Introduction
Thank you for purchasing the B&W ASW™500 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.
The ASW™500 has been designed for Home Theatre installations and to augment the bass performance of ‘full range’ speakers in stereo audio use. Adding the subwoofer to your system not only extends the bass to lower frequencies, it improves the midrange clarity by reducing the
The subwoofer is magnetically shielded for use close to a television screen.
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
50countries
Unpacking
To avoid damage to the cabinet (and to minimise strain to yourself) when unpacking, we suggest that you adopt the following procedure:
•Remove any staples from the open flaps of the carton.
•Fold the open flaps right back and invert the carton and contents.
•Lift the carton away from the product.
•Remove the upper layer inner packing to reveal the base of the cabinet.
•Open the polythene bag and turn the cabinet right way up.
We recommend that you retain the packaging for future use.
2
Positioning the ASW™500
Because the ASW™500 produces only very low notes, positioning is easier than for
The ASW™500 is supplied with conical feet that raise the base of the cabinet clear of the floor to allow the down facing port to operate correctly.
Do not reduce this clearance or bass performance will be degraded.
If the ASW™500 is to be used in a confined space (e.g. in custom furniture), the space must be ventilated to allow sufficient air to circulate and cool the unit. Depending on the volume of the enclosed space, it may be necessary to provide ventilation into the room. Ask your dealer for advice.
Electrical connections
Disconnect all sound system equipment from the power supply until the signal connections have been made and checked. This avoids the risk of damage whilst connections are made or broken.
The ASW™500 accepts inputs and outputs at either line level (RCA Phono sockets) or at speaker level.
However, you must not use a mixture of line level and speaker level connections in the same installation.
Stereo Audio (Using Line Level Connections)
(figure 1)
This is the preferred method, and is suitable for use when you have a separate
Connect the
In both cases, the satellite speakers are connected to the power amplifier output in the normal way. However, the signal fed to them now has the deep bass removed.
Stereo Audio (Using Speaker Level Connections) (figure 2)
Use this method when you have an integrated amplifier with no access to a line level signal.
Connect the speaker level outputs of the power amplifier to the relevant channel INPUT FROM AMPLIFIER spring terminals of the ASW™500, taking care to connect positive to positive and negative to negative (figure 2). Connect the satellite speakers to the relevant channel OUTPUT TO SPEAKERS terminals of the ASW™500.
With this method of connection, the ASW™500 drive unit is still powered by its own internal amplifier and the signal fed to the satellite speakers has the deep bass removed.
Home Theatre (figures 3, 4 & 5)
If your decoder has a separate subwoofer output, connect it to one channel only (left or right) LINE IN socket (for line level) or FROM AMPLIFIER terminals (for speaker level) of the ASW™500 and feed the left and right front speakers directly from the decoder in the normal way (not via the ASW™500), using a separate power amplifier if necessary (figure 3).
If your decoder has no dedicated subwoofer output, connect the ASW™500 to the left and right front outputs of the decoder and your left and right front speakers via the ASW™500, using either the LINE IN/LINE OUT sockets with separate power amplifiers (figure 4) or the
FROM AMPLIFIER/OUTPUT TO SPEAKERS terminals (figure 5) in the same manner as described above for stereo amplifiers.
Using more than one ASW™500
Any number of ASW™500 units can be daisy chained together in either
•Cope with larger spaces.
•Enable greater maximum sound output – often useful for effectively reproducing special effects in Home Theatre applications.
If using line level connections, connect up the first ASW™500 as described above and then connect its LINK OUT socket(s) to the corresponding LINE IN socket(s) of the second ASW™500. Continue this process as required for more units.
If using speaker level connections, connect the first ASW™500 as described above and connect the FROM AMPLIFIER terminals of the second ASW™500 to either the corresponding power amplifier output terminals or the corresponding FROM AMPLIFIER terminals on the first ASW™500, whichever is more convenient.
Double Check the Connections
Before auditioning the sound quality of your new installation and fine tuning it, double check the connections.
•The phasing is correct – There should be no positive to negative connections (this applies to speaker level interconnects). If something is out of phase you may get a fuzzy sound with an imprecise and floating image, a lack of bass or a combination of the two.
•There are no left to right
