Wiring Diagram for the Remote Control of Kef Motorized Speakers (Ci380QT & Ci200.2QT)

I have attached a wiring diagram for anyone interested in the IR remote control of the KEF Ci380QT or Ci200.2QT (and likely the CiFDT) motorized speakers. Finding the right hardware and wiring everything correctly took a tremendous amount of time and I wanted to provide this information to save anyone else the hours upon hours it finally took to get what I needed and wire it correctly.

Typically, the KEF motorized speakers are triggered by a 12V output on the receiver OR with the detection of audio output. The auto position is for auto music sense (not recommended for home theater installations due to prolonged silence in most movies) and the manual position is for using a 12V trigger. I wanted to control the motor function by IR remote control. While this is not an inexpensive project, it is possible and the final result is very cool.

PARTS LIST:

KEF MOTORIZED SPEAKERS
[1] Ci380QT
or
[2] Ci200.3QT
or
[3] CiFDT (since discontinued by Kef). I did not specifically research the CiFDT motorized speakers but the wiring diagram would almost certainly work for these speakers as well.

XANTECH PARTS:
[1] 78944 Connecting Block without power plug.
Xantech used to sell the 789-44PS (which included the power plug) but this model number is no longer on their website. If you cannot find the 789-44PS, you can order the 78944 and the 781RG power plug separately.
[2] CC-12 Remote Relay Module

POWER:
I originally used a Radio Shack power supply.  However after a few years, a hum developed in the speakers that I isolated to the power supply.  I even tried placing the power supply on another AC circuit.  I replaced it with a Pyramid PS8KX6 6 amp power supply and that resolved the issue.  The Pyramid is available from Amazon.com.  The higher the rated amps, the more reliable the power supply.  Pyramid does offer a 3 amp power supply but it is nearly the same price as the 6 amp.  

WIRE:
A run of Cat5 ethernet for each speaker (and traditional speaker wire).

REMOTE CONTROL:
Many learning remotes would likely work well. However, I used a Logitech Harmony Remote and downloaded the IR profile for the Xantech CC-12 from the Logitech database.
Logitech Harmony Remote Controllers

For my home theater, I used the KEF motorized Ci380QT speakers in the ceiling. To wire everything except the speaker cable, I used (3 out of 4-color coded twisted pairs in) CAT5 ethernet wire for each speaker for the 12V DC, Control and 0V in the wiring diagram. If anyone has any questions about this setup, I may be able to help.

The typical disclaimer applies to all information in this post. While this setup worked well for me, I take no responsibility for anyone's equipment or safety and this post is for informational purposes only.

Regards,
AVSAR

 

 

 

AVSAR KEF Motorized Speaker Remote-Control Wiring Diagram.pdf 290.7373046875k . file
Edited by AVSAR - 1/28/13 at 5:59pm

I'm glad you can make use of my wiring diagram. If you only knew how long it took me to find the right components to make this work...wow, what a process it was. The end result is simply awesome! Everyone that comes and watches a movie at my house is totally blown away. Not to mention, it is much less wear and tear on motorized speakers because I usually leave them down.

I'll try to answer your questions as best I can. I used 3 ethernet twisted pair wires from the connecting block to the CC12 (you see the picture on the left with the ethernet wires on the CC12). You don't use the Status terminal on the connecting block or the CL terminal on the CC12.

I used 3 ethernet twisted pair wires from the CC12 to go to the Control lead from the Left, Right & Center speakers. I also used ethernet wire from the CC12 to the power supply and then 3 wires (again, for the Left, Right & Center speakers) out from the power supply on each of the the + and - leads of the power supply to the remaining leads on the KEFs.

I cannot remember if the CC12 has more than one distinct IR code on the harmony database. If it does, all you would need is 2 CC12s to control 2 sets of devices indepedently. Otherwise, you could use the same CC12 for all other speakers or a film screen but they would all be triggered by the same IR Signal.

You will be fine with pig-tailing and a single run of Cat5! I ran 3 runs of Cat5 (one for each speaker) not because this is a better way to do it but because I had total access to the ceiling and Cat5 is cheap. If you are only triggering 3 speakers as I did in the diagram, using short runs and pig-tailing them to the "main line" back to the CC12 and Power Supply for the Control wire, 0 Volt wire and the 12 Volt DC wire will be fine.

I was told by a low voltage installer that one, single strand of Cat5 Ethernet would be sufficient. That is to say that you could simply use the blue strand as opposed to twisting both the blue strand and the blue/white strand together. However, a single Cat5 strand is not exactly the most rugged wire so I decided to use 2 strands (a pair) for redundancy.

Let me know how things work out.

I attached a wiring diagram for a 12v trigger. Hope this helps!

Regards,
AVSAR

 

Trigger Set Up.doc 50k . file

 

Ci380 Trigger Set Up.doc 48k . file

The remote KEF speakers are still running flawlessly after 3 years. I went back and updated the links to the products.

I am not an expert on acoustics. It certainly would have more aesthetics and geek-cool factor to have your right, left and center come down from your ceiling as I did in my application. However, for my application I mounted a large 57" LCD above a fireplace and I had no room for a center channel above or below the display on the wall. This was the main reason I went with a ceiling solution. If you have space and you have full access to your wall, it will be far less expensive and far easier to wire-up 3 non-motorized speakers facing forward.

If you decide to go with motorized speakers, your options are as follows:

Run standard runs of speaker wire (one for each speaker) and runs of standard Cat 5 or Cat 6 ethernet (one for each speaker) in the ceiling and

1. Buy the Xantech connecting block, remote relay, a 12 volt power supply and a harmony remote and follow my wiring diagram and instructions to have full and independent remote control over the motor of your speakers or
2. Buy a receiver with a 12v trigger output so the speakers come down when the receiver switches on and go up when the receiver is off. You will need to at least step up to the TX-SR707 for this or
3. Buy a 12 volt power supply to power the speaker motors once in manual mode to drop them down and then turn off the power supply and simply leave them in that position or
4. Buy a 12 volt power supply to power the speaker motors and use the auto position to drop them down when audio is detected. The problem with auto mode is it is intended for music and not home theater. If there is a part of a movie with limited audio, the speakers may decide to go back up.

The Xantech WL95 looks like a great option and it will take the place of the 78944 Connecting Block and the 781RG power plug. It was not available when I assembled my system. You will still need to power it with a 12v power supply.

This setup is still going strong after several years. I have updated the remote to the Harmony 900 with RF and put everything in an AV closet. The Radioshack power supply developed a hum in the speakers (even on a separate AC circuit). I am not sure if it was because I added a new component or the PS just got old. In any case, I upgraded to the Pyramid PS8KX 6 Amp Power Supply and that did away with the speaker hum. I updated the first post with part info.

There are no internal fuses in the Ci3-80QT's. This brings up an important point: You need to be careful to attach the correct wires from the power supply to the motorized speakers as you can damage the components if the wrong wires are connected. Be sure to follow the wiring diagram completely and you will have no issues.