Pass Labs XA100 owner manual

XA100 Owner’s Manual

are charged. The “Power” LED should not be on. If the “Power” LED is on, don’t get excited, just use the front panel stand-by button to go to stand-by mode, with the “Standby” LED on and the “Power “ LED off.

OK, so the amplifier is sitting there in stand-by mode with just the single blue LED lit. No speaker connected yet. You can go ahead and connect the source and speakers. Make sure you are in standby mode to protect your speakers from transients. The prudent installer will unplug the XA100’s power cord from the mains while attaching speaker cables.

To avoid the possibility of short circuits always connect speaker cables to the speakers prior to connecting to the amplifier. The output binding posts will accept either bare wire or spades. (Regulatory agencies in many countries have banned binding posts that will accept a banana plug, forcing us to abandon this option.) Make sure that your speaker wires only attach to the outputs of the amplifier, not to each other and never to the amplifier case.

Some powered subwoofers require an audio signal ground reference and their makers may suggest that a black speaker terminal is where this voltage reference might be found. On complementary designs, which would be typical of all power amps produced by Pass Laboratories™, this is an incorrect and unsafe assumption. On all Pass Laboratories™ power amplifiers a reference of 0 volts will be found only at pin 1 of the XLR input or at the shell of the RCA input.

Reference connections for these devices require special consideration when used with our product. If you have such a device, and wish to use it with our product, please contact our Foresthill, California factory for specific instructions.... you have been warned.

The amplifier may be driven single-end or balanced, your choice. Single-ended input will always occur through the RCA connector and balanced input will always occur through the XLR connector. If driving the amplifier single-ended leave the supplied jumpers in place between pins 1 & 3 on the input XLR. On the XLR connector pin 1 is ground, pin two is positive input and pin 3 is inverted (negative) input. Pin numbers are marked on the XLR. If you re-install the jumper incorrectly or leave it lying about, the amplifier will not work properly. You must choose either XLR or RCA inputs it is not advised to try and run both concurrently.

XLR input connector showing proper placement of jumper pin for use with single-ended (RCA) input.

5