Owner`s manual

maintain the design standards. But the most important point is that the Talisman was designed by and for

music lovers. You must hear the Talisman system reproduce your favorite music and or video soundtracks

over a period of time to appreciate how fine these speakers are.

Using your speakers

Because of the size of the Talisman and its powered woofer section, there are several factors in setup

that you should consider first.

• The Talisman connects to your system just like any other speaker. Gold-plated binding posts are mounted

on the rear channel for connection to your receiver or amplifier.

• The Talisman is supplied with a standard power cord. You may substitute a longer or shorter cord of your

choice as long as it has a conductor of at least the same thickness, (wire gauge).

• The power switch for the Talisman is on the rear amplifier panel. The Talisman amplifier draws very little

power at idle and may be left on continuously. In fact, we recommend that the Talisman be left on rather

than switched on and off.

• The Talisman has a ground lift switch on the rear panel. With the rest of the system turned on, but no

source playing, experiment with this switch to determine which setting will result in the lowest hum or noise

level.

• Like virtually all speakers, the Talisman will yield the ultimate imaging and resolution when located out into

the room. In some setups this might not be possible. AWS allows the user to better balance the tonality if

the Talisman must be placed near a wall. If installing the Talisman near a wall allow at least 2-3" behind

the speaker for adequate air circulation around the amplifier heat sink.

• DO NOT install the Talisman in a position where the amplifier heat sink is in direct contact with any

combustible material.

If the rest of your system does not work properly or is not correctly connected you will not get the best

performance from your system. To eliminate problems we recommend the following:

1. Use the finest associated components you can afford. Turntables, cartridges, pre-amps, amplifiers

(receivers), CD players, DVD players, SACD players and cables all have profound impact on the sound of your

system. Accurate speakers let more detail through. You will hear more of the beauty of the music, but flaws in

your system and or source material may be more obvious.

Any good audio system is made up of matched components. You wouldn’t use bargain recap tires on

a new Porsche, and you shouldn’t use inferior components with a high quality speaker. Your Talismans

perform like speakers costing two to four times their price. Keep this in mind when selecting the rest of your

system. Your Talismans will work in systems with as little as 20 watts per channel. For maximum resolution

and dynamic range we recommend high-quality amplification of 50 - 200 watts per channel.

2. Know your source material. People often blame their audio gear for poor recordings. A great number of

popular recordings are of inferior sound quality. Unfortunately this applies to records, tapes, laser discs, DVDs

and CDs. Commonly poor recordings are rolled off in the low bass, and harsh and constricted in the mids and

highs. Good stereo image is rare. Many recordings are still done on 40-year-old studio monitor speakers that

are grossly inaccurate. Consider that some producers still mix recordings to sound best on cheap table and

car radios! This doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy these recordings, but you should try a few of the best audiophile

recordings just to see how terrific your system can be when fed a good signal.

3. Work at getting the best placement of your speakers in their environment. It is not unusual to be able to get

a 25 to 50 percent improvement in sound by careful placement of speakers and furniture. It may not be

practical to go all out, but the more you can “tune” your room, the better your system will sound. Refer to the

section on placement and room treatment.