STBRetired is correct. It's only used during setup and can be removed once setup is complete. It set the volumes of each speaker so that the system is balanced for the place the microphone is set, i.e. your Lazyboy. It's not required to use to setup but can probably do the best job of trying to get the sound the way the factory wants you to hear it, which may or may not be to your exact taste. I would let the system setup the sound for you using the microphone, and then just tweak it to your liking if necessary, but there is nothing wrong with setting it up manually.