S U R R O U N D C IN E M A
S P E A K E R S
S C S 13 6
O W N E R ’S G U ID E
T H A N K Y O U F O R C H O O S IN G J B L
For more than 50 years, JBL
has been involved in every
aspect of music and film
recording and reproduction,
from live performances to
the recordings you play in
your home, car or office.
provide every note of enjoy-
ment that you expected –
and that when you think
about purchasing additional
audio equipment for your
home, car or office, you will
once again choose JBL.
It enables us to keep you
posted on our latest advance-
ments, and helps us to better
understand our customers
and build products that
meet their needs and
expectations.
We’re confident that the JBL Please take a moment to
system you have chosen will
register your product on our
JBL Consumer Products
IN C LU D E D
Five satellites for left, right and
surrounds. Wall-mount brackets.
One center channel speaker
with adjustable support leg.
Powered subwoofer.
Two 20' speaker cables for
connection from receiver to
subwoofer.
Four 40' speaker cables for
connection from receiver to
three rear satellites and
center speaker.
Two 15' speaker cables for
connection from subwoofer
to front speakers.
3
S P E A K E R P LA C E M E N T
F R O N T
S P E A K E R S
C E N T E R C H A N N E L
S P E A K E R
S U B W O O F E R
0-2 ft.
Stands shown are optional.
S U R R O U N D S P E A K E R S
5
– 6 ft.
The front speakers should be
placed the same distance
from each other as they are
from the listening position.
They should be placed at
about the same height from
the floor as the listeners’
ears will be, or they may be
angled toward the listeners.
slightly to angle the speaker
down.
placement until you hear
a diffuse, ambient sound
accompanying the main-
program material heard in
the front speakers.
Two of the surround speak-
ers should be placed slightly
behind the listening position
and, ideally, should face
each other and be at a level
higher than the listeners’
ears. If that is not possible,
they may be placed on a
wall behind the listening
The low-frequency material
reproduced by the subwoofer
is mostly omnidirectional,
and this speaker may be
placed in a convenient loca-
tion in the room. However,
bass reproduction will be
maximized when the sub-
woofer is placed in a corner
along the same wall as the
front speakers. Experiment
with subwoofer placement
by temporarily placing the
subwoofer in the listening
position and moving around
the room until the bass
The center channel speaker
should be placed slightly
behind the front left and right position, facing forward.
speakers, and no more than
two feet above or below the
tweeters of the left and right
speakers. It is often con-
venient to set the center
speaker on top of the tele-
vision set, as shown in the
drawing. Use the supplied
support leg to aim it toward
the listener by screwing the
leg in to angle the speaker
up, or unscrewing the leg
The surround back speaker
should be placed on the wall
behind the listening position,
facing the center channel
speaker. You may leave the
surround back speaker out
of your system altogether if
your receiver/processor only
supports 5.1 channels. The
surround speakers should
not call attention to them-
selves. Experiment with their
reproduction is best. Place
the subwoofer in that location.
4
M O U N T IN G O P T IO N S
S A T E LLIT E S A N D S U R R O U N D S
On shelves.
On the wall. Wall
On optional stands (FS300).
brackets are included.
W A LL- M O U N T IN G
Attach plate to wall. The
brackets should be placed, if
possible, so that the screws
will fasten into a wooden wall
stud. If that is not possible,
use properly selected wall
anchors.
Slide speaker onto support.
Place speaker and
support on wall plate.
The customer is responsible
for proper selection and use
of mounting hardware, avail-
able through hardware
stores, to properly and safely
wall-mount the speakers.
5
S P E A K E R C O N N E C T IO N S
C O N N E C T IO N T IP S
Separate and strip the ends of
the speaker wire as shown.
Speakers and electronics
terminals have corresponding
(+) and (–) terminals. Most
manufacturers of speakers
and electronics, including
JBL, use red to denote the
(+) terminal and black for the
(–) terminal.
To connect the supplied
speaker wires to the
speaker terminals, press the
red or black plastic tab for
the desired terminal, insert
the bare end of the wire into
the hole and release the tab.
Gently tug on the wire to
make sure that it is fully
inserted.
The (+) lead of the speaker
wire is noted with a stripe.
It is important to connect
both speakers identically: (+)
on the speaker to (+) on the
amplifier and (–) on the
speaker to (–) on the amplifier.
Wiring “out of phase” results
in thin sound, weak bass and
a poor stereo image.
With the advent of multichan-
nel surround sound systems,
connecting all of the speakers
in your system with the cor-
rect polarity remains equally
important in order to preserve
the proper ambience and
directionality of the program
material.
6
D O LB Y * P R O LO G IC * (N O N - D IG ITA L)
–
S P E A K E R LE V E L
Use this installation method
Left Front
Right Front
Center
for Dolby Pro Logic applica-
tions (not Dolby Digital, DTS®
+
–
+
–
+
–
or other digital processing),
where the receiver/processor
does not have a subwoofer
output, or a volume-controlled
preamp (line-) level output:
Subwoofer
Connect your receiver or
amplifier’s front left and right
speaker terminals to the left
and right terminals on the
subwoofer that are marked
“High Level In.” Connect the
left and right terminals on the
subwoofer that are marked
“High Level Out” to the
HIGH LEVEL
+
–
–
+
L
R
OUT
IN
corresponding terminals on
the back of your front left
and right speakers.
Receiver
Left Front
Center
Right Front
+
–
+
–
+
–
Connect your receiver or
amplifier’s center, surround
and surround back speaker
terminals to the correspon-
ding terminals on the back of
your center and surround
speakers.
Left Surround
Surround Back
Right Surround
+
–
+
–
+
–
Left Surround
Surround Back
Right Surround
+
–
+
–
+
–
7
D O LB Y P R O LO G IC (N O N - D IG ITA L)
–
LIN E LE V E L
Use this installation method
for Dolby Pro Logic appli-
cations (not Dolby Digital,
DTS or other digital process-
ing), where the receiver/
processor is equipped with
a subwoofer output, or a
volume-controlled preamp use the LFE input on the sub-
(line-) level output:
woofer with Dolby Pro Logic
processors. NOTE: If your
receiver or amplifier only has
one subwoofer output jack,
then you will need to use a
Y-connector (not included).
Plug the male end of the Y-
connector into your receiver
or amplifier’s subwoofer out-
put jack, and connect each
of the two female ends to
separate RCA-type patch
cords. Finally, plug the RCA-
type patch cords into the
line-level inputs on the sub-
woofer.
Use RCA-type patch cords
to connect the line-level
subwoofer outputs on your
receiver or amplifier to the
line-level inputs on the sub-
woofer. IMPORTANT: Do not
Center
Left Front
Right Front
+
–
+
–
+
–
Subwoofer
Line-
Level In
L
R
Connect each speaker to
the corresponding speaker
terminals on your receiver
or amplifier.
Receiver
Left
Front
Subwoofer
Out
Right
Front
+
+
–
–
R
L
Make sure your receiver or
processor is correctly con-
figured to indicate that the
subwoofer is “On.”
+
–
Center
Surround Back
+
Left
Surround
Right
Surround
+
–
–
+
–
Note for advanced users: If
your receiver/processor has
a built-in low-pass crossover
filter for the subwoofer out-
put, you may use the LFE
input to bypass the sub-
Right Surround
Left Surround
Surround Back
+
–
+
–
+
–
woofer’s internal crossover.
D O LB Y D IG ITA L O R D T S
(O R O T H E R D IG ITA L S U R R O U N D M O D E ) C O N N E C T IO N
RECEIVER
SUBWOOFER
LINE LEVEL IN
Connect this jack to the LFE
output or subwoofer output
on your receiver or amplifier.
Connect each speaker to the
corresponding speaker
terminals on your receiver
or amplifier.
ured for 6.1-channel opera-
tion (if available), and the
front left, front right, center
and rear speakers should all
be set to “Small.” If your
receiver allows you to set
the crossover frequency
between the subwoofer and
the main speakers, select
either 120Hz or 150Hz, or
select the setting that is the
closest frequency below
these.
L
LFE INPUT
LFE OUT
R
Use this installation method
for Dolby Digital, DTS or
other digital surround
processors:
Make sure that you have
configured your surround
sound processor for
“Subwoofer On.” The
receiver should be config-
Use the line-level input jack
marked “LFE” for the Low-
Frequency Effects channel.
8
O P E R A T IO N
Move the Master Power
switch (marked “Power” ¡)
automatically turn on (LED will
be green). If the subwoofer
does not sense a signal after
approximately twenty minutes,
it will automatically go back
into standby mode.
™ in the “Auto” position).
When your receiver or ampli-
fier is off, or is not sending
program material to the sub-
woofer, the subwoofer will be
in standby mode (LED will be
red). When the subwoofer
senses an audio signal, it will
to the “ ” (On) position to use
•
the subwoofer. The SCS136
subwoofer will automatically
turn on or go into standby
(sleep) mode when left in the
auto mode (“Auto/On” switch
When the “Auto/On” switch
™ is switched to the “On”
position, the subwoofer will
remain on, whether or not
program material is playing.
If you will be away from home
for an extended period of time,
or if the subwoofer will not
be used, switch the Master
Power switch ¡ to the Off
position.
™
HIGH LEVEL
SUBWOOFER
LEVEL
LINE LEVEL IN
LFE
+
–
–
+
L
R
OUT
IN
L
AUTO
ON
£
R
MIN
MAX
GREEN: ON
RED: STANDBY
+
IMPORTANT: CONNECT STRIPED WIRE TO RED
(
)
SPEAKERTERMINAL.
POWER
SUB 136
¡
AC 120V~60Hz
CAUTION
RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK
DO NOT OPEN
V O LU M E
Volume may be adjusted
using the Subwoofer Level
control £ as shown.
Subwoofer
Level
MIN
MAX
Subwoofer
Level
MIN
MAX
9
T R O U B LE S H O O T IN G
If there is no sound from any
of the speakers:
other speakers that is work-
If the system plays at low
volumes but shuts off as
volume is increased:
ing correctly. Turn every-
thing back on, and deter-
mine whether the problem
has followed the speaker, or
has remained in the same
channel. If the problem is in
the same channel, the
source of the problem is
most likely with your
receiver or amplifier, and
you should consult the
owner’s manual for that
product for further informa-
tion. If the problem has fol-
lowed the speaker, consult
your dealer for further assis-
tance or, if that is not possi-
further information.
• Check that receiver/ampli-
fier is on and a source is
playing.
• Check all wires and con-
nections between receiver/
amplifier and speakers. Make
sure all wires are connected.
Make sure none of the
speaker wires are frayed,
cut or punctured, or touching
each other.
• Check that the powered
subwoofer is plugged in, and
that its Power switch ¡ is
switched on (“ ” position).
•
• Check all wires and con-
nections between receiver/
amplifier and speakers.
Make sure all wires are con-
nected. Make sure none of
the speaker wires are frayed,
cut or punctured, or touching
each other.
• If more than one pair of
main speakers is being used,
check the minimum imped-
ance requirements of your
receiver/amplifier.
• Review proper operation of
your receiver/amplifier.
If there is low (or no) bass
output:
• Make sure the connections
to the left and right “Speaker
Inputs” have the correct
polarity (+ and –).
If there is no sound from the
center speaker:
If there is no sound coming
from one speaker:
• Check all wires and con-
nections between receiver/
amplifier and speaker. Make
sure all wires are connected.
Make sure none of the
speaker wires are frayed,
cut or punctured, or touch-
ing each other.
• Check the “Balance” control
on your receiver/amplifier.
• Make sure the subwoofer
is plugged into an active
electrical outlet, and is
• Check all wires and con-
nections between receiver/
amplifier and speakers.
Make sure all wires are con-
nected. Make sure none of
the speaker wires are frayed,
cut or punctured, or touching
each other.
turned on (Power switch ¡
in the “ ” position).
•
• In Dolby Digital or DTS
modes, make sure your
receiver/processor is config-
ured so that the subwoofer
and LFE output are enabled.
• If your receiver/processor
is set in Dolby Pro Logic mode,
make sure the center speaker
is not in phantom mode.
• In Dolby Digital or DTS
modes, make sure that the
receiver/processor is config-
ured so that the speaker in
question is enabled.
• If your receiver/processor
is set in Dolby Digital or DTS
modes, make sure the receiver/
processor is configured so
that the center speaker is
enabled.
• Turn off all electronics
and switch the speaker in
question with one of the
1 0
If there is no sound from
the surround speakers:
Staple sales invoice here.
• Check all wires and con-
nections between receiver/
amplifier and speakers.
Make sure all wires are con-
nected. Make sure none of
the speaker wires are frayed,
cut or punctured, or touching
each other.
• Review proper operation of
your receiver/amplifier and
its surround sound features.
• Make sure the movie or TV
show you are watching is
recorded in a surround
sound mode. If it is not,
check to see whether your
receiver/amplifier has other
surround modes you may use.
•
In Dolby Digital or DTS
modes, make sure your
receiver/processor is config-
ured so that the surround
speakers are enabled. When
all five satellite speakers are
in use, remember to configure
your receiver or processor for
6.1-channel operation.
• Review the operation of
your DVD player and the
jacket of your DVD to make
sure that the DVD features
the desired Dolby Digital or
DTS mode, and that you
have properly selected that
mode using both the DVD
player’s menu and the DVD
disc’s menu.
1 1
S P E C IF IC A T IO N S
S u b w o o f e r
S C S 1 3 6 S y s t e m
Amplifier
Frequency Response
100 Watts RMS
Bass
35Hz – 20kHz (–6dB)
8" (200mm) Woofer, bass-reflex
enclosure
Dimensions (H x W x D)
15" x 13" x 14"
381mm x 330mm x 356mm
Weight
30 lb/13.6kg
S a t e l l i t e s
Recommended Power
10 – 100 Watts
Impedance
8 Ohms nominal
Sensitivity
86dB @ 1 Watt/1 meter
Tweeter
One 1/2" (13mm) titanium-laminate dome,
video-shielded
Midrange
One 3" (75mm) driver, video-shielded
Dimensions (H x W x D)
4-3/8" x 3-3/16" x 3-3/4"
111mm x 81mm x 95mm
Weight
1.1 lb/0.5kg
All features and specifications are
subject to change without notice.
C e n t e r
Recommended Power
10 – 100 Watts
*Trademarks of Dolby Laboratories.
DTS is a registered trademark of
Digital Theater Systems, Inc.
Impedance
8 Ohms nominal
Sensitivity
86dB @ 1 Watt/1 meter
Tweeter
One 1/2" (13mm) titanium-laminate dome,
video-shielded
Midrange
Dual 3" (75mm) drivers, video-shielded
Dimensions (H x W x D)
3-1/4" x 7-5/8" x 3-3/4"
83mm x 194mm x 95mm
Weight
1.89 lb/0.86kg
P R O S O U N D
O W N E R ’S G U ID E
C O M ES H O M E ™
P
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E
:
S U R R O U N D C I N E M A
S P E A K E R S
JBL Consumer Products
250 Crossways Park Drive, Woodbury, NY 11797
8500 Balboa Boulevard, Northridge, CA 91329
800.336.4JBL (4525) (USA only)
M
O
D
E L :
S C S 1 3 6
D
E S I G
N
G
O
A
L : Bring the thrill of live performance and movie sound
to the home environment by calling on JBL’s professional engineering leadership.
© 2003 Harman International Industries, Incorporated
S
A T E L L I T E T Y P E : Titanium-laminate-dome tweeter,
sealed enclosure
JBL is a registered trademark of
Harman International Industries, Incorporated.
S
U B W
O
O
F E R T Y P E : Bass-reflex enclosure
P O R T D E S IG N : FreeFlow™ flared
Part No.406-000-00889
F E S
P
R
O
S
I O
N
A
L
R
E F E R E N
C
E : Cinema Loudspeaker Series
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