Ion POWER GLOW 300 - Bluetooth-Enabled Speaker Manual

Introduction

Thank you for purchasing the Power Glow^™ 300. At ION, your entertainment is as important to us as it is to you. That's why we design our products with one thing in mind—to make your life more fun and more convenient.

Box Contents

Power Glow^™ 300
Microphone with Cable (8 ft. / 243.8 cm)
Power Cable (6 ft. / 183 cm)
Quickstart Guide

Rechargeable Batteries

Note: Before you first use the product, please fully charge the battery. Your unit was purposely shipped with a reduced battery charge to ensure safe transit. Use the included power cable to connect the unit to a power outlet and let it charge for up to 10 hours. This helps ensure the longest life for your battery.

Rechargeable lead-acid batteries are the same type used in automobiles. As with your car battery, how you use this battery has a significant impact on its lifespan. With proper use and treatment, a lead-acid battery can last for years. Here are some recommendations for getting the longest life from the internal battery.

Setup

1. Make sure all items listed in the Box Contents are included in the box. Look in the box under the foam sheet for the power cable and microphone.
2. Read the Safety & Warranty Manual before using the product.
3. Study the Connection Diagram.
4. Make sure all input devices (such as microphones, CD players, or digital media players) are turned off with their volume settings set to "zero."
5. Connect all devices as shown in the Connection Diagram.
6. Switch everything on in the following order:
   1. Audio input devices (e.g. microphones, instruments, CD players)
   2. Power Glow^™ 300
7. When you are finished using Power Glow^™ 300, switch everything off in the following order:
   1. Power Glow^™ 300
   2. Audio input devices

Connection Diagram

Items not listed under the Box Contents are sold separately.

Features

Rear Panel

1. Media Panel Buttons: Controls for the USB/SD, FM radio, and Bluetooth^® audio sources. These controls include mode selection and music playback options. See Media Panel for more information.
2. USB Port: Connect your USB flash drive here to play music. You can also use this port for charging the USB device.
3. SD Card Slot: Insert your SD card here to play music.
4. Display: This screen shows information relevant to Power Glow^™ 300's current operation.
   Note: The Display comes with a plastic protector on it. Remove this for optimal viewing.
5. Mic Inputs (1/4"/6.35 mm & XLR): Connect a microphone or mic-level source to these inputs.
6. Aux Inputs (1/8"/3.5 mm / 1/4"/6.35 mm): These stereo inputs can be used to connect a CD player, MP3 player, or other audio source.
7. RCA Inputs: Connect a CD player, digital media player, mixer, or other media source to these inputs. Devices connected here will play through the Aux channel in Aux mode.
8. Mix Out (1/4" / 6.35 mm): Connect this output to a speaker, mixer, or recorder.
9. Control Knob: Turn this knob to adjust the main volume (overall output) of the loudspeaker. Push this knob to select and make adjustments to the mic volume, source volume, echo effect, low EQ, and high EQ.
10. Power LED: This LED illuminates when the unit is powered on.
11. Clip LED: The Clip LED will flash red if the signal from the input jacks or media panel audio source is clipping (distortion from an overly loud signal). If this happens, decrease the main volume using the Control Knob or the source, or the mic volume (if a loud device is plugged into either).
12. Light Mode Button: Press this button to toggle between three modes for the lights on the front panel:
    • Color Cycle: The lights slowly glow and cycle through colors. This is the default mode when Power Glow^™ 300 is first powered on. Press and hold the light mode button to freeze the lights on one color. Press and release the button to unfreeze.
    • Beat Sync: The lights flash and change colors according to the tempo of the music playing on the speaker.
    • Off: The lights turn off.
13. Power Cable Input (IEC): Insert the included power cable here to charge the unit.
14. Power Switch: Toggle this switch to turn Power Glow^™ 300 on or off.

Media Panel

Use the following buttons on the Media Panel to control the USB/SD, FM Radio, and Bluetooth audio sources.

Mode: Press this button to switch the audio source between USB/SD, FM radio, Aux, and Bluetooth. The default mode when powering on Power Glow^™ 300 is Bluetooth. The USB/SD mode is only selectable if a USB drive or SD card is plugged into Power Glow^™ 300; otherwise, the Mode button will toggle between Bluetooth, Aux, and FM radio only.

Note: Your USB drive or SD card cannot be more than 16 GB and it must contain playable files in order for its data to appear properly in the Display. It can have MP3, WAV, WMA, FLAC, or APE files. When you connect a USB drive or SD card with playable files, Power Glow^™ 300 will order the files alphabetically by folder on the root directory and then by track name in the folder.

Play/Pause: When USB/SD is selected as the audio source, press this button to play/pause the currently selected track.

Repeat: Press this button to cycle through the five repeat/shuffle options:

• Play the USB/SD folder's tracks in order with repeat/shuffle off (OFF).
• Play the tracks in random order (Rd0).
• Play the current USB/SD track on repeat (ONE).
• Play all the tracks on the USB drive or SD card on repeat (ALL).
• Play the current folder's tracklist on repeat (F0d).

When Bluetooth is selected as the audio source, press this button to play/pause the currently selected track or press and hold this button to disconnect the currently paired Bluetooth device.

When FM radio is selected as the audio source, press and hold this button to save the currently selected radio station as a preset. See Using the Radio for more information.

Previous: When USB/SD or Bluetooth is selected as the audio source, press this button to go to the previous track in the playlist.
When listening to the FM radio, press this button to decrease the radio frequency or press and hold this button to seek backward.

Next: When USB/SD or Bluetooth is selected as the audio source, press this button to go to the next track in the playlist.
When listening to the FM radio, press this button to increase the radio frequency or press and hold this button to seek forward.

Note: In some apps on Bluetooth devices, pressing the < (Previous) or > (Next) buttons may change the playlist or music genre rather than the track.

Operation

Using the Control Knob

The Control Knob defaults to controlling the Main Volume for all channels. Press the Control Knob to toggle through different functions: Mic Channel, Source, Echo effect level, and EQ.

• Press the Control Knob to select the Mic channel. Rotate the Control Knob to raise or lower the volume of the Mic input independently of the other channels.
• Press the Control Knob again to select Source. Rotate the Control Knob to raise or lower the volume of the Aux/BT/USB/Radio signal independently of the other channels.
• Press the Control Knob again to control the Echo effect level for the MIC channel.
• Press the Control Knob again to select Low EQ adjustment. Rotate the Control Knob to raise or lower the low frequencies on all channels.
• Press the Control Knob again to select High EQ adjustment. Rotate the Control Knob to raise or lower the high frequencies on all channels.
• Press the Control Knob again to return to Main Volume adjustment.

If there is no activity on the Control Knob for 5 seconds, the function will go back to Main Volume.

Pairing with a Bluetooth Device

1. Turn on your Bluetooth device.
2. Power on Power Glow^™ 300.
3. Use the Mode button to select Bluetooth as the audio source. Power Glow^™ 300 will automatically go into pairing mode to search for Bluetooth devices.
4. Navigate to your Bluetooth device's setup screen, find Power Glow^™ 300, and connect. Do not connect to Power Glow^™ 300_BLE; this is reserved exclusively for connecting to the ION Sound XP^™ app.
   Note: Users should consider updating their device's OS if experiencing trouble with pairing or playing music.
5. To disconnect pairing, turn off Bluetooth on your device or select Forget this device on your Bluetooth device's setup screen.

SD/USB Mode

Press the Mode button to toggle through to select SD or USB mode. Power Glow^™ 300 will automatically play the first compatible file. Files are played in alphabetical order of what is on the root level, then alphabetical by folder, and then alphabetical by track name. Media playback will stop when all media has been played on the SD card or USB drive.

Note: The SD card or USB drive must have playable files for it to appear on the media panel's display. If there is no USB drive or SD card inserted into the media panel, press and release the Mode button will toggle through Bluetooth and radio.

Repeat settings (abbreviations will show on the display):

• ALL: Repeat all of the tracks in the folder.
• FOLd: Repeat all of the tracks in the folder.
• OnE: Repeat the current playing USB track.
• rAn: Shuffle the track order.

Using the Radio

In Radio Mode, press Play/Pause to select a previously saved preset station. To save the current station as a preset, press and hold Play/Pause, use the Previous/Next buttons to select which preset you want to save it to, and press Play/Pause again to confirm.

Connecting Two Speakers

To link two Power Glow^™ 300 speakers:

1. Plug a 1/4" cable (not included) into the Mix Out located on the rear panel of one Power Glow^™ 300 speaker. This speaker (the primary) is the one to which you will connect audio sources such as a Bluetooth device, microphone, or USB flash drive.
2. Plug the other end of the 1/4" cable into the 1/4" Aux Input on the rear panel of your second Power Glow^™ 300 speaker. This second speaker will receive the audio from any devices connected to the first speaker (the primary).
3. Power on both speakers using their Power Switches.
4. Connect your audio sources to the first speaker (the primary).
5. The volume of the secondary speaker should be set to "18" to match the primary speaker's volume.

Wireless Linking

1. Press and hold the Repeat/Link button on both powered on speakers to enter Stereo Link mode. A beeping sound will play from both units until a link has been established. Once a link has been established, the word LINK should appear in the display.
2. To connect to Bluetooth, press and hold the Bluetooth button on the primary (L channel) speaker.
   If the Bluetooth device goes out of range briefly, the unit should reconnect automatically when the device is back in range. 100 feet or more of Bluetooth range is required (line of sight)
3. To disconnect the wireless link, double press the Repeat/Link button.

App Control

To ensure the best possible experience with the app, use the most current Android OS or iOS on your device.

Follow these steps to download the free app on your device:

1. Open the Apple App Store or Google Play on your device. Then, search for the ION Sound XP app.
2. Follow the on-screen instructions to download and install the app. Once downloaded, the ION Sound XP app will appear on your device's home screen.
3. Connect your device to Power Glow^™ 300 via Bluetooth. See the Pairing with a Bluetooth Device to learn how to do this.
4. Open the ION Sound XP^TM app. If prompted, allow the app to access your device's Bluetooth and Location Services.
5. Tap to select Add A Product on the screen. The app will scan and find Power Glow^™ 300.
   If you are having issues connecting, tap Help with setting up? for additional tips.
6. Select the Power Glow^™ 300 icon to go to the next screen, where you can use the app to control various functions of the speaker such as:

• Radio: Play the radio, change stations, and edit presets.
• EQ: Adjust the speaker's equalization.
• Volume: Adjust the speaker volume and microphone volume.
• Voice Prompts: Enable or disable the voice prompts.
• Support: Visit ionaudio.com, contact Technical Support, and view Warranty information and Frequently Asked Questions.

Troubleshooting

If the sound is distorted: Try lowering the volume control of your sound source, musical instrument, or microphone. Also, try to reduce the overall volume of Power Glow^™ 300 using the Main Volume knob.

If there is too much bass: Try adjusting the tone or EQ control on your sound source to lower the bass level. This will allow you to play the music louder before clipping (distortion) occurs.

If there is a high-pitched whistling noise when using microphones: This is probably feedback. Point the microphone away from the speaker.

If you can't hear the microphone over the music volume: Turn down the music volume from your source.

The Display shows "NONE": If a USB drive or SD card is already properly inserted, make sure it contains playable files (MP3s, WAVs, and WMA files).

If you cannot connect your audio device to Power Glow^™ 300 via Bluetooth:

• Have your audio device (e.g., smartphone or tablet) and Power Glow^™ 300 as close together as possible while trying to connect. Make sure both the audio device and Power Glow^™ 300 are unobstructed by walls, furniture, etc.
• Reset the Bluetooth connection on Power Glow^™ 300 to disconnect Power Glow^™ 300 from any other audio device and restart the search process. If this does not work right away, power off Power Glow^™ 300 and then power it back on.
• Reset the Bluetooth connection on your audio device by turning Bluetooth off and back on. You can find this under the Bluetooth menu in the Settings for your phone or other audio device.
  If this does not work, and you have connected to Power Glow^™ 300 before, find Power Glow^™ 300 in the list of available or previously connected devices in your audio device's Bluetooth menu, tap the "gear" or "i" icon located next to it and then select Unpair or Forget. Turn Power Glow^™ 300 off and back on and try pairing again once it reappears in your available devices list.
  Note: If Power Glow^™ 300 has been paired to another audio device recently that is still within range, you may need to repeat this process with that audio device to fully disconnect.

If you experience audio dropouts while playing music from a Bluetooth device, this may be happening because your unit is trying to link to another speaker. This can occur if you power off a speaker that was linked to your unit or if you have just turned on your unit and it is in Stereo-Link mode. To stop the audio dropouts, exit Stereo-Link mode by double-pressing the Repeat/Link button. Alternatively, you can wait for your unit to link to another Power Glow^™ 300 speaker if there is one within range.

If you would like to stop your speaker from automatically linking when you power it on, make sure you double-press the Repeat/Link button to exit Stereo-Link mode before you power it off.

Support

For the latest information about this product (documentation, technical specifications, system requirements, compatibility information, etc.) and product registration, visit ionaudio.com.

For additional product support, visit ionaudio.com/support.