Parasound T3 User Manual

T 3 Amplifier

Owner’s Guide

THANK YOU!

Congratulations and Thank You for Choosing Parasound

Your new Parasound Halo T 3 Tuner presents the latest advancements in tuner technology. The T 3 is built to the strict quality and performance standards set by Parasound. We’re proud to offer you this exceptional audio component that will bring you many years of enjoyment and dependability.

Here at Parasound, we design our products to perform at a higher level of flexibility and sonic performance than you may have expected. We encourage you to read this entire manual to learn all the features and capabilities of your new Halo T 3 Tuner.

If you’re eager to get up and running right away, simply follow the basic step-by-step instructions to connect and operate the T 3. If you want to learn about some of the technical and design aspects of your T 3, refer to the Technically Speaking and Design

Overview sections in the back of the manual. If you run into difficulties, the Troubleshooting Guide should help you quickly remedy the problem.

We appreciate you taking the time to read these instructions and thank you for selecting Parasound for your listening pleasure.

The Parasound Staff

Keeping Records for Future Reference

Record the serial number located on the bottom of your T 3 in the space below. Also note your Parasound Deale’s name and phone number. We recommend that you keep your purchase receipt with this manual and store them both in a safe place. You may need to refer to this information sometime in the future.

Parasound T 3 Tuner Serial #:__________________________

Parasound Dealer: ____________________________________

Phone Number:_______________________________________

Date of Purchase: _____________________________________

YOU SHOULD KNOW

There is no Parasound warranty for this unit if it was not purchased from an Authorized Parasound Dealer. Investigate any warranty claims made by unauthorized dealers very carefully as you will need to depend entirely upon the dealer, and NOT upon Parasound. Unauthorized dealers may lack the capability to arrange repairs of Parasound equipment. Authorized Parasound Dealers are listed at www.parasound.com or you can call 415-397-7100 between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm Pacific time.

A missing or tampered serial number could indicate that this unit was stolen or sold by an unauthorized dealer. You should return it to your dealer immediately for replacement or a full refund.

UNPACKING AND PLACEMENT GUIDELINES FOR THE T 3 _________________________________________________________________________________

CONNECTING THE BALANCED AUDIO OUTPUTS FROM THE T 3 TO YOUR PREAMPLIFIER OR SURROUND CONTROLLER _________________________________________________________________________________

CONNECTING THE UNBALANCED LINE OUTPUT 1 ON THE T 3 TO YOUR PREAMPLIFIER OR SURROUND CONTROLLER _________________________________________________________________________________

ANTENNA CONNECTIONS _________________________________________________________________________________

CONNECTING AN INFRARED REPEATER SYSTEM TO YOUR T 3 _________________________________________________________________________________

TURNING THE T 3 ON AND OFF WITH AN EXTERNAL +9 VDC TO +12 VDC TRIGGER VOLTAGE _________________________________________________________________________________

TRIGGERING ANOTHER COMPONENT FROM THE T 3’S 12V LOOP OUTPUT JACK _________________________________________________________________________________

RS232 CONTROL _________________________________________________________________________________

CONNECTING THE AC POWER CORD TO THE T 3 _________________________________________________________________________________

OPERATING YOUR T 3 _________________________________________________________________________________

FRONT PANEL AND REMOTE CONTROL _________________________________________________________________________________

TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE _________________________________________________________________________________

SERVICING YOUR T 3 _________________________________________________________________________________

TECHNICALLY SPEAKING _________________________________________________________________________________

PARASOUND T 3 DESIGN OVERVIEW _________________________________________________________________________________

T 3 SPECIFICATIONS _________________________________________________________________________________

TABLE OF CONTENTS

T 3 Tuner

UNPACKING AND PLACEMENT GUIDELINES FOR THE T 3

Unpacking Your T 3

Carefully unpack your T 3 from the shipping carton and remove all the enclosed accessories:

• Remote control with two AAA batteries

• Detachable AC cord

• FM Folded Dipole 300 Ω Antenna

• FM 300 ohm to 75 Ω balun matching transformer

• AM loop antenna

• Trigger control wire with a 2.5 mm sub-mini plug on each end.

While you are unpacking your new tuner, inspect it thoroughly for possible shipping damage. If you see any, contact your Parasound dealer right away. Be sure to save and store both the inner and outer cartons and packing inserts for possible future transport. To save room for storage, you can cut the seams on the bottom of the cartons and flatten them.

Placement Guidelines of Your T 3

For trouble-free operation and long-term reliability, please follow the simple guidelines below to help decide where to locate your T 3 in your system.

• Place the T 3 on a separate shelf that will adequately support its weight.

• Keep it away from heat sources such as air ducts or radiators.

• Leave at least 1” of space on all sides and the top. This helps facilitate passive heat dissipation.

• Keep it away from computers that may interfere with its reception.

Rack Mounting Your Parasound T 3

If you plan to mount the T 3 into a standard 19” wide equipment rack, you will need to purchase the optional Parasound HRA 2 Rack Mount Adapter. With its four feet removed, the T 3 chassis and front panel height occupies two rack spaces (3-1/2” or 88mm). When mounting equipment below the T 3, you will also need to allow about 1/8” below the unit for the bottom chassis screws. A single standard rack space allows 1-3/4” horizontal inches in a 19-inch wide equipment rack. This measurement standard was developed by the EIA (Electronic Industries Association) so manufacturers of electronic components and equipment racks could build products in standardized heights that would fit in a uniform space. Please call your Parasound dealer or call directly to Parasound Technical Services if you need additional advice about rack mounting the T 3.

YOU SHOULD KNOW

Balanced XLR Jacks and Their Pin Configuration

The balanced outputs of the T 3 use XLR jacks that conform to the industry standard of: Pin 1: Ground, Pin 2: Positive (+), Pin 3: Negative (--). The balanced inputs on some components use terminals with 3 screws instead of XLR jacks. These are compatible with the T 3 as long as you match the bare wires to the corresponding pins on the XLR plug: + to pin 2, - to pin 3, and Ground to pin 1.

Interconnect Cables and Their Color Codes

Common color codes for input and output jacks are red for right and white for left. Match the colors at the outputs from your preamplifier or surround controller to the inputs on your T 3 so you’ll always hear the channels in their intended position.

Balanced connections will give you the best sound. If your preamplifier or surround controller has balanced XLR inputs, we recommend that you connect them to these outputs. Refer to the

Balanced and Unbalanced Lines in the Technically Speaking section for additional information

about why we recommend using balanced lines.

What You’ll Need:

• One pair of balanced interconnect cables with XLR jacks

• A preamplifier or surround controller with balanced XLR input jacks

Before Connecting

Leave the AC cord disconnected until you have made all connections to prevent any surprise burst of sound.

Make sure that all your cables are long enough so they are not strained or stretched once they are connected.

To Connect

Plug the female end of one of the first balanced interconnect cable into the T 3’s right

Balanced Line Output 2 jack.

Plug the male end of this cable into the balanced right channel input jack on your preamplifier or surround controller.

Repeat steps 1 and 2 above to connect the left channel.

CONNECTING THE BALANCED AUDIO OUTPUTS FROM THE T 3 TO YOUR PREAMPLIFIER OR SURROUND CONTROLLER

3&4

XLR Connectors

Male

Female

Region

SURROUND SOUND CONTROLLER

PREAMP

Right

Left

INPUTS

RS232 Control

Use these unbalanced outputs if your preamplifier or surround controller doesn’t have balanced input jacks or if they are already used for another balanced source.

What You’ll Need:

• One pair of shielded interconnect cables with RCA plugs

• A preamplifier or surround controller with RCA input jacks

Before Connecting

Turn off the power to the T 3.

To Connect

Plug one end of the first cable into the right Line Output 1 jack on the T 3.

Plug the other end of this cable into the right channel tuner input jack on your preamplifier.

Repeat steps 1 and 2 for the left channel.

CONNECTING THE UNBALANCED LINE OUTPUT 1 ON THE T 3 TO YOUR PREAMPLIFIER OR SURROUND CONTROLLER

3&4

RCA Plugs

Right

Left

Region

PREAMPLIFIER

Right

INPUTS

Left

RS232 Control

In order to receive radio stations you will need to connect different antennas for both FM and AM. Basic FM and AM antennas are supplied with your T 3. Refer to Other Antenna

Options in the

Technically Speaking

section for detailed information regarding antennas.

FM Antenna Connection

The FM “dipole” antenna Is a pink-hued flexible wire that looks like a “T” when it’s stretched out. It provides adequate FM reception in many urban and suburban locations. Once connected, you can adjust its position for optimum reception. The ends of the wires at the base of the “T” end in spade lug connectors. The round T 3 FM 75 Ω antenna input is called an F connector.

What You’ll Need:

• The supplied dipole antenna

• The supplied “balun” transformer adapter

• A screwdriver

Before Connecting

Turn off the power to the T 3.

To Connect

Use the screwdriver to loosen the two screw terminals on the adapter.

Slide one of the metal spade lugs under each screw terminal.

Tighten the screw terminals so the spade lugs are firmly secured and not touching each other.

Press the "balan" adapter on the 75 Ω FM antenna F connector

Position the antenna for best FM reception.

Fasten the antenna on the wall or behind the equipment cabinet with small nails or thumbtacks.

ANTENNA CONNECTIONS

YOU SHOULD KNOW

Other FM Antenna Options

You need the balun adaptor to connect the antenna wires and to convert their 300 ohm impedance to the T 3 antenna input’s 75 ohm impedance. Although we have supplied a “folded dipole” antenna with your T 3, you will obtain better reception with a coaxial 75 ohm connection to an outdoor FM or TV/FM antenna or a coaxial 75 ohm connection to your cable TV service. Refer to Technically Speaking for details on other possible FM antenna options.

BALUN CONNECTOR

RS232 Control

Region

FM DIPOLE WIRE ANTENNA

AM Antenna Connection

The T 3 includes a separate molded plastic loop AM antenna with spade lugs at the end of its two wires. With this antenna, you can receive AM stations in many urban and suburban locations.

What You’ll Need:

• The supplied AM “loop” antenna

Before Connecting

Turn off the power to the T 3.

To Connect

Snap the loop antenna into the plastic holder at the far left side of the T 3 rear panel.

Loosen the GND and AM terminals on the T 3 rear panel. No screwdriver is needed.

Slide the spade lug from each antenna wire under each of these terminals.

Tighten these terminals so the spade lugs are firmly secured and not touching each other.

Position the loop antenna for best AM reception.

Once connected and clipped into its holder, you can swivel the antenna away from the T 3 rear panel to optimize AM reception.

ANTENNA CONNECTIONS continued

AM LOOP ANTENNA

CLIP ON AM LOOP ANTENNA

RS232 Control

Region

The External Remote Input jack is for a wired infrared repeater system or system controller. It eliminates the need for a stick-on front panel IR flasher. There is also a Loop Out jack to loop or “daisy chain” to an additional infrared remote-controlled component.

What You’ll Need:

• An infrared receiving eye

• A power supply for the IR system

• A connecting block from the external IR system’s manufacturer

• One cable with a 1/8” mini-plug on each end

Before Connecting

Turn off the power to the T 3.

To Connect

Plug the receiving eye into the input on the connecting block.

Plug the power supply into the connecting block.

Push one of the cable’s 1/8” mini-plugs into the connecting block.

Push the plug at the other end of this cable into the External Remote In jack on the T 3.

Plug an IR flasher or other IR repeater into the T 3’s External Remote Loop Out jack to control another component if desired.

CONNECTING AN INFRARED REPEATER SYSTEM TO YOUR T 3

YOU SHOULD KNOW

IR repeater connections may vary by brand. Refer to the installation manual of your IR repeater system for more information.

RS232 Control

Region

Input

Output

IR CONNECTING BLOCK.

+ 18 hidden pages

Parasound T3 User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual