Bang & Olufsen BeoLab 4 User manual

BeoLab 4
Guide

WARNING: To reduce the risk of fire or
electric shock, do not expose this appliance
to rain or moisture. Do not expose this equip-
ment to dripping or splashing and ensure
that no objects filled with liquids, such as
vases, are placed on the equipment.
To completely disconnect this equipment
from the AC Mains, disconnect the power
supply cord plug from the AC receptacle.
The lightning flash with arrowhead symbol
within an equilateral triangle, is intended
to alert the user to the presence of un-
insulated “dangerous voltage” within the
product’s enclosure that may be of sufficient
magnitude to constitute a risk of electric
shock to persons.
The exclamation point within an equilateral
triangle is intended to alert the user to the
presence of important operating and main-
tenance (servicing) instructions in the
literature accompanying the product.
CAUTION
RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK
DO NOT OPEN
CAUTION: To reduce the risk of
electric shock, do not remove
cover (or back).
No User-serviceable parts inside.
Refer servicing to qualified service
personnel.

Daily use
When you have finished setting
up the loudspeakers as described
on the following pages, connect
the entire system to the mains.
The indicator lights turn red, to
indicate that the loudspeakers
are in standby mode, ready for
use. The loudspeakers are
designed to be left in standby
mode when not in use.
Cleaning the loudspeaker
The speaker panels may be cleaned
with a vacuum cleaner set to the
lowest suction level. Clean the other
surfaces using a soft, lint-free cloth
which you have dipped in luke-
warm water and wrung firmly.
Never use alcohol or other solvents
to clean any parts of the loud-
speaker!
Switching on and off
When you switch on your system,
the loudspeakers switch on simul-
taneously, and the indicator lights
turn green.
When you switch off your audio
(or video) system the indicator
lights turn red.
However, if the loudspeakers are
connected to a computer – via the
LINE IN socket, and with the LINE IN
switch set to PC – they will not
switch to standby. Refer to ‘Cable
connections’ (pp. 6–7).
Indicator light: In daily use the
indicator light shines either red
(standby) or green (playing).
3
NOTE! Prolonged listening at high
volume levels may cause hearing
damage.
Indicator light

Set up the loudspeakers
We recommend that you follow
this procedure:
– Disconnect your system from the
mains.
– Connect the loudspeakers and set
the LINE IN–POWER LINK switch
on each loudspeaker as explained
in ‘Cable connections’ (pp. 6–7).
– Set the POSITION switch to the
correct setting on each loud-
speaker. This is explained in ‘Adapt
the loudspeaker to your room’
(pp. 8–10).
– Connect the entire system to the
mains again.
The loudspeaker must be placed
standing upright on its base, or
fastened to one of the optional
accessories. Make the connections,
and set both switches before you
fasten the loudspeaker to one of the
accessories.
Cautions
– Make sure that the loudspeakers
are placed and connected in
accordance with the instructions
in this Guide. To prevent injury,
use Bang & Olufsen approved
stands and wall brackets only!
– The loudspeaker can only be
switched off completely by
disconnecting it from the wall
socket.
– Do not attempt to open the loud-
speaker. Leave such operations to
qualified service personnel! The
speaker panels, however, may be
removed for cleaning.
– The loudspeaker is designed for
indoor use in dry, domestic
environments only, and for use
within a temperature range of
10–40º C (50–105º F).
– For optimum sound quality, do not
place the loudspeaker enclosed in,
for example, a small bookcase.
Leave a minimum of 20 cm (8")
free space at the sides, and never
place anything directly in front of
the loudspeaker.
– Do not block the sound emitting
from the bass reflex port at the
bottom of the loudspeaker.
– Place the loudspeaker with its
front (the Bang & Olufsen name
plate) facing your favourite
listening position.
4

Loudspeaker front and side
panels
With each loudspeaker you will get
one front panel and two side panels.
These panels must be fastened to
the loudspeaker before use.
The front panel is marked with a
Bang & Olufsen name plate. Each
of the panels have three small pegs
on the rear.
Fasten the panels by inserting the
three pegs into the corresponding
holes (A–B) in the front and the
sides of the loudspeaker.
Note: The product identification
and CE labels are placed on the
loudspeaker body behind the side
panels.
Ceiling Bracket: This optional
accessory has a hidden lock, which
must be released before you can
detach the loudspeaker from the
ceiling.
Use a small screwdriver, for example,
to push the lock inwards, while
turning the loudspeaker counter-
clockwise until it is free.
A
A
A
B
B B
2
3
5
1

Cable connections
The loudspeakers can be used
with Bang & Olufsen audio,
video and link systems. They
may also be used with non-
Bang & Olufsen audio or video
systems, or connected to a
computer.
About the two switches …
The POSITION switch has three
settings. Which setting to use
depends on the position of the loud-
speaker. This is explained in ‘Adapt
the loudspeaker to your room’
(pp. 8–10).
The LINE IN–POWER LINK switch
serves two purposes. If the loud-
speaker is connected to the system
via the LINE IN socket, it switches
between two line input levels. If
connected via the POWER LINK
socket, it switches between the
right and left sound channel.
Connection to Bang & Olufsen
systems
Use Power Link cables to connect
the loudspeakers to your system.
Set the POWER LINK switch to
RIGHT or LEFT, the right and left
sound channel, respectively.
Connection to non-Bang &
Olufsen systems …
… To audio or video systems
Connect the system to the LINE IN
socket on each loudspeaker (mini-
jack – mono).
Set the LINE IN switch to LINE.
… To a personal computer
Use a special connector to connect
the computer sound card output to
each of the LINE IN sockets on the
loudspeakers (the connector is avail-
able as an optional accesory from
your Bang & Olufsen retailer).
Set the LINE IN switch to PC.
When set to PC, the loudspeakers
will not automatically switch to
standby mode when the sound
signal disappears. In this case, we
recommend that you switch off at
the wall socket, when not using the
computer.
LINE IN
POSITION
3 2 1
LINE PC - LINE IN
RIGHT LEFT - POWER LINK
POWER LINK ~
6
The sockets and the two switches
are located in the base of the loud-
speaker.

Power Link connections: These
connections carry both the right
and left sound signals. Therefore,
you can:
1Run a Power Link cable from the
Bang & Olufsen system directly
to each loudspeaker.
Or
2 Use a Power Link adapter (optional
accessory, available from your
Bang & Olufsen retailer). Run a
cable from the Bang & Olufsen
system to the first loudspeaker,
and then run another cable from
the first loudspeaker to the next.
This will often help to minimise
cable clutter.
Cable Clamp: For safety reasons,
the mains lead must be secured to
the loudspeaker with the cable
clamp provided. The cable clamp
holds both the mains lead and the
loudspeaker cable.
Power Link cables: The Power Link
cables must be of the new type
(marked with a triangle on the plug).
Do not use any old type Power Link
cables, as this will cause noise, and
thus not give optimum sound
quality!
Power Link
Mk 3
LEFT RIGHT
1
LEFT RIGHT
2
7

Adapt the loudspeakers to your room
When a loudspeaker is placed
in a corner, or close to a wall or
ceiling, the bass level is boosted
compared to the bass level
achieved from a loudspeaker
placed in a more free-standing
position.
Use the POSITION switch to
ensure that the bass level suits
the placement of the loud-
speaker. The appropriate switch
setting depends on the distance
from the loudspeaker to the
walls, ceiling and corners of the
room.
Use the guidelines mentioned here,
and the illustrations on the next
two pages, when deciding which
of the three POSITION switch
settings to select – on each loud-
speaker.
… Placed on a floor stand
Use POSITION 1 if the loudspeaker
is placed more than 50–70 cm (20–
28") from a side wall (inside the
light grey zone).
Use POSITION 3 if the loudspeaker
is placed closer to a side wall
(inside the darkest grey zone).
… Placed on the wall
Use POSITION 1 if the loudspeaker
is placed more than 50–70 cm (20–
28") from a side wall, and more
than 50 cm (20") below the ceiling
(inside the light grey zone).
Use POSITION 2 if the loudspeaker
is placed less than 50 cm (20")
below the ceiling (inside the darker
grey zone).
Use POSITION 3 if the loudspeaker
is placed inside the darkest grey
zone.
… Placed on the ceiling
Use POSITION 1 if the loudspeaker
is placed more than 50–70 cm (20–
28") from a side wall, and more
than 50 cm (20") from the rear
wall (inside the light grey zone).
Use POSITION 2 if the loudspeaker
is placed less than 50 cm (20")
from the rear wall (inside the
darker grey zone).
Use POSITION 3 if the loudspeaker
is placed inside the darkest grey
zone.
… Standing on a table
Use POSITION 1 if the loudspeaker
is placed more than 50–70 cm (20–
28") from a side wall, and more
than 50 cm (20") from the rear
wall (inside the light grey zone).
Use POSITION 2 if the loudspeaker
is placed less than 50 cm (20")
from the rear wall (inside the
darker grey zone).
Use POSITION 3 if the loudspeaker
is placed close to both the rear wall
and a side wall (inside the darkest
grey zone).
POSITION
3 2 1
LINE PC - LINE IN
RIGHT LEFT - POWER LINK
8
The POSITION switch is located
below the socket panel.

POSITION
3
POSITION
1
POSITION
2
POSITION
2
POSITION
3
~ 50 cm
20"
~ 50 cm
20"
~ 50 cm
20"
~ 50 – 70 cm
20 – 28"
9
Position zones: The POSITION
switch has three settings marked 1,
2, and 3. The settings corresponds
to the position zones shown here.
The distances are meant as guide-
lines, and you may, of course, set
the POSITION switch to any of the
three settings you prefer.
Example 1: This illustration shows
the position zones projected onto
the wall behind the loudspeakers, as
seen from your favourite listening
position. The two loudspeakers –
on floor stands – are placed within
position zone 1 (light grey zone),
and therefore the POSITION switch
should be set to 1on both loud-
speakers.

>> Adapt the loudspeaker to your room
10
Example 2: This illustration shows
the position zones projected onto
the ceiling. The loudspeakers – on
ceiling brackets – are placed within
position zone 2 (darker grey zones),
and therefore the POSITION switch
should be set to 2on both loud-
speakers.
If you have a BeoLab 2 sub-
woofer setup …
As explained in the BeoLab 2
Guide, the subwoofer has a SETUP
switch which can be set to 1, 2,
or 3. This will adapt the output
from BeoLab 2 to the sensitivity
levels of different loudspeakers.
If you connect a pair of BeoLab 4
loudspeakers to the BeoLab 2 sub-
woofer, we recommend that you
set the BeoLab 2 SETUP switch
to position 2.