Bowers & Wilkins Formation Bass User manual

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www.bowerswilkins.com
Welcome to Bowers & Wilkins and Formation Bass.
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 Bass is a network connected, wireless subwoofer designed to provide
extremely high performance low frequency enhancement of Formation Duo,
Wedge and Bar speakers. Formation Bass is congured and controlled using
the Bowers & Wilkins Home app. The app is available for both iOS and Android
devices. It is only possible to install and congure a Formation Bass using the
Bowers & Wilkins Home app.
Formation Bass will enable you to:
• Enhance the low frequency performance of Formation Duo, Wedge
and Bar speakers.
The Bowers & Wilkins Home app is required to connect your Formation Bass
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
Bass 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 Bass Carton Contents
Formation Bass
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 Bass
Location
Your Formation Bass requires a mains power supply
to operate so must be located within reach of a
mains socket. If your Formation Bass speaker is to
use a wired connection to your home network it will
need to be located within reach of an appropriate
network (Ethernet) cable.
Your Formation Bass speaker should be placed
on the oor in reasonably close proximity to the
Formation speaker it is partnered with. In the case of
a Formation Wedge or Formation Bar, a subwoofer
location directly beneath the speaker, or at least
adjacent to a common wall, is likely to produce the
best results.
In the case of a Formation Bass partnered with a
pair of Formation Duo speakers, the best results are
likely to be obtained if the Formation Bass is placed
between the Duo speakers or in the vicinity of one
of them. Placing a Formation Bass to the side, but
still to the front of the listeners, is an acceptable
compromise if domestic considerations dictate.
The Formation Bass should not be located
behind the listening position. Diagram 1 illustrates
subwoofer positioning.
Note: Take care when handling your Formation
Bass not to damage the driver diaphragms
located on each end of its enclosure.
Connections
In addition to a mains power socket your Formation
Bass carries an Ethernet socket for connection
to a router should a wired network connection be
preferred to wireless (WiFi).
Note: The USB socket located on the Formation
Bass rear panel is intended for service and
diagnostic use only. It cannot be used for any
other purpose.
The Formation Bass has no wired audio connections
and will congure itself automatically during the
set up process to access network audio streams
and to enhance bass appropriately depending on
the characteristics of the partnered speaker. When
partnered with a Formation Bar, the Formation Bass
will automatically switch to reproducing the low
frequency effects (LFE) channel of Dolby Surround
encoded material.
Switch On and Off
With all connections made, and the Bowers &
Wilkins Home app installed on your mobile device,
your Formation Bass is ready to be set up. Your
Formation Bass 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 Bass 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 orange
pulse illumination of the Form touch button .
The Formation Bass will also appear in the Bowers
& Wilkins Home app as available for set up after
selecting ‘Add Formation product’ from the app
Settings page.
Your Formation Bass manages its 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 Bass, however should you wish
to do so, simply disconnected it from mains power.
Your Formation Bass will retain its settings without
mains power.
Diagram 1
Positioning
You can restart a Formation Bass speaker by a
short press and release of the reset button located
on its rear panel. Pressing the button will switch the
Formation Bass off and on again. All settings will be
retained when your Formation Bass restarts. You can
also restart your Formation Bass via the Bowers &
Wilkins Home app Settings page.
If you wish to to reset your Formation Bass to its
default settings, press and hold the reset button for
ve seconds. On restart, your Formation Bass will
enter setup mode. All settings will be deleted when
your Formation Bass resets. You can also reset your
Formation Bass via the Bowers & Wilkins Home app
Settings menu.

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Network Set Up
• With your Formation Bass in setup mode, with its
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 Bass employs 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 Bass 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 Bass. 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
Bass 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 top of your Formation Bass to
conrm the selection.
• If a wireless network connection for your
Formation Bass is to be used, the next set up
stage will connect your Formation Bass 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
Bass is 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 Bass set up will not require you input
the WiFi password.
• With WiFi network conguration, and space
selection complete, your Formation Bass is ready
for use. Your Formation Bass will play an audio
prompt to conrm successful set up.
3. Using Your Formation Bass
The Basics
Once installed and congured, your Formation
bass will operate entirely automatically. The only
adjustment you may need to make is of subwoofer
volume relative to the partnered Formation speaker.
This will depend on personal preferences and the
acoustic character of you listening room. To adjust
Formation Bass volume, open the Bowers & Wilkins
Formation app and tap on the settings icon to open
the Settings menu. Now tap on the ‘Formation Bass’
to open its settings page and use the volume slider
to make adjustments.
Note: Please remember that your Formation Bass
subwoofer is capable of low frequency volume
levels that have the potential to cause nuisance. If
in any doubt, reduce the volume.
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
Form Button illumination
The Formation Bass 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 2
Sapce congurations

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4. The Bowers & Wilkins Home App
With your Formation Bass congured and connected
to your network, the Bowers & Wilkins Home app will
open to its Home screen where the Formation Bass
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 Bass 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 (icon
+ 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.
5. Cleaning and Support
Cleaning
Should your Formation Bass need cleaning you
can wipe its 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
Bass. 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. Take care when handling
your Formation Bass not to damage the driver
diaphragms located on each end of its enclosure.