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Please unpack the system carefully. Use caution when lifting or moving to avoid injury. Please save the carton and all packaging materials for future use. Record the serial number for future reference.
Product Features
To prevent fire or shock hazard, do not expose this product to rain or moisture. To avoid electrical shock, do not open the speaker enclosure or amp chassis cover. Please observe all warnings on the equipment itself. There are no user serviceable parts inside. Please refer all service questions to your authorized Velodyne dealer.
your new Velodyne subwoofer provides for a number of installation options. Read all of the installation information below in order to deter mine which installation option is best for your system. Remember to perform all installation procedures with system power turned off to prevent possible damage.
The first step in installing your new EQ-Max sub is to determine where it will be placed in the room. Unpack the system carefully and use the following guidelines in order to find the best room placement option.
True subwoofers operate at extremely low frequencies which are primarily omni-directional. Keep in mind that frequency response and output level can be drastically influenced by placement, depending on the acoustic properties of the listening room. To obtain optimum output from your subwoofer, try placing it within a foot of a corner. This location will offer the greatest output levels and optimum low frequency extension. If at all possible, your subwoofer should be placed along a wall. The worst location for a subwoofer is typically far away from any walls and close to the center of your room, or close to a doorway or opening into another room. Avoid these locations when possible. When using a pair of Velodyne subwoofers in stereo, it is preferable to feed each subwoofer with one channel and place each subwoofer near the satellite of the same channel.
Depending on the size and type of furnishings in the room, perfect placement may not be possible. Finding the best location within your environment will likely require some experimentation. We suggest you experiment with the location during setup to find what sounds best to you when seated in your typical listening position.
For more information on placement, please refer to Velodyne's Subwoofer Placement Recommendations Guide.
Regardless of where you install your Velodyne subwoofer, it must remain in an upright position (woofer facing forward). Using, shipping or storing the subwoofer in any other position for an extended period of time may result in damage to the unit not covered by warranty.
This subwoofer has electronics built into the cabinet. Do not place the cabinet next to sources of heat such as furnace registers, radiators, etc. Do not place the unit near sources of excessive moisture such as evaporative coolers, humidifiers, etc. The power cord should be routed in such a way that it will not be walked on, pinched or compressed in any way that could result in damage to the insulation or wire.
Your Velodyne EQ-Max subwoofer is NOT magnetically shielded. Should you find it necessary to use it with an older CRT monitor or TV, keep it at least two feet from the monitor. experiment for correct distance by minimizing distortion of the picture and colors.
Your new subwoofer is equipped with speaker-level and line-level inputs. Use the LINE-LEVEL jacks when connecting your subwoofer to a pre-amp, signal processor (such as LFE out or sub out), line-level crossover, or receiver with pre-amp level outputs. When using the line level jacks, some receivers may not provide enough signal to have the unit's auto-on feature operate properly. Additionally, this lack of signal may also cause the subwoofer to produce less output than it is capable of.
To alleviate this condition, we recommend the following steps:
This control allows you to balance the output from the subwoofer to the main speakers in your system. This control should be set to achieve similar output levels from both the main speakers and subwoofer when listening to music. The default volume setting is 30 on a 1-80 scale.
Some manufacturers preset their receivers with the Sub-out channel signal at a minimum level. It is very important to verify that your receiver Sub-out channel is set to the same output level as your front right and left channels. Refer to your receiver manual for the individual channel level adjustment procedure. If your receiver Sub-out channel is set too low, the subwoofer may appear to have a weak output, it may sound noisy or distorted, and the Auto on/off feature may not operate properly.
Low-pass Crossover - 40 to 135 Hz
All inputs sum the left and right channels together, with the resulting signal passing through an adjustable low-pass crossover before being amplified. The crossover control allows you to adjust the upper limit of the subwoofer's frequency response from 40 to 135 Hz. The subwoofer's response will begin rolling off above the frequency you set this control to. you should set the crossover frequency to obtain a smooth and seamless transition from the subwoofer to the main speakers in your system. If your main speakers are smaller with limited low frequency output, you may wish to choose a higher frequency (such as 100 - 120 Hz) than you would with larger speakers which have greater low frequency output. The default crossover setting is 80 Hz. With larger speakers, you may want to set this even lower, for example 70 Hz.
Phase Adjustment - 0°/90°/180°/270°
This control allows you to change the phase of the subwoofer's output signal to correct for any possible mismatch and resulting cancellation between the subwoofer and your main speakers/amplifier. To adjust, simply listen to the system with music playing, then depress the various phase switches on the remote control and listen for a change in mid-bass frequency output. The correct position will have a greater amount of overall bass energy at all frequencies. If the settings sound similar, we recommend the "0" position. See the remote control section for more information.
The subwoofer will turn itself on automatically when an audio signal is present. If no signal is present for approximately eight minutes, the unit will switch to standby mode (blank LED). While in standby mode, your subwoofer will draw very minimal power. your sub is shipped in the "Always on" position. In order to activate the circuit, change the switch to "Stand-by".
If the Sub-out channel signal level from your receiver is too weak, this feature will not operate properly and shut the subwoofer off while you are listening to it. To correct this, see the VOLUME CONTROL section above.
Figure 1. EQ-Max Front Panel.
Following are brief descriptions of the controls and connections described in Figure 1.
Figure 2. EQ-Max8, EQ-Max10 and EQ-Max12 Rear Panel Connections.
Figure 3. EQ-MAX15 Rear Panel Connections.
Following are brief descriptions of the controls and connections described in Figures 3, 4 and 5. More detail of these connections can be found below:
Note: Volume is also controllable by using the supplied remote. When defaults are restored, the default is 30 out of 80.
Your new subwoofer is equipped with both speaker-level and line-level inputs. Use the RCA/Phono type "INPUT" jacks when connecting your subwoofer to a pre-amp, signal processor, or line-level crossover. The "SPEAKER LEVEL INPUT" jacks connect directly to the speaker outputs of an integrated amplifier or receiver. Your amplifier section will notice no additional loading effects when you use these inputs because of their high impedance.
Note: Do not use both the RCA/Phono "INPUT" connections and "SPEAKER LEVEL INPUT" connections simultaneously.
Both sets of inputs sum the left and right channels together and the resulting signal is passed through an adjustable low-pass crossover before being amplified. The crossover control allows you to adjust the upper limit of the subwoofer's frequency response from 40 to 135 Hz. The subwoofer's response will begin rolling off above the frequency you set this control to.
You should set the crossover frequency to obtain a smooth and seamless transition from the subwoofer to the main speakers in your system. If your main speakers are smaller units with limited low frequency output, you may wish to choose a higher frequency (such as 100-120 Hz) than you would with larger speakers which have greater low frequency output. With larger speakers, you might start with this control set lower, such as 70 Hz.
Subwoofer Direct is a setting on the low-pass crossover knob and will allow frequencies up to 135 Hz into the subwoofer. See below for a more detailed explanation of this feature.
Your Velodyne Subwoofer is designed to operate using the full range audio signal for input when using our built-in crossover. Many home theater processors/receivers (Dolby Digital, DTS, THX) have a "subwoofer out" jack (sometimes labeled "LFE") that is internally filtered, settable at the receiver/processor, and designed to be used with a powered subwoofer. In some installations, it may be beneficial to use BOTH the Velodyne crossover and the receiver/processor crossover, resulting in a steeper ultimate crossover slope. In some rare cases, combining both an external crossover and the one internal to the subwoofer may result in low output and increased noise. In these installations you may need to bypass the crossover in either the processor or your EQ-Max subwoofer, or simply setting one crossover to a higher frequency (such as 120 Hz) will restore maximum performance.
(Refer to Figure 4 Line-Level Subwoofer Connection Diagram and Figure 5 Speaker-Level Subwoofer Connection Diagram for connection diagrams.)
Note: Connecting main speakers to the rear panel of the sub is optional.
When installing your new Velodyne subwoofer using the line-level connections, you should always use shielded phono cables. There are many high quality cables available today. It is recommended that you keep the length of cable as short as possible to avoid any potential noise problems.
When using speaker-level connections, use a high quality speaker cable that mates well with the connectors. Be very careful to avoid any loose strands or frayed wires that may result in a short, which may damage your equipment. Cables of extremely large size are not required due to the low current draw of this type of connection. Extremely large gauge wire may not properly fit in the terminals, resulting in a poor connection and possible short circuits.
This section addresses usage of your EQ-Max subwoofer.
REMOTE CONTROL
The features of the EQ-Max remote control are listed below.
Figure 6. EQ-Max remote.
Some manufacturers preset their receivers with the Sub-Out channel signal at a minimum level. It is very important to verify that your receiver Sub-Out channel is set to the same output level as your front right and left channels. Refer to your receiver manual for the individual channel level adjustment procedure. If your receiver Sub-Out channel is set too low, the subwoofer may appear to have a weak output, it may sound noisy or distorted, and the Auto On/Off feature may not operate properly.
Note: The volume can also be adjusted via the buttons on the back panel of the subwoofer. These buttons have the same effect as pressing the up and down volume buttons on your remote. The unit comes preset from the factory with the volume set at 30 out of 80.
Movies: | Maximum output and impact for explosions and other action adventure movie content. |
R&B – Rock: | Provides the driving bass found in today's rock music. |
Jazz - Classical: | The tightest, cleanest, lowest distortion bass. The flattest frequency response of the four presets. |
Games: | Maximum loudness available for the impact of video games. |
The following table indicates musical style and which preset is recommended for it.
MUSICAL STYLE | SUGGESTED PRESET |
Action Adventure Movies | Movies |
Country – Rock | R&B – Rock |
Country – Soft | Jazz – Classical |
Folk | Jazz – Classical |
Indie Music | R&B – Rock |
Pop | R&B – Rock |
Rock | R&B – Rock |
Alternative Rock | Jazz – Classical |
Blues | Jazz – Classical |
Broadway and Vocalists | Jazz – Classical |
Children's Music | Jazz – Classical |
Christian and Gospel | Jazz – Classical |
Classic Rock | R&B – Rock |
Classical | Jazz – Classical |
Dance and Dj | R&B – Rock |
Hard Rock/Heavy Metal | R&B – Rock |
Latin Music | R&B – Rock |
Miscellaneous | Jazz – Classical |
Movies – Non-Action Adventure | Jazz – Classical |
New Age | Jazz – Classical |
Opera and Vocal | Jazz – Classical |
R&B | R&B – Rock |
Rap and Hip-Hop | R&B – Rock |
Soundtracks | R&B – Rock or Jazz – Classical |
Video Games | Games |
Each preset has its own characteristics with respect to subsonic filter, volume differential and a equalization (EQ) in order to optimize the listening mode for the preset.
The following table shows the settings for the various presets:
Preset | Subsonic Filter Frequency | EQ Frequency | EQ Level | Volume Differential |
Movies | 25 Hz | 37 Hz | +3 db | +5 db |
R&B - Rock | 28 Hz | 50 Hz | +3 db | +1 db |
Jazz - Classical (Reference) | 15 Hz | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Games | 34 Hz | 60 | +3 db | +4 db |
There is a feature that allows you to restore default settings for your EQ-Max subwoofer. by pressing presets in EXACTLY the following order on the remote, the unit will restore its default settings.
Preset 1: | Movies |
Preset 2: | R&B – Rock |
Preset 3: | Jazz – Classical |
Preset 4: | Games |
Preset 4: | Games |
Preset 3: | Jazz – Classical |
Preset 2: | R&B – Rock |
Preset 1: | Movies |
When you press the presets in the above order, the front LED will display "P3" indicating that you have restored defaults. The unit's volume is reset to level 30 out of 80.
DO NOT PUT HEAVY OBJECTS ON TOP of the subwoofer cabinet that could scratch or dent the cabinet or case.
DO NOT ALLOW OBJECTS TO FALL INTO OR LIQUIDS TO SPILL ON THE SUBWOOFER ENCLOSURE.
DO NOT EXPOSE SUBWOOFER TO DRIPPING OR SPLASHING FROM LIQUIDS.
DO NOT PLACE LIQUID-FILLED OBJECTS ON OR NEAR THE SUBWOOFER. Examples of liquid-filled objects include flower vases, beverages and liquid-fueled lamps.
DO NOT PUSH OBJECTS OF ANY KIND into the subwoofer.
DO NOT PLACE BURNING CANDLES, INCENSE, OR SMOKING PRODUCTS ON TOP OF OR NEAR THE SUBWOOFER.
DO NOT PLACE A LAPTOP COMPUTER ON TOP OF THE SUBWOOFER. Damage could occur to either the laptop hardware or the subwoofer finish.
USE A CLEAN, SOFT DAMP CLOTH to remove dust or fingerprints from the subwoofer cabinet. Unplug the subwoofer power cord from the power outlet before cleaning to prevent static electricity from damaging the subwoofer during cleaning.
DO NOT CLEAN THE SUBWOOFER CABINET with detergents, soaps, abrasives, aerosol sprays, chemical solvents, alcohol, or other cleaning solutions.
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO SERVICE THE SUBWOOFER beyond what is described in this owner's manual.
ONLY USE QUALIFIED SERVICE TECHNICIANS TO REPAIR DAMAGED PARTS. Service the subwoofer or transmitter using qualified service technicians when:
Save the carton and packing materials for future use. Using other packaging for this unit may result in severe damage when shipping or moving. you can use this packaging should you ever move or need to return the subwoofer to Velodyne for service. To save storage space, you can flatten the box and put the other packing material in a plastic bag.
The subwoofer is equipped with protection circuitry to provide maximum performance with greatest reliability. The subwoofer is protected against:
The overdrive protection circuitry operates constantly without being audible under most situations.
If the subwoofer should shut down, reduce the volume setting and shut the subwoofer off until it cools down. The time the subwoofer takes to cool down depends on the ambient room temperature, but typically at least 10 minutes are required for the subwoofer to cool down and recover from the thermal shutdown.
Also, plug the unit into a different wall socket. overloaded sockets or damaged home wiring circuits can cause power voltage drops while the subwoofer is drawing high power levels. This condition can result in the subwoofer shutting down intermittently.
REFRAIN FROM LISTENING TO MUSIC AT HIGH VOLUMES for long periods of time to protect you from permanent hearing damage. The United States occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) standards recommend not listening to sound levels of 85 db for more than 8 hours and to wear hearing protection if sound levels exceed 85 db. Refer to the OSHA website for more information and updated recommendations about sound levels and hearing damage: www.osha.gov/dts/osta/otm/noise/standards_more.html
Before seeking service for your amplifier or subwoofer, please re-check all systems. Following is a simple troubleshooting guide to assist you.
If the protection circuitry is active, the unit may cycle on and off until operating parameters return to normal. Under more serious conditions, the unit may shut off completely. Normal operation should return upon cooling, but you may be required to turn the power off and then on again to reset the unit.
The subwoofer may have shut down due to the protection circuitry.
MODEL | EQ-Max8 | EQ-Max10 | EQ-Max12 | EQ-Max15 | |
Woofer | 8" (20.3 cm) forward firing (6.3" piston diameter) | 10" (24.5 cm) forward firing (8.2" piston diameter) | 12" (30.5 cm) forward firing (9.7" piston diameter) | 15" (38 cm) forward firing (12.7" piston diameter) | |
Amplifier: Class D | 360 watts Dynamic/ 180 watts RMS Power | 390 watts Dynamic/ 195 watts RMS Power | 450 watts Dynamic/ 225 watts RMS Power | 1500 watts Dynamic/ 750 watts RMS Power | |
Cabinet Design | Extended Excursion Down-firing port | Extended Excursion Down-firing port | Extended Excursion Down-firing port | Extended Excursion Down-firing port | |
Frequency Response | Overall | 17 - 240 Hz | 16 - 240 Hz | 14.6 - 240 Hz | 14 - 240 Hz |
(+/-3 db) | 32 - 120 Hz | 28 - 120 Hz | 25 - 120 Hz | 23 - 120 Hz | |
Voice Coil | 2" 2-Layer copper | 2" 2-Layer copper | 2" 2-Layer copper | 2.5" 4-Layer copper | |
Cone | Reinforced fiber | Reinforced fiber | Reinforced fiber | Reinforced fiber | |
Magnet Weight | 4.66 lbs | 5.36 lbs | 7.40 lbs | 10.14 lbs | |
High-Pass Crossover | 80 Hz*, 6 db/octave | 80 Hz*, 6 db/octave | 80 Hz*, 6 db/octave | 80 Hz*, 6 db/octave | |
Low-Pass Crossover | 40 - 135 Hz adjustable (12 db octave, 24 db ultimate) | 40 - 135 Hz adjustable (12 db octave, 24 db ultimate) | 40 - 135 Hz adjustable (12 db octave, 24 db ultimate) | 40 - 135 Hz adjustable (12 db octave, 24 db ultimate) | |
Inputs | Gold plated line-level nickel plated speaker level | Gold plated line-level nickel plated speaker level | Gold plated line-level nickel plated speaker level | Gold plated line-level nickel plated speaker level | |
Outputs | Gold plated line-level nickel plated speaker level | Gold plated line-level nickel plated speaker level | Gold plated line-level nickel plated speaker level | Gold plated line-level nickel plated speaker level | |
Digital Phase | 0, 90, 180, 270 degrees | 0, 90, 180, 270 degrees | 0, 90, 180, 270 degrees | 0, 90, 180, 270 degrees | |
Auto On/Off | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
Removable Grill | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
LED Display | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
Accessories | Mic, mic stand, remote control | Mic, mic stand, remote control | Mic, mic stand, remote control | Mic, mic stand, remote control | |
Cabinet (H,W,D) (includes feet and grille) | 14.5" x 13.25" x 14.875" (36.8 x 33.7 x 37.8 cm) | 16.75" x 15.25" x 17" (42.5 x 38.7 x 43.1 cm) | 17.875" x 16.375" x 18" (45.4 x 41.6 x 45.7 cm) | 21.5" x 19" x 21" (54.6 x 48.3 x 53.3 cm) | |
Shipping Weight (approx.) | 31 lbs. (14 Kg) | 39 lbs. (18 Kg) | 45 lbs. (20 Kg) | 70 lbs. (32 Kg) |
* Note: Varying speaker and amplifier input load impedances may cause the high-pass crossover frequency to slightly vary.
Specifications are subject to change without notice.
To reduce the risk of electric shock, do not remove cover (or back). No user-serviceable parts inside. Refer servicing to qualified service personnel.
THE LIGHTNING FLASH WITH ARROWHEAD SYMBOL is intended to alert the user to the presence of uninsulated "dangerous voltage" within the product's enclosure that may be of sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of electric shock to persons.
THE EXLAMATION POINT SYMBOL is intended to alert the user to the presence of important operating and maintenance (servicing) instructions in the literature accompanying the subwoofer.
To prevent electrical shock, match wide blade of plug to wide slot, fully inserted.
Please register your product online. If you don't have internet access call Velodyne customer service at 408-465-2800 (U.S. or Canada only).
Outside of the U.S. and Canada, call the distributor that supplied your product. We'll walk you through the simple registration process.
Velodyne Acoustics, Inc.
345 Digital Drive
Morgan Hill, CA 95037
408.465.2800 voice
408.779.9227 fax
408.779.9208 service fax
www.velodyne.com
Service e-mail: service@velodyne.com
General e-mail: help@velodyne.com
Here you can download full pdf version of manual, it may contain additional safety instructions, warranty information, FCC rules, etc.
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