Nubert nuPro AS-250 - Active Stereoboard Manual

Introduction

If you read this manual carefully, setting up your new speaker is quick and easy.
We will explain the setup, the connections, and the daily operation so you can achieve the best possible sound quality and get the most out your new nuPro loudspeaker.
The Nubert team wishes you many hours of musical enjoyment!

Low temperatures and Sound

When speakers are shipped and delivered during the cold monthsof the year, it is imperative that they adapt to the temperature of the living area. Low temperatures have a considerable influence on the moving parts of a loudspeaker such as diaphragm, voice coil, bead and spider. The ability of these components to follow rapid oscillations or to perform large excursions is thus significantly restricted. This is not dangerous, but "frozen" speakers are far from their acoustic peak. Hence our tip: When your new speakers arrive on a cold winter's day, just give them a few hours to acclimatise. Your Nubert speakers will thank you with the superior sound quality you have come to expect from us.

Unpacking and Scope of Delivery

Unpacking
Avoid using sharp or pointed objects when unpacking your speakers. Please keep the packaging in a safe place in case you need to transport the speaker at a later date.

Scope of delivery
If the delivery is complete, it contains the following parts:

• 1 nuPro AS-250 active stereoboard
• 3 Cloth grilles
• 1 Remote control with battery
• 1 Mains cable, 2 m
• 4 Signal cables:
  • SPDIF coaxial cable, 3 m
  • Stereo jack-phone cable (3.5 mm jack), 1.5 m
  • Fibre optic cable with TOSLINK connectors, 1.5 m
  • USB cable (Type A/Type B), 1.5 m

Cloth grille

The cloth grille protects the loudspeaker drivers (for example from curious children who like to press in tweeter domes) and provides a visual contrast for those who do not like the technical appearance of loudspeaker drivers. It is carefully placed against the front of the speaker and held in place magnetically. Please make sure that the surface of the baffle is not damaged. With the cloth grill removed, the loudspeaker sounds somewhat brighter and clearer – the choice is yours

Setup

The nuPro-soundboard AS-250 is a high-quality, very neutral active stereo loudspeaker. It impresses with an extremely homogeneous, precise, and "direct" sound reproduction with the finest resolution in the entire frequency spectrum. However, even an "honest loudspeaker" is exposed to the manifold influences of room acoustics. In order to achieve the most natural and true-to-life reproduction possible, please observe the following general installation guidelines: Due to the side-facing bass reflex ports and drivers, the AS-250 should be placed at least 5 centimetres from the side wall in order to ensure trouble-free operation and to avoid air flow noises. More distance to the back- and side walls also helps prevent an increase in the bass- and fundamental ranges. When placed on a shelf, the best sound is achieved when the front edge of the speaker is either flush with the shelf or protrudes slightly. This allows the loudspeaker to radiate the sound freely into the room and helps to avoid voices sounding like coming through a funnel.

Ideal horizontal listening area
The best listening experience is achieved directly in front of the AS- 250. If you often need to sit off-centre and thus outside the optimum listening area, we recommend that you compensate with the sound controls.

Placing the speaker at the optimum height
The most natural sound is achieved when the tweeters are approximately at ear level. But even 30 degrees above or below the tweeter axis, the sound is still homogeneous. If the AS-250 is placed directly beneath your TV, you will in most cases be within the optimum listening area already. If the speaker needs to be placed lower or higher, it should ideally be angled so that the tweeters are aimed at the listening position. If this is not possible, we recommend compensating with the sound-controls.

Connections and application examples

The AS-250 is a complete sound-system in a single cabinet. All cables must be connected before switching the AS-250 on.
All source devices are connected on the back of the AS-250.
Optionally, you can also connect an active subwoofer.
Use the remote control select the source you wish to listen to.

Power: Power connector and power switch
Connect the supplied power cable to the power connector on the back of the AS-250.
Using the power-switch to turn the AS-250 off removes all power to the AS-250. All settings remain stored.
Note: You can also use an external, switchable extension cord to simplify the separation from the power grid.

Stand-by
Pressing … on the keypad on the front of the loudspeaker wakes it up from stand-by. Keeping the button pressed for 6 seconds will set the speaker to stand-by.
Alternatively, this switching operation can also be performed using the either remote control or the automatic stand-by function (see section AUTO).

USB-connection to a computer

Remote Control

The remote control of the nuPro allows direct access to all commonly used functions:

• on
  With this key, you toggle the speaker between active and stand-by mode.
• volume and mute
• The volume can be adjusted with the volume keys, the mute key allows you to mute and unmute the speakers.
• bass and mid/high
  The remote control allows easy adjustment of the sound character of the nuPro loudspeakers. The mid/high keys are used to raise and lower the bass intensity, while the mid/high keys can be used to adjust the mid/high range by up to ± 12 dB. See the section "Tilt Control" below for more information.
• usb · aux · spdif
  With these keys, you select the source you wish to listen to. USB selects the USB input, aux the analog input. Pressing spdif toggles between the electrical and the optical digital inputs.

When handling the remote control:
Make sure the battery is inserted correctly, observing the polarity of the battery. If you need to replace the battery, always use a high quality CR2025 battery.

Remote control signals, AS-250 and the nuPro A-series.
The remote-control signals of the AS-250 and the nuPro A-series loudspeakers do not cause interference with each other, making it possible to use combinations of these systems without accidentally operating the wrong speaker.

Construction and technology

Tilt Control
The midrange/treble adjustment of the nuPro loudspeakers has the characteristics of a so-called "Tilt control". While standard treble controls "bend" the frequency response and thus produce colourations, this control continuously affects the frequency response in a linear fashion. This perfectly preserves the basic tonal character of the loudspeaker and the harmony of the sound image. The Mid/ Hi tone control allows an increase or decrease of the frequency response with a maximum of 12 dB at 20 kHz.

Autogain
After being powered on, the AS-250 sets the input sensitivity automatically. For this reason, it is important that you connect your sources and let them play for few seconds before switching the AS-250 on. If the voltage of the signal increases too much during playback, the input sensitivity is automatically lowered. You can deactivate this function in the menu (see section "AGAIN").

Digital Signal Processing
For maximum fidelity, the signal path of a nuPro loudspeaker is kept entirely digital: Digital input signals go straight to the digital signal processor (DSP), which then performs crossover functions and optimization of the frequency response. Analogue sources are first converted to a digital signal by high-quality A/D converters. The signal remains digital all the way into the power amplifiers for best possible precision and signal to noise ratio.

Latency compensation
Due to the digital signal processing, a slight delay is introduced, so-called latency. If you connect additional nuPro loudspeakers to the link-output, this delay is automatically compensated for in order to ensure the best possible time-alignment. The result is an optimal stereo image with precise voice location (see section "further use cases").

Sound format
The digital inputs of your nuPro loudspeakers accepts PCM-format signals only. It may therefore be necessary to adjust the settings of players such as TV sets or game consoles accordingly. To do this, select "PCM" as the output format in the playback menu. Please also refer to the manual of your source device.

Auto-on/off function
The auto on/off function reacts differently, depending on the selected input: If no signal is present at the analog input, the loudspeaker is switches to stand by after 20 minutes. As soon as an analog input signal is detected, the speaker switches back on. At the other inputs, the activity of the connected source is monitored, allowing the loudspeaker to switch off or on instantly. At the SPDIF and Optical digital inputs, the presence of the digital data stream is monitored, while at the USB input the presence of USB supply voltage is detected.
The auto-on function is only active if the loudspeaker was set to standby by the auto-off function. To wake up the loudspeaker, a signal must be present at the input that was selected when the loudspeaker went into standby
Note: Morn computers often have USB sockets that deliver constant voltage (e.g. for charging a mobile phone) even when the computer is switched off. If you want to use the auto-on function of your nuPro active loudspeakers in conjunction with the USB input, you must use a USB connector that powers off with the computer.

Configuring your nuPro loudspeakers

All settings of the AS-250 can be adjusted and read using the keypad and display on the front of the speaker. After 8 seconds of inactivity, the display changes back to its default readout (default: level). Pressing a key will take you to the last used menu or let you adjust the volume.
Pressing … in the volume menu will access the main menu. Pressing this key will always take you back to a higher menu level.
By pressing ‡ or ˆ you can access the different menus and change their settings.
By pressing † you will enter a sub-menu. Pressing the MENU key in the middle will confirm a selection you have made or confirm the choice of a sub-menu.
Note: Your settings are saved when the display changes back to its default state. If power to the nuPro speaker is lost before this happens, the speaker will load the last saved state when power is restored.

• VOLUME
  Use the ‡ ‡ and ˆ keys to adjust the volume.
  Note: The displayed level can be set to show either a positive or negative value. Press and hold the central MENU-key to set the display to your preference.

  	Mode A	Mode B
  Maximum Level	Vol 80	V 0 dB
  Minimum Level	Vol 0	V-80 dB

• INPUT
  Use the ‡ ‡ and ˆ ˆ keys to select a source.

  AUX IN	Analog Line-In
  USB IN	USB Input
  SPDIF	Electrical Digital Input
  OPTICL	Electrical Optical Input

• MID HI (Mid/High)
  Use the ‡ ‡ and ˆ ˆ keys to raise or lower the mid/high level by up to 12 dB. See also section "Tilt control".
• BASS
  Use the ‡ ‡ and ˆ ˆ keys to raise or lower the bass level by up to 12 dB.
• BAL (Balance)
  Use the ‡ ‡ and ˆ ˆ keys to change the relative level between the left and right channel by up to 9 dB.
• SETUP
  This menu option is used to select the playback mode. In stereo mode, each of the two channels of the AS-250 receives the corresponding left or right signal of the playback-source. If the mono mode is selected, the DSP generates a mono sum signal and outputs this to both channels equally. The total level is corrected in such a way that no volume change occurs. This mode is recommended in combination with further nuPros. See the section „Further configurations".
• SUBOUT
  The subwoofer output outputs a low-passed mono sum signal. In this menu you can set the desired crossover frequency for the subwoofer. Use the ‡ ‡ and ˆ ˆ keys to change the crossover frequency.
• SYS HP (High-pass and crossover frequency)
  In this menu, you can set the high-pass (lo-cut) filter frequency. This is particularly useful if you connect a subwoofer to your nuPro speaker.
  Use the ‡ ‡ and ˆ ˆ keys to activate (ON) or deactivate (OFF) the filter. If the Filter is set to ON, press † or the MENU key to get to the next menu where you can set the proper frequency, using the ‡ ‡ and ˆ ˆ keys
  Note: Setting the high-pass filter to a higher frequency increases the maximum possible sound pressure level from your nuPro loudspeaker.
• DISPLY (Display)
  After 8 seconds of inactivity, the display reverts to its default readout. The DISPLY menu allows you to change this readout. You can set the display to display the level (VOLUME), the nuPro logo (LOGO) or turn the display off (OFF).
• LIM DS (displaying limiter/overload protection status)
  Each nuPro loudspeaker has a built-in, always active protection circuit, which reliably protects the drivers from overload. If the built-in overload protection is active, this is indicated in the display by the word LIMIT. In this menu, you can choose to have this warning-message displayed (ON) or not (OFF).
• PRESET
  In this menu, you can save all settings of the nuPro speaker in three presets. To do this, select the preset slot you want to save in, using the ‡ and ˆ ˆ keys, then press the MENU button until the word SAVING appears in the display. To recall a preset, select it in the menu and confirm with a short press of the central MENU button. LODING is then briefly shown in the display to confirm the selection.
• AUTO
  The electronics of the nuPro speakers has an automatic stand-by function, which automatically switches the loudspeaker to stand-by and back on as required. Selecting OFF disables this function. Further information on the automatic stand-by function can be found in the " Construction and technology" section.
• AGAIN (Autogain)
  By default, the input sensitivity of your nuPro speaker is set automatically to avoid overload and distortion. If you don't want to use this feature, select OFF in this menu. The input sensitivity is then fixed at 1,5 V. See also "construction and technology".
• DEFALT (default)
  In this menu you can reset the speaker to factory settings. To reset your speaker, select OK and confirm by pressing the MENU key. LODING is then briefly shown in the display to confirm the reset.
  Note: You can also reset the speaker by pressing and holding the † key for 8 seconds.

Further use-cases

Augmentation through a pair of nuPro loudspeakers
The nuPro Soundbase can be supported by a pair of loudspeakers from the nuPro A-series in order to achieve a broader stereo image.
Please follow the cabling instructions below.
The SPDIF input of your extra speaker is connected to the Link output of the AS-250. The Link output ouputs a digital stereo signal containing all volume- and sound settings, allowing you to control the entire system with the remote control of the AS-250.
We recommend setting the soundbase to mono in the SETUP menu in order to achieve a more precise, central vocal reproduction. The relative levels between the AS-250 and the the extra speakers must be set on the extra speakers, we recommend between VOL 75 and VOL 80 (V -05 dB – V 00 dB).

Adding a subwoofer
If you want to add a subwoofer to your nuPro speaker, you can connect it to the sub out output. This output provides the subwoofer with a low-pass filtered, summed mono signal. You can set the crossover frequency for the subwoofer in the menu advan-ced / subwoofer. The cut-off frequency for the nuPro speaker is adjusted in the SYS HP menu. The relative level of the subwoofer must be set on the subwoofer itself.

Technical Data nuPro AS-250

Menu Sitemap

Note: to start navigating, press …

Care and cleaning tips

Improper handling of the speaker may result in damage.

• Always unplug the speaker before cleaning it!
• Before recommissioning, make sure that all connections are cor-rect, that there are no short circuits and that the speaker is completely dry.
• Never use strong cleaning agents or solvents such as petrol, spir-it or similar!

Enclosure
We recommend commercial window cleaner sprayed onto a cotton cloth. This allows almost all fingerprints and dust to be easily removed. Alternatively, you can also use window active foam. We advise against the use of microfibre cloths! These can cause mini scratches in the surface.

Diaphragms and Speaker Chassis
To remove dust from a loudspeaker chassis, a lint-free cotton cloth is sufficient to wipe the membrane lightly with very little pressure. The tweeters of all Nubert loudspeakers are equipped with a protective grille so that they can also be wiped off with low pressure. If the dust cannot be completely removed, a make-up brush from the drugstore is suitable.

Service

If you have any questions or problems during the commissioning of your Nubert system, please do not hesitate to contact our service team:
Phone: 0800 68 23 780 (toll-free, within Germany) 0049 7171 92690-118 (international)
E-mail: info@nubert.de
Please have your customer number ready!

Intended use

This speaker is designed exclusively for sound reproduction in dry rooms. Use the speaker only as described in this manual. Any other use (particularly safety-relevant or medical use, installation in open environment like IP-certified products) is considered improper and may result in property damage or even personal injury. Nubert electronic GmbH does not assume any liability for damages caused by improper use.

Safety instructions

The entire operating manual, in particular the safety instructions, must be read in full before connecting and commissioning the device. For your own safety, be sure to follow all warnings and safety instructions in this manual and on the speaker. The user is not permitted to carry out any work on the loudspeaker other than the described work. Keep this document so that you have access to it at all times. Furthermore, it must also be handed over to possible re-owners.

Key to the symbols

	The triangle symbol with exclamation mark (without additional comment) indicates important instructions for commissioning, operation and maintenance of the device. The term next to the triangle symbol indicates a medium risk. Failure to observe this warning may result in property damage. The term next to the triangle symbol indicates a high risk. Failure to observe this warning may result in death or personal injury
	This symbol indicates that you must read and observe the operating instructions and the safety and warning notices in order to operate the device.
	This symbol (triangle with lightning) warns of dangerous voltages inside the enclosure and of hazards due to electric shock.
	This symbol indicates that the device complies with electrical protection class 2 and therefore does not require earthing.
	Devices with this symbol may only be used in a dry indoor environment.

General information

Never operate the loudspeaker unattended!

of electric shock!
To avoid the risk of electric shock, the speaker may not be opened by the user. There are no user-serviceable parts inside the speaker.
Service work and repairs are reserved for qualified specialists authorized by Nubert. If you need service, please contact Nubert electronic GmbH directly (info@nubert.de)!

of suffocation!
Never let children use or play with neither speaker, remote control or packaging unattended. There is a risk that children will get caught in the packaging film and suffocate. Make sure that children cannot remove any small parts from the
devices! These parts, like the remote control battery, could be swallowed and cause suffocation. In case of swallowing any parts, contact a doctor immediately!

of injury or damage!
When moving the speaker, take care to avoid injury and damage!

Since the speaker can only be completely disconnected from the mains at the mains input on the rear of the unit or by pulling the mains plug from the socket, it must be positioned so that you have free access to the mains input or mains plug.
If any of the following situations occurs, the loudspeaker must be switched off immediately and disconnected from the mains. Contact Nubert electronic GmbH (info@nubert.de) immediately!

• The speaker has been damaged or has fallen down.

• Power cord or plug is damaged

• Objects or liquid have got into the loudspeaker

• The speaker has been exposed to excessive moisture or rain.

• The speaker does not work properly or exhibits a significant reduction in performance.

• The loudspeaker smells burnt, develops smoke or makes unusual noises.

The drivers built into this loudspeaker generate a strong magnetic field in their immediate vicinity, which can impair or damage other devices. It is therefore essential to keep magnetically sensitive devices away from this loudspeaker! Do not place tube screens, notebooks, hard disks or the like on the speaker!
Only use accessories recommended by Nubert!