Front Panel Controls
Power
The front panel of the HCA-2 was designed to bring both a level of elegance and simplicity into your system. The power button (on/off) is located on the far left-hand side. When the HCA-2 is off, pressing this button will initiate the power up sequence.
Display
The front panel display window contains three status indicators: Standby, Operate and Fault. These indicators show the current status of the unit.
Standby
After pressing the power button to turn on the HCA-2, the “Standby” indicator will illuminate in amber. The word “Standby” will be visible in the front panel display. The HCA-2 will remain in standby mode for approximately 15 seconds. During this period no sound will be produced from the connected speakers.
Operate
After the initial warm-up mode, the “Standby” indicator will go out, and “Operate” will illuminate in blue. The PS logo will also illuminate at this time.
The HCA-2 is now ready to play music.
Fault
The final indicator that may illuminate within the front panel display is a red “Fault” light. This indicates an abnormal operating condition. To reset the HCA-2 and return the unit to normal operating conditions, unplug the HCA-2 from the power source and then re-connect. If the fault light continues to illuminate, please refer to the Trouble Shooting Guide.
Illumination Control
The blue “Operate” indicator and PS logo can be dimmed to match your room’s environment. Locate the small hole found under the bottom of the HCA-2 directly below the PS logo. Using the supplied adjustment tool, rotate the dial mounted just inside this hole to increase or decrease the brightness of these lights.
Only the blue “Operate” indicator and PS logo are adjustable in this fashion. The brightness of the amber “Standby” or red “Fault” indicators cannot be adjusted.
Alternate Connectivity
The HCA-2 is a stereo amplifier and cannot be switched into a mono configuration. However, it can be used in bi-wiring or bi-amping configurations.
Bi-wire
Bi-wiring allows for separate cables to transfer the high and low frequencies to the speakers. This enables each type of cable to be optimized for the specific frequency bandwidth.
To Bi-wire, use one cable to connect the HCA-2 to the left and right “low” frequency terminals on the speakers. The second cable can be used to connect the HCA-2 to the “high” frequency terminals on the speakers.
Alternatively, Bi-Wire speaker cable may be used to achieve the same effect.
Bi-amp
If more performance is desired, two HCA-2’s can be used to drive a pair of speakers if equipped with dual binding posts.
One HCA-2 should be used to drive the “low” section of the left and right speakers. A second HCA-2 should be used to drive the “high” section of the left and right speaker.
Using the 12 Volt Input Trigger
The HCA-2 can be activated when connected to another electronic component with a 12 Volt DC output trigger. Many other electronic components, such as pre-amplifiers or AC control products, provide an external 12 volt trigger output.
When a 12 volt DC signal is applied the HCA-2 will respond by switching from off to “Operate” mode. If the DC voltage is removed, the HCA-2 will power off. The 12 Volt DC input trigger is a female mini-jack (3.5 mm).
