Acoustic Research ARW51 User manual

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Installation and Operation Manual
Manual de la instalación y de la operación
Manuel d'installation et d'opération
AR Modular
Wireless

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Contents
Getting Started ............................................................................................. 1
Important Safety Instructions ........................................................................ 2
Quick Setup Instructions ............................................................................... 5
Features ....................................................................................................... 6
Control Locations .......................................................................................... 9
Installing the ARWT1 Transmitter ............................................................... 12
Installing the Receiver ................................................................................ 13
Operation .................................................................................................... 15
Troubleshooting .......................................................................................... 19
Specifications ............................................................................................. 20
1 Year Limited Warranty ............................................................................. 21
Contenido
Introducción ................................................................................................ 23
Instrucciones Importantes de Seguridad .................................................... 24
Instrucciones de Inicio Rápido .................................................................... 27
Características ............................................................................................ 28
Ubicaciones de Control .............................................................................. 31
Como instalar el Transmisor ARWT1 ......................................................... 34
Como instalar el Receptor .......................................................................... 35
Operación ................................................................................................... 37
Resolución de Problemas ........................................................................... 42
Especificaciones ......................................................................................... 43
Garantía Limitada de 1 año ........................................................................ 44
Table des matières
Comment demarrar .................................................................................... 45
Instructions de securite importantes ........................................................... 46
Instructions pour configuration rapide ........................................................ 49
Caracteristiques .......................................................................................... 51
Situations de commandes .......................................................................... 54
Installer l’emetteur ARWT1 ......................................................................... 57
Installer le recepteur ................................................................................... 58
Operation .................................................................................................... 60
Depannage ................................................................................................. 64
Specifications ............................................................................................. 65
Garanti limitee d’un an ................................................................................ 66

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GETTING STARTED
Congratulations on your purchase of the AR Modular Wireless system, the first
expandable modular system capable of delivering high quality wireless transmission to
a complete 5.1 channel home theater. The AR Modular Wireless system is designed to
provide you with years of reliable, trouble-free service.
ARW51 Contents List
• 5 x 2.4 GHz Amplified Receivers (ARWR2)
• 1 x 5.1 Channel, 2.4 GHz Transmitter (ARWT1)
• 1 x 2.4 GHz Subwoofer Receiver (ARWS3)
• 5 x AC-DC Adaptors (INPUT AC 100-240V OUTPUT DC 26V 2.5A)
• 5 x Power Cords
• 2 x AC-DC Adaptors (INPUT AC 100-240V OUTPUT DC 12V 1.2A)
• 1 x Owner’s Manual including Warranty Statement
• 1 x Product Registration Card for Online Registration
• 1 x eMusic Download Card
• 6 x Stands for Receivers
ARW20 Contents List
• 1 x 5.1 Channel, 2.4 GHz Transmitter (ARWT1)
• 2 x 2.4 GHz Amplified Receivers (ARWR2)
• 2 x AC-DC Adaptors (INPUT AC 100-240V OUTPUT DC 26V 2.5A)
• 1 x AC-DC Adaptor (INPUT AC 100-240V OUTPUT DC 12V 1.2A)
• 1 x eMusic Download Card
• 1 x Product Registration Card for Online Registration
• 1 x Owner's Manual including Warranty Statement
• 2 x Power Cords
• 2 x Stands for Receivers
ARWR2 Contents List
• 1 x 2.4 GHz Amplified Receiver (ARWR2)
• 1 x AC-DC Adaptor (INPUT AC 100-240V OUTPUT DC 26V 2.5A)
• 1 x eMusic Download Card
• 1 x Power Cord
• 1 x Product Registration Card for Online Registration
• 1 x Owner's Manual including Warranty Statement
• 1 x Stand for Receiver
ARWS3 Contents List
• 1 x 2.4 GHz Subwoofer Receiver (ARWS3)
• 1 x AC-DC Adaptor (INPUT AC 100-240V OUTPUT DC 12V 1.2A)
• 1 x eMusic Download Card
• 1 x Product Registration Card for Online Registration
• 1 x Owner's Manual including Warranty Statement
• 1 x Stand for Receiver

AR Modular Wireless System
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IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS
1. Read these instructions.
2. Keep these instructions.
3. Heed all warnings.
4. Follow all instructions.
5. Do not use this apparatus near water.
6. Clean only with a damp cloth.
7. Do not block any of the ventilation openings. Install in accordance with the
manufacturer's instructions.
8. Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators, heat registers, stoves, or
other apparatus including amplifiers that produce heat.
9. Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarized-type plug. A polarized plug has
two blades with one wider than the other. The wide blade is provided for your
safety. When the provided plug does not fit into your outlet, consult an electrician
for replacement of the obsolete outlet.
10. Protect the power cord from being walked on or pinched particularly at plug,
convenience receptacles, and the point where they exit from the apparatus.
11. Only use attachments/accessories specified by the manufacturer.
12. Use only with a cart, stand, tripod, bracket, or table specified by
the manufacturer or sold with the apparatus. When a cart is used,
use caution when moving the cart/apparatus combination to avoid
injury from tip-over.
13. Unplug this apparatus during lighting storms or when unused for
long periods of time.
14. Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel. Servicing is required when the
apparatus has been damaged in any way, such as when the power-supply cord or
plug is damaged, liquid has been spilled or objects have fallen into the apparatus,
the apparatus has been exposed to rain or moisture, does not operate normally, or
has been dropped.
WARNING: TO PREVENT FIRE OR
ELECTRIC SHOCK HAZARD, DO NOT EXPOSE
THIS APPARATUS TO RAIN OR MOISTURE.

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15. The apparatus shall not be exposed to dripping or splashing and that no objects
filled with liquids, such as vases, shall be placed on the apparatus.
16. Do not overload wall outlet. Use only power source as indicated.
17. Always leave sufficient space around the product for ventilation. Do not place
product in or on a bed, rug, in a bookcase or cabinet that may prevent air flow
through vent openings.
18. Do not place lighted candles, cigarettes, cigars, etc. on the product.
19. Care should be taken so that objects do not fall into the product.
20. The MAINS plug is used as the disconnect device and shall remain readily
operable.
21. Where there is more than one connection supplying HAZARDOUS VOLTAGES or
HAZARDOUS ENERGY LEVELS to equipment, a prominent marking, located
close to the entry point provided for a SERVICE PERSON to gain access to the
hazardous parts, shall be provided to indicate which disconnect device or devices
isolate the equipment completely and which disconnect devices can be used to
isolate each section of the equipment.
22. Use the Adaptor which we provided and do not replace them at discretion.
WARNING: THE MANUFACTURER IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY RADIO OR TV
INTERFERENCE CAUSED BY UNAUTHORIZED MODIFICATIONS TO THIS
EQUIPMENT. SUCH MODIFICATIONS COULD VOID THE USER'S AUTHORITY TO
OPERATE THIS EQUIPMENT.
COMPLIANCE WITH FCC REGULATIONS: This device complies with Part 15 of the
FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions:
(1) this device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any
interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.
NOTE: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class
B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to
provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation.
This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not
installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference
to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur
in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or
television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the
user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following
measures:
• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
This symbol indicates that this
product incorporates double
insulation between hazardous
mains voltage and user
accessible parts.

AR Modular Wireless System
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• Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the
receiver is connected.
• Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.
A Class II APPARATUS shall be permanently marked with the words "DOUBLE
INSULATION" or "Double Insulated" and "When servicing use only identical
replacement parts."
This Class B digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES-003.
This apparatus contains a module with FCC ID: RFAARW51 and IC: 7186A-ARW51.

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QUICK SETUP INSTRUCTIONS
The ARW51 and ARW20 systems come pre-linked from the factory. The channels are
already assigned to each receiver, indicated by the peel-off tabs on the receiver.
1. Place each receiver near its respective speaker in your room.
2. Attach the Receivers to your speakers, being careful to maintain polarity.
• For the ARWR2 Amplified Receivers, use a standard 2-conductor speaker wire
to attach to the speaker.
• For the ARWS3 line level Subwoofer Receivers, use a standard RCA cable to
go from the ARWS3 to your powered subwoofer's LINE, LFE or Sub input
connector.
3. Plug in the AC-DC power Adaptors to a convenient AC power outlet and then plug
the DC jack into each receiver.
4. Turn off the power to your Home Theater Receiver and place the ARWT1
Transmitter in a convenient nearby location. NOTE: The ARWT1 Transmitter should
not be placed near a significant source of heat as this may cause damage to the
transmitter's circuitry.
5. Attach the source's speaker and/or line level outputs to the ARWT1 transmitter's
speaker and line level inputs.
• Depending on your system configuration, you may not use all channels.
• Be sure to leave your Home Theater Receiver's power OFF during this process
to prevent damage from accidentally shorting the speaker wires.
6. Plug in the Transmitter's AC-DC power adaptor and plug the DC jack into the back
of the ARWT1 Transmitter. The transmitter will go through a short initialization
process and then automatically link to each Wireless Receiver in the system.
7. If you have purchased additional ARWR2 or ARWS3 Receivers, you will need to
manually link them to your preferred channel. See the complete linking description
that follows in this Owner's Manual.
DC 12V ADAPTOR
ARWT1 TRANSMITTER
SUB LINE IN
HOME THEATER RECEIVER
SUBWOOFER OR
SPEAKER
SPEAKER LEVEL IN LFE LINE LEVEL
OUTPUT
OUT

AR Modular Wireless System
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FEATURES
The AR Modular Wireless system is a full 5.1 channel expandable transmitter/receiver
system operating at 2.4GHz. The system uses a variety of methods to provide you with
high resolution, low noise uninterrupted audio. An adaptive "sniff-before-transmit"
algorithm continually checks the operating band for interference from wireless networks,
cordless phones, microwave ovens and other devices. This allows the system to
anticipate interference before it happens so it can jump to an adjacent band. The
system uses an advanced process called Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) to
quickly find the next available free band without losing data. Unlike many wireless
systems, the AR Modular Wireless uses transceivers at both the transmitter and
receiver end. This technology allows each receiver to have its own dedicated
communications channel for delivering Quality of Service (QoS) information back to the
transmitter, or to request retransmission of lost or corrupted packets, determine channel
assignments and serve as a secondary method of measuring interference. The AR
Modular Wireless systems transmits 6 channels of uncompressed CD-quality audio at
16 bits, 44.1kHz sampling rate for a combined bandwidth of over 4 Megabit/second. The
system uses an additional 7 Megabit/second of bandwidth to perform continuous QoS
analysis for high interference immunity. As a result of the high bandwidth capacity, the
AR Modular Wireless system can operate at an extremely low latency, typically less
than 14 msec, without loss of signal integrity. Advanced load-shunt power regulators in
the transmitter keep digital switching noise out of the analog inputs. In addition, a fully
digital signal path is used within the ARWR2 Amplified Receiver to dramatically reduce
hiss, clicks, pops and other noise inherent in many other wireless systems. The AR
Modular Wireless system can use high powered amplifiers in the ARWR2 receiver and
connect to high powered subwoofers with the ARWS3 receiver.
The AR Modular Wireless system is made up of three main components:
• ARWT1 5.1 channel transmitter with 5 speaker-level spring-clip inputs (max
15.5VRMS) and 1 line level RCA Subwoofer/LFE input (max 1.4VRMS)
• ARWR2 Amplified Receiver module with an efficient, high power Class D amplifier
capable of delivering over 60W RMS into a 4 ohm speaker load
• ARWS3 Line Level Subwoofer/LFE module with an RCA output for driving powered
subwoofers
The AR Modular Wireless system employs a unique linking system that allows you to
link any receiver to any channel, and even multiple receivers per channel. You may link
up to 6 receivers per channel without loss of signal integrity. The channels on the
ARWT1 are labeled with the common surround channel designations (Surround Left,
Front Left, Center, Front Right, Surround Right and Sub Line In) but they can be used
for any purpose. The transmitter's 5 speaker level inputs are all full-range inputs using
high quality ADCs (Analog to Digital Converters) to convert your receiver's speaker
outputs to 16 bit 44.1kHz uncompressed CD quality digital sound. The Subwoofer or
LFE line-level input uses the same high quality ADCs, but is bandwidth-limited
specifically for subwoofer use. Though not normally recommended, any ARWR2
receiver may also be linked to the transmitter's line level subwoofer channel and may be
used to drive a small non-powered subwoofer with its internal 60W amplifier.

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Likewise, any ARWS3 receiver may be linked to any speaker-level channel. The
ARWS3 receiver will produce a bandwidth-limited signal (below 250Hz) that is 1/10th
the output voltage of the input to that speaker-level input. For instance if you have
10VRMS going into the speaker level input, the ARWS3 will produce 1VRMS. This is
useful for situations where a line level subwoofer output is desired from a speaker level
input.
The unique linking ability allows you to create additional configurations beyond a
standard 5.1 surround sound system:
• You may purchase additional ARWR2 Amplified Receivers and link them to the
Front Left and Front Right channels. These modular receivers can be placed
anywhere within range, making this configuration ideal for whole-house distributed
audio without wires.
• The system may be configured to run 3 wireless surround speakers and the
subwoofer in a 6.1 channel system. With this configuration, you may prefer to use
your receiver's power amplifier to drive the front three speakers through regular
wires, leaving two channels of the ARWT1 open for use as a "Zone 2" system or
any other application.
• Since each of the 5 channels are general purpose, you can install a full 8.1 system,
using the ARW51 to provide 5 wireless surround speakers and your receiver's
power amplifier to drive the front three speakers through regular wires.
• The ARW20 comes with only two ARWR2 Amplified Receivers and is generally
used to make your rear surround speakers wireless in a conventional 5.1 system.
However, the ARWT1 Transmitter is capable of expanding to cover the full 5.1
system. Add a third ARWR2 Amplified Receiver to create a cost-effective wireless
system for three surround speakers in a 6.1 configuration, or to make a front
speaker wireless in a case where running wires to one of the front speakers is
difficult due to a fireplace or other obstruction. You can also purchase an ARWS3
wireless subwoofer receiver to make your subwoofer wireless.

AR Modular Wireless System
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WHOLE HOUSE DISTRIBUTED AUDIO