Installation and Setup of the AR PL900SUB Home Theater System Subwoofer

Installation and Setup of the AR PL900SUB Subwoofer

Placement 

Your AR Subwoofer must sit on the floor, preferably in a corner, to work properly. The floor and corner are actually a part of the Subwoofer’s design. Place your Subwoofer in the corner nearest your system’s electronic components to keep wire or cable runs short.

Controls and Connections

• POWER CORD: Plug the power cord into an AC wall outlet or other AC outlet capable of supplying at least 200 Watts.
• POWER SWITCH: Turns the AC supply completely OFF,ON sets the Subwoofer to AUTO ON operation. In AUTO ON, the Subwoofer is in standby mode until it detects an audio signal input, then the Subwoofer turns on automatically. A few minutes after audio input signals cease, the Subwoofer automatically returns to standby mode.
• POWER INDICATOR LED: This is inside the front AR logo. FUSE 250V 3A: This fuse protects against internal and external faults. If the POWER switch is ON and the power indicator LED is unlit, unplug the power cord from the AC outlet and check the fuse by unscrewing the center piece from the holder. IMPORTANT: If the fuse is blown, replace it only with a fuse of the same type and current rating.
• L, R SPEAKER-IN TERMINALS: See Connection Option 1. These terminals are for making connections using speaker wire. If you use this option, do not use Option 2.
• LFE INPUT JACK: Allows direct connection from the receiver with an internal low pass filter. This connection bypasses the subwoofer internal crossover circuitry. Use only with appropriate Surround Sound processor / amplifier.
• LFE OUTPUT JACK: This connector is connected internally to the LFE input jack and allows you to loop the LFE input signal out to another LFE input on an additional AR powered loudspeaker or subwoofer.
• LINE IN JACKS: See Connection Option 2. These jacks are for input connection using audio cables. If you use this option, do not use Option 1.
• LOW PASS FREQUENCY CONTROL: Adjusts the upper frequency limit for audio signals going to the subwoofer amplifier. This control helps you adjust the system's tonal balance.
• LEVEL CONTROL: Balances the loudness of the Subwoofer relative to the Front speakers and compensates for room effects on the Subwoofer’s output.
• PHASE SWITCH: The Phase Switch controls the phase of the Subwoofer’s output relative to the front speakers. Listen carefully to the sound quality while playing a CD with low bass. Select the position of the switch that produces the fullest deep bass without boominess. You may need to readjust the Volume and Crossover controls after setting the Phase Switch.

Connecting the Subwoofer

IMPORTANT: When you make connections, make sure that the power switches of all components, including the Subwoofer, are OFF.

• Speaker wire: Typical speaker wire has a pair of separate conductors with insulating jackets that are molded together. We recommend that you use 16- gauge speaker wire for hooking your Receiver to your Front speakers. To make connections to the Subwoofer in parallel with the Front speakers easier, the speaker wire connecting the Receiver to the Subwoofer can be smaller (higher gauge number), since the Subwoofer does not draw large amounts of power through these wires.
  
• Polarity: All speakers in a system must be connected with the same polarity. Speaker wire is marked for polarity so that you can identify which wire in the pair is which. Polarity is shown by a color stripe on the insulation, by ridges molded into the insulation, or by the colors of the wires – one copper and one silver. Strip the insulation from speaker wire ends to reveal the bare conductors before connecting to Receiver, Subwoofer or Speaker terminals. IMPORTANT: Always connect the red (+) terminal on the Receiver to the red (+) terminal on the Subwoofer, and the black (-) terminal on the Receiver to the black (-) terminal on the Subwoofer. The same is true for hooking the Receiver outputs to the Front speakers: red (+)to red (+), and black (-) to black (-).

IMPORTANT: Use Option 1 or Option 2, not both.

OPTION 1. Connection with speaker wire: Connect speaker wires from the Receiver’s front left and right speaker outputs to the Subwoofer’s left and right Speaker In terminals, as well as the left and right front speakers.

OPTION 2. Connection with audio cable: This connection uses a low level stereo sub signal. This is usually found on receivers equipped with Dolby® Digital decoding. Locate the subwoofer outputs on the back of your receiver. Using a standard RCA cable connect the subwoofer output on the back of your receiver to the Line-In on the back of the sub-woofer. If your receiver has a mono sub output , connect the RCA cable to the Left Input on your subwoofer.