Setup: Altec Lansing ADA995 User's Guide

Santa Cruz Sound Card

This is the Santa Cruz sound card. The jacks can be found at the back of your Dell PC. You will use the yellow, lime green, and black output jacks on the card to connect the ADA995 Multimedia Speaker System to your Dell computer.

YELLOW: Center & Sub (LFE) channel outputs (Note: LFE stands for Low Frequency Effects)
PINK: Microphone input

BLUE: Line input

GREEN: Front Left & Right channel outputs

BLACK: Rear Left & Right channel outputs

Controls, switches and indicators on the subwoofer

Power switch

The Power On/Off rocker switch is located at the rear of the subwoofer.

Subwoofer

Subwoofer Level control

The Subwoofer Level rotary control is located at the rear of the subwoofer. Refer to Adjusting your subwoofer level for optimum performance for instructions on how to adjust this control for optimum performance.

Note: The Subwoofer Level control affects the subwoofer level only. All other adjustments for the speaker system are made using the computer keyboard, including overall system volume.

Diagnostic output connector

In order to help diagnose system problems, an output jack for speaker testing is located at the rear of the subwoofer. See Troubleshooting Tips - Using the self-diagnostic feature. You will find a detailed explanation of this feature there.

S/PDIF indicator light

This indicator warns when digital signals are detected by your ADA995 Multimedia Speaker System. See Troubleshooting Tips - S/PDIF indicator light. You will find a detailed explanation of this feature there.

Subwoofer placement

The placement of the Subwoofer in your room affects its output. The difference in output between corner placement and side-wall placement is about 6dB - in favor of corner placement. You can adjust the subwoofer sound level using the Subwoofer Level control. This allows a variety of roomplacements. See Adjusting your subwoofer level for optimum performance. You'll find useful information on subwoofer level adjustments there. In that section you will also find a quick reference guide of suggested subwoofer level settings based on its placement and the type of music played.

The subwoofer's shape has been specifically designed so it can easily fit along the right or left side of your desk. If your desk is centered in the middle of a wall, it is recommended that you place the subwoofer alongside that same wall. You can also lay it flat; you can even place it under desk drawers if space permits.

We recommend that the subwoofer be placed within 5 ft (1.5 m) of the satellite speakers. The distance between the subwoofer and satellites affects the sound in the region where the subwoofer's output overlaps the satellites' output. If the distance is greater than 5 ft (1.5 m), there is a possibility that the subwoofer and satellites' output will cancel in the overlap region. This would result in a less punchy bass.

WARNING: The subwoofer is not magnetically shielded. The subwoofer should NOT be placed near video display devices such as a TV or computer monitor. The subwoofer should NOT be placed near computer hard drives. Position the subwoofer at least 2 feet (0.6 m) away from computer hard drives. Do not place diskettes, zip disks or other magnetic media on top of the subwoofer.

Acoustic Port information

The subwoofer has two large openings at its rear called acoustic ports. These are critical acoustic components and must not be blocked by a wall or other hard surface. The port needs a minimum of 4 in (10 cm) clearance from a wall or other obstruction.

Front speaker placement

Because placement of your satellite speakers is important for sound quality, the acoustic response of the satellites was carefully optimized with typical desk, monitor and keyboard configurations. It is recommended that the satellites be placed on the left and right side of the monitor. The satellite speakers are magnetically shielded and can be placed close to the computer monitor without distorting video images. Best stereo effects are obtained by placing the speakers as far apart as is practical.

The satellites can be placed even with the front surface of the monitor's screen or 4-5 in (10-15 cm) behind it. For better stereo imaging, try placing the satellite speakers 5 in (12.5 cm) back from your monitor's screen and between 6 and 18 in (15-46 cm) from the sides of the monitor.

Center speaker placement

The center speaker should be located between the front left and right satellites, near the middle - for instance, on top of your computer monitor. It has two stands allowing two different mounting positions.

The center speaker comes assembled for horizontal placement. It is designed to stand firmly on a traditional computer monitor. Its stand is detachable and can be replaced with the extra stand enclosed with your system for vertical orientation.

Vertical stand for center speaker: If you wish to use the center speaker in a vertical position, you must install the extra stand included with your ADA995 system. Detach the horizontal stand by unscrewing its single base screw. The vertical-position stand is keyed to insert in the matching screw hole located on the back of the center speaker. Insert the vertical stand, and use the same screw to attach it to the center speaker. A small rubber strip (included with your system) can be attached to the bottom edge of the speaker housing as shown below. This strip allows the speaker to remain stationary on smooth surfaces. You can now position the center speaker on a desktop or other flat surface, but NOT the top of your computer monitor.

Flat panel monitors are too narrow to mount the center speaker properly. Tabletop placement is recommended The center speaker should be located either in its horizontal orientation directly in front of the flat display (shown) or in its vertical orientation on either side of the display. See the figure below.

Top View

Note: Do not use the center speaker without a stand attached. It is not designed for use without a stand. The center speaker is unstable without either stand installed and could sustain damage from a fall.

Rear speaker placement

The best surround effects are obtained by placing the rear surround speakers slightly behind the user and approximately the same distance apart as the front satellite speakers. The rear speakers should be positioned so that they point toward the computer user's likely location when operating the system. In addition, excellent results are obtained when the surround speakers are in line with, and slightly above the listener's ears.

Top View

Wall-mount brackets

For your convenience, two wall-mount brackets are enclosed for use on the rear speakers. If your listening environment permits convenient wall-mount access, you may wish to take advantage of this feature by following these instructions:

Locate a suitable mounting position for each rear speaker. The speakers should be facing directly away from the wall towards the listener's ears.
Hold a wall-mount bracket against the wall and mark the mounting screw location with a pencil (top hole in bracket).
Using a suitable screw for your wall type (screw not provided), install the screw into the wall. Do not tighten all the way. Leave enough space for the wall-mount bracket to slip over the screw head.
Remove the three screws securing the base to each rear speaker.
Using two of the three screws just removed, attach the wall-mount bracket to each speaker. Save the unused screw in case you need to re-install the base in the future.
Carefully slip the brackets over the screw heads in the walls and gently apply downward pressure until each bracket locks into place.

System placement

Using the concepts discussed in subwoofer placement, Acoustic Port information, front speaker placement, center speaker placement, and rear speaker placement above, a typical surround 5.1 / 6 piece system placement is shown in the diagram above. Notice that the subwoofer is placed more than 2 ft (0.6 m) away from the Dell PC and its enclosed hard drive, more than 4 in (10 cm) from the wall and the acoustic ports do not appear to be obstructed.

Connecting the satellite speakers to the subwoofer

Each Satellite speaker has a cable with a colored, mechanically-keyed plug attached to the cable end. To help you make the right connections from each speaker to the subwoofer, the following features have been used:

The name of each speaker is printed on its back for easy identification.
The abbreviated name of each satellite speaker is molded into its plug to assist you in identifying that satellite.

Color Coding: Each satellite speaker cable has a color coded plug at its end. The input jacks on the back of the subwoofer are coded with matching colors. As an example, the left front satellite speaker has a brown connecting plug. This plug is inserted into the left front jack with the brown color marking located at the back of the subwoofer. All other connections are made in the same way.

Name on Satellite Plug	Plug and Jack Color Code	Satellite
LT FRNT	Brown	Left Front speaker
RT FRNT	Orange	Right Front speaker
CTR	Cyan	Center speaker
LT REAR	Gold	Left Rear speaker
RT REAR	Purple	Right Rear speaker

Mechanical Keying: In addition, each satellite speaker cable plug is mechanically keyed. The plug can fit in its own jack on the back of the subwoofer.

You may wish to refer to the Quick Start Guide included with your system for an overview of the connections detailed below.

Connect the purple plug labeled RT REAR from the right rear satellite to the matching purple jack labeled R REAR found on the back of the subwoofer; connect the gold plug labeled LT REAR from the left rear satellite to the matching gold jack labeled L REAR on the back of the subwoofer.
Connect the orange plug labeled RT FRNT from the right front satellite to the matching orange jack labeled R FRONT on the back of the subwoofer; connect the brown plug labeled LT FRNT from the left front satellite to the matching brown jack labeled L FRONT found on the back of the subwoofer.
Connect the cyan plug labeled CTR from the center speaker to the matching cyan jack labeled CENTER on the back of the subwoofer.

Note: The names LEFT and RIGHT satellites always refer to the location of the satellites as you see them seated at the computer. However, these connections drawings show a back view of all the speakers and the subwoofer. Therefore, in these drawings the RIGHT FRONT and RIGHT REAR speakers appear to the left, and the LEFT FRONT and LEFT REAR speakers appear to the right.

Connecting the subwoofer to the Santa Cruz sound card

Now you are ready to connect the subwoofer to the Santa Cruz sound card. Use the triple input cable found at the back of the subwoofer. The triple input cable is permanently wired to the subwoofer. The three cables separate from one another several inches from the end, and each of the three cables ends with a different colored plug:

Connect the black plug to the black jack on the Santa Cruz sound card.
Connect the lime green plug to the lime green jack on the Santa Cruz sound card.
Connect the yellow plug to the yellow jack on the Santa Cruz sound card.

Connecting the subwoofer to a power source

Note: Do NOT connect the subwoofer to a power source until all speaker system connections have been made. These connections were described in the preceding pages of this guide, starting at the section Connecting the satellite speakers to the subwoofer.

Caution: To prevent electric shock do not use this (polarized) plug with an extension cord, receptacle or other outlet unless the blades can be fully inserted to prevent blade exposure.

Adjusting your subwoofer level control for optimum performance

To increase the subwoofer level, turn the rotary control clockwise. To decrease the subwoofer level, turn the rotary control counter-clockwise

The Subwoofer Level control is an important feature of your ADA995 Multimedia Speaker System. It allows you independent control of subwoofer volume level for fine-tuning the system.

Note: The Subwoofer level control affects the subwoofer level only. All other adjustments for the speaker system are made using the computer keyboard, including overall system volume.

The optimum subwoofer level setting varies for different types of music. You may find the chart below useful. It shows typical settings for popular music types and DVD audio. The THX position is the system default position.

Subwoofer Placement Music Type Subwoofer Level Setting

Corner of room Classical Minimum to ~1/4

Corner of room Rock ~1/3 to ~1/2

Corner of room Rap ~1/3 to ~2/3

Corner of room Jazz Minimum to ~1/4

Corner of room DVD ~1/3 to ~2/3

Middle of the wall Classical ~1/4 to ~1/3

Middle of the wall Rock ~1/2 to ~2/3

Middle of the wall Rap ~1/2 to full clockwise

Middle of the wall Jazz ~1/4 to ~1/2

Middle of the wall DVD ~1/2 to full clockwise

Note: When rotating the Subwoofer Level control, the center position can be detected by touch. A slight notch or catch in the smooth rotation of the knob can be felt when the mid level is reached.

Please read all restrictions and disclaimers.

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Subwoofer Placement	Music Type	Subwoofer Level Setting
Corner of room	Classical	Minimum to ~1/4
Corner of room	Rock	~1/3 to ~1/2
Corner of room	Rap	~1/3 to ~2/3
Corner of room	Jazz	Minimum to ~1/4
Corner of room	DVD	~1/3 to ~2/3
Middle of the wall	Classical	~1/4 to ~1/3
Middle of the wall	Rock	~1/2 to ~2/3
Middle of the wall	Rap	~1/2 to full clockwise
Middle of the wall	Jazz	~1/4 to ~1/2
Middle of the wall	DVD	~1/2 to full clockwise