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INSTALLATION & OPERATION GUIDE
INSTA L L ATION & OPERATION GUIDE
CM8SW
SUBWOOFER
®
BLENDING HIGH FIDELITY
®
AND ARCHITECTURE
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Congratulations! Thank you for choosing a Niles ceiling mount loudspeaker. With proper installation and operation, you'll enjoy years of trouble-free use. The CM8SW is a ceiling mount subwoofer uniquely designed to provide unobtrusive low frequency augmentation. The selectable high and low-pass filters make it suitable for use with a wide variety of satellite speakers. Niles manufactures the industry's most complete line of custom installation components and accessories for audio/video systems.
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Features and Benefits Features and Benefits TCC Speaker Cone High-Power Handling The Niles CM8SW is a high-performance The CM8SW employs an exceptionally passive subwoofer that compliments the heavy-duty magnet/voice-coil/spider entire Niles ceiling mount loudspeaker assembly that is capable of handling high line. It’s dual voice-coil injection molded power amplifiers (up to 150 watts). TCC (talc, carbon and ceramic) woofer provides outstanding bass response The illustration below shows how New
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Features and Benefits Infinite Baffle Design Easy Installation The CM8SW is designed for optimum low The CM8SW employs a bracketless frequency reproduction in traditional ceil- mounting system for existing ceilings. ing environments and varying air volumes. Simply cut a hole in the mounting surface, It does not require a special enclosure to remove the grille from the subwoofer, provide high performance. connect the wires and place the speaker in the hole. Then tighten the four mount- Selectable
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How Many Subwoofers? How Many Subwoofers? Single Stereo Subwoofer For most applications a single CM8SW is One CM8SW can produce the bass sound appropriate. However, in large rooms, high from both the left and the right channels performance listening rooms or in home because of its unique dual voice coil theaters, an array of two or more CM8SW design. One voice coil powers the left chan- will deliver astounding results. Unlike nel and the other powers the right channel. other subwoofer systems, a
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Connections Dual Subwoofer Systems Connections A four conductor (Left+, Left-, Right+ and Right-) wire 16 gauge or larger (see side- bar on speaker wire gauge) is run from Single Stereo Subwoofer the amplifier location to the local volume A four conductor (Left+, Left-, Right+ and control (See Figure 5). Right-) wire 16 gauge or larger (see side- bar on speaker wire gauge) is run from the Amplifier amplifier location to the local volume control (See Figure 4). Amplifier Left Right Left Right Eith
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Connections the left and right speakers simultaneously. crossover) by a separate amplifier channel. Additionally, the crossovers are now con- Connections are straight-forward; two nected so that the crossover switches can conductor wires connect each amplifier be adjusted to your requirements. You must channel to each individual subwoofer. adjust the crossovers on each speaker with (See Figure 7). this hook-up. Optionally, a jumper of wire may be connected between the L+ and the R+; and between
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Impedance specification may also be noted on the rear panel of the amplifier. If your amplifier is Impedance not able to drive a four ohm load it may only be used to power a CM8SW With One or Two Subwoofers satellite/subwoofer system when an imped- When one or two CM8SW subwoofers are ance magnifying volume control is incor- connected to the satellite speakers, the porated into the system overall system impedance to the amplifier An amplifier stable to four ohms may be lowers. connected withou
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Impedance Using Speaker Selectors With Using Impedance Magnifying Standard Volume Controls Volume Controls In multi-room systems with standard vol- The simplest way to increase the imped- ume controls any Niles speaker selector ance of a satellite/subwoofer system is to will maintain a four ohm load if you leave install a Niles VCS-2D-IM or VCS-2S-IM one set of room outputs unused for every impedance magnifying volume control speaker system with an impedance of less instead of a standard volume
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Treatment & Placement ™ ous brands available, e.g. Dynamat ). Apply the damping material to the bottom Treatment & Placement of the floor above the CM8SW and to the top of the surrounding sheetrock ceiling Typically, sheetrock encloses the sub- beside the subwoofer. woofer in most installations. Sheetrock has a fairly loud resonant “twang” compared Speaker Placement Techniques to the rigid non-resonant enclosures of Although the CM8SW has extensive ability most floor standing subwoofers. None of
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Installation Fundamentals speaker wire route away as soon as possible. If construction forces a side by side run for Installation Fundamentals more than ten feet, install metal conduit or shielded speaker wire. Low-voltage wires Introduction such as doorbells, intercoms, telephone, If you have doubts about whether you are security, or television cannot cause inter- capable of installing a ceiling mount speak- ference or hum on your speaker wires, so er, consult a Niles dealer or professional yo
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Installation Fundamentals bottom of the ceiling joists. Then work the ceiling in walls and two-by-six or larger backward so that you can always see the “joists” running horizontally in the ceilings holes you have already drilled. Paying care- and floors. In between the studs and the ful attention to this will save you a lot of joists is the space for the wiring and plumb- time later on! ing of your home. Pulling the Cable Exterior walls are different. They must insu- Pull the cable in sections (
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Installation Fundamentals switch or receptacle, and shining a penlight into the wall. If you have access to an attic or base- ment space you can quickly see which part of the wall space is free of obstructions (See Figure Speaker 12). Location When you don’t have access above or below the wall, try to estimate the existing wire and pipe locations from the positions of electrical outlets and plumbed Volume fixtures on both sides of the wall. Control Location Take a look at the outside of your hou
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Installation Fundamentals In traditional wood ceiling joist/drywall Figure 13 construction you should first cut the hole for the speaker and utilize the large hole to auger holes across the ceiling (through the ceiling joists) for as far as your drill bit will take you. Sometimes, you will need to use the “notching” technique to reach areas your drill bit won’t reach or to turn corners (e.g. to go down the wall when there is not an accessible attic). Don’t make an irregu- lar hole in the drywall
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Installation in New Construction breaking them along the scored lines if their length will interfere with a corner or eaves. Installation in New The wings and brackets have centering lines to simplify the placement of the speaker. Construction Screw one side of the assembled bracket Stage One: Before Drywall is Hung with wings to the joist using one of the Insulating the Wall Cavity. supplied screws. Level the bracket. Screw the other side of the bracket/wing assem- If feasible, fill the wall ca
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Installation In Existing Construction Installation in Existing Construction IMPORTANT: Before you cut into any wall, review the sections on running wire and speaker placement. 1. When determining the location of the speaker cutout keep in mind that the Figure 17 Feeling for obstructions mounting dogs will extend 3/4” beyond behind the ceiling surface. the cutout. Make sure that you do not place the edge of the cutout directly next to a ceiling joist. Locate the joists using a 5. If you are cu
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Final Installation In New Or Existing Construction Final Installation in New or Existing Construction 1. If it is possible to lay a batt of insulation into the ceiling cavity, do so. Remember to use equal amounts of insulation for Figure 18 each speaker. Tightening the mounting “dogs” . 2. Separate the speaker wire so that at least two inches of each conductor are free. NOTE: The screws will be easier to turn if 3. Open the no-strip terminal by applying you “prime” them first. Before installi
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Final Installation In New Or Existing Construction Painting the Speakers great deal louder, that was the problem. If bass sound was reduced return the All models may be painted. The plastic will connections to their original state. readily accept most paints. 2. Subwoofer /Satellite Relative Phasing The speakers must be masked prior to An acoustically out-of-phase sat/sub painting them. The inside circular portion combination works against each other of the hole template can be used as a and th
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Operation Operation Congratulations A concealed CM8SW subwoofer installation frees you to use your tone controls, play the sys- tem loudly and enjoy deep extended bass, even if your satellite speakers are small. When used with satellite speakers that have substantial bass of their own, the CM8SW tightens the deep tones and augments the bass musically. Listening at Higher Volumes It requires more power to achieve a reasonable volume of sound in a large room than it does in a small room. It is pos
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Specifications Specifications CM8SW Driver Complement 8” dual voice-coil injection molded TCC (Talc, carbon and ceramic-filled) woofer with butyl rubber surround Design Principle Infinite baffle for large and varying air volumes Recommended Amplifier Power 10 to 150 watts per channel Impedance 8 ohm Frequency Response 35 – 140Hz, +/- 3dB Sensitivity 90 dB for 2.83 volts of pink noise, measured at 1 meter on axis Overall Exterior Frame Dimensions 10-5/8" diameter Depth Behind Wall 4" (based
