AudioControl Avalon G4 Installation Manual

4 CHANNEL HIGH POWER AMPLIFIER OF DESTINY

Installation Manual

2

Important Safety
Instructions

1. Read these instructions.

2. Keep these instructions.

3. Heed all warnings.

4. Follow all instructions.

5. Do not use this apparatus near water.

6. Clean only with a dry cloth.

7. Do not block any ventilation openings. In­stall in accordance with the manufacturer’s
instructions.

8. Do not install near any heat sources such
as radiators, heat registers, stoves, or

other apparatus (including ampliers) that

produce heat.

9. Protect the power cord from being walked
on or pinched particularly at plugs, conve­nience receptacles, and the point where
they exit from the apparatus.

10. Only use attachments/accessories speci-

ed by the manufacturer.

11. Unplug this apparatus during lightning
storms or when unused for long periods of
time.

12. Refer all servicing to qualied service

personnel. Servicing is required when
the apparatus has been damaged in any
way, such as power-supply cord or plug is
damaged, liquid has been spilled or objects
have fallen into the apparatus, the appara­tus has been exposed to rain or moisture,
does not operate normally, or has been
dropped.

13. This apparatus shall not be exposed to

dripping or splashing, and no object lled

with liquids, such as vases or glasses, shall
be placed on the apparatus.

The lightning ash with arrowhead

symbol within an equilateral triangle

is intended to alert the user to the
presence of uninsulated “dangerous voltage”
within the product’s enclosure, that may be

of sucient magnitude to constitute a risk of

electric shock to persons.

The exclamation point within an
equilateral triangle is intended to alert
the user of the presence of import-

ant operating and maintenance (servicing)

instructions in the literature accompanying the
appliance.

Caution: to reduce the risk of electric shock,
do not remove the top cover. There are no
user-serviceable parts inside. Refer servicing to

qualied personnel.

This equipment has been tested and found
to comply with the limits for a Class B digital
device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules.

These limits are designed to provide reasonable
protection against harmful interference in a
residential installation.

This equipment generates, uses, and can radi­ate radio frequency energy and, if not installed
and used in accordance with the instructions,
may cause harmful interference to radio com­munications. However, there is no guarantee
that interference will not occur in a particular
installation.

If this equipment does cause harmful interfer­ence to radio or television reception, which can

be determined by turning the equipment o

and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct
the interference by one or more of the follow­ing measures:

• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.

• Increase the separation between the equip­ment and the receiver.

• Connect the equipment into an outlet on

a circuit dierent from that to which the

receiver is connected.

• Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/
TV technician for help.

CAUTION: Changes or modications to this

device not expressly approved by AudioControl
Inc. could void the user’s authority to operate
the equipment under FCC rules.

Recycling notice: If the time comes

and this apparatus has fullled its

destiny, do not throw it out into the

trash. It has to be carefully recycled
for the good of mankind, by a facility specially
equipped for the safe recycling of electronic
apparatii. Please contact your local or state
recycling leaders for assistance in locating a
suitable nearby recycling facility. Or, contact us
and we might be able to repair it for you.

Important Safety Instructions

3

Installation Manual

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Important Safety Instructions ...... 2

Introduction ..................... 4

Features ........................ 5

Quick View ...................... 7

Getting Started .................. 8

Front Panel Features .............. 9

Rear Panel Features .............. 10

Speaker and Wiring Impedance ..... 13

Installation ...................... 14

Congurations ................... 15

Ventilation ...................... 9

Advanced Discussions ............. 20

Troubleshooting ................. 22

Specications ................... 23

Block Diagram ................... 24

Service ......................... 25

The Warranty .................... 27

Blackhawk Waltz ................. 28

©2019 AudioControl Inc All rights reserved.

Based on a dream sequence while under the inuence of tea.

4

Flowery Marketing Introduction

Greetings from the rainforests of

the Pacic Northwest, the home of

AudioControl. Since you are reading this
manual, it is safe to say you are in the
process of installing a high-performance
AudioControl Avalon G4 4 Channel

theater amplier that also performs
as a killer hi 2.1 or a dual mono block.
You have unprecedented exibility with

this ridiculously powerful and adaptable

amplier which no doubt caught your
rened eye. You are obviously a person
of ne discernment, have nice hair, and

people like the cut of your jib.

You will be pleased to note that this

amplier was designed and manufactured

at our AudioControl forest technodrome,
located in the U.S.A. For over 40 years,
our company has been designing and
manufacturing high performance
components that allow enthusiasts to
truly enjoy their audio systems. It should
provide you and your customers with
years of enjoyment and trouble-free

service. We truly feel that this amplier

will enhance the performance of any
system.

This manual was written to assist with the

installation of this new amplier. Whether

Introduction

you are a seasoned veteran, or this is the

rst amplier you have ever heard, we

encourage you to set aside some time to
review this not-so-weighty prose. While
reading a manual can be as exciting as
watching a slug race, we have included
lots of useful information, carefully
concealed within a minimum of technical
jargon. Not only will you learn how to get
the most from this AudioControl home

theater power amplier, you might get a

smile or two. Anything as capable as this

amplier deserves all the explanation it

can get.

We also encourage you to visit the
AudioControl web site, conveniently
located at www.audiocontrol.com. While
we have tried to anticipate any installation
issues in this manual, there are sometimes
new applications and ideas that come to
mind. Therefore our web site will always
have the most current information.

Needless to say, if you have any real
challenging questions, feel free to call us
or e-mail us at:

[e-mail]

Your Friends At AudioControl

5

Installation Manual

Features

Features

Here are some of the features that make
the Avalon G4 very unique, and unlike any

other amplier:

• CongurationFlexibility

With the Avalon G4, you have all the
prodigious power one could need

in an Atmos 4 channel amplier,
with all the exibility that comes

from AudioControl. With precision
Linkwitz-Riley crossovers and mono/
summed stereo pair operations,
you can set this bad boy up as a

2.1 amplier to run your highs

and a passive subwoofer (where

bridged, you can achieve 600 watts).

Even better for those who have a
hankering for power, set it up as a
dual monoblock which is a pair of 600
watt outputs! Nothing better!

• Built For The Long Haul

“Bulletproof” is the phrase that best
describes the Avalon G4. Everything

about this amplier is built for the
long haul, built for life! This amplier

has been designed with durability in
mind. The cool running Class H design
minimizes component-damaging
heat, while the Lightdrive system
protects your speakers from harmful
harmonics caused by clipping.

• Class H Design

Most ampliers have one speed, all

on. That means that during most of
music, up to 90% of the amp’s power
is just going up in heat. The Avalon
G4’s The Class H design takes care of
this problem by automatically and
intelligently adjusting the power

supply to t the power demands of

the moment.

• Lightdrive Protection System

The Lightdrive protection circuitry

defends this amplier like a momma

bear to her cubs - and defends
speakers against clipping, distortion,
damage, and annoying teenage
beach party movies, even if the
movie festival lasts all weekend. Each
channel is independently protected,
so a problem in one channel will not

aect the rest of the system.

• HighDenitionBiMOSOutput

Design

Home Theater audio systems place

terric demands on power ampliers.

The high current drive capabilities of
our BiMOS outputs cleanly delivers a
minimum of 230 watts into 4 ohms,
while maintaining a cool performance
method that smells great too!

• Unparalleledenergyeciency

Whether from the point of view
of saving electricity or from the
viewpoint of less heat in the rack,

this amplier has no equal. It is VERY
energy ecient during operation.

• MadeintheNorthwestRainforest
The AudioControl Avalon G4s began
their existence at our factory in
Mountlake Terrace, Washington, a
few miles north of Seattle. Here, we
also build precision test instruments,
equalizers and analyzers and a totally
awesome line of car stereo compo­nents. AudioControl started in 1977
and has won so many audio industry
awards for design and engineering
excellence that our reception room
wall is starting to sag.

6

Complimentary Features

Features continued

• Class H power - dynamically provides

incredible power

• Independent 24dB Linkwitz-Riley
High Pass and Low Pass crossovers

• Individual channel input gain

• Mono/stereo operation

• Balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA
inputs

• Analog RCA loop-through outputs

• Stout and sturdy 5-way binding posts

• Back panel channel LED status indi­cators

• Lightdrive signal management

• Prodigious power

• Ground isolation switch

• Front panel light bar brilliance setting

• Intuitive back panel for ease of set up
and control

• Heavy - use for weight lifting when
not listening

7

Installation Manual

Quick View

Quick View

Front Panel

8. Speaker outputs

9. Ground isolation switch

10.Mastertrigger

11. AC power switch

12. AC input

13. AC fuse

Rear Panel

1. Light bar brilliance setting

2. Inputs balanced and unbalanced

3. RCA Thru outputs

4. Level control

5. Stereo/Monoswitch

6. LP/OFF/HPswitch

7. FREQ (Hz) control

1. Power LED

2. Light Bar

3. Power Button

4. RackMountEars(optional)

12 43

8

9 10

123 4 5 67 11 12 13

8

Getting Started

1. Turn o power to all com-
ponents before making any
connections.

2. When making connections, des-

ignate red RCA plugs as right, and
designate white, black, or gray plugs
as left. This is a good idea for all sig­nal connections made in your audio
system. The key is consistency. Stick
with the same color coding and you’ll
reduce possible problems.

3. Whenever possible, keep power

cords away from signal cables to pre­vent induced hum. This is especially
important if you bundle the cables to
keep the installation neat looking.

4. Use quality interconnect cables. We

know from experience that really
cheap cables can cause a multitude
of problems. They tend to break
inside or corrode, causing a loss of
signal or hum. They also have poor
shielding.

5. The Avalon G4 gives you the option

of using RCA cables or balanced XLR
cables – if running more than 20 feet
or so, it is best to run those signal ca­bles as XLR to give you better noise
rejection.

If you do need to run the RCA audio

cables more than 20 feet, consider
using an active balanced line driver
for the signals. This will provide
better noise rejection against nasty
things like hum, spikes, local talk
radio, and metaphysical paranormal
phenomena, etc. The AudioControl
balanced line driver components

(BLD-10, BLR-10 and BLX-10) are an

excellent way to send audio over long
distances with standard Cat-5 wiring.
Check them out at audiocontrol.com.

Getting Started

6. Speaker Wiring – Establish a stan­dard connection color code and stick
with it. One conductor of the speaker

wire is normally marked by a dier­ent color (silver versus copper) or

there is a ribbing on one side. Typical­ly this marked conductor is used for

the positive (+) speaker leads. Some

wires have positive and negative
printed right onto the wire jacket.

Match the polarity markings on the

Avalon G4 unit with the polarity
markings on your speakers. If the wir­ing is incorrect then the speakers will
be out-of-phase, with a noticeable
decrease in the bass response and
less than goodly-sounding awesome­ness.

7. For optimal performance, dance in a

fairy circle around your new amplier
at midnight, on the rst full moon of

the new year.

9

Installation Manual

Front Panel

Front Panel Features

1. LED – On the far left of the heavy duty

brushed aluminum front panel, this
LED indicates the state of the Avalon

G4 amplier.

A Blue LED – shows that the amplier

is on and will drive your speakers when
the source is played.

A Red LED – shows that the amplier

is in standby mode, and will not drive
the speakers (hit the power button to

make it blue).

No LED illumination – means that it’s

either unplugged from wall power or
the back panel mains power switch is

turned o, or all the lights are out in

your town again.

Yellow LED – indicates initiation of

jump to hyperspace. You have ten
seconds to put the cat out, and leave
a note for the milkman. (Not yet avail-

able in this galaxy.)

2. Light bar – This front panel blue
light bar is mined directly from the
R- Coronae Australis Nebula. The bril­liance of this light can be customized
via a button on the back panel.

3. Power Button – This large legendary
button allows for the on/standby mode
to be toggled. Press to turn the unit on
and press again to turn the unit into
standby mode. The rear panel Main AC
Power switch must be engaged for this
button to work.

4. RackMountEars– These optional
rack ears allow the unit to be rack
mounted in a standard 19” wide rack,
with a 2U height. Use standard rack
mount screws and washers to secure
the unit in a rack. The unit does not
have to be supported at the rear if the

rack is located in a xed location.

To remove the rack ears (making the

unit 17” wide), rst unplug the power

cord, and then locate and undo the
screws securing each ear to the side
of the chassis, and remove the ears.
Replace the screws securely back into
the chassis. Do not remove any of the
other screws from the chassis or top
cover. There are hazardous voltages
inside the unit. Keep the rack ears
safely tucked up in your sock drawer.

You can also remove the feet for rack

mounting, but remember to put them
back on if you are no longer in a rack.

LED Function Table

LED Color Description LED C0lor Description

Blue The unit is on Bright Red DC Error
Red The unit is in standby mode Dim Red Standby

O The unit is powered o

12 43