Automatic On/Off and Automatic
Digital-Input Selection
The ESC333 offers two unique user-convenience features:
Automatic Turn-On/Shut-Down and Automatic Digital-Input
Selection.
The Automatic Turn-On feature will turn the ESC333 on as
soon as a source connected to its digital inputs (such as
DVD, CD player with digital output, or any other device
featuring a coaxial or optical digital output) is switched on, or
as soon as the unit connected to its last-used analog input
starts outputting sound.
When using digital inputs, the Automatic Turn-On can be
activated by turning on either one of the connected digital
sources such as a DVD player or a CD player with digital
output. When using analog inputs (TV or AUX), Automatic
Turn-On is available only for the device that was last
listened to before the ESC333 shut down. In order to listen
to the other device, the ESC333 input needs to be manually
selected by using the Input button on the product and on the
remote, which, in turn, disables the Automatic Digital-Input
Selector until the ESC333 is shut down.
The Automatic Turn-Off shuts the unit down five minutes
after all sources connected to its digital inputs are powered
down and the device connected to its selected analog input
stops playing.
If the analog source that was selected prior to the digital
source turning on is still playing, the ESC333 will switch
back to that other source. Once a digital source is powered
on and selected as an input, turning on a device connected
to the other digital input will not switch the input until the
selected digital device is first powered off. These two
features can only be used if the customer does not manually
turn the ESC333 on or off, and does not manually select an
input source. Once either of these selections is made
manually, the automatic features are disabled as follows:
1. If the ESC333 is turned off manually, it will not turn back
on automatically until five minutes after the source
connected to the ESC333 is shut down. During these five
minutes, it can be turned on either from the front panel or via
the remote control.
2. Once an input source is selected manually, the Automatic
Source-Selection feature will remain disabled until the
ESC333 shuts down.
3. Once any one of the two devices connected to the
ESC333 digital inputs is powered on and its input is selected
by the ESC333, the device connected to the other digital
input of the ESC333 cannot be automatically selected until
the already-selected digital device is powered down.
The Automatic Digital-Input Selector automatically selects
the source connected to its digital inputs when that source is
powered on. Upon power down of this digital unit, if no other
source is on, the ESC333 will switch itself off after five
minutes.
FEATURES
• Complete, self-powered Dolby* Digital home-cinema
sound system with five satellite speakers, subwoofer,
remote control, and all amplification built in. (Just Add TV!)
• Dolby Digital (AC-3* 5.1 channel), Dolby Pro Logic,*
including Phantom and 3-Stereo, and Stereo listening
modes.
• Automatic Turn-On and Turn-Off.
• Automatic Source Switching for the digital inputs.
• Two digital (one optical and one coaxial) inputs and two
analog inputs.
• 2-Way video-shielded micro-satellites with titanium
laminate tweeters and common voicing for all five channels,
and an 8-inch, long-throw, floor-firing subwoofer.
• Late Night compression for nighttime listening without
unexpected and objectionably loud passages.
• All amplification and controls are mounted in the
sub-woofer, eliminating the need for a separate control unit.
• Remote controllable via outboard remote eye that can be
mounted with the center channel or separately, so that the
subwoofer can be hidden away.
• Wall-mount brackets and floor stands available separately
for the satellites.
• Credit-card-type, full-function remote control.
• JBL “error free” speaker cables simplify connection and
eliminate possibility of out-of-phase wiring.
• Center foot for horizontal placement of the center channel.
• Rotatable JBL logos to allow for vertical or horizontal
placement of the satellites.
The ESC333 features Dolby Digital (also unofficially known
as AC-3) multichannel signal processing, a system
developed by Dolby Laboratories.
Dolby Digital, unlike “matrixed” systems (such as Dolby Pro
Logic) that derive and decode multichannel sound from two
channels of sound, is capable of delivering information for
one subwoofer and five full-range channels as discrete and
individual channels in digital AC-3 data format from sources
such as a DVD player. The result is clear and accurate
digital sound to each speaker, along with availability of
stereo-surround effects (Dolby Pro Logic features mono
surrounds).
Dolby Digital is capable of delivering several different
formats of surround sound, the most robust one being the
5.1-channel mode, which provides separate signals for five
satellite speakers as well as for a subwoofer. The ESC333
features a “5.1-Ch” indicator that illuminates when a Dolby
Digital 5.1-channel encoded signal is present. Dolby Digital
can also provide other AC-3 digital multichannel signals, as
well as 2-channel signals, which can be decoded via Dolby
Pro Logic processing into multichannel surround sound. In
the latter case, both the Dolby Pro Logic and Dolby Digital
indicators will illuminate in the ESC333 display.
This button, located only on the remote control, allows the
user to manually turn on or off the ESC333. Please note that
the ESC333 features Automatic Turn-On/Off, and the power
switch is not normally used unless it is necessary to override
POWER
1
MUTE
VOLUME
6
2
0dB
DELAY
ADJUSTMENT
TEST
8
LEVEL
10
LATE NIGHT
3
7
INPUT
4
BASS
11
9
TREBLE
12
13
SURROUND
MODE
5
this automatic feature, or in case the analog input to be used
is not the last one that was used and so Automatic Turn-On
is not available for that input. Please read the details
regarding Automatic Turn-On/Off on page 3 of this manual,
and keep in mind that if the ESC333 is shut down using this
power button, its automatic turn-on feature will remain
disabled for five minutes after the source connected to the
ESC333 is also shut down. This is to prevent the ESC333
from repeatedly turning itself back on against the user’s
wishes. The ESC333 can also be powered on by using the
Input button (4) on the front panel of the subwoofer or on the
remote control. Please note that if input selection is done by
pressing the Input button, the Automatic Digital Input
Selection of the ESC333 will be disabled until the ESC333
shuts down.
When the ESC333 is plugged into a working electrical outlet
and its master switch on the back panel is set to
On/Standby, the Standby (32) indicator will illuminate. The
ON (31) indicator will light as soon as the ESC333 is turned
on either automatically or via the pressing of the Power or
Input buttons.
2. Mute
From either the front panel or the remote control, press
(Mute) to lower the volume completely. The mute symbol
indicator (33) will illuminate. 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.
This feature is available for Dolby Digital only. It
compresses the inherently dynamic digital sound so that the
quiet and loud passages are not quite as different in sound
levels as they ordinarily are. This feature allows the user to
watch movies and listen to dialogue at toned-down levels so
as not to disturb others by the loud sound effects that may
be present. The Late Night indicator (26) illuminates when
this feature is active.
4. Input
This control is available on both the front panel and the
remote control. It allows manual selection when the user
repeatedly presses and releases the button for any of the
ESC333’s four inputs. The ESC333 features an Automatic
Digital Input Selection feature that automatically switches
the ESC333 to the source connected to one of its two digital
inputs as soon as that device is powered on. Please read
the section on page 3 to thoroughly familiarize yourself with
the conveniences and conditions of using the Automatic
Digital Input Selection feature. The Input switch is also used
when the source connected to the ESC333’s analog input is
not the analog source that was listened to the last time the
ESC333 was on (and hence the Automatic Turn-On feature
is not available). The Input switch also turns on the ESC333
when pressed (see item 1 earlier in this section). Whenever
a specific input is selected either manually or automatically,
its indicator (14, 15, 16 or 17) on the ESC333’s front panel
will be illuminated.
5. Surround Mode
Pressing and releasing this button allows the selection of
different listening modes. Surround (18), Phantom (19) and
3-Stereo (20) are available listening options for Dolby Digital
and Dolby Pro Logic. Stereo (21) bypasses the surround
processing and outputs sound through the right and
left-front speakers only. In Surround mode, all five satellites
and the sub-woofer will play. In Phantom mode, all speakers
except the center channel will play. In 3-Stereo, all speakers
except for the two surround speakers will be active.
6. 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. The volume
setting is indicated on the status-bar indicator (27).
7.0dB
Press this button to reset the Center, Surround, Balance,
Treble and Bass controls to their default positions.
8. Test
Press this button to activate the Test Tone mode.
9. Delay
The relative timing of sounds coming from the center and/or
surround speakers compared to the front-left and front-right
speakers can be adjusted. The first press of this button
allows adjustment of the center channel, all the way from
the default setting of 0 ms (milliseconds), which means no
delay (all status bars off), to a maximum of 5 ms (5 status
bars on). The indicators C (28) and DLY (30) will be on. The
second press of the Delay button allows adjustments of the
surround speakers; indicators LS (28) and RS (28) and DLY
(30) will be on. The delay can be adjusted from zero (all
status bars off) to 15 ms (all status bars on) in 5.1 Channel
Dolby Digital and from 15 ms (all status bars off) to 30 ms
(all status bars on) in Dolby Pro Logic (there is an inherent
and fixed 15 ms of delay added in the “matrixed” Dolby Pro
Logic to recreate the proper surround effect). The center
and surround delay adjustments can be done from either
Dolby Digital or Dolby Pro Logic “matrixed” modes. There
are no separate delay adjustments for the individual modes
of operation. During adjustments, the audio mutes
momentarily every time the Adjustment +/– button (11) is
pressed. Please note that the status-bar indicator (27) will
not display unless Adjustment +/– buttons are pressed.
Also, while the status-bar indicator (27) is on, channel
indicators (28) and DLY (30) will not be displayed. And, if
adjustments are done in a mode where a certain channel is
not available, the adjustment step for that channel is
skipped. For example, in Phantom mode, the
center-channel delay cannot be adjusted since Phantom
does not have a center channel. In Stereo, neither the
center nor the surround delay can be adjusted since Stereo
does not feature surround speakers or a center speaker. A
third press of the Delay button will exit the ESC333 from its
delay-adjustment mode.
10. Level
The relative level of sounds coming from each of the
ESC333’s speakers can be adjusted while listening to
program material on the ESC333. Repeated pressing and
releasing of the Level button allows access to each channel.
The display will indicate LVL (29), and the channel
indicators (28) LF (Left Front), C (Center), RF (Right Front),
LS (Left Surround), RS (Right Surround) and SUB
(sub-woofer) will illuminate to indicate the active speaker.
The level for the selected channel can then be changed
using the Adjustment +/– buttons (11). Levels set in one
mode will stay valid for all other modes and are not
independent. Please note that the status-bar indicator (27)
will not display unless Adjustment +/– buttons are pressed.
And, while the status-bar indicator 27) is on, channel
indicators (28) and LVL (29) will not be displayed. Also, if
adjustments are done in a mode where a certain channel is
not available, the adjustment step for that channel is
skipped. For example, in Phantom mode the center-channel
level cannot be adjusted since Phantom does not have a
center channel. In stereo, neither the center nor the
surround levels can be adjusted since Stereo does not
feature surround speakers or a center speaker. A seventh
press of the Level button will exit the ESC333 from its
level-adjustment mode.
11. Adjustment
These buttons are used in conjunction with Test (8), Delay
(9), and Level (10) to increase or decrease a setting.
12. Bass
Press (+) to increase the level of low-frequency information.
Press (–) to decrease the level of low-frequency
information.
13. Treble
Press (+) to increase the level of high-frequency
information. Press (–) to decrease the level of
high-frequency information.
24. Dolby Pro Logic
Illuminates when Dolby Pro Logic decoding of a 2-channel
signal is taking place. This indicator may be on by itself
(when analog inputs are used), in conjunction with Dolby
Digital (when using a digital input where the AC-3 format
signal contains two channels and needs to be decoded into
multichannel) or together with PCM (when using a digital
input where 2-channel PCM-format data is being decoded
into multi-channel).
25. PCM
Illuminates when the signal supplied through the selected
digital input is in PCM format.
26. Late Night
Illuminates when the Late Night compression is selected.
27. Status-Bar Indicator
These LEDS show the relative setting of volume, bass,
treble, speaker level and speaker delay.
28. Speaker Indicator
Identifies the speaker that’s being adjusted. LS is Left
Surround, LF is Left Front, C is Center, RF is Right Front,
RS is Right Surround, and SUB is Subwoofer.
14–17. Input
One of these four indicators will illuminate, depending on
which input is selected.
18–21. Surround
One of these will illuminate, depending on which surround
mode is chosen.
22. Dolby Digital
Indicates the presence of a Dolby Digital-encoded AC-3
digital signal.
23. 5.1-Ch
Works in conjunction with the Dolby Digital indicator (22).
This indicator illuminates when the Dolby Digital signal
contains 6 discrete channels of information (one subwoofer
and five satellite channels).
29. Level
Illuminates when the ESC333 is in speaker-level adjustment
mode.
30. Delay
Illuminates when the ESC333 is in speaker-delay
adjustment mode.
31. On
Indicates that the ESC333 is fully powered up.
32. Standby
Indicates that the ESC333 is plugged into an active wall
outlet and the master switch on the back panel is in
On/Standby position, but the unit is not powered on.
33. Mute
Illuminates when the mute function is activated (the
ESC333 will be on but will not produce any sound).