Arcam Alpha 10, Alpha 10P User Manual
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Alpha 10P Power Amplifier
Safety Instructions - Please read before operating the equipment ENGLISH
SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS
This product was designed and manufactured to meet strict
quality and safety standards. There are, however, some
installation and operation precautions which you should be
particularly aware of:
1. Read Instructions - All the safety and operating
instructions should be read before the appliance is
operated.
2. Retain Instructions - The safety and operating
instructions should be retained for future reference.
3. Heed Warnings - All warnings on the appliance and in
the operating instructions should be adhered to.
4. Follow Instructions - All operating and use instructions
should be followed.
5. Water and Moisture - The appliance should not be used
near water - for example near a bathtub, washbowl,
kitchen sink, laundry tub, in a wet basement or near a
swimming pool, etc.
6. Carts and Stands - The appliance should be used only
with a cart or stand that is recommended by the
manufacturer.
6A. An appliance and cart combination should be moved with
care. Quick stops, excessive force, and uneven surfaces
may cause the appliance and cart combination to
overturn.
7. Wall or Ceiling Mounting - The appliance should be
mounted to a wall or ceiling only as recommended by the
manufacturer.
12. 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, paying
particular attention to cords and plugs, convenience
receptacles and the point where they exit from the
appliance.
13. Cleaning - Unplug the unit from the mains supply before
cleaning. The appliance should normally only require a
wipe over with a clean, dry, lint-free cloth. If it is heavily
soiindicator then a cloth slightly dampened with a
water/washing up liquid solution may be used. Dry the unit
afterwards with a dry cloth. We do not advise the use of
furniture type cleaning sprays/polishes as this can cause
white marks, which are very difficult to remove, if the unit
is then wiped over with water.
14. Power Lines - An outdoor antenna/ aerial should be
located away from power lines.
15. Non-use Periods - The power cord of the appliance
should be unplugged from the outlet when left unused for
a long period of time.
16. Object and Liquid Entry - Care should be taken so that
objects do not fall and liquids are not spilindicator into the
enclosure through any openings.
17. Abnormal Smell - If an abnormal smell or smoke is
detected from the appliance, immediately turn the power
off and unplug the unit from the wall outlet. Contact your
dealer immediately.
18. Damage Requiring Service - The appliance should be
serviced by qualified service personnel when:
8. Ventilation - The appliance should be situated so that its
location or position does not interfere with its proper
ventilation. For example, the appliance should not be
situated on a bed, sofa, rug or similar surface that may
block the ventilation openings or placed in a built-in
installation, such as a bookcase or cabinet that may
impede the flow of air through the ventilation openings.
9. Heat - The appliance should be situated away from heat
sources such as radiators, heat registers, stoves or other
appliances (including amplifiers) that produce heat.
10. Power Sources - The appliance should be connected to
a power supply only of the type described in the operating
instructions or as marked on the appliance.
11. Grounding - Precautions should be taken so that the
grounding means of the appliance is not defeated.
A. The power-supply cord or the plug has been damaged or:
B. Objects have fallen, or liquid has spilindicator into the
appliance or:
C. The appliance has been exposed to rain or:
D. The appliance does not appear to operate normally or
exhibits a marked change in performance or:
E. The appliance has been dropped or the enclosure
damaged.
19. Servicing - The user should not attempt to service the
appliance beyond that described in the operating
instructions.
All other servicing should be referred to qualified service
personnel.
Introduction & Installation
ENGLISH
INTRODUCTION
This manual is in four sections;
A. Information relevant to both the Alpha 10 and Alpha
10P.
B. Alpha 10 integrated amplifier operating instructions.
C. Alpha 10P power amplifier operating instructions.
D. Instructions on how to bi-wire or to bi-amplify (“bi-amp”)
your loudspeakers.
Circindicator numbers e.g. refer to items on the
diagrams inside the flap of the front cover.
Section A
INSTALLATION
O Check that your mains supply voltage agrees with the
voltage setting indicated on the rear panel of the unit.
■ If your mains supply voltage is different, consult your
Arcam dealer.
NOTES ON USE
The Alpha 10 and 10P amplifiers will play music within seconds
of being switched on. However the optimum sound
reproduction will be achieved after the units have been
powered up for a few minutes.
Note: On switch on there may be an audible hum from the
transformers within the units. This is normal and should
disappear within a few seconds.
CAUTION: Your Alpha 10 and Alpha 10P generate heat when
in use, particularly at higher volumes. It is therefore most
important never to obstruct the ventilation slots on the top and
bottom of the unit as this will cause overheating.
If the temperature of the internal heatsinks rises above a safe
level, then a thermal cut out inside the amplifier will operate.
The POWER INDICATOR on the front panel will turn amber
and the output protection relays will temporarily remove the
feed to the loudspeakers. The system will reset itself as the
heatsinks cool down.
Please note that under certain conditions it may be possible for
the Alpha 10 or Alpha lOP's thermal cut out to operate when
playing music at very high levels.
MAINS SAFETY
■ This product is normally supplied with a moulded mains
plug already fitted to the lead. If for any reason the plug
needs to be removed, it must be disposed of
immediately and securely, as it is a potential shock
hazard when inserted into a mains socket.
■ Warning: This apparatus must be earthed.
NOTICE FOR U.K. OWNERS ONLY
■ If the plug is removed then the remaining lead must be
rewired as follows:
■ The blue wire must be connected to the terminal which
is coloured blue or marked with the letter N.
■ The brown wire must be connected to the terminal
which is coloured brown or marked with the letter L.
i The green and yellow wire must be connected to the
terminal which is coloured green and yellow, or marked
with the letter E or the safety earth symbol.
■ When replacing the fuse in the supplied moulded mains
plug, the integral fuse holder/cover must always be
refitted. Use a 5 amp fuse.
SAFETY STANDARD
This might for example happen when continuously playing
heavily compressed rock music "flat out" into low impedance
(4-6 ohm) speakers. If this happens to you, the cure is to turn
the volume down slightly and ensure the amplifier is properly
ventilated.
It is important to point out that when playing a heavily recorded
CD it is possible to drive the Alpha 10 at full power despite the
fact that the volume is not at maximum. This is because of the
high output voltage from a CD player. However the Alpha 10
also has to be capable of giving full power output from much
lower level sources, such as tuners and cassette decks. Using
these sources, the volume setting will be much higher before
overload sets in.
Section B
ALPHA 10 INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER
Please refer to drawing inside front cover.
LOUDSPEAKER CONNECTIONS
■ The amplifier is fitted with BFA (British Federation of
Audio) loudspeaker connectors, which are designed to
meet EU safety standards.
The BFA connector will accept spade terminals, bare
wires or a BFA plug. BFA plugs are available from your
Arcam dealer.
■ This product has been designed to meet the I EC 65
international electrical safety standard.
MAINS SUPPLY CONNECTIONS
Insert the lEC line socket of the mains lead fully into the O0
power inlet on the rear panel. Connect the other end to
your mains supply.
The speaker terminals are colour coded red for positive
and black for negative. These terminals are also
labelled 'R' for the right channel speakers and 'L' for the
left channel speakers.
Connect terminals © to your right speaker and
terminals 0 to your left speaker, ensuring correct
polarity.
ENGLISH
Connect the red cable termination to the red terminal
and the other cable termination to the black terminal. If
your speaker cable has bare ends, the positive
conductor can usually be identified by a ridge or
coloured marking.
Ensure that no stray strands are allowed to touch
another cable or the amplifier's casing. This can cause
a short circuit and damage your amplifier!
®o
CONNECTING YOUR SOURCE COMPONENTS
0^
To drive a second pair of speakers, connect terminals
® to the right speaker and terminals O to the left
speaker, ensuring correct polarity.
The Alpha 10 can drive two pairs of loudspeakers,
simultaneously if required, providing both pairs are rated
between 8 and 16 ohms. Either pair can be selected
using the switches labelled SP1 and SP2 on the front
panel. To avoid overheating, the combined load
impedance as seen by the amplifier should not fall below
4 ohms per channel.
■ Using a suitable pair of interconnect cables, insert the
red phono plugs into the sockets labelled 'R' and the
other phono plugs into the sockets labelled 'L'.
All the line inputs (not PHONO) have the same
sensitivity and may be used with equipment other than
that labelled, if you need to do so.
PROCESSOR/TAPE 1 RECORD OUT - Connect this
output to the input sockets of your tape deck (RECORD)
or the tape or line input sockets of your AV processor.
PROCESSOR/TAPE 1 PLAY IN - Connect this input to
the output sockets of your tape deck (PLAY) or the tape
or line output sockets of your AV processor.
VCR/TAPE 2 RECORD OUT - Connect this output to
the input sockets of your tape deck (RECORD).
This module is compatible with most high output moving
coil and moving magnet cartridges (MM) and low output
moving coil cartridges (MC).
MM or MC is selected via an internal switch. Your
cartridge type should be specified when the module is
fitted.
0
OPERATION OF THE ALPHA 10 INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER
©
©
MM - For connecting a turntable fitted with a high output
moving coil or a moving magnet (MM) cartridge.
MC - For connecting a turntable fitted with a low output
moving coil (MC) cartridge.
GROUND TERMINAL - For connecting your turntable's
earth lead (if fitted).
REMOTE CONNECTION - These connections are for
use in multi-room installations. In normal use there is no
need to make any connections to these sockets. If you
are biamping with an Alpha 10P see section Alpha
10/1 OP Remote Switching for details of how to power
both units on/off simultaneously.
GAIN - This switch allows you to change the sensitivity
of the amplifier to match the gain when biamping to
external power amp. The normal position is suitable for
use when biamping with Arcam power amplifiers such as
the Alpha 9P or 10P. The low gain position is suitable
for certain specialist home theatre systems.
BLANKING PLATE FOR OPTIONAL FUTURE
MODULES.
MODE/ZONE - «^CONFIRM - These buttons are only
for use with optional modules. They have no function on
their own in normal use of the basic Alpha 10 although
MODE/ZONE
(see
0
).
0
can be used to select processor mode
VCR/TAPE 2 PLAY IN - Connect this input to the output
sockets of your tape deck (PLAY).
DVD - Connect this input to the audio outputs of a DVD
player.
0
0
A/V - Connect this input to the audio outputs of an
Audio-Visual product such as a VCR, Laserdisc player
or Nicam tuner.
TUNER - Connect this input to the audio outputs of your
radio tuner.
CD - Connect this input to the audio outputs of your CD
player or DAC (digital to analogue convertor).
AUX - Connect this input to the audio outputs of any
unit with a line level output, eg. tape deck, tuner etc.
Please note: The AUX inputs must not be used if the
phono module is fitted. When the phono module is fitted
AUX becomes an output carrying the equalised phono
signal at line level.
PHONO OPTION - Please note: The phono inputs are
on a separate plug-in module which your Arcam dealer
or distributor can supply and fit.
RECORD SELECTOR - This allows you to change the
input that you wish to record from, from that selected by
the INPUT SELECTORS. Alternatively this switch can
also be used as a simple ‘second zone’ selector, routing
a chosen source signal at line level to a second amplifier
operating in another room in the house. The default
setting is the input you are currently listening to
("SOURCE"). To select a different input to record from
first press RECORD. The display will first show
“RECORD SOURCE”. To change the record input press
the desired input button within a few seconds.
The display will indicate the selected recording option for
a few seconds and then revert back to showing the
volume bar graph.
The selected input will be sent to both the VCR/TAPE 2
and PROCESSOR/TAPE 1 record out sockets, unless
you are using the TAPE 1 sockets in processor mode
where it is sent to VCR/TAPE 2 only.
CONTROL - This button cycles through the functions
that can be controlled by the rotary control 0. This can
be either volume (the default setting) or balance, unless
an optional module is fitted, in which case the options
are determined by that module.
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