Formation Wedge Manual – Bowers & Wilkins

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Welcome to Bowers & Wilkins and Formation Wedge.

Thank you for choosing Bowers & Wilkins Formation. When John Bowers first
established Bowers & Wilkins he did so in the belief that imaginative design,
innovative engineering and advanced technology were keys that could unlock the
enjoyment of audio in the home. That belief continues to inspire every product we
design and in Formation has found its most advanced expression yet.

Formation Wedge is a network connected, wireless active speaker that provides
extremely high performance reproduction of Formation audio streams. Formation
Wedge is primarily intended to be configured and controlled using the Bowers
& Wilkins Home app. The app is available for both iOS and Android devices.
Some commonly used control functions are also available via touch buttons
on the Formation Wedge top panel. It is only possible to install and configure a
Formation Wedge using the Bowers & Wilkins Home app.

Formation Wedge will enable you to:

• Listen to network stored audio files.

• Listen to audio from streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, and Roon.

• Listen to audio over Bluetooth from appropriately enabled Bluetooth

source devices.

• Listen to audio from devices such as turntables (via a phono preamp) and
CD players that are connected to a Bowers & Wilkins Formation Audio.

• Listen to audio, such as Internet Radio, from Airplay or Bluetooth
compatible services and apps.

• Listen to audio playing anywhere in your home on any Formation device
connected to your home network.

The Bowers & Wilkins Home app is required to connect your Formation Wedge
to your home network and also to establish connection with other Formation
products in your home. The Bowers & Wilkins Home app and also provides some
control and configurations functions during use. Before you begin your Formation
Wedge installation please download and install the Bowers & Wilkins Home app
on your iOS or Android device. The Bowers & Wilkins Home app requires iOS
V11.4 or later, or Android V8.1 or later. Bluetooth, and WiFi services must be
enabled on your iOS or Android device. You will also need to know your WiFi
network password.

Note: Location Services must be enabled on Android devices during the
Formation set up process. This is because Formation products use a low power
form of Bluetooth (BT-LE) for service communication which on Android devices is
only switched on when Location Services are enabled. Bowers & Wilkins do not
use any location services data for marketing purposes.

Software version – V1.4

www.bowerswilkins.com

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ENGLISH Switch On and Off
With all connections made, and the Bowers &
Wilkins Home app installed on your mobile device,
your Formation Wedge speaker is ready to be set
up. Your Formation Wedge has no mains power
switch and, following a short start-up routine, will
be operational as soon as it is connected to mains
power. It will play an audio prompt when its startup
routine is complete.

When a Formation Wedge that has not been
previously used is first switched on it will
automatically enter setup mode to enable its
connection to your home network and to any
other available Formation devices. Setup mode is
indicated by a slow orange pulse illumination of the
Form touch button
also appear in the Bowers & Wilkins Home app as
available for set up, either on the initial app page, or
after selecting ‘Add Formation product’ from the app
Settings

. The Formation Wedge will

page.

Your Formation Wedge manages its operational
state and power consumption entirely automatically
and will switch to a power saving mode after twenty
minuets of inactivity. There is no need ever to switch
off your Formation Wedge, however should you wish
to do so, simply disconnected it from mains power.
Your Formation Wedge will retain its settings without
mains power.

You can restart a Formation Wedge speaker by a
short press and release of the reset button located
on its rear panel. Pressing the button will switch the
Formation Wedge off and on again. All settings will
be retained when your Formation Wedge restarts.
You can also restart your Formation Wedge via the
Bowers & Wilkins Home app Settings page. The
reset button is illustrated in Diagram 1.

If you wish to to reset your Formation Wedge to its
default settings, press and hold the reset button for
five seconds. On restart, your Formation Wedge will
enter setup mode. All settings will be deleted when
your Formation Wedge resets. You can also reset
your Formation Wedge via the Bowers & Wilkins
Home app Settings menu. The reset button is
illustrated in Diagram 1.

1. Formation Wedge Carton Contents

Formation Wedge
Mains power cable set appropriate for your territory
Document pack

Environmental Information
This product complies with international directives,
including but not limited to the Restriction of
Hazardous Substances (RoHS) in electrical and
electronic equipment, the Registration, Evaluation,
Authorisation and restriction of Chemicals (REACH)
and the disposal of Waste Electrical and Electronic
Equipment (WEEE). Consult your local waste
disposal authority for guidance on how properly to
recycle or dispose of this product.

2. Installing Your Formation Wedge

Location
Your Formation Wedge speaker requires a mains
power supply to operate so must be located within
reach of a mains socket. If your Formation Wedge
speaker is to use a wired connection to your home
network it will need to be located within reach of an
appropriate network (Ethernet) cable.

Your Formation Wedge speaker can be placed on
a shelf, table or furniture unit and can also be wall-
mounted on a dedicated wall bracket.

If you decide to place your Formation Wedge on a
shelf, ensure that the shelf is easily able to support
the weight. Furthermore, Formation Wedge audio
performance may be diminished if mounting furniture
or shelf panels are flimsy or resonant.

Note: If your Formation Wedge is to be mounted
on a wall bracket, be sure to install the bracket
in line with its included instructions. If you are
unsure of the suitability of a wall, or of your ability
to install the wall bracket, you should engage
specialist help. Stud-work and plasterboard
walls are unlikely to provide adequate strength or
rigidity to support a Formation Wedge speaker
and bracket.

Like the vast majority of speakers, your Formation
Wedge radiates sound energy not only forward
but also to the side and rear. Consequently, if your
Formation Wedge is positioned close to room
boundaries, or particularly in a corner, bass may
become over emphasised. If you find that bass from
your Formation Wedge is too prominent, moving it
to an alternative position may be beneficial, however
you can also adjust the bass level via the Bowers &
Wilkins Home app Settings menu.

Connections
In addition to a mains power socket your Formation
Wedge speaker carries an Ethernet socket for
connection to a router should a wired network
connection be preferred to wireless (WiFi).

Note: The USB socket located on the Formation
Wedge rear panel is intended for service and
diagnostic use only. It cannot be used for any
other purpose.

Diagram 1
Reset button

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Network Set Up
• With your Formation Wedge in setup mode, with

orange, launch the Bowers & Wilkins Home app
on your iOS or Android device. The app will guide
you with prompts though the set up process.

illumination pulsing slowly

Note: Formation Wedge employs a Bluetooth
connection to the device running the Bowers &
Wilkins Home app during the set up process.
Bluetooth signals have a relatively short range
and can be interrupted by room boundaries, so
we recommend that your Formation Wedge and
Bowers & Wilkins Home app device remain in
close proximity during the set up process.

• The Bowers & Wilkins Home app will first search

for Formation products in setup mode and display
a screen inviting the selection of one. Tap to select
your Formation Wedge. If you have already set up
a Formation product and are adding an additional
one, select ‘Add Formation product’ from the app
Settings menu.

• The Bowers & Wilkins Home app will next invite
you to name the “Space” in which your Formation
Wedge is to be used. A list of default Space
names is provided but you can also create your
own. When you have selected, or created, a space
name, the app will ask you to touch the Form
button
confirm the selection.

on the top of your Formation Wedge to

• If a wireless network connection for your
Formation Wedge is to be used, the next set up
stage will connect your Formation Wedge to your
home WiFi network. The app will ask you to
confirm the correct WiFi network and ask you to
input its password. Alternatively, if your Formation

Wedge is connected to your network router using
an Ethernet cable, this stage of the set up process
will be bypassed.

Note: If you already have other Formation
products connected to your WiFi network,
Formation Wedge set up will not require you input
the WiFi password.

• With WiFi network configuration, and Space
selection complete, your Formation Wedge is

audio prompt to confirm successful set up.

ready for use. Your Formation Wedge will play an

Bluetooth Set Up
You can connect your Formation Wedge to a
Bluetooth enabled audio source device, such as
a smartphone, to play audio over Bluetooth. Your
Formation Wedge must first be “paired” with the
Bluetooth audio source device.

Once you have completed the Formation Wedge
network set up, open the Bowers & Wilkins Home
app Settings page, and select the Formation Space
that you wish to pair a Bluetooth device with. Next
select ‘+ Pair a new device’ from the Bluetooth
menu and follow the app instructions to complete
pairing. Your Formation Wedge will play an audio
prompt when pairing is complete and its Space will
become available to the paired Bluetooth device for
audio playback.

Note: Up to eight Bluetooth devices can be
simultaneously paired with each Formation
space, however devices will not connect and
play to paired spaces automatically.

3. Using Your Formation Wedge

The Basics
You can use your Formation Wedge to play audio
from streaming services such as Spotify, Apple
Music, and Tidal, from the Roon music library
service, from network storage hardware and from
internet radio via an appropriate iRadio app. If
you have further Formation devices connected
to your network, a Formation Audio for example,
conventional audio sources connected to it will also
be available through your Formation Wedge.

panel Form touch button
button will cycle though the available streams and
sources.

. Touching the Form

Formation Wedge Top Panel Controls
Your Formation Wedge has touch buttons on its
top panel that provide play/pause control, volume
adjustment and source/stream selection.

• Touching the Play/Pause
stop and restart audio playback.

will alternately

Spaces
Spaces are a core concept of the Formation product
family. A Formation “space” is a room or a specific
area in your home in which you listen to music.
Each space can include different combinations of
Formation products. The possible configurations are
displayed in the Diagram 2.

Playing Audio
The Bowers & Wilkins Home app enables you to
select and play any available audio source or stream.
However, in much the same way that conventional
audio source playback requires initiation through
a play command, Formation streams must be first
initiated through their own gateway app: the Spotify
app for example, or a music library app such as
Roon. Each gateway or library app will list your
Formation Wedge space as an available playback
device using Airplay, Bluetooth or in the case of
Spotify, Spotify Connect.

Once audio streams are playing on the Formation
network they can be selected via the Bowers &
Wilkins Home app or via the Formation Wedge top

Note: Play/pause will only operate if the stream
source has play and pause functions that can
be accessed through Bluetooth or network
connections.

the local volume of any network stream or local

• Touching volume up (+) or down (–) will adjust

source. Pressing and holding the (+) and (–)
buttons will continuously increase or
decrease volume.

• Touching the Form button
and play the active streams and sources available

to the Formation Wedge.

will cycle through

Form Button illumination
The Formation Wedge Form button illumination
changes to indicate a variety of operational states.
These are described in the following table:

Formation Bar

Formation Bar + Formation Bass

Formation Audio

Formation Duo

Formation Wedge

Formation Duo + Formation Audio

Formation Wedge + Formation Audio

Formation Duo + Formation Bass

Formation Wedge + Formation Bass

Formation Duo + Formation Audio + Formation Bass

Formation Wedge + Formation Audio + Formation Bass

Diagram 2
Space configurations

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ENGLISH 4. The Bowers & Wilkins Home App

5. Formation Music Streams and Sources

6. Cleaning and Support

Cleaning
Should your Formation Wedge need cleaning you
can wipe its top surface with a clean, lint-free cloth
and brush its grille with a soft brush. If you wish to
use any cleaning fluid, apply it onto the cleaning
cloth and not directly onto the Formation Wedge.
Test a small area first, as some cleaning products
may damage some of the surfaces. Avoid products
that are abrasive, or contain acid, alkali or anti-
bacterial agents.

With your Formation Wedge configured and
connected to your network, the Bowers & Wilkins
Home app will open to its Home screen where the
Formation Wedge space and any other available
Formation spaces will be listed.

Tap on a Formation Space to select from any
available streams or inputs. If there are no streams
available, open a streaming app, Spotify for example,
and select an item to play, then select the Formation
Space from the list of available playback devices.
Now, when you return to the Bowers & Wilkins
Home app, the Spotify stream will be listed on the
Formation Wedge Space page.

The Bowers & Wilkins Home app Home page has
a Settings icon in the top right corner. Tap the
icon to open the app Settings menu. The Settings
menu provides options to configure and reset your
Formation devices and re-name your Formation
Spaces. App and Formation device firmware updates
are also initiated from the Settings menu.

Finding Your Way Around the Bowers & Wilkins
Home App
The Bowers & Wilkins Home app will search for
available Formation Spaces when opened then
display its Home page with the Spaces listed.

Beneath each Space the app will display its current
activity. Tapping on an active Space will open a “now
playing” screen that enables volume and play/pause
control.

The ‘now playing’ screen also provides an ‘Available
Spaces’ option that enables the stream playing in
the selected Space to be transferred to another
Space or played in multiple Spaces. The ‘Available
Spaces’ screen also provides the opportunity to
control volume, both globally across all Spaces, or in
individual Spaces.

The Bowers & Wilkins Home app Settings page is
opened by tapping on the settings icon. The initial
Settings menu lists each space and the number of
Formation devices present in each one.

Tapping on a Space listed in the Settings menu
provides access its Space and Formation device
settings. Tap the Space name to access the Space
settings and tap the device name to access the
device settings. The device settings available will
depend on the device in question.

Note: If the Settings icon on the Bowers & Wilkins
Home app displays a yellow dot this indicates
that a Formation firmware update is available.
The firmware update process is initiated from the
Settings menu. You should always aim keep the
Bowers & Wilkins Home app and your Formation
devices up to date with the latest version and
firmware. Not only will this help ensure the most
reliable performance, it will ensure that you
benefit from new Formation features.

Using Spotify
Listen out loud with Spotify Connect

1. Connect your Formation Wedge to your WiFi
network.

2. Open up the Spotify app on your phone, tablet
or laptop using the same network.

3. Play a song and select Devices Available.

4. Select your Space Name and start listening.

Using Airplay
Airplay enables audio apps on Apple mobile,
laptop or desktop devices to stream material over
a network to Airplay compatible speakers such as
Formation Wedge. Airplay enabled apps will display
the Airplay icon.

To use Airplay, open the audio app you wish to use
and select the music you wish to play. Tap on the
Airplay icon to display a list of available devices
followed by the Formation Space you wish to use.

Note: It is possible to stream audio via Airplay
on multiple devices simultaneously, however
the playback quality and synchronisation and
may then depend on the capabilities of your
home network. If you wish to play material
simultaneously in more than one Formation space
this will be more satisfactorily achieved through
selecting multiple spaces in the Bowers & Wilkins
Home app.

Using Roon
Roon is a feature rich music library and playback
app that compiles all the music files available to your
network and makes them easily available to play
across all your Formation Spaces and any other
Roon enabled audio devices. Roon is available for
mobile, laptop or desktop devices.

When you open Roon it will display your complete
audio library together with its metadata and artwork
along with all the Formation Spaces and any other
available network audio devices. Simply select the
music you wish to play and Formation space in
which you want to hear it.

Note: It is possible to stream audio from Roon
on multiple devices simultaneously, however
the playback quality and synchronisation and
may then depend on the capabilities of your
home network. If you wish to play material
simultaneously in more than one Formation space
this will be more satisfactorily achieved through
selecting multiple spaces in the Bowers & Wilkins
Home app.

Using Bluetooth
Bluetooth enables audio apps on mobile, laptop or
desktop devices to stream material over a wireless
connection to compatible hardware such as the
Formation Wedge. Bluetooth enabled audio apps will
display the Airplay icon.

To use Bluetooth, ensure that the required Formation
Space is selected in your device Bluetooth settings
menu, open the audio app you wish to use and
select the music you wish to play. Tap on the
playback devices icon to display a list of those
available followed by Formation Space you wish to
use.

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