Kappa Series Powered Subwoofer – Owner’s Manual
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It is a fact of audio that what we hear at low frequencies is determined as much or more
by the listening room than by the loudspeaker itself. Placement of the loudspeakers
and listeners and the acoustical characteristics of the room surfaces are all important
determinants of bass quantity and quality. In most practical situations, there is little that
can be done about this, except for patient trial-and-error repositioning of the loud-
speakers and listeners. Usually, the practical constraints of a living space and the
impracticality of massive acoustical treatment mean that equalization is the only
practical solution.
Professional sound engineers routinely employ sophisticated measurement systems
and equalizers to optimize speakers to the installation. This has never been practical
for the home audiophile. This is why R.A.B.O.S. was created. R.A.B.O.S. enables you
to identify the dominant low-frequency response characteristic of your room. Once you
know the problem, R.A.B.O.S. provides the tools needed to optimize the low-
frequency characteristics of the speakers to the room they are in, exactly as the
professional sound engineers do it.
These instructions assume you have already installed your Kappa speakers according
to the information provided in the Owner’s Guide. It is also assumed that all equipment
in your entertainment system is interconnected properly and is in good operating
condition.
Before beginning R.A.B.O.S. tests, please check the following:
• Make sure that all three R.A.B.O.S. controls on the Kappa Subwoofer are turned fully
clockwise or switch the R.A.B.O.S. selector to the Off position.
• Set the tone controls (Bass and Treble) to their center or flat positions.
• Bypass all surround and effects features of your receiver/ processor/preamp or set
to Stereo Bypass.
• If you are using a multichannel surround processor or receiver, make sure all bass-
management features are properly set. The Audio channels should all be set to
“Small” or “High-Pass” and the subwoofer set to “On.”
You must have a CD player in the system. A CD player remote control is quite
convenient but not essential.
For best results, it is recommended that all major furnishings are in place and that all
doors and windows in the listening area are in their normal positions. That is, if you
normally listen to music with all doors closed, then this is how they should be during
this procedure.
Try to minimize ambient noise while running tests. Turn off all major appliances and any
air conditioning or furnace fans. These can create significant subsonic noise that may
be barely perceptible but which can wreak havoc on low-frequency measurements.
Critical information is highlighted with this mark:
Helpful hints are marked with this symbol:
The R.A.B.O.S. Goal
Performing
R.A.B.O.S. Tests
Preparations
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