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ELS Active Subwoofer
Instruction Manual
Page 2
Thank you for purchasing Epos Loudspeakers. Please take
a little time to read these brief notes, which will help you get
the best results from your loudspeaker.
This Subwoofer comes complete with the following items:
(Should anything be missing, please contact your dealer/supplier).
1x EPOS ELS SUBWOOFER (Including Detachable Grill).
4x EPOS SPIKES (Including any relevant fixings).
2x POWER CABLES (See text in the Warning section).
CONTENTS:
Important Safety Precautions..............................................2&3
Getting Started..........................................................................4
Subwoofer Controls.............................................................5&6
Subwoofer Performance & Specifications.........................7&8
Troubleshooting and Warranty................................................9
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WARNING
For safety reasons please read the following instructions and
the enclosed Important Safety Information carefully before
attempting to connect your Epos ELS Subwoofer to the mains.
The ELS Sub is not designed for permanent external use. Being a
powered product it would be damaged by rain water or other
contaminants entering into the amplifier via the vent holes and the
wooden cabinet would be damaged if soaked with water.
As with all electrical products, make sure the correct mains voltage
is selected by the two way selector switch on the rear panel marked
AC Voltage Selector. If you are in any doubt, contact your supplier
for advice. As a general rule, the amplifier cannot be damaged by
supplying lower voltages than marked on the switch panel, but
excessive voltage will cause the mains fuse to blow or possibly even
damage the internal circuitry (if in doubt, ask your dealer/supplier).
Two power cords are supplied as standard with the ELS Sub, which
have the international IEC connector for plugging into the amplifier
panel at one end and either of two styles of plug at the other end.
USA, Canada and Japan - The USA style plug with two flat blades
should be used with the voltage selector switched to 115V operation
and a mains fuse rated at 4 Amp inserted in the pull-out drawer.
Europe - The two round pin Euro plug should be used with the AC
Voltage selector switched to 230V.
UK, Hong Kong - 3 Pin UK Plugs will be supplied separately by
your dealer/supplier. Please check if in doubt.
Important Safety Precautions
Sub
Page 3
CAUTION
To reduce the risk of electric shock, do not remove the rear
panel. There are no user-serviceable parts inside. Please
refer all servicing to a qualified engineer.
VENTILATION
Slots and openings in the cabinet are provided for ventilation and
to ensure reliable operation of the product and to protect it from
overheating, 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.
This product should not be placed in a built-in installation such as a
bookcase or rack unless proper ventilation is provided and the
manufacturer’s instructions have been adhered to.
The lightning flash with the arrowhead symbol within an equilateral
triangle is intended to alert the user to the presence of uninsulated
‘dangerous voltage’ within the product’s enclosure that may be of
sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of electric shock to
persons.
The exclamation mark within an equilateral triangle is
intended to alert the user to the presence of important safety
information featured within this instruction manual.
RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK
DO NOT OPEN
RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK
DO NOT OPEN
CAUTIONCAUTION
SAFETY PRECAUTIONS
The ELS Sub is heavy. (20Kgs/44lbs) Do not try to lift or carry it
around alone. Two people are required to lift it so please be careful.
Get help from a family member or friend if this product is not
installed by a professional person.
The best way to remove the speaker from the carton is to open the
top of the carton, roll it over with the flaps folded out and pull the
carton off, leaving the speaker in its protective polyethylene foam.
Pull one foam frame off at a time and lower the speaker to the floor
carefully. Remove the poly bag and keep it out of the hands of
children and babies as it can cause suffocation.
Read Instructions - All the safety and operating instructions should
be read before the product is operated
Retain Instructions - The safety and operating instructions should
be retained for future reference.
Heed Warnings - All warnings on the product and the operating
instructions should be adhered to.
Follow instructions - All operating and use instructions should be
followed.
Cleaning - Unplug this product from the wall outlet before cleaning.
Do not use liquid cleaners or aerosol cleaners. Use a damp cloth for
cleaning.
UNPACKING
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Important Safety Precautions
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OVERVIEW
The Epos ELS Sub is an active loudspeaker. In other words, that
means that it has an in-built power amplifier to boost the signal
level. Therefore, there is no need for an external power amplifier to
drive it. In addition, the ELS Sub has a complex filter circuit which
boosts sub-sonic frequencies and is adjustable to allow it to be
matched to different room sizes, shapes and user requirements.
The rear panel controls provide a range of adjustment for this
purpose.
The ELS Sub is designed to extend the low frequency response of
both 2 channel and multi-channel systems, which demand very
different tonal balance. This is described later, but control
adjustment and placement in the listening room is important, so
please read these instructions carefully for best results.
QUALITY
The ELS Sub has a massive and powerful 10” loudspeaker driver,
with enough magnet strength and voice coil size to handle very
high power levels for long periods without distress. Its cone
diaphragm is very stiff to keep distortion and colouration to a
minimum. The rubber suspension surround is smaller than normal
and quite stiff, which also helps to reduce distortion and low
frequency over-hang. In short it has been designed to be more
appropriate for a two channel bass unit than a conventional subwoofer.
To further boost the fidelity of the ELS Sub, it has a very stiff cabinet
with extensive internal bracing, which is rarely found in
conventional subwoofers and has a completely separate section
at the back of the cabinet to house the amplifier, which is more
normally found in professional speakers and not found in
conventional subwoofer at any price.
To further improve the sound quality Epos does not use port tuning
to achieve increased bass extension, which avoids 'chuffing' air
turbulence noises interfering with the fidelity of the speaker.
In short, the ELS Sub is very unusual and can be used to good effect
to extend the frequency response of a stereo system of any quality
or price.
INSTALLATION AND SETUP
Having established which power cord to use, select the correct
mains voltage for your region with the selector switch on the back
panel. (If in doubt, please read Page 2 again or ask your supplying
dealer for advice). If neither of the two cords are correct for your
mains supply socket, do not proceed until you have contacted
your dealer for advice or assistance.
Positioning the subwoofer is important if the best results are to be
achieved. Place the sub where it can be connected easily to the
mains power supply and to the output of the receiver or amplifier
used for the rest of your system. Needless to say, this would
normally be at the front of the system, but be prepared to move it
around the room to gain the best results.
Find the best position before mounting it on its spiked feet. Once
this is done, screw the feet which are supplied in the accessory pack
into the screw inserts in the bottom of the cabinet and adjust the
height of each to make it level and tighten the locking nuts to secure
them and prevent rattling. Allow room to make adjustments and to
see the controls. The mains supply can be left connected as it has a
low current standby condition which is enabled when no signal is
present for a short while.
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Getting Started
Sub
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You are now ready to set-up the system using the user guide
or instructions from your receiver or DVD player. The sound
balance can be adjusted with the controls on the back panel.
1. High Level Input
If your amplification system does not have a dedicated subwoofer
line output, your subwoofer must be connected via the high level
terminals on the rear panel. Connection should be made from the
speaker terminals on your amplification system to the High Level
Input Connections.
Note: To prevent damage to the amplifier, only connect using line
level inputs OR high level inputs. DO NOT USE BOTH METHODS
OF CONNECTION AT THE SAME TIME.
2. Volume
This is self explanatory but it may be easier to set the output of the
receiver or decoder to 0dB and then adjust the level of the sub to
suit the room. Small adjustments can be more easily made with the
receiver gain rather than jumping up and down to adjust the
volume on the back of the ELS Sub.
3. Low Filter
Adjustment is necessary to extend or limit the low frequencies the
sub is able to produce, so that it better matches your room acoustic
and personal sound preference. Not everyone will appreciate the
effect of sub-sonic movie effects. Even if you think they are great,
please remember that low frequencies travel through walls much
more easily than high frequencies, so please give a thought to
neighbours or other family members who don't share your passion.
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Subwoofer Controls
In the case of multi-channel system (5.1), connect a shielded cable
from the sub-sonic output of your receiver and connect it to the
RCA sockets on the back of the ELS Sub marked low level input.
You will notice that there are two low level input sockets, marked L
and R, which allows for a stereo signal. It can be necessary to join
these together with a RCA combiner, supplied with the accessory
pack if you find the source signal level is not enough to drive the
ELS Sub to maximum power level.
Set all the controls to the middle position and switch on the ELS
Sub using the switch marked POWER. Above the switch is a small
LED indicator which will light if everything is OK. Red is the standby
condition and green is the colour for normal operation.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
VOLUME
HI-FILTER
PHASE
POWER
AC VOLTAGE
SELECTOR
230V
115V
LOW FILTER
MIN
MAX
MIN
MAX 180
0
++
++
HI-LEVEL OUTPUT
HI-LEVEL INPUT
LOW LEVEL
IN
OUT
300 WATTS HIGH POWERED SUBWOOFER
WARNING: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT
EXPOSE THIS APPLIANCE TO RAIN OR MOISTURE.
AVERTISSEMENT: POUR PREVENIR LES RISQUES D’INCENDIE OU DE
CHOC ELECTRIQUE, EVITER D’EXPOSER CET APPAREIL A LA PLUIE OU A
L’HUMIDITE.
“WARNING: FOR CONTINUED PROTECTION AGAINST RISK OF FIRE,
REPLACE ONLY WITH THE SAME TYPE OF FUSE”.
“AVERTISSEMENT: UTILISER UN FUSIBLE DE RECHANGE DE MEME TYPE”.
DESIGNED AND ENGINEERED IN ENGLAND
AC~115V/60Hz
FUSE: T6 A 250V
AC~115V/60Hz
FUSE: T6 A 250V
AC~240V/50Hz
FUSE: T3.15A 250V
AC~240V/50Hz
FUSE: T3.15A 250V
POWER CONSUMPTION:
500 WATTS
RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK
DO NOT OPEN
CAUTION
WARNING: SHOCK HAZARD - DO NOT OPEN
AVIS: RISQUE DE CHOC ELECTRIQUE - NE PAS OUVRIR
R LR
L
L
R
www.epos-loudspeakers.com
DO NOT
BLOCK
VENT
HOLES
RED = STANDBY
GREEN = ON
MIN
MAX
SERIAL NUMBER
ON
OFF
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4. Power Switch
Turns the subwoofer ‘ON’ or ‘OFF’ (When left in the ON position
without a signal allows the ‘STANDBY’ feature to become active).
5. IEC Socket (Mains)
Use this socket to connect to an appropriate mains socket via the
IEC Power Cable supplied.
6. AC Voltage Selector Switch
Please ensure the AC Voltage selector is in the correct position.
(See page 2).
7. High Filter
Adjustment is necessary to match the ELS Sub to the speakers
you have chosen to use in the rest of your system. As all speakers
have a different low frequency range, depending on their size and
how many drivers they use, it will be necessary to adjust the upper
cross-over point of the ELS Sub to seamlessly integrate with the
output of the front and centre channel speakers which are not
designed to provide sub-sonic bass. In addition the signal provided
to these channels is frequency limited in the receiver or decoder.
8. Phase
Adjustment is necessary to properly integrate the output of the
ELS Sub to match the respective phase of the front, centre and
rear speakers in your 5.1 system. Phase describes the polarity of
the sound waves travelling to your ears. Positive means moving
forward and negative means moving back. If the sound from your
front speakers is designed to be more positive at their low
frequency extreme, it is necessary to adjust the output of the ELS
Sub to be positive also, otherwise they will tend to cancel one
another out and reduce the level or distort or colour the sound.
There is no simple measurement for this process, which should be
done simply by trial and error. You will easily hear which setting best
suits your system after you run it with a signal and adjust the Phase
until you hear the most pleasing result.
9. Low Level Input
If your amplification system has a dedicated subwoofer output it
should be connected to the line level input. If you have a mono
connection from your amplifier you may use either connection.
The output sockets can be used if an additional subwoofer is to be
added to your system.
Note: To prevent damage to the amplifier, only connect using high
level inputs OR line level inputs. DO NOT USE BOTH METHODS
OF CONNECTION AT THE SAME TIME.
10. High level input
For systems that don't have line level or pre-amplifier outputs to
provide a full bandwidth signal to the subwoofer to deal with, it is
necessary to patch the front speakers through the sub's high level
input sockets and out of the high level output sockets on to the front
channel speakers. This cannot be recommended for the best fidelity
as it will, needless to say, be taking a high level signal from a power
amplifier and attenuating it inside the subwoofer to the level suitable
to be amplified again by the subwoofer's amplifier. Always use the
low level input for best results.
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Subwoofer Controls
Sub
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STEREO SYSTEMS
These tend to be difficult to integrate with conventional subwoofers
because, for the most part, sub woofers are generally not designed
to match them and suit 5.1 systems only. The Epos ELS Sub is
different and was conceived as a means of extending the
frequency response of a small pair of bookshelf speakers, rather
than just producing large outputs at one particular frequency, such
as 60 Hz.
This may appear to contradict established principles, but Epos
engineers have not limited themselves to only trying to produce a
product that plays 'one note' sound. For that reason the ELS Sub is
capable of extending low frequencies with a relatively flat
response down to 20 Hz. This is most unusual and would normally
be unheard of in conventional woofers, because apart from
anything else, their cabinets and amplifiers would rattle and buzz,
due to the simple method of construction used.
OVER CURRENT CUTOUT
The ELS Sub does not use a compression limiter to pre-distort the
signals it cannot handle, to prevent it from cutting out. No amplifier
has infinite power capabilities and has to be protected from
destroying itself under extreme conditions. To protect the ELS
Sub's 300W amplifier from excessive current demands, it has
been designed to cut the signal to the speaker in the event of an
overload.
This will temporarily mute the subwoofer and stop it from working
until the demand is lower. If the volume is reduced, the frequency
range is altered to cut-off at a higher frequency or the passage
containing the high level low frequency sound is passed, the sound
output will be restored automatically.
OVER TEMPERATURE CUTOUT
To protect the amplifier from damage caused by excessive heat,
there is a thermal sensor attached to the amplifier's heatsink that is
set to trip the output if the internal temperature exceeds a pre-set
level. If this happens, the ELS Sub will stop working until the
temperature reduces to an acceptable level.
The reasons this might happen are high ambient room temperature,
direct sunlight, high level operation for long periods and insufficient
ventilation of the amplifier control panel.
POSITIONING AND TUNING
Remember that low frequencies have a longer wave length and
sound waves travel to the ear in waves. So, it may be necessary to
move your subwoofer to different positions to completely suit your
requirement or taste. If you require more or less power at low
frequencies, it can be affected by the proximity to an adjacent wall or
boundary.
Each wall or boundary will further enforce the effect of the woofer so
moving it closer or further away from a rear or side wall will change
the sound effect dramatically. Corners double the effect as there are
two boundaries.
The ELS Sub has been designed to match medium to small rooms,
2
with an area of approximately 10-20 M or 300-600 sq feet. If higher
power or larger rooms are used, it may be necessary to increase the
number of ELS Subs used in a single installation. The Low level
output sockets make it easier to patch the signals through to a
second or third ELS Sub, which can be placed elsewhere in the
room.
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Subwoofer Performance
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SOUND PRESSURE LEVELS
It is very easy to get used to high sound pressure levels as the
human brain compensates for the level by effectively reducing the
perceived level the ear is receiving and allows the person to
become used to higher and higher levels until the pain threshold is
reached. It is therefore necessary to be aware of this and avoid
reaching this sublime state before serious or permanent damage
is caused to ones ears. Remember that hearing damage is
irreversible as with all nerve damage.
PROTECTIVE GRILLS
The ELS Sub has a 10”(254mm), bass driver loudspeaker fitted to
the front of the cabinet. It is important not to block or restrict this
area of the speaker or results will not be ideal. Some users may
wish to remove the fabric grille, which covers the speaker. Care
should be taken to avoid damage to the diaphragm or cone and
rubber surround.
Children and some pets are fascinated with such things and
damage can be caused by sharp objects coming into contact with
the moving cone. The risk is yours. Removing the grille is
possible by pulling on the frame, one corner at a time, until it unplugs from the inserts in the front of the cabinet. Plug the frame
back in to replace it. Remember that the frame is delicate and can
be broken easily if not stored carefully away from the speaker.
HEIGHT ADJUSTABLE SPIKES
You can change the overall height positioning of your ELS Sub by
adjusting the nuts supplied with the Epos Spikes.
Please ensure all spikes are even to maintain the stability of the
Sub. (If in doubt, check with a Spirit Level).
SPECIFICATIONS
Amplifier type
Class D, high efficiency switching circuit.
Amplifier power output
300Watts into 4 Ohm load continuous
Frequency response of system
20Hz to 150Hz with high and low filter settings at max and min.
Speaker impedance
4 Ohms
Sensitivity
89dB per Watt
Maximum system output SPL
112dB at 1 metre for music program
Amplifier capability
300 Watts into 4 Ohms continuous
500 Watts peak
Bass driver
10” (254mm) steel chassis with reinforced paper cone and
inverted dust cover. 3” (75mm) high temperature voice coil wound
on an aluminium former with high power ceramic magnet system.
This product is not magnetically shielded, so avoid placing it in
proximity to a CRT television or computer monitor screen.
Subwoofer Performance & Specifications
Sub
Page 9
WARRANTY
Your Epos subwoofer has been built to very high standard and
should give many years of trouble free use.
If within 2 years of the purchase date it proves to be defective for any
reason other than accident, misuse, neglect, unauthorized
modification, or fair wear and tear, we will, at our discretion, replace
the faulty parts without charge for labour or return carriage in the
UK.
Your purchase invoice/receipt should be retained as it may be
required in the event you need to claim on your warranty. This
warranty is valid only in the United Kingdom and given in addition to
your statutory rights.
Service enquiries in countries outside the UK should be address
first to the supplying dealer or Epos agent or importer and
distributor. Warranties granted in these countries are entirely at the
discretion of the agent or distributor. For a list of appointed
distributors please check the EPOS Ltd website
or write to
Epos Limited
12 Avebury Court,
Mark Road,
Hemel Hempstead,
Hertfordshire,
HP2 7TA,
England
Tel No.+44(0)1442 26 0146
Fax No.+44(0)1442 24 3766
www.epos-
acoustics.com info@epos-acoustics.com
Filter compensation circuit
Multi-element, bi-quadratic, high and low-pass filters with
adjustable phase and active gain control
Cabinet
Vinyl wrapped, 25mm MDF carcass with internal cross bracing to
form a very rigid and sonically dead structure. Double thickness
front baffle and separate back panel to house the amplifier in its
own independent cavity.
Dimensions
Height:372mm x Width:342mm x Length:450mm
Weight
20Kgs/44lbs
TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE
THERE IS NO POWER
Ensure that the IEC Power cable is connected securely.
Ensure that the plug is fully inserted into the wall socket and is
switched on.
Check the fuse in the IEC Power Cable and subwoofer.
THERE IS NO SOUND
Ensure that the amplifier is set correctly.
Check that the interconnects are inserted correctly.
THERE IS A HUM COMING FROM THE SUBWOOFER
Ensure that all cable connections are secure.
Page 9
Troubleshooting and Warranty
Page 10
Epos Limited 12 Avebury Court, Mark Road, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 7TA, England
Tel No.+44(0)1442 26 0146 Fax No.+44(0)1442 24 3766
Made from recyclable material
Ref. EA014/R1
www.epos-acoustics.com
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