Audiocontrol PANTAGES DATA User Manual

speakers — without adding dis-

tortion-inducing “crowbar” circuitry,
limiters or hard-to-change fuses. You
won’t blow the amplifi er or your
tweeters due to signal clipping, even
at shock volume. Along with its Class H
design, LightDrive is another contrib­uting factor in Pantages’ exceptional
reliability.

Backed by a 20-year reputation

and a Five Year Warranty.
AudioControl has been a part of
fi ne audio systems since 1978. We
build our products in a state-of­the-art manufacturing facility in
Mountlake Terrace, Washington where
we can closely monitor component
and build quality. When you own an
AudioControl home theater component,
you’re assured of good sound, good
value and a lifetime of enjoyment.

PANTAGES™ SPECIFICATIONS

Number of channels 5
Amplifi er Power 200 watts x 5 (@8 ohms 20-20K)

Minimum Speaker Load 4 Ω

Damping Factor Greater than 250
Frequency Response 20Hz-20kHz±1 dB

Total Harmonic Distortion 0.05% (200 watts @ 8Ω 20-20K)

S/N Ratio full output >100 dB A-weighted
Input Sensitivity 1.42 Vrms for full output
Input Impedance 30 Kilohms
Protection Clipping, Thermal, Short, DC Offset
Cooling Thermal Convection

Peak AC Power Consumption 1430 watts (full output into 8Ω)
Average AC Power Consumption 690 watts (full output into 8Ω)

Weight 46 lbs / 20.9 kgs
Dimensions (H x W x D) 5.25” x 17” x 15.75”

133.5mm x 432mm x 400mm
Inputs Balanced XLR & unbalanced RCA
Outputs Oversize 5-way binding posts
Remote Trigger 12-volt input switches AC
Optional 19-inch 3U rack mount available

All specifi cations are subject to change without notice.

©2001, AudioControl,

All rights reserved.

AudioControl is a

division of Electronic

Engineering and

Manufacturing.

AudioControl is a

registered trademark of

Electronic Engineering

and Manufacturing Inc.

Dolby is a registered

trademark of Dolby

Laboratories.

*into eight ohms 20Hz to 20kHz

f you’re really serious about your home

I

theater system, we invite you to con-

sider the very remarkable AudioControl

™

Programmable 24-Bit Digital Audio

Diva
Enhancement System for 5.1 and 7.1 Home
Theater Systems.

It’s the missing link between your

®

preamplifi er/Dolby

surround decoder and

a high-performance 5-channel amplifi er

™

such as Pantages

.

Diva is a sophisticated “toolkit” of

Diva™: a perfect match with Pantages™.

professional recording studio sound
processors that can dramatically
improve imaging, bass reproduc­tion, midrange and treble detail as
well as overall system balance. It
includes fi ve channels of digital time
delay, dynamics control and precise
parametric equalization. Yet, as a

22410 70th Ave. West, Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043
Phone [phone] • Fax [phone]
e-mail [e-mail] • www.audiocontrol.com

Home Theater Magazine reviewer put

…despite Diva’s complexity, it’s

it, “

very very easy to use

.”

For more information on the Diva
Programmable Enhancement System,
call us or visit our web site. Better
yet, contact your AudioControl dealer
or custom installer today.

™

igh-current power with abundant

H

dynamic reserves.

Pristine sonics with fi nely-focused

d e fi nition.

A 5.25-inch-high, cool-running

component that looks as good as it sounds.

Pantages™ combines AudioControl’s
expertise in audiophile electronic design
with their reputation for industrial­strength build quality — a proven track
record that’s been long-established among
distributed sound contractors and design­ers of high performance home theatres.

A dynamic LED display monitors output
of all fi ve channels during operation. The
display can also be turned off if you fi nd
that it competes with on-screen movie
action.

Input to Pantages™ can be provided
by either balanced XLR or unbalanced
RCA connections. Oversized, gold plated
speaker connection terminals are designed
to accommodate even the thickest audi­ophile cables via banana, pin or fork termi­nations.

A 12-volt trigger input enables remote
AC power activation of the amplifi er via
external processor or controller as part of
your overall system.

If you desire powerful, reliable and
musical amplifi cation at an extremely rea­sonably price, you’ll want to audition Pan­tages™, the home theater amp that sounds
warm but runs cool. We think that you’ll
be equally impressed with its precision
and with its ability to fully deliver the
demanding dynamics of today’s digital
video sources.

Available with black or silver anodized front panel.

with the high current drive capa­bilities of MOSFETs – precision and
high power in one amplifi er! Your
speaker system’s treble and mid­range transducers get the delicate
details that create total realism and
accurate sound staging; the system’s
woofers receive tightly controlled
brute force for thunderous cinema
sound effects.

Exclusive LightDrive protec­tion system. The power

amplifi er is truly the “engine” in your

Efficient Class H operation and high-defi nition BiMOS outputs for accuracy and reliability.

lthough capable of effortlessly
delivering a thousand watts

A

of continuous RMS power, the Audio­Control Pantages
compact amplifi er. It doesn’t require
a forklift to move or special ventila­tion in your audio/video component
rack.

Brains versus brawn.

Conventional Class AB and
Class A power
amplifi ers are like
internal combus­tion engines that
must run at red­line all of the time,
no matter what the
desired speed.
During all but the loudest parts
of a movie, they convert most of
their excess head­room power into
heat (Fig. 1A &
B). Just as with
a constantly rev ­ed-up engine, an
ineffi cient power
amplifi er requires

™

is a surprisingly

Fig 1A. Class A/B amp current draw @ average levels.

Fig 1B. Class A/B amp current draw @ peak levels.

Fig 2A. Pantages current draw @ average levels.

Fig 2B. Pantages current draw @ peak levels.

extreme cooling measures and can
still prematurely break down due to
heat build-up.

Pantages
fi er topology that can be likened to
an engine with an automatic trans­mission. Program power require­ments are constantly monitored by
internal circuitry. During quiet pas­sages, Pantages’ amplifi er “idles”

(fi gure 2A). During momentary or
sustained dynamic passages such as

™

uses a Class H ampli-

without drawing
large amounts of
current from the
wall socket. It runs
cool because it’s
not forced to dissi­pate large amounts
of excess energy

thunderous movie
special effects,
Pantages
taneously “shifts
gears,” tapping
extra voltage rails
to deliver massive
current on demand

™

instan-

(Figure 2B). In other words, it’s
smart enough to “step on the gas”
when it needs to — drawing power
directly from the wall socket instead
of from bulky internal storage.

The result is an incredibly robust
(and reliable) power amplifi er that
doesn’t require barbecue-grille­sized cooling fi ns.

High-defi nition BiMOS output

devices. While Class A
bi-polar transistors are popular
for their sonic purity, they
bring with them the inher­ent high-heat and low effi -
ciency of Class A operation.
Conventional MOSFETs

Available
with black or silver
anodized front panel.

are capable of higher current output
and better effi ciency, but are consid-
ered by many to obscure fi ne audio
details (the infamous “MOSFET Mist”).
Pantages
eration of BiMOS output design
that combine the
precision of bi­polar transistors

™

employs a new gen-

home cinema system. It must not
only be exceptionally reliable, but
also be designed not to overdrive the
components to which it is connected.

Pantages
optical system protects both the
internal amplifi er modules and your

™

LightDrive electro-

continued on back page