1. What is the advantage of a subwoofer system?
2. Where is the best place to put my subwoofer?
3. I have some low humming noise coming from my subwoofer. What is it?
4. Where should I place my subwoofer?
5. What are the differences between PMPO & RMS?
6. What is “USB” and do I need this feature in a speaker?

1. What is the advantage of a subwoofer system?
A subwoofer system allows a greater flexibility in placing your speakers than just a standard pair of speakers that compromises the low bass region. A subwoofer is a fully enclosed speaker system designed to handle the low bass region and perform its best while placed under the desk on the floor and near a wall. Since the (satellite) speakers are only needed for mid-range and treble frequencies, they can be quite small thus resulting in a much smaller footprint on the desk. The final result is full range sound and a lot of desktop space.

2. Where is the best place to put my subwoofer?
Acoustics is not an exact science. Adjusting the placement of a subwoofer can make a dramatic difference in the low end response character of your system, even an adjustment of an inch or two! Nevertheless, there are some guidelines to follow: the most important of which is the proximity of placement to room boundaries (walls). Generally the closer the subwoofer is placed to the wall, the more mid-bass you will perceive. However, when a subwoofer is placed next to the wall, the mid-bass may be too accentuated resulting in a “boomy” character. If you prefer less boom effect, move the subwoofer away from the wall. This will give you an increase in lower frequency range of the subwoofer up to that point, where the subwoofer response rolls off due to physical limitations (the amount of air the subwoofer design can move). Experimentation is a much to get the exact sound quality you like.

3. I have some low humming noise coming from my subwoofer. What is it?
The subwoofer contains a transformer which provides the power to the subwoofer and the satellite speakers. It is perfectly normal and the hum will not be noticeable when you start playing the music. If you experience a loud hum during the play, please contact our technical support for further assistance.

4. Where should I place my subwoofer?
It is preferably that a subwoofer is placed against a wall, under a computer desk, the bottom of your entertainment center or the corner of the room. By doing so, it allows the subwoofer to use the wall area to enhance the bass effect. It doesn’t matter if the subwoofer is placed in the front or back of a room because unlike regular mid-range and high range sound, bass frequencies are meant to travel in all directions. Our systems are magnetically shielded to prevent interference with the computer monitor and TV sets. However, it is still recommended to place your subwoofer at least 3-5 feet away from your CPU and TV.

5. What are the differences between PMPO & RMS?
PMPO stands for “Peak Momentary Power Output.” It is a specification that refers to the maximum power the amplifier can produce during a peak of the music in an ideal condition. A more accurate way to measure a speaker’s power output is RMS, which stands for “Root Means Squared.” It is the average continuous power output under the best and the worst conditions to measure the loudness of the music.

6. What is “USB” and do I need this feature in a speaker?
USB stands for “Universal Serial Bus.” In a traditional configuration, a multimedia speaker is basically a “self-powered” speaker system that connects to the sound card in your computer. The sound information in a computer is distributed in a digital format. In order to listen to the sound, it must be converted from digital to analog, much like the converter in a CD player converts digital to analog before sending it to the amplifier in your stereo receiver. The advantage of the digital format is that it is impervious to noise and radio frequencies. The clock in the CPU of your computer generates a great deal of RF noise that can be picked up by the sound card and amplified by the speaker along with the sound information that is being played, because the digital information is converted to analog information in the sound card which then becomes susceptible to RF noise. The USB circuit maintains the sound information in digital format up to the time it is delivered to the speaker. In a USB design, the digital to analog converted is located in the speaker thus eliminating the need for a sound card and handling the conversion well outside the computer. The result is the near elimination of any noise generated by the CPU in the computer and you hear as clearer noise-free sound. While a true USB design does cost more than a conventional design, the cost difference is less than the cost of a sound card. If you have a sound card, USB will improve the sound quality of your system by lowering the background noise level but it is not necessary for quality sound. However, if you do not have a sound card, before buying one, you might want to consider a USB ready design as a good alternative to conventional multimedia speaker designs.