Origin SUB8, SUB10, SUB12 Installation Manual

Installation Manual

SUB8
SUB10
SUB12

Bassic Collection

Models:

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Table of Contents

Introduction 1
Before You Begin 1
Important Safety Instructions 2
Subwoofer Features 4
Subwoofer Connections 4

Power Connection 4
Audio Connections 5

LFE Connection 5
Line Outputs 5
Speaker Wire Connections 6

Alternate High-Level Wiring Options 7
Powering On Your Subwoofer 7

Front Panel Subwoofer Controls 8

Level Control 8
Crossover Control 8
Phase Switch 9

Subwoofer Placement 10

Proximity to Main Channel or Front Speakers 10
Proximity to a Wall or Corner 10

Cleaning and Care 11
Troubleshooting 12
Technical Assistance 13
Specifications 14
Warranty 16

Limited Lifetime Warranty 16
Requirements and Warranty Coverage 17
Return Process 17

Introduction

Thank you for purchasing an Origin Acoustics subwoofer. Proper­ly set up, your subwoofer will provide the most thrilling sub-bass
experience possible. This manual will familiarize you with its
connectivity and adjustment features while guiding you towards
maximizing its performance. Please read it carefully, and keep it
handy for future reference.

Before You Begin

Please make sure the following items are included with your sub­woofer:

• 1 AC Power Cord

• 4 Rubber Feet (attached)

• 1 Protective Cloth Grille (attached)

If any of the above items are missing, please contact your dealer
immediately.

• Verify the power switch is in the OFF position before making
any connections; when making connections, make them se­curely. Failure to do so may result in noise, poor performance,
or damage to connected equipment.

• Bundling power cords with subwoofer or speaker cables may
produce unwanted hum in your system. If these cords must be
in contact with each other, cross them at 90 degree angles to
minimize any potentially adverse eects.

• Do not touch or tap on the aluminum cone while the subwoof­er is operating. This can permanently mar, damage or dent
the cone.

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Important Safety Instructions

WARNING: To reduce the risk of fire or electric shock, do not ex­pose this apparatus to rain or moisture.

• Read these instructions.

• Keep these instructions.

• Heed all warnings.

• Follow all instructions.

• Do not use this apparatus near water.

• Clean only with dry cloth.

• Do not block any ventilation openings. Install in accordance
with the manufacturer’s instructions.

• Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators, heat
registers, stoves, or other apparatus (including amplifiers)
that produce heat.

• Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarized or ground­ing-type plug. A polarized plug has two blades with one wider
than the other. A grounding type plug has two blades and a
third grounding prong. The wide blade or the third prong are
provided for your safety. If the provided plug does not fit into
your outlet, consult an electrician for replacement of the ob­solete outlet.

• Protect the power cord from being walked on or pinched
particularly at plugs, convenience receptacles, and the point
where they exit from the apparatus.

• Only use attachments/accessories specified by the manufac­turer.

• Use only with the cart, stand, tripod, bracket, or table spec­ified by the manufacturer, or sold with the apparatus. When
a cart is used, use caution when moving the cart/apparatus
combination to avoid injury from tip-over.

• Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel. Servicing is
required when the apparatus has been damaged in any way,
such as power-supply cord or plug is damaged, liquid has
been spilled or objects have fallen into the apparatus, the
apparatus has been exposed to rain or moisture, does not
operate normally, or has been dropped.

• The MAINS plug or an appliance coupler is used as the dis­connect device, so the disconnect device shall remain readily
operable.

• This apparatus has been designed with Class-I construction
and must be connected to a mains socket outlet with a pro­tective earthing connection (the third grounding prong).

• Due to the weight of our SUB10 and SUB12 subwoofers, we
recommend having two people perform any unboxing, mov­ing, or positioning of the unit to avoid injury or damage to
your floor or the subwoofer.

• Do not connect the power cord to your subwoofer until all
other connections are made.

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 product’s enclosure
that may be of suicient mag­nitude to constitute a risk of
electric shock to persons.

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

CAUTION

CAUTION: TO REDUC E THE RISK OF
ELEC TRICAL SHOCK.

DO NOT REMOVE COVER. NO USER
SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE.

REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED
SERVICE PERSONNEL.

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Subwoofer Features

• Front panel volume, crossover frequency and phase controls

• High power, long-throw woofer with aluminum cone and
heavy rubber surround

• Slot-loaded, front-firing ports (sealed on 8”)

• Magnetically secured grille

• Voltage switch

• High and low level inputs and high level outputs

• LFE input (bypasses internal crossover)

• Auto on / on / o switch

Subwoofer Connections

Power Connection

Your subwoofer features an IEC-type power cord receptacle and
comes with a heavy-duty, AC power cord terminated for 115V, US
power outlets. Other countries may require an aermarket cable
compatible with the specified plug type for that country.

Before plugging in your power cord, verify the voltage switch is
set at 115V for US operation, or 230V for most other countries.

Plug the female-terminated end of the power cord into the Power
Cord Connector marked “AC INPUT,” located on the subwoofer’s
rear panel. Then, plug the male
end into a grounded wall sock­et. Do NOT plug the sub’s pow­er cord into any other device,
such as a convenience outlet
on an amplifier or any other
component.

Audio Connections

LFE Connection

Connecting your Subwoofer to a Subwoofer Output or LFE Output
(most common & preferred method):

If you are connecting your subwoofer to a surround receiver, am­plifier, or processor, run a dedicated RCA-terminated subwoofer
cable from the component’s output jack (usually marked SUB­WOOFER OUT or LFE OUT) to the input jack on your subwoofer
labeled LFE. To minimize noise, a shielded cable is preferred for
this type of connection. If you
are using two subwoofers, and
your amplifying component
does not have dual subwoofer
outputs, use a ‘Y’ connector at
the single output to connect
two subwoofer cables, one ca­ble for each sub.

Line Outputs

Connecting your Subwoofer to the Variable Le & Right Line Out­puts (less common method):

If you’re connecting your subwoofer to a stereo receiver, ampli­fier, or other component lacking a subwoofer or LFE output, you
can use the Le and Right Variable Line Outputs, if available.
(Note: Using a Fixed line output is not recommended, since your
subwoofer will stay at a “fixed” volume level regardless of your

WARNING:
DO NOT SIMULTANEOUSLY CONNECT THE SUBWOOFER’S LINE INPUTS
AND SPEAKER INPUTS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. DOING SO MAY
CAUSE IRREPARABLE DAMAGE TO YOUR SUBWOOFER OR CONNECTED
EQUIPMENT.

Note:
When using the LFE input, your
subwoofer’s internal crossover
is disabled, allowing you to
perform all bass management
duties within your receiver, am­plifier, or processor.

IMPORTANT:
DO NOT PLUG THE POWER CORD
INTO THE WALL OUTLET UNTIL
ALL SUBWOOFER CONNECTIONS
HAVE BEEN MADE AND VERIFIED.

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system’s main volume setting). Run a stereo, RCA-terminated
subwoofer cable from the component’s Le and Right Variable
Line Output jacks to the line input jacks labeled LINE IN on the
subwoofer’s back panel.

Speaker Wire Connections

Connecting your Subwoofer with Speaker Wires (least common
method):

If you’re equipment lacks both dedicated Subwoofer Outputs and
Line Outputs, you can use your receiver or amplifier’s Speaker
Outputs. For EACH Le and Right main Speaker Output, run one
pair of + and – speaker wires from the component’s Speaker Out­puts to the RED (+) and Black (-) High Level Inputs marked “HIGH
IN” on your subwoofer. Verify that both wires are connected with
the correct polarity, i.e. Positive (+) to Positive (+) and Negative (-)
to Negative (-).

Then, run a pair of speaker
wires from your subwoofer’s
RED (+) and Black (-) High Level
Outputs to your front le and
right speakers, again verifying
correct polarity. Connecting
your subwoofer and speakers
this way ensures each speaker
gets the correct output signals
from your receiver or amplifier.

Alternate High-Level Wiring Options

If your front speakers have already been installed into the wall
and/or your receiver or amplifying component has two pairs of
main, front-channel speaker terminals, wire one pair of terminals
to the subwoofer and the other pair to your main speakers; make
sure to activate both pairs of outputs, i.e. pairs “A + B” or “1 + 2,”
on your receiver or amplifier’s speaker selector switch.

If your front speakers have already been installed into the wall
and/or your have a single pair of speaker output terminals, par­allel the wires from these terminals so that two + and two - wires
come out from your amplifying component FOR EACH CHANNEL,
with one set of + / - wires running to your main speakers, and the
other + / - set running to your subwoofer.

Powering On Your Subwoofer

Once all of your subwoofer connections have been made, flip the
power switch to its ‘ON’ position, i.e. with the number “1” on the
switch pressed in. The indicator light next to the three-position
switch should now illuminate red.

Move the three-position switch on the rear panel from its ‘OFF’
position into its ‘ON’ or ‘AUTO’ position. If your subwoofer is set to
ON, the indicator light should illuminate green. In the AUTO posi­tion, the indicator will turn from red to turn green once it receives
a signal.

Note:
Since your subwoofer operates
in mono, it does not require a
Le and Right designation for
the High Level inputs. However,
it is critical that the orientation
remain consistent through the
High Level outputs—i.e., use the
top set of inputs and outputs for
the le channel signals, or vice
versa.

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Front Panel Subwoofer Controls

Level Control

Underneath your subwoofer’s cloth grille are two round knobs
and one toggle switch. The first knob, labeled “LEVEL”, adjusts
the subwoofer’s volume. If the component sending signal to your
subwoofer has its own bass management features, this knob can
be set somewhere in the middle of its range so that the subwoof­er’s output level is controlled by your surround receiver, amplifier,
or processor.

Crossover Control

The second knob, labeled
“CROSSOVER,” sets the sub­woofer’s internal crossover
frequency, which is adjustable
between 40Hz and 160Hz. This
frequency setting determines
the upper limit of the subwoofer’s usable bass output; thus, for an
80Hz setting, the subwoofer’s operating range extends from this
frequency down to its usable low frequency limit.

Properly setting the crossover ideally results in a smooth transi­tion from the low-frequency limit of your main speakers to the
upper limit set by your subwoofer’s crossover control. Usually,
this can be achieved by setting the knob to the – 3dB, low fre­quency roll-o response specified for your main speakers (check
your main speakers’ manual for this specification).

FOR EXAMPLE: If your main speakers have a frequency response
rating of “80Hz – 20kHz, +/-3dB,” the -3dB, low frequency roll-o
point would be 80Hz. Therefore, set your subwoofer’s crossover
frequency to 80Hz as a starting point. You may wish to further

fine-tune the bass blend between your main speakers and your
subwoofer by ear, listening for the smoothest bass that is devoid
of any significant peaks or valleys in its overall response—i.e.,
without too much or too little bass at certain frequencies.

Phase Switch

The switch in between the
knobs, labeled PHASE, adjusts
the phase of the subwoofer’s
output waveform in relation to
your main speakers. When the
subwoofer’s PHASE switch is
in the 0 position, the cone will
have a forward excursion in
tandem with the sound signal
(i.e., it will push out with the
positive half of the sound wave); when the switch is in the 180
position, the woofer cone will have a reverse excursion in the op­posite direction of the signal (it will move inward). Depending on
your room and speaker placement, one switch position may be
preferable.

The preferred switch position can depend on a variety of factors,
such as your subwoofer’s proximity to your front speakers, where
it is located in your listening area, etc. Try flipping the PHASE
switch while listening to music with obvious and consistent bass
content. Determine which position yields the most bass. If this
setting results in too much bass, adjust the LEVEL control. It is
best to evaluate this while sitting in your main listening position
while someone else is flipping the switch. Leave the switch in the
position that sounds best.

Note:
If you’re using a surround re­ceiver, processor, or amplifier
that includes bass management
functions (such as speaker dis­tance settings) or an auto set
up program, using this feature is
not necessary; leave the switch
in the 0 (up) position.

Note:
This control is bypassed when
using the LFE input on your sub­woofer.

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Subwoofer Placement

Though your Origin Acoustics subwoofer will provide high-quality,
high-impact bass from a wide variety of locations, its placement
in the room can greatly aect its performance. Thankfully, our
ears have a hard time localizing where bass frequencies originate
from, which makes subwoofers noticeably more placement-flexi­ble than full-range speakers. Following these general guidelines—
along with some fine-tuning and experimentation—will maximize
your subwoofer’s performance potential.

Proximity to Main Channel or Front Speakers

Start by placing your subwoofer on the floor and along the same
wall as your front speakers so that it is between one of these
speakers its adjacent sidewall. If possible, limit the distance
between your subwoofer and speaker so that they are no more
than 6 - 8 feet away from each other. This will help create a better
blend between your subwoofer and the main channel speakers,
resulting in a more uniform soundstage and improved imaging
qualities.

Proximity to a Wall or Corner

If space allows, try experimenting with boundary loading your
subwoofer: It can significantly increase bass impact, lower cone
excursion, and power demands. Placing it near a wall increases
bass output; placing it in a corner maximizes output; placing it
too far from room boundaries will sound uneven and lacking
in impact. Once you have found a good, general location, try
fine-tuning the sub’s placement by moving it in small increments,
using program material containing even and consistent bass.
Moving the sub a few feet in any direction can make a profound
dierence; listen for the position that provides the best combina­tion of deep bass impact, clarity, and evenness.

Cleaning and Care

Take care not to scratch the fine finish of you subwoofer. Do not
place hard irregularly shaped objects on or abutting your sub­woofer. Clean with a so cloth and a furniture cleaner or rubbing
alcohol.

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If you have any questions or concerns about installing or using
this product, you can reach us through one of the following meth­ods:

Phone: [phone]
Hours of operation: 8:00am - 5:00pm (Pacific Time), Mon - Fri
Email: [e-mail]

If you are having technical trouble, please include the model num­ber and briefly explain what steps you took to resolve the problem
in your email, or be prepared to answer these questions over the
phone. If you are considering returning the product, it’s required
that you contact Origin Acoustics prior to any return attempts.
This way we can determine if the issue can be resolved without
returning the product, or if needed we can provide instructions
and support for the return process.

If possible, it’s oen good to try to isolate the problem first. For
example, if you’re playing a DVD on a television and there’s no
sound, try connecting an MP3 player to the system to see if that
works. If it does work, then the problem is with the television, DVD
player, or the cables connecting them. If it doesn’t work, the prob­lem will be with the amplifier, speakers, or those cables.

Problem Possible Cause

No Sound

The volume may be turned down or muted. Check
the volume settings on both the amplifier and the
television/computer/CD player/etc.

Make sure the proper source is selected on the am­plifier or receiver.

Check the cord connecting the amplifier with the
source. The cord may be damaged or plugged into
the wrong input or output.

Check the wires connecting the amplifier with the
speakers. Make sure they’re connected properly and
not damaged in any way.

Poor Sound Quality

If you hear something like static, or the sound is cut­ting in and out, check the audio cables. If the prob­lem increases when a cable is being moved, then the
cable is most likely faulty or not connected properly.

Today’s audio systems may have several places to
adjust the volume, for example your MP3 player may
have a volume control, and your amplifier may also
have one. Check to be certain that the volume isn’t
turned up past 80% on any device.

Try changing sources to be certain that the selection
you’ve chosen is a good quality recording.

Technical AssistanceTroubleshooting

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Specifications

Model SUB8 SUB10 SUB12

Part Number SBX80400 SBX100600 SBX1200800

Woofer size 8” (203mm) 10” (254mm) 12” (305mm)

Amplifier Power (RMS) Class D 100W Class D 150W Class D 250W

Tuning type sealed dual slot ports

Frequency Response 32 Hz ±3dB 26 Hz ±3dB 17 ±3dB

Crossover Frequency 40 Hz to 160 Hz (bypassed with LFE input)

Dimensions (WxHxD) 12”x12”x12” (305x305x305mm) 16”x14”x16” (406x356x406mm) 18”x16”x18.5” (457x406x470mm)

Inputs Line-level, speaker-level and LFE

Outputs Speaker-level

Controls Front-accessible level, crossover and phase

Cabinet Finish MDF with high-gloss black finish

Grille Material Black Cloth

Weight (w/o box) 22 Lbs (10kg) 45 Lbs (21kg) 64 Lbs (30kg)

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This warranty may not be valid if the product was purchased
through an unauthorized dealer. This warranty only applies to
the individual that made the original purchase, and it cannot be
applied to other purchases. The purchaser must be prepared to
provide proof of purchase (receipt). This warranty will not be val­id if the identifying number or serial number has been removed,
defaced, or altered.

This warranty does not cover the following:

• Accidental damage

• Damage caused by abuse or misuse

• Damage caused by attempted repairs/modifications by
anyone other than Origin Acoustics or an authorized dealer

• Damage caused by improper installation

• Normal wear, maintenance, and environmental issues

• Damage caused by voltage inputs in excess of the rated
maximum of the unit

• Damage inflicted during the return shipment

Origin Acoustics warrants to the original retail purchaser only that
this Origin Acoustics product will be free from defects in materials
and workmanship, provided the speaker was purchased from an
Origin Acoustics authorized dealer.

If the product is determined to be defective, it will be repaired or
replaced at Origin Acoustics’ discretion. If the product must be
replaced yet it is no longer manufactured, it will be replaced with
a model of equal to or greater value that is the most similar to
the original. If this is the case, installing the replacement model
may require mounting modifications; Origin Acoustics will not be
responsible for any such related costs.

Before making any return attempts, it is required that you first
contact Origin Acoustics. Return product to Origin Acoustics
or your dealer, either in person or by mail. It’s preferable if the
product is returned in the original packaging. If this isn’t possible,
the customer is responsible for insuring the shipment for the full
value of the product.

This warranty is in lieu of all other expressed or implied warranties.
Some states do not allow limitations on implied warranties, so this
may not apply depending on the customer’s location. (For more
information, see Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.)

Return Process

Requirements and Warranty Coverage

Limited Lifetime Warranty

Warranty

©2014 Origin Acoustics. All copyrighted, trademarked and
patented elements mentioned herein are the sole property of

Origin Acoustics.