Bowers & Wilkins Formation Bass User manual

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www.bowerswilkins.com
Welcome to Bowers & Wilkins and Formation Duo.
Thank you for choosing Bowers & Wilkins 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 Duo is a network connected, wireless stereo active network speaker
system that provides extremely high performance reproduction of Formation
audio streams. Formation Duo speakers are primarily intended to be congured
and 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 touch buttons on the Formation Duo front panels. It is only possible
to install and congure Formation Duo speakers using the Bowers & Wilkins
Home app.
Formation Duo will enable you to:
• Listen to audio from streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, and Roon.
• Listen to network stored audio les.
• Listen to audio over Bluetooth from appropriately enabled Bluetooth source
devices.
• Listen to audio from devices such as turntables (via a phono preamp) and CD
players that are connected to a Bowers & Wilkins Formation Audio.
• 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 Duo
speakers to your home network and also to establish connection with other
Formation products in your home. The Bowers & Wilkins Home app and also
provides some control and congurations functions during use. Before you begin
your Formation Duo 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 set up 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.
Software version - V1.4

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1. Formation Duo Carton Contents
2x Formation Duo
Mains power cable set appropriate for your territory
Document pack
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.
2. Installing Your Formation Duo
Your Formation Duo speakers each require a mains
power supply to operate so must be located within
reach of mains sockets. You may wish to install
suitable mains sockets once you have decided on
the locations of your Formation Duo speakers in your
listening room. If if your Formation Duo speakers are
to use a wired connection to your network router
one of them will need to be located within reach of
an appropriate network cable.
Formation Duo speakers are primarily intended to
be used on Formation FS speaker stands but can
also be placed on shelves, wall brackets or furniture
units. Formation FS Duo stands will however provide
both the best performance and enable the greatest
exibility in positioning. The stands will also place
your Formation Duo speakers at the correct height –
approximately head height when listening.
Note: If your Formation Duo speakers are to be
mounted on Formation FS Duo speaker stands,
please assemble the stands and secure the
speakers to them before you set up the speakers.
Remember that the Formation Duo mains cables
and network cable (if required) should run through
the legs of the speaker stands. The Formation
FS Duo stands are supplied with rubber and
spike foot options. The spike foot option should
be used when the stands are to be placed on a
carpeted oor. The spikes pierce the carpet to
rest on the surface underneath. Adjust the spike
to ensure that the stands are vertical and don’t
rock. Use the rubber foot option the stands are to
be placed on tiled or wooden oors.
If you still however prefer to install your Formation
Duo speakers on shelves, brackets or furniture units
please ensure that:
• both speakers are located at approximately the
same height.
• the shelves, brackets and furniture are easily able
to support the weight of the speakers and are rigid
and non-resonant.
Stud-work and plasterboard walls are unlikely to
provide adequate strength or rigidity to support
Formation Duo speakers. If you are unsure of the
suitability of a wall, or of your ability to install shelf
or bracket hardware, you should seek professional
help.
In the majority of listening rooms your Formation
Duo speakers should be between 2.0m and 4.0m
(6.5ft and 13ft) apart and a similar distance from
the listening area. If the speakers are positioned too
close together, the stereo reproduction may lack
scale; if they are too far apart, the stereo focus may
be weak. There is no need to angle your Formation
Duo speakers inwards towards the listening area
however doing so may tighten the stereo focus.
Diagram 1 illustrates basic speaker positioning.
Like all speakers, Formation Duo radiates sound
energy not only forward but also to the side and,
particularly at bass frequencies, to the rear. As
a result, if they are positioned too close to room
boundaries their performance will be affected. Try
to keep your Formation Duo speakers at least 0.5m
(1.6ft) away from any room boundary.
Even with your Formation Duo speakers placed
away from room boundaries, the material and
acoustic character of the boundaries will still have
an effect on the sound. Try to ensure that immediate
surroundings of each speaker have similar acoustic
qualities. Different acoustic qualities would be heavy
curtains and bare walls, for example.
Connections
In addition to mains power sockets, Formation Duo
speakers carry an Ethernet socket for connection
to a network router if a wired network connection
is to be used in preference to a wireless (WiFi)
connection. Only one speaker of a Formation Duo
pair requires a router connection.
Note: The USB socket located on the Formation
Duo rear panel is intended for service and
diagnostic use only. It cannot be used for any
other purpose.
Note: The Formation Duo connection panel is not
easily accessible once the speakers are attached
to Formation FS Duo stands.
Diagram 1
Positioning
2 metres

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Switch On and Off
With all connections made, and the Bowers &
Wilkins Home app installed on your mobile device,
your Formation Duo speakers are ready to be set
up. Formation Duo speakers have no mains power
switch and, following a short start-up routine, will be
operational as soon as they are connected to mains
power. They will play an audio prompt when their
startup routine is complete.
When Formation Duo speakers that has not been
previously used are rst switched on they will
automatically enter setup mode to enable their
connection to your home network and to any
other available Formation devices. Setup mode is
indicated by a slow orange pulse illumination of
the speaker’s Form buttons . The Formation Duo
speakers 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 Duo speakers manage their
operational state and power consumption entirely
automatically and will switch to a power saving
mode after twenty minuets of inactivity. There is
no need ever to switch off your Formation Duo
speakers, however should you wish to do so,
simply disconnected them from mains power. Your
Formation Duo speakers will retain their settings
without mains power.
You can restart each Formation Duo speaker by a
short press and release of the reset buttons located
on their rear panels Pressing the button will switch
the Formation Duo off and on again. All settings
will be retained when your Formation Duo speakers
restart. You can also restart your Formation Duo
speakers via the Bowers & Wilkins Home app
Settings page. The reset button is illustrated in
Diagram 2.
If you wish to to reset your Formation Duo speakers
to their default settings, press and hold each reset
button for ve seconds. On restart, your Formation
Duo speakers will enter setup mode. All settings will
be deleted when your Formation Duo speakers reset.
You can also reset your Formation Duo speakers via
the Bowers & Wilkins Home app Settings menu. The
reset button is illustrated in Diagram 2.
Network Set Up
• With your Formation Duo speakers in setup mode,
with their Form button illumination pulsing
slowly orange, launch the Bowers & Wilkins Home
app on your iOS or Android device. The app will
guide you with prompts though the set up
process.
Note: Formation Duo speakers employ a
Bluetooth connection to the device running
the Bowers & Wilkins Home app during the set
up process. Bluetooth signals have a relatively
short range and can be interrupted by room
boundaries, so we recommend that your
Formation Duo speakers and Bowers & Wilkins
Home app device remain in close proximity
during the set up 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 Duo speakers. 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
Duo speakers are 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 one Formation
Duo to conrm the selection.
• If a wireless network connection for your
Formation Duo speakers is to be used, the next
set up stage will connect your Formation Duo
speakers 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 Duo speakers are connected to
your network router using an Ethernet cable, this
stage of the set up process will be bypassed.
Note: If you already have other Formation
products connected to your WiFi network,
Formation Duo set up will not require you
input the WiFi password.
• With WiFi network conguration, and space
selection complete, your Formation Duo speakers
are ready for use. Your Formation Duo speakers
will play an audio prompt to conrm successful
set up.
Diagram 2
Reset button
Bluetooth Set Up
You can connect your Formation Duo speakers to
a Bluetooth enabled audio source device, such as
a smartphone, to play audio over Bluetooth. Your
Formation Duo speakers must rst be “paired” with
the Bluetooth audio source device.
Once you have completed the Formation Duo
network set up, 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 Duo speakers will play an
audio prompt when pairing is complete and their
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 Duo Speakers
The Basics
You can use your Formation Duo speakers to play
audio from streaming services such as Spotify,
Apple Music, and Tidal, from the Roon music
library service, from network storage hardware and
from internet radio via an appropriate iRadio app.
If you have further Formation devices connected
to your network, a Formation Audio for example,
conventional audio sources connected to it will also
be available through your Formation Duo 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 3.
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 Duo space as an available playback
device using Airplay, Bluetooth or in the case of
Spotify, Spotify Connect.
Once streams are playing on the Formation network
they can be selected via the Bowers & Wilkins Home
app or via a Formation Duo front panel Form touch
button . Touching a Form button will cycle though
the available streams and sources.
Formation Duo Front Panel Controls
and Illumination
Your Formation Duo speakers have buttons on their
front panels 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 Duo speakers.
Form Button Illumination
The Formation Duo speakers Form button
illumination changes to indicate a variety of
operational states.
Formation Bar
Formation Audio Formation Duo
Formation Wedge
Formation Wedge + Formation Audio
Formation Wedge + Formation Bass
Formation Wedge + Formation Audio + Formation Bass
Formation Bar + Formation Bass
Formation Duo + Formation Audio
Formation Duo + Formation Bass
Formation Duo + Formation Audio + Formation Bass
Diagram 3
Space congurations
4. The Bowers & Wilkins Home App
With your Formation Duo speakers congured and
connected to your network, the Bowers & Wilkins
Home app will open to its Home screen where
the Formation Duo 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 Duo 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 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 a yellow dot this indicates
that a Formation rmware update is available.
The rmware update process is initiated from the
Settings menu. You should always aim 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.

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Using Spotify
Listen out loud with Spotify Connect
1. Connect your Formation Duo speakers to your
WiFi network.
2. Open up the Spotify app on your phone, tablet or
laptop using the same network.
3. Play a song and select Devices Available.
4. Select your Space Name and start listening.
Using Airplay
Airplay enables audio apps on Apple mobile,
laptop or desktop devices to stream material over
a network to Airplay compatible speakers such as
Formation Duo. 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 and
may then depend on the capabilities of your
home network. If you wish to play material
simultaneously in more than one Formation space
this will be more satisfactorily achieved through
selecting multiple spaces
in 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 and may then
depend on the capabilities of your home network.
If you wish to play material simultaneously in
more than one Formation space this will be more
satisfactorily achieved through selecting multiple
spaces in 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 Duo speakers. Bluetooth enabled audio
apps will display the Airplay icon.
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 and Support
Cleaning
Should your Formation Duo speakers need cleaning
you can wipe their surfaces with a clean lint-free
cloth. If you wish to use any cleaning uid, apply
it onto the cleaning cloth and not directly onto the
Formation Duo speakers. 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.