Vance Dickasons LDC6 Home Theater System #300-655

Thank You.for purchasing the #300-655 Home Theater System. This system was designed by Vance Dickason and optimized using the sophisticated Linear X LMS/LEAP speaker simulation software. All aspects of the design are thoroughly discussed in the Loudspeaker Design Cookbook (6th. Edition). The systems left, center and right speakers utilize the exact same drivers to maintain identical timbe content for the front of the home theater system. Because center channels are usually placed on top of TVs, its driver layout is acoustically oriented for horizontal placement. The system also features unique dipole satellite speakers that add realism to Dolby Digital movie soundtracks. The #300-655 is perfect for small to medium sized home theater rooms and comes in kit form. This kit can easily be assembled in a couple of hours. We recommend using the #300-739 10" Titanic Subwoofer with this Home Theater System. Also designed by Vance Dickason, the 10" Titanic Subwoofer produces quick, accurate and powerful bass.

1) Parts Inventory
Carefully unpack the kit, take inventory of all parts and make sure that nothing was damaged during shipping. Your Home Theater System should include the following:

Part #
027-421 027-426 027-428 027-432 260-718 266-820 266-834 260-719 005-1 005-2 005-4 005-5 999-212 999-213 260-311 100-140 082-218 296-155 276-152 277-040 081-422 081-410 260-317 269-300 999-210 300-650

Qty
4 2 3 8 3 3 2 2 2 5 2 3 3 4 5 1 8 8 4 3 40 50 2 6 1 1

Description
Dayton 4.0uF-250V Polypropylene Capacitors Dayton 8.2uF-250V Polypropylene Capacitors Dayton 10uF-250V Polypropylene Capacitors Dayton 15uF-250V Polypropylene Capacitors .10mH 20 GA Perfect Layer Inductors .70mH 18 GA Perfect Layer Inductors 2.00mH 18 GA Perfect Layer Inductors .20mH 20 GA Perfect Layer Inductors Mills 1 Ohm 12W Non-Inductive Resistors Mills 2 Ohm 12W Non-Inductive Resistors Mills 4 Ohm 12W Non-Inductive Resistors Mills 5 Ohm 12W Non-Inductive Resistors 4" x 6" L/Ctr/R Xover boards 4" x 5" Satellite T/W Xover boards Gold High Power Terminal Cups 25 ft. 16 Ga. wire 3M Black rubber feet Audax AP130Z0 5-1/4" Midbass drivers Audax TM025F1 1" Dome Tweeters Morel MDT-40 1-1/8" Dome Tweeters #8 x 3/4" Screws (for Woofers) #6 x 3/4" Screws (for tweeters and terminal cups) Accousta Stuf Rolls of speaker sealing caulk Instruction Manual 5.pc. H. T. Cabinet Set

2) Installation Tools
Phillips Screwdriver Hot glue/gun or RTV Sealant Soldering iron Page 2

Electronic grade solder (60/40) Wire Cutter / Stripper Small pliers

3) Crossover Assembly
Warning!! The correct assembly and wiring of the crossovers is critical to the proper operation of this home theater system. In a worst case situation, an improperly wired network can damage your receiver or amplifier! Please double and triple check all values and wiring before installing the crossovers in the cabinets.

FIGURE 1: L/CTR/R crossover schematic.

FIGURE 2: Surround crossover schematic.

Tips on assembling the crossovers.

1. Place or layout all components on the boards before gluing down. Use the 4" x 6" boards for the left, center and right crossovers and the 4"x 5" boards for the satellites. The satellite crossovers are on two boards, one (1) board for the woofer (low pass) and one (1) board for the tweeter (high pass). Each satellite speaker will need one of each.

FIGURE 3: L/CTR/R crossover mechanical layout.

FIGURE 4: Surround crossover mechanical layout. Page 3

2. When positioning components try to keep lead lengths to a minimum. Note: The .10mH inductor used on the L/Ctr/R crossovers should be mounted on its side to minimize the interaction between the two coils on the board. 3. Use RTV sealant or hot glue to mount the components to the board. We recommend using hot glue due to its faster setup time. If you use RTV sealant, you may need to let it setup over night, before proceeding with the assembly.

4. Connect all component leads as per their respective drawings. Note: Do not trim the component leads at this time! The drawings show the locations where the input and output (driver) wires will connect (Fig.3,4). At these locations, bend the component leads to create mounting posts for the input and output (driver) wiring. This will make it much easier to terminate the wire, especially the ground connections. You can secure the mounting posts to the board with hot glue or RTV to give the post more stability.

5. Solder all component connections using silver or electronics grade (60/40) solder. A properly soldered connection appears shiny and smooth. We recommend using a soldering iron with a wattage rating between 20-30watts.

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6. Cut the supplied wire into 22 pieces approximately 13-1/2"long. Strip the insulation on all wires back about 1/2". Do not tin the wire leads at this time! 7. While observing proper polarity attach all input and driver wires to their respective mounting posts. Example: To attach the input wire, take the positive (+) input wire and wrap it around the IN+ post. Next, take the negative (-) input wire and wrap it around the ground GNDpost. To attach the tweeter wire, take the positive (+) tweeter wire and wrap it around the T+ post. Next, take the negative (-) tweeter wire and wrap it around the ground GND post. The L/Ctr/R speakers use two woofers, so you need to attach two woofer leads to each crossover. The surround speakers use two tweeters so you need to attach two tweeter leads to the high pass surround crossovers. Note: Keep in mind that the ground post on each L/Ctr/R crossover will have four (4) wires connected to it so you should start low and connect one at a time. Repeat this step for the woofers and other crossovers. Again, it is very important to observe the proper polarity!

8. Solder all wire and post connections. Using wire cutters, trim off any excess mounting posts and component leads. At this point, it is a good idea to label each wire to ensure proper hook-up. Masking tape and a marker will work fine.

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4) Cabinet Assembly Instructions A. Installing the Crossovers

To mount the crossovers we recommend using hot glue due to its faster setup time. If you use RTV sealant, you may need to let it setup over night, before proceeding with the assembly.

Left and Right Speakers: Mount the crossover on the back of the cabinet between the two woofer openings directly behind the tweeter hole. Feed the input wire through the opening in the back of the cabinet. Remove excess wire and then strip and tin the wire ends. Solder wire ends to the terminal cup while observing proper polarity. The positive (+) wire goes to the red terminal and the negative (-) goes to the black. Orient the terminal cup, so that the binding posts are toward the bottom of the cabinet. Install the terminal cup using the #6 (small) screws. Tighten the screw only until the terminal cup is flush with the back of the cabinet. Do not over tighten the screws!

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Center Channel: With the cabinet in a horizontal position, mount the crossover on the bottom of the cabinet between the two woofer openings. Attach the input wires and install the terminal cup using the same method described above.

Surrounds: Two crossover boards (1 woofer and 1 tweeter) need to be installed in each satellite cabinet. Position the cabinet with the woofer facing upward. Mount the crossovers on each side of the cabinet, below the tweeter holes. The top of the crossover board will partially cover the bottom of the tweeter hole but this will not effect the mounting of the tweeter. Feed the input wires from both crossovers through the back of the cabinet. Attach and mount the terminal cup using the same method described above. Again, it is very important to observe the proper polarity!

B. Install Acousta Stuf

We included two (2) bags of Acousta Stuf. One bag for both left and right speakers (1/2 bag each), a 1/2 bag for the center channel and a 1/2 bag for both satellite speakers (1/4 bag each). Before placing the Acousta Stuf in the cabinet it should be kneaded or fluffed up. While installing the Acousta Stuff, position the woofer and tweeter lead wires through their respective driver openings.

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C. Installing Drivers
Put sealing caulk around all drivers prior to mounting. When applying caulk to the tweeters, it is a good idea to first roll the caulk between your fingers to thin out the caulk bead. Having too much caulk on the tweeters mounting flange may not allow the faceplate to mount flush with the baffle. All driver openings have been predrilled for the mounting screws. Make sure that you align the driver mounting holes with the predrilled holes.

Left/Center/Right: Remove excess wire and then strip and tin the wire ends. Solder each wire to the appropriate driver terminals while observing proper polarity (positive to positive, negative to negative). The Audax woofers have red paint on the positive terminal. Be careful not to apply too much heat to the driver terminals especially the tweeters. Install the drivers using the #8 (large) screws for the woofers and the #6 (small) screws for the tweeters. Tighten the screws only until the driver is flush with the baffle of the cabinet. Do not over tighten the screws!

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Surrounds: Because the surrounds were designed as dipoles the two tweeters are connected out of phase with each other. The in-phase tweeter (when the surround is placed in the room) should be facing forward toward the left, center and right speakers. The out of phase or reverse polarity tweeter should face the back of the room. Because of this you need to build a left and right surround speaker. The surrounds should be wired as a mirrored image of each other (Fig.5). To keep things straight (during room placement), it is a good idea to put a label on the terminal cup side of the cabinet indicating which tweeter is in-phase. The in-phase tweeter should be wired positive to positive and negative to negative. The out of phase tweeter should be wired positive to negative and negative to positive. The Audax tweeter uses green paint to indicate the positive terminal. The single woofer should be wired in-phase(positive to positive and negative to negative). Install the drivers using the #8 (large) screws for the woofer and the #6 (small) screws for the tweeters. Tighten the screws only until the drivers are flush with the baffle of the cabinet. Do not over tighten the screws!

FIGURE 5: "Mirror Image" Tweeter Wiring

5) Room Placement
Room placement for the home theater system is fairly straight forward. The dipole surrounds can either be placed on speaker stands or mounted on the wall 15"-20" from the ceiling with the woofer firing upward toward the ceiling at an angle. If you plan on using speaker stands, the side with the terminal cup becomes the bottom and you should use the rubber feet to make room for the speaker wire. No matter how you mount them, just remember the in-phase tweeter (when the surround is placed in the room) should be facing forward toward the left, center and right speakers (Fig.6). The out of phase or reverse polarity tweeter should face the back of the room. No home theater system is complete without a quality subwoofer. We recommend using the #300-739 10" Titanic Subwoofer with this Home Theater System. Also designed by Vance Dickason, the 10" Titanic Subwoofer produces quick, accurate and powerful bass. The Titanic Subwoofer System will produce more apparent bass when it is placed near a corner. Choose a location that is close to the A/V components and place it at the front of the listening area.

FIGURE 6: Typical Room Placement Page 9

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