PS Audio Aspen FR20 Quick start guide

Owner’s Reference
®aspen FR20

aspen FR20
Table of Contents
®
12
Safety Information 3
Introduction 4
Getting Started 5
Getting Started 6
Getting Started 7
Getting Started 8
Getting Started 9
Operation Guide 10
Specications 11
Warranty Information 12
Warranty Information 13
Service Information 14

Important Safety
Instructions
READ AND FOLLOW ALL INSTRUCTIONS
HEED ALL WARNINGS
aspen FR20
MAGNETIC FIELD
As with most loudspeakers, the FR-20 uses strong magnets in the drivers. People with
implanted medical devices should use caution around the speaker. Magnetic elds of 5G can
be present up to 18”(50 cm) from certain parts of the speaker.
CAUTION!! HEAVY OBJECT. TWO PERSON LIFT REQUIRED.
Lifting can cause muscle strain or back injury.
DO NOT EXPOSE THIS APPARATUS TO RAIN OR MOISTURE. OBJECTS FILLED WITH LIQUIDS,
SUCH AS VASES, SHOULD NOT BE PLACED ON THE APPARATUS.
Clean only with a dry cloth. Do not place ammable material on top of or beneath the unit.
Turn o all systems’ power before connecting the PS Audio® component to any other
component. Make sure all cable terminations are of the highest quality.
THERE ARE NO USER-SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE THIS PS AUDIO PRODUCT. REFER
ALL SERVICE NEEDS TO QUALIFIED SERVICE PERSONNEL.
Please contact your authorized dealer, distributor, or PS Audio® directly if you have any
questions or concerns that are not addressed in this reference manual. PS Audio®, the
sine wave logo, and PerfectWave® are registered trademarks of PS Audio, Inc., and are
restricted for use by PS Audio, Inc., its subsidiaries, and authorized agents. Stellar™,
Power Plant™, MultiWave™, CleanWave™, and Gain Cell™ are trademarks of PS Audio,
Inc.
This product was designed in Boulder, Colorado.
© 2022 PS Audio, Inc. All rights reserved.
Safety Information
®
2

Thank You Thank you for your purchase of the PS Audio aspen FR20 loudspeaker. This is your
comprehensive Operator’s Guide, intended to provide a full overview of the aspen FR20’s
functions and capabilities. It is our intention to provide you with full details about the aspen
FR20 and to answer any and all questions you may have. If you have additional questions
or concerns that are not addressed in this guide, please contact us and we will be happy to
assist you.
A Message From
The Design
Engineer
After nearly 50 years in business and many years in development, I am proud to present the
aspen series loudspeakers. The FR20 is a clean, modern, and elegant 3-way tower speaker
that is our modern take on our favorite planar magnetic hybrid loudspeakers of the past.
The clarity and detail of the most modern reference loudspeaker design with an ease and
musicality and power that you’d expect from PS Audio.
It incorporates much of what we have collectively learned as a company about design and
manufacturing in pursuit of our ultimate sonic vision to oer a complete end-to-end system.
On a personal level, it has been a dream project to put all I’ve learned throughout my career
into a reference product for your musical enjoyment.
Chris Brunhaver
Senior Speaker Design Engineer
Contact
Information
PS Audio, Inc.
4865 Sterling Drive
Boulder, CO 80301
1 (800) PSAUDIO
[e-mail]
www.psaudio.com
aspen FR20
Introduction
®
3

Speaker enclosure in cloth bag
Cloth magnetic grille
Accessory box – this product manual, jumpers (for conguring the inputs for mono
or bi-wiring), tool kit (allen wrenches for all of the metric socket head screws used
throughout)
Threaded carpet sliders for ease of positioning the speaker during setup
Included with the
aspen FR20
aspen FR20
Getting Started
®
4
Unpacking
Instructions
The packaging cartons are held together by four plastic packaging clips around the base
of the box.
To open the clips, squeeze the to vertical ribs and pull outwards and upwards.
Completely remove the clips from the box.

aspen FR20
®
5
Once all four brackets are removed, lift the top carton upwards and take it o.
The sides of the interior box will open to reveal your speaker.
Please note that the speaker will be feet side up to make lifting easier.
Note: The cloth bag covering each speaker box is not shown.
Getting Started

®
Conguring
Speaker Feet
6
aspen FR20
Now that the box is removed, take the packaging foam o the top and place it to the side of
the speaker (you can use it as fulcrum when it’s time to move the speaker). Now the spiked
feet are exposed.
For hard oors:
The spiked tips on the feet are not meant for hardwood and could scratch your oor. Twist
to remove the bottom 0.375” spiked tip from each foot. The black plastic disc underneath is
now exposed. You can now ip the speaker out of the packaging and into place. You should
be able to slide around on the small plastic feet.
CAUTION: This is a two person lift. Do NOT lift alone.
For carpeted oors:
Leave the spikes in place and ip the speaker out of the packaging. It should be standing on
its spiked feet.
CAUTION: This is two person lift. Do NOT lift alone.
We have provided carpet sliders. This way, the speaker can be easily slid around during
initial listening and setup. To use these, remove the spiked tips and screw in the carpet
sliders. When the nal speaker location is determined, replace carpet sliders with the spiked
tips for best performance.
Getting Started

These are leveling feet as well. Loosen the top gap of the foot and adjust the bottom spiked
foot until the speaker is level. Then tighten the top cap into place to lock them in position.
Aftermarket isolation feet can also be used with a compatible M8 X 1.25 thread to screw
into the aluminum base plate.
aspen FR20
Getting Started
®
7
Speaker
Accessories
Please open the accessory box located inside the upper speaker packaging. This box includes
this manual, jumpers (for conguring single/bi-wiring operation) and a set of high-quality
allen wrenches for tightening or replacing speaker components.

8
For bi-wiring/bi-amping do not connect the jumpers (as seen below).
aspen FR20
Getting Started
®
Jumper / Input
Wiring
(bi-amp, bi-wiring)
The FR20 comes with four input terminals as shown. For single wiring/amping, connect
the set of jumpers from the accessory box to parallel wire the black and red terminals sets
together (black to black and red to red) as shown below. Connect a single amplier to the left
set of terminals.
Note: Binding posts may have plugs. If using banana plugs, remove the plugs rst.

aspen FR20
Operation Guide
®
Basic Setup
and Placement
9
Loudspeakers and rooms work together as a system and, to get the best performance,
great care in setup is important to optimize the listening experience.
Some helpful tools include a tape measure (or laser measurement tool), pen/paper to note
the distances and listening impressions, and some demo music.
Distances to sidewalls/front wall:
One of the most important aspects of speaker placement is distance from boundaries. In
particular, best performance is typically found when the speaker is a minimum of 3 ft from
the side wall and placed symmetrically (or very close to that) from sidewall boundaries.
This distance minimizes early reections o the wall from interfering with the tonality of the
sound coming directly from the speaker.
Distance from the front wall (if in a dedicated space where the speaker can be placed out
into the room somewhat) should be chosen through listening but, in general, should start
around 18 inches from the front wall. From there, listen to acoustic/vocal music with good
bass and percussion and gradually inch the speakers away from the wall, assessing the
sound as you go. (You want to make sure that the lower range voice and bass instruments
are the most natural sounding and balanced with the midrange.) Keep inching both
speakers into the room until the current position sounds worse than the previous position.
Then move them back to the previous position where the tonal balance was the most
natural.
Speaker width and toe-in:
In general, your listening position should be about 20% outside of an equilateral triangle
formed by the width of the speakers (+/- 30 degrees from center). For instance, if the
listening position is 10 ft (~3 m) from the speakers, a starting width for the speakers
should be ~8 ft (~2.4 m).
Placing the speakers closer together gives a bit less “width” to the sonic image but can
give a stronger phantom center image and more warmth and bloom in the low midrange.
The speakers should be toed-in a little, aimed at a point in space about 3 ft behind the
listening position.
Further pointing of the speakers towards the listening position will increase“focus” and the
level of the extreme treble at the expense of the spaciousness and “width” (perception of
sound coming from outside the width of the speakers).

aspen FR20
Specications
®
10
aspen FR30
Specications
Color Options Pearl White, Sable Black
Enclosure Type Passive radiator (two, 10” side-
ring passive radiators)
High Frequency Transducer 2.5” planar magnetic with Teonex diaphragm
Mid Frequency Transducer 10” planar magnetic with Teonex diaphragm
Low Frequency Transducer 2 x 8” woofers, cast frame, carbon ber Rohacell
sandwich cone, 12lb advanced magnet structure
Crossover Frequency 400 Hz, 2500 Hz – Linkwitz-Riley 4th order
acoustic
Sensitivity (2.83V @ 1M) 87 dB
Nominal Impedance 4 ohm (3.5 ohm minimum impedance).
Recommended Amplier Power 50-300W
Frequency Response 23Hz-20kHz (-6dB) half space
20 Hz (-6dB) in-room
Dimensions (HxWxD) 50.5” x 16” x 18.75”
Net Weight 133 lbs (60.3 kg)

Registering Your
Product
By registering your product, you are validating the start date of your limited warranty. This
limited warranty is in eect for 3 years from the date the unit was rst purchased from
PS Audio or its dealers and agents. If you do not register your product within 30 days
of service, a copy of your purchase receipt from an authorized PS Audio dealer may be
used as proof of purchase to establish the warranty start date. If no proof of purchase
from an authorized PS audio dealer or registration is provided, the production date of the
product will be used to determine the warranty start date. You can register your product
online, by phone, by mail, or by email.
What This
Warranty Covers
This warranty covers defects in material and workmanship for products purchased from
PS Audio or its authorized dealers and agents. In the event your product fails, your sole
remedy under this limited warranty shall be to return the product to PS Audio or an
authorized PS Audio repair center. At the option of PS Audio, the product will be repaired
without charge for parts or labor, replaced, or the purchase price refunded through the
original point of purchase.
Shipping You are responsible to pay for the safe and proper shipment of the warrantied product
to PS Audio or its authorized repair center. Under this limited warranty, PS Audio or its
authorized repair center will pay the cost of returning the repaired or replacement product
to you.
What This
Warranty Does
Not Cover
This warranty does not cover damage due to:
• Accidents, carelessness, improper transportation, misuse, neglect, or abuse
• Failure to follow the operating instructions that are provided by PS Audio in the
Owner’s Reference Manual (available for download at www.psaudio.com)
• Use in any manner inconsistent with PS Audio’s operating instructions (available for
download at www.psaudio.com)
• Lack of routine maintenance
• Connection to an improper voltage supply
• Alterations or modications to the unit
• Improper or unauthorized repair, including repairs not authorized by PS Audio or a PS
Audio authorized repair center
• Fire, lightning, ood, “Acts of God,” or other contingencies beyond the control of PS
Audio
• Products purchased through an unauthorized source (if you have questions as to
whether or not a dealer is authorized, please contact customer support at www.
psaudio.com)
• Products with a factory-applied serial number that has in any way been altered,
defaced, or removed
aspen FR20
Warranty Information
®
11

Limitations Under
This Warranty
In no event will PS Audio’s liability to you exceed the original purchase price of your unit.
This warranty does not cover the cost of custom installation, customer instruction, setup
adjustments, or signal reception problems. Consequential and incidental damages are not
covered under this warranty. However, some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation
of incidental or consequential damages, so this limitation or exclusion may not apply to you.
In the event that your warrantied product cannot be repaired, PS Audio will either replace
or refund the cost of the unit. We reserve the right to replace any out-of-stock, discontinued,
or limited edition products with a comparable product. Discontinued products may not be
available for warranty replacement.
Warranty Transfer This warranty is for the benet of the original purchaser of the product. The warranty may
be transferred to a subsequent purchaser during the 3 year warranty period. To do this, you
must contact PS Audio directly to set up a transfer of warranty registration.
aspen FR20
Warranty Information
®
12

Warranty
Service Within
North America
Please contact PS Audio customer support for service assistance, help with locating
an authorized PS Audio repair center, help with the operation of a product, or for more
information.
Obtaining An RMA#
In order to receive warranty service, you must rst obtain a Return Merchandise
Authorization Number (RMA#) prior to returning any item. Please contact PS Audio or
an authorized PS Audio repair center to receive an RMA#. The RMA# must be on all
returned items. If it is not clearly marked, PS Audio will return the package back to you,
freight collect.
Packaging and Shipping
Original packaging should be used for the safe transit of your PS Audio unit to the repair
center. If you do not have the original packaging, PS Audio can sell and ship replacement
packaging to you. You are responsible for the cost of shipping the product to a PS Audio
authorized repair center. You should insure the product for its full retail cost, in the event
it gets lost or damaged in transit. PS Audio is not responsible for damage incurred during
the transit of products sent to us. Shipping your product in non-PS Audio packaging may
void this warranty. PS Audio reserves the right to charge you for new factory packaging to
return your product after a repair.
State Law
This warranty gives you specic legal rights. You may also have other rights, which vary
from state to state.
International
Warranty Service
PS Audio has authorized distribution in many countries of the world. In each country,
the authorized importing distributor has accepted the responsibility for warranty of the
products sold by that distributor. Warranty service should be obtained where the product
was purchased.
Changes To Our
Products
PS Audio reserves the right to modify the design of any product without obligation
to purchasers of previously manufactured products, and to change the prices or
specications of any products without notice or obligation to any person.
aspen FR20
Service Information
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13

Your Serial
Number
Your Purchase
Information
Date of Purchase
aspen FR20
Your Product
®
14
Your Product
®

PS Audio® Inc. 800-PSAUDIO 4865 Sterling Drive Boulder, Colorado 80301
Thanks for being a part
of the PS Audio Family
At PS Audio, we’re family.
Not just a family that runs in bloodlines, but in frequencies.
Because while we may not all share the same genes here, we are all related by
a passion, nay, obsession with listening to the music we love at the highest,
most breathtaking quality possible.
And in our minds, that makes us kin.
In fact, we believe that every nutty, hertz-counting audiophile out there is part of
our tribe.
That’s how we’ve built our company over the last 50 years - with the kind of
care and respect that you give to your family.