ESC 550 Source (serv.man16) - JBL Audio User Guide / Operation Manual

for choosing JBL. For over 50 years,

JBL has been involved in every aspect of musical and

film recording and reproduction, from live

performances to monitoring the recordings you play in

your home, car, or office.

We’re confident that the 

you have

chosen will provide every note of enjoyment 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.

1. 

Speaker Placement  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Mounting Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2.

Connections  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Connect TV or VCR to The Source  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Connect Antennas to The Source  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Connect Optional Cassette Deck to The Source  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Connect The Source to a Subwoofer  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Speaker Connection Tips  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Remote Control Battery Installation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

3.

Operation

 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Volume  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Mute  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Bass

 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Treble  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

CD Operation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

To Skip to a Different Track  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
To Scan Within the Same Track  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
To Pause the CD  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
To Stop the CD  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
To Play the Tracks of a CD in Random Order  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
To Repeat the Disc  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Tuner Operation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

To Switch Between AM and FM  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
To Tune to a Particular Station  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
If a Selected FM Station is a Little Noisy  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
To Have the Tuner Search for the Next Strong Station  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Preset Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Surround Mode Operation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Test Tone

 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Balance  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Center Channel Volume  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Rear Channel Volume  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Delay Time  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Troubleshooting  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Specifications

 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

– 4 –

The Source.

Cables.

Two sat10/550 front 
satellite speakers 
(with removable shelf stands and
wall-mounting brackets).

Powered subwoofer containing
all amplification.

One sat10/550 center speaker. 

One pair of sat10 surround
speakers with removable wall-
mounting brackets.

• Built-in CD player with

– Random play
– Repeat play
– 8x oversampling

• AM/FM tuner with

– 32 presets
– Auto-preset function

• 250 watts total 

amplification
– 100 watts – subwoofer
– 35 watts each front 
channel
– 23 watts each surround
channel

• 2-way front satellite 
speakers with 3/4" titanium
composite dome high-
frequency drivers

• Powered bass reflex 
subwoofer with 2 x 6-1/2"
woofers

• Adjustable, removable wall-
mounting brackets for all
speakers

• Video-shielded front satellite
speakers

• Recessed wire channels on
satellites and surrounds

Remote with battery.

TM

+

FM antenna

AM antenna

Wall bracket for Source.

FM and AM antennas.

– 5 –

On shelves. Shelf stands
included.

On the wall. Brackets and
hardware included.

On optional stands. 
Part No. FS10/20. 
FS10/20WHT (white).

On optional stands. 

On shelves.

Wall-mounted. Brackets and
hardware included.

– 6 –

Ω

Ω

Ω

Note: The Source also provides
a stereo mini-jack (B) to
provide an easy connnection to
devices that have a stereo mini-
jack audio output.