Connecting Loudspeakers, Remote Switching, Daisy Chaining

CONNECTINGTO OTHER EQUIPMENT

The P35 and P1 amplifiers provide the following connections:

AUDIO IN (P35)

AUDIO IN and BALANCED AUDIO IN (P1)

Connect one of these inputs to the output sockets of your pre- amplifier or the PRE OUT sockets of an integrated amplifier. Please read the notes on page 5, which give information on the type of connection that should be used to connect your pre-amplifier and power amplifier together.

MONO LINK (P35) – The P35 power amplifier can be adapted to provide two mono loudspeaker outputs from a single input. Pull out the link supplied and use it to connect the L and R AUDIO OUT sockets together. Using one power amplifier per loudspeaker will enable you to bi-amplify bi-wireable loudspeakers. This is particularly beneficial for top quality stereo installations with a separate pre-amplifier, or where amplifiers are provided for the left, centre and right channel loudspeakers in a five speaker Dolby Pro Logic or Dolby Digital system.

If you wish to take advantage of this feature, please contact your Arcam dealer for more information.

INPUT SELECTOR SWITCH (P1) – This switch allows either unbalanced signals (through the phono connector) or balanced signals (through the XLR connector) to be selected. The switch should be pressed in to select the phono inputs and out to select the XLR connector. Note that only one type of input connector will be switched to the input of the amplifier; if you select (for example) the XLR connector, then you will not be able to hear signals connected to the phono inputs.

AMPLIFIER GAIN SWITCH (P1) –This switch is to allow the gain of the P1 amplifier to be changed to suit your system requirements. Two settings are available: with the switch in the IN position the gain is set to standard ARCAM gain of 31.5dB.This allows the P1 to be used in systems where there are other ARCAM power amplifiers.When the switch is set to OUT then the gain is set to ‘THX standard gain’. In this mode it can be used in systems containing amplifiers withTHX gain (for example, the P7).

DAISY CHAINING

Both the P35 and the P1 can also be connected to further power amplifiers to drive more speakers (e.g., those in other rooms or tri- amplified speakers, etc).This technique is called ‘Daisy chaining’.

To daisy chain power amplifiers, connect the AUDIO OUT sockets on the power amplifier to the input of the extra power amplifier – left to left and right to right.

CONNECTING LOUDSPEAKERS

The red and black terminals on the back of the amplifiers are used to make the connections to the loudspeakers. It is possible to connect two pairs of speakers; the pair designated “speaker 1” (SP1) are connected to the lower set of terminals, while the pair designated “speaker 2” (SP2) are connected to the upper set of terminals.

When connecting the speaker terminals of the amplifier with the terminals on the speakers make sure that like polarities are matched (i.e., match “+” with “+” (usually red) and “–” with “–” (usually black)). Mismatching of polarities will result in a weak central sound, unclear orientation of the instruments and the sense of direction of the stereo being impaired.

There are two options for connecting the speaker cable to the amplifier:

USING BARE WIRE ENDED LEADS:

1.Strip back the insulation on the wire to reveal about 2cm of conductor (the metal inside the cable).

2.If the conductor is stranded, twist the strands together tightly to avoid loose strands making contact with the adjacent terminals or the back panel.

3.Loosen the terminal by turning it anti-clockwise

4.Insert the twisted wire through the hole in the terminal.

5.Tighten by turning clockwise.

When making connections with stranded bare ended wires, take great care that no individual strands of wire come into contact with the adjacent terminals or with the back panel. If this should happen, it will cause a short circuit on the output of the amplifier and could damage the amplifier.

USING SPADE TERMINALS:

1.Loosen the terminal by turning it anti-clockwise

2.Insert the spade connecter under the terminal.

3.Tighten by turning clockwise.

REMOTE SWITCHING

By making a connection from the TRIG OUT socket of the C30 pre- amplifier to the REMOTE IN socket of the P35/P1 power amplifier, you can use the C30 to switch the power amplifier on and off. If configured in this way, the front panel POWER button of the C30 (or the POWER/ STANDBY button on the remote control) switches both amplifiers on and off together.This facility allows you to conceal the power amplifier yet still control it.

The connecting cable required is a 3.5mm to 3.5mm jack lead (stereo or mono) and it is possible to connect several power amplifiers to C30 by ‘daisy chaining’ from TRIG OUT of one P35/P1 into the REMOTE IN of the next.

THREE CHANNEL OPTION (P35 ONLY)

The P35 power amplifier can be upgraded from stereo to three channels by adding a “third channel module”. (If this is performed, the model is called the P35/3.)

The module offers extra loudspeaker terminals together with a third set of AUDIO IN and OUT phono sockets and converts the P35 into a 3 x 90W (RMS per channel into 8Ω) amplifier suitable for Home Cinema or multi-channel audio use (such a unit may be used to amplify left, right and centre channels in a multi-channel system, for example).