Parasound HCA-2200II User Manual
O W N E R ‘ S M A N U A L
H C A - 2200 II U l t r a H i g h C u r r e n t P o w e r A m p l i f i e r
Congratulations on your purchase of this precision audio component and thank you for your selection of
Parasound. Your HCA-2200II was designed by one of the world's most renowned circuit designers, John
Curl. It is among the elite of the finest power amplifiers ever made. You have made an outstanding investment in your musical pleasure for years to come.
Every part, every direct-coupled circuit, has been painstakingly selected for optimum musical quality on the
finest and most challenging music and loudspeaker loads. Take a look at the special features later in this
manual to fully appreciate its considerable prowess.
Please take a few moments now to read these instructions thoroughly so you may fully understand the
sophisticated capabilities of your new Parasound HCA-2200II power amplifier.
Unpacking
The HCA-2200II is packed in two strong cardboard cartons. Save your cartons and the styrofoam inserts for
future safe transport in case you move or the unit ever requires shipping for repair. Note, the inner printed
carton is not itself strong enough for safe shipping, so you absolutely must place it into the additional outer
"overcarton" before shipment.
T o remove the unit, you may use the handles at front and rear to balance its weight. You may findit easier if
you first rest the unit on its rear handles so you can change your grip before moving it to its correct horizontal position. Take care not to cut or scratch yourself on the exposed extruded metal heatsinks on either side
of the unit.
The AC cord is packed separately in the carton. This is a specially selected audiophile grade cord and is the
only cord we recommend for use with the HCA-2200II. Please don't lose it.
Before you proceed, find the serial number which is located on the rear panel ofthe unit and record it here for
future reference or in case of casualty loss or theft:________________
Warning:To prevent fire or shock hazard, do not expose this unit to rain or moisture.
Placement of your HCA-2200II
Keep your Parasound HCA-2200II out of direct sunlight and away from windows which could ever be left open to let
in rain. It should be placed away from heat sources such as hot air ducts or radiators. Make sure your cabinet or shelf
can support its weight!
Do not place the unit directly on a pile carpet that could interfere with air flow into its bottom vent openings or heat
sinks. If you place the HCA-2200II on the floor near your speakers, put it on a piece of wood to elevate it above the pile
of the carpet. If you stack your components, it is better to place the HCA-2200II alongside your other components.
The HCA-2200II is biased well into Class A, resulting in noticeably warm operation which could disturb components
stacked on top of it. If it is inside a cabinet, allow ample ventilation. Very sensitive low level sources placed too close
might pick up some hum radiated from its enormous powersupply.
Rack Mounting the HCA-2200II
The HCA-2200II can be mounted in a standard EIA 4 unit 19" rack. Make sure you select heavy duty mounting bolts
and nuts and use washers under the heads of the bolts to avoid scratching the amplifier's anodized front panel. Do not
attempt to hold the unit in place yourself while you attach the bolts and nuts - have someone support the unit while it is
being attached to the rack.
Making Connections
Before making any signal or speaker connections, make sure your power amplifier is turned off.
When making connections, make sure there is no strain or tension on input leads or speaker wires that could cause them
to pull loose later on.
lnput connections
In most stereo systems, you will use the gold-plated RCA jacks for the Right and Left channels. Make sure these are
consistent with the right and left outputs from your preamplifier.
For professional applications you can use the alternate XLR (often called "Cannon") input connectors. The XLR inputs
are for balanced lines whose ground is a third wire, separate from the audio signal + and - wires. The HCA-2200II
employs this industry standard pin configuration:
Pin 1 Ground Balanced signal lines are preferred for long signal runs to reduce hum pickup
Pin 2 + signal They are also useful in areas where excessive RF or 60 Hz television
Pin 3 - signal broadcast synch. signals might interfere.
Some of the finest high end preamplifiers, including the Parasound P/FR-2000 and P/LD- 1500, provide balanced line
outputs. If your preamplifier is so equipped, you may prefer to use the balanced connections which increase immunity
to external noise. Be certain to check the pin configuration for your preamplifier's balanced line outputs and, if necessary, reverse the wires at one end of the right and left cables so each preamplifier + goes to the HCA-2200II +; each
preamplifier - goes to the HCA-2200II's - ; each preamplifier ground goes to the HCA-2200II ground.
Note Balanced/Unbalanced lnput Select Switches
Select the inputs, XLR or RCA jack, which you have connected to the HCA-2200II Do not change the left and right
channel input selector switches while the amplifier is operating!
Rear Panel
1. Input Jacks - RCA type for unbalanced lines
2. Input connectors - XLR type for balanced lines
3. Input selector switches - balanced or unbalanced inputs
4. Mono Bridging Selector
5. Speaker Terminals
6. Main Fuse
7. AC Power cord receptacle
8. Right channel B+, B- rail fuses
9. Left channel B+, B- rail fuses
10. Carry handles
Front Panel
1. Power Switch
2. Standby-Operation LEDs
3. Left, Right channel Current Overload LEDs
4. Left, Right channel Overheat LEDs
5. Carry handles
Speaker connections
You may use bare solid or standard wire up to AWG 12, spade lugs, banana or dual banana plugs with the
HCA-2200II "5-way" terminals. The 2nd pair of terminals is for bi-wiring (see below). If you use bare wire
without spade lugs or plugs, make sure you strip only enough wire to fit into the hole that runs across the
metal shaft of the terminal. Before inserting the wire, twist all its strands tightly to prevent strays that could
cause a short circuit between + and - terminals!
Polarity
It is important to observe correct polarity when using the stereo mode. One side of the speaker wire will
have some sort of mark, either printing, a raised ridge on the insulation or a different color of conductor . This
permits you to know which wire you had connected to the + and which to the - speaker terminals so you can
do exactly the same at the power amplifier terminals.
Mono lnput and Output
For mono, you will connect your single speaker to only the Left channel red + speaker terminal and the
Right channel red + speaker terminal. The Left and Right black - terminals are not connected. You must also
move the Mono/Stereo toggle switch up to mono before turning on the amplifier to avoid damage to your
amplifier or speaker. You only need to connect the mono input lead from the signal source to the HCA2200II's Right channel XLR or RCA input jack.
Mono/Stereo Switch
Never move this switch while the amplifiers turned on!
If you accidentally leave this switch in the mono position, you will find stereo output very weak and dis-
torted. Turn the unit off before switching back to stereo.
Minimum Mono lmpedance
The minimum recommended load for mono is 8Ω. If you know that your speaker has a uniform impedance
curve and you do not plan to drive the unit to maximum sustained high levels, you may use a 4Ω mono load.
These restrictions result from the mathematics of the bridging circuitry . In the bridge mode each channel of
the amplifier functions for only the + or - half of the musical waveform. Thus, each channel "sees" only half
of the speaker's impedance. Use of an 8Ω speaker means that the load for each channel is 4Ω. And for a 4Ω
speaker, it results in only 2Ω.
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