OWNER'S MANUAL Linear 8 Rev E 1 16/8/05, 9:57 am Contents Page Section 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Introduction Handling Installation Positioning Connecting Controls and System Setup Specification The Linear Range Warranty Contact Acoustic Energy 1. Introduction Welcome to the Linear Sub. Perhaps more than any other hi-fi product, speakers are sensitive to installation so please take a little time to read this manual and to follow, as far as practical, the installation guidelines it contains. Careful installation will help ensure that your Linear Sub performs optimally. Should you have any questions not covered here we are happy to try and answer them either by telephone or email. Contact information can be found in Section 11. Following this introduction, the Manual is divided 1 1 2 3 4 5 5 5 Mains Power Safety Warnings Ensure that your Linear Sub is set to the appropriate mains input voltage before it is connected to a mains socket. The warranty does not cover damage caused by incorrect mains voltage. Please read all operating and safety instructions before use retaining them for future reference. Adhere to all warnings on the product or in this manual. Power sources -- The subwoofer should be connected only to a power supply of the type described on its rear panel. If you are not sure consult your dealer or a qualified electrician. Power cord -- Power supply cords should be routed so as not to be walked on or caught under or against items. Ventilation -- To ensure reliable operation and to prevent the subwoofer from overheating ensure good ventilation. Do not cover the subwoofer and do not place it closer than 10cm from walls or soft furnishings. Do not use in a built-in installation unless proper ventilation is provided. Consult your dealer. Water and moisture -- The subwoofer should not be used near water, i.e. near a wash-bowl, basin, in a wet basement or swimming pool area. Temperature -- The subwoofer may not function correctly at extremely low or freezing temperatures. The subwoofer should also be sited away from heat sources such as radiators or other electrical equipment that produces heat, including other amplifiers. Electric shock -- Care should be taken so that objects are not inserted into connectors or other apertures and that liquid does not spill into the enclosure. Never attempt to dismantle the subwoofer as serious electric shock might occur if the internal parts are touched. Cleaning -- Unplug the subwoofer from the wall power outlet before cleaning. Any cleaning should only require a soft cloth, slightly dampened if necessary. Be wary of using any polishes or solvent based cleaning agents. Smells -- If an abnormal smell or smoke is detected, immediately turn the power off and unplug the subwoofer from the wall power outlet. into sections covering handling, installation, positioning, connecting, controls and system setup, specifications, matching products, warranty and contact information. We recommend that you read at least the first six of these sections carefully before installing and using your Linear Sub. We would also draw your attention to the Mains Power Safety Warnings on this page. Finally, please enjoy your Linear Sub, but remember it is capable of generating high volume levels of low frequency sound, so please also be considerate of your neighbours. 2. Handling The Linear Sub is a relatively delicate precision engineered product that can be damaged by inappropriate handling. It is also large and heavy. Please take great care therefore when unpacking or moving it. Plan any handling in advance of carrying it out - ideally with a second person to help. Please take care when unpacking or moving the subwoofer not to touch any of the drivers. Damage to a driver will at best degrade the Linear Sub's performance and at worst result in its complete failure. The enclosure surfaces should also be handled sympathetically. Any cleaning should only require a soft cloth, slightly dampened if necessary. Be wary of using any polishes or solvent based cleaning agents. The packaging should be retained for future use. Linear 8 Rev E 2 16/8/05, 9:57 am 3. Installation The Linear Sub is intended to be used in either stereo audio music systems or multi-channel audio-visual (home theatre) systems. Although it is intended primarily to partner other products in the Linear range it may also be used successfully with alternative loudspeakers. Linear Sub must be fitted with either floor spikes or rubber feet. Floor spikes offer the highest potential performance and should be fitted if the subwoofer is to be placed on a carpeted floor. If spikes are inappropiate for your floor covering,metal protection pads,coins for example,maybe used between the spike and the floor. Note: Damage to the drive unit may result if Linear Sub is placed upright on the floor without floor spikes or feet fitted. The rubber feet or M8 floor spikes and lock-nuts should be fitted to the underside of the subwoofer once it has been moved near its final location. Carefully lay the subwoofer on its side to gain access to the tapped holes in the underside. If the rubber feet are to be used simply screw them into the tapped holes and return the subwoofer to upright. If floor spikes are to be used screw a spike and lock-nut into each hole leaving a length of Linear Sub is not magnetically shielded and may cause picture distortion if located too close to a CRT screen. Contact your dealer installer or Acoustic Energy for advice. spike extending beyond the lock-nut such that once the subwoofer is upright the lock-nuts will "float" just above the floor covering. Tighten three of the lock-nuts with a 13mm spanner leaving one lock-nut finger-tight to aid adjustment once the subwoofer is upright in its final position. Once the final position has been established adjust the length of the loose spike such that the subwoofer is vertical and does not rock. If the floor is particularly uneven it may be necessary to loosen one of the tightened spikes to ensure that the subwoofer can be levelled. Finally, tighten all loose lock-nuts. It may be necessary to re-adjust to minimise rock once the subwoofer has settled on the floor. Take care when installing floor spikes. They are sharp and can cause injury or pierce electrical cables. 4. Positioning The position of the speakers in a home theatre installation will have great influence over its performance. It is worth spending some time experimenting both with the finer points of speaker positioning, as well as the larger scale issues of room layout. Diagram One over the page illustrates an idealised general home theatre speaker layout. If you are already familiar with the characteristics of your room, and the way speakers perform in it, you may already have a good feel for where to position your Linear Sub. However, installing any new component provides a good opportunity to review an existing set-up and perhaps make improvements. In principle there is great freedom of position of a sub-woofer in a listening room. In practice, however, the performance will be fundamentally influenced by the room and position. Small changes of location, or of the acoustic character of items in the immediate vicinity of the subwoofer, can significantly influence its performance. Initially choose a site for the Linear Sub along one of the walls of the listening room well away, but not equi-distant, from the corners. It is not necessary that the Linear Sub be positioned along the same wall as the main loudspeakers. Chose a solid wall (rather than a partition) and keep the subwoofer clear of any large resonant objects - furniture panels, heating radiators, etc. Don't worry if, thanks to the architecture or layout of your room, it is not practical to follow these guidelines exactly. The most important thing is to experiment with the different options that are practical and find the best one. Once your Linear Sub is connected and working, and you begin to become familiar with its performance, it is likely to be worthwhile experimenting a little more with its positioning. For example, moving the Linear Sub towards a room corner will increase the level of low bass. This gain may however be at the expense of bass definition and consistency over the listening area. Page 1 Linear 8 Rev E 1 16/8/05, 9:57 am Diagram One (or integrated amplifiers incorporating preamplifier outputs). Connect to these input sockets using an appropriate RCA Phono connection cable. Ensure Left Front Centre Right Front that the cable is of good quality. If connecting from a stereo amplifier, connect the left output to the left input and the right output to the right input. If connecting from an audio visual processor the Sub-woofer single subwoofer output may be connected to either left or right input. The binding-post high level inputs are intended to be used in conventional stereo systems where Left Surround Viewing/listening position the Linear Sub is to augment the low frequency Right Surround performance of a pair full range speakers, and where no appropriate line-level signal is available. Connect using simple twin core cable from either the amplifier's speaker terminals or from the fullAlternative or Extra Left Surround Alternative or Extra Right Surround range speaker terminals themselves. Take care not to reverse the polarity of any connections (connect positive to positive and negative to negative) or any left/right orientation (connect left to left and 5. Connecting The Linear Sub requires connection both to mains power and an appropriate audio signal. The connection sockets are located on the back panel illustrated opposite. Leave the subwoofer switched-off at the mains until all connections are made and ensure that the subwoofer level control, also located on the back panel is turned fully anti-clockwise. Connecting your Linear Sub to an audio signal is a simple process, however, there are some choices to be made concerning connection mode. right to right). The binding posts will accept either "4mm" plugs or stripped wires. Take care if using stripped wires not to "short" the amplifier by unintentionally connecting stray wires. Note: An alternative high level input connections scheme is to connect from the stereo amplifier to the subwoofer high level inputs and then from the subwoofer high level outputs (see the following paragraph) to the full-range speakers. This scheme however both demands longer lengths of high quality speaker cable and introduces unnecessary connections between the amplifier and full-range speakers. Signal Output Connections Line level and high level signal output connections are also fitted to the Linear Sub rear panel. Both carry an output signal identical to the input signal and may be used for example to transfer the signal back to a power amplifier or to multiple subwoofers. Signal Input Connections Linear Sub is fitted with both linelevel and high level inputs. The RCA Phono socket line level inputs are intended to accept signals from either audio-visual processors or stereo preamplifiers Mains Connection After checking that the mains voltage specified on the subwoofer rear panel is set correctly, connect the subwoofer via its IEC mains input to a mains wall socket. Use only the mains cable supplied with the subwoofer. Page 2 Linear 8 Rev E 2 16/8/05, 9:57 am 6. Controls & System Setup Subwoofer Controls Accompanying the mains and signal input sockets on the subwoofer connection panel are a level control, a crossover frequency control, an auto power switch and a phase reversal switch. Their function and use is described in the following paragraphs. Subwoofer Level The level control adjusts the volume of the subwoofer relative to the satellites. Begin with the level control set to around 50%. Detailed subwoofer adjustment guidelines can be found in the following paragraphs. Subwoofer Crossover Frequency The crossover frequency control adjusts the upper frequency at which the subwoofer output is filtered for the full-range speakers to take over. If the Linear Sub is to be used exclusively in an audio-visual system the crossover frequency should be set at 80Hz. If the Linear Sub is to augment the low frequency performance of a pair full range speakers, the crossover frequency should be set to match their low frequency roll-off frequency. The larger the speaker, the lower its low frequency roll-off will be. Finding the optimal crossover frequency setting will require experiment and adjustment, but reasonable initial values for different speaker types are as follows: Large floor stand speaker (Linear 3): Medium stand mount loudspeakers: Small stand mount speakers (Linear 1): Subwoofer Phase The phase switch reverses the subwoofer acoustic polarity. With the switch set to 0° the subwoofer output is in phase with the full range speakers. With the switch set to 180° the subwoofer output is out of phase. Reversing the subwoofer phase can help opt ...