the cleaning instructions in the section of the manual titled "Aftercare".
15Attachments – Do not use attachments not recommended by the product manufacturer, as they may cause hazards.
16Accessories – Do not place this product on an unstable cart, stand, tripod, bracket or table. The product may fall, causing serious injury to a child or adult, and serious damage to the product. Use only with a cart, stand, tripod, bracket or table recommended by the manufacturer or sold with the product. Any mounting of the product should follow the manufacturer’s instructions and should use a mounting accessory recommended by the manufacturer.
17Moving the appliance – A product and cart combination should be moved with care. Quick stops, excessive force and uneven surfaces may cause the product and cart combination to overturn. Check that there are no cables under the carpet that may be damaged by the spike feet. Do not walk the product on the spike feet as this may cause them to become detached from the cabinet and cause damage. Take care not to impale yourself with the spike feet.
18Non-use Periods – The power cord of the appliance should be unplugged from the outlet when left unused for a long period of time.
19Servicing – Do not attempt to service this product yourself, as opening or removing covers may expose you to dangerous voltage or other hazards. Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel.
20Damage Requiring Service – Unplug this product from the wall outlet and refer servicing to qualified personnel under the following conditions:
a When the power-supply cord or plug has been damaged.
b If liquid has been spilled or objects have fallen into the appliance.
c If the product has been exposed to rain or water.
d If the product does not operate normally by following the operating instructions. Adjust only those controls that are covered by the operating instructions, as an improper adjustment of other controls may result in damage and will often require extensive work by a qualified technician to restore the product to its normal operation.
e If the product has been dropped, or damaged in any way.
f When the product exhibits a distinct change in performance – this indicates a need for service.
21Replacement Parts – When replacement parts are required, be sure the service technician has used replacement parts specified by the manufacturer or have the same
characteristics as the original part. Unauthorised substitutions may result in fire, electric shock or other hazards.
22Mains fuses are located inside the amplifier and replacement should be entrusted to an authorised B&W agent. Replacement fuse types are shown in the specification.
23Safety Check – Upon completion of any service or repairs to this product, ask the service technician to perform safety checks to determine that the product is in proper operating condition.
24Magnetic fields – The product creates a stray static magnetic field. Do not place any object that may be damaged by this magnetic field (eg cathode ray tube televisions or computer monitors, audio and viseo tapes and swipe cards) within 0.5m (2 feet) of the appliance. The appliance may cause distortion of cathode ray tube images beyond this distance.
Introduction
Thank you for purchasing this B&W Active Subwoofer.
Since its foundation in 1966, the continuing philosophy of B&W has been the quest for perfect sound reproduction. Inspired by the company’s founder, the late John Bowers, this quest has entailed not only high investment in audio technology and innovation but also an abiding appreciation of music and the demands of film sound to ensure that the technology is put to maximum effect.
This subwoofer has been designed for Home Theatre installations and to augment the bass performance of ‘full range’ speakers in 2-channel audio use. Adding the subwoofer to your system not only extends the bass to lower frequencies, it improves the midrange clarity by reducing the low-frequency demands on your existing speakers.
Please read through this manual fully before using the subwoofer. All sound installations require some planning and experimentation if you are to get the best out of the products used and this manual will guide you in this process.
As the subwoofer is connected to the electricity power supply, it is important that you familiarise yourself with the safety instructions and heed all warnings.
Keep this manual in a safe place for future reference.
B&W loudspeakers are distributed to over 60 countries worldwide and we maintain an international network of carefully chosen and dedicated distributors. If you have a problem, which your dealer cannot resolve, our distributors will be more than willing to assist you.
Unpacking (figure 1)
The easiest way to unpack the subwoofer and avoid damage is as follows:
•Open the carton flaps right back and invert the carton and contents.
•Lift the carton away from the product.
We recommend that you retain the packaging for future use.
In addition to this manual, the carton should contain:
1 Subwoofer
4 screw-in rubber feet
4screw-in spike feet with lock nuts
1International warranty document
A tour of the subwoofer (figure 2)
1Heat sink
2Speaker level connectors
3Line level sockets
4EQ (equalisation) switch
5LOW-PASS FILTER frequency control
6PHASE switch
7LOW-PASS FILTER defeat switch
8MODE On/Auto switch
9On/Standby indicator light
10VOLUME control
11Power cord
12POWER On/Off switch
What the subwoofer does
Application: Home Theatre
The primary function of the subwoofer is to reproduce signals from the Low Frequency Effects (LFE) channel. In addition, the processor may be configured to divert the low bass portion of some or all of the other channels and add it to the LFE information by configuring those speakers to 'small' in the processor set-up procedure.
Application: 2-channel audio
The subwoofer is used to extend the bass response beyond that provided by the satellite speakers. In most cases, best results are obtained if the satellite speakers are run full range as normal directly from the power amplifier. The subwoofer low- pass filter is then set so that its output rises as that of the satellite speakers falls naturally. However, if the satellite speakers are very small, the system output level may be limited by overloading their bass drivers. If this is the case, better results may be obtained by using the high-pass filters in the subwoofer to limit the bass energy fed to the satellite speakers.
Positioning the subwoofer
Because the subwoofer produces only low- frequency sounds, positioning is less critical in some respects compared to full-range speakers. Directional information is much less precise and you have more choice where to place the speakers to good effect. This said, best results are obtained if the subwoofer is placed between the left and right speakers or in the vicinity of one of them. If you use two subwoofers, it is best to put one near the left and one near the right speaker.
Placing the subwoofer behind the listeners, even in surround sound installations,