Monacor PRO-3500 Owners manual

PRO 3500

®

Professional Power Center
with Clean Power™ Stage 2 v.2.1 Filtering

Owner’s Manual

™

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Important Safety Precautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii

Proper Grounding and Installation Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

The Design Minds Behind the PowerCenter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Content Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Product Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Frequently Asked Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Appendices

Glossary of Power-Related Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

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IMPORTANT SAFETY PRECAUTIONS

Please read and observe the following safety points at all times. Failure to do so may cause serious personal injury
and/or death.

WARNING – Power Sources

Do not plug this Professional PowerCenter™ into a power outlet that differs from the source
indicated for safe use on the PowerCenter. If you don’t know the type of electrical power that is supplied

to home, studio, or venue, please consult the local power company.

WARNING – Grounding

A. Your Monster PowerCenter has a three-wire grounding-type AC plug (a three-prong plug).

This plug is designed to be inserted into a grounding-type outlet only. If this plug doesn’t fit directly inside
the outlet, do not attempt to force it. If this doesn’t work, contact a local electrician to install the proper grounded
outlet, or find a proper grounded outlet where you are performing. Never attempt to dismantle the plug in any way
(or to alter an extension cord) to make it fit into a two-prong outlet. Do not attempt to defeat the grounding feature
by using a 3-to-2 prong adapter.

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WARNING – Proper Cleaning

In general, the only cleaning necessary for your Monster PowerCenter is a light dusting.

Unplug from the wall before cleaning your PowerCenter. Do not use any type of liquid or aerosol cleaners.

WARNING – Liquid: Avoiding Electrical Shocks

Do not operate your Monster PowerCenter if liquid of any kind is spilled onto or inside the unit.

Contact Monster Power for instructions (see page 22). Do not operate your Monster PowerCenter near rain or any
standing water (e.g., puddle, bathtub, kitchen or bathroom sink).

WARNING – Power Cord Safety

A. When routing your Monster PowerCenter AC power cord, do not place it near heavy foot traffic
areas (e.g., hallways, doorways, etc.). Do not create a trip hazard with the power cord.

B. If your power cord’s protective jacket begins to rip or fray, exposing the internal wiring, shielding,
etc., disconnect it from the power source and discontinue use of the Monster PowerCenter
immediately. See the warranty section of this owner’s manual (page 18).

iii

WARNING – Storm Precautions

In the event of a lightning storm, immediately disconnect (unplug) your Monster PowerCenter
from its power source. After you’ve done this, it’s not necessary to disconnect any components

from your Monster PowerCenter.

WARNING – No User Serviceable Parts Inside

If, for any reason, your Monster PowerCenter is not operating properly, do not remove
any part of the unit (cover, etc.,) for repair. Unplug the unit and consult this owner’s manual

for warranty and service information.

CAUTION – Exposure to Heat

Do not expose your Monster PowerCenter to direct sunlight or place it near wall heaters, space heaters,

or any enclosed space prone to temperature increase (e.g., car trunk).

iv

PROPER GROUNDING AND INSTALLATION TIPS

CAUTION – Proper Grounding

Monster PowerCenters require a properly grounded 3-wire outlet to protect connected equipment. If your
AC outlet is improperly wired (no ground or reverse polarity), the Green “Ground OK” light on the front panel
of the Professional PowerCenter PRO 3500 will not light up. In this event, call an electrician
to fix the problem in your home’s wiring.

Many older buildings are inadequately wired. It’s very common for a building to be improperly grounded. Building
wiring and grounding must conform to applicable NEC (USA) or CEC (Canada) codes. If you’re not sure about your
the wiring you are using, have it checked by a qualified electrician.

IMPORTANT NOTE –

To completely deliver clean power and protect your equipment against electrical surges, every wire
into or out of your equipment must be connected to an appropriate Monster PowerCenter.

Proper Power and Protection

v

INTRODUCTION

About Monster Power

Since 1979, Monster has provided high performance instrument and speaker cables to performing musicians and recording
professionals around the world. In 1998, we introduced Monster Power, a complete line of affordable, audiophile-grade
PowerCenters that provided better sound, and complete protection against electrical surges and spikes. Robert Harley
and The Absolute Sound magazine said it best, “In my ten years as a reviewer, I’ve never heard as dramatic an improvement
in sound quality for so little money as that rendered by Monster Power’s Home Theatre PowerCenter™ HTS 2000.”
Now, Monster has created a new line of Professional Power Centers for the musician, studio owner, installer, and backline tech.
The PowerCenter PRO 3500 reflects Monster’s commitment to creating performance-enhancing solutions for music professionals.

Ordinary AC power accessories don’t increase the performance of the equipment they power. The PowerCenter’s
advanced technology and innovative design offers several patented convenience and performance features.

While your new PowerCenter also does an excellent job of protecting your equipment from harmful power surges,
its main performance benefit is much more than just surge protection. Our patented Clean Power™ filter circuitry
(U.S. Pat. No. 6,473,510 B1) virtually stops noise that goes right through ordinary surge protectors.

There is also more than one type of noise that can degrade connected equipment. Your PowerCenter features revolutionary
separate noise isolation between digital and analog filtered outlets. If any noise from components sharing the powerline
gets through one Clean Power filter, it will have to go through another filter to get to an adjacent set of outlets.
The result is an extremely low noise floor without hum or buzz that allows all of the rich harmonics and tone
to come through your performance.

As fellow musicians and audiophiles, we designed your PowerCenter to help achieve the best possible sound. Enjoy!

1

THE DESIGN MINDS BEHIND THE POWERCENTER

Richard Marsh – There are few experts able to solve the complex problems of AC power.

Richard Marsh is one of the illustrious few. He has designed best selling power conditioning
components costing more than $3,000 and now brings his expertise to Monster Power.
Richard developed Monster’s exclusive Clean Power
for several other groundbreaking designs. Richard’s background and research
into amplifier and capacitor design led to his development of the Servo-DC feedback concept
in power amplifiers – a concept that is used by virtually every amplifier manufacturer today.
His status as both the inventor of the MultiCap™ internal bypass capacitor and as the driving

force behind the high-end audio balanced circuit design concept has influenced the audiophile
community for years. Richard is responsible for some of the high end audio world’s most respected product designs,
essays and articles, and has contributed to
in

Who’s Who in the West.

Fi, The Absolute Sound

Demian Martin – Demian Martin has been solving complex AC power problems for several

years. As a technical consultant for successful paper and steel mills, Demian helped create

several innovative AC power solutions. He developed techniques to dramatically improve the

efficiency of these factories’ high power motor control systems – up to 50,000 watts each –

helping them avoid the costly premiums many factories must pay for AC power inefficiency.

Demian was also co-founder of Spectral Audio where he designed many breakthrough products

such as amplifiers and digital-to-analog converters. He now brings his expertise to Monster

Power’s elite research and development team.

™

circuitry. He is also responsible

and

Audio

magazines. He is included

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