Bose Wave music system III Sold from June 2012 to present User Manual

							English – 11
LISTENING TO RADIO
Listening to DIGITAL RADIO
The Wave® music system III incudes the ability to 
receive Band III digital radio broadcasts, a technology 
that supports a cleaner reproduction of broadcast audio, 
decreasing certain audio noise sometimes heard on 
analog radios.
In addition to music and speech, digital audio 
transmissions contain program information. This could 
be a plot summary to a play, the name of the track 
currently being played, E-mail addresses, up to the 
minute sports results, or competition details.
When DIGITAL RADIO is selected, information about the 
current station is displayed that is similar to the following 
example:
Note:  The very first time you select DIGITAL RADIO, 
“PLEASE WAIT SCANNING” is displayed for a few minutes 
while the system scans for ava ilable digital radio stations.
Note: If you cannot receive one or more digital radio sta-
tions in your area you may need to install the external 
antenna included with your  system. See “Installing an 
external antenna for DIGITAL RADIO” on page 18.
Tuning to a digital radio station
The digital radio tunes to stations alphabetically by 
station name. Primary station names appear in 
alphabetical order with secondary station names appearing 
after the primary station name.
Press Seek/Track    to tune forward to 
the next station.
Press  Seek/Track   to tune backward 
to the previous station.
Browsing available stations
The digital radio features  “browse ahead” capability – 
you can scan through the names of available stations 
while continuing to liste n to the current station. Press, or press and hold 
Seek/Track  
or   to browse forward or back through 
digital stations.
You will continue to hear the  current digital radio station 
while tuning. If you release the Seek/Track  button for 
more than one second, the radio will tune to the 
displayed station.
To return to the previously tuned station, 
press either  Tune/MP3< or Tune/MP3 > .
Storing digital radio station presets
You can store up to six DIGITAL RADIO 
stations for quick recall using the 
Presets 
buttons.
1. Tune to the station you want to save as a preset.
2. Press and hold one of the six 
Presets buttons until 
you hear a double beep and the preset number and 
station information appear on the display.
3. Press one of the  Presets buttons to quickly tune to 
a previously stored DIGITAL RADIO station.
Primary stations and secondary 
services
Primary digital radio stations  and secondary services are 
tuned in the same manner. The difference between them 
is in how they are broadcast.
Primary digital radio stations  are similar to FM 
broadcasts in that they generally broadcast the same 
number of hours as FM. If a primary digital radio station 
goes off-air while you are listening, or if signal strength 
drops to zero, “UNAVAILABLE” is displayed.
Secondary services  are digital broadcasts that are 
associated with a primary digital radio station. A 
secondary service may only broadcast periodically and 
may broadcast different program material than the 
primary digital radio station. 
If a secondary service goes off-air while you are 
listening, or if the signal strength drops to zero, “OFF 
AIR” is displayed for two seconds. Then, the digital radio 
tunes to the associated primary digital radio station.
When tuned to a primary digital radio station or 
secondary service with a  low signal, the display 
alternates between “LOW SIGNAL” and the station 
name. Refer to page 18 for  installing an external 
antenna.
Clock time
Preset
number
Selected
source
Station information
To change how information is 
displayed, see “Displaying 
station information” on 
page 12
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							12 – English
LISTENING TO RADIO
Re-scanning digital radio stations
You can re-scan for available digital radio stations at any 
time DIGITAL RADIO is selected. This capability is useful 
if you change the location of the Wave
® music system III 
or decide to connect the external antenna.
1. Press and hold  Mute until “AUTOSCAN” 
is displayed, followed by 
“PRESS PRESET 3 TO CONFIRM.”
2. Press the  Presets 3  button. The message, 
“PLEASE WAIT SCANNI NG” appears on the 
display until scanning is finished.
When scanning is finished, the first primary station is 
played.
Displaying station information
There are three ways to display information about the 
currently playing digital station:
 Station name (default setting):
 Current program content:
 Program type:
To change the way st ation information is 
displayed, press  Play Mode until the type of 
information you want is displayed.
Displaying station signal strength
For the current station, signal strength is displayed as a 
numeric percentage of full signal strength and its 
classification.
To view the signal strength of the current station, 
press and hold  Play Mode.
The signal strength ranges are:
Note:  If the station is “UNAVAILABLE” or “OFF AIR,” no 
signal strength information is available.
Note: Due to the technology used in digital radio broad-
casting, the TALK RADIO mode for FM and AM radio is not 
available for digital radio stations.
PercentageClassification
0 - 19 Low
20 - 39 Poor
40 - 79 Moderate
80 - 89 Good
90 - 100 Very Good
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							English – 13
PLAYING COMPACT DISCS
Playing audio compact 
discs (CDs)
Insert the disc, label side up, into the CD slot below the 
display. The disc player will  automatically pull the disc in 
and begin playing.
Press  CD if the CD source is not selected.
 When an audio CD is playing, CD source information is  displayed:
 Press  Play/Pause  to pause a playing 
CD. The elapsed time flashes while 
paused. Press Play/Pause  again to 
resume play.
 Press  Seek/Track   to skip to the 
beginning of the current track; Press 
Seek/Track   again to skip to the 
beginning of the previous track.
 Press  Seek/Track   to skip to the 
next track.
 Press and hold  Tune/MP3 < to scan 
backward quickly through a track; press 
Tune/MP3 >  to scan forward quickly 
through a track.
 Press  Stop/Eject to stop a CD. Press 
Stop/Eject  again to eject a CD. If a CD 
is playing, press and hold  Stop/Eject 
to stop a CD and eject it.
Note:  When you play a stopped CD it will always resume 
from the place it was stopped.
Note: If you eject a CD but do not remove it from the CD 
player slot within 10 seconds, the CD player will pull the 
CD back into the player, reload it, and start playing.
CAUTION:  DO NOT INSERT mini CDs or non-circular CDs 
into the disc player. These discs may not play properly and 
could interfere with the system’s ability to eject them.
CD Play Modes
While a CD is playing, you can change the way it 
is played. Press Play Mode  repeatedly until the 
play mode you want is displayed:
 NORMAL PLAY – Plays tracks once in sequential  order.
 SHUFFLE DISC – Plays all tracks once in random  order.
 SHUFFLE RPT – Repeats all tracks in a random order  that changes each time the disc is repeated.
 REPEAT DISC – Repeats the disc from the beginning  after the last track is played.
 REPEAT TRACK – Repeats the selected track  continuously.
Note:  The play mode will return  to NORMAL PLAY when-
ever a CD is inserted.
Playing music file (MP3) 
CDs
Yo u r  W a v e® music system III can play MP3 music files 
recorded on CD-R and CD-RW discs. You can easily 
navigate through your music files using the  Tune/MP3 
and  Seek/Track  remote control buttons.
Note: MP3 is a music compression technology that 
reduces a song’s file size without noticeable effect in the 
quality of the sound. Through compression algorithms, the 
MP3 format makes it easy for  you to store many times the 
number of songs you would find on a conventional audio 
CD. In fact, an MP3 CD can contain as much music as ten 
standard audio CDs on just one disc, which can then be 
organized into folders on a PC before being stored on the 
disc.
Music files on an MP3 CD are played according to the 
folder structure on the disc. 
®
Elapsed track 
time
Track number
Play 
mode Selected 
source
Clock time
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							14 – English
PLAYING COMPACT DISCS
For example: 
To play, pause, stop or eject an MP3 CD, use the same 
remote control buttons as for an audio CD. See “Playing 
audio compact discs (CDs)” on page 13.
The Wave
® music system III will display artist name and 
song title information when  available on music file CDs.
Note: The audio quality of MP3 CDs is dependent on fac-
tors such as the encoded bit rate, the sampling rate, and 
the type of encoder used. The Wave
® music system  III 
supports MP3 CDs encoded at bit rates of 64kbps or 
higher, and sampling rates of 32kHz or higher. It is recom-
mended that a bit rate of at least 128kbps and a sampling 
rate of 44.1kHz or better be used.
Note:  Playback quality of recorded CD-R and CD-RW 
discs is dependent on the CD  recording process and soft-
ware used to record the disc. An improperly recorded 
audio CD may cause the system to exhibit unexpected 
behavior.
Navigating through music files
 Press  Tune/MP3 <  to skip to the 
previous folder; press  Tune/MP3 > to 
skip to the next folder.
 Press  Seek/Track   to skip to the 
beginning of the current track; Press 
Seek/Track   again to skip to the 
beginning of the previous track.
 Press  Seek/Track   to skip to the 
next track.  When navigating an MP3 CD, folder number and track 
number are displayed:
Note:  The Root level is displayed as folder number 00.
Once the track begins playing, artist name, song title, 
and elapsed track time w ill return to the display:
Play modes for music file CDs
While a music file CD is playing, you can change 
the way it is played. Press Play Mode  repeatedly 
until the play mode you want is displayed:
 NORMAL PLAY – Plays tracks once in sequential  order.
 SHUFFLE DISC – Plays all tracks once in random  order.
 SHUFFLE FLDR – Plays all tracks in the selected  folder in random order (MP3 only).
 SHUF RPT FDR – Repeats all tracks in a folder in a  random order that changes each time the folder is 
repeated (MP3 only).
 SHUFF RPT CD – Repeats all tracks on a disc in a  random order that changes each time the disc is 
repeated.
 REPEAT DISC – Repeats all tracks on a disc in order.
 REPEAT FOLDR – Repeats all tracks in a folder in  order (MP3 only).
 REPEAT TRACK – Repeats the selected track  continuously.
Note:  The play mode will retu rn to NORMAL PLAY 
whenever a CD is inserted.
Root level
Folder 1
Folder 3
Folders on CD:
Folder 2
Play order:
Folder 00 Track 1
Track 2
Track 8
Folder 01 Track 1 Track 2
Track 8
Folder 02 Track 1 Track 2
Track 8
Folder 03 Track 1 Track 2
Track 8
Track number
Folder 
number
Selected 
source
Clock time
Elapsed 
track 
time
Artist name and 
song title Selected 
source
Clock time
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							English – 15
SETTING AND USING THE ALARMS
Introduction
The Wave® Music System III has two independent 
alarms,  Alarm 1  and  Alarm  2 .
Each alarm can be set for:

 Wake-up source: buzzer, radio, or CD

Using the Alarm buttons
Using the  Alarm buttons on the bottom of the remote 
you can setup and operate each alarm:
Alarm status indicators
The upper right-hand corner of the display shows the 
alarm status indicators if the alarm is set:
Setting the alarms
You can choose the settings for each alarm by activating 
the Alarm Setup mode and displaying the settings for the 
alarm you want to change.
To setup Alarm 1 or 2:
1. Press  Alarm Setup  to activate the Alarm 
Setup mode and display the settings for 
Alarm 1.
2. Using the  Time buttons, set the 
alarm time.
3. Select your wake-up source:
 BUZZER   is the factory alarm setting.
 Press   to choose a radio station.
 Press   to choose a track.
4.
Press Vol u m e up or down to set 
the volume level of the selected 
wake-up source.
5. Press   to enter the Alarm 2 setup mode. Repeat 
Steps 2-4 to set up Alarm 2.
6. Press   again to exit the Alarm Setup mode.
The alarm you set is turned on and the alarm time 
appears on the display: 
Press to turn Alarm 1 on or off. 
 Press to activate the Alarm Setup mode and view Alarm 1 settings.
 Press again to view Alarm 2 settings.
 Press again to exit the Alarm Setup  mode.
Press to turn Alarm 2 on or off. 
Alarm 1Alarm 1 time 
Alarm 2 time 
AM AM
PM
PM
Alarm 2
Example: Alarms 1 
and 2 are set
Flashing
The alarm number and 
time start flashing.
Then the display 
shows you the current 
settings for Alarm 1.
Alarm number 
and time
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							16 – English
SETTING AND USING THE ALARMS
Using the alarms
Turning an alarm on or off
Press   or   to turn the selected alarm on or off.
When an alarm is turned on, the alarm number and time 
appear in the upper right corner of the display.
Snoozing an alarm
To snooze a sounding alarm: 
Touch the touch pad, 
or press  .
SNOOZE  is displayed for the duration of the selected 
snooze time and then the alarm sounds again.
The snooze time is set at the factory to 10 minutes. To 
change the snooze time to 20, 30, 40, 50, or 60 minutes, 
see “Adjusting the snooze time” on page 20.
To reset a snoozed alarm for the next day:
After snoozing the alarm, place your hand on the touch 
pad again and hold it there for at least 2 seconds, or 
press the power button  .
Stopping a sounding alarm
Press   to stop a sounding alarm.
This also resets the alarm for the next day.
Alarm number 
and time
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							English – 17
CONNECTING OTHER EQUIPMENT
Rear panel input/outputs
The rear panel of your Wave® music system III  provides 
connections for external equipment.
Using headphones
For private listening, connect headphones to the 
headphone connector on the rear panel of the Wave® 
music system  III.
The speakers are automatically muted when you plug in 
your headphones.
CAUTION:  Long-term exposure to loud music may cause 
hearing damage. It is best to avoid extreme volume when 
using headphones, especially for extended periods.
Note:  The speakers will automatically unmute when 
headphones are disconnected from the Wave® music 
system. Because headphone volu me levels may vary from 
speaker volume levels, be sure to lower the volume of the 
Wave
® music system  III before connecting or disconnect-
ing headphones. 
Note: If an alarm sounds while using headphones, it will 
sound through the Wave® music system  III speakers.
To change the headphones volume:
Press Vo l u m e    or   to adjust the listening 
level of your headphones.
Using the AUX IN connector
When using a TV, DVD player, computer, video game or 
other audio source, you can enhance your listening 
experience by playing the audio device through your 
Wave
® music system  III.
Connecting an audio device to your Wave
® music system 
III  requires one of the following cables:
 Male-to-male
 3.5 mm stereo cable
 Dual RCA male to 
3.5 mm male stereo cable
To obtain the correct cable, contact Bose
® Customer 
Service or visit a local electronics store. See the contact 
information inside the b ack cover of this guide.
To connect an audio device, such as your TV, to 
your Wave
® music system  III:
1. Connect one end of the stereo cable to the output of 
the audio device.
2. Connect the other end of the cable to the  AUX IN 
connector on the rear panel of your Wave
® music 
system  III.
3. Press   to turn on the system and select the 
AUX input.
Note:  If your Wave® music system  III is connected to a 
Bose® link accessory, pressing AUX will toggle between the 
AUX device input and the Bose link input.
ANTENNAS
2.5 mm DAB and 3.5 mm FM antenna ( 75) 
connectors
Bose® linkConnects to Bose® link-enabled 
products
AUX IN
3.5 mm stereo input connector 
for external sources
HEADPHONES
A 3.5 mm stereo headphone connector (system 
speakers are muted when headphones are con-
nected)
(Headphones not included)
HEADPHONE connector
AUX IN connector Dual RCA male to 3.5mm 
male stereo cable
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							18 – English
CONNECTING OTHER EQUIPMENT
4.Press and hold  Vo l u m e  or  
to adjust the listening level.
Note:  If the volume level of your Wave® music system 
III cannot be adjusted high enough, increase the volume 
level of the connected audio device.
Using an external antenna
The Wave® music system  III power cord is used as an 
antenna for FM and DIGITAL RADIO. If, after adjusting 
the position of the power cord, you still experience poor 
reception, you may need to install an external antenna. 
An external FM dipole antenna can be ordered through 
Bose Customer Service. See the phone numbers listed 
inside the back cover of this guide.
Installing an external antenna for 
FM radio
1. Insert the 3.5 mm plug of the FM antenna into the 
FM ANTENNA connector.
2. Extend the ends of the antenna as far from the unit 
and other external equipment as possible to estab-
lish optimum reception.
Note:  Many FM radio stations transmit a vertically polar-
ized signal as well as, or inst ead of, a horizontally polarized 
signal. If the horizontal antenna orientation does not pro-
vide good reception, try hanging the antenna in a vertical 
orientation.
Installing an external antenna for 
DIGITAL RADIO
A DAB external dipole antenna is included with your 
system.
1. Insert the 2.5 mm plug of the DAB antenna into the 
DAB ANTENNA  connector.
2. Extend the antenna in a vertical orientation as 
shown by the vertical arrows.
3. Press and hold  Mute to re-scan for digital stations 
(page 12).
4. Tune and check for the previously missing or poorly-
received station(s).
CAUTION:  The DAB antenna connector on this unit is not 
intended to be connected to a CATV system.
Connecting to a Lifestyle® 
system
You can use your Wave® music system  III as a multi-
room expansion speaker system for a Bose® link-
enabled Lifestyle® home entertainment system.
Contact Bose Customer Service to obtain the required 
cables and instructions. See the phone numbers listed 
inside the back cover of this guide.
FM ANTENNA 
connector
DAB ANTENNA 
connector
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							English – 19
PERSONALIZING YOUR WAVE® MUSIC SYSTEM III
The setup menu
The setup menu allows you to customize the operation 
of the Wave® music system  III.
To change a system setting:
1.Press and hold  Alarm Setup (Menu) 
until  -SETUP MENU- is displayed.
2. Press  Tune/MP3 
> until the menu 
item you want to change is displayed. 3.
Press  Time –  or Time +  to change 
the value or selection.
4. Press  Alarm Setup (Menu)  to exit 
the setup menu or wait 10 seconds 
for the setup menu to exit 
automatically.
System settings were selected at the factory to satisfy most owners  of a Wave® music system  III. However, if you wish to adjust the 
system settings see the instru ctions on the following pages.
System SettingMenu ItemFactory 
SettingChoicesDescription
Snooze Duration SNOOZE- 10 MIN 10 MIN, 20 MIN, 
30 MIN, 40 MIN, 
50 MIN, 60 MIN, OFFDetermines the snooze time duration.
Radio Data System 
(RDS) Information RADIO TEXT- ON
ON, OFFEnables (ON) or disables (OFF) the system to 
display RDS information.
Continuous Play CONT PLAY- NO NO, AUX, FM, AM, 
DABDetermines which source wi
ll automatically play 
after a CD ends.
Clock Time Format TIME- 12 HOUR 12-HOUR, 24-HOURSets the clock display for 12-hour (AM/PM) or 
24-hour time.
Display High 
Brightness Level BRIGHT HI- 10
8-15Sets the display brightness level when the unit 
detects high ambient light conditions.
Display Low 
Brightness Level BRIGHT LO- 4
1-8Sets the display brightness level when the unit 
detects low ambient light conditions.
Room Code ROOM- B 
_ _ _ – B _ _ _ –, C _ _ – _,
D _ _ – –, E _ – _ _,
F _ – _ –, G _ – – _,
H _ – – –, I – _ _ _,
J – _ _ –, K – _ – _,
L – _ – –, M – – _ _,
N – – _ –, O – – – _ Sets the room code for your Wave® music system 
III when it is connected to your Lifestyle® system 
through a Bose® link network.
The dashes following the room letter indicate how 
the microswitches should  be set on the Lifestyle
® 
remote control.
Capacitive touch 
control TOUCH PAD- ON
ON, OFFEnables (ON) or disables (OFF) the touch pad.
30 min. system 
standby timer AUTO OFF- YES
YES, NOEnables (YES) or disables (NO) the 30-minute 
system standby timeout. Refer to “Turning the 
Wave® music system III on and off” on page 9.
System Reset RESET ALL- NO NO, YESRestores the Wave
® music system III to factory 
settings.
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							20 – English
PERSONALIZING YOUR WAVE® MUSIC SYSTEM III
Adjusting the snooze time
This setting determines the duration of time the system 
remains silent when the snooze function is activated.
1. Press and hold  Alarm Setup (Menu) 
until  -SETUP MENU- is displayed.
2. Press  Tune/MP3 
> once until 
SNOOZE- 10 MIN  is displayed.
3. Press  Time –  or Time +  to change 
the snooze time to 10-60 minutes (in 
10-minute increments).
4. Press  Alarm Setup  (Menu)  to exit 
the setup menu or wait 10 seconds for 
the setup menu to exit automatically.
Turning RDS on or off
This setting enables or disabl es your system to display 
RDS information. The RDS is a system that transmits 
useful information, such as station name, program 
information and the current time. RDS is used only on 
FM and RDS information is displa yed only if it is included 
in the FM broadcast signal.
1. Press and hold  Alarm Setup (Menu) 
until  -SETUP MENU- is displayed.
2. Press  Tune/MP3 
> twice until 
RADIO TEXT-  is displayed.
3. Press  Time –  or Time +  to select 
OFF  or ON .
4. Press  Alarm Setup (Menu)  to exit 
the setup menu or wait 10 seconds for 
the setup menu to exit automatically.
Selecting the continuous 
play source
Yo u r  W a v e® music system  III has a continuous play 
feature. When a CD stops playing, you can program 
another source to automatically start playing.
1. Press and hold  Alarm Setup (Menu) 
until  -SETUP MENU-  is displayed.
2. Press  Tune/MP3 
> three times until 
CONT PLAY-  is displayed.
3. Press  Time –  or Time +  to select 
AUX,  FM, AM , DAB ,  or  NO .
4. Press  Alarm Setup (Menu)  to exit 
the setup menu or wait 10 seconds for 
the setup menu to exit automatically.
Changing the time format
You can choose to have the display show the time in 
12-hour (AM/PM) or 24-hour time.
1. Press and hold  Alarm Setup (Menu) 
until  -SETUP MENU-  is displayed.
2. Press  Tune/MP3 
> four times until 
TIME-  is displayed.
3. Press  Time –  or Time +  to select  12 
HOUR  or 24 HOUR .
4. Press  Alarm Setup  (Menu) to exit 
the setup menu or wait 10 seconds for 
the setup menu to exit automatically.
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