ELS Active Subwoofer

Instruction Manual
Important Safety Precautions Sub
Thank you for purchasing Epos Loudspeakers. Please take WARNING
a little time to read these brief notes, which will help you get For safety reasons please read the following instructions and
the best results from your loudspeaker. the enclosed Important Safety Information carefully before
attempting to connect your Epos ELS Subwoofer to the mains.
This Subwoofer comes complete with the following items:
(Should anything be missing, please contact your dealer/supplier).
The ELS Sub is not designed for permanent external use. Being a
powered product it would be damaged by rain water or other
1x EPOS ELS SUBWOOFER (Including Detachable Grill).
contaminants entering into the amplifier via the vent holes and the
4x EPOS SPIKES (Including any relevant fixings).
wooden cabinet would be damaged if soaked with water.
2x POWER CABLES (See text in the Warning section).
As with all electrical products, make sure the correct mains voltage
is selected by the two way selector switch on the rear panel marked
CONTENTS: AC Voltage Selector. If you are in any doubt, contact your supplier
for advice. As a general rule, the amplifier cannot be damaged by
Important Safety Precautions..............................................2&3 supplying lower voltages than marked on the switch panel, but
excessive voltage will cause the mains fuse to blow or possibly even
Getting Started..........................................................................4 damage the internal circuitry (if in doubt, ask your dealer/supplier).

Subwoofer Controls.............................................................5&6 Two power cords are supplied as standard with the ELS Sub, which
have the international IEC connector for plugging into the amplifier
Subwoofer Performance & Specifications.........................7&8 panel at one end and either of two styles of plug at the other end.

Troubleshooting and Warranty................................................9 USA, Canada and Japan - The USA style plug with two flat blades
should be used with the voltage selector switched to 115V operation
and a mains fuse rated at 4 Amp inserted in the pull-out drawer.

Europe - The two round pin Euro plug should be used with the AC
Voltage selector switched to 230V.

UK, Hong Kong - 3 Pin UK Plugs will be supplied separately by

your dealer/supplier. Please check if in doubt.

Page 2
 Important Safety Precautions
CAUTION SAFETY PRECAUTIONS
To reduce the risk of electric shock, do not remove the rear Read Instructions - All the safety and operating instructions should
panel. There are no user-serviceable parts inside. Please be read before the product is operated
refer all servicing to a qualified engineer.
Retain Instructions - The safety and operating instructions should
The lightning flash with the arrowhead symbol within an equilateral be retained for future reference.
triangle is intended to alert the user to the presence of uninsulated
‘dangerous voltage’ within the product’s enclosure that may be of Heed Warnings - All warnings on the product and the operating
sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of electric shock to instructions should be adhered to.
persons.
Follow instructions - All operating and use instructions should be
The exclamation mark within an equilateral triangle is followed.
intended to alert the user to the presence of important safety
information featured within this instruction manual. Cleaning - Unplug this product from the wall outlet before cleaning.
Do not use liquid cleaners or aerosol cleaners. Use a damp cloth for
cleaning.
CAUTION
RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK
DO NOT OPEN
UNPACKING
The ELS Sub is heavy. (20Kgs/44lbs) Do not try to lift or carry it
around alone. Two people are required to lift it so please be careful.
VENTILATION Get help from a family member or friend if this product is not
installed by a professional person.
Slots and openings in the cabinet are provided for ventilation and
to ensure reliable operation of the product and to protect it from The best way to remove the speaker from the carton is to open the
overheating, these openings must not be blocked or covered. The top of the carton, roll it over with the flaps folded out and pull the
openings should never be blocked by placing the product on a bed, carton off, leaving the speaker in its protective polyethylene foam.
sofa, rug, or other similar surface. Pull one foam frame off at a time and lower the speaker to the floor
carefully. Remove the poly bag and keep it out of the hands of
This product should not be placed in a built-in installation such as a children and babies as it can cause suffocation.
bookcase or rack unless proper ventilation is provided and the
manufacturer’s instructions have been adhered to.

Page 3
Getting Started Sub
OVERVIEW To further improve the sound quality Epos does not use port tuning
The Epos ELS Sub is an active loudspeaker. In other words, that to achieve increased bass extension, which avoids 'chuffing' air
means that it has an in-built power amplifier to boost the signal turbulence noises interfering with the fidelity of the speaker.
level. Therefore, there is no need for an external power amplifier to
drive it. In addition, the ELS Sub has a complex filter circuit which In short, the ELS Sub is very unusual and can be used to good effect
boosts sub-sonic frequencies and is adjustable to allow it to be to extend the frequency response of a stereo system of any quality
matched to different room sizes, shapes and user requirements. or price.
The rear panel controls provide a range of adjustment for this
purpose. INSTALLATION AND SETUP
Having established which power cord to use, select the correct
The ELS Sub is designed to extend the low frequency response of mains voltage for your region with the selector switch on the back
both 2 channel and multi-channel systems, which demand very panel. (If in doubt, please read Page 2 again or ask your supplying
different tonal balance. This is described later, but control dealer for advice). If neither of the two cords are correct for your
adjustment and placement in the listening room is important, so mains supply socket, do not proceed until you have contacted
please read these instructions carefully for best results. your dealer for advice or assistance.

QUALITY Positioning the subwoofer is important if the best results are to be

The ELS Sub has a massive and powerful 10” loudspeaker driver, achieved. Place the sub where it can be connected easily to the
with enough magnet strength and voice coil size to handle very mains power supply and to the output of the receiver or amplifier
high power levels for long periods without distress. Its cone used for the rest of your system. Needless to say, this would
diaphragm is very stiff to keep distortion and colouration to a normally be at the front of the system, but be prepared to move it
minimum. The rubber suspension surround is smaller than normal around the room to gain the best results.
and quite stiff, which also helps to reduce distortion and low
frequency over-hang. In short it has been designed to be more Find the best position before mounting it on its spiked feet. Once
appropriate for a two channel bass unit than a conventional sub- this is done, screw the feet which are supplied in the accessory pack
woofer. into the screw inserts in the bottom of the cabinet and adjust the
To further boost the fidelity of the ELS Sub, it has a very stiff cabinet height of each to make it level and tighten the locking nuts to secure
with extensive internal bracing, which is rarely found in them and prevent rattling. Allow room to make adjustments and to
conventional subwoofers and has a completely separate section see the controls. The mains supply can be left connected as it has a
at the back of the cabinet to house the amplifier, which is more low current standby condition which is enabled when no signal is
normally found in professional speakers and not found in present for a short while.
conventional subwoofer at any price.

Page 4
 Subwoofer Controls
In the case of multi-channel system (5.1), connect a shielded cable You are now ready to set-up the system using the user guide
from the sub-sonic output of your receiver and connect it to the or instructions from your receiver or DVD player. The sound
RCA sockets on the back of the ELS Sub marked low level input. balance can be adjusted with the controls on the back panel.
You will notice that there are two low level input sockets, marked L
and R, which allows for a stereo signal. It can be necessary to join 1. High Level Input
these together with a RCA combiner, supplied with the accessory If your amplification system does not have a dedicated subwoofer
pack if you find the source signal level is not enough to drive the line output, your subwoofer must be connected via the high level
ELS Sub to maximum power level. terminals on the rear panel. Connection should be made from the
speaker terminals on your amplification system to the High Level
Set all the controls to the middle position and switch on the ELS Input Connections.
Sub using the switch marked POWER. Above the switch is a small
LED indicator which will light if everything is OK. Red is the standby Note: To prevent damage to the amplifier, only connect using line
condition and green is the colour for normal operation. level inputs OR high level inputs. DO NOT USE BOTH METHODS
OF CONNECTION AT THE SAME TIME.
1 10
2. Volume
HI-LEVEL OUTPUT HI-LEVEL INPUT
LOW LEVEL
This is self explanatory but it may be easier to set the output of the
R

+
L R

+
L IN

L
OUT

receiver or decoder to 0dB and then adjust the level of the sub to
R
9 suit the room. Small adjustments can be more easily made with the
DO NOT
BLOCK
receiver gain rather than jumping up and down to adjust the
VENT
HOLES volume on the back of the ELS Sub.
2 8
MIN
VOLUME
MAX MIN MAX
LOW FILTER
MIN
HI-FILTER
MAX 0
PHASE
180

3. Low Filter
3 7
Adjustment is necessary to extend or limit the low frequencies the
RED = STANDBY
GREEN = ON
sub is able to produce, so that it better matches your room acoustic
POWER
ON
300 WATTS HIGH POWERED SUBWOOFER

SERIAL NUMBER and personal sound preference. Not everyone will appreciate the
4 CAUTION

POWER CONSUMPTION:
500 WATTS
OFF
RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK
DO NOT OPEN

WARNING: SHOCK HAZARD - DO NOT OPEN

AVIS: RISQUE DE CHOC ELECTRIQUE - NE PAS OUVRIR
effect of sub-sonic movie effects. Even if you think they are great,
5
230V

AC VOLTAGE
SELECTOR
WARNING: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT
EXPOSE THIS APPLIANCE TO RAIN OR MOISTURE.

AVERTISSEMENT: POUR PREVENIR LES RISQUES D’INCENDIE OU DE

CHOC ELECTRIQUE, EVITER D’EXPOSER CET APPAREIL A LA PLUIE OU A
please remember that low frequencies travel through walls much
more easily than high frequencies, so please give a thought to
L’HUMIDITE.
115V
“WARNING: FOR CONTINUED PROTECTION AGAINST RISK OF FIRE,
REPLACE ONLY WITH THE SAME TYPE OF FUSE”.
“AVERTISSEMENT: UTILISER UN FUSIBLE DE RECHANGE DE MEME TYPE”.

DESIGNED AND ENGINEERED IN ENGLAND

AC~115V/60Hz

neighbours or other family members who don't share your passion.

FUSE: T6 A 250V
AC~240V/50Hz
FUSE: T3.15A 250V www.epos-loudspeakers.com

Page 5
Subwoofer Controls Sub
4. Power Switch There is no simple measurement for this process, which should be
Turns the subwoofer ‘ON’ or ‘OFF’ (When left in the ON position done simply by trial and error. You will easily hear which setting best
without a signal allows the ‘STANDBY’ feature to become active). suits your system after you run it with a signal and adjust the Phase
until you hear the most pleasing result.
5. IEC Socket (Mains)
Use this socket to connect to an appropriate mains socket via the 9. Low Level Input
IEC Power Cable supplied. If your amplification system has a dedicated subwoofer output it
should be connected to the line level input. If you have a mono
6. AC Voltage Selector Switch connection from your amplifier you may use either connection.
Please ensure the AC Voltage selector is in the correct position. The output sockets can be used if an additional subwoofer is to be
(See page 2). added to your system.

7. High Filter Note: To prevent damage to the amplifier, only connect using high
Adjustment is necessary to match the ELS Sub to the speakers level inputs OR line level inputs. DO NOT USE BOTH METHODS
you have chosen to use in the rest of your system. As all speakers OF CONNECTION AT THE SAME TIME.
have a different low frequency range, depending on their size and
how many drivers they use, it will be necessary to adjust the upper 10. High level input
cross-over point of the ELS Sub to seamlessly integrate with the For systems that don't have line level or pre-amplifier outputs to
output of the front and centre channel speakers which are not provide a full bandwidth signal to the subwoofer to deal with, it is
designed to provide sub-sonic bass. In addition the signal provided necessary to patch the front speakers through the sub's high level
to these channels is frequency limited in the receiver or decoder. input sockets and out of the high level output sockets on to the front
channel speakers. This cannot be recommended for the best fidelity
8. Phase as it will, needless to say, be taking a high level signal from a power
Adjustment is necessary to properly integrate the output of the amplifier and attenuating it inside the subwoofer to the level suitable
ELS Sub to match the respective phase of the front, centre and to be amplified again by the subwoofer's amplifier. Always use the
rear speakers in your 5.1 system. Phase describes the polarity of low level input for best results.
the sound waves travelling to your ears. Positive means moving
forward and negative means moving back. If the sound from your
front speakers is designed to be more positive at their low
frequency extreme, it is necessary to adjust the output of the ELS
Sub to be positive also, otherwise they will tend to cancel one
another out and reduce the level or distort or colour the sound.

Page 6
 Subwoofer Performance
STEREO SYSTEMS OVER TEMPERATURE CUTOUT
These tend to be difficult to integrate with conventional subwoofers To protect the amplifier from damage caused by excessive heat,
because, for the most part, sub woofers are generally not designed there is a thermal sensor attached to the amplifier's heatsink that is
to match them and suit 5.1 systems only. The Epos ELS Sub is set to trip the output if the internal temperature exceeds a pre-set
different and was conceived as a means of extending the level. If this happens, the ELS Sub will stop working until the
frequency response of a small pair of bookshelf speakers, rather temperature reduces to an acceptable level.
than just producing large outputs at one particular frequency, such
as 60 Hz. The reasons this might happen are high ambient room temperature,
direct sunlight, high level operation for long periods and insufficient
This may appear to contradict established principles, but Epos ventilation of the amplifier control panel.
engineers have not limited themselves to only trying to produce a
product that plays 'one note' sound. For that reason the ELS Sub is
capable of extending low frequencies with a relatively flat POSITIONING AND TUNING
response down to 20 Hz. This is most unusual and would normally Remember that low frequencies have a longer wave length and
be unheard of in conventional woofers, because apart from sound waves travel to the ear in waves. So, it may be necessary to
anything else, their cabinets and amplifiers would rattle and buzz, move your subwoofer to different positions to completely suit your
due to the simple method of construction used. requirement or taste. If you require more or less power at low
frequencies, it can be affected by the proximity to an adjacent wall or
boundary.
OVER CURRENT CUTOUT
The ELS Sub does not use a compression limiter to pre-distort the Each wall or boundary will further enforce the effect of the woofer so
signals it cannot handle, to prevent it from cutting out. No amplifier moving it closer or further away from a rear or side wall will change
has infinite power capabilities and has to be protected from the sound effect dramatically. Corners double the effect as there are
destroying itself under extreme conditions. To protect the ELS two boundaries.
Sub's 300W amplifier from excessive current demands, it has
been designed to cut the signal to the speaker in the event of an The ELS Sub has been designed to match medium to small rooms,
overload.
with an area of approximately 10-20 M2 or 300-600 sq feet. If higher
power or larger rooms are used, it may be necessary to increase the
This will temporarily mute the subwoofer and stop it from working
number of ELS Subs used in a single installation. The Low level
until the demand is lower. If the volume is reduced, the frequency
output sockets make it easier to patch the signals through to a
range is altered to cut-off at a higher frequency or the passage
second or third ELS Sub, which can be placed elsewhere in the
containing the high level low frequency sound is passed, the sound
room.
output will be restored automatically.

Page 7
Subwoofer Performance & Specifications Sub
SOUND PRESSURE LEVELS SPECIFICATIONS
It is very easy to get used to high sound pressure levels as the Amplifier type
human brain compensates for the level by effectively reducing the Class D, high efficiency switching circuit.
perceived level the ear is receiving and allows the person to
become used to higher and higher levels until the pain threshold is Amplifier power output
reached. It is therefore necessary to be aware of this and avoid 300Watts into 4 Ohm load continuous
reaching this sublime state before serious or permanent damage
is caused to ones ears. Remember that hearing damage is Frequency response of system
irreversible as with all nerve damage. 20Hz to 150Hz with high and low filter settings at max and min.

PROTECTIVE GRILLS Speaker impedance

4 Ohms
The ELS Sub has a 10”(254mm), bass driver loudspeaker fitted to
the front of the cabinet. It is important not to block or restrict this
Sensitivity
area of the speaker or results will not be ideal. Some users may
89dB per Watt
wish to remove the fabric grille, which covers the speaker. Care
should be taken to avoid damage to the diaphragm or cone and
Maximum system output SPL
rubber surround.
112dB at 1 metre for music program
Children and some pets are fascinated with such things and
Amplifier capability
damage can be caused by sharp objects coming into contact with
300 Watts into 4 Ohms continuous
the moving cone. The risk is yours. Removing the grille is
500 Watts peak
possible by pulling on the frame, one corner at a time, until it un-
plugs from the inserts in the front of the cabinet. Plug the frame
Bass driver
back in to replace it. Remember that the frame is delicate and can
10” (254mm) steel chassis with reinforced paper cone and
be broken easily if not stored carefully away from the speaker.
inverted dust cover. 3” (75mm) high temperature voice coil wound
on an aluminium former with high power ceramic magnet system.
HEIGHT ADJUSTABLE SPIKES This product is not magnetically shielded, so avoid placing it in
You can change the overall height positioning of your ELS Sub by proximity to a CRT television or computer monitor screen.
adjusting the nuts supplied with the Epos Spikes.
Please ensure all spikes are even to maintain the stability of the
Sub. (If in doubt, check with a Spirit Level).

Page 8
 Troubleshooting and Warranty
Filter compensation circuit WARRANTY
Multi-element, bi-quadratic, high and low-pass filters with Your Epos subwoofer has been built to very high standard and
adjustable phase and active gain control should give many years of trouble free use.
Cabinet If within 2 years of the purchase date it proves to be defective for any
Vinyl wrapped, 25mm MDF carcass with internal cross bracing to reason other than accident, misuse, neglect, unauthorized
form a very rigid and sonically dead structure. Double thickness modification, or fair wear and tear, we will, at our discretion, replace
front baffle and separate back panel to house the amplifier in its the faulty parts without charge for labour or return carriage in the
own independent cavity. UK.
Dimensions Your purchase invoice/receipt should be retained as it may be
Height:372mm x Width:342mm x Length:450mm required in the event you need to claim on your warranty. This
warranty is valid only in the United Kingdom and given in addition to
Weight your statutory rights.
20Kgs/44lbs
Service enquiries in countries outside the UK should be address
TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE first to the supplying dealer or Epos agent or importer and
distributor. Warranties granted in these countries are entirely at the
discretion of the agent or distributor. For a list of appointed
THERE IS NO POWER
distributors please check the EPOS Ltd website www.epos-
Ensure that the IEC Power cable is connected securely.
acoustics.com or write to info@epos-acoustics.com
Ensure that the plug is fully inserted into the wall socket and is
switched on.
Epos Limited
Check the fuse in the IEC Power Cable and subwoofer.
12 Avebury Court,
Mark Road,
THERE IS NO SOUND
Hemel Hempstead,
Ensure that the amplifier is set correctly.
Hertfordshire,
Check that the interconnects are inserted correctly.
HP2 7TA,
England
THERE IS A HUM COMING FROM THE SUBWOOFER
Ensure that all cable connections are secure.
Tel No.+44(0)1442 26 0146
Fax No.+44(0)1442 24 3766

Page 9
 www.epos-acoustics.com

Epos Limited 12 Avebury Court, Mark Road, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 7TA, England
Tel No.+44(0)1442 26 0146 Fax No.+44(0)1442 24 3766

Made from recyclable material

Ref. EA014/R1