English
Limited Warranty
Dear customer,
Welcome to B&W.
This product has been designed and
manufactured to the highest quality
standards. However, if something does go
wrong with this product, B&W
Loudspeakers and its national distributors
warrant free of charge labour (exclusion
may apply) and replacement parts in any
country served by an official B&W
distributor.
This limited warranty is valid for a period of
five years from the date of purchase or two
years for electronics including amplified
loudspeakers.
Terms and Conditions
1 The warranty is limited to the repair of
the equipment. Neither transportation,
nor any other costs, nor any risk for
removal, transportation and installation
of products is covered by this warranty.
2 This warranty is only valid for the
original owner. It is not transferable.
3 This warranty will not be applicable in
cases other than defects in materials
and/or workmanship at the time of
purchase and will not be applicable:
a. for damages caused by incorrect
installation, connection or packing,
b. for damages caused by any use other
than correct use described in the user
manual, negligence, modifications, or
use of parts that are not made or
authorised by B&W,
c. for damages caused by faulty or
unsuitable ancillary equipment,
d. for damages caused by accidents,
lightning, water, fire heat, war, public
disturbances or any other cause
beyond the reasonable control of B&W
and its appointed distributors,
e. for products whose serial number has
been altered, deleted, removed or
made illegible,
f. if repairs or modifications have been
executed by an unauthorised person.
4 This guarantee complements any
national/regional law obligations of
dealers or national distributors and
does not affect your statutory rights as
a customer.
How to claim repairs under
warranty
Should service be required, please follow
the following procedure:
1 If the equipment is being used in the
country of purchase, you should
contact the B&W authorised dealer
from whom the equipment was
purchased.
2 If the equipment is being used outside
the country of purchase, you should
contact B&W national distributor in the
country of residence who will advise
where the equipment can be serviced.
You can call B&W in the UK or visit our
web site to get the contact details of
your local distributor.
To validate your warranty, you will need to
produce this warranty booklet completed
and stamped by your dealer on the date of
purchase. Alternatively, you will need the
original sales invoice or other proof of
ownership and date of purchase.
Owner’s manual
Introduction
Thank you for choosing Bowers & Wilkins.
We are confident that you will enjoy many
years of listening pleasure from your
speakers, but please read this manual fully
before installing them. It will help you
optimise their performance.
B&W maintains a network of dedicated
distributors in over 60 countries who will be
able to help you should you have any
problems your dealer cannot resolve.
Unpacking (figure 1)
• After opening the top carton flaps,
remove the grilles and foam plugs from
the polystyrene tray.
• Fold the carton flaps right back and
invert the carton and contents.
• Lift the carton clear of the contents and
remove the inner packaging from the
speakers.
• Remove the protection cover from the
tweeter and fit the grilles if required,
applying pressure over the position of the
pegs.
We suggest you retain the packing for
future use.
Positioning (figure 2a)
Mount the speakers on firm dedicated
stands that place the tweeters
approximately at ear level. Bookshelf
mounting is possible but allows less
opportunity for optimising the sound. The
stand or shelf used can affect the sound
quality of the speaker. Ask your dealer for
advice on the best type for your needs.
As an initial guide:
• Position the speakers and the centre of
the listening area approximately at the
corners of an equilateral triangle.
• Keep the speakers at least 1.5m apart to
maintain left-right separation.
• Keep the speaker baffles at least 0.5m
clear of walls.
Stray magnetic fields
The speaker drive units create stray
magnetic fields that extend beyond the
boundaries of the cabinet. We recommend
you keep magnetically sensitive articles
(television and computer screens, computer
discs, audio and video tapes, swipe cards
and the like) at least 0.5m from the
speaker.
Connections (figure 3)
All connections should be made with the
equipment switched off.
There are 2 pairs of terminals at the back of
the speaker which permit bi-wiring if
desired. On delivery, the separate pairs are
connected together with high-quality links
for use with a single 2-core cable. For
single cable connection, leave the links in
place and use either pair of terminals on
the speaker.
Ensure the positive terminal on the speaker
(marked + and coloured red) is connected
to the positive output terminal of the
amplifier and negative (marked – and
coloured black) to negative. Incorrect
connection can result in poor imaging and
loss of bass.
To bi-wire, remove the links by loosening
the terminal caps and use a separate
2-core cable from the amplifier to each pair
of terminals. This can improve the
resolution of low-level detail. Observe the
correct polarity as before. When bi-wiring,
incorrect connection can also impair the
frequency response.
The terminals accept 6mm (
1
/
4
-in) spades,
bared wire ends or round pins up to 6mm
diameter and 4mm banana plugs. When
using spades, fit them under the sliding
collar.
Important safety notice:
In certain countries, notably those in
Europe, the use of 4mm banana plugs is
considered a potential safety hazard,
because they may be inserted into the
holes of unshuttered mains supply sockets.
In order to comply with European
CENELEC safety regulations, the 4mm
holes in the ends of the terminals are
blocked by plastic pins. Do not remove the
pins if you are using the product where
these conditions apply.
Always screw the terminal caps down
tightly to optimise the connection and
prevent rattles.
Ask your dealer for advice when choosing
cable. Keep the total impedance below the
maximum recommended in the
specification and use a low inductance
cable to avoid attenuation of the highest
frequencies.
Fine tuning
Before fine tuning, double check that all the
connections in the installation are correct
and secure.
Moving the speakers further from the walls
will reduce the general level of bass. Space
behind the speakers also helps to create an
impression of depth. Conversely, moving
the speakers closer to the walls will
increase the level of bass. If you want to
reduce the bass without moving the
speakers further from the wall, fit the foam
plugs in the port tubes (figure 4).
If the bass is uneven with frequency it is
usually due to the excitation of resonance
modes in the room. Even small changes in
the position of the speakers or the listeners
can have a profound effect on how these
resonances affect the sound. Try mounting
1
