ACI Essence Owners manual

Essence

Reference Center

Owner's Manual

Table of Contents:

Guarantee/Warranty …2
Specifications …4
Design Philosophy …4
Using your Speakers …6
Avoiding Damage …7
Hookup …8
Positioning the Essence ...8
Break-In …9
Troubleshooting …10
Warranty Registration …11

Audio Concepts, Inc.

901 South 4th Street, La Crosse, WI 54601 Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone]

Website: www.audioc.com Email: [e-mail]

All Rights Reserved 2003

Sound that Satisfies…

2

Audio Concepts, Inc.

Our Guarantee and Warranty

Satisfaction Guaranteed:

We’re sure you’re going to love your new Audio Concepts, Inc. (ACI) products! In the unlikely event
that you are not satisfied, please contact us within 30 days of receipt of your ACI products for a
hassle-free return.

Simply follow these procedures:

1. Return Authorization: Call us at [phone] or email [e-mail], within 30 days of receipt of your ACI

products for a return authorization number. Boldly mark the return authorization number on the outside of the box.
Include a brief note stating your name, address and daytime telephone number, along with a short description why the
products are being returned.

2. Returning: We request that you return the ACI products to us in their original packaging and include packaging

materials, manuals, etc. Ship by the most economical means (preferably UPS) and insure the products for the invoice
purchase price. The customer is responsible for return shipping. Please note: ACI can not accept C.O.D. returns.

3. Credit: Upon receipt and inspection, we will issue a refund for the invoice purchase price and invoiced UPS Ground

service only. Please note this return policy is in effect only if the ACI products are in new condition, in their original
packaging, without drilled holes, disassembled or any other modifications.

Speaker Manufacture’s Warranty:

ACI’s Five Year Standard Warranty and One Year Total Assurance Guarantee
For five years from receipt, Audio Concepts, Inc. will, at its option, repair or replace factory defective

components. This warranty excludes products that have been abused, modified, or disassembled in
any way. This warranty does not apply to products, which have been damaged in shipping. Audio
Concepts, Inc. liability is limited only to the replacement of defective parts. No other liabilities or
obligations are expressed or implied.

For the first year of ownership, ACI also provides a unique Total Assurance Guarantee, (TAG).
TAG from ACI not only covers everything included in our standard five year warranty, but we will

also pay for shipping to ACI and back to your front door. TAG is limited to shipping destinations in
the Continental U.S.

The ACI Five Year Standard Warranty and One Year Total Assurance Guarantee are fully
transferable from the original owner to a secondary owner provided that the original owner notifies
ACI, by phone call or by filling out the on-line form: www.audioc.com/order/warranty_transfer.htm

No warranty will be transferred absent this notification.

Simply follow these procedures:

1. Return Authorization: Call us at [phone] or email [e-mail] for a return authorization number. If

the warranty repair is during the first year of ownership, additional instructions will be given to you at that time. Boldly
mark the return authorization number on the outside of the box. Include a brief note with your name, address and a
daytime telephone number, along with a short description why the products are being returned.

2. Returning: Carefully repack defective ACI merchandise in their original packaging. Ship by the most economical

means (preferably UPS) and insure the products for their full retail value. The customer is responsible for return
shipping (unless the first year TAG applies). Please note: ACI can not accept COD or Freight Collect returns.

3. Replacement: Audio Concepts, Inc. will inspect and determine the cause of failure and will pay return shipping on the

defective goods replaced or repaired.

Please ship any returns to the following address:

Audio Concepts, Inc., 901 So. 4

th

Street, La Crosse, WI 54601 [phone]

3

IMPORTANT NOTICE

All new speakers require a minimum of 60 hours break-in-time before
they sound the way they are supposed to. A speaker's performance improves significantly
once broken in. It is critical that you have at least 60 hours on your speakers before you
evaluate them. Don't worry if your speakers do not sound perfect the first time you play
them. This is normal until they are broken in. If you are having difficulty getting enough
hours on your speakers and your 30 day return privilege is getting near, call us. We will
work with you. Please give us the courtesy of breaking the speakers in before you
determine they don't sound right.

Many of our customers break their speakers in by:
A) Leaving them on at moderate listening levels when they are not home.

B) Leaving them on at moderate listening levels while they sleep.
C) Running pink noise through them.

These methods are not convenient for everyone and we understand this. But please
know that you are not giving yourself, your speakers or us a fair chance if you do not break
them in before critical evaluation.

THANK YOU!

4

The Essence

Thank you for your order and congratulations on becoming the owner of an Audio Concepts, Inc. (ACI)
speaker system. The Essence is an audiophile quality system that will provide you with many years of listening
pleasure. Be sure and take a moment to register your warranty either by mail or on-line at www.audioc.com.

Essence: according to Webster, "the ultimate nature of a thing . . .one that possesses or exhibits a
quality in abundance". In multi-channel systems, the critical nature of the center channel demands absolute
excellence. This is what the Essence is designed to provide in your system. Simply put, the Essence is the
ultimate non-powered center speaker you can install in your system. Judge it by whatever criteria you apply:
dynamics, tonality, neutrality, reality, appearance, build quality. The Essence will deliver those qualities "in
abundance".

As in all ACI products, the finest drivers are used with extensively engineered and tested precision
crossover networks. The cabinets are built to be extremely inert with extensive internal bracing. The midrange
chamber is specially shaped and damped. All design and quality aspects combine to yield absolute state-of­the-art sound. The use of the finest lacquers and hardwoods results in a cabinet of exceptional beauty and
durability.

Specifications

Frequency response: 75-20kHz ±3db
Nominal impedance: 8 ohms
Sensitivity: 87db 1 watt/1 meter
Bass-loading: Low Q sealed alignment
Recommended RMS Power: 50-250 watts
Tweeter: 1” silk dome, ferro-fluid cooled
Bass-mid: 5 ¼” cast-frame, rubber surround, double magnet, long-throw, shielded
Woofers: Dual 6 ½” cast-frame, rubber surround, double magnet, shielded
Dimensions: 11 1/2” tall, 29 1/2” wide and 12 1/2” deep
Weight: 53 lbs
Recommended accessories: Center Stand, DH Labs Speaker Cable

Design philosophy for the Essence

Modern speaker design is a combination of science, art and sweat. A successful design such as the
Essence requires thousands of hours utilizing computer modeling, several generations of prototypes, precision
testing, critical listening and many "fine tunings".

Our design goals for the Essence were to produce a speaker that would set the standard for multi­channel use. The Essence had to be the ultimate performer not only for the center channel, but for all
channels in a multi-channel system. The Essence had to be an attractively proportioned and constructed
speaker with smooth, uncolored, wide-range response, three-dimensional stereo imaging, good sensitivity,
high power handling and dynamics, crystal clear dialog and effects, and the ability to convey the "soul" of the
musical score. The Essence had to be extremely linear in the midrange with controlled dispersion to provide
optimum speech intelligibility for video dialog, (center channel) applications. We also set a goal that the
Essence must be able to achieve optimum performance in their system and room placement. We are pleased