Overview, Placing the unit, Power, Standby power

Overview

Placing the unit

Place the amplifier on a level, firm surface, avoiding direct sunlight and sources of heat or damp. Alternatively, the unit can be installed in a 19” equipment rack using the rack ears supplied. Attach the rack ears to the sides of the MZ amplifier using the supplied bolts, as shown in the diagram below.

•Do not place the MZ8/MZ12 on top of another power amplifier or other source of heat.

•Do not place the amplifier in an enclosed space such as a bookcase or rack cabinet unless there is good provision for ventilation. If installed in a rack, leave at least 2U of empty rack space above and below the unit. Use a ventilated blanking plate to cover the gap. The MZ8 and MZ12 are designed to run warm during normal operation.

•Do not place any other component or item directly on top of the amplifier as this may obstruct airflow around the heat-sink, causing the amplifier to run hot. (The unit placed on top of the amplifier would become hot, too.)

•Do not place your record deck on top of this unit. Record decks are very sensitive to the noise generated by mains power supplies which will be heard as a background ‘hum’ if the record deck is too close.

Power

The amplifier is supplied with a moulded mains plug already fitted to the lead. Check that the plug supplied fits your supply — should you require a new mains lead, please contact your Arcam dealer.

If your mains supply voltage or mains plug is different, please contact your Arcam dealer immediately.

Push the IEC plug end of the power cable into the socket on the back of the amplifier, making sure that it is pushed in firmly. Plug the other end of the cable into your mains socket and, if necessary, switch the socket on.

Standby power

The front panel power switch powers all circuitry down. The unit may be put into low-power standby operation using RS232 control or the trigger input. In standby, the amplifier’s control power supply is kept powered on, so the amplifier can be powered up remotely. Power consumption in this mode is approximately 0.6W. If the unit is put into standby using the RS232 control or trigger input, it may be possible to hear a slight residual hum coming from the mains transformer inside the amplifier. This is perfectly normal. However, if the unit is to be left unused for an extended period, we recommend that you disconnect it from the mains supply or turn off the power using the front panel switch to save power.

Note that when the MZ amplifier is powered on from the front panel switch or bought out of standby the amplifier modules are turned on individually to stagger the surge created when a powerful amplifier is switched on (i.e. it provides a ‘soft start’). This reduces the surge current drawn from the domestic power supply.

Interconnect Cables

We recommend the use of high-quality screened cables that are designed for the particular application. Other cables will have different impedance characteristics that will degrade the performance of your system (for example, do not use cabling intended for video use to carry audio signals). All cables should be kept as short as is practically possible.

It is good practice when connecting your equipment to make sure that the mains power-supply cabling is kept as far away as possible from your audio cables. Failure to do so may result in unwanted noise in the audio signals.

If your installation requires very long cables, balanced and/or 100V lines may be necessary. Contact a specialist for advice.

Attaching rack ears to the MZ amplifier