RSL OUTSIDER II Rogersound Laboratories Speaker Owner’s Manual

RSL OUTSIDER II Rogersound Laboratories Speaker

Product Information

The Outsider II is a high fidelity outdoor speaker designed to provide quality sound outside your home. It was first introduced by RSL in 1982 and is still in demand today. The speaker system needs break-in time to sound the way it was designed. The suspension parts of the woofer and tweeter are very stiff when new, resulting in a somewhat harsh, thin sound. As they loosen up, the woofer becomes in-tune with the enclosure and the tweeter smoothes out. To break them in, it is recommended to play them at medium volume for 30-40 hours.

What’s Included:

• 2 Outsider II speakers

Safety Stuff:

• Make sure your speakers cannot fall and cause injuries. If you do not have experience mounting objects to the wall, please ask for help from someone who does. Or, hire a professional.
• Always shut off the power to all components before installing!

Mounting Your Outsider IIs:

Mounting the speakers to a wall is not any different than mounting any other object of comparable weight. The best way to mount them is directly to a wall stud using a wood screw. However, this is not always possible. In that case, we suggest using sturdy wall anchors. The supplied mounting brackets have 3 holes. The holes on the ends are for wall or ceiling mounting. The hole in the center is for the speaker wire coming from the wall.

Speaker Wire:

• Use quality speaker wire. We recommend two-conductor wire with high quality copper. You’ll also want to make sure that there is a means of determining polarity (identifying the positive and negative strands). If the wire will be exposed to sunlight, make sure the insulation is UV resistant.
• All wire has resistance in it. The thicker the wire, the less resistance it has. The less resistance, the better your speakers will sound. The thickness of the wire should be determined by the length of the wire you are using.

For longer lengths, heavier wire should be used. See our table below:

Phasing:

To ensure that the speakers all work together, it’s critically important to accomplish this. If you inadvertently connect the wires backward, it can affect the sound quality. When connecting wire to a terminal, twist the wire strands together so that they all can be neatly inserted into the terminal. If strands are left loose and make contact with the terminal or a wire of the opposite polarity, they will cause a short and can severely damage your speakers and equipment.

Product Usage Instructions

1. Choose a suitable location for mounting your Outsider II speakers.
2. If possible, mount them directly to a wall stud using a wood screw.
3. If mounting to a wall stud is not possible, use sturdy wall anchors to mount the speakers.
4. Ensure that the speakers are secure and cannot fall and cause injuries.
5. Turn off the power to all components before installing the speakers.
6. Use quality speaker wire with high-quality copper and UV-resistant insulation.
7. Determine the thickness of the wire based on the length of the wire you are using. For longer lengths, use heavier wire.
8. Twist the wire strands together when connecting them to a terminal. Ensure that they are neatly inserted into the terminal to avoid causing a short circuit.
9. Ensure that the speakers all work together by wiring them in phases. Connect the positive wire to the positive terminal and the negative wire to the negative terminal.
10. To break in the speakers, play them at medium volume for 30-40 hours.

Hold On A Minute!

We know what you are thinking. Owners’ manuals are boring and hard to understand. We don’t like them either. So, we’ve worked semi-hard to make this manual as interesting and informative as possible, while skipping the stuff you don’t really need.

A Little History (You can skip this)

In 1982, if you wanted music outside your home you had 2 choices: 1. You could purchase tinny-sounding metal horns. Or 2. You could turn your up your stereo inside and open some windows and doors.
It was then that RSL introduced the Outsider, the world’s first high fidelity outdoor speaker. It’s now 30 years later and many of the original Outsiders are still going strong.
The new Rogersound Laboratories® Outsider II takes advantage of ad-vances in materials and technology resulting in an outdoor speaker that can sur-pass the sound quality of many indoor speakers. As a matter of fact, the Outsid-er IIs do a great job as surrounds in a home theater system.

The Rogersound Laboratories® Outsider IIs Need Break-in Time To Sound Right.
Any great speaker system needs break-in time to sound the way it was designed. When the speakers are new, the suspension parts of the woofer and tweeter are very stiff, resulting in a somewhat harsh, thin sound. As they loosen up, the woofer becomes “in-tune” with the enclosure and the tweeter smoothes out. To break them in, we recommend playing them at medium volume for 30-40 hours.

What’s Included

Each set of Rogersound Laboratories® Outsider IIs includes two speakers, mounting brackets and knobs to secure the brackets to the speakers. In addition, there are 2 threaded inserts in the back of each speaker if you wish to use an optional wall-mount or ceiling mount. In most cases the included mounting brackets will do fine.

Safety Stuff

1. Don’t do anything stupid!
2. Make sure you know what you’re mounting the speakers to. Be certain it’s sturdy and can easily support the weight of the speakers. Also, know what’s in the wall. You’ll be in for an unpleasant surprise if you drill into electrical, plumb-ing or gas lines.
3. Don’t hang anything on the speakers or put items on top of them.
4. Make sure the speakers are installed away from heat sources such as barbeques, outdoor heaters, fire pits, or flame throwers.
5. When drilling into your walls or ceiling, make sure to wear eye protection.
6. If you are uncertain about doing the installation, please contact a professional. Make sure your speakers cannot fall and cause injuries.
7. Do not spray water directly into the grill of the speakers. Cleaning is best done with a damp cloth. If you use a cleaner, spray it on the cloth and not the cabinet.
8. Do not put the Outsider IIs in the pool, Jacuzzi, or bathtub. They are not a substitute for your rubber ducky.

Mounting your Outsider IIs

Mounting the speakers to a wall is not any different than mounting any other object of comparable weight. The best way to mount them is direct to a wall stud using a wood screw. However, this is not always possible. In that case, we suggest using sturdy wall anchors (a couple of examples are below).
Make sure your speakers cannot fall and cause injuries. If you do not have experience mounting objects to the wall, please ask for help from someone who does. Or, hire a professional.

• For best audio performance, we suggest mounting them on the same wall facing the same direction, at least 6 feet apart. They can be mounted either vertically or horizontally. If they are mounted horizontally, you may be wondering wheth-er to mount them with the tweeters inward or outward. This really depends on the distance apart. If they are relatively close together, we suggest mounting them with the tweeters outside. If you mount them far apart, we suggest mounting them with the tweeters inwards (closest to the other speaker).
• The supplied mounting brackets have 3 holes. The holes on the ends are for wall or ceiling mounting. The hole in the center is for the speaker wire coming from the wall.

Speaker Wire

1. Always shut off the power to all components before installing!

2. Use quality speaker wire. We recommend two-conductor wire with high-quality copper. You’ll also want to make sure that there is a means of determining polarity (identifying the positive and negative strands). If the wire will be exposed to sunlight, make sure the insulation is UV resistant.

3. All wire has resistance in it. The thicker the wire, the less resistance it has. The less resistance, the better your speakers will sound. The thickness of the wire should be determined by the length of the wire you are using.
   For longer lengths, heavier wire should be used. See our table below:

4. Length of Wire (each speaker) Recommended Minimum Thickness

5. Up to 15 feet 16 AWG

6. 15 to 30 feet 14 AWG

7. Over 30 feet 12 AWG

8. When connecting wire to a terminal, twist the wire strands together so that they all can be neatly inserted into the terminal. If strands are left loose and make contact with the terminal or a wire of the opposite polarity, they will cause a short and can severely damage your speakers and equipment.

Phasing

• It’s critically important to accomplish this, all speakers must be wired in phase.

• This means that for each speaker and for your receiver, each positive wire is correctly connected to the positive (+) terminal, and every negative wire is properly connected to a negative (-) terminal. Then, your speakers will be “in phase”. On our speak-ers the positive (+) input terminal is identified with a red band, while the negative (-) input terminal is labeled with a black band. Your receiver or amplifier will provide identification by plus (+) and minus (-) symbols or by colors also
  (commonly red for positive and black for negative).

• If you inadvertently connect the wires backward, it will significantly degrade the This is what not to do sound quality. In a stereo system, out-of-phase speakers will sound as if there is a hole in the imaging between the speakers. Voices can sound far away from you. Incorrect phasing can also diminish bass. Therefore, make sure that the polarity of every connection is consistent.

Troubleshooting

Here we will address some of the most commonly occurring problems that can occur with your speakers. Remember we at RSL are always available to answer questions and offer support. Feel free to contact us at (800)905-5485.
No Sound from the Speakers

1. Double-check all wire connections. Make sure all wires, cables, and power cords are securely attached to their terminals. If a loose wire strand is touching another wire strand or terminal of opposite polarity, you will hear significant distortion or no sound at all.

2. Confirm that your home theater receiver or amplifier is turned on. If you’ve connected to ‘B’ connections or a separate zone on your receiver, make sure that the ‘B’ connection or the zone is switched on.

3. Determine the following: if the volume control is set to the minimum, if your system has been muted, or if headphones are plugged in.

4. Check any settings or features in your receiver that you may have inadvertently activated.

5. Make sure no foreign objects or liquids have made their way into the speaker.

6. In a stereo setting, be sure the subwoofer is turned on or set to standby.

No Sound from One Speaker

If all wires and cables are properly and securely attached, your re-ceiver is turned on, and the volume is ample, but one or more speakers have no sound, try substituting the wire from a working speaker. This will determine if the source of the problem is the speaker, or elsewhere. Also, check the balance control on your receiver.

Distorted Sound from Speakers

1. Check to see if the volume control has been set too high. Your speakers were designed to play loudly, however, all speakers have limits. Too much volume can create distortion. Distortion can damage speakers. If the volume is lowered and you still hear distortion, the speaker may be damaged and require service.
2. Double-check all wire connections. If a loose wire strand is touching another wire strand or terminal of opposite polarity, you will hear significant distortion or no sound at all.

Troubleshooting — Continued
Weak Stereo Imaging (A Hole in the Middle) or Weak Bass
Make sure that all speakers are in phase. Check to be sure that all posi-tive (+) wires are properly connected to positive (+) terminals and that all negative (-) wires are correctly connected to negative (-) terminals. One wrong con-nection can adversely affect the sound. Trust us, we know (we’ve made this mistake ourselves).

Features and Specifications

• Woofer: 6 1/2” with Ferrite Magnet, Polymer Composite Cone, Rubber Surround Tweeter: 1” Silk Dome, Ferrite Magnet

• Frequency Response: 50-19,000 Hz

• Nominal Impedance: 8 ohms

• Sensitivity: 88 db SPL @ 1 watt, 1-meter distance

• Recommended Power: 25-100 watts
  (Amplifiers up to 150 watts can be used if care is taken not to operate the speakers at maximum volume)

• Crossover Frequency: 2,500 Hz

• Crossover Slope: 6 db/octave

• Cabinet: UV Treated, Polymer Infused Anti-Resonant enclosure

• Gold Plated binding posts

• Aluminum Mounting Brackets

• Weight: 7 lbs.

• Dimensions: H: 11 1/2” W: 8 1/2” D: 8 7/8” “(Without bracket 7 1/2”)

The Rogersound Laboratories® Outsider IIs are built to withstand the rigors of outdoor use. However, if you can locate them to minimize the ex-posure of elements, you will achieve the longest possible service life.

WARRANTY

Simply Stated:

Laboratories® Outsider IIs are warranted for 5 years.
Here are the terms:
We warranty our speakers for a period of 5 years from the date of purchase. Our products are warranted to be free of defects in original materials and workman-ship. Our warranties apply to the original purchaser. To obtain warranty service we need your cooperation in the following:

1. Be able to furnish a copy of your sales invoice.
2. The serial numbers must be intact and match those on your sales invoice.

Return authorization must first be obtaining by contacting us prior to sending your speakers to us. Speakers must be properly packed.
Our speakers were designed for residential stereo or home theater use and must be used in this manner. They were not specifically designed for public address, musical instrument amplification, or other commercial or high intensity application. Such use is not covered under warranty.
Speakers returned under the terms of the warranty will be repaired or replaced at our option. We will pay for shipping the repaired product back to you if you live in the continental U.S. You are responsible for prepaying the shipping to us. Speakers that have been abused, operated improperly, improperly packed, tampered with or opened (without our prior permission) will not be repaired under warranty. This war-ranty does not cover damage caused by the use of faulty or improper audio/video components.
This is the total warranty. There are no other warranties, expressed or implied. No responsibility is assumed for any incidental or consequential damages. This war-ranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may have other rights which vary from state to state.
If you require service please contact us through our website or by phone:

26500 W. Agoura Road Suite 571 Calabasas, CA 91302
(800)905-5485
www.rslspeakers.com

References

• RSL Speaker Systems | High End Home Theater
• RSL Speaker Systems | High End Home Theater

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