Arcam Diva A-85, Diva P-85 Owners manual

A85

P85

P85 /3

HANDBOOK

Arcam A85, P85 and P85/3 ampliﬁ ers Ampliﬁ cateurs Arcam A85, P85 et P85/3

Arcam-Verstärker A85, P85 und P85/3

English

Français

Deutsch

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A85/P85

Safety guidelines

Safety instructions

This product is designed and manufactured to meet strict quality and safety standards. However, you should be aware of the following installation and operation precautions:

1. Take heed of warnings and instructions

You should read all the safety and operating instructions before operating this appliance. Retain this handbook for future reference and adhere to all warnings in the handbook or on the appliance.

2. Water and moisture

The presence of electricity near water can be dangerous. Do not use the appliance near water – for example next to a bathtub, washbowl, kitchen sink, in a wet basement or near a swimming pool, etc.

3. Object or liquid entry

Take care that objects do not fall and liquids are not spilled into the enclosure through any openings. Liquid ﬁ lled objects such as vases should not be placed on the equipment.

4. Ventilation

Do not place the equipment on a bed, sofa, rug or similar soft surface, or in an enclosed bookcase or cabinet, since ventilation may be impeded. We recommend a minimum

distance of 50mm (2 inches) around the sides and top of the appliance to provide adequate ventilation.

5. Heat

Locate the appliance away from naked ﬂ ames or heat producing equipment such as radiators, stoves or other appliances (including other ampliﬁ ers) that produce heat.

6. Climate

The appliance has been designed for use in moderate climates.

7. Racks and stands

Only use a rack or stand that is recommended for use with audio equipment. If the equipment is on a portable rack it should be moved with great care, to avoid overturning the combination.

8. Cleaning

Unplug the unit from the mains supply before cleaning. The case should normally only require a wipe with a soft, damp,

lint-free cloth. Do not use paint thinners or other chemical solvents for cleaning.

We do not advise the use of furniture cleaning sprays or polishes as they can cause indelible white marks if the unit is subsequently wiped with a damp cloth.

9. Power sources

Only connect the appliance to a power supply of the type described in the operating instructions or as marked on the appliance.

10. 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, and the point where they exit from the appliance.

11. Grounding

Ensure that the grounding means of the appliance is not defeated.

12. Power lines

Locate any outdoor antenna/aerial away from power lines.

13. Non-use periods

If the unit has a standby function, a small amount of current will continue to ﬂ ow into the equipment in this mode. Unplug the power cord of the appliance from the outlet if left unused for a long period of time.

14. Abnormal smell

If an abnormal smell or smoke is detected from the appliance, turn the power off immediately and unplug the unit from the wall outlet. Contact your dealer immediately.

15. Servicing

You should not attempt to service the appliance beyond that described in this handbook. All other servicing should be referred to qualiﬁ ed service personnel.

16. Damage requiring service

The appliance should be serviced by qualiﬁ ed service personnel when:

A. the power-supply cord or the plug has been damaged, or B. objects have fallen, or liquid has spilled 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.

Safety compliance

This product has been designed to meet the EN60065 international electrical safety standard.

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English

Using this handbook

Contents

Safety guidelines 2

Safety instructions 2 Safety compliance 2

Using this handbook 3

Safety 3

Installation: A85 integrated ampliﬁ er 4

Positioning the unit 4 Connecting to loudspeakers 4 Connecting to a power supply 5 Connecting to other equipment 5

Using your A85 integrated ampliﬁ er 6

Front panel controls 6 Recording 7

Setting up your A85 integrated ampliﬁ er 8

Using the remote control 9

CR-389 remote control 9

Installation: P85 power ampliﬁ er 10

Connecting to power, loudspeakers and other equipment 10 Remote switching 10 Three channel option 10

Using your P85 power ampliﬁ er 11

Bi-wiring and bi-amping loudspeakers 12

Before you start 12 Bi-wiring your loudspeakers 12 Bi-amping your system 12

Service information 13

Technical speciﬁ cation 13

Guarantee 14

On-line registration 14

This handbook has been designed to give you all the information you need to install, connect, set up and use the Arcam A85 integrated ampliﬁ er or the P85 power ampliﬁ er. The A85 ampliﬁ er is described ﬁ rst, then the P85. The CR-389 remote control handset supplied with the A85 integrated ampliﬁ er is also described.

Your ampliﬁ er(s) may have been installed and set up by an authorised Arcam dealer. In this case, you may wish to go directly to the sections describing the use of this equipment.

Safety

Safety guidelines are set out on the inside front cover of this handbook.

Many of these items are common sense precautions, but for your own safety, and to ensure that you do not damage the unit, we strongly recommend that you read them.

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A85/P85

Installation: A85 integrated ampliﬁ er

Positioning the unit

Place your ampliﬁ er on a level, ﬁ rm surface. Avoid placing the unit in direct sunlight or near sources of heat

or damp. Ensure adequate ventilation. Do not place the unit in an

enclosed space such as a bookcase or cabinet as both of these will impede air ﬂ ow through the ventilation slots.

Connecting to loudspeakers

You can connect one or two pairs of loudspeakers to your ampliﬁ er, provided each pair is rated between 8–16Ω. If one or both pairs have an impedance of less than 8Ω, the combined load on the ampliﬁ er falls below 4Ω and could cause an overload. If so, the overload protection circuit engages and the ampliﬁ er will not work.

To connect one pair of loudspeakers, use the

SP1 terminals.

SP1 and SP2 terminals

Both sets of loudspeaker terminals can be switched off by pressing the MUTE button on the remote control. To switch SP1 and SP2 independently, use the front panel switch 7 (see page 6) or the remote control (see page 9).

Your ampliﬁ er is ﬁ tted with loudspeaker terminals to BFA (British Federation of Audio) standard speciﬁ cation.

BFA loudspeaker terminals

The terminal will accept spade terminals, bare wires or a BFA plug. BFA plugs are available from your Arcam dealer. To connect a bare wire or spade terminal, unscrew the red (or black) part of the loudspeaker terminal ﬁ rst.

Insert the wire or spade terminal and screw it back up.

CAUTION: Do not over tighten the loudspeaker terminals or use a wrench, pliers, etc., as this could cause damage to the terminals which will not be covered under warranty.

Connect the right speaker to the terminals on the back of your ampliﬁ er marked

R and the left speaker to the terminals

marked L. Connect your loudspeakers so that the red (positive/+) terminal

on each loudspeaker is connected to the red (positive/+) terminal on the ampliﬁ er. Your loudspeaker cables may be marked to show polarity (negative/– and positive/+), if not, then the positive terminal can usually be identiﬁ ed by a ridge or coloured marking.

Now connect your loudspeakers’ black (negative/–) terminals to the black (negative/–) terminals on the ampliﬁ er.

Ensure that no stray strands of inner wires are allowed to touch another cable or the ampliﬁ er’s casing. This can cause a short circuit and damage your ampliﬁ er!

Wiring your loudspeakers

+ –

PHONO

+ –

SP1

SP2

POWER INLET

PRE OUTPWR IN

6 8 9 bk bl bm bn bo bp54 bq1

4 – 16 OHMS

VOLTAGE

SELECT

230V

RECORD

OUT

PLAY

TAPE 1

RECORD

OUT

PLAY

VCR/TAPE 2 DVD AV TUNER CD AUX

INTEGRATED

PRE/PWR

MM MC

REMOTE

TRIG OUT

7br

Arcam A85 amplifier

+ –+ –

Right

speaker

–

Left speaker

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English

Connecting to a power supply

Wrong plug?

Check that the plug supplied with the unit ﬁ ts your supply and that your mains supply voltage agrees with the voltage setting (115V or 230V) indicated on the rear panel of the unit

before plugging in. If your mains supply voltage or mains plug is different, consult

your Arcam dealer or Arcam Customer Support on +44 (0)1223 203203.

The product must be earthed.

Mains lead

The appliance is normally supplied with a moulded mains plug already ﬁ tted 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 the mains socket. Should you require a new mains lead, contact your Arcam dealer.

Plugging in

Push the plug (IEC line socket) of the power cable supplied with the unit into the socket (POWER INLET) 1 in the back of the unit. Make sure it is pushed in ﬁ rmly.

Put the plug on the other end of the cable into your power supply socket and switch the socket on.

Standby power

For remote standby operation, the ampliﬁ er’s control power supply is kept powered up all the time the unit is connected to the mains supply. The front panel power switch powers down all other circuitry. Power consumption in this mode is less than 2W.

This means that even though the power switch is off, it may be possible to hear a slight residual hum coming from the mains transformer inside the ampliﬁ er. This is perfectly normal. If the unit is to be left unused for an extended period, we recommend that it is disconnected from the mains supply by switching it off at the wall socket.

Connecting to other equipment

The use of high quality interconnect cables to and from your ampliﬁ er is recommended to ensure the best sound quality. Sockets marked

L (and R) on your ampliﬁ er should only be

connected to sockets marked L (and R) on other equipment. All the line inputs have the same sensitivity and may be used with equipment other than that labelled, if needed.

TAPE1/RECORD OUT

– Connect these output sockets

to the input sockets of your cassette deck (usually labelled

RECORD).

TAPE1/PLAY IN

– Connect these input sockets to the

output sockets of your cassette deck (usually labelled PLAY). If you do not have a cassette deck you can use this input for other (line level) equipment, such as a CD player, tuner, VCR, etc., but not a turntable.

VCR/TAPE2 RECORD OUT

– These output sockets can be connected to the input sockets of VCR/second recorder (usually labelled RECORD).

VCR/TAPE2 PLAY IN

– Connect these input sockets

to the output sockets of your VCR/second recorder (usually labelled PLAY). Alternatively, you can use this input for other (line level) equipment such as a CD player, tuner, etc., but not a turntable.

DVD

– Connect this input to the audio outputs of a DVD

player.

– Connect this input to audiovisual equipment such as a

VCR, laserdisc player, satellite 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 converter). AUX

– Connect this input to the audio outputs of any unit

with a line level output, e.g. tape deck, tuner etc.

NOTE: The AUX inputs must not be used if the phono module is ﬁ tted. When this is ﬁ tted AUX becomes an output carrying the equalised phono signal at line level.

PHONO

– As standard, phono inputs are blanked. Phono inputs are provided on a separate plug-in module which your Arcam dealer or distributor can supply and ﬁ t. 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 the MM/MC back panel switch.

Phono earth terminal – For connecting your turntable earth lead (if ﬁ tted). Note that this terminal must not be used as a safety earth.

TRIG OUT and REMOTE IN

(12V in and out) – 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 bi-amping with a power ampliﬁ er and wish to power both units on or off simultaneously, see page 11.

Pre/power ampliﬁ er connections

PWR IN 5 – To use your integrated ampliﬁ er as a power

ampliﬁ er, connect the output of your pre-ampliﬁ er to the PWR IN sockets.

Press in the

PRE/PWR switch

on the rear panel to select separate pre-amp/power amp mode. Under these circumstances your A85 has exactly the same speciﬁ cation and performance as a power ampliﬁ er (see page 8).

PRE OUT

– To use your integrated ampliﬁ er as a pre- ampliﬁ er, connect the PRE OUT sockets to the input sockets of your power ampliﬁ er. With a power ampliﬁ er of the correct gain (e.g. the P85 power ampliﬁ er) you can bi-amplify (‘bi-amp’) suitable loudspeakers, giving signiﬁ cant improvements in sound quality (see page 12).

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Using your A85 integrated ampliﬁ er

Front panel controls

This section describes how to operate your ampliﬁ er. If your ampliﬁ er has not been installed for you, you should ﬁ rst

read the section ‘Installation: A85’ on page 4.

POWER (and power indicator light)

Switches the unit on and off. (You can also switch the ampliﬁ er into standby mode with the remote control handset.)

The light indicates the status of the ampliﬁ er. A red light means the ampliﬁ er is in standby mode (press the

Power/Standby

button on the remote control, or the POWER button on the front panel, to switch between standby and powered-up modes).

When you switch your ampliﬁ er on, the light glows amber for a few seconds, during which time the speakers are disconnected. The light changes to green when the ampliﬁ er is ready for use.

The light may ﬂ ash if a fault has occurred – the fault type is shown on the display. You should unplug the ampliﬁ er and leave it for a few minutes before reconnecting. If the fault cannot be cleared, unplug your ampliﬁ er and contact your Arcam dealer.

Source selectors

These buttons select the source connected to the corresponding input. A light above the relevant button indicates which input is currently selected and it will also usually be shown on the display.

VCR

This input is similar to the other line level inputs on the ampliﬁ er and may be used with a VCR or a second recording unit (e.g. cassette deck).

TONE

Switches the tone circuits on and off, including settings for individual sources. Note that the tone LED does not light unless a tone setting has been made. (see page 8).

Control knob, SELECT and ENTER

3bobn

The control knob has two functions:

■ as a volume control, to adjust the output of loudspeakers

and headphones connected to the ampliﬁ er, and of the pre-amp output (PRE OUT).

■ when used in conjunction with the SELECT and ENTER

buttons, to customise ampliﬁ er settings (see page 8).

Volume control settings

It is important to realise that the position of the volume control is not an accurate indication of the power delivered to your loudspeakers. The ampliﬁ er often delivers its full power long before the volume control reaches its maximum position, particularly when listening to heavily recorded compact discs. However the ampliﬁ er 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 control setting may be much higher before distortion (audible overload) sets in. To compensate for this, the input levels of each source may be individually adjusted to avoid accidental overload (see page 8).

SP1 and SP2

These buttons allow you to select and deselect the main (SP1) and secondary (SP2) set of speakers attached to your ampliﬁ er.

The light above each button glows if the corresponding speakers are currently selected. If both lights are out the ampliﬁ er will appear not to work, as all speakers are switched off! If both are on, with two pairs of low impedance speakers connected, overloads are more likely. Overloading the ampliﬁ er may cause it to shut down because of overheating.

PHONES

This socket accepts headphones with an impedance rating between 8Ω and 2kΩ, ﬁ tted with a 1/4-inch stereo jack plug. If you wish to listen on headphones only, use the SP1 and SP2 buttons (if necessary) to mute the speakers. The headphone socket is always active.

Remote control receiver

The remote control’s infrared receiver is positioned to the left of the

RECORD button. Ensure the receiver is in a clear line of

sight from the remote control to allow signals to be received.

MODE, UP and DOWN

blbm

These buttons are mainly for use with future optional modules, however the UP and DOWN buttons are used with the basic A85 ampliﬁ er to move the cursor when customising the ‘Welcome message’ (see page 8).

321678

9bk

A85 INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER

PHONO/AUX CD TUNER AV DVD VCR TAPE TONE SP1 SP2 POWERPHONES

RECORD MODE

ENTER

SELECT

bl bm bnbo

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English

Recording

With the Arcam A85 it is possible to listen to and record from one source, or to listen to one source while recording another.

Both sets of tape sockets are identical in sensitivity and suitable for use with almost any type of recorder (cassette, CDR, MD, VCR, reel-to-reel, etc.). The record signal is sent to both the

TAPE and VCR output sockets.

RECORD

To record the currently selected source, press RECORD until the display shows ‘

RECORD SOURCE’. After a few seconds

the display reverts to showing the volume level and you are ready to record.

To listen to one source while recording another, press

RECORD

again until the display shows ‘RECORD’ followed by the name of an input (e.g. ‘AUX’, ‘CD’, ‘TUNER’, etc.). Now press the source selector button on the front panel for the source you wish to record. Your selection is shown on the display for a few seconds, after which it reverts to showing the volume level and you are ready to record.

The

RECORD button can also be used as a second zone

selector, sending a source signal at line level to a second ampliﬁ er operating in another room. If you need help with this, contact your Arcam dealer or Arcam customer support.

Tape-to-tape copying (dubbing)

You can perform tape dubbing from VCR to TAPE, but not from

TAPE to VCR.

For example, to copy from a cassette recorder connected to the VCR socket to a cassette recorder connected to the TAPE 1 socket, ﬁ rst use the

RECORD button as explained above and

select ‘RECORD VCR’. This routes the VCR signal to the TAPE output.

Set the cassette recorder connected to the

TAPE socket into its

record mode and the other to playback mode to start dubbing.

TAPE

To play back the recording from a cassette deck attached to the TAPE 1 input, press TAPE. ‘TAPE 1’ is shown on the display. Selecting this input overrides the other source selectors.

It is also possible to monitor a recording while it is being made, provided your cassette deck is a 3-head type. To do this, press

TAPE. Switching this button in/out allows an A/B comparison

between the source signal and the recorded signal.

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Setting up your A85 integrated ampliﬁ er

Choose

setting

Adjust

BALANCE

Adjust

BASS

Adjust

TREBLE

Adjust

LEFT RIGHT

–dB +dB

Customize ->

DOWN UP

edit

STANDARD FINE REFERENCE

continue

Volume Resolution

GRAPHIC/ NUMERIC

edit

GLOBAL/ PER SOURCE

continue

edit

ARCAM A85

continue

edit

AUX/ PHONO

continue

edit

NO/YES

RESTORE SETTINGS

PHONO/AUX TEXT

WELCOME MESSAGE

TONE CONTROL

edit

continue

edit

continue

TRIM

VOLUME DISPLAY

INPUT TRIMS

Welcome Message Phono/Aux Text Restore SettingsVolume Resolution Volume Display Input Trims Tone Control

‘Switch on’

state

‘Switch on’

state

VOLUME

Input Trims – use the source select buttons and Control knob to set input trims for each source. Input trims are used to compensate for variations in output levels of different source equipment.

Tone Control –

Global or Per source. This

speciﬁ es the scope of changes for ‘Bass’ and ‘Treble’ tone settings. The default setting is ‘Global’

which affects all inputs equally. ‘Per source’ allows you to set tone controls for individual inputs: once set, the ampliﬁ er remembers tone settings for each input.

Welcome message – You can change the power on Welcome message from ‘

Arcam A85’

to display your name, postcode, etc. When customising the message, use the UP and DOWN buttons to select the cursor position and the Control knob to change the letter.

Volume Resolution –

Standard, fine or

Reference. ‘Standard’ and ‘Fine’ represent

different levels of volume control sensitivity. The ‘Reference’ setting gives absolute increments in

0.5dB steps. Volume display mode –

graphic or numeric

shows the volume either as a bar graph or as a number. If Volume resolution is set to ‘Reference’ a numeric volume display shows the actual decibel ﬁ gure.

Introduction

The A85 allows you to adjust listening settings to suit your taste, and to customize various features of the ampliﬁ er to ﬁ t your system. Use this diagram to help you navigate through the settings available.

The

ENTER and SELECT buttons are represented

in the diagram by the symbols and respectively. The Control knob is shown as .

Phono/Aux Text – If you have had the optional Phono module added, choose ‘

Phono’ so this

word is displayed when the input is selected. The default is ‘

Aux’.

Restore Settings – this restores all ampliﬁ er settings, including Input trims and the Welcome message, to their factory defaults.

Adjusting listening settings

The default display mode is VOLUME, where the control knob is used to adjust sound level.

Press

SELECT to enter edit mode and cycle

through the other sound settings: BALANCE,

BASS and TREBLE. When a setting is selected,

adjust it with the control knob. Press ENTER to ﬁ x the change you have made and return to default (volume) mode, or press SELECT again to move to the next setting.

Customising ampliﬁ er settings

Press SELECT until the display shows ‘CUSTOMIZE->’. Now rotate the Control knob to choose which setting you wish to alter. Press

SELECT to adjust the chosen setting with the

Control knob. Press

ENTER to conﬁ rm the adjustment or press

SELECT to conﬁ rm the adjustment and move on to

the next item. Press

ENTER twice to leave the Customize menu.

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Using the remote control

CR-389 Remote Control

The CR-389 remote control gives access to all functions available on the front panel of the A85. It also has controls to operate Arcam CD players, AM/FM tuners and DAB tuners. The remote control transmits Philips RC-5 type codes.

Source selection buttons

These operate in the same way as the source selectors

on the front panel of your integrated ampliﬁ er.

Volume and (mute)

Press + to increase volume or – to decrease the output volume of the ampliﬁ er.

Press

to mute the speaker connections and preamp outputs. Both tape outputs and the headphone socket remain active. Mute is disabled either by pressing

again, or by adjusting

the volume. You can use the remote’s volume control in conjunction with the

SELECT button to adjust balance, tone and ampliﬁ er settings.

TUNER

These buttons are used to control tuner functions.

Note that the FM/DAB lights indicate into which mode

you are switching the remote control. The lights only

illuminate for ﬁ ve seconds to conserve battery power.

If neither light is illuminated this does not mean that the

remote control is not working!

NOTE: Remember to install the two supplied AAA batteries before trying to use your remote control!

Do not place anything in front of the IR receiver on the left of the A85, or the remote control may not work.

CD controls

These offer basic controls of Arcam CD players

SP1 and SP2

These buttons allow you to select and deselect the main (SP1) and secondary (SP2) sets of speakers attached to your ampliﬁ er (see page 6).

Power/Standby

Toggles the ampliﬁ er between standby mode and full power mode. The power indicator light next to the power button on the front panel is red if the ampliﬁ er is in standby, amber while the ampliﬁ er is powering up (this only takes a few seconds) and green when the ampliﬁ er is powered up.

FM DAB

PROG DISP

RPT

MODE BAND

1-9 2-10 3-11

DAB

SEL

TUNER

CR-389

AMPLIFIER

VCRDVD TAPEAV

TUNERCDAUXPHONO

ENTER

SP1

SP2

DISP

MENU DISP

4-12

5-13 6-14 7-15 8-16

DISP (display)

Cycles through the settings ‘Bright’, ‘Off’ and ‘Dim’. Turning the display ‘Off’ generally gives a slight improvement in sound quality.

SELECT

Performs same function as the SELECT button on the front

panel. It allows you to use the remote’s volume switch in the

same way you use the control dial on the front panel – to

adjust various ampliﬁ er settings (see page 8).

Note that pressing + corresponds to turning the

Control knob clockwise, – to anticlockwise.

ENTER

Performs the same function as the ENTER

button on the front panel (see page 8).

(UP and DOWN)

Perform the same function as the

buttons on the front panel (see page 6).

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Connecting to power, loudspeakers and other equipment

Follow the installation instructions for the integrated ampliﬁ er on pages 4–6.

AUDIO IN – Connect this input to the output sockets of your pre-

ampliﬁ er or the PRE OUT sockets of an integrated ampliﬁ er.

MONO LINK – The power ampliﬁ er can be adapted to provide

two mono loudspeaker outputs from a single input. Pull out the link supplied and use it to connect the

L and R AUDIO OUT

sockets together. Using one power ampliﬁ er per loudspeaker will enable you to bi-amplify bi-wireable loudspeakers.

This is particularly beneﬁ cial for top quality stereo installations with a separate pre-ampliﬁ er, or where ampliﬁ ers are provided for the left, centre and right channel loudspeakers in a ﬁ ve speaker Dolby Pro Logic or Dolby Digital system.

Contact your Arcam dealer for more information. “Daisy chaining” – The power ampliﬁ er can be connected to

further power ampliﬁ ers to drive more speakers (e.g. those in other rooms or tri-ampliﬁ ed speakers, etc).

Connect the extra power ampliﬁ er inputs to the

AUDIO OUT

sockets on the power ampliﬁ er, left to left, right to right.

Installation: P85 power amplifer

Remote switching

By making a connection from the REMOTE IN socket of the P85 power ampliﬁ er to the TRIG OUT socket of the A85 integrated ampliﬁ er, you can use the A85 to switch the power ampliﬁ er on and off. If conﬁ gured in this way, the front panel POWER button of the A85 (or the Power/Standby button on the remote control) switches both ampliﬁ ers on and off together. This facility allows you to conceal the power ampliﬁ er yet still control it.

The connecting cable required is a 3.5mm to 3.5mm jack lead (stereo or mono) and it is possible to connect several power ampliﬁ ers to an A85 by ‘daisy chaining’ from

TRIG OUT of one

P85 into the REMOTE IN of the next.

Three channel option

The power ampliﬁ er can be upgraded from stereo to three channels by adding a Third Channel Module: in this case, the model is designated P85/3.

The module offers extra loudspeaker terminals together with a third set of

AUDIO IN and OUT phono sockets and converts

the P85 into a 3 x 85W (RMS per channel into 8Ω) ampliﬁ er suitable for Home Cinema or multi-channel audio use.

Contact your Arcam dealer for further details.

+ R/CH1 –

CTR/CH3

SP1

SP2

POWER INLET

OUTIN

VOLTAGE

SELECT

230V

4 – 16 OHMS

L/CH2 –

R/CH1 –

L/CH2 –

AUDIO

SP1

SP2

4 – 16 OHMS

+ CTR/CH3 –

CTR/CH3 –

AUDIO

OUT

LINK

REMOTE

TRIG OUT

Optional Third Channel Module – provides a third 85W channel suitable for Home Cinema or multi-channel audio use.

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English

POWER (and power indicator light)

Switches the unit on and off. The light indicates the status of the ampliﬁ er.

When you switch your ampliﬁ er on, the light glows amber for a few seconds, during which time the speakers are disconnected. The light changes to green when the ampliﬁ er is ready for use. A red light means the ampliﬁ er is in standby mode.

Using your P85 power ampliﬁ er

POWER

P85 POWER AMPLIFIER

POWER

SP1 SP2 POWER

NOTE: If both lights are out the ampliﬁ er will appear not to work, as all speakers are switched off. If both are on, and low impedance speakers are connected, overloads are more likely.

SP1 and SP2

These buttons allow you to select and deselect the main (SP1) and secondary (SP2) sets of speakers attached to your ampliﬁ er. An indicator light shows which set of speakers are currently selected.

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A85/P85

Before you start

WARNING: Do not make any connections to your ampliﬁ er while it is switched on or connected to the mains supply.

Before switching on please check all connections thoroughly, making sure bare wires or cables are not touching the ampliﬁ er in the wrong places (which could cause short circuits) and you have connected positive (+) to positive and negative (–) to negative.

Always ensure that the volume control on your ampliﬁ er is set to minimum before starting these procedures.

Bi-wiring your loudspeakers

Bi-wiring improves the sound of your system because it divides the high and low frequency signal currents into separate speaker cables. This avoids signal distortions arising from the high and low frequency currents interacting with one another within a single cable, as in conventionally wired systems.

You will need:

Speakers – with four input terminals each: these will be marked HF (High Frequency) and LF (Low Frequency).

Loudspeaker cables – two pairs of cables per loudspeaker (which may be joined at the ampliﬁ er end if your ampliﬁ er has only one pair of output terminals per channel). Or, a suitably terminated cable set (a loom, probably prepared by your dealer and capable of being used for bi-wiring in one length).

How to bi-wire loudspeakers

1. Remove the terminal links on the rear of your loudspeakers

WARNING: This step is essential or damage to your ampliﬁ er may result which is not covered under warranty.

2. Connect the cables as shown in the diagram below, ensuring correct polarity at all times.

Bi-amping your system

The performance of your system can be further enhanced over that achieved with bi-wiring, by extending the principle one stage further to include separate ampliﬁ cation for the low and high frequency drive units in each loudspeaker enclosure.

Connect the integrated ampliﬁ er to the high frequency (HF) terminals and connect the power ampliﬁ er to the low frequency (LF) terminals.

You will need:

Speakers – with four input terminals each (as with bi-wiring): these will be marked HF (High Frequency) and LF (Low Frequency).

Two ampliﬁ ers – one of these would be the A85 and the other an Arcam power ampliﬁ er (e.g. P85).

Loudspeaker cables – two pairs of cables per loudspeaker or a suitably terminated cable set (a loom, probably prepared by your dealer and capable of being used for bi-amping in one length).

Interconnect cables – one pair of high quality interconnect cables.

How to set up a bi-amped system

1. Remove the terminal links on the rear of your loudspeakers.

WARNING: This step is essential or damage to your ampliﬁ er may result which is not covered under warranty.

2. Connect the cables as shown in the diagram below, ensuring correct polarity at all times.

3. Use the interconnect cables to connect the

PRE OUT

sockets of the A85 to the corresponding AUDIO IN sockets of the power ampliﬁ er.

Bi-wiring and bi-amping loudspeakers

Bi-wiring using one set of connections on ampliﬁ er Recommended bi-amping conﬁ guration

Arcam A85 amplifier

Right speaker

+ –

–

+ –

Left speaker

–

Amplificateur de puissance Arcam P85

+ –+ –

–

+––

Amplificateur Arcam A85

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A85/P85 multi.id 03/29/01, 3:46 PM12

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