Lexicon DC-1 Wiring Considerations, Audio/Video Connections

Lexicon

Installation and

Calibration

Wiring Considerations

There is controversy over the audible effects of different types of intercon-

nects. Good engineering practices have minimized the effect that cables

might have on the inputs and outputs of the DC-1 — but feel free to evaluate

different interconnects in your system. If you want to do some tweaking, be

conscious of the mechanical stress from repeated insertion and overly tight

connectors, and the possibly corrosive nature of some contact-enhancing

fluids.

Note that the use of standard audio cables for video or digital audio

applications may cause signal degradation, and is not recommended. For

these connections, please use only cables that are designed for the applica-

tion — these have different impedance characteristics than cables approved

for analog audio applications.

Both audio and video cables should be kept as short as possible.

In general, speaker cables should be kept short, and low-impedance wire

should be used throughout to assure efficient power transmission and

avoid audible distortion. Recommended wire lengths are given in the table

below. Although these examples can be used as a general guide, your

system manuals should provide detailed information specific to your

components.

Wire Lengths

Length AWG Size

up to 12 feet 16 gauge

up to 18 feet 14 gauge

up to 29 feet 12 gauge

up to 51 feet 10 gauge

Before making any connections, turn off ALL audio and video components,

including individual power amplifiers. (Unplug any preamps and power

amps that don’t have power switches.)

The DC-1 is designed to function as the control center of the system,

selecting inputs and controlling the volume of all speakers in the system.

There are several ways to integrate the DC-1 into the system, but they

basically fall into two categories: those where the DC-1 is connected directly

to all of the amplifiers in the room, and those where the DC-1 is connected

into a tape or signal processor loop of a preamp or receiver.

You may choose to connect the DC-1 in the tape monitor, or external

processor loop of a preamp, allowing you to completely bypass the DC-1.

This, however, will make the system somewhat more complicated to

operate, and adds a gain stage (the preamp) that is not necessary.

Audio/VideoConnections