JBL ESC 300 User Manual

TM

™

thankyoufor choosing JBL. For over 50 years, JBL

has been involved in every aspect of musical and film recording
and reproduction, from live performances to monitoring the
recordings you play in your home, car, or office.

We’re confident that the

JBL systemyou have chosen will

provide every note of enjoyment that you expected – and that
when you think about purchasing additional audio equipment for
your home, car, or office, you will once again choose JBL.

JBL Consumer Products

ESC300

(

230V

)

simple

set-up guide

Five satellites for left, right,
center and surrounds.

“Smart”powered
subwoofer/controller.

included

JBL “error free” speaker
cables. Extension cable XC300
available in 10-ft. length in
either white or black.

• Dolby* Pro Logic* processor
with additional Phantom,
Simulated, 3-Stereo, and Stereo
Surround modes.

• Six channels of amplification for
all speakers and subwoofer.

• Five identical, 2-way
micro-satellites with titanium
tweeters.

• Full-function remote control.

• Remote sensor with
connection wire for easy
placement.

features

Foot for horizontal placement of
center speaker. Versatile remote
sensor, and double-sided tape
provided.

Remote control.

TM

TREBLE

BASS

INPUT

CENTER

SURROUND

BALANCE

TEST

MUTE

0dB

Video Aux

Pro
Logic

Music

Simulated

3 Stereo

Stereo

SURROUND

MODES

–

+

–

+

L

R

–

+

–

+

VOLUME

On shelves. On the wall. Optional bracket.

WB300 or WB300WHT (white).

Mounting Options

On optional stands. FS300 or
FS300WHT (white).

Subwoofer

Surround Speakers

5

– 6 ft.

Satellites and Surrounds

one.Speaker Placement

Satellites

0-2 ft.

Mounting Remote Sensor to Center Speaker.

If desired, the remote sensor may be placed anywhere using the supplied double-sided tape.

Place remote sensor at bottom
of center speaker.

Insert support leg through
remote sensor and into
speaker.

Center speaker.

two.Speaker Connections (rear panel of subwoofer)

Speaker and Amplifier Connection

Left Front

TV or VCR

Audio Output

Right Left

Center

Right Front

Remote Sensor

TM

SUB300

INPUTS

AUX

VIDEO

OUTPUTS

Right Surround

Left Surround

FRONT
SPEAKERS

SURROUND
SPEAKERS

RIGHT

CENTER

LEFT

RIGHT

LEFT

WARNING

RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK

DO NOT OPEN

AC POWER

ON / STANDBY

OFF

AC
230V

˜

50Hz

REMOTE SENSOR

INPUT

RIGHT LEFT

AVISI RISQUE DE CHOC ELECTRIQUE NE PAS OUVRIR

CAUTION: REPLACE WITH
SAME TYPE FUSE.
ATTENTION: UTILISER UN
FUSIBLE DE RECHANGE
DE MÊME TYPE.

For use with
ESC300 System

JBL, Incorporated, Northridge, CA A Harman International Company

Manufactured under license from Dolby Laboratories Licensing
Corporation. “Dolby,” “Pro Logic” and the double-D symbol are
trademarks of Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation.

Additional Audio Source

Audio Output

Right Left

three.Operation

1. Mute

From either the front panel
or the remote control, press
(Mute) to lower the volume
completely. The mute symbol
indicator (27) will begin to flash.
When you press either
of the mute buttons again, the
volume will return to its previous
setting. Note: The mute function
can also be turned
off by pressing either of the
volume buttons on the front
panel or the remote control.

2. 0dB

Press this button to reset the
Center, Surround, Balance,
Treble, and Bass controls to
their default positions.

3. Test

Press this button to activate
the Test Tone mode (see “Test
Tone” section).

4. Volume

Press ( ) on the remote
control or the front panel
to raise the system’s volume.
Press ( ) on the remote
control or the front panel to
lower the system’s volume.

5. Center

Press (+) on the remote control
to increase the relative volume
of the center channel. Press (–)
on the remote control to
decrease the relative volume of
the center channel.

Master On/Off Switch

To operate unit, place this switch in the On/Standby
position. The system will go into standby when no
signal has been received for approximately five
minutes.

TM

TREBLE

BASS

INPUT

CENTER

SURROUND

BALANCE

TEST

MUTE

0dB

Video Aux

Pro
Logic

Phantom

Simulated

3 Stereo

Stereo

SURROUND

MODES

–

+

–

+

L

R

–

+

–

+

VOLUME

1

2

3

10

11

12

13

14 15

16

8

9

7

6

5

4

Remote Control

Rear Panel Control

AC
230V

˜

50Hz

<

<

Remote Control Battery Installation.

Push small tab towards
battery slot and pull battery
drawer out.

Remove old battery. Insert new battery with “+” side

up, and slide battery
drawer back into remote.

+

+

+

17–18. Input

Either Video or Aux will
illuminate, depending on which
input is chosen.

19–23. Surround

One of these will illuminate,
depending on which surround
mode is chosen.

24. Status Bar Indicators

These LEDs show the relative
setting of volume, balance,
center level, surround level,
bass and treble controls
(see “Status Bar Indicators”
section).

25. On

This will illuminate when
the Master On/Off is switched
to On/Standby and a signal
is present.

26. Standby

This will illuminate when the
Master On/Off is switched to
On/Standby and a signal is not

present.

27. Mute Symbol

This will flash whenever the
Mute feature is engaged.

INPUT SURROUND MODE VOLUME MUTE

AUX

VIDEO

Pro Logic

Phantom

Simulated

3 Stereo

Stereo

ON

STANDBY

15/16 1

25

27

26

10

4

2423222120 191817

Front Panel Indicators

6. Surround

Press (+) on the remote control
to increase the relative volume
of the surround channels. Press
(–) on the remote control to
decrease the relative volume of
the surround channels.

7. Balance

Press (R) on the remote control
to decrease the volume
of the left channel. Press (L) on
the remote control to decrease
the volume of the right
channel.

8. Treble

Press (+) to increase the level of
high-frequency information.
Press (–) to decrease the level
of high-frequency information.

9. Bass

Press (+) to increase the level
of low-frequency information.
Press (–) to decrease the level
of low-frequency information.

10–14. Surround Modes

From the remote, press one
of these buttons to directly
choose the desired surround
mode (see “Surround Modes”
section). From the front panel,
press (Surround Mode) to cycle
between the surround modes.

15–16. Input Selector

From the remote, press either
(Aux) or (Video) to select the
desired input. From the front
panel, press (Input) to select
the desired input.

LED Bar Indicators illuminate in
response to adjustments in
volume, balance, center level,
surround level, bass, and
treble controls.

Status Bar Indicators

Increase Decrease

Volume

0dB

0dB

Increase Decrease

Bass, Treble, Center Level, and Surround Level

0dB

0dB

Left Right

Balance

Dolby Pro Logic

Use this mode for films
recorded using Dolby Pro Logic
Surround. The surround
channels have a 20-ms delay.

Phantom

This mode creates surround
sound from stereo recordings.
The center channel is not used
and the surround channels
have a 20-ms delay.

Simulated

This mode provides surround
sound with no delay for the
surround speakers. This is not a
Dolby mode.

3-Stereo Mode

Use this mode to play back Pro
Logic-encoded films when you
do not want the surround
channels to play.

Stereo

This mode plays a recording in
traditional two-channel stereo.

Surround Modes

The test tone is used to
calibrate the volume settings of
the speakers. A static noise will
be heard cycling, in order, from
the front left, center, right, and
both surround speakers.

Using the remote control,
adjust the Center and Surround
levels until the volume of all
the speakers is the same during
the test.

Note: The test tone is used to
calibrate the performance of
the system. When listening to
an actual recording, the volume
level of the surround channels
is generally much lower than
that of the front channels. In
fact, when listening to a movie,
virtually all of the dialogue and
a substantial amount of the
effects are reproduced through
the center channel.

Test Tone

If there is no sound from any
of the speakers, check the
following:

• Make sure the subwoofer is
plugged into an active AC wall
outlet.

• Make sure the Master Power
Switch, located on the rear of
the subwoofer, is in the
“On/Standby” position.

• Make sure there is a
source – for example, a VCR or
television hooked up to the
video or auxiliary input jacks.

• Make sure that the program
material is playing.

• Recheck the hookup
connections in the “Speaker
Connections” section.

If there is no sound from the
surround speakers or
it is very low, check the
following:

• Check all connections
between processor/amplifier
and each of the speakers.

• Raise the surround volume
from the remote control (see
“Operation” section).

• Make sure the TV show or
movie you are watching is
recorded in Dolby Surround.
If it is not, try the Phantom or
Simulated surround mode.

If there is no sound from the
center speaker, check the
following:

• Make sure that the processor
is in the Pro Logic,
3 Stereo, or Simulated mode. If
it is in Phantom or Stereo
mode, the center speaker
will not play.

• Check the connections
between the subwoofer and the
center speaker.

If you have low bass output,
check the following:

• Experiment with placement
of the subwoofer. Remember,
place the subwoofer in a
corner to get maximum bass
output from the system.

• Increase the level of bass,
using the remote control.

Troubleshooting

Specifications

ESC300 System

Amplifier

200 watts total
system output;
front channels:
35 watts x 3 @ .1% THD;
surround channels:
15 watts x 2 @ .1% THD;
subwoofer:
65 watts x 1 @ 1% THD

Signal-to-Noise Ratio

90dB

Input Impedance

20k ohms

Input Sensitivity

400mV

Auto Turn-on Sensitivity

2mV/channel

System Frequency
Response (–6dB)

35Hz – 20kHz

Subwoofer

Dimensions (HxWxD)

15-1/8 x 13 x 14-1/2 inches
384 x 330 x 368mm

Weight

34.5 lbs/15.7 kg

Satellites (each)

Dimensions (HxWxD)

4-3/8 x 3-3/16 x 3-3/4 inche

s

111 x 81 x 95mm

Weight

.8 lbs/.4 kg

Occasional refinements may be
made to existing products
without notice, but will always
meet or exceed original
specifications unless otherwise
stated.

JBL Consumer Products
80 Crossways Park West, Woodbury, NY 11797
8500 Balboa Boulevard, Northridge, CA 91329
1-800-336-4JBL (4525) (USA only)
http://www.jbl.com

©

1996 JBL, Incorporated. JBL and Simply Cinema are
registered trademarks of JBL, Incorporated.
*Trademarks of Dolby Laboratories.
Printed in 3/97 Part No. ESC300/230 OM

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A Harman International Company

Declaration of Conformity

We, JBL Europe A/S

Kongevejen 194B
DK-3460 Birkerød
DENMARK

declare in own responsibility, that the products described
in this owner's manual are in compliance with technical
standards:
EN 55 013/6.1990
EN 55 020/6.1988
EN 55 022/6.1993
EN 60 065/1994
EN 60 555-2-3/1987/88

Steen Michaelsen

JBL Europe A/S

Birkerød. DENMARK. 1/97