Instruction manual

SMS1 Instruction Manual Rev C Page 6
Toe In
The speakers should be angled directly toward the listener. Start with the left-hand speaker angled
toward the listener's left shoulder, and the right-hand speaker angled toward the listener's right
shoulder. Feel free to experiment, small changes in toe in may widen the "sweet spot" of the
listening room.
Room Interactions
No listening space is perfect, but proper speaker placement can reduce undesirable interactions
with the room.
For best results:
 Avoid placing the speakers near room corners or side walls.
 Avoid other reflective surfaces whenever possible.
 In most rooms, the speakers should stand more than 2 feet out from the front wall.
 Avoid placing the listening position too close to the rear wall.
Placement near walls can stimulate room modes and enhance the bass energy at specific
frequencies. If some enhancement of the bass is desired, move the speakers slightly closer to the
wall. Use caution, room modes can produce significant peaks and other inaccuracies in the low-
frequency response.
Reflective side surfaces will interfere with stereo imaging. If speakers cannot be moved away from
side surfaces, these surfaces should be angled away from the listening position, or should be
treated with acoustic materials. Surfaces that reflect an image of the speaker directly to the
listening position should be given the most attention.
Amplifier Selection
Recommended amplifier power is 30 - 200 Watts. The Benchmark AHB2 is an ideal match for the
SMS1 speakers. The AHB2 delivers 160 Watts per channel into the 6-Ohm SMS1. There is no
need to run the AHB2 in mono mode as this will overpower the SMS1 speakers.
Amplifier Connections
The SMS1 has two sets of input connections; traditional
binding posts, and high-performance SpeakON NL4 twist-
lock speaker connectors. Both sets of connectors support
standard 2-wire connections from the power amplifier. The
NL4 connectors also provide separate connections to the
high-frequency and low-frequency sides of the crossover
network when the BI-AMP switch is activated.
The NL4 connectors are compatible with 4-pole NL4 plugs or
2-pole NL2 plugs. Use two-pole NL2 pugs and cable for standard wiring. Use four-pole NL4 pugs
and cable for Bi-Wire and BI-AMP applications.