DESCEND ™ Owner’s Manual DN12 and DN15 Subwoofers
Welcome Contents Thank you for choosing a Definitive Technology Descend subwoofer. In order to ensure that you experience the finest performance possible, we encourage you to take a moment to fully read this owner’s manual and familiarize yourself with the proper installation and setup procedures for your subwoofer. Enjoy! Safety Precautions .......................................................4 Getting to Know Your Subwoofer ..............................9 Getting Started .............................
English Safety Precautions CAUTION RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK! DO NOT OPEN! The exclamation point within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the presence of important operating and maintenance (servicing) instructions in the literature accompanying the appliance. uncontrolled waste disposal, recycle it responsibly to promote the sustainable reuse of material resources.
Safety Precautions (continued) 13. No naked flame sources, such as lighted candles, should be placed on the apparatus. 14. Class I construction should be connected to a mains socket outlet with a protective earthing connection. 15. Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarized or grounding plug. A polarized plug has two blades with one wider than the other. A grounding plug has two blades and a third grounding prong. The wide blade or the third prong is provided for your safety.
English Safety Precautions (continued) FCC Information (For US Customers) 1. Compliance Information This product complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) this product may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this product must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation. 2. Important Notice: Do Not Modify This Product.
Safety Precautions (continued) • Naked flame sources such as lit candles should not be placed on the unit. • Observe and follow local regulations regarding battery disposal. • Do not expose the unit to dripping or splashing fluids. • Do not place objects filled with liquids, such as vases, on the unit. • Do not handle the mains cord with wet hands. • When the switch is in the OFF (STANDBY) position, the equipment is not completed switched off from MAINS.
English Safety Precautions (continued) • To prevent damage or leakage of battery fluid, – Do not use a new battery together with an old one. – Do not use two different types of batteries. – Do not attempt to change dry batteries. – Do not short-circuit, disassemble, heat, or dispose of batteries in flames. – Do not keep the batteries in a place exposed to direct sunlight or in places with extremely high temperatures, such as near a heater.
Getting To Know Your Subwoofer + + – – A E C B D F G H + I LEFT – J K L + RIGHT M – N O A VOLUME UP/DOWN BUTTON B INTELLIGENT PHASE CONTROL BUTTON C EQ BUTTON D DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS BUTTON E LOW PASS FILTER UP/DOWN BUTTON F LED POWER INDICATOR G AUTO/ON/12V 3-WAY SWITCH H IR IN I 12V TRIGGER J LINE IN K HIGH LEVEL INPUT (LEFT/RIGHT) L LFE IN M SERVICE PORT ONLY N POWER ON/OFF SWITCH O FUSE (T6.
English Getting Started 1. Plug in the subwoofer to the wall outlet and power up the subwoofer using the power switch on the amplifier panel. 2. Set the volume to the V20 setting on the front panel display. 3. Set the low-pass control according to the chart on page 18. Pro Tip: Low pass frequency is usually set too high in most systems, especially if the speakers you are using don’t have an additional high pass filter being applied. Chances are you can lower the low pass frequency on your subwoofer. 4.
Positioning the Subwoofer There are some general guidelines that you should bear in mind when locating your subwoofer: Potential Subwoofer Locations 1. For best results, place the subwoofer on the same side of the room as your front speakers. TV Left Speaker Right Speaker Room Layout for Optimal Listening Experience 2. Placement near walls and in a corner will increase the subwoofer’s output, but the sound may be “muddy” or “boomy.” 3.
English AC Mains (Power) Connection The subwoofer has a 3-position power option switch: • Always on • Auto on via signal (recommended) • 12V trigger. Please note that if you hear a noise from the speaker when the amp powers up or down, this is normal. The blue LED on the back panel will light up when a signal is detected and the amplifier turns on. The LED is red when in standby and no signal is detected.
Connection and Setup There are three options for connecting an input to your subwoofer, LFE INPUT, LINE IN, and SPEAKER LEVEL IN: 1 LFE INPUT SETUP LFE IN This method is recommended for home theater systems with receivers or audio processors with built-in bass management. Anything that is attached to a receiver with bass management should have the low-pass filter turned off on the subwoofer by setting it to LFE on the digital display. 1.
English 3 SPEAKER LEVEL IN SETUP (best for amps/ receivers with no LFE/subwoofer or pre-out jacks) Note: Speaker Level In is labeled High Level Input on the back panel of the subwoofer. 1. Power-off the amplifier/receiver and disconnect the subwoofer from the AC socket. 2. Connect standard speaker cables from the speaker output terminals of the amplifier/receiver.
Adjusting and Using the Descend Subwoofer Remote Guide The remote is the best tool for perfectly adjusting your subwoofer to achieve seamless blending with your main speakers. If you misplace your remote, the most often used controls are duplicated on the rear amp panel. NOTE: If the line of sight from your listening position to the display area of the subwoofer is obstructed, the remote will not work.
English 4. EQ: There are three program-specific equalization settings: Loud, Deep, and Flat. See Selecting EQ Modes on page 17 for more information. 5. Display Brightness: Pressing this button toggles the display brightness. Available settings are Max, Dim1, Dim2, and Off. 6. Low-pass filter up/down: The low-pass filter can be adjusted from 40Hz to 150Hz. If the subwoofer is connected via LFE, increase the low-pass filter until “LFE” appears on the front display.
6. If you notice any of the following, you may need to adjust the subwoofer input sensitivity setting: • ‘LIMIT’ appears regularly on the subwoofer display. • The subwoofer distorts at peaks in the audio signal. • The subwoofer volume is at the maximum setting (40) and is still not loud enough. To adjust the input sensitivity setting, see Changing the Input Sensitivity Setting. Selecting EQ Modes The three equalization (EQ) modes are variations in frequency response.
English Subwoofer Low-Pass Filter Guide MAIN FRONT SPEAKER TYPE SUGGESTED SETTINGS LARGE, FULL-RANGE FLOORSTANDING 40–100 HZ SMALL FLOORSTANDING AND LARGE BOOKSHELF 60–100 HZ SMALL BOOKSHELF/MINI-MONITORS/LARGE SATELLITES 80–120 HZ SMALL SATELLITES 100–140 HZ USING LFE FROM A RECEIVER OR PRE-AMP WITH INTERNAL BASS MANAGEMENT LFE Specifications DN12 MODEL DN15 DIMENSIONS 18.0 X 18.7 X 19.1 IN (458.2 X 475.5 X 484.8 MM) 22.0 X 22.7 X 23.5 IN (558.5 X 577.6 X 597.9 MM) PRODUCT WEIGHT 73.
Service Service and warranty work on your Definitive Technology loudspeaker will normally be performed by the Definitive Technology dealer or importer. If, however, you wish to return the speaker to us, please contact us first, describing the problem and requesting proper authorization. NOTE: Definitive phone and email technical support is only offered in English. Product Servicing Please note that the address given below is the address of our offices only.
English Limited Warranty 5-Years for Drivers and Cabinets, 3-Years for Electronic Components Definitive Technology, LLC (herein “Definitive”), warrants to the original retail purchaser only that this Definitive loudspeaker product (the “Product”) will be free from defects in material and workmanship for a period of five (5) years covering the drivers and cabinets and three (3) years for the electronic components from the date of the original purchase from a Definitive Authorized Dealer.
Descend | DN12 Ultra-Performance, 1500W 12" Subwoofer with Dual 12" Bass Radiators PRODU CT INFORMATION SHEET
Descend | DN12 Ultra-Performance, 1500W 12" Subwoofer with Dual 12" Bass Radiators The DN12 subwoofer delivers high-impact, reference-level bass performance to any system. Loaded with custom technologies such as 3XR™ Architecture, Intelligent Phase Control™, Class H digital amplification, and its advanced 56-bit DSP, the DN12 provides loud, low, clear bass that blends beautifully into your reference-level music or home cinema system.
IR Codes for Descend DN12 and DN15 subwoofers Definitive Technology Descend DN12 and DN15 subwoofers are controllable over IR, enabling the ability to integrate and tune bass performance for audio and video scenes. REMOTE CONTROL IR CODES NON-REMOTE CONTROL IR CODES IR controls that are accessible with the DN12 and DN15’s included remote controls. IR controls that are not accessible with the DN12 and DN15’s included remote controls.