Parasound P-SP-1500 User Manual

O W N E R ' S M A N U A L

P/SP-1500 AV Processor/Preamplifi er

2 P/SP-1500 Owner's Manua l

Table of Contents

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

Unpacking and Placement .......................................................................................................................... 2

Setting up Your Home Theater................................................................................................................... 3

Home Theater Setup Diagrams................................................................................................................... 4

Making Connections to Your P/SP-1500 ................................................................................................... 5

P/SP-1500 Rear Panel Connections............................................................................................................ 6

P/SP-1500 Front Panel and Remote Control .............................................................................................. 9

Operating your P/SP-1500........................................................................................................................ 10

Calibrating your Home Theater ................................................................................................................ 14

Using the Trim Function for Temporary Level Adjustment .................................................................... 16

Maintaining Your P/SP-1500 ................................................................................................................... 17

Troubleshooting........................................................................................................................................ 17

Specifications............................................................................................................................................ 19

Special Features........................................................................................................................................ 20

Rewiring for 220 Volt Operation.............................................................................................................. 20

Limited Warranty ..................................................................................................................................... 21

Introduction

Congratulations on your purchase of this precision audio/video component and thank you for your
selection of Parasound. We designed your P/SP-1500 AV Processor/Preamplifier to be the heart of the
finest home theater systems and to provide you with years of listening enjoyment. Easy to use
on-screen display and an intuitive remote control makes your P/SP-1500 one of the most user-friendly
processor/control centers available. Six different processing modes including Dolby Pro Logic and
THX Home Cinema, provide you with a wide variety of listening experiences. To keep pace with the
latest processing technology, your P/SP-1500 also has a DB-25 connector on its rear panel to
accommodate an outboard 5.1 digital processor. Please take the time now to read these instructions
thoroughly to fully appreciate the numerous capabilities of your P/SP-1500 AV Processor/Preamplifier.

Unpacking

Carefully unpack your P/SP-1500 AV Processor/Preamplifier and remove all the enclosed accessories
including the remote control and detachable AC cord. Be sure to inspect the unit for any possible
shipping damage. If you see any, contact your Parasound Dealer immediately. Be sure to save both
cartons and the packing inserts for future transport and always pack the inner carton into a protective
outer carton before shipment.

Before you proceed, find the serial number located on the rear panel of your unit. Record it here for
future reference. ____________________

Placement of Your P/SP-1500

Install your P/SP-1500 near all of your source equipment to allow for reasonably short interconnects.
Keep your P/SP-1500 out of direct sunlight because it could interfere with the remote control sensor.
You should also keep the unit away from heat sources such as hot air ducts or radiators. You may wish
to reserve about two to three inches of space for the addition of the companion Parasound P/DD-1500
Dolby Digital (AC-3) Decoder. Your P/SP-1500 will occupy two rack spaces (3 1/2 inch) in a standard
equipment rack. The optional P/DD-1500 occupies a single rack space (1 3/4 inch).

P/SP-1500 Owner's Manual 3

Setting Up Your Home Theater System

Refer to Diagram on Page 4

Speaker Placement

Proper speaker placement is essential for optimum performance of your home theater system. Improper
placement of speakers can produce an unnatural sound and greatly diminish the home theater
experience. Here are some basic guidelines for speaker placement based upon idealized conditions.
However, it may be necessary to make compromises for furniture, windows, doorways, and other
aesthetic reasons.

Front Speakers

Try to locate your front left and right speakers an equal distance from your television monitor or
projection screen. Ideally, your viewing/listening position should be at the point of an equilateral
triangle with the left and right speakers at the other points.

Center Speaker

The center speaker’s main function is to reproduce dialog and to join the sonic image from the speakers
with the visual image on the screen. It is best to place your center speaker directly above or below the
television monitor for a more realistic effect. The distance from your listening position to the center
channel speaker should be the same distance as from your listening position to the left and right
speakers. This necessitates placing the center speaker somewhat behind the left and right speakers. This
placement assures the sound from all three front speakers will arrive at your listening position at
precisely the same time. If you are using a direct view television with a picture tube, we strongly
recommend a shielded center channel speaker if you intend to locate it near the monitor. The magnetic
field of an unshielded speaker will cause an extreme discoloration of most direct view TV screens. If
you are placing your front speakers behind a high-quality perforated projection screen, locate your center
speaker at the same height as your left and right speakers.

Conventional Surround Speakers

Surround speaker placement is a little more flexible than the front speakers. In the Dolby Pro Logic and
even Dolby Digital (AC-3) mode surround speakers are intended to create a more diffuse ambient effect
rather than a precise sonic image. To avoid drawing your attention away from the action on the screen,
you should not be able to localize the sound coming from your surround speakers. Therefore, you
should try to avoid pointing the surround speakers directly toward your listening position and place them
behind you and at least three feet above your ear level when you are seated. You may even want to try
aiming them at the wall or ceiling for a greater ratio of reflected to direct sound to help reduce
localization. Experimentation with surround speaker placement is often required to yield optimum
results.

THX Dipole Surround Speakers

THX certified dipole surround speakers are designed for superior surround channel performance. If you
are using THX Home Cinema front and rear firing dipole surround speakers, locate them at least two
feet above and to the sides of your listening area. This places you in the “null” of the dipole speakers to
minimize localization of the surround speakers.

Subwoofer

The best way to position your subwoofer is to first hook it up and place it close to your listening
position. Next, stand in various spots within your room and find the location that will give you the
strongest and most balanced bass without excessive boominess. Once you have found the optimum
location, simply relocate the subwoofer to that spot.

4 P/SP-1500 Owner's Manual

L. Surr

Null

Null

R. Surr

LEFT

RIGHT

MONITOR

CENTER

SUB

Typical home theater setup using THX dipole surround speakers.
Note that all three front speakers are the same distance to the listening area.

L. Surr

LEFT

MONITOR

CENTER

SUB

RIGHT

R. Surr

Typical home theater setup using conventional surround speakers
Note that all three front speakers are the same distance to the listening area

P/SP-1500 Owner's Manual 5

Making Connections to Your P/SP-1500

Refer to Diagram on Page 6

Input Connections

Before making any connections to your P/SP-1500, be sure to turn off the power to your amplifiers.
Also, make sure there is no strain or tension on any connections that could make them pull loose.

Audio/Video Input Connections

Your P/SP-1500 comes equipped with four audio/video line inputs, three audio-only inputs, plus a six
channel discrete input for an external digital surround adaptor. All seven inputs are compatible with any
typical analog line level source such as a compact disc player, digital to analog converter, tuner, tape
deck, or the audio output of a laser disc player or video cassette recorder. The four audio/video inputs
also have switching capability for both NTSC composite video or S-video. You may use just the audio
jacks of any of the audio/video inputs if your system needs to accommodate more audio than video
source components.

Video Inputs 1-3 (Playback Only)

Connect the audio and video outputs of any audio/video source such as a laser disc player, video cassette
recorder, satellite receivers, etc. to these inputs. This input has accompanying S-video or composite
video connections, but it does not provide an audio/video record output. If your video cassette recorder
has only a mono output you can use either the left or right audio input jack of your P/SP-1500.
However, the internal circuitry will not produce surround effects from mono signals.

Video Input 4 (Record and Playback)

Use this input for to the video cassette recorder you also intend to use for recording. The Video 4 input
has accompanying composite and S-video switching and full audio/video recording output capability.
Its record input accepts signals from any of the other six line inputs. Connect the left and right audio
output connectors from the video cassette recorder you will use for recording to the Video 4 Play
connectors of the P/SP-1500. Next, connect the left and right audio input connectors of the video
cassette recorder you will use for recording to the Video 4 Rec connectors of the P/SP-1500.

Audio 1-3 (Audio Only)

Connect a line level source to these audio-only inputs such as a compact disc player, digital to analog
converter, tuner, or tape deck.

S-Video and Composite Video Connections

Your P/SP-1500 has both composite RCA and S-video circuits with separate video amplifiers for each of
the four audio/video inputs. If you connect a video signal to one of the RCA composite input
connectors, the signal will only be available through the RCA composite Monitor and Video 4 Record
output connectors. Likewise, if you connect a video signal to the S-video input, the video signal will
only be available through the S-video Monitor and Video 4 Record output connections.

Connecting the Television Monitor or Video Projector

Connect the RCA composite or S-video Monitor output connector of your P/SP-1500 to the input
connector of your monitor or projector. If you have a monitor with a separate S-video and composite
inputs, connect the P/SP-1500 S-video output to one of the monitor’s inputs (such as External 1) and the
composite output to another input (such as External 2). This way, you can view both composite or S­video sources by selecting External 1 or External 2 on your video monitor or projector.

CD

Player

L

R

Audio Cassette Deck

L

R

Rec/In

Play/OutLine Out

Video Cassette Recorder

Audio Video Audio Video

L

R

Rec/In Video In

L

R

Play/Out Video Out

Audio Out

TV Monitor

L

R

Video In

6 P/SP-1500 Owner's Manua l

Laser Disc Player

L

LD Play

R

Audio Out Video Out

Discrete 5.1 Adapter

Audio 3

L

R

Monitor Video 4 Rec

Audio 2 Audio 1 Video 4 Play Video 3 Play

Video 4 Play Video 3 Play

Video 4 Rec

Audio Inputs

Amplifier 1 Amplifier 2 Amplifier 3

Video 2 Play Video 1 Play

Video 2 Play Video 1 Play

112 2 12

Monitor Video 4 Rec

Comp

S

Video

Video

Video

Rec Output Rear

Front/Direct

R

L

Video 4 Play Video 3 Play

Audio Outputs

Center

Subwoofer

Video 2 Play Video 1 Play

Center

Sub Control

Speaker

None
Small
Large

or THX

Alternate Connection

L C R full range
Sub off

L C R full range
Sub full range

L C R high pass
THX Filters

PARASOUND P/SP-1500
AV Processor / Preamplifier
Parasound Products, Inc
San Francisco, CA U.S.A.

External
Remote

Input

Notes:

1. If you are using amplifiers with different power ratings, use
the highest rated power amplifier for the center and subwoofer
channels. Use the next most powerful amplifier for the left and
right channels. Your smallest amplifier should be used for the
surround channels.

2. Connections from the video components to the P/SP-1500
show both S-video and composite video jacks. If the video
component you are connecting to the P/SP-1000 has both,
use only one type at a time.

3. For clarity, drawing does not show all possible connections.

4. Safety and patent information are on the bottom panel.

AC 120V 60Hz

DC Trigger

GND

+12V

Power Consumption 20 W

Left Speaker Center Speaker Right Speaker Left Surround Right Surround Subwoofer

Input and Output Connections to the Parasound P/SP-1500

Powered Subwoofer

P/SP-1500 Owner's Manual 7

5.1 Outboard Adaptor Input Connection

The DB-25 connector on the rear panel of your P/SP-1500 will accept the processed analog output of an
outboard 5.1 digital adaptor such as the Parasound P/DD-1500 Digital Surround Processor (available Fall,

1996). With this advanced feature, you can play Dolby Digital AC-3 sources and keep up-to-date with the
latest advancements in digital surround and home theater technology.

Audio Output Connections
Front Left and Right Channel Outputs

Connect the left and right Front/Direct outputs of your P/SP-1500 to the inputs of the two channel
amplifier or multi-channel amplifier that will power your front left and right (L, R) speakers.

Center Channel Output

Connect the Center output of your P/SP-1500 to the input of the amplifier or the channel of a
multi-channel amplifier that will power your center (C) speaker.

Left and Right Surround Channel Outputs

Connect the left and right Rear outputs of your P/SP-1500 to the inputs of the two channel amplifier or
multi-channel amplifier that will power your left and right surround (LS, RS) speakers.

Subwoofer Output

Connect the Subwoofer output of your P/SP-1500 to the input of the power amplifier or channel of a
multi-channel amplifier that will power your subwoofer or to the line input of a powered subwoofer (Sub).

Audio Only Record/Play Connections

Use these outputs in conjunction with any of the audio inputs and an audio tape deck. Connect the left and
right Play/Output of your tape deck to the left and right input connectors of Audio 1, Audio 2 or

Audio 3. Next, connect the left and right Rec Output of your P/SP-1500 to the left and right Audio
Record/Input connectors of your tape deck.

Recording From Your P/SP-1500

You can use your P/SP-1500 for both audio/video and audio only recording with the Video 4 and Audio
Rec Output connections. To record through either of these recording output connectors, simply select the

source you want to record on the front panel or remote control and the P/SP-1500 simultaneously routes
the audio and video to the connectors of Video 4 Rec and to the audio connectors of Audio Rec Output.

Subwoofer Control Switch

The three position Subwoofer Control switch allows you to configure the subwoofer output jack to suit
your speaker system. If your front speakers are designed to run full range and you are not using a
subwoofer, set the Subwoofer Control switch to the L, C, R, Full Range/Sub off position. If your front
speakers are designed to run full range and you are using a subwoofer with a built in low-pass filter, set the
switch to the L, C, R, Full Range/Sub full range position. If you are using a THX-approved speaker
system that includes a subwoofer, set the switch to the L, C, R, Sub/THX Filters position. This activates
the built-in THX designed asymmetrical low pass and high pass crossover for the subwoofer and front left,
center, and right speakers. The low-pass filter for the subwoofer has a high frequency roll-off of 24 dB per
octave starting at 80 Hz. The high-pass filter has a low frequency roll-off of 12 dB per octave starting at
80 Hz for the front left, center, and right speakers.