Bose ACOUSTIMASS 15 HOME CINEMA SPEAKER SYSTEM, ACOUSTIMASS 15 SERIES III, ACOUSTIMASS 16 User Manual

Acoustimass® 16 Series II
Acoustimass® 15 Series III

HOME ENTERTAINMENT SPEAKER SYSTEM

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SAFETY INFORMATION

Please read this owner’s guide

Please take the time to follow this owner’s guide carefully. It will help you set up and operate your system properly
and enjoy all of its advanced features. Please save your owner’s guide for future reference.

For your safety

WARNING: To reduce the risk of fire or electric shock, do not expose the powered Acoustimass® module to rain or

moisture.

WARNING: No naked flame sources, such as lighted candles, should be placed on the apparatus.

These CAUTION marks are located on the rear of the Acoustimass module:

The lightning flash with arrowhead symbol within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the
presence of uninsulated, dangerous voltage within the system enclosure that may be of sufficient magni­tude to constitute a risk of electric shock.

EnglishFrançais Español

The exclamation point within an equilateral triangle, as marked on the system, is intended to alert the user
to the presence of important operating and maintenance instructions in this owner’s guide.

CAUTION: To prevent electric shock, match the wide blade of the line cord plug to the wide slot of the AC (mains)
receptacle. Insert fully.

This product conforms to the EMC Directive 89/336/EEC and to the Low Voltage Directive 73/23/EEC.
The complete Declaration of Conformity can be found on www.bose.com/static/compliance/index.html.

Additional safety information

See the additional safety information on the Important Safety Instructions page enclosed with your speaker system.

For your records

The system serial number is located on the rear of the Acoustimass module.
Serial number: ___________________________________________________________________________________
Dealer name: ____________________________________________________________________________________
Dealer phone: _______________________________ Purchase date: ____________________________________
Please keep your sales receipt and warranty card together with this owner’s guide.

©2006 Bose Corporation. No part of this work may be reproduced, modified, distributed or otherwise used without prior written permission.
Manufactured under license from Dolby Laboratories. “Dolby” and the double-D symbol are trademarks of Dolby Laboratories. Confidential Unpub­lished Works. ©1992-1997 Dolby Laboratories. All rights reserved.

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CONTENTS

SETTING UP 4

Unpacking the carton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Choosing locations for your speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Placing the center front speaker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Placing your left and right front speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Placing your rear speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Placing your Acoustimass

Making the connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Connecting speakers to the Acoustimass module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Connecting the Acoustimass

Checking and finalizing connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Optional upgrade for your Acoustimass 15 system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

USING YOUR SYSTEM 11

Getting the most from your home theater speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Adjusting the bass/room compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Adjusting the LFE level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Setting your digital surround sound receiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Receiving a digital audio signal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Setting your analog surround sound receiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

®

module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

®

module to the receiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

REFERENCE 13

Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Customer service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Cleaning the speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Limited warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Technical information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

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SETTING UP

Before you begin

We appreciate your choice of the Bose® Acoustimass® 16 Series II or 15 Series III home !
entertainment speaker system. Each system features a combination of cube speaker arrays,
center front speaker, and a powered Acoustimass module. Together, they reproduce the !
full-spectrum sound of multi-channel digital programming for a powerful and realistic home
theater experience.

Unpacking the carton

Carefully unpack the carton contents as follows:

1. Remove the brown inner carton containing the cube speaker arrays and center front

2. Gently roll the large carton onto its side and pull out the Acoustimass module.

WARNING:

Save all packing materials, which provide the best means to transport the system, for !
possible future use.

If any parts appear damaged, do not use them. Instead, repack the system in the original !
carton and contact your authorized Bose dealer. Or, to contact Bose directly, refer to the
address list included in the carton.

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speaker.

To avoid injury, use care in lifting the module, which weighs 33 pounds (15 kg).

Figure 1

Carton contents

Acoustimass module

With Acoustimass 15 Series IIl system

Center

front speaker

Four cube array speakers

Two 50-ft (15.2 m)

rear speaker cables

U.S.A/Canada Europe U.K./Singapore Australia

system input cable

Rubber feet

Power cord (1)

20-ft (6.1 m)

Three 20-ft (6.1 m)

front speaker cables

With Acoustimass 16 Series II system

Center

front speaker

Five cube array speakers

Three 50-ft (15.2 m)
rear speaker cables

Now is a good time to record the serial number for this system on page 2 of this guide and on
your warranty card.

WARNING:

To avoid danger of suffocation, keep the plastic bags that wrap these speakers out

of the reach of children.

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Choosing locations for your speakers

Keep these guidelines in mind when choosing a location for each speaker:

• Select a stable and level surface for each of the small speakers. !
Vibration can cause them to move, particularly on smooth surfaces like marble, glass, or
highly polished wood. To prevent this problem, rubber feet are provided for attachment to
the bottom of the center front speaker.

Note:

You may order additional rubber feet, free of charge, by contacting Bose. Refer to the

address list included in the carton.

• The center front speaker is for use at the front of the room and near the center of your TV.

• The cube speaker arrays in your system are identical and can be used interchangeably.

• The top and bottom cubes of each speaker array can be rotated to create !
room-filling sound patterns (b and d).

• All of the small speakers are magnetically shielded to prevent interference with a TV picture.

• The Acoustimass
interference.

The shape and size of your room and location of the furniture in it will affect your choice of
speaker locations. Use the examples below as the basis, but not the rule, for your home !
theater setup.

®

module should be at least 2 feet (.6 m) from your TV set to prevent !

SETTING UP

Figure 2

Sample speaker placement
(a and c) and performance
results (b and d)

Acoustimass 16 system

a.

Acoustimass 15 system

c.

b.

d.

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