Russound Speaker SUB85 User Guide

®
Complement SUB85  
Powered Subwoofer  
Instruction Manual  
 
INTRODUCTION  
The first step toward getting accurate bass response is  
to set the subwoofer’s crossover to match the low-fre-  
quency roll-off point of the main speakers. Once you’ve  
set the crossover, you can then experiment to find the  
best possible location for the subwoofer.  
Product Description  
The Complement® SUB85 is a compact, high-powered  
active subwoofer. Its powerful amplifier couples with  
an acoustically optimized cabinet and driver to provide  
high performance with a deep low end and smooth  
response.  
Corner placement  
Placing the subwoofer in a corner will result in maxi-  
mum volume, greatest efficiency, and lowest distortion.  
This is because the adjacent walls and floor reinforce  
the fundamental bass tones. However, corner placement  
can also make the subwoofer sound boomy, emphasiz-  
ing a single frequency above others and resulting in  
uneven frequency response.  
Features  
For installation flexibility, the SUB85 offers stereo line-  
level inputs, a line-level LFE input, and stereo speaker-  
level inputs with pass-through.  
An adjustable level control, a variable crossover, and a  
phase switch allow the user to precisely balance the sub  
with the other speakers in the audio system.  
Other placement options  
An automatic standby mode turns the subwoofer on  
as soon as it senses an audio signal and mutes it 20  
minutes after the signal ends. A front-panel power  
indicator glows amber for standby mode and green for  
fully on.  
To get a smoother, more even frequency response, place  
the subwoofer at varying distances from the walls of  
the room. The key to minimizing standing waves is to  
avoid symmetry. Also, place the subwoofer close to the  
main speakers. This will help blend and integrate the  
sound of the sub and the main speakers. At the very  
least, keep the subwoofer in the front half of the room.  
The subwoofer’s attractive compact design provides  
versatile placement options without compromising the  
home décor.  
A common technique for finding the best location is  
to put the subwoofer in the main listening position, at  
seated ear height on a sturdy, nonresonant platform.  
Play music with ascending and descending bass notes,  
such as a jazz recording with a walking bass line. Crawl  
around the floor until you find the spot where the bass  
sounds smoothest, and where each bass note has about  
the same volume and clarity. Avoid positions where  
some notes resonate longer or sound heavier than oth-  
ers. When you’ve found the place where the bass sounds  
best, put the subwoofer there.  
Applications  
The SUB85 is ideal for use in small home theater and  
stereo music systems. The perfect match for Russound  
Complement LCR7 on-wall speakers, it can also be used  
with any Russound in-wall or in-ceiling speakers.  
Subwoofer Placement  
Room acoustics and modes  
Multiple subwoofers  
Room acoustics have a great effect on the sound of  
speakers, especially subwoofers. When sound is reflected  
back and forth between two parallel surfaces, such as  
opposite walls in a rectangular room, it creates standing  
waves. These make bass response uneven by creating  
sound peaks and nulls at certain locations within the  
room.  
Using multiple subwoofers provides greater dynamic  
range and smoother bass response throughout the room  
than using only one subwoofer. Placing two subwoof-  
ers in the corners behind the main speakers will reduce  
room resonances and increase directly radiated sound.  
When placing two subwoofers in adjacent corners,  
position them asymmetrically to minimize the effects of  
standing waves.  
Because the subwoofer’s location affects how stand-  
ing waves are created, correct subwoofer placement is  
important to avoid such peaks and nulls. They can’t be  
fixed by equalization, which could overdrive the speaker  
and amplifier, causing distortion or damage.  
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INSTALLATION  
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LFE INPUT – RCA connector for a prefiltered  
low-frequency effects signal from a home theater  
receiver or processor.  
Rear Panel  
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POWER SWITCH – Selects the power state of the  
internal amplifier. Set to Off to keep the SUB85  
off, Auto to turn it on only when it senses an au-  
dio signal, or On to keep it turned on all the time.  
SPEAKER LEVEL IN – Connectors for speaker-level  
signals from an amplifier or receiver. Binding  
posts accept banana plugs, spade lugs, pin con-  
nectors, and bare wire up to 12 AWG (2.05 mm).  
2
PHASE SWITCH – Allows the speaker phase to be  
inverted to improve acoustic response in some  
situations. Set to 180° to invert the signal or 0°  
for no inversion.  
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VOLTAGE SWITCH – Sets the amplifier to operate  
on either 120 V or 240 V. Set this switch to match  
the supply mains voltage.  
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4
VOLUME CONTROL – Adjusts the acoustic output  
level relative to the incoming signal.  
POWER CORD RECEPTACLE – Connector for the  
supplied power cord.  
CROSSOVER FREQUENCY CONTROL – Selects the  
frequency for the low-pass filter within the range  
of 50 to 200 Hz.  
10 SPEAKER LEVEL OUT – Pass-through connectors  
for main left and right speakers when speaker-  
level input is used. Binding posts accept banana  
plugs, spade lugs, pin connectors, and bare wire  
up to 12 AWG (2.05 mm).  
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LINE-LEVEL INPUT – RCA connectors for stereo  
line-level signals from a preamplifier or receiver.  
4
 
INSTALLATION  
LFE input  
Connections  
The low-frequency effects (LFE) input is for use when  
the LFE or subwoofer output on the home theater  
receiver or processor is turned on.  
The SUB85 gives you multiple options for connecting to  
your audio system. Choose the option that works best  
for your particular situation and equipment.  
Connect an RCA patch cable between the SUB85’s LFE  
input and the LFE or subwoofer output on the receiver  
or processor.  
Note: Choose only one connection option. Do not  
combine options.  
Before you connect the SUB85, turn off the power  
switches on all components, including the subwoofer.  
Note: The LFE input is not connected to the SUB85’s  
internal low-pass filter. Accordingly, the crossover  
frequency control has no effect on a signal entering  
this input. Use the LFE input only with a signal that  
is prefiltered by the receiver or processor.  
Receiver  
Line Level Output  
LFE Output  
Speaker Outputs  
Left  
Right  
Left  
Right  
RCA patch cable  
SUB85  
Connection using LFE input  
5
 
INSTALLATION  
Note: When the LFE or line-level input is connected  
to an audio system powered by a different electrical  
circuit from the one used to power the SUB85, a  
ground loop may result. This causes a low-frequency  
hum. To eliminate the hum, connect the SUB85 to  
the same electrical circuit as the audio system or use  
a ground loop isolator in series with the RCA cable.  
Connections (continued)  
Line-level input  
This input is for use when the receiver’s or processor’s  
LFE or subwoofer output is turned off, or when the  
receiver has no LFE or subwoofer output.  
Connect a stereo RCA patch cable between the SUB85’s  
line-level input jacks and the front left- and right-  
channel line outputs on the receiver or processor.  
Receiver  
Line Level Output  
LFE Output  
Speaker Outputs  
Left  
Right  
Left  
Right  
Stereo RCA  
patch cable  
SUB85  
Connection using stereo line-level input  
6
 
INSTALLATION  
red positive (+) terminal and the black wire to the black  
negative (–) terminal.  
Speaker-level input  
This input is for use when you need to send an amplified  
signal to the SUB85, such as when no line-level signal is  
available.  
Note: Some speaker cables have other ways of desig-  
nating polarity. For example, cable with a clear jacket  
usually has a copper-colored wire for positive and a  
silver-colored wire for negative. In a cable with white  
and black wires, the white is positive and the black is  
negative. Cable with both wires the same color may  
have grooves, ribs, or stripes on the positive wire.  
Use stranded copper speaker cable to connect between  
the SUB85’s speaker-level input terminals and the  
front left and right speaker terminals on the receiver or  
amplifier. The binding posts accept single banana plugs,  
spade lugs, pin connectors, and bare wire up to 12 AWG  
(2.05 mm).  
When you use the speaker-level input on the SUB85,  
you can connect the main left and right speakers to  
the speaker-level output terminals. The full-frequency  
signal will pass through to the main speakers.  
Be sure to observe proper polarity. For speaker cable  
with red and black wires, connect the red wire to the  
Right speaker  
Left speaker  
Receiver  
Line Level Output  
LFE Output  
Speaker Outputs  
Left  
Right  
Left  
Right  
Connection using speaker-level input with pass-through to main speakers  
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INSTALLATION  
Power  
After making the audio connections, make sure the  
voltage switch on the back of the SUB85 is set to the  
correct voltage for your area. Insert one end of the  
power cable into the IEC receptacle next to the voltage  
switch and the other end into a live power receptacle.  
Slide the power switch to the Auto setting to place the  
SUB85 in standby mode or the On setting to place it in  
full on mode. The power indicator on the front panel  
will light up amber when the SUB85 is in standby mode  
and green when fully on.  
Power receptacle and voltage switch  
Power switch and audio controls  
not reproduced by the main speakers, with very little  
overlap and no gaps in the overall response of the  
system. To make this adjustment precisely, you can use a  
calibration CD or DVD and a sound-level meter.  
Adjustments  
Crossover frequency  
Set the crossover frequency to match the low-frequency  
roll-off point of the main speakers. If you don’t know  
the roll-off point, use the following guidelines:  
Volume  
Start with the volume set at minimum, raising it gradu-  
ally until output from the SUB85 sounds about the same  
volume as output from the main speakers. Again, you  
can use a sound-level meter to be precise.  
• For main speakers with a full frequency range, set  
the crossover between 50 and 80 Hz.  
• For main speakers with limited bass extension, set  
the crossover between 80 and 100 Hz.  
Phase  
• For main speakers that reproduce only midrange and  
high frequencies, set the crossover between 100 and  
200 Hz.  
Depending on the location of the SUB85, its output  
at certain frequencies may be out of phase with the  
output of the main speakers. This is especially true when  
the subwoofer and main speakers are very different  
distances from the listeners.  
Your receiver or processor may have a bass management  
feature with settings for large, medium, and small main  
speakers. Refer to your equipment manual to determine  
the appropriate crossover setting if you use this feature.  
To compensate for this, try setting the phase switch at  
both positions. You may find that one position provides  
smoother bass response than the other.  
The goal is to set the crossover frequency at the point  
where the subwoofer reproduces the low frequencies  
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REFERENCE  
Specifications  
Speaker type: Front-firing powered subwoofer  
Driver: 8” (20.3 cm) paper cone woofer  
Enclosure: Sealed MDF box  
Finish: Black vinyl wrap with black cloth grille  
Amplifier power: 80 watts RMS into 4 ohms, 120 watts peak  
Frequency response: 45–200 Hz 3 dB  
Crossover frequency: Variable, 50 Hz – 200 Hz  
Line inputs: Left, Right, and LFE RCA connectors  
Speaker inputs: 3-way binding posts  
Speaker outputs: 3-way binding posts  
Power requirements: 100–120 V ~60 Hz 1.4 A  
220–240 V ~50 Hz 0.7 A  
Fuse ratings: T2AL 250 V, 100–120 V~  
T1AL 250 V, 220–240 V~  
Dimensions: 10.16” W x 14.25” H x 12.33” D (25.8 x 36.2 x 31.3 cm)  
Weight: 20.5 lb (9.3 kg)  
Warranty  
The Russound Complement SUB85 is fully guaranteed for two (2) years from the date of purchase against all defects in materials and  
workmanship. During this period Russound will replace any defective parts and correct any defect in workmanship without charge for  
either parts or labor. For this warranty to apply, the unit must be installed and used according to its written instructions. If service is  
necessary, it must be performed by Russound. The unit must be returned to Russound at the owner’s expense and with prior written  
permission. Accidental damage and shipping damage are not considered defects under the terms of the warranty. Russound assumes  
no responsibility for defects resulting from abuse or servicing performed by an agency or person not specifically authorized in writ-  
ing by Russound. Damage to or destruction of components due to improper use voids the warranty. In these cases the repair will be  
made at the owner’s expense. To return for repairs, the unit must be shipped to Russound at the owner’s expense, along with a note  
explaining the nature of the service required. Be sure to pack in a corrugated container with at least 3 inches of resilient material to  
protect the unit from damage in transit.  
Before returning a speaker for repair, call Russound at 603.659.5170 for a Return Authorization number. Write the RA number on the  
shipping label and ship to: Russound, ATTN: Service, 5 Forbes Road, Newmarket NH 03857.  
Russound sells products only through authorized Dealers and Distributors to ensure that customers obtain proper support and service.  
Any Russound product purchased from an unauthorized dealer or source, including retailers, mail order sellers and online sellers will  
not be honored or serviced under existing Russound warranty policy. Any sale of products by an unauthorized source or other manner  
not authorized by Russound shall void the warranty on the applicable product.  
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NOTES  
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NOTES  
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®
Complement SUB85  
Powered Subwoofer  
Instruction Manual  
Russound  
5 Forbes Road, Newmarket NH 03857 USA  
Tel 603.659.5170 • Fax 603.659.5388  
Technical Support: [email protected]  
28-1276 08/10/07  
Copyright © 2007 Russound. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Specifications are subject to  
change without notice. Russound is not responsible for typographical errors or omissions.  
 

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