Bowers & Wilkins Formation Bass User manual

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www.bowerswilkins.com
Welcome to Bowers & Wilkins and Formation Audio.
Thank you for choosing Formation. When John Bowers rst established Bowers
& Wilkins he did so in the belief that imaginative design, innovative engineering
and advanced technology were keys that could unlock the enjoyment of audio
in the home. That belief continues to inspire every product we design and in
Formation has found its most advanced expression yet.
Formation Audio is a network connected, stereo control preamplier that enables
conventional audio sources to be played both locally and over a Formation
network, and audio streams to be played via wired active speakers or through a
conventional hi- system. Formation Audio is primarily intended to be controlled
using the Bowers & Wilkins Home app. The app is available for both iOS and
Android devices. Some commonly used control functions are also available via
buttons on the Formation Audio front panel. It is only possible to install and
congure Formation Audio using the Bowers & Wilkins Home app.
Formation Audio will enable you to:
• Listen to audio from streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music and Roon via
conventional audio devices such as ampliers or active speaker systems.
• Listen to network stored audio les.
• Listen to audio over Bluetooth from appropriately enabled Bluetooth
source devices.
• Listen to audio from locally connected devices such as turntables (via a phono
preamp) and CD players.
• Listen to audio, such as Internet Radio, from Airplay or Bluetooth compatible
services and apps.
• Listen to audio playing anywhere in your home on any Formation device
connected to your home network.
The Bowers & Wilkins Home app is required to connect your Formation Audio
to your home network and also to establish connection with other Formation
products in your home. The Bowers & Wilkins Home app also provides some
control and conguration functions during use. Before you begin your Formation
Audio installation please download and install the Bowers & Wilkins Home app
on your iOS or Android device. The Bowers & Wilkins Home app requires iOS
V11.4 or later, or Android V8.1 or later. Bluetooth, and WiFi services must be
enabled on your iOS or Android device. You will also need to know your WiFi
network password.
Note: Location Services must be enabled on Android devices during the
Formation setup process. This is because Formation products use a low power
form of Bluetooth (BT-LE) for service communication which on Android devices is
only switched on when Location Services are enabled. Bowers & Wilkins do not
use any location services data for marketing purposes.
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Contents
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1. Formation Audio Carton Contents 3
2. Installing Your Formation Audio 3
3. Using Your Formation Audio 4
4. The Bowers & Wilkins Home App 5
5. Formation Music Streams and Sources 5
6. Cleaning 5
7. Support 5

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1. Formation Audio Carton Contents
Formation Audio
Mains power cable set appropriate for your territory
Document pack
2. Installing Your Formation Audio
Location
Your Formation Audio requires only a mains power
supply to operate and can be located almost
anywhere you nd convenient. However, if your
Formation Audio is to be connected to an existing
audio system, or is to use a wired connection to a
network router, it will need to be located within reach
of the necessary cables.
Note: Formation Audio employs a Bluetooth
connection to the device running the Bowers
& Wilkins Home app during the setup process.
Bluetooth signals have a relatively short range
and can be interrupted by room boundaries, so
we recommend that your Formation Audio and
Bowers & Wilkins Home app device remain in
close proximity during the setup process.
Connections
In addition to its mains power socket , Formation
Audio carries the connection sockets on its rear
panel listed below. The rear panel is shown in
Diagram 1. Always use high quality connection
cables with your Formation Audio.
Inputs
1 x stereo pair of RCA phono sockets - Connect
an analogue audio source such as a CD player or
turntable (via a phono preamplier).
1 x optical digital (TOSLINK) socket - Connect
an optical digital audio source such as a CD player.
Outputs
1 x stereo pair of RCA phono sockets - Connect
to audio amplier or active speaker line inputs.
1 x S/PDIF RCA phono socket - Connect to a
digital to analogue converter, to an audio amplier
digital input, or to an active speaker digital input.
Network
1 x Ethernet socket - Connect to your network
router if a wired network connection is to be used in
preference to a wireless (WiFi) connection.
Note: The USB socket located on the Formation
Audio rear panel is intended for service and
diagnostic use only. It cannot be used for any
other purpose.
Switch On and Off
With all connections made, and the Bowers &
Wilkins Home app installed on your mobile device,
your Formation Audio is ready to be set up and
used. Your Formation Audio has no mains power
switch and, following a short start-up routine, will
be operational as soon as it is connected to mains
power. It will play an audio prompt when its startup
routine is complete.
When a Formation Audio, that has not been
previously used, is rst switched on it will
automatically enter setup mode to enable its
connection to your home network and to any
other available Formation devices. Setup mode is
indicated by a slow amber pulse illumination of the
Form touch button . The Formation Audio will
also appear in the Bowers & Wilkins Home app as
available for set up, either on the initial app page, or
after selecting ‘Add Formation product’ from the app
Settings page.
Your Formation Audio manages its operational state
and power consumption entirely automatically and
will switch to a power saving mode after twenty
minutes of inactivity. There is no need ever to switch
off your Formation Audio, however should you wish
to do so, simply disconnected it from mains power.
Your Formation Audio will retain its settings without
mains power.
You can restart a Formation Audio by a short press
and release of the reset button located on its
rear panel . Pressing the button will switch the
Formation Audio off and on again. All settings will be
retained when your Formation Audio restarts. You
can also restart your Formation Audio via the Bowers
& Wilkins Home app Settings page.
If you wish to reset your Formation Audio to its
default settings, press and hold the reset button for
ve seconds. On restart, your Formation Audio will
enter setup mode. All settings will be deleted when
your Formation Audio resets. You can also reset your
Formation Audio via the Bowers & Wilkins Home app
Settings menu.
Network Setup
• With your Formation Audio in setup mode, with its
Form button illumination pulsing slowly amber,
launch the Bowers & Wilkins Home app on your
iOS or Android device. The app will guide you with
prompts though the setup process.
Note: Formation Audio employs a Bluetooth
connection to the device running the Bowers
& Wilkins Home app during the setup process.
Bluetooth signals have a relatively short range
and can be interrupted by room boundaries, so
we recommend that your Formation Audio and
Bowers & Wilkins Home app device remain in
close proximity during the setup process.
• The Bowers & Wilkins Home app will rst search
for Formation products in setup mode and display
a screen inviting the selection of one. Tap to select
your Formation Audio. If you have already set up
a Formation product and are adding an additional
one, select ‘Add Formation product’ from the app
Settings menu.
• The Bowers & Wilkins Home app will next invite
you to name the “space” in which your Formation
Audio is to be used. A list of default space names
is provided but you can also create your own.
When you have selected, or created, a space
name, the app will ask you to touch the Form
button on the front of your Formation Audio to
conrm the selection.
Diagram 1
Formation Audio rear panel
• If a wireless network connection for your
Formation Audio is to be used, the next setup
stage will connect your Formation Audio to your
home WiFi network. The app will ask you to
conrm the correct WiFi network and ask you to
input its password. Alternatively, if your Formation
Audio is connected to your network router using
an Ethernet cable, this stage of the setup process
will be bypassed.
Note: If you already have other Formation
products connected to your WiFi network,
Formation Audio setup will not require you to
input the WiFi password.
• If you have conventional audio sources connected
to your Formation Audio, the Bowers & Wilkins
Home app will now give you the opportunity to
name them. A list of default names is provided but
you can also create your own.
• With WiFi network conguration, and space
selection complete, your Formation Audio is ready
for use. Your Formation Audio will play an audio
prompt to conrm successful setup.
Bluetooth Setup
You can connect your Formation Audio to a
Bluetooth enabled audio source device, such as
a smartphone, to play audio over Bluetooth. Your
Formation Audio must rst be “paired” with the
Bluetooth audio source device.
Once you have completed the Formation Audio
network setup, open the Bowers & Wilkins Home
app Settings page, and select the Formation Space
that you wish to pair a Bluetooth device with. Next
select ‘+ Pair a new device’ from the Bluetooth
menu and follow the app instructions to complete
pairing. Your Formation Audio will play an audio
prompt when pairing is complete and its Space will
become available to the paired Bluetooth device for
audio playback.
Note: Up to eight Bluetooth devices can be
simultaneously paired with each Formation
space, however devices will not connect and
play to paired spaces automatically.

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3. Using Your Formation Audio
The Basics
You can use your Formation Audio to play audio
from conventional sources, from streaming services
such as Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal, from the
Roon music library service and from internet radio
via an appropriate iRadio app. If you have further
Formation devices connected to your network,
Formation Duo speakers for example, conventional
audio sources connected to your Formation Audio
will also be available through the speakers.
Spaces
Spaces are a core concept of the Formation product
family. A Formation “space” is a room or a specic
area in your home in which you listen to music.
Each space can include different combinations of
Formation products. The possible congurations are
displayed in Diagram 2.
Playing Audio
The Bowers & Wilkins Home app enables you to
select and play any available audio source or stream.
However, in much the same way that conventional
audio source playback requires initiation through
a play command, Formation streams must be rst
initiated through their own gateway app: the Spotify
app for example, or a music library app such as
Roon. Each gateway or library app will list your
Formation Audio space as an available playback
device using Airplay, Bluetooth or in the case of
Spotify, Spotify Connect.
Once audio streams are playing on the Formation
network they can be selected via the Bowers &
Wilkins Home app or via the Formation Audio
front panel Form touch button . Touching the
Form button will cycle though the available streams
and sources.
Formation Audio Front Panel Controls
and Illumination
Your Formation Audio has touch buttons on its
front panel that provide play/pause control, volume
adjustment and source/stream selection.
• Touching the Play/Pause will alternately stop
and restart audio playback.
Note: Play/pause will only operate if the stream
source has play and pause functions that can
be accessed through Bluetooth or network
connections.
• Touching volume up or down will adjust
the local volume of any network stream or local
source. Pressing and holding the and
buttons will continuously increase or decrease
volume.
• Touching the Form button will cycle through
and play the active streams and sources available
to the Formation Audio.
Form Button illumination
The Formation Audio Form button illumination
changes to indicate a variety of operational states.
The illuminations are displayed in Diagram 3.
Diagram 2
Space congurations
TV Space congurations
Music Space congurations

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4. The Bowers & Wilkins Home App
With your Formation Audio congured and
connected to your network, the Bowers & Wilkins
Home app will open to its Home screen where the
Formation Audio space and any other available
Formation spaces will be listed.
Tap on a Formation space to select from any
available streams or inputs. If there are no streams
available, open a streaming app, Spotify for example,
and select an item to play, then select the Formation
Space from the list of available playback devices.
Now, when you return to the Bowers & Wilkins
Home app, the Spotify stream will be listed on the
Formation Audio space page.
The Bowers & Wilkins Home app Home page has
a Settings icon in the top right corner. Tap the
icon to open the app Settings menu. The Settings
menu provides options to congure and reset your
Formation devices and re-name your Formation
spaces. App and Formation device rmware updates
are also initiated from the Settings menu.
Finding Your Way Around the
Bowers & Wilkins Home App
The Bowers & Wilkins Home app will search for
available Formation spaces when opened then
display its Home page with the spaces listed.
Beneath each space the app will display its current
activity. Tapping on an active space will open a
“now playing” screen that enables volume and
play/pause control.
The ‘now playing’ screen also provides an ‘Available
Spaces’ option that enables the stream playing in
the selected space to be transferred to another
space or played in multiple spaces. The ‘Available
Spaces’ screen also provides the opportunity to
control volume, both globally across all spaces, or in
individual spaces.
The Bowers & Wilkins Home app Settings page is
opened by tapping on the settings icon. The initial
Settings menu lists each space and the number of
Formation devices present in each one.
Tapping on a space listed in the Settings menu
provides access to its Space and Formation device
settings. Tap the Space name to access the space
settings and tap the device name to access the
device settings. The device settings available will
depend on the device in question.
Note: If the Settings icon on the Bowers &
Wilkins Home app displays an amber dot this
indicates that a Formation rmware update
is available. The rmware update process is
initiated from the Settings menu. You should
always aim to keep the Bowers & Wilkins Home
app and your Formation devices up to date
with the latest version and rmware. Not only will
this help ensure the most reliable performance,
it will ensure that you benet from new
Formation features.
5. Formation Music Streams and Sources
Using Spotify
Use your phone, tablet or computer as a remote
control for Spotify. Go to spotify.com/connect to
learn how.
The Spotify Software is subject to third party licenses
found here: https://www.spotify.com/connect/third-
party-licenses.
Using Airplay
Airplay enables audio apps on Apple mobile,
laptop or desktop devices to stream material over
a network to Airplay compatible devices such as
Formation Audio. Airplay enabled apps will display
the Airplay icon.
To use Airplay, open the audio app you wish to use
and select the music you wish to play. Tap on the
Airplay icon to display a list of available devices
followed by the Formation Space you wish to use.
Note: It is possible to stream audio via Airplay
on multiple devices simultaneously, however
the playback quality and synchronisation
may then depend on the capabilities of your
home network. If you wish to play material
simultaneously in more than one Formation
space, synchronization can be greatly improved
by selecting multiple spaces through the Bowers
& Wilkins Home app.
Using Roon
Roon is a feature rich music library and playback
app that compiles all the music les available to your
network and makes them easily available to play
across all your Formation Spaces and any other
Roon enabled audio devices. Roon is available for
mobile, laptop or desktop devices.
When you open Roon it will display your complete
audio library together with its metadata and artwork
along with all the Formation Spaces and any other
available network audio devices. Simply select the
music you wish to play and Formation space in
which you want to hear it.
Note: It is possible to stream audio from Roon
on multiple devices simultaneously, however
the playback quality and synchronisation
may then depend on the capabilities of your
home network. If you wish to play material
simultaneously in more than one Formation
space, synchronization can be greatly improved
by selecting multiple spaces through the Bowers
& Wilkins Home app.
Using Bluetooth
Bluetooth enables audio apps on mobile, laptop or
desktop devices to stream material over a wireless
connection to compatible hardware such as the
Formation Audio.
To use Bluetooth, ensure that the required Formation
Space is selected in your device Bluetooth settings
menu, open the audio app you wish to use and
select the music you wish to play. Tap on the
playback devices icon to display a list of those
available followed by Formation Space you wish
to use.
6. Cleaning
Should your Formation Audio need cleaning you
can wipe its top surface with a clean, lint-free cloth
and brush its grille with a soft brush. If you wish to
use any cleaning uid, apply it onto the cleaning
cloth and not directly onto the Formation Audio.
Test a small area rst, as some cleaning products
may damage some of the surfaces. Avoid products
that are abrasive, or contain acid, alkali or anti-
bacterial agents.
7. Support
Should you require further help or advice regarding
your Formation Audio please visit the Formation
support site here www.bowerswilkins.com/support.
Environmental Information
This product complies with international directives,
including but not limited to the Restriction of
Hazardous Substances (RoHS) in electrical and
electronic equipment, the Registration, Evaluation,
Authorisation and restriction of Chemicals (REACH)
and the disposal of Waste Electrical and Electronic
Equipment (WEEE). Consult your local waste
disposal authority for guidance on how properly to
recycle or dispose of this product.
Diagram 3
Form button illuminations
Indicator Operational state
Flashing white Start-up in progress
Pulsing amber Ready for setup
Flashing amber Firmware update in progress
Pulsing white Audio pull in progress
Pulsing red Error - contact support
Solid red Error - contact support
Flashing red Factory reset in progress