Laney CA Schematic

Laney

CA

SERIES

Power Amplifiers

OPERATING MANUAL

V1

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INTRODUCTION

2

Congratulations on your decision to purchase a amplifier.

products are designed with ease of operation as a primary objective, however to ensure you derive the best from

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your new amplifier, it is important you take time to read this user manual and to familiarise yourself with the control
functions and facilities available

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BEFORE
SWITCHING ON

After unpacking your amplifier check that it is factory fitted with a three pin 'grounded' (or earthed) plug. Before
plugging into the power supply ensure you are connecting to a grounded earth outlet.

If you should wish to change the factory fitted plug yourself, ensure that the wiring convention applicable to the country
where the amplifier is to be used is strictly conformed to. As an example in the United Kingdom the cable colour code
for connections are as follows.

EARTH OR GROUND - GREEN/YELLOW
NEUTRAL - BLUE
LIVE - BROWN

This manual has been written for easy access of information. The front and rear panels of each unit are graphically
illustrated, with each control and feature numbered. For a description of the function of each control feature, simply
check the number with the explanations adjacent to each panel.

When you first recieve your amp, follow these simple procedures:

(i) Ensure that the amplifier is set at the correct voltage for the country it is to be used in.

(ii) Connect your instrument with a high quality shielded instrument cable. Use of cheap cables will compromise the
sound of your instrument and your amplifier.

If there is a problem with your amplifierLaney CA

DON'T

Care of your amplifier will prolong it's life.....and yours!.Laney

Laney CA

DO

PHONE YOUR DEALER!

CA MANUAL

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IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

WARNING: When using electric products, basic cautions should always be followed, including the following.

1. Read all safety and operating instructions before using this product

2. All safety and operating instructions should be retained for future reference

3. Obey all cautions in the Operating instructions and on the back of the unit

4. All operating instructions should be followed

5. This product should not be used near water, i.e. a bathtub, sink, swimming pool, wet basement, etc.

6. This product should be located so that its position does not interfere with its proper ventilation. It should not
be placed flat against a wall or placed in a built up enclosure that will impede the flow of cooling air.

7. This product should not be placed near a source of heat such as stove, radiator, or another heat producing
amplifier.

8. Connect only to a power supply of the type marked on the unit adjacent to the power supply cord.

9. Never break off the ground pin on a power supply cord.

10. Power supply cords should always be handled carefully. Never walk or place equipment on power supply
cords. Periodically check cords for cuts or signs of stress, especially at the plug and the point where the
chord exits the unit.

11. The power supply cord should be unplugged when the unit is to be unused for long periods of time.

12. If this product is to be mounted in an equipment rack, rear support should be provided.

13. Metal parts can be cleaned with a damp cloth. The vinyl covering used on some units can be cleaned with
a damp cloth or ammonia based household cleaner if necessary. Disconnect the unit from the power
supply before cleaning.

14. Care should be taken so that objects do not fall and liquids are not spilled into the unit through any
ventilation holes or openings.

15. A qualified service technician should check the unit if:

The power cord has been damaged
Anything has fallen or spilled into the unit
The unit does not appear to operate correctly
The unit has been dropped or the enclosure damaged.

16. The user should not attempt to service the equipment. All service work is done by a qualified
service technician.

17. Exposure to extremely high noise levels may cause a permanent hearing loss. Individuals vary
considerably in susceptibility to noise induced hearing loss, but nearly everyone will lose some hearing if
exposed to sufficiently intense noise for a sufficient time. The U.S. Government's Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA) has specified the following permissible noise level exposure.

3

Duration Per Day In Hours Sound Level dBA, slow response

890
692
495
397
2 100
1 ½ 102
1 105
½ 110

¼ or less 115
According to OSHA, any exposure in excess of the above permissible limits could result in some hearing loss. Ear
plugs or protectors in the ear canals or over the ears must be worn when operating this amplification system in
order to prevent a permanent hearing loss if exposure exceeds the limits set forth above. To ensure against
potentially dangerous exposure to high sound pressure levels it is recommended that all persons exposed to
equipment capable of producing high sound pressure levels such as this amplification system be protected by
hearing protectors while this unit is in operation.

Lightning Bolt Symbol:
This symbol is used to alert the user to the presence
of dangerous voltages and the possible risk of
electric shock.

SAVE THESE INSTRUCTIONS

Exclamation Mark Symbol:
This symbol is used to alert the user to make special note of
important operating or maintenance instructions found in the

!

reference manual.

CA MANUAL

Laney

4

Indroduction

The CA range of amplifiers use a new power output topology. This enables a design which has all the high
efficiency benefits of a class D type digital topology but without the usual draw backs of poor distortion and
difficult to control EMC problems. The CA design uses microprocessor-controlled high frequency switching of state
of the art output power FETs.
Most switching amplifiers work at frequencies of around 200kHz. The CA runs at varying rates depending on the
input signal from 600kHz to 1.2Mhz. This has many benefits both to efficiency and sonic performance.

The heart of the design uses thick film technology for high reliability and consistency. The power supply is a
conventional massive oversized toroidal design avoiding the problems of instant transient power delivery and
unreliability associated with many switch mode designs.
Due to the very high efficiency (typically 85-90%), noisy unreliable, fans are eliminated in favor of an aluminium
chassis and side mounted heat-sink extrusions.

The amplifier has the unique ability to look like a near perfect "audio modulated" power supply. This gives big
advantages when driving difficult loads where impedance's vary over the frequency spectrum the CA amplifier is
unaffected and drives the loads much more perfectly giving a dramatically improved performance to many
speaker systems.

The amplifiers also contain microprocessor controlled soft clipping and user switchable limiter* circuitry.
*(Factory fitted option only together with VCA control - Part Number LMT3000)

Speakon(TM) connectors are used for the outputs and a combination of electronically balanced XLR/Jack inputs.
The input gain is internally selectable by jumper links from +4dBu to 0dbu or to 26dB gain. (See later for
description) There are also input level controls on the fascia panel to attenuate down from the preset levels with
associated five band LED level displays.

The rear panel features bridge /mono mode switching and a signal earth lift.
The amplifier avoids the use of conventional unreliable fuses and uses automatically resetting devices for the
internal electronics and a front panel mounted manual re-settable overload cutout.
Protection circuitry covers over and under voltage operation, short /open circuit load conditions, DC Voltage and
excessive input signals.
Soft start circuitry is included to reduce switch on surges from the mains power. Automatic output muting is
included to avoid extraneous noise appearing at the speakers at turn on and turn off from the amplifier or other
units in the sound system.
Much work has been carried out to ensure EMC compliance is well within European and US standards for present
and future standards.

Three models are currently available:

CA600
CA1500
CA3000

Applications include, use as recording studio monitor and stereo broadcast amplifier, Professional PA amplifier,
and Esoteric hi-fi amplifier etc.

To gain maximum benefit from your amplifier please read and understand the instructions in this handbook. The
amplifiers have been created to meet any condition you may use them for. Enjoy.

CA MANUAL

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Input Wiring

The CA amplifier is factory set to +4dB input sensitivity, and internally selectable to either 0dB, +4dB or 26dB
system. Setting the input sensitivity requires the removal of the top cover. If in any doubt, consult a qualified
service engineer. For details on changing sensitivity setting see page 13

The 1/4“ Jack and 3pin XLR inputs are wired in parallel,

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1

2

3

Tips.

1. For all input wiring use good quality shielded wire only. Cables with foil wrap shield or a high density braid are
superior. Cables with stranded spiral shield, although flexible, will break down over time and coase noise
problems.

2. Try to avoid unbalanced lines with professional equipment. If you have no choice, keep the cables as short as
possible.

3. To minimise hum and crosstalk, avoid running low level input, high level output and AC power feeds in the same
path. Try to run differing signal paths at 90 degrees to each other. If you must use a common path for all cables,
use a star-quad cable for the low level signals.

4. When changing input connectors or wiring, Always turn the amplifier volume controls all the way down(anti­clockwise)

5. When changing output connectors, always turn the amplifier volume levels fully down, and preferably, switch off
mains supply.

Pin1. Ground
Pin2. Hot
Pin3. Col

Sleeve = Screen (GND)
Ring = Cold
Tip = Hot

Output Wiring

1. To maintain good bass response, Always use the lowest DC resistance cable you can afford which will terminate
safely in your connector
2 To prevent short circuits, Always wrap or otherwise insulate exposed loudspeaker cable connectors.

3. Do not use connectors that could accidently tie conductors together. Eg. Standard 1/4“ jacks.

4. Never use connectors that could accidentally be plugged into an AC power outlet.

5. Avoid connectors with low current carrying capacity, such as XLRs

6. Never use the 2+,2- pins on the output speakon(tm) unless you specifically need them. Eg for biamping.

What gauge speaker wire should I use in my system?

loss you will want to use the heaviest gauge that is practical. The length of the speaker wire should be considered
when considering wire gauge. The shorter the run, the smaller gauge you can use with minimum power and
damping factor loss. The longer the run, the heavier gauge you will need to minimise power and damping factor
loss. You will also want to consider the size of power amplifier you are using. The larger the amplifier, the heavier
gauge you will want to use. For general use consider 2mm or above.

Can I run one channel of my CA Amplifier at a different impedance than the other channel?

Yes. All CA amplifiers can be treated as if they are two separate "mono" amplifiers (One channel completely
independent of the other) For example: A CA1500 can function with a single 8 ohm speaker on channel one and
two 8 ohm speakers on channel two.

- Pin configuration.

Wiring a standard Neutrik NL4 Speakon ™ For normal operation.

2+

2-

1-

1+

For the best speaker damping and least amount of power

2

-

+

CA MANUAL