Transcript
aiFi User’s Guide
© Sound Dimension AB 2015. Release 1.0.1.
aiFi User’s Guide
Contents Congratulations on your aiFi ........................................................................................ 3 Your aiFi at a glance ..................................................................................................... 4 Connecting your aiFi to a device .................................................................................. 6 … via Bluetooth ........................................................................................................ 6 … via the AUX jack .................................................................................................... 7 Line-‐In (3.5 mm) ................................................................................................... 7 Optical SPDIF (3.5 mm) ......................................................................................... 7 Burning in your aiFi ...................................................................................................... 8 Volume control ............................................................................................................. 9 Light control ............................................................................................................... 10 Power ......................................................................................................................... 11 Charging ................................................................................................................. 11 Battery status ..................................................................................................... 11 Stacking ...................................................................................................................... 12 The Leader of the Stack .......................................................................................... 14 Switching between input devices ........................................................................... 15 Party Stacking ..................................................................................................... 15 Stacking Technology ............................................................................................... 15 The aiFi app ................................................................................................................ 16 Troubleshooting ......................................................................................................... 17 Tips & tricks ................................................................................................................ 18 Cleaning ...................................................................................................................... 18 Technical information ................................................................................................ 19 Limited warranty ........................................................................................................ 19 Customer support ...................................................................................................... 19
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aiFi User’s Guide
Congratulations on your aiFi
Congratulations on your aiFi Congratulations on your aiFi purchase. It’s an intelligent stackable speaker which operates excellently with high-‐quality sound as a standalone unit. You can connect your aiFi to any smartphone, tablet or other Bluetooth device, and listen to music – anywhere. To achieve even better and louder sound, you can stack several aiFis together. This unique stackability concept is based on artificial intelligence. As long as the WaveDot™ patterns ( ) are aligned, the communication between the speakers is secured. Just stack your aiFis and play!
This user guide first walks you through the operation of a single unit, and then describes how to get the most out of your aiFi speakers by stacking them.
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aiFi User’s Guide
Your aiFi at a glance
Your aiFi at a glance Front
Top
Side
Back
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aiFi User’s Guide
Your aiFi at a glance
On the back of your aiFi you’ll find the touch control panel, as well as the jacks for wired input and AC power. Appearance
Name
Function
Power
Turns your aiFi on or off.
Source Select
Selects the input device: Bluetooth or AUX.
Light Control
Turns on or dims the mood light, and selects the mood light option.
Volume Control
Controls the volume.
AUX jack
Where you connect the cable from the input device unless using Bluetooth.
AC adapter jack
Where you plug in the charger (power adapter) to charge the battery and/or run your aiFi on AC mains power.
Note that all the buttons have more than one function, defined by either double tap or long touch. Double tap means quickly tapping the button twice, like double-‐clicking. Long touch means touching the button for more than three seconds. Long touch the Power button to turn your aiFi on or off.
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aiFi User’s Guide
Connecting your aiFi to a device
Connecting your aiFi to a device Your source options are Bluetooth, Line-‐In 3.5 mm or optical SPDIF 3.5 mm. The AUX jack on the back detects that a cable is connected and also what type of cable it is – Line-‐In or SPDIF. The appropriate input is selected automatically. If no Line-‐In or SPDIF connection is detected, Bluetooth is automatically enabled. When the input device is connected, you can start playing from an audio source.
… via Bluetooth aiFi uses Bluetooth technology to set up a wireless connection to an input device that supports Bluetooth. On start-‐up, your aiFi enters pairing mode for approximately 10 minutes: it tries to establish a new connection, or to re-‐connect to any of the eight last known connected Bluetooth devices. Your aiFi will automatically connect to the most recently paired device that it detects. If needed, see the manual of the input device for its specific Bluetooth instructions. Pairing
Activate Bluetooth on your device and choose aiFi Sam from the list. If you’re pairing with an older device that prompts for a code, please enter 0000 to accept the connection to your aiFi. If no Bluetooth device is detected or pairing isn’t accepted by any device in range, your aiFi will go into Bluetooth sleep mode after the 10 minutes of pairing mode. If you want to activate Bluetooth again, double tap the Source Select button. Repeat the pairing process.
Unpairing
To break the pairing with another Bluetooth device and return to discoverable mode, long touch the Source Select button.
Switching users
To pair with another device, long touch Source Select to unpair from the currently connected device and return to discoverable mode. This enables pairing with another Bluetooth device.
Switching between Bluetooth and AUX
If you want to enable Bluetooth control when your aiFi is connected using the Line-‐In or SPDIF interface, double tap Source Select. If you want to go back from Bluetooth mode to Line-‐In or SPDIF, double tap Source Select again. Any subsequent double tap of Source Select will toggle between the two modes.
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aiFi User’s Guide
Connecting your aiFi to a device
Bluetooth® is a communication standard invented by Swedes back in the 1990s, and aiFi uses version 4.2. It includes both audio signal transmission and Bluetooth® Low Energy for the smartphone app. Your phone acts as remote control for your aiFi. The signal path from the Bluetooth® chip into the main Digital Signal Processor (DSP) is fully digital and any volume control is managed directly in our main DSP to ensure maximum sound quality at all times. aiFi also support apt-‐X codec, which is capable of the highest resolution audio available over the Bluetooth® protocol.
… via the AUX jack Line-‐In (3.5 mm) Note: To avoid any sudden volume changes, turn down the output volume on your input device and your aiFi before connecting the Line-‐In cable. To connect, plug the Line-‐In connector into the AUX jack on the upper right side. This automatically selects Line-‐In as the active source for your aiFi. (It’s the same input jack as for SPDIF.) If your aiFi is paired with a Bluetooth device and you want to switch between Line-‐In and Bluetooth, just double tap Source Select to toggle between the two source inputs. The Line-‐In interface of your aiFi is on par with many of the best input stages in the trade. Its bipolar J-‐FET technology is found only on high-‐grade professional gear, which gives an enjoyable sound quality. If you use optional adapter cables, a wide range of Line-‐In sources can be supported, including high-‐level line signal up to 2.5 V RMS such as high-‐grade pre-‐amps and standalone CD, DVD and BD players. The Line-‐In input is also designed to handle any portable device with headphone or audio line output, such as laptops, phones or tablets.
Optical SPDIF (3.5 mm) Note: To avoid any sudden volume changes, turn down the output volume on your input device and your aiFi before connecting the SPDIF cable. Please note that if a TV is connected which doesn’t have an adjustable digital sound output (please refer to your TV manual), then it’s recommended to use the 3.5 mm Line-‐In connector instead. Connect the aiFi speaker to a headphone or line output of your TV that can be adjusted with the remote control of your TV. To connect, plug the SPDIF connector into the AUX jack on the upper right side. This automatically selects optical SPDIF as the active source for your aiFi. (It’s the same input jack as for Line-‐In.)
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aiFi User’s Guide
Connecting your aiFi to a device
If your aiFi is paired with a Bluetooth device and you want to switch between Line-‐In and Bluetooth, just double tap the Source Select button to toggle between the two source inputs. The SPDIF input is designed to accept any linear PCM input signal up to 96k/24bit SPDIF format and has auto detection. It adapts to the format that is delivered to the aiFi Speaker. When using this input, the signal is in the digital domain all the way to the audio amplifier. Recommended sources include TV sets, computers with optical output and audio sound cards. If a bit stream signal is received the output will mute.
Burning in your aiFi Just as a brand new car needs to be handled gently, an aiFi also needs some burn-‐in time to attain optimum performance and sound quality. You do that by letting your aiFi play varying types of sounds for at least eight hours at a maximum of 70% volume, before cranking the volume all the way up.
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aiFi User’s Guide
Volume control
Volume control
You control the volume by using a combination of the three touch buttons to the left. They form a virtual volume wheel where the speed of the volume change is determined by the speed you swipe over the buttons: the quicker you swipe, the greater the change in volume. Reducing the volume
Increasing the volume Muting Unmuting
Swipe from the upper to the lower button at the desired speed. Note: To dramatically reduce the volume to a minimum, quickly swipe from top to bottom. Swipe from the lower to the upper button at the desired speed. Double tap the middle and lower button simultaneously. Long touch the middle and lower button simultaneously. The volume will return to the level it was before you muted.
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aiFi User’s Guide
Light control
Light control
Your aiFi comes with a mood light function that can be set to different colors – and intensity. The Light Control button is used to toggle between the two mood light parameters: color and intensity. When starting your aiFi, the mood light will be the same as last chosen setting. To change the mood color, long touch Light Control and swipe to change. To change the intensity, long touch Light Control again and swipe to change. To minimize the mood light, double tap Light Control.
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aiFi User’s Guide
Power
Power Your aiFi is battery-‐operated – it can be used either with battery power only or connected to an AC power source via the aiFi power adapter. The discharge rate varies depending on usage and playback volume, but a fully charged battery can be used for about eight hours. If the mood light flashes red twice, it’s time to recharge the battery (charge level less than 20%). If not charged, your aiFi will eventually enter idle mode and eventually stops playing. You can check the battery status anytime by double tapping the Power button (see battery status below).
Charging To recharge your aiFi, use the dedicated power adapter. Connect the adapter to the power jack and then to an AC power outlet. The indicator light on the power adapter turns red when the battery is charging. When charging is complete, the indicator light turns green. If the battery is fully discharged, the recommended charging time is three hours; that fully charges the battery and maximizes its life. You can use your aiFi while charging. Note: If the battery is fully discharged, it needs to recharge for 15 minutes to be operable. Battery status Double tap the Power button to see the current battery charge. The mood light will indicate this for three seconds. The colors of the mood light indications: Green: 70% or more Yellow: 20% to 70% Red: less than 20% (Please charge!) Note: If your aiFi hasn’t been used for 30 minutes when connected to an AC source, or 5 minutes when battery operated, it automatically goes into idle mode to conserve power. To reactivate it, you simply interact with it in any way, such as to start playing. When battery-‐powered and unused for 20 minutes, your aiFi will turn off. It then needs to be powered on again with the Power button.
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aiFi User’s Guide
Stacking
Stacking
Besides being a high performance portable Bluetooth speaker, aiFi has the unique feature of being stackable. When you stack two or more aiFis together, they’ll combine and start acting as if they were one speaker – no matter the size of the stack. This is one of the reasons why the sound quality will improve with every aiFi you add to the stack. It works great alone, but even better together. You’ll be amazed at the effect! WARNING! A large aiFi stack can be loud and cause hearing loss. Therefore, be careful not to play at excessive volume. Note: The surface where you stack your aiFis must be flat, clean and solid. Stacking high can be dangerous, so secure your aiFi stack to avoid injuries or damage caused by falling aiFis. aiFis can be stacked either on top of each other (vertical stacking) or sideways (horizontal stacking). They communicate through the WaveDot™ interface, so make sure the WaveDot patterns on the aiFis are aligned with each other without any objects or obstacles between the units. They are shaped so as to align easily when stacked either way.
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aiFi User’s Guide
Stacking
The touch buttons of any unit can be used to control the entire stack. For example, you can turn on or off all the aiFis in the stack with the Power button of any one speaker. Vertical stacking
The simplest stack is to put one aiFi on top of another. Stacking vertically gives you a deeper, more bass-‐saturated sound and enables higher volume. The feet of the top unit will fit the slots on top of the bottom unit, making sure the WaveDot patterns align properly.
Horizontal stacking
Stacking horizontally gives you a wider sound and enables higher volume. To stabilize the position of two neighboring aiFis, remove the aiFiCoin™ from each adjacent side face, and put them together. There are magnets to help guide the aiFis into place. On the back there is a home spot for resting the coins while the aiFis are stacked. A horizontal stack of 20 aiFis will form a circle approximately 120 cm or 4 feet in diameter.
Keep on stacking
Keep on stacking. It’s enough if one of the WaveDot surfaces is in contact with another – so feel free to stack in any imaginable way.
Adding new aiFis to your stack
If you have one or more aiFis already playing, you can just add another one to the stack. It’ll automatically connect and be part of the playing stack.
Unstacking
As long as there is physical contact between the aiFis, they’ll play together as one stack. To split the stack, simply remove one or more aiFis and they are free to play as independent speakers.
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aiFi User’s Guide
Stacking
It´s possible to use a combination of line-‐in and Bluetooth when building a stack. An aiFi stack can handle up to three cable sources, and each aiFi can have one Bluetooth connection. Allow some time for the aiFis to reroute the sound flow between the units as the sources are cycled through. The lights of the speakers will then flash for a short while – just like a welcome handshake. The aiFi is optimized for quick and seamless switching. To minimize switching delays, connect the cables according to these guidelines: • To make a new cable connection, choose the bottom left aiFi, as seen from the front. • For a second cable input source, choose the next one to the right. If the aiFis are only stacked vertically, use the next aiFi above.
The Leader of the Stack There is always one aiFi controlling the whole stack – the Leader of the Stack. It can be positioned anywhere in the stack and is the one receiving the input signals via Bluetooth, or the Line-‐In or SPDIF cable. It’s easy to find the Leader of the Stack by looking at the following priority order: 1. Audio source 2. Size of the stack 3. Horizontal position 4. Vertical position
1. Cable 2. Bluetooth 1. Large 2. Small The aiFi furthest to the left The lowermost aiFi
For example: • If you stack two aiFis (or two stacks, for that matter), one playing music from a cable source and the other one from a Bluetooth source, the one with a cable connection becomes the leader. However, connecting a cable to an already playing stack won’t make any difference. • If both aiFis (or stacks) use the same type of input, the leader of the larger stack will lead the combined stack as well. • If there is a tie there too, the leftmost aiFi (as seen from the front) will be the leader. And if the aiFis are stacked vertically, the bottom one will lead the stack. Several combinations are possible – feel free to experiment!
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aiFi User’s Guide
Stacking
Switching between input devices There are three ways to switch between input devices: • To switch between different wired input sources, double tap Source Select on any aiFi in the stack. • To toggle between Bluetooth and wired input sources, long press Source Select on any one of the stacked aiFis. You can also use the aiPlay function in the aiFi app. • If one or more Bluetooth connections were active when the aiFis were stacked, you can use Party Stacking, as described below. Party Stacking Party Stacking means that several aiFis can lead the stack, one after another, provided they’ve established Bluetooth connections to their input devices before being stacked. The one first connected will be first in line. To switch to the next aiFi (and its respective input device), just pause playing from the currently active device, or disconnect it. It doesn’t matter if the new device is paused or not – it’s going to start playing anyway, as long as it has an active Bluetooth connection. When all the aiFis in the queue have been cycled through, the kleadership is returned to the first one again. To permanently remove an aiFi from the queue, just break the Bluetooth connection from its corresponding input device. To temporarily pass on the stack leadership to the next aiFi, you can disable the aiPlay function in the aiFi app. If two or more aiFis are already paired with Bluetooth devices when you stack them, Party Stacking is automatically enabled.
Stacking Technology With aiFi in particular, the Sound Dimension technology shows its spatial strength when units are stacked horizontally in odd numbers: 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9. This is because the speaker elements inside the centermost aiFi are located so as to optimize the spatial aspects of the Sound Dimension technology. Nine units is the largest number that can act as one stereo system in one single direction – a whopping 162 degree arch of sound! When the tenth unit is added, the aiFis will form two stereo systems, playing in perpendicular directions, that is, 90 degrees apart. When an even number of aiFis (2, 4, 6, 8 …) are stacked horizontally a more common stereo mode is used, where the left and right sound channels focus on their respective ends of the horizontal stack. An odd-‐numbered horizontal stack is recommended as a TV sound bar, whereas for music listening, the best sound quality is achieved with an even-‐numbered horizontal stack. If the aiFis are also stacked vertically, these improvements of course still apply, with improved bass performance and clarity of sound combined with the spatial sound.
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aiFi User’s Guide
The aiFi app
The aiFi app The aiFi app has its own manual (found here), but in short, it’s an optional extension to remotely control your aiFi both in standalone mode and when stacked. All main features can be controlled from your aiFi, but functionality and features may be enhanced in the aiFi app. The aiFi app is available through Apple App Store for iOS devices or Google Play for Android devices. The device must support Bluetooth Low Energy as all remote functions take place over this protocol. This includes Android version 4.3 or later, or iPhone 4S, iPod touch 5th generation, iPad 3rd generation or later with lowest iOS5.
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aiFi User’s Guide
Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting Problem
How to solve
Your aiFi won’t turn on
• Plug the power adapter into a live AC (mains) outlet. Use the power supply that comes with your aiFi. • Secure the power cord at both ends. • Long touch the Power button. No power (battery) • The battery may be in protection mode or discharged. • Plug the power adapter into a live AC (mains) outlet. Your aiFi doesn’t connect to • On the input device: an input device -‐ Turn off and on the Bluetooth feature. -‐ Remove your aiFi (named aiFi Sam) from the Bluetooth menu. Pair again. • Move the device closer to your aiFi and away from any interference or obstructions. • Try to pair with another input device. • Clear your aiFi’s pairing list. • Connect again. No sound from your aiFi • Power on your aiFi. • Increase the volume on your aiFi, the input device and/or the music source. • Make sure you’re using the correct device. • Move the device closer to your aiFi and away from any interference or obstructions. • Use a different audio source. • Pair with another input device. • If two input devices are connected, pause your other device first. • On the input device: -‐ Turn off and on the Bluetooth feature. -‐ Remove your aiFi (named aiFi Sam) from the Bluetooth menu. Pair again. • Clear your aiFi’s pairing list. • Check the input device for compatibility. Refer to its user guide. • Reset the aiFi speaker. Poor sound quality from • Use a different audio source. your aiFi • Pair with another input device. • Disconnect the second device. • Move the device closer to your aiFi and away from any interference or obstructions.
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aiFi User’s Guide Problem
Troubleshooting How to solve
Audio plays from the wrong • Make sure you’re using the correct device. input device (when two • Pause or quit the audio source on the device devices are connected) playing music. • Disconnect the second device. No audio from the AUX • Power on the AUX device and play audio. device • Secure the 3.5 mm cable to your aiFi’s AUX jack and the AUX device. • Increase the volume on your aiFi and AUX device. • Use a different AUX cable. • Connect a different AUX device. Problems with stacking • Make sure that the WaveDot patterns ( ) are aligned. • Make sure that the rubber feet are in place. • Make sure that the aiFi coins are in place.
Tips & tricks Indoors the tonal quality of your aiFi depends on its location in the room. Outdoors you should expect the tonal quality to change as you move the input device further away from your aiFi. Keep the following guidelines in mind when placing your speaker: • For optimum sound, the front of the speaker should face the listener. • For best bass response, the back of the speaker should be placed near a wall, but not directly against it. The bass response decreases as your aiFi is moved away from a wall. Don’t lay the speaker on its back. Sound is emitted from both the front and the rear. • Don’t place the speaker in small spaces that are enclosed on all sides except the front, as this will adversely affect sound quality. • Don’t place the speaker on wet or dirty surfaces. • Place the speaker only on its rubber feet. Putting it on any other side may cause damage to the speaker and adversely affect sound quality.
Cleaning To clean the exterior surface of your aiFi, wipe it using a soft cloth. • Don’t use solvents, chemicals or sprays. • Don’t allow liquids to spill or objects to drop into any openings.
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aiFi User’s Guide
Technical information
Technical information Housing: Aluminum Dimensions: 184W x 65D x 64H (63H added for any stacked unit) mm Speaker drivers: 15 W 48 mm long throw custom-‐made Battery: Rechargeable Li-‐ion cell AUX Input: Pro grade analog Line-‐In combined SPDIF optical input up to 96 kHz/24 bit. Bluetooth apt-‐X enabled Charger: 220 V/12 V 1.0 A power adapter Security: Dual Kensington locks aiFi® and Sound Dimension® are registered trademarks of Sound Dimension AB in Sweden, the United States and other jurisdictions. Patents pending. All other mentioned product or company names and trademarks are owned by their respective holders. The Bluetooth word mark and logos are registered trademarks owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such marks by Sound Dimension AB is under license.
Limited warranty Your aiFi speaker is covered by a limited warranty. Details of the limited warranty are provided on the product registration card that is included in the carton. Please refer to the card for instructions on how to register. Even if you don’t register, your limited warranty rights won’t be affected.
Customer support For more information about the aiFi speaker, see www.aifi.se. Sound Dimension AB Sommargatan 101 A SE-‐656 37 Karlstad Sweden
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