Compression Guidetm Series Owners Manual CG4, CG24 Monitor, Speedwoofertm 10 Written By People With Short Attention Spans Who Hate Manuals
WAIT!! We know what you are thinking. This manual has a bunch of pages. Why not just ignore it and tear into the speakers? Relax! You don’t have to read the whole manual. As we are unfamiliar with your level of expertise, we have tried to cover all the bases. If you are just starting out, you will find a wealth of information oozing from these pages. If you are experienced in installing Audio/Video, feel free to skim the manual. Our feelings won’t be hurt. We’ll even suggest which sections you can skip.
ARE YOU A PREVIOUS RSL CUSTOMER? If you are a previous RSL customer we would love to hear from you! Since 1970, we have enjoyed the chance to establish relationships with many loyal customers, many of whom are still in touch with us today. If you are a previous customer or RSL speaker owner, we would love to hear about your RSL experience. Please write or email us with your comments (photos are always appreciated).
IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY BEFORE PROCEEDING! CAUTION 1. Read Instructions – All the safety and operating instructions should be read before the product is operated RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK DO NOT OPEN 2. Retain Instructions – The safety and operating instructions should be retained for future reference. CAUTION: To reduce the risk of electric shock, do not remove the cover (or back). No user serviceable parts inside.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS — Continued 8. Ventilation – Slots and openings into the cabinet are provided for ventilation and to ensure reliable operation of the product and to protect it from overheating, and these openings must not be blocked or covered. The openings should never be blocked by placing the product on a bed, sofa, rug, or other similar surface.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS — Continued 17. Replacement Parts – When replacement parts are required be sure the technician has used replacement parts specified by the manufacturer or have the same characteristics as the original part. Unauthorized substitutions may result in fire, electric shock, or other hazards. 23. WARNING: The 115V~/230V~ voltage selector must be set to the correct local voltage with the proper Fuse installed. 18.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction..................................................................... ...............................................1 Getting to Know You Better…………………………………………………………......…...1 Previous RSL Customer?…………………………………………………………….…........2 Background of Your Speakers........................................................................................2 Important Safety Instructions....…………………………………………………….…….. ..3 Features of the RSL CG4, CG24 Monitor ……………………………………….……...
▼You Can Skip This Section ▼ (you already know how incredible your RSL Speakers are) FEATURE PAGE We designed the RSL Compression Guidetm home theater/stereo speaker system to deliver life-like three-dimensional sound that will enable you to “hear outside the box”. In other words, we have designed our speakers to create the sensation that the sound is actually originating from inside your room, rather than from some small speaker boxes.
RSL CG24 MONITOR — Continued Two threaded inserts in the back of the cabinet accommodate brackets for wall or ceiling mounting . They allow for both vertical and horizontal mounting. The internal damping material we use is a quality natural blend with cotton and exhibits much better acoustical properties than the purely synthetic stuffing used in most speakers. A speaker’s crossover network is the heart of the speaker.
RSL SPEEDWOOFERtm 10 — Continued Wireless Remote Control for Volume and crossover frequency. One thing is cer- tain; the bass you hear and feel will not be the same with different source material. That’s why we provide you with a wireless remote control so you can adjust the subwoofer from the convenience your seating position, without having to walk up to the subwoofer. This can be especially disrupting and irritating if you have to do it in the middle of a movie.
FIRST STEPS — Continued 5. Grills can be attached by positioning the magnetic tips over the appropriate insertion points and gently releasing. The magnetic points will sufficiently keep the grill attached while allowing for easy removal and re-application. 6. The first 30 – 40 hours of use is break-in time for the speakers. They will not sound their best until after that time. This is critical. 7.
FIRST: ACTIVATE THE REMOTE CONTROL’S BATTERY Your Speedwoofer 10 includes a handy remote control that allows you to adjust the subwoofer’s volume and crossover frequency from your listening position. If you’re using an A/V receiver, the crossover frequency will be controlled by your receiver instead of the remote. You may notice a clear plastic tab at the bottom of the remote. Pull this tab out to activate the remote’s battery.
▼This Section Is Important▼ (Please read it, unless you’re already experienced in doing this or you don’t have a choice of where your speakers can be placed.) PLACEMENT Correct speaker placement is essential in achieving the best sound. It’s surprising how much impact even a small adjustment to a speaker’s location can make. We have recommended the locations that generally produce the best results. Remember that every room is acoustically different; affected by its contents, size and shape.
PLACEMENT — Continued Front Left and Right Speakers (5.1, 7.1, 7.2 Systems) Both the RSL CG4 and RSL CG24 Monitors can be used as the left and right speakers. One speaker should be placed on each side of your television constituting a “right channel” and “left channel”.
PLACEMENT — Continued Center Channel Speaker (5.1, 7.1, 7.2 Systems) Placement of your center channel is the most self-explanatory. Either the RSL CG4 or the RSL CG24 Monitor can be used as a center channel. The CG4 should stand vertically when used as a center channel while the CG24 should lie horizontally. This speaker needs to be centered between the left and right channels and above or below your television. Try to position the center channel as close to your seated ear level as possible.
PLACEMENT — Continued Side/Rear Channel Speakers Placement (7.1, 7.2 Systems) 7.1 or 7.2 surround sound systems consist of 4 surround channels; two side and two rear channels. In this scenario, the side channels should be well spread out and placed to the sides of your seating position. They should face inward, toward your ears. We suggest positioning them to the sides of your seating position as in our diagram.
PLACEMENT — Continued Here are the best guidelines for placing your subwoofer: 1. We recommend that, if possible, the subwoofer be located somewhere in the vicinity of the front speakers rather than in the rear of your room. 2. Placement near a wall will increase your subwoofer’s bass output. Placement near or in a corner will increase it even further. 3. Experimentation is encouraged. Try as many different positions as you like. 4. Play a song or movie with a continuous heavy bass track.
PLACEMENT — Continued ▼You Can Skip This Section ▼ (Unless you are technically oriented and wish to go the extra mile to maximize subwoofer performance) Technical Method #1 - Using a sound level meter You’ll need a reasonably-priced sound level meter (available at Radio Shacktm or other electronics stores). It should set you back $50 or less. You’ll also need a test tone source. This can usually be found in many audio/video receivers (consult your receiver’s manual).
PLACEMENT — Continued Technical Method #2: Less Technical - Without A Sound Level Meter If you don’t have a sound level meter, you can still use the above method with test tones. Although you won’t have the exact measurements that the sound level meter can provide, you ears should be able to tell areas of extreme bass (standing waves) and minimal bass (null points). You can then reposition the subwoofer for the most even bass distribution in your room.
PLACEMENT — Continued 1. Place both subwoofers towards the front of the room rather than the back. 2. Try placing the subwoofers asymmetrically in the room to reduce room resonances that can occur when subwoofers are placed symmetrically. 3. Also try positioning both subwoofers in the same side of the room. This can be an effective way of creating smoother bass in some rooms. 4. Place and install (see installation) one subwoofer. Play a movie or song with consistent, repetitive bass.
PLACEMENT — Continued Years ago, when music came from vinyl record albums, the extremely low bass had to be limited on the record. If it wasn’t limited, certain bass notes could make the turntable stylus literally jump out of the record grove. Today, with CDs and the incredible capabilities of DTS-HD Master Audio tm and Dolby True HDtm, there seems to be no limit to the amount of bass power that movies and music can deliver.
▼This Section Is Important▼ INSTALLATION Before You Start… Take a moment to read these brief recommendations. 1.Always shut off the power to all components before installing! 2. Use quality speaker wire. We recommend two-conductor wire with high quality copper. You’ll also want to make sure that there is a means of determining polarity (identifying the positive and negative strands). 3. All wire has resistance in it. The thicker the wire, the less resistance it has.
INSTALLATION— Continued Connecting The Satellites for 5.1, 7.1, And 7.2 Systems Properly twist wire to eliminate stray strands Do not allow strands to cause a short Listed below is our step-by-step guide for wiring your RSL home theater system. For alternative methods or suggestions, please consult the instructions that came with your receiver or amplifier. 1. Prepare the speaker wire.
INSTALLATION— Continued 3. With the wires already connected to your speakers, now connect each wire to the appropriate output terminal on your receiver or amplifier. Repeat this step for each channel to be hooked up. Your receiver or amplifier will specify which terminals are for which channels. Remember that the left and right front channels are the speakers on your left and right when you are facing them.
INSTALLATION— Continued So, one question that is often asked: “I have a 7.1 or 7.2 receiver. It has 7 amplifiers, but I only have a 5.1 system. What can I use the extra 2 amplifiers for?” Most 7.1 receivers allow you to use the extra 2 amplifiers to power and control a set of stereo speakers either outside or in another room. In addition some receivers have connections for additional speakers in your home theater. These speaker connections are for height and width enhancement speakers. So, if you have a 5.
INSTALLATION— Continued . Note About RCA Cables In a home theater system, you will use RCA cables to connect your subwoofer. You’ll use one cable for each subwoofer in your system that will plug into the LFE (LFE stands for “Low Frequency Effects”) input of the Speedwoofer. These RCA cables do not have to be expensive. This is because the frequency range that goes through the cable is very narrow. Just make sure the cable is built well enough to be reliable. Do not use cables with oversized RCA plugs.
INSTALLATION— Continued Connecting Your RSL Speedwoofer And Remote Receiver Box Your RSL Speedwoofertm 10 connects to your receiver exactly the same way any other subwoofer does, so please refer to the appropriate section above. The RSL Speedwoofertm comes equipped with a separate remote receiver box and wireless remote control transmitter.
INSTALLATION— Continued Installing The RSL Speedwoofertm 10’s Feet Also included with your RSL Speedwoofer are two sets of feet, one for carpeted floors and one for hard floors. The pointed feet are designed to acoustically couple your RSL Speedwoofertm 10 to a carpeted floor. The feet are to be screwed into the threaded inserts at the bottom of your Speedwoofer enclosure. Each foot has an adjustable height setting so you can make sure your RSL Speedwoofertm 10 sits level.
INSTALLATION— Continued Before You Start… Take a brief moment to read these recommendations: 1.Always shut off the power to all components before installing! 2. To achieve best sound we always suggest using the highest quality RCA cables and speaker wire possible. 3. If your cables are not individually identified (ex. red or black bands ), you may wish to mark the RCA cables at both ends to designate right and left cables.
INSTALLATION— Continued Utilizing the RSL Speedwoofer’s Built-in High Pass Filters — Continued 1. You’ll need one pair of RCA cables that will reach from your preamplifier to your RSL Speedwoofertm 10 and another pair that can reach from your Speedwoofer back to your power amplifier. 2. Connect an RCA cable to the right and left output terminals on your preamplifier. 3.
INSTALLATION— Continued 7. Connect the speaker wire from to the right output of the power amplifier to the input terminals on the right speaker. The right speaker is the one you see to the right when you are facing your speakers in your listening position. 8. Repeat the previous step for the left speaker and enjoy! One word of caution here: In home theater applications, using a single RCA cable from your home theater receiver’s subwoofer output to the LFE input on the RSL Speedwoofertm 10 is recommended.
INSTALLATION— Continued 1. You will need two RCA cables that will reach from your preamplifier to your subwoofer. 2. If your preamplifier does not have four stereo outputs you will need to plug “Y” adapters (available at most any electronics stores) into the two stereo outputs to create four. 3. Plug an RCA stereo cable into one set of left and right left stereo outputs on the preamplifier or the “Y” adapters. 4.
INSTALLATION— Continued 3. Utilizing a Stereo Receiver or Integrated Amplifier Must Be Capable of Pre-Amp, Power Amp Separation This method is a slight variation of sections #1 and #2 above. The only difference here is that your pre-amplifier and power amplifier are not separate units, they are both included in your stereo receiver or integrated amplifier. Once the pre-amp and power amp sections are separated, you will be able resume setup with either method #1 or #2.
INSTALLATION— Continued This method is for those with a stereo receiver or integrated amplifier where there is no provision to separate the pre-amplifier from the power amplifier sections. In this case all connections to the RSL Speedwoofertm will be done with speaker wire only. 1.Using a quality speaker wire, connect the left (-) speaker output of your amplifier or receiver to the left (-) Hi Level In on your RSL Speedwoofertm.
SETTINGS AND OPERATION — Continued of delivering a sufficient amount of undistorted power. Strange as it may seem, too low of a power rating on your A/V Receiver or amplifier is more likely to damage speakers than one with a higher power rating. That’s because when an amplifier is called on to deliver more power than it was designed for, it will produce distortion called clipping. This distortion is very harmful for speakers.
SETTINGS AND OPERATION — Continued Balancing Your System with a Sound Level Meter taste. This will give you flexibility later when you need to adjust the subwoofer’s volume by remote control. 4. When you are done balancing your speakers, play some movie samples to help you make any final adjustments. 5. Trust your ears above all else. Double Check Speaker Distances The auto setup will calculate speaker distances to the main listening position. Usually, these measurements will be fairly accurate.
SETTINGS AND OPERATION — Continued Tone Controls and Equalization on Your A/V Receiver We recommend that you set the bass and treble controls on your A/V receiver to the flat or neutral position. Your RSL Speakers were designed to sound best this way. If you must use your tone controls, use the least amount possible.. Your RSL Speedwoofer has been engineered to reproduce the entire bass range that is contained in movies and music.
SETTINGS AND OPERATION — Continued The RSL Speedwoofertm 10 is equipped with high quality, built-in protection circuitry. Unfortunately, no protection circuitry is full proof. The best protection is always to prevent the subwoofer from being over driven in the first place. Here are a couple of indications of trouble to watch out for. If you notice the following taking place, reduce your subwoofer’s volume until these symptoms disappear. 1. Noise that doesn’t sound natural.
SETTINGS AND OPERATION — Continued Using the Remote Receiver Box and Remote Transmitter The volume and crossover frequency controls can be accessed wirelessly with the remote transmitter, or manually on the remote receiver box itself. The crossover frequency control will only operate when you are using the low or high level inputs on the Speedwoofer amplifier. It will not operate when you use the LFE input with an A/V receiver, because your receiver will control that function.
SETTINGS AND OPERATION — Continued Phase Control Please refer to our poignant and thought-provoking discussion of phasing at the beginning of the installation section. Normally, the phase switch will be set to the 0o setting. However, some situations call for using the 180o setting. The best way to determine this is with the help of a friend (if you don’t have one, just wait until everyone finds out what kind of home theater system you just bought!).
CARE AND MAINTENANCE This is the section where speaker manufacturers attempt to persuade you to take care of your speakers. We don’t think we need to do that, because we’re certain you’ll become very attached to them and want the best for them. Caring for your RSL Speakers and Speedwoofer is relatively easy. They do not require much on your part. We have listed the most important dos and don’ts below. 1. Clean your speakers using a soft, moist cloth, preferably microfiber or something lint-free.
SPECIFICATIONS — Continued RSL CG4 Woofer: 4” with Ferrite Magnet, Polypropylene Cone, and Cast aluminum frame Tweeter: 1” Silk Dome, Ferrite Magnet Frequency Response: 100-25,000 Hz ± 3db Nominal Impedance: 8 ohms Sensitivity: 88 db SPL @ 1 watt, 1 meter distance Recommended Power: 25-125 watts (Please note the following: this rating is for use above 100 HZ.
SPECIFICATIONS — Continued RSL Speedwoofertm 10 Frequency Response: 24-180 Hz ± 3db Woofer: 10” Cast Aluminum Frame, Massive Ferrite Magnet Structure, rubber surround Nominal Impedance: 4 ohms System resonance: 18 Hz Weight: 64 lbs Dimensions: H: 16 1/2” W: 16 1/2” D: 17 1/4” (Not including spikes) Feet and Spikes: 4 spikes for carpeted floors and 4 plastic feet for hard floors supplied.
TROUBLESHOOTING Here we will address some of the most commonly occurring problems that can occur when installing and using a home theater system. Remember we at RSL are always available to answer questions and offer support. Feel free to contact us. SPEAKERS No Sound from Speakers 1, Double check all wire connections. Make sure all wires, cables, and power cords are securely attached to their terminals. 2. Confirm that your home theater receiver or amplifier is turned on. 3.
TROUBLESHOOTING — Continued RSL SPEEDWOOFER Please read our captivating “More Than You Want to Know about Bass Management” section. It describes how to avoid abuse and distortion, and how to get the best performance from your Speedwoofer. No Sound from Your RSL Speedwoofertm / Subwoofer Power indicator not lit 1. Check to confirm that your subwoofer is set to the “on” or “standby” position and that the master power switch is “on” 2. Inspect the power cord.
TROUBLESHOOTING — Continued No sound – power indicator is lit 1.Check the Auto/on switch. If the auto/on switch is in the auto position, there must be an audio signal present for the amplifier to work. 2. Check the audio cable from your audio/video receiver. If necessary, try a different cable. Frequency Control Doesn’t Seem to Work Check to see if you connected your receiver to the RSL Speedwoofer’s LFE input (this is preferred in home theater installations).
WARRANTY Simply Stated: If it breaks and it’s our fault we’ll fix it for free. Speakers are warranted for 5 years; electronics are warranted for 2 years. Here are the terms: We warranty our speakers for a period of 5 years from the date of purchase. We warranty our subwoofer amplifiers for a period of 2 years from the date of purchase. Our products are warranted to be free of defects in original materials and workmanship. Our warranties apply to the original purchaser.
