O W N E R ' S M A N U A L HCA-1201A High Current Power Amplifier w w w.parasound.com -1- Table of Contents Important Safety Instructions ........................................................................................ 3 HCA-1201A Front and Rear Panel Drawings ................................................................. 4 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 5 Installing and Rack Mounting Your Amplifier ................................................................ 5 Ventilation Requirements for Your Amplifier ................................................................. 5 Making Connections to Your Amplifier .......................................................................... 6 Speaker Connections...................................................................................................... 6 AC Power Connections and AC Grounding .................................................................. 7 DC Trigger Connection .................................................................................................... 7 Operating Your HCA-1201A ............................................................................................ 7 Maintaining Your Parasound Amplifier .......................................................................... 8 In Case of Trouble ............................................................................................................ 8 Parasound HCA-1201A Specifications .......................................................................... 9 Special Features for the Parasound HCA-1201A THX Ultra certified by Lucasfilm Ltd. 1.5 kVA power transformer, 20,000 uF filter capacitance Massive toroid power transformer Multiple polystyrene film bypass capacitors in power supply Can be powered with external DC source Cascode Class A input stages with matched J-FET pairs Hand-picked complementary transistors in high voltage driver stage 12 ampere 50 MHz output transistors Output transistors direct-coupled to speakers without LRC networks DC servo direct-coupled audio circuits with 0.8 Hz rolloff High-bias Class A/AB operation Gold-plated RCA input jacks Multiple protection circuits, temperature sensors and silver-cadmium relay protection Glass epoxy circuit boards, double-sided for precision Custom designed audiophile-grade AC power cord The Parasound HCA-1201A is manufactured under license from Lucasfilm Ltd. Lucasfilm and THX are trademarks of Lucasfilm Ltd. -2- IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS The lightning flash with the arrowhead symbol within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the presence of "dangerous voltage" inside the product that may constitute a risk of electric shock. The exclamation point within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the presence of important operating and maintenance instructions in the literature accompanying the product. TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT REMOVE COVER. NO USER-SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE. REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED SERVICE PERSONNEL 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Read Instructions -- Read all the safety and operating instructions before operating this product. Retain Instructions -- Retain safety and operating instructions for future reference. Heed Warnings -- Adhere to all warnings on the product and in the operating instructions. Follow Instructions -- Follow all operating and use instructions. Cleaning -- Unplug this product from the wall outlet before cleaning. Use a damp cloth for cleaning. Clean the outside of the product only. Attachments -- Do not use attachments that are not recommended by the product manufacturer; they may be hazardous. Water and Moisture -- Do not use this product near water. Accessories -- Do not place this product on an unstable cart or stand. The product may fall causing bodily injury and damage to the product. A product and cart combination should be moved with care. Quick stops, excessive force, and uneven surfaces may cause the product and cart to overturn. Ventilation -- Slots and openings in the cabinet are provided for ventilation to ensure reliable operation of the product and to protect it from overheating. These openings must not be blocked or covered. This product should not be placed in a built-in installation such as a bookcase or rack unless proper ventilation is provided. Power Sources -- Operate this product only from the type of power source indicated on the label. If you are not sure of the type of power supply to your home, consult your dealer or local power company. This product is equipped with a three-prong grounding plug. This plug will only fit into a grounding power outlet. If you are unable to insert the plug into the outlet, contact your electrician to replace your obsolete outlet. Do not defeat the safety purpose of the grounding plug. Power Cord Protection -- Power supply cords should be routed so that they are not likely to be walked on or pinched by items placed upon or against them. Lightning-- Unplug the unit from the wall outlet for added protection during a lightning storm and when it is left unattended and unused for long periods of time. This will prevent damage to the product due to lightning and power line surges. Overloading -- Do not overload wall outlets or extension cords. This can result in a fire or electric shock. Inserting Objects into Unit - Never push objects of any kind into this product through any openings; they may touch dangerous voltage points or short out parts that could result in fire or electric shock. Servicing -- Do not attempt to repair or service this product yourself. Opening or removing covers may expose you to dangerous voltage and other hazards. Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel. Damage Requiring Service -- Unplug this product from the wall outlet and refer servicing to qualified service personnel under the following conditions: a) If the power-supply cord or plug is damaged. b) If liquid has been spilled into the product. c) If the product has been exposed to rain or water. d) If the product does not operate normally by following the operating instructions. e) If the product has been dropped or damaged in any way. f) If the product exhibits a distinct change in performance. Replacement Parts -- When replacement parts are required, be sure the service technician has used replacement parts specified by the manufacturer. Unauthorized substitutions may result in fire, electric shock, and other hazards. Safety Check -- Upon completion of any service or repairs to this product, ask the service technician to perform safety checks to determine that the product is in proper operating condition. Wall or Ceiling Mounting -- Mount the product to a wall or ceiling only as recommended. Heat -- The product should be situated away from heat sources such as radiators, heat registers, stoves, and other products (including amplifiers) that produce heat. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 19. 20. 21. -3- HCA-1201A High Current Power Amplifier Power Standby Normal Power Switch Standby/Normal Indicators HCA-1201A Front Panel Unbalanced Input Balanced Unbalanced Balanced XLR Input 1 2 HCA - 1201A High Current Power Amplifier Parasound Products, Inc San Francisco, CA U.S.A. 3 Unbalanced Balanced Remote In Remote DC Trigger Switch On Out Off Manufactured under license from Lucasfilm Ltd. Lucasfilm and THX are registered Trademarks of Lucasfilm Ltd. AC 120 V 60 Hz 5 A Speaker Speaker Connector CAUTION RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK DO NOT OPEN Power Consumption: 360 W IEC 65 AC Connector HCA-1201A Rear Panel -4- Introduction Congratulations on your purchase of this precision audio component and thank you for your selection of Parasound. Your Parasound HCA-1201A High Current Mono-Block Power Amplifier was built using only the finest precision components available for optimum musical quality and performance. The HCA-1201A High Current Power Amplifier has a 1.5 kVA toroidal power transformer and 20,000 uF of filter capacitance to provide the high levels of power needed for some of today's more sophisticated speaker systems. The inherently low output impedance of the HCA-1201A easily maintains control of your loudspeakers even during demanding impedance variations. Unique circuit topology of the direct coupled HCA-1201A includes balanced JFET input transistors, bipolar drivers and ultra high current output devices. Additionally, there are no inductors or capacitors in the signal path. These design refinements reduce high odd-order harmonic distortion, improve overall clarity and preserve low-level musical details. Please take a few moments to read these instructions so that you may fully understand the capabilities of your new Parasound power amplifier. Unpacking Your HCA-1201A Carefully unpack your amplifier and remove all the enclosed accessories. These accessories include one 14 AWG AC cord, and this manual. Be sure to inspect the unit for any possible shipping damage. If you see any, contact your Parasound Dealer immediately. Save all the packing material in case you need to ship the amplifier for repair. Before you proceed, find the serial number located on the rear panel of your amplifier and record it here for reference: Serial #____________________ Date of Purchase____________________ Installing Your Amplifier Place your amplifier away from heat sources such as air ducts and radiators. Always mount the amplifier horizontally and make sure that your cabinet or shelf can support its weight. It is best to provide a separate shelf for your amplifiers rather than stacking it directly above or below other components. Ventilation Requirements To insure safe and reliable operation, it is very important that the amplifier has plenty of ventilation to prevent overheating and automatic shut down from its thermal protection circuitry. Please observe the following ventilation guidelines when installing your amplifier in a cabinet or other enclosed area: 1) If you are not using a fan, allow at least six inches on each side and above the amplifier, and do not close off the front with a cabinet door or panel. 2) If you are enclosing the amplifier within an equipment cabinet, use a fan to draw in cool air and exhaust warm air. Two vent holes are required: one for intake and one for exhaust. 3) Do not place the amplifier on carpeting that will obstruct the air flow into the bottom of the amplifier chassis and heatsinks. 4) Avoid stacking components. If you do stack components, you must use a fan to circulate the warm air that will quickly become trapped between them when they are powered on. -5- Making Connections to the HCA-1201A Refer to Drawing on Page 4 Leave the AC cord disconnected before making any signal or speaker connections. When making connections to the amplifier, make sure there is no strain or tension on the input leads, speaker wires, or AC cord that could cause them to pull loose. Unbalanced Input Connect the unbalanced outputs of your preamplifier to the RCA input jack. With this connection, the HCA-1201A's output is non-inverted; a positive signal at the input results in a positive signal at the output. XLR Input Connections If your preamplifier is equipped with balanced XLR output connectors, you can use these connections as an alternative to the RCA jacks. The industry standard pin assignment for the HCA-1201A's XLR input connector is Pin 1: Ground, Pin 2: Positive (+), and Pin 3: Negative (--). Input Selector Switch Once you have decided which input connectors you will use, set the input selector switch accordingly to the Unbalanced or Balanced position. Speaker Connections You may connect bare wire up to AWG 12, speaker wire terminated with 1/4" spade lugs, or banana plugs to the five-way binding posts of your power amplifier. If you use bare wire without terminals, make sure you remove only enough insulation so the wire can fit through the hole that runs sideways through the terminal's binding post. Before inserting the wire, twist all its strands tightly to prevent strays that could cause a short circuit. (You may want to "tin" the stripped wire with solder to prevent it from fraying and oxidizing.) Observing Correct Polarity When you connect speakers to your amplifier, you will notice that one side of the two conductor speaker wire will have some sort of mark: either printing, a raised ridge on the insulation, or a different color of conductor to let you know which wire to connect to the positive and which to the negative speaker terminals so you can repeat the connection on the power amplifier's binding posts. Minimum Speaker Impedance Precautions Although the HCA-1201A is capable of driving speakers with occasional impedance dips well below 2 , it is primarily designed to drive loudspeakers with a 4 or 8 nominal impedance. This is because sustained high ...