Elan Z-660 Installation Manual

MULTI

-CHANNEL

POWER A

MPLIFIER

Installation Manual

660

ELAN HOME SYSTEMS

HOMEOWNERS MANUAL

660

Read Information—All the safety and operating information should be

read before the unit is operated.

Follow Information—All operating and use information should be followed.
Retain Information—The safety and operating information should be

retained for future reference.

Heed Warnings—All warnings on the unit and in the operating instructions

should be heeded.

Carts and Stands—This unit should be used with a stationary shelf. Do

not use any mobile carts.

Wall Mounting—Mounting of this unit should be done only by an authorized

installer.

Ventilation—This unit should be situated so that its location or position does not interfere with proper ventilation. This unit should never be placed near or over a

radiator or heat register. This unit should not be placed in a built-in installation such as a bookcase or cabinet that may impede the flow of air through the ventilation openings.
Do not “rack mount” two or more amplifiers on top of each other without either forced-air ventilation or one rack space (1.75”) between each unit.

Non-Use Periods—Units that are left unattended and unused for long periods of time should be unplugged from the wall outlet.
Power Sources—This unit should be connected to a power supply only of the type described in the operating instructions or as marked on each unit. If you are

not sure of the type of power supply to your home, consult your authorized ELAN dealer or local power company.

Grounding or Polarization—These audio products are equipped with a grounding-type alternating-current line plug. This plug will fit only into a ground-

ing-type power receptacle. This is a safety feature. If the plug receptacle does not fit, contact an electrician to replace your

obsolete receptacle. Do not defeat the safety purpose of the grounding-type plugs.

Water and Moisture—To reduce the risk of electric shock or fire, these appliances 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.

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 at plugs, convenience receptacles, and the point where they exit from the appliances.

Do not damage or deform the power supply cord. If it is damaged or deformed, it may cause electric shock or fire when used. When removing from the wall outlet, be sure to
remove by holding the plug attachment and not by pulling the cord.

Telephones—Avoid using a telephone (other than a cordless type) during an electrical storm. There may be a remote risk of electrical shock from lightning. Do not

use a telephone to report a gas leak if the leak is in the vicinity of the ELAN electronic equipment because of risk of fire or explosion.

Cleaning—Unplug this audio product from the wall outlet before cleaning. Do not use liquid or aerosol cleaners. Use a damp cloth for cleaning.
Overloading—Do not overload wall outlets and extension cords, as this could result in fire or electric shock.
Object and Liquid Entry—Never insert objects of any kind through the openings of these appliances, as they may touch dangerous voltage points or

short-out parts that could result in a fire or electric shock. Care should be taken so that objects do not fall and liquids are not spilled into the appliance through openings in the
enclosure.

Servicing—Do not attempt to service these appliances yourself, as opening or removing covers may expose you to dangerous voltage or other hazards. Refer all ser-

vicing to qualified service personnel.

Damage Requiring Service—These appliances should be serviced by qualified service personnel when:

• A power supply cord or a plug has been damaged or

• If liquid has been spilled into the appliance or objects have fallen into the appliance or

• The appliance has been exposed to water or moisture or

• The appliance does not appear to operate normally or exhibits a marked change in performance or

• The appliance has been dropped or the enclosure damaged.

Replacement Parts—When replacement parts are required, be sure the service technician has used replacement parts

specified by the manufacturer or that have the same characteristics as the original part. Unauthorized substitutions may result in fire,
electric shock, or other hazards. The Master Control Unit battery should be replaced only after turning the power off and only by an autho­rized installer.

Safety Check—Upon completion of any service or repairs to this audio product, ask the service technician to perform safe-

ty checks to determine that the audio product is in proper operating condition.

Lightning—For added protection for these audio products during an electrical storm, or when they are left unattended and

unused for long periods of time, unplug them from the wall outlet and disconnect the antenna or cable system. This will prevent damage
to the audio products due to lightning and power-line surges.

IMPORTANT SAFETY

INFORMATION

9700721

HOME SYSTEMS WITH AUDIO AND/OR

VIDEO CONTROL CAPABILITIES

ETL LISTED PRODUCT

CONFORMS TO UL STD 6500.

AUDIO/VIDEO AND MUSICAL INSTRUMENT

APPARATUS FOR HOUSEHOLD, COMMERCIAL,

AND SIMILAR USE.

ETL LISTED PRODUCT.

CONFORMS TO CAN/CSA E65-94.

WARNING

RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK

DO NOT OPEN

CAUTION: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT
REMOVE COVER (OR BACK). NO USER SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE.

REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED SERVICE PERSONNEL.

The lightning flash 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 sufficient
magnitude to constitute a risk of electric shock to persons.

The exclamation point within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert
the user to the presence of important operating and maintenance
(servicing) instructions in the literature accompanying the device or component.

WARNING: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR SHOCK,

DO NOT EXPOSE THIS APPLIANCE TO RAIN OR MOISTURE.

©ELAN Home Systems • 1999 • All rights reserved. 5/99 Page 1

ELAN HOME SYSTEMS

660

INSTALLATION MANUAL

You have purchased the highest quality multi-channel audio amplifier on the
market today––the Z•660 power amplifier. We at ELAN Home Systems are proud
of this precision audio component and are pleased you have chosen this ELAN
product as the cornerstone to your audio system. Crafted to be the de facto
standard for power amplifiers in its class, the Z•660’s circuit design, small
footprint and robust power output are the latest in audio technology and should
provide you with years of superior audio performance.

As a manufacturer, ELAN strives to provide you with excellent service after the
sale. If you have any questions or comments concerning the performance,
installation or features of the Z•660 power amplifier, please call the ELAN Service
and Technical Support Department at 1 606 269-7760. We are at your service.

Please take a few minutes to read this manual thoroughly. It will help you fully
understand and successfully integrate the capabilities and features of your new
power amplifier with your existing source equipment and speakers.

ELAN Home Systems designs and manufactures the industry’s most complete line
of multi-room audio/video systems and components. For free product information
write us at:

ELAN Home Systems

Product Information
2428 Palumbo Drive
Lexington, Kentucky 40509

or check out our website at: www.elanhomesystems.com

Look for these other New Z•Series Products:

Z•630 Pre-Amp Controller
Z•600 Comm Controller
Z•300 Two-Channel Power Amplifier
Z•100 and Z•150 Intelligent Keypads
Z•FAN System Cooling Component
Z•880 Video Controller

C

ONGRATULATIONS AND

THANK YOU

©1999 ELAN Home Systems, LLC. ELAN, ELAN Home Systems and Z•Series/Z•660, Z•630, Z•600, Z•300, Z•100/150. Z•FAN, Z•880 are
registered trademarks of ELAN Home Systems, Lexington, KY 40509. Elan reserves the right to change product specifications without notice.

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Z•660 Front and Back Illustrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3-4

Installing Your Z•660 Power Amplifier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Connecting Speakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-5

Connecting Volume Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-6

Single-Source/Wholehouse System Configuration Examples . . . . . . . .7-8

Single-Source/Wholehouse System Configuration Examples . . . . . . . .7-8

Multi-Source/Multi-Zone System Configuration Examples . . . . . . . . . . .9

Home Theater Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Other Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10-11

Connecting Multiple Speakers Using Impedance Selectable

Volume Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14-15

Specifications and Warranty Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page 2 ©ELAN Home Systems • 1999 • All rights reserved. 5/99

ELAN HOME SYSTEMS

660

INSTALLATION MANUAL

The Z•660 power amplifier is a 6 channel by 60 Watts per channel power amplifier
designed sprecifically for multi-room or multi-channel applications. The Z•660 can also be
“brdiged”, giving you 3 channels at 120 Watts per channel for home theater and high­power applications.

Multi-Room/Multi-Channel
Power and Flexibility

The 6x60/3x120 WPC stereo/bridging capabilities of the Z•660 gives you numerous multi­room or high-power options from which to choose. Since each of the six independent
channels are designed for high isolation/low crosstalk performance, the Z•660 can easily
be configured to power multiple stereo and/or mono listening areas, or “zones”, with the
push of a single button or the use of RCA patch cables.

Six Channels of Surround Sound Power

Each one of the Z•660’s channels can be used to power the outputs of a Surround Sound
processor, giving you 60 Watts of thundering cinema audio for each of your front, center,
and real channel speakers, as well as a passive subwoofer.

High-Powered Home Theater

Sixty Watts per channel not enough to power the mega-speakers in your dedicated Home
Theater? No problem. With the push of a button, the easy bridging capa

bilities of the
Z•660 will give you a glorious 120 Watts per channel for your front left, right, and
center channel speakers. Want the same power for your rear channel speakers?
Add another Z•660!

Bi-Amp Audio

For high end audio applications where a stereo speaker pair requires separate
tweeter and woofer power amplifiers, the Z•660 is a perfect fit for the job. When
used in conjunction with an active crossover, the Z•660 can be configured for
2 X 120W woofer amplifiers and 2 X 60W tweeter amplifiers.

INTRODUCTION

ATTRACTIVE
EXTRUDED
ALUMINUM FRONT
PANEL

6 CHANNEL LED DISPLAY SIGNALS

INDIVIDUAL CHANNEL ACTIVITY WITH

GREEN LEDs AND RED LEDs FOR CLIPPING

RED “POWER” LED

CONFIRMS AMPLIFIER

IS TURNED ON

GREEN “IR ACTIVITY” LED

SIGNALS IR IS PASSED

THROUGH AMPLIFIER

TO EMITTER

3 PRONG

HEAVY DUTY

AC POWER

CORD

ON/OFF MASTER POWER

SWITCH. MUST BE ON WHEN USING

REMOTE ON/OFF FEATURE

GOLD-PLATED 5-WAY

BINDING POSTS

FOR CONNECTION

OF SPEAKERS

IR PASS-

THROUGH

INPUT JACK

WITH

REMOVABLE

IR WIRING

INTERFACE

PLUG

RECESSED

CHANNEL
BRIDGING

MODE

BUTTONS

GOLD-PLATED RCA

JACKS FOR

BUFFERED OUTPUT

OF LINE LEVEL

SIGNAL TO

ADDITIONAL POWER

AMPLIFIERS OR

“LOOPING” TO

AMPLIFIER INPUTS

GOLD-PLATED RCA

JACKS FOR INPUT

OF LINE LEVEL

SIGNAL TO

INDIVIDUAL

CHANNELS

“IR PASS-THROUGH “

OUTPUT JACK

“REMOTE AUDIO MUTE”

INPUT/OUTPUT JACKS

PULL BACK LEXAN

STRIP FOR GAIN

ADJUSTMENTS

GAIN

ADJUSTMENTS

BUS BUTTON

BLACK LEXAN STRIP

SUBDUES LEDs FOR A

REGAL APPEARANCE

©ELAN Home Systems • 1999 • All rights reserved. 5/99 Page 3

ELAN HOME SYSTEMS

660

INSTALLATION MANUAL

Line Inputs and Outputs

Channel configuration of the Z•660 is a breeze. In addition to the six gold-plated
RCA line level inputs, the Z•660 is equipped with six buffered RCA output jacks,
making it easy to loop a source input to any of the other channels. The line
outputs also have built-in series resistors, which allow you to “Y” the outputs
together to create monaural listening areas or “sub-zones”.

The Z•660’s BUS button can make things even easier. When using one source
which you wish to send to three separate stereo listening areas or “zones”, simply
pressing the BUS button will automatically route the source input signal to all of
the Z•660’s speaker outputs. This “quick-connect” option completely eliminates
the need for patch cords or jumpers.

Independent Channel Level Adjustments

An installer’s delight! No longer will you have to remove the amp from a rack or
cabinetry, or crawl behind the unit to “tweak” the sound. Six independent gain
adjustments for each channel are located on the front of the Z•660. Simply pull
back the front trim strip for easy access and tweak away!

Infrared System Control

The Z•660 makes wholehouse infrared control of your system a snap and also
eliminates the need for “add-on” IR distribution boxes! Its built-in “Infrared
Pass-Through” feature allows you to power up to four IR receivers and connect up
to four IR emitters for complete control of your source equipment via hand-held
remote controls.

LED Status Indicators

Once again, ELAN has kept ease of installation and the installer in mind, provid­ing visual feedback for virtually every operational aspect of the Z•660. Six banks
for LEDs on the front panel indicate activity for each of the six amp channels. A
red “POWER” LED confirms that the amplifier is on, and a green “IR ACTIVITY”
LED indicates pass-through of IR signals from the IR in-wall receivers to your
source equipment.

Channel Bridging

How easy is it to turn two, four, or six 60 Watt channels into one, two or three 120
Watt channels. Simply press a button! The recessed Channel Bridging buttons locat­ed on the back panel of the Z•660 make your custom channel configurations easy.

Remote Audio Mute

Many audio receivers and pre-amps have a remote “power up” output jack that
sends a low voltage signal to other equipment to turn them on or off. The Z•660
can utilize this signal to mute the audio outputs of the amplifier, essentially putting
the Z•660 in “stand-by” mode. This feature eliminates any noise that may come
through the speakers when the source components are not in use.

Single Rack-Space Design and Performance

At 1 3/4” in height, the Z•660 is the first of its kind in the consumer audio market
to incorporate so much power in such a small footprint. Imagine––six channels of

FEATURES

Page 4 ©ELAN Home Systems • 1999 • All rights reserved. 5/99

ELAN HOME SYSTEMS

660

INSTALLATION MANUAL

audiophile-quality sound with 360 Watts total power taking up only 1 3/4” in your
cabinet or rack.

How was ELAN able to pack so much kick into such a small package? Efficiency
has been achieved by placing the heat sinks, normally found within the amplifier
chassis, to the exterior sides of the Z•660. This allows increase in air flow over
the heat sinks and avoids exposing internal circuits to heat build-up, which can
shorten the life expectancy and performance of the components within.

Combine this unique engineering design with the low noise, cross-talk, and THD
specifications, a high-performance toroidal transformer and large bulk storage
capacitors, gold-plated input/output jacks and five-way speaker binding posts,
push-button bridging and channel busing, independent gain level adjustments and
IR pass-through –––and what you get is an amplifier of superior design, quality,
and sonic performance.

The Z•660 is designed, engineered, and manufactured in the USA. There is a full
two-year warranty on parts and labor against manufacturer’s defects.

IMPORTANT: Where to Place Your Z•660

Do not place your Z•660 in non-ventilated, closed-door equipment cabinets.
The Z•660’s externally mounted heat sinks dissipate heat from the unit more
effectively than competitive products with internally mounted heat sinks.
Because of its low profile, it can become very hot to the touch in certain applica­tions. When placing the Z•660 close to other source equipment, be sure to pro­vide adequate space for air flow around the heat sinks.

When using the Z•660 or Z•661 in the 3x120W high current bridge mode, the
unit must be placed in an equipment rack with a minimum of 250 CFM forced­air ventilation (ELAN Z•FAN System Cooling Component).

When using multiple Z•660s in an installation, maintain a minimum of one rack
space between each amplfier in an open cabinet. Z•660 amplifiers can be
mounted adjacent to each other in a rack only if forced-air ventilation such as
the ELAN Z•FAN is used.

Before making any connections, make sure the Z•660 is turned off and unplugged
from the 110 Volt wall outlet. When connecting speakers and source equipment,
make sure you have ample cable length so that no strain will be put on the
amplifier’s terminals.

Speaker Connections

Each channel of the Z•660 is rated to handle a minimum 8 ohm load. Amplifier
loads below 8 ohms can switch the output devices into “limit” at high dynamic
music peaks, causing distortion and/or damage to the amplifier.

The five-way speaker binding posts on the Z•660 will accept single and double

INSTALLING YOUR Z•660 POWER AMPLIFIER

CONNECTING SPEAKERS