Owner`s manual

Adaptive Woofer System (AWS)

Audiophiles have known for a long time that the listening room has a huge impact on the quality of

sound they hear. Put a set of great speakers in a room that is all flat hard surfaces and it will sound unbearably

bright and harsh. Luckily, most living spaces aren't totally hard and flat but some are close. We have furniture,

cloth, carpets, rugs, curtains, bookshelves and even leafy plants that will absorb and disperse sound waves in

a natural manner, if often unpredictable manner. If the midrange and treble response isn't what we want, there

are lots of ways we can improve it. Curtains over glass, thick throw rugs on a hardwood floor, wall hangings,

etc. can all be integrated into your décor and provide major improvements in midrange detail, treble

smoothness, as well as soundstage size and image precision.

The bass frequencies are a different story. Here the wavelengths are extremely long and controlled by

the room dimensions and the basic structure of the room walls, ceiling and floor. These factors are extremely

difficult to control in most domestic living spaces. Because of the way we build houses, most of our rooms will

have at least one or two strong resonant modes. These modes will cause extreme peaks in the bass

response. The result is that certain bass notes will "boom" out unnaturally and the overall bass quality will lack

precision and definition. Additionally, most rooms will suffer from dips or holes in the response. Dips in the

response are usually far less irritating or obtrusive than peaks in the response. Our ears try to fill in for the

dips. Careful speaker positioning can go a long way toward reducing the severity of both the peaks and dips.

Unfortunately, the best position for most accurate bass response may be highly impractical and often is not the

best place for stereo imaging or center speaker placement.

It always helps to try to optimally position the

speakers. However, most of us have somewhat limited

placement options. The center channel speaker usually

must be placed under or over a screen or perhaps

behind a perforated screen. Over the years,

equalization has often been tried to "fix" the sound of

speakers. Unfortunately, graphic equalizers aren't really

suitable for tuning out narrow band peaks. Audiophiles

have also been rightfully wary of inserting complex

equalizers into the signal path. Such equalizers will

always introduce coloration and distortion. The ACI

solution is the Adaptive Woofer System, (AWS).

At the heart of AWS are two precision bands of

parametric equalization. Each band has separate

controls for corner center frequency, amount of cut or

boost in decibels, (db), and width or Q of the cut or

boost. Careful adjustment of these three controls can

virtually eliminate the worst room peaks. Once you

control the dominant peak(s) you will be amazed at the

clarity, definition, and punch of the midbass.

Why two bands of equalization? The vast majority of listening rooms have one or two dominant peaks

in the bass response. Taming this peak(s) will make a vast improvement in the sound of your system. There

will often be other minor peaks but they are far less of a problem and trying to tame too many peaks within a

small frequency range can quickly become an exercise in futility. Each parametric band can be used

independently, or they may be combined to eliminate a single, dominant peak.

There are additional benefits to the AWS system as well: First, because the lower octaves have built in

amplification, your existing amplifiers will seem far more powerful. You will be able to reach extremely high