Planar Wall Installation

Optimal placement of Planar on the wall. 

This section will help guide you in selecting the best location and choosing the basic settings for Planar, but will not discuss installation yet.

Before You Begin

• Planar is unlike any other REL Sub-Bass System and therefore requires special considerations for placement. Planar is designed to be mounted on the wall and will take advantage of the entire wall to help generate deep bass pressurization.
• Planar can be mounted to masonry or sheetrock walls. For sheetrock walls, it is NECESSARY that Planar is anchored/screwed into studs, in order to properly support long term use. The specialized brackets developed just for Planar require mounting BOTH upper screws and the lower brackets right side screw NEED to be mounted into studs. The lower bracket comes supplied with an insert that must be GLUED and screwed into the wall. If one chooses not to use glue, expect rattles to develop.
• Studs are structural members behind the surface of modern walls. There are generally two types of studs, wood or metal (typically aluminum). Usually there is a sheet of pre-manufactured building material, often referred to as sheetrock or gypsum rock, layered over the top of studs.
•  If you do not know where the studs in your wall are located use a “stud finder” (an inexpensive electronic tool that uses electronic pulses to locate denser objects, like studs, behind the sheetrock).
• If your wall is constructed out of a different material that does not use sheetrock and studs like masonry you may have a wider selection of locations for installation but the process is basically the same but with threaded inserts. For Plaster Walls we strongly recommend a professional this type of install can get crack the plaster and get messy really quick.
• Warning: Planar Sub-Bass Systems must NOT be ceiling mounted under any circumstances. This is extremely dangerous as they can fall and injure someone.

Positioning: The goal of this step is to pick the best wall to position Planar on a Planar Cart or when mounting on a wall. If you already know which wall you want to install the Planar on, move to the HOW TO MOUNT SECTION. As you experiment with different wall choices, try to hold Planar so that the bottom of the unit is 10 to 12in. (25 to 30 cm) off the ground. This will provide an approximate location (we will review left/right and up/down exact placement next) and allow you to judge the merits of each position. Remember, while you may have several wall choices the availability and location of studs will impact your decision.

Front Wall Mounting: Mounting Planar on the front wall of the room, in other words, the wall

that the main speakers are positioned in front of will generate the best sonic results (same concept with conventional subwoofers). Front wall placement allows for the most linear true low bass wave launch, creates the best sense of pressurizing the room, and creates the best sense of keeping time and tempo with the music.

Side Wall Mounting: Side wall mounting works well also, just not quite as well as front wall mounting. Nevertheless, quite high levels of performance are available from the side wall location, as long as the subwoofer is located in the range between the front corner and the speaker location. In some instances, it may be fine to place the Planar slightly in front of the main speaker (towards the listener), but moving it too far along the side wall will result in the listener’s ability to locate it, reducing the seamless integrative abilities inherent to the REL design. If you are still unsure about which wall to choose and have several options with possible stud locations move on to step 3 which will further guide your decision.

Mounting the Planar to the Wall

The following step by step instructions guide a Planar user in mounting the cabinet to a typical home wall made of studs with drywall finish or brick masonry walls. The Planar must be securely anchored to the wall. There are two sets of mounting brackets for the Planar cabinet. Each set is made up of a wall side bracket and a cabinet side bracket that are designed to fit together to create a solid mounting for the Planar.

Stud Wall Mounting

The top bracket spans most of the length of the cabinet and should get mounted to two studs that are

400mm (16in.) apart. The bottom bracket is shorter and should get anchored to one stud and a sturdy

drywall mount. Both brackets are required for the Planar to function properly. Two people are recommended for easier and better installation (4 hands are better than 2).

Supplied Hardware

Top Bracket Wall (long wall bracket)

Top Bracket Cabinet (long cabinet bracket)

Bottom Bracket Wall (short wall bracket)

Bottom Bracket Cabinet (short cabinet bracket)

A -  Flat head screw M6 thread, 4mm hex drive,

18mm length (x5)

B - Flat head wood screw Size 8, 1-¾in. length (X3)

C - Self drilling #9 drywall anchor with flat head

wood screw Size 9, 1-¼in. length

D - Socket cap screw M3 thread, 2.5mm hex drive,

8mm length, pre-installed on bracket (x2)

E - Socket cap screw M6 thread, 5mm hex drive,

14mm length (x3)

F - Socket cap screw M6 thread, 5mm hex drive,

50mm length (x2)

Gasket long

Gasket short

Wall mount template

4mm hex driver

5mm hex driver

Required (not supplied)

Philips screwdriver

Pencil

Drill / driver

3/32in. drill bit

14in. ruler or tape measure

Level

Glue

Stud finder

Medium adhesion painter’s tape

Let’s Begin

1. Remove grille and set aside on a clean surface.

2. Mount cabinet side brackets (Top and Bottom) to the cabinet using flat head screws (A Screw from diagram)

3. Determine the optimal placement of the Planar and locate nearest studs. Planar must be installed onto wall studs. Our suggestion is to use an electronic stud finder and follow the manufacturer’s guidance.

4. Holding the Planar with brackets mounted to it lift and place on the wall. Mark the wall along the top edge of the top bracket and at the right corner.

5. Next, hold Top Wall Bracket to the wall below the mark from the top bracket. Using a Level, level the Top Wall Bracket and mark the screw hole locations. Make sure that the screws will hit the studs.

6.  You can take the Top Wall Bracket off the wall now to drill a pilot hole for each screw hole using a 3/32in. drill bit.

7. Place long gasket on the back side of the Top Wall Bracket. Gasket must go between wall and bracket. Do not omit the use of this gasket.

8. Screw top bracket to wall using supplied Flat head wood screws (B Screw from the ciagram). Make sure screws are tight and the bracket is mounted securely to the wall but not compressing the gasket.

9. With top wall bracket in place, use the supplied wall mount template to locate the holes for the bottom wall bracket. The supplied template works for wall studs that are about 400mm (16in.) apart. Place template directly under top wall bracket and mark the holes indicated for your wall construction.

10. The left side screw hole for bottom wall bracket should be directly below that of the top bracket and there should be a wall stud behind it. Drill a pilot hole for the two screw holes using the 3/32in. drill bit.

11. The right screw hole will require a drywall anchor. Use glue on the threads when installing this anchor to the drywall. The type of anchor supplied will cut its own hole as you screw it in.

12.Place short gasket on the back side of wall bracket C. Gasket must go between wall and bracket. Do not omit the use of this gasket.

13. Screw bottom bracket to wall with drywall screws. The longer Screw (B) should be used for the Stud and the Shorted Screw (C) should be used with the Wall Anchor. Make sure screws are tight and bracket is mounted solid to wall but not compressing the gasket.

14. Connect AC cable provided to back panel of Planar and install AC cable clips to dress the cable along the bottom bracket. Remember to turn the AC switch on because this will be difficult once the Planar is mounted.

15. Lift Planar to wall and lower onto brackets.

16. The fit will be snug. Draw the cabinet into place using the three 18mm long cap head top mounting hardware (Screw E). Tighten the three provided screws 1/2 turn at a time starting with one side and rotating through each one. Using this method will take several passes to get the screws tight. You will notice that with each pass the Planar is evenly pulled into the bracket.

17. Secure bottom bracket with the two 50mm long cap head hardware (Screw D) provided from the bottom side of the bracket.

18. Install Grille and start dialing it in. 
 

FOR MASONRY MOUNTING PLEASE CONSULT THE MANUAL ATTACHED IN THIS DOCUMENT.

THE PROCESS IS NEARLY SAME EXCEPT THERE ARE MASONRY WALL INSERTS AND FAR MORE FLEXABILITY WITH PLACEMENT BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT CONFINED TO STUDS.