321 Studios P777 manual Installation

installation

Overview

The P777 Multichannel Power Amplifier is built to Arcam’s traditional high quality design and manufacturing standards. It is an extremely high- performance multichannel power amplifier obviously well suited to multichannel home cinema amplification, although it also provides superb quality stereo performance with two-channel sources. The P777 is an ideal partner for the FMJ AV888 Pre-amp Processor.

Each power amplifier module is identical, and is electrically isolated from the other modules by opto- isolated circuitry which ensures that each amplifier module has its own isolated supply. This allows the amplifier to give excellent channel separation and very low distortion.

The P777 also has input and output phono sockets for the signal being fed to each channel, to allow the signal to be passed on to additional power amplifiers to drive loudspeakers in other rooms or to bi-amplify any of the speakers. If the P777 is being used to drive a five-channel surround sound system, then the spare two modules (SBL and SBR) can be used in conjunction with the main (L and R) modules to bi-amplify suitable front left and right speakers.

The customised installation of the P777 to a listening room is an important process which requires care at every stage. For this reason, the installation information is very comprehensive and should be followed carefully. This manual has been written with the assumption that the installer is familiar with the installation of high-end audio/video systems.

Placing the unit

<Place the P777 on a level, firm surface, avoiding direct sunlight and sources of heat or damp.

<The P777 is a powerful amplifier and a source of considerable heat output when driven hard. Take this into consideration when placing the unit.

<Do not place the unit in an enclosed space such as a bookcase or closed cabinet unless there is very good provision for ventilation.

<Do not place any other component or item on top of the P777 as this may obstruct airflow around the unit, causing the P777 to run hot.

<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.

Room acoustics

The shape of your room and how it’s furnished will affect the sound you hear. For instance, too many bare surfaces can cause reflections that may add harshness to the sound. Adding carpeting and drapes can help.

If you have a choice of rooms, avoid ones that are perfectly square or have one dimension exactly twice another. These rooms can aggravate resonances that colour the sound.

12V Trigger input

If your pre-amp provides a 12V Trigger output, it can be connected to the 12V TRIGGER IN socket using a mono 3.5mm jack. This enables the P777 to be turned on remotely from the pre-amp.

tip: 12V trigger signal sleeve: ground

Note that the trigger input is only active when the central power button on the front panel is depressed.

In normal use there is no need to make any connections to this input.

Power

The P777 is supplied with a moulded mains plug already fitted to the lead. Up to 3kW is drawn at maximum levels, so a heavy duty IEC mains cable is supplied.

Check that the plug supplied fits your supply – if your mains supply voltage or mains plug is different, or you need a new mains lead, please contact your Arcam dealer.

Push the IEC plug end of the power cable into the socket on the back of the P777, 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.

Connecting to a pre-amplifier

Two different connection types are provided for receiving signals from your pre-amplifier: phono sockets and XLR connectors. The connection type to use depends on the set-up that you have.

<If the cables to be used to connect your pre- amplifier to the P777 are less than 3m long, we recommend connecting your pre-amplifier to the Audio In phono (RCA) sockets of your P777. To use the phono connections, make sure that all the channel input switches are not depressed.

<If the cables to be used to connect your pre- amplifier to the P777 are 3m or longer and your pre-amplifier has balanced XLR outputs, we recommend using these instead of the phono (RCA) connections. Performance will also be improved in electrically-noisy environments by using these connections. To use the XLR connections, make sure that the Input select switches are depressed for each channel.

Female XLR		Male XLR
2	1	1	2
	3		3

Pin Function

1Chassis ground (cable shield)

2‘Hot’ (normal polarity)

3‘Cold’ (inverted polarity)

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