Cambridge Soundworks Slave Subwoofer User Manual

Instructions for:

Powered Subwoofer

& Slave Subwoofer

by Henry Kloss

Contents

Safety Precautions ............................................................................ i, ii

Important—Please Read First .............................................................. 1

Unpacking The Subwoofer .................................................................. 2

Audio And AC Power Connections ....................................................... 2

Connecting A Slave Subwoofer ............................................................ 4

Placement ............................................................................................ 5

The Subwoofer Level Control ............................................................... 6

Selecting Low-Pass Frequency ............................................................. 7

Advantages Of The Slave Subwoofer ................................................... 8

The Final Touch ................................................................................... 8

Installing Low Cut Filters .................................................................... 9

Cleaning The Cabinets ......................................................................... 9

Replacing The Fuse ........................................................................... 10

Difficulty? .......................................................................................... 10

Limited Warranty .............................................................................. 11

IMPORTANT

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

READ AND HEED IMPORTANT SAFETY WARNING

WARNING

SHOCK HAZARD

DO NOT OPEN

TO PREVENT THE RISK OF ELECTRIC
SHOCK, DO NOT REMOVE SUBWOOF­ER’S COVER. NO USER-SERVICEABLE
PARTS INSIDE. REFER SERVICING TO
QUALIFIED SERVICE PERSONNEL.

POUR EVITER TOUT RISQUE DE CHOC
ELECTRIQUE, NE PAS DEMONTER LE
COUVERCLE DU HAUT PARLEUR.
AUCUN ENTRETIEN DES PIECES
INTERIEURES N’EST REQUIS.TOUT
SERVICE D’ENTRETIEN NE DOIT ETRE
EFFECTUE QUE PAR DU PERSONNEL
D’ENTRETIEN QUALIFIE.

AVIS

RISQUE DE CHOC ELECTRIQUE

NE PAS OUVRIR

ON BACK OF SUBWOOFER ENCLOSURE

The exclamation point within an equilateral
triangle is intended to alert the user of the
presence of important operating and main­tenance (servicing) instructions in the lit­erature accompanying this product.

CAUTION: TO PREVENT ELECTRIC

SHOCK, MATCH WIDE BLADE OF PLUG
TO WIDE SLOT, INSERT FULLY.

ATTENTION: POUR EVITER LES CHOCS

ELECTRIQUES, INTRODUIRE LA LAME LA PLUS
LARGE DE LA FICHE DANS LA BORNE
CORRESPONDANTE DE LA PRISE ET POUSSER
JUSQU’AU FOND.

TO PREVENT FIRE OR

WARNING:

SHOCK HAZARD, DO NOT
EXPOSE THIS APPLIANCE
TO RAIN OR MOISTURE.

The serial number for the subwoofer is located
on the subwoofer’s control panel. Please write
this number down and keep it in a secure area.
This is for your security.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

i

IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

READ INSTRUCTIONS - All safety and op-

erating instructions should be read before

Powered Subwoofer

the

Subwoofer

RETAIN INSTRUCTIONS - The safety and

operating instructions should be retained
for future reference.

HEED WARNINGS - All warnings on the

subwoofer and in the operating instruc­tions should be adhered to.

FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS - All operating

and use instructions should be followed.

CLEANING - Unplug the subwoofer from the

wall outlet or other power source before
cleaning. Do not use liquid cleaners or
aerosol cleaners. Use a damp cloth for
cleaning.

ATTACHMENTS - Do not use attachments

not recommended by Cambridge
SoundWorks as they may cause hazards.

WATER AND MOISTURE - Do not use the

subwoofer near water—for example, near
a bath tub, wash bowl, kitchen sink, or
laundry tub; in a wet basement; or near a
swimming pool; and the like.

ACCESSORIES - Do not place the

Subwoofer

unstable cart, stand, tripod, bracket, or
table. The subwoofer may fall, causing
serious injury to a child or adult, and
serious damage to the product. Use only
with a cart, stand, tripod, bracket, or table
recommended by Cambridge Sound­Works, or sold with the product. The sub­woofer should follow the manufacturer’s
instructions.

is operated.

or

Slave Subwoofer

or

Slave

Powered

on an

VENTILATION - Slots and openings in the

cabinet are provided for ventilation and to
ensure reliable operation of the subwoofer
and to prevent it from overheating, and
these openings must not be blocked or
covered. The openings should never be
blocked by placing the product on a bed,
sofa, rug, or other similar surface. The
subwoofer should not be placed in a built­in installation such as a bookcase or rack
unless proper ventilation is.

HEAT - The subwoofer should be situated

away from heat sources such as radia­tors, heat registers, stoves, and other
products (including amplifiers) that pro­duce heat.

POWER SOURCES - The subwoofer should

be operated only from the type of power
source indicated on the marking label. If
you are not sure of the type of power
supply to your home, consult your product
dealer or local power company.

POLARIZATION - The subwoofer may be

equipped with a polarized alternating-cur­rent line plug (a plug having one blade
wider than the other). This plug will fit into
the power outlet only one way. This is a
safety feature. If you are unable to insert
the plug fully into the outlet, try reversing
the plug. If the plug should still fail to fit,
contact your electrician to replace your
obsolete outlet. Do not defeat the safety
purpose of the polarized plug.

POWER-CORD PROTECTION - AC power

cords should be routed so that they are
not likely to be walked on or pinched by
items placed upon or against them, pay­ing particular attention to cords at plugs,
convenience receptacles, and the point
where they exit from the subwoofer.

LIGHTNING - For added protection for the

Powered Subwoofer
Subwoofer

storm, or when it is left unattended and
unused for long periods of time, unplug it
from the wall outlet. This will prevent dam­age to the subwoofer due to lightning and
power-line surges.

OVERLOADING - Do not overload wall out-

lets, extension cords, or integral conve­nience receptacles as this can result in a
risk of fire or electric shock.

OBJECT AND LIQUID ENTRY - Never push

objects of any kind into the subwoofer
through openings as they may touch dan­gerous voltage points or short out parts
that could result in a fire or electric shock.
Never spill liquid of any kind on the sub­woofer.

SERVICING - Do not attempt to service the

subwoofer yourself as opening or remov­ing covers may expose you to dangerous
voltage or other hazards. Refer all servic­ing to qualified service personnel.

system during a lightning

or the

Slave

DAMAGE REQUIRING SERVICE - Unplug

the subwoofer from the wall outlet or other
power source and refer servicing to quali­fied service personnel under the following
conditions:
a) When the power-supply cord or plug is
damaged.
b) If liquid has been spilled, or objects
have fallen into the subwoofer.
c) If the subwoofer has been exposed to
rain or water.
d) If the subwoofer does not operate nor­mally by following the operating instruc­tions; or exhibits a distinct change in per­formance.
e) If the product has been dropped or
damaged in any way.

REPLACEMENT PARTS - When replace-

ment parts are required, be sure the ser­vice technician has used replacement
parts specified by Cambridge SoundWorks
or have the same characteristics as the
original part. Unauthorized substitutions
may result in fire, electric shock, or other
hazards.

SAFETY CHECK - Upon completion of any

service or repairs to the

Subwoofer

service technician to perform safety checks
to determine that the
or
condition.

or

Slave Subwoofer

Slave Subwoofer

Powered Subwoofer

is in proper operating

Powered

, ask the

ii

Important – Please Read First

ass drums, organs, and
electronic synthesizers are
among the very few instru-

B

ments that produce extremely
low frequency sounds. As a result,
comparatively few home loudspeak­ers are designed to reproduce bass
below about 50 Hz.

Today, however, home loudspeak­ers are called upon to reproduce
more than music: in home theater
systems, they are called upon to
reproduce movie soundtracks. And
modern movie soundtracks contain
a lot of energy at very low frequen­cies—on sound effects. To do full
justice to these effects, as well as to
the musical low frequencies missed
by most speakers, the Cambridge
SoundWorks powered subwoofer
systems reproduce, at high power,
the lowest bass sounds the human
ear can detect.

You should keep in mind when
installing your system and investi­gating its capabilities that you will

be dealing with a relatively unfami­liar range of sounds. These are
sounds more felt than heard, and
are encountered more often in the
well-equipped movie theater than
in the concert hall.

Also keep in mind that a
Cambridge SoundWorks Audio/
Video Consultant is only a toll-free
call away should you need advice
or assistance.

Cambridge SoundWorks

1-877-YES-HIFI

(1-877-937-4434)

24 hours a day,

every day

In Canada: 1-800-987-9104

Outside US or Canada:

Tel: [phone]

Fax: [phone]

www.cambridgesoundworks.com

E-mail:

[e-mail]

1

Unpacking

1. Upon unpacking your Powered
Subwoofer (or Slave Subwoofer),

please examine carefully for any
signs of shipping damage. If
there is any damage, do not
install or use the subwoofer.
Consult the store where you
purchased the subwoofer for
assistance. If purchased through
our mail order catalog service,
call Cambridge SoundWorks
at 1-877-937-4434.

2. If you purchased a Cambridge
SoundWorks Powered
Subwoofer, its accessory pack
should contain:

• One spare T3.15A, 250V fuse

• Four square rubber feet

3. If you purchased a Cambridge
SoundWorks Slave Subwoofer,
its accessory pack should
contain:

• One spare T3.15A, 250V fuse

• 25 feet of 16 gauge

speaker wire

• One wire stripper

• Four wire nuts

• Four square rubber feet

4. We suggest that you keep the
shipping carton and packing
materials in case you later
move, or have to ship your
subwoofer.

Audio And AC Power Connections

Note: Make all connections with the
Powered Subwoofer switched off.

The Powered Subwoofer can be
connected to the main amplifier’s
speaker outputs, from stereo
preamp outputs or from a mono
subwoofer output.

Using the speaker outputs of
your main amplifier to drive the
Powered Subwoofer is usually the
best way to connect the Powered
Subwoofer, even if you have a
separate preamp or subwoofer
output (like the subwoofer output
on a Dolby Digital

If you have large Left and Right
speakers and a Dolby Digital (AC-3)
system, please be sure to read the
note at the end of this section.

Connection Method One:

Connect directly to an amplifier or
receiver’s speaker output terminals
using conventional speaker wire
(Figure 1 on page 3). You can use
lightweight speaker wire (20-22
gauge) because this is a high im­pedance connection. The Powered
Subwoofer uses virtually none of
the amplifier or receiver’s output
power. Be sure to connect these
new speaker wires to the same

®

(AC-3) system).

speaker outputs used by your main
speakers. Do not use any additional
speaker output terminals your
amplifier or receiver may have.

Alternatively, you may connect
the speaker wires between the
Powered Subwoofer and the input
terminals of your main speakers
instead of the amplifier or receiver’s
speaker output terminals.

Be sure the speaker wire connects
the positive (+) terminals of the
subwoofer to the positive (+)
terminals of the amplifier or re­ceiver (and similarly connects the
negative (–) terminals together). All
two-conductor speaker cable is
coded along one conductor by
lettering, a stripe or a raised bead

-or- the appearance of the two
conductors differs, usually one
copper and one silver. This allows
you to easily connect the proper
conductor to each terminal.

Connection Method Two: Connect
from a stereo preamp output to the
Powered Subwoofer’s Line Level
inputs. A suitable length of conven­tional stereo phono cable with RCA
plugs at each end is all you need if
your preamp has an unused stereo
preamp output.

2