S-125/S-125C/S-85/S-85C
page 3
1. INTRODUCTION
Congratulations! Your new M&K Satellite speaker system will give you years of unmatched enjoyment and
excitement while listening to your favorite musical and audio/video sources.
We encourage you to read this owner’s manual, as there is a great deal of information provided here to help you
achieve the best possible performance.
If you have any questions about your speaker system, please contact your M&K dealer or call the M&K factory
directly at (310) 204-2854, from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM Pacific Time, Monday through Friday. We will be happy to help
you with any question, no matter how simple or complex it may be.
This manual gives you basic hook-up instructions first, followed by more detailed technical, installation, and
service information.
2. PLACEMENT OF YOUR SATELLITE SPEAKERS
Your M&K Satellites can be installed in a wide variety of locations. Their compact size gives you great flexibility
in installation. They can be placed on stands, shelves, or bookcases, or more permanently mounted using brackets,
through direct attachment to a wall, or with a ceiling suspension system.
If you want to mount your Satellites permanently using wood screws, their cabinet thickness is 3/4". Use hardware
shorter than 3/4" in length to avoid making a hole in the sealed cabinet that would adversely affect its sound quality.
You can place the left and right Satellites virtually anywhere in the room, but certain locations are better than
others. In general, locate them away from obstructions that would interfere with the direct path from the speakers to
your ears (such as walls, furniture, lighting, plants, etc.). Center channel speakers should be located close to the
television screen (see Home Theater Usage on page 7). Your speakers will sound better when they are around ear
height, or when angled towards your listening location. They sound better when they are not sitting on the floor.
M&K speaker stands are designed to set M&K Satellite speakers at the right height and to easily adjust their angle
of sound radiation. Your M&K dealer has more information on these stands.
Your Satellite speakers can be used with OmniMount
®
Systems brackets, without the use of wood screws,
because their cabinets have integral threaded hardware in patterns for OmniMount
brackets. These brackets offer
tremendous flexibility for installation in a wide variety of environments. For more information, see Section 12 (page 11),
or contact OmniMount
at (602) 829-8000.
For more detailed information on placement of your speakers, see Section 4 (page 6).
SPECIAL NOTE - TV SHIELDED SATELLITE SPEAKERS
If you place your Satellite speakers close to a television set (about 2 feet), the speaker magnets may cause
distortion of the television's picture. For these applications, M&K makes special TV Shielded versions. Shielded
Satellites are identified by markings on the shipping carton and by a label on the back panel of the speaker. Unless
your Satellites are Shielded, allow 2 - 3 feet of clearance around any television.
In some rare instances, Shielded Satellites may have a small amount of residual magnetism at a specific angle
that may cause a slight geometric or color distortion of the picture on your television set. M&K center channel speakers
have M&K's Ferromagnetic Shielding System to prevent this. If you do get this distortion, try moving the Satellite
speaker slightly until the problem disappears. If you cannot solve any magnetic problems, contact the M&K factory.
3. SPEAKER HOOK-UP & USAGE
The back panel of your Satellite speakers contains two pairs of speaker terminals (instead of the usual single pair).
Therefore it is extremely important that you follow these instructions carefully, to avoid any possible damage to the
speakers or your amplifier, and to get the best possible sound.
The sound quality of your Satellites can be affected by the type of speaker wire that you use to connect them. While
it is possible to use speaker wire as thin as 22 gauge to hook your Satellites up, we recommend using the largest
diameter wire that you can. This means a minimum of 18 gauge wire. Over 10 feet, you should use 16 gauge, and
for more than 30 feet, we recommend using 14 gauge or heavier. The smaller the number, the thicker the wire.
There are a very wide variety of premium speaker cables available from a number of specialist manufacturers.
We do not endorse any specific brand of premium cable, but we do recommend using as high quality a cable as fits
your budget. Using better quality cables will improve the sound of your Satellites.
