Specifications - PL900 Subwoofer, PL900 SPEAKER SYSTEM

PL900 SPEAKER SYSTEM:

Contents of Carton:

Subwoofer Speaker

Your AR Subwoofer delivers powerful, deep bass sound output for a natural, life- like sonic experience. Please follow the directions in this manual to achieve the best performance from your system.

The hook-up and operation of the Subwoofer is the same for both a Home Theater surround sound system or a stereo music system. The Subwoofer has its own built-in amplifier, so it works with any sound system. The Subwoofer’s own crossover network sends bass-only signals to the Subwoofer’s built-in amplifier. This lets the Subwoofer add extra bass to the out put from your other speakers. For simplicity, we call your Home Theater system’s or music system’s main speakers the Front speakers. We call your AV receiver, stereo receiver, or integrated amplifier the Receiver.

Placement

Your AR Subwoofer must sit on the floor, preferably in a corner, to work properly. The floor and corner are actually a part of the Subwoofer’s design. Place your Subwoofer in the corner nearest your system’s electronic components to keep wire or cable runs short.

Controls & Connections

POWER CORD: Plug the power cord into an AC wall outlet or other AC outlet capable of supplying at least 200 Watts.

POWER SWITCH: Turns the AC supply completely OFF,ON sets the Subwoofer to AUTO ON operation. In AUTO ON, the Subwoofer is in standby mode until it detects an audio signal input, then the Subwoofer turns on automatically. A few minutes after audio input signals cease, the Subwoofer automatically returns to standby mode.

POWER INDICATOR LED: This is inside the front AR logo.

FUSE 250V 3A: This fuse protects against internal and external faults. If the POWER switch is ON and the power indicator LED is unlit, unplug the power cord from the AC outlet and check the fuse by unscrewing the center piece from the holder. IMPORTANT- If the fuse is blown, replace it only with a fuse of the same type and current rating.

L, R SPEAKER-IN TERMINALS: See Connection Option 1. These terminals are for making connections using speaker wire. If you use this option, do not use Option 2.

LFE INPUT JACK: Allows direct connection from the receiver with an internal low pass filter. This connection bypasses the subwoofer internal crossover circuitry. Use only with appropriate Surround Sound processor / amplifier.

LFE OUTPUT JACK: This connector is connected internally to the LFE input jack and allows you to loop the LFE input signal out to another LFE input on an additional AR powered loudspeaker or subwoofer.

LINE IN JACKS: See Connection Option 2. These jacks are for input connection using audio cables. If you use this option, do not use Option 1.

LOW PASS FREQUENCY CONTROL: Adjusts the upper frequency limit for audio signals going to the subwoofer amplifier. This control helps you adjust the system's tonal balance.

LEVEL CONTROL: Balances the loudness of the Subwoofer relative to the Front speakers and compensates for room effects on the Subwoofer’s output.

PHASE SWITCH: The Phase Switch controls the phase of the Subwoofer’s output relative to the front speakers. Listen carefully to the sound quality while playing a CD with low bass. Select the position of the switch that produces the fullest deep bass without boominess. You may need to readjust the Volume and Crossover controls after setting the Phase Switch.

Connecting your Subwoofer

IMPORTANT: When you make connections, make sure that the power switches of all components, including the Subwoofer, are OFF.

Speaker wire: Typical speaker wire has a pair of separate conductors with insulating jackets that are molded together. We recommend that you use 16- gauge speaker wire for hooking your Receiver to your Front speakers. To make connections to the Subwoofer in parallel with the Front speakers easier, the speaker wire connecting the Receiver to the Subwoofer can be smaller (higher gauge number), since the Subwoofer does not draw large amounts of power through these wires.

	3/8"
+ to red terminal	(9mm)
(color stripe, ridges or cooper)	bare wire
	- to black terminal
	(plain or silver)

Polarity All speakers in a system must be connected with the same polarity. Speaker wire is marked for polarity so that you can identify which wire in the pair is which. Polarity is shown by a color stripe on the insulation, by ridges molded into the insulation, or by the colors of the wires – one copper and one silver. Strip the insulation from speaker wire ends to reveal the bare conductors before connecting to Receiver, Subwoofer or Speaker terminals.

IMPORTANT: Always connect the red (+) terminal on the Receiver to the red (+) terminal on the Subwoofer, and the black (-) terminal on the Receiver to the black (-) terminal on the Subwoofer. The same is true for hooking the Receiver outputs to the Front speakers: red (+)to red (+), and black (-) to black (-).

IMPORTANT: Use Option 1 or Option 2, not both.

OPTION 1. Connection with speaker wire

	RECEIVER
FRONT LEFT	FRONT RIGHT
SPEAKER	SPEAKER

SUBWOOFER

Connect speaker wires from the Receiver’s front left and right speaker outputs to the Subwoofer’s left and right Speaker In terminals, as well as the left and right front speakers.

OPTION 2. Connection with audio cable

LEFT SPEAKER

RIGHT SPEAKER

RECEIVER

SUBWOOFER

This connection uses a low level stereo sub signal. This is usually found on receivers equipped with Dolby® Digital decoding. Locate the subwoofer outputs on the back of your receiver. Using a standard RCA cable connect the subwoofer output on the back of your receiver to the Line-In on the back of the sub-woofer. If your receiver has a mono sub output , connect the RCA cable to the Left Input on your subwoofer.

Adjusting the Subwoofer controls

•Play a program on your system. Use a Dolby® Digital or Dolby® Pro-Logic signal, or a music CD. Adjust the Receiver’s volume control for a comfortable sound level from the system speakers.

•Increase the Subwoofer’s LEVEL Control setting clockwise, so that you hear the deep bass. Adjust the control for a natural, musical balance that has plenty of deep bass sound when it’s actually present in the music.

Listen carefully to bass voices and, if needed, adjust the LOW PASS FREQUENCY Control so that they sound natural. Setting the frequency too high will make deep voices sound excessively “chesty” or resonant and will give the upper bass in music a “one-note” quality. Setting the frequency too low will make deep voices sound “thin” and will give the music a lack of “warmth.”

The PHASE SWITCH controls the phase of the Subwoofer’s output relative to the front speakers. Listen carefully to the sound quality while playing a CD with low bass. Select the position of the switch that produces the fullest deep bass without boominess. You may need to readjust the Volume and Crossover controls after setting the Phase Switch.

•Make fine adjustments until the program has satisfying and natural sound quality on both bass voices and music.

Troubleshooting

SUBWOOFER POWER INDICATOR LED DOES NOT LIGHT

•Check the AC outlet the Subwoofer is plugged into to be sure that it is live. You can use a tester or plug in a lamp to check it.

•If the AC outlet is live, either the power cord or Subwoofer has a problem. Unplug the power cord from the AC outlet and check the fuse by unscrewing the center piece from the holder. If it is blown, replace the fuse only with a fuse of the same type and rating. If this doesn’t help, take the Subwoofer to your dealer for service

NO SOUND FROM THE FRONT SPEAKERS

•Be sure the Receiver and Subwoofer POWER switches are in the ON positions.

•Check the Receiver’s Volume Control setting — if it is all the way down, there won’t be any sound.

•Check that the Receiver’s Input Selector is set to an active source of audio signals and that a Tape Monitor Loop is not engaged.

•Be sure that the Receiver’s Speaker Selector switch is turned on to the terminals [A or B, 1 or 2] that you have your Front speakers connected to. If the Receiver has a headphone jack, you can use headphones to check the Receiver for output.

•Check the wires and connections from the Receiver’s Front Speaker Output terminals to the Subwoofer’s SPEAKER-IN terminals.

•Try removing the Subwoofer from the system, leaving your Front speakers connected to the Receiver. If there still is no sound, take the Receiver to your dealer for service.

NO SOUND FROM THE SUBWOOFER

•First, be sure there is sound from the Front speakers and that the Receiver is working correctly as outlined above.

•Check the Subwoofer’s LEVEL control. If it is all the way counterclockwise, there may be no sound.

•The Subwoofer only reproduces deep bass sound. If the program has no deep bass, the Subwoofer will not make any sound. Play a program with plenty of bass, such as jazz or rock music, or an action movie.

•If everything else checks OK, take the Subwoofer to your dealer for service -

THERE ARE NO USER-SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE.