Abrahamsen FS401 User manual
UK
FS401
Owner’s Manual
Owner_FS401_v1.0 Copyright © ECS Holding AS, 200
9
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ABRAHAMSEN
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ABRAHAMSEN
©
product.
© product. ©
Y
ou will enjoy years of listening pleasure and true High End musical performance from your
You will enjoy years of listening pleasure and true High End musical performance from your Y
audio system.
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Owner’s Manual
UK
FS401
LOUDSPEAKER
Warning
:
D
o not expose this appliance to rain or moisture.
Do not remove bottom lid
.
No user serviceable parts inside. Refer servicing to qualified
service personnel.
The warranty is void if the product is tampered with by non-authorised
personnel.
Use only authorised
ABRAHAMSEN
©
service center.
© service center.©
5
Introduction
This user manual contains important information on the
placement, installation, and operation of your
ABRAHAM-
SEN
©
product. Please read this information thoroughly. A
© product. Please read this information thoroughly. A ©
good understanding of these details will help ensure satis-
factory operation and long life for your product.
The story behind the sound
In 1972 Dr. Otala and Mr. Lohstro finished their work in
analysing transistor amplifiers to determine what actually
created the ”transistor sound” in general transistorized
designs. The results of their innovative design work were
incorporated in the legendary 25 watt amplifier.
This product was the first commercial transistor amplifier
to use this new design approach, and the amplifier was
immediately recognised as dramatically more musical and
dynamic sounding than any other transistor amplifier. The
same design philosophy has been constantly updated by
additional research and development. This philosophy forms
the basis of the new
ABRAHAMSEN
©
design.
© design.©
After the 25 watt amplifier had established a new standard
for transistor amplifiers, research was undertaken to find
ways to make the amplifier even better, and to extend its
highly musical sound quality to more powerful amplifier
design.
In the beginning of the 70’s, while working with the amplifier
design a speaker was designed to go with the amplifier.
Such a speaker was needed as normal dynamic speakers
on the marked at that time, did not have the sound quality
needed to cope with the amplifier. Throughout the develop-
ment period of Electrocompaniet products, we have always
used our own speaker design as a “reference”, but not as
a commercial product. To day we are proud to present a
speaker that we feel is commercially ready with respect to
both sound and aesthetic qualities.
Introduction to the loudspeaker design
The loudspeaker has been designed and manufactured to
provide high quality reproduction of music and speech in a
domestic environment. The tweeter (high frequency unit)
has been specifically designed to maintain constant direc-
tivity over its frequency range; thus providing a wide, even
listening area up to ±30° from the tweeter axis. The short
fiber base/midrange units provide low coloration at high
frequencies due to well damped
cone modes of vibration; simple crossover filters are suffici-
ent to marry the responses of these units to the tweeter. The
bass reflex port is integrated into the base of the cabinet
providing strong coupling to the listening room at one of its
boundaries (the floor). The cabinets are manufactured from
an aluminum extrusion and MDF; this provides a stiff, well
damped base for the drive units.
Important Safety Information 6
The FS models are tall, slim and heavy. Installed on a flat
smooth surface in the manner described below, they should
provide a safe living environment in which to listen to them.
However, if you have uneven floors in your home, special at-
tention to installation and adjustment are necessary to assure
stability of the FS models. Please be advised that the speakers
may tip and fall if pushed.
Trailing cables are a significant trip hazard. Cables should be
tidy and secured. When stripping cables tools designed for the
purpose should be used. Tools shall be chosen and adjusted
to the size of wire and insulation to be stripped. Loudspeakers
should never be connected directly to the electricity supply.
General care
The loudspeakers are designed for a normal domestic
environment. Large changes in temperature, high humidity,
and/or direct sunlight should be avoided. General cleaning
of the loudspeakers requires only the removal of dust with a
microfiber cloth. The use of spirit based cleaners should be
avoided. If in doubt please request advice from your dealer.
.
Installation and operation 7
Unpacking
The loudspeakers are individually packed in boxes that pro-
vide protection during transportation. It is useful to retain the
packaging for future transportation.
To unpack the loudspeakers their boxes are best laid on
their backs (smallest long face with a taped seam along its
middle). Open the front face (smallest long face taped at the
side). Open all flaps and remove the polystyrene packing.
Open the cloth bag and lift the loudspeaker out of the box
and into the initial position shown in figure 1.
Initial setup and positioning
Positioning within a room is often a trial and error process
with aesthetic as well as practical considerations playing a
part in the final choices. Following the initial guidelines can
shorten the process.
The standard setup for a stereo pair within a rectangular
living room is shown in Figure 1. We recommend positio-
ning the speakers in areas of similar acoustic conditions, on
either side of the room, with a minimum distance 0.25m to
the rear and 1m to either side, and facing perpendicular to
the rear wall i.e. straight ahead with no toe-in. The distance
from the face of the loudspeakers to the ear of the listener,
should be at least as large as the distance between the
loudspeakers.
The loudness of the loudspeakers will depend on the room
construction and furnishings. Strong bass loudness may be
experienced in rooms with heavy/hard constructions
(plastered walls over concrete or brick). To alleviate bass
excess a bass reflex foam plug is included with the
loudspeaker. This have different flow resistances and pro-
vide damping of the bass amplification provided by the reflex
port. The plug is placed in the port across the whole cross
section.
In general, rooms with dry constructions (plaster board and
wooden floors) have sufficient absorption at low frequencies
and do not require treatment.
Installation and operation 8
Figure 1. Initial setup in a rectangular living room for stereo listening
3-5m
2-3m
min 0.25m
min 1m
Installation and operation
In normal living rooms with soft furnishings, book cases and
curtains there is sufficient sound absorption not to require
additional acoustic treatment. If all music sounds hard and
over “bright”, extra sound absorption may be added to the
rear wall using the addition of a heavy curtain ca. 2x2m
mounted with a distance of 0.1m to the rear wall.
Gathering or opening the curtain can be used to adjust the
sound absorption.
In rooms with parallel walls/ceiling and floors and little ab-
sorption, sound diffusing elements (bookcase with different
sized books) may be an alternative solution to extra absor-
bents. The diffusing elements have to be of sufficient size
compared to the acoustic wavelengths
(l @ 300Hz ca 1.1m, l @ 5000Hz ca 0.07m), at least ½
times the wavelength.
The fine tuning of the installation is carried out by adjusting
the toe-in of the Loudspeakers. Turning the loudspeakers
from facing straight ahead to directly facing the listener or
slightly crossing in front of the listener allows subtle adjust-
ment of the sound.
Connections
Your loudspeakers are designed to be used with HiFi equip-
ment of equivalent or better quality. Under powered amplifi-
ers when driven hard, are more likely to cause damage to
the loudspeakers due to distortion caused by clipping than
high powered high quality amplifiers driven to the same
volume.
Connections to the chosen amplifier should be made with
good quality loudspeaker cable and kept as short as possi-
ble. Cable lengths for each half of a stereo pair should have
the same length. Connecting wires from the amplifier to the
loudspeakers may be paralleled up to decrease the resis-
tance added by the cables.
The cable connector on the rear of the loudspeaker base
will accept a wide variety of cable terminations including
bare wire, 4mm plugs, spades, etc. The cables should be
periodically removed and re-connected to create new con-
tact points. The cables should be colour coded to assist in
connecting the loudspeakers in phase, so that the mem-
branes move outwards on a positive signal. Phase may be
checked either with a test disk or placing the loudspeakers
face to face 0.05m apart. Connecting the loudspeakers in-
phase will give more bass inverting one of the loudspeaker’s
connections will greatly reduce the amount of bass (out of
phase).
9
Installation and operation
After connecting the loudspeakers, a running-in period is
often advantageous. The running in can be achieved using a
CD on repeat to give a continuous signal over 2-4 days. The
loudspeakers are played at medium volume to run them in. It
may be advantageous to place the loudspeakers face to face
with a distance of 0.05m and one connected out of phase
during this running in period to reduce the “noise” to neigh-
bours.
Some mechanical components only reach their final long
term compliance after a 2-4 day period of excitation.
Grills
The grills are an integral part of the visual and acoustical
design of the loudspeakers. They are best left attached to
the front of the loudspeakers. We recommend not removing
the grills.
10
If service is required
If Service is required
Your dealer will have all relevant information regarding the
authorised
ABRAHAMSEN
©
service center in your area, and
© service center in your area, and ©
will ensure that your unit is serviced with minimum delay. It is
our general policy to have your unit returned to you within five
working days. This is an average time, and can vary locally,
depending on the workload at that particular service center. If,
for some reason, there are no service facilities available in your
country, please ship the unit to the following address:
ECS Holding AS,
Torggata 3-5, N-2000 Lillestrøm,
Norway
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: www.abrahamsenaudio.com
The end-user is responsible for all shipping charges, insurance,
re-importation and duty charges. When shipping a product to
the factory for service, always include the following:
1. A sales slip or other proof of purchase if repair is claimed
under warranty.
2. A proforma invoice with value of goods, stating that the
amplifier is returned to Norway for repair.
3. An accompanying letter describing faults, symptoms, or pro-
blems with the unit.
4.Always ship the unit in its original carton and packaging
material to prevent damage in transit.
ABRAHAMSEN
©
by ECS Holding will not cover damages
incurred in transit. If you require further information concer-
ning the operation of the unit, or if you have any questions
related to service, please do not hesitate to contact your
dealer or national distributor.
11
Warranty terms and conditions
1
ABRAHAMSEN
©
by ECS Holding
warrants that this pro-
duct will be free from any defects in matrials and
/or work-
manship for a period of
to(2) years from the purchase date,
five(5) if you have completed the warranty registration.
2 The extended warranty service is only available to the
orginal consumer, who purchased this product directly from
the retail dealer, and it can not be transferred.
3
During the warranty service
,
ABRAHAMSEN
©
by ECS
Holding
may repair or replace this product at its own option
at no charge to you for parts or labor in accordance with
this
limited warranty.
4
This warranty does not apply to damage that occurred
under the following conditions:
4.1 Instead of operating in accordance with the user’s ma-
nual. Any abuse or misuse of this product.
4.2 Normal ware and tear.
4.3 The product has been altered or modified in any way.
4.4 Damage which may have been caused either directly or
indirectly by another product / force / etc.
4.5 Abnormal service or repair by anyone other than a quali-
fied person or technician.
And in such cases, all the expenses will be charged to the
buyer.
5 In no event shall
ABRAHAMSEN
©
by ECS Holding
be
liable for any incidental or consequential damages. Some
countrys do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental
or consequential damages, so the above exclusion or limita-
tion may not apply to you.
6 This warranty gives you the specific rights, and these rights
are compatible with this country laws, you may also have
other statutory rights that may vary from country to country.
12
EU DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY
We,
ECS Holding AS
Whose registered office is situated at
Torg
gata 3-5
, N-2000 Lillestrøm, Norway
declare under our sole responsibility that the product:
FS401
comply with EU Electro-Magnetic Compatibility (EMC) Directive
89/336/EEC, in pursuance of which the following standards have
been applied:
EN 61000-6-1 : 2007
EN 61000-6-3 : 2007
EN 55020 : 2007
EN 55013 : 2001
And comply with the EU General Product Safety 2001/95/EC, in
pursuance of which the following standards have been applied:
EN 60065 : 2002
EN 60065 : 2002/A11:2008
This declaration attests that the manufacturing process quality
control and product documentation accord with the need to assure
continued compliance.
The attention of the user is drawn to any special measures
regarding the use of this equipment that may be detailed in the
owner’s manual.
Signed
Per Abrahamsen
President
ECS Holding AS
13
Waste of Electric and Electronic Equipment 14
This product may not be treated as household waste.
Instead it shall be handed over at the applicable collection
point for recycling of electrical and electronic equipment. By
ensuring this product is disposed of correctly, you will help
prevent potential negative consequences for the environ-
ment and human health, which could otherwise be caused
by in appropriate waste handling of this product. For more
detailed information about recycling of this product, please
contact your local council, your household waste disposal
service or the shop where you purchased the product.
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