argon audio Octave 3A User manual

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Octave 3A
02 OWNER’S MANUAL
04 ILLUSTRATIONS
12 SPECIFICATIONS
12 TROUBLESHOOT

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Octave 3A
Owner’s manual
Dear Customer,
Quality has always been our driving force and founding
Argon Audio is a natural extension of this philosophy.
We have 20 years’ experience in creating and specifying
high quality products, manufacturing them and selling them
on to end users with Value-for-Money as the primary aim.
And Argon Audio is a brand fully compliant with these
values.
Design, features and quality standards are all specified in
Denmark and manufacturing takes place in the Far East,
where quality vendors are highly competitive - and as a
result supply outstanding Value-for-Money products
– to the delight of both ourselves and our customers!
Introduction
Thank you for choosing Argon Audio loudspeakers, we
hope they will bring you many years of enjoyment.
Please read this manual fully before unpacking and
installing the product.
Unpacking
We have during production and packing carefully checked
and inspected these loudspeakers.
After unpacking please check for any damage from
transport.
We recommend that you keep the original carton box and
packing material for any future shipping.
Loudspeaker installation
The speakers are best used with the tweeters
approximately at ear level when seated.
Loudspeaker positioning
Variations in placement of your loudspeakers can produce
dramatic differences in the way music sounds. No listening
room is the same and therefore we encourage you to spend
some time experimenting with which placements work best
in your listening room. Trust your ears and be willing to
experiment freely, you can not ruin anything.
You can start with our basic recommendations.
Please try to ensure that the room’s surroundings of each
loudspeaker left and right are similar in acoustic character.
For example, if one loudspeaker is placed on bare walls
while the other is placed close to soft furniture’s and
curtains, both the overall sound quality and the stereo
image are likely to be compromised.
Because bookshelves are usually located close to the wall
placement on bookshelves will often provide a richer, more
full-bodied sound. In other words; you will get more Bass.
On the other hand, if you place the speakers free-standing
You will get less Bass but a clearer sound.
T o begin with, the speakers should be positioned between
1.5 m and 3 m apart at two corners of an equilateral
triangle, completed by the listening area at the third corner.
This is the optimal way of placement.
The Argon Octave 3A is designed to play single-standing, if
the room is not too big.
In bigger rooms (+30 sqm) a subwoofer will need to be
added in order to get optimal sound.

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Octave 3A
Running-in period
We recommend a running-in time of your new Argon Octave
3A loudspeakers of approximately 15-20 hours at normal
listening level before you decide on the final positioning of
the loudspeakers. During the running-in time the drive units
will settle in and perform as intended.
Connecting your loudspeakers
We recommend that you read the manual of your other
audio products carefully before connecting your
loudspeakers. Please switch off all equipment when
connecting your loudspeakers.
The speaker binding posts on the terminal accepts wire up
to Ø 4mm or cables with banana plugs.
Make sure that positive terminal binding posts on the
Passive speaker (marked + and colored red) are connected
to the positive output terminal binding posts on the Active
speaker and that the negative terminals on the Passive
speaker (marked – and colored black) are connected to the
negative output terminal on the Active speaker.
Now you can connect the audio source you want.
(read more about this on page 4 and forward).
.
Care and cleaning
We don’t recommend use of any solvents or cleaners on
Argon Octave 3A cabinets, the cabinet surface usually only
requires dusting or cleaning with a damp soft cloth
(only use cold clean water).
Avoid touching the drive units, especially the tweeter, as
damage may result.
Environmental information
Argon Octave 3A loudspeakers comply with international
directives on the Restriction of Hazardous Substances
(RoHS) in electrical and electronic equipment and the
disposal of Waste.
Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) - the crossed
bin symbol indicates compliance and that the products must
be appropriately recycled or processed in accordance with
these directives.
Safety instructions
Please store this instruction manual for future reference.
Do not use this product near water or moisture. Clean only
with a dry cloth. Unplug this product from the wall outlet
before cleaning. Place the unit on a solid surface. Do not
block any ventilation openings. Do not put it in a closed
bookcase or a cabinet that may keep air from flowing
through its ventilation openings. Do not install near any heat
sources, such as radiators, heat registers, stoves or other
appliances that produce heat. Protect the power cord from
being walked on or pinched, particularly at plugs and the
point where they exit from the product. Servicing is required
when the product has been damaged. Do not attempt to
service this product yourself. Opening or removing covers
may expose you to dangerous voltages or other hazards.
Please contact the manufacturer to be referred to an
authorized service center near you. To prevent risk of fire or
electric shock, avoid over loading wall outlets, extension
cords, or integral convenience receptacles. Do not let
objects or liquids enter the product. Use proper power
sources. Plug the product into a proper power source, as
described in the operating instructions or as marked on the
product.

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Octave 3A
Power ON/OFF LED
•Lights Blue when “ON”
•Lights Red when “OFF”
Front panel, input indicators

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Octave 3A
Analogue 3,5 Mini-Jack input for
connecting iPod, MP3, PC etc
Bass port that enhances the bass.
Do not block this port.
Connection to (right)
Passive speaker
Output for active subwoofer
Main Power connection.
For connecting the external
power adapter.
USB Audio connection for connecting
digitally to a LapLaptop/PC.
USB plug type B.
Volume control and On/Off switch.
Turn the knob to adjust the volume
up or down.
Turn to power the speaker On or Off.
Bluetooth disconnect and
ready for discover mode
Rear panel and connections

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Octave 3A
Connecting your speakers
STEP 1
Connect the RED (+) and BLACK (-) terminals from the left speaker to the corresponding terminals on the right speaker using at least
decent speaker cable, to enhance sound quality. Insulation on cable must be stripped on all ends.
Note: Because this Argon system is self-powered, do not connect the speaker terminals to the speaker outputs of a stereo receiver.
STEP 2
Connect the power adapter into the left speaker and the other end into the wall outlet.
STEP 1
STEP 2

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Octave 3A
1
Connect your Argon Octave 3A to a subwoofer
CONFIGURATION (connecting subwoofer using RCA plugs mono or stereo)
Connect the single RCA plug to your Argon Octave 3A.
Your subwoofer might have input for one RCA plug just like there is only one
RCA output plug from the Argon Octave 3A. Connect using this single RCA plug
at both ends.
Your Subwoofer might have a Left and Right input. In this case you can choose
two options. Option 1 is to use the single RCA connection and you can choose
either L or R input and leave the other one unplugged.
Option 2 is to get a cable with one RCA plug at one end and two RCA (L and R)
at the other end for connecting to the Subwoofer.
To make things simple, we recommend you to use only one RCA at both ends,
even though your subwoofer might have both an L and R input.
2

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Octave 3A
Use of Audio inputs on Argon Octave 3A
Your Argon Audio Octave 3A has 3 different audio inputs:
1. USB Audio input
2. Analogue 3,5 mm mini jack input
3. Bluetooth Audio, wireless input
Notice; Argon Audio Octave 3A, does not have an input
selector.
All 3 inputs are connected and open at any time when the
speaker is turned on. This means that if you play music via
more than one input at the same time, then the speaker will
play from all inputs at the same time.
Use of USB Audio connection
USB AUDIO
Your Argon Audio Octave 3A is equipped with a USB Audio
Digital input (shown marked no.1 on the drawing)
A USB Audio Digital input means that you can connect a PC
and directly play digital audio content from the PC.
Conversion of the signal from digital to analogue would
normally happen in the PC, but often the D/A conversion
quality in PC’s are of poor standard.
Argon Audio Octave 3A has a quality build in D/A converter
that ensures you optimal sound quality when using USB
digital audio. Using USB Audio ensures you that the D/A
conversion happen in the speaker and not in the PC.
Connecting to a Windows based Laptop/PC
After connecting with USB cable to on your Laptop/PC,
Windows will install the driver by itself.
However, to activate the new device you need to go into
“Sound” settings on your Laptop/PC, either through the
Windows Control Panel or via the “Speaker” icon in the task
bar in Windows.
In Sound setting click
on “USB Audio Dac”
(which is the Octave 3A).
Choose “set as default”
and click OK.
If you want to know more
about USB and USB AUDIO
you can check:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB
1
USB type B

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Octave 3A
Use of analogue audio connection
Analogue audio connection
Your Argon Octave 3A is equipped with a 3,5 mm mini jack
analogue audio input.
*2 is mini-jack 3,5 mm stereo input. Typically for use for
connecting an iPod, Mp3 Player, PC or TV, but can also be
used for DVD, CD etc.
.
Notice; if possible always use a cable that has 3,5 mm mini
jack at both ends. This ensures that the input signal has the
optimal sensitivity. If you combine 3,5 mm mini jack at one
end with RCA stereo connectors at the other end, you might
experience that the sound signal is lower than normal.
Note that most new TV remotes can control the Argon
Octave 3A active speaker volume if connected to variable
TV audio out and to this mini-jack 3,5 mm stereo input.
2

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Octave 3A
Use of Bluetooth audio connection
Pairing and connecting Bluetooth
•Turn on the Argon Octave 3A
•A Blue light will show in the front display-eye
•Activate Bluetooth on your mobile/tablet/pc etc
•Activate “make device discoverable” on your mobile/tablet/pc etc
•Make your mobile/tablet/pc etc search for Bluetooth devices
•“Argon Octave 3A” will show up in the display as “found”
•Tab on the “Argon Octave 3A” text on the mobile/tablet/pc etc to pair
•When paired tap again on the “Argon Audio Octave 3A” text to Connect
•Your mobile/tablet/pc etc will now show Argon Audio Octave 3A “connected to media playback”
•Start playback on the mobile/tablet/pc etc.
A few things to be aware about
•Before search, pair and connecting a new device, disconnect any other already connected devices. Disconnect it on
your mobile/tablet/pc etc. or disconnect by pressing the “BT MATCH” button on the back of Argon Audio Octave 3A
•It’s also recommended to press the “BT MATCH” button if you change to play from a USB or analogue connected
source.
•If you connect your Argon Audio Octave 3A to a PC/Laptop via Bluetooth, there might be a few things you need to be
aware about, all depending on what operating system you have on your PC/Laptop
•After having connected the (following the connection process already described), you might need to activate the Argon
Octave 3A as default playback device on your PC/Laptop. You do this by:
•Opening the “Sound” settings menu from either “Control panel” or from the desk top taskbar in
Windows (clicking the symbol indicating a speaker).
•In the window that pop-up chose “playback” tab.
•If Argon Octave 3A is already connected, two or more playback devices will be shown. Argon Octave 3A will be
named as “Bluetooth hands free audio”.
•Click on the device indicator and choose “set as default”, and you are ready to go.

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Octave 3A
Play back via Bluetooth
•Any music player app can be used for play back.
However there are a lot of music player app’s out
there and some are not really and some are beta
apps. These can have issues when used with
Bluetooth. So we recommend to use music player
apps that come preinstalled with your
mobile/tablet/pc etc
•It is recommended that you set the volume level
on Argon Octave 3A at a rather high level and
use your mobile/tablet/pc etc to adjust the play
back volume.
Notice; if you have connected Argon Octave 3A via
Bluetooth to a Windows based PC/Laptop.
Argon Octave 3A will automatically connect to your
PC/Laptop when it’s turned on. To avoid this you need to
disconnect Argon Octave 3A in the PC/Lap top Bluetooth
settings
Operating Argon Octave 3A
Power on-off/Volume control
NOTICE this knob/button has TWO FUNCTIONS:
1) Turn power o/offn, by turning the knob, first step
and it gives a click.
2) Controlling volume by turning the knob towards +
or -
Controlling the volume
The main volume on Argon Octave 3A is adjusted on the
back side of Argon Audio Octave 3A.
It is recommended that you set the volume level on Argon
Octave 3A at a rather high level and use your
mobile/tablet/pc etc app to adjust the play back volume.
Regarding TV sound, most TV remotes can control the
Argon Octave 3A active speaker volume if connected to
variable TV audio out and to the 3,5 mm mini jack input on
Argon Octave 3A.
Argon Octave 3A will always start up on the last used play
back source, unless it’s not connected or turned on
anymore.
Manually turn Argon Octave 3A ON or OFF
Turn the volume know all the way down to turn Off and you
will hear a click.
From Off position turn the volume knob up until you hear a
click, and the Speaker is now in On mode-

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Octave 3A
Specifications Argon Octave 3A
Tweeters: 0,75 inch Silk Dome with Neo magnet
Woofers: 2,5 inch paper cone
Nominal Impedance: 8 Ohm
Sensitivity: 2,83V (/1W/1m) 84 dB
Amplifier Type: Class D with ext. power adpt (20V DC @ 3A
Power Output: 20 Watts RMS per channel
Input Sensitivity: 350 mV
Total Harmonic Distortion: < 0.3%
Crossover System: 2-way
Crossover Frequency: 3 kHz
Frequency Response: 70 Hz - 20 kHz
Bluetooth: 3.0
Outputs: 1 x Subwoofer
USB Audio 2,0
Speaker Terminals: Left and Right Binding Posts
Input Voltage / Frequency: AC 100V-240V 50/60 Hz
Standby Power Consumption: < 0.5 W
Basic Troubleshooting
If the LED does not light up, check...
that the AC power cord is firmly plugged into the rear panel
and wall outlet.
to make sure the speaker rear panel power switch is ON.
that the speaker is getting power from the wall outlet.
that the rear panel match to the operating voltage.
the fuse in the AC IN on the rear panel. If the fuse needs to
be replaced it is extremely important to replace only with
same fuse type and value.
If no sound output, check...
that the speaker is turned on (blue LED illuminated)
to make sure the right speaker is connected correctly to the
left.
that the volume on the speaker back panel is not all the
way down.
the volume level on the iPod or other audio source it not at
0 level..
that there is music playing on your iPod or other audio
source player.
If bass output is low, check...
speaker wire polarity (verify that wires are going to same
terminals on both speakers)
that the speaker placement is not too close to a wall or
other obstruction.
that the bass ports on the rear panels are not blocked by a
rodent or jelly sandwich.
If no output from right speaker, check...
that the speaker wire is properly connected from the left to
right.
Check by removing the speaker wire from both terminals on
each speaker and reconnecting.