
Sound settings
Room Tuning -
Mechanical
adjustment of the
boundary frequency
By using the supplied bass plugs in the bass reflex
gates, you can alter the lower boundary frequency
on the XTZ 99.25 Center MKII.
Also the treble level may be adjusted, which allows
you to perfectly adjust the parameters to fit the
room, equipment and your own taste.
Closed port
With the bass plug mounted in the bass reflex port,
the cabinet is closed and the loudspeaker operates
as a closed construction which produces a more
"tight" bass reproduction.
Bass reflex
With no plug present in the port you get a higher
bass level and the loudspeaker is capable of
handling lower frequencies.
This setting also depends on the size and
shape of the room, and also on your own
taste, so please has patience when trying
out your preferred setting.
Level adjustment in
the treble range
In the treble range the level is adjustable in four
different steps using the supplied loop connectors.
Level adjustment in the treble range:
Mode 1/ 0dB
In this mode the sound is neutral with a
flat frequency response.
Mode 2/ +3dB
In this mode the treble level is increased by 3dB.
Mode 3/ -2dB
In this mode the treble level is decreased by 2dB.
Mode 4/ -4dB
In this mode the treble level is decreased by 4dB.
Terminal /Biwiring
We have selected a -12 dB crossover that has a fast
transient response and a minimum of phase shift-
ings.
The connectors are gold plated bi-wiring types so
you can connect to the amplifier with double cables
(bi-wiring), or connect to two amplifiers (bi-
amping) for further improvement of the sound. The
following connecting modes are available:
1. Upper terminal + lower terminal (loops
present)
Default setting, the loudspeaker is fed with the
entire frequency range.
Without the loop between upper and lower termi-
nal:
2. Upper terminal. The signal is only fed to the
tweeter.
3. Lower terminal. Now the signal is fed to the
woofer only.

Page: 10
Technical specifications
Construction type
2-way, Bass reflex cabinet that may be set as a
closed box.
The treble level is adjustable in four different levels.
Dimensions
200 x 370 x 330 mm (W x H x D)
(with front cover)
Weight
10 kg/pcs
Magnetically
shielded
No
Impedance
4-8 ohm
Binding post
Gold plated bi-wiring / Banana plug / Pole screw
Efficiency
88dB
Power
300 W Short term IEC 268-5
100 W Long term IEC 268-5
Tweeter driver
Ribbon tweeter, SACD/DVD-Audio-ready,
Sandwich ribbon cone in aluminium, neodymium
magnets, chassis made in ceramic carbon steel.
Tweeter can be rotated 90 deg.
Woofer/midrange
driver
6,5" SEAS Excel, Magnesium driver, moulded "high
flow" driver basket, powerful magnet. 1900 gram.
Connections and
settings
Gold plated biwiring.
Bass reflex settable to closed box.
The treble level is adjustable in
4 different modes.

Page: 11
Service & support
"Do-It-Yourself"-
service
We apply "do-it-yourself" service on all XTZ prod-
ucts.
If you by yourself are able to find out what part of
the loudspeaker is defective, you are fully allowed
to unmount that part (which would normally be a
driver, a filter or the amplifier) and send it back to
us for exchange.
However, if you are not certain about how to do it,
please contact us before taking the loudspeaker
apart. We can also help you finding the fault.
You can of course always choose to return the
whole loudspeaker; therefore you should save the
original package.
To aid service, XTZ products are
constructed and produced using common
technology, so that basically most people
are able to "unscrew" the loudspeaker
using common tools.
If something is
broken
If you cause additional defects by yourself when
unmounting the defective part, the warranty still
applies if it is obvious that the part had a
manufacturing defect. In other cases however, the
warranty does not apply if you cause other defects
on the loudspeaker.
Where to send
the product for a
warranty repair
For service we refer to your retailer.
For questions regarding service, contact us by email
[email protected]
Web page: www.xtz.se
ALWAYS pack the product / part very
carefully.
Unfortunately damages during
transportation are very common. If the
package is weak, the transporting
company does not compensate damages.
Always enclose a copy of the receipt and a
description of the defect.
Support
Please contact our free of charge support if you
need installation advice, or if any problem occurs
during the installation.
Contact us by e-mail [email protected] and include
your phone number if you wish verbal help, and we
will call you back.