METERS

The meters indicate the output level in decibels referenced to the clipping point of the amplifier.

The top LED is labeled

 

 

OL (short for Overload).

OL

OL

If this comes on, the

–3

–3

amplifier will start to dis-

–6

–6

tort, and the audio signals

–9

–9

may “clip”.

Ideally, the –20, –9,

–20

–20

–6, and –3LEDs will light

 

CH STATUS

at normal signal levels,

 

1&2

while the OL LED may

NORM HOT

blink occasionally during

 

 

peak moments.

 

 

If the OL (Overload) LED is blinking frequently or continuously, turn down the source signal (e.g. the mixer’s master faders or the preamp gain). If this is not done, you may overheat the amplifier and upset the neighbors.

CHANNEL STATUS

During normal operation, the NORM LED remains lit, indicating that temperatures within the M•800 are at a safe level. The internal 2-speed cooling fan will run at slow speed.

If the internal temperature of the amplifier rises to 60°C, the fan kicks into high speed, moving more air through the amplifier to cool the output transistors.

If the temperature rises to an unsafe level

(85°C), the HOT LED lights and both outputs of the overheated amplifier will mute. The fan will remain running at high speed until the internal temperature drops to 60°C. When this occurs, the NORM LED lights, and the amplifier speaker outputs become active again.

Be Aware: If the HOT LED

comes on frequently, some-

thing is overworking the

M•800 or it’s not properly

ventilated. Look at each of the conditions below and

determine what is causing the amplifier to overheat.

•Improper ventilation

•High ambient temperatures

•Overdriving the amplifier into clipping

•Driving hard into low impedance loads

•Frayed or partially shorted speaker cables

•Defective or internally shorted speakers

DO NOT BLOCK THE

VENTILATION PORTS.

The amplifier fan draws

air from the front and out

through the side panels. The amp needs plenty of

fresh air to stay cool.

The heaviest load the M•800 can tolerate is 2 ohms per channel (4 ohms in bridged mode). If you have a set of speakers wired in parallel, be sure the load isn’t adding up to less than 2 ohms. Anything below 2 ohms can trigger the protection circuits.

The NORM and HOT LEDs are only affected by the temperature, not by any other fault.

POWER

To make the amp operate, push the top half of the POWER switch. It clicks into place and a soothing green light adjacent to it glows. To turn the amp off, push the lower half. It’ll click again and the green light will extinguish.

When you turn on the

M•800, a built-in delay cir-

cuit prevents any pops or

thumps from being trans-

mitted to the speakers. Although the delay will

help, you should still follow these precautions:

•When powering up your system, turn on the amplifiers last.

•When turning off your system, turn off the amplifiers first.

•Make sure that you turn down your signal source, mixer or preamp before you turn on the amplifier.

•If you have multiple amps, you should turn them on one at a time. This will pre- vent blowing a circuit breaker if they all come on at the same time.

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