AudioControl 960 961 manual

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Table of contents for the manual

  • Page 1

    AR C H ITE CT Model 9 6 0 Model 9 6 1 1 6 Channel Power Amplifier Speaker Optimizer Professional Inst aller’s Consc iousness Guide 22410 70th A venue W est Mountlake T errace, W A 98043 USA 425-775-8461 • Fax 425-778-3166 www .audiocontrol.com ® For Those Who Consider Perfection Possible ® ©2004. All rights reserved. TM[...]

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    ® Impor tant Information Dealer Name _______________________________________ Date Installed _______________________________________ Serial Number ______________________________________ Ethernet MAC Address _______________________________ I P Address Dynamic / Static __________________________[...]

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    AR C H ITE CT Model 96 0 Model 961 Inst aller’s Guide ™ C ONTE NTS The Architect TM Product Highlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Experienced Installer ’ s Quick Hook-Up Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 A Guided T our Of The Architect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Hooking Up Y our System . . . . . . .[...]

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    ® The Ar chitect Model 960, Model 961[...]

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    AR C H ITE CT Model 96 0 Model 961 Inst aller’s Guide ™ Produc t Highlights 1 C ongratulations! Y ou are now installing a component which can dramatically improve the performance of any distributed audio system, espe- cially those utilizing in-wall speakers. The Architect™ 900 Series is an American-designed and built, “set and forget” com[...]

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    ® Produc t Highlights 2 Cool Running - Distributed audio systems can place terrific de- mands on a home’ s AC power . Sometimes just a little brownout can cause an amplifier to pull enough current to blow the house circuit breaker . Even when they’re running properly , most amplifiers put out enough heat to make any air conditioning system swe[...]

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    AR C H ITE CT Model 96 0 Model 961 Inst aller’s Guide ™[...]

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    ® Front Panel  Stereo Speaker Equalization contr ols - This array of knobs provide up to 12dB boost or cut at 75Hz, 250Hz, 700Hz, 2500Hz and 12KHz. After initial adjustment the only time you would change the control settings are 1) if you connect different speakers into the system, 2) if (assum- ing the speakers aren’t built-in) you move them[...]

  • Page 9

    AR C H ITE CT Model 96 0 Model 961 Inst aller’s Guide ™ 5 A Guided T our Of T he Architec t tm 9 00 Series mor e r ear panel features on the next page )[...]

  • Page 10

    ® 6  PFM Highpass Filter – This bass blocking filter sets the low frequency cut-off point of the Archi- tect. The PFM filter is 18dB per octave and the frequency is fixed at 40Hz. When this button is Out (defeated) the channel passes full range to the zone.  Bus Select Switches – These two buttons next to each zones local input jacks sel[...]

  • Page 11

    AR C H ITE CT Model 96 0 Model 961 Inst aller’s Guide ™ 7 Hooking Up Y our S ystem What you’ll need: 1. The Architect™ 900 Series Amplifier . 2. RCA audio hook-up cables. 3. Small blade screwdriver for terminal blocks 4. (Optional) A balanced line driver (of course we recom- mend the AudioControl BLD-10 and BLR-10) if you are going to mount[...]

  • Page 12

    ® Installation: The L ong V ersion 8 Installation: The L ong V ersion What follows is a step-by-step guide to integrating the Archi- tect into your multi-zone system. If it seems overly detailed, please forgive us. W e would rather tell you too much than too little. First, check your new Architect for any shipping damage. W e pack ‘em pretty sec[...]

  • Page 13

    AR C H ITE CT Model 96 0 Model 961 Inst aller’s Guide ™ Installation: T he Long V ersion 9 POWE R Under normal operating conditions, the Architect 900 Series can draw up to 1600 watts of AC power . Don’t plug it into a switched outlet on your system unless you are certain that it can handle the power rating. Also, please don’t cut of f the [...]

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    AR C H ITE CT Model 96 0 Model 961 Inst aller’s Guide ™[...]

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    AR C H ITE CT Model 96 0 Model 961 Inst aller’s Guide ™ SPEAK ER HO OK -U P The same rule applies to the speaker wires as the RCA con- nections. Establish a standard connection color code and stick with it. One conductor of the speaker wire is normally marked by a different color (silver versus copper) or there is a ribbing on one side. T ypica[...]

  • Page 18

    ® Equalizing the System Equalizing the S ystem Before proceeding on to setting up the Speaker Optimization controls on the Architect, it’ s a good idea to make sure that you have everything connected and working properly . 1. Double-check all connections. Make certain that all of the audio and speaker connections are firmly seated and tightened [...]

  • Page 19

    AR C H ITE CT Model 96 0 Model 961 Inst aller’s Guide ™ Equalization Contr ols Here is a brief introduction to each of the Speaker Optimiza- tion control frequencies and what their affect on your music is. 75 Hz – Bass. This is at the bottom end of the frequencies which typical in-wall and small bookshelf speakers can achieve. Even though the[...]

  • Page 20

    ® A Short Introduction T o Equalizers And Acoustics Magazine reviewers and audio system owners spend much time critically appraising speakers and other stereo components. Unfortunately , a phenomenon that has a very lar ge effect upon sound is not easily judged or changed. That effect is the ACOUS- TICS of the environment in which you are listenin[...]

  • Page 21

    AR C H ITE CT Model 96 0 Model 961 Inst aller’s Guide ™ Another set of variables is the shape and volume of your listening room. Large rooms require more bass ener gy to excite waves within them. Small rooms need less energy , but reflect it differently . And then there’ s the fact that most rooms don’t have four walls anymore, but open int[...]

  • Page 22

    TH E TR UTH AB OUT BAS S AN D TH E PRO G RAM MAB LE FR EQU E NCY MA T C H FI L TER Now that digital audio is the favorite musical source, there’ s more low bass running around in a typical system. Low bass injects large amounts of power into ANY kind of speaker — up to 60% of your amplifier ’ s output is being used to reproduce fre- quencies [...]

  • Page 23

    A common problem with amplifiers is their In-Rush current. That is the extra power that the amplifier draws from the AC wall outlet when you turn on the amplifier . A single 15 amp household circuit may be fine for running a couple Brand X amplifiers under normal operation, but when they are first turned on, the combined in-rush current draw is usu[...]

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    AR C H ITE CT Model 96 0 Model 961 Inst aller’s Guide ™[...]

  • Page 26

    ® Dynamic versus Static IP Address – This is pretty basic; a Dynamic IP address changes every time you log onto the network, a Static IP address always stays the same. A good example of a dynamic IP address is your dial-up Internet access. Y our computer gets a different IP address assigned to it every time you dial up. A network installation us[...]

  • Page 27

    AR C H ITE CT Model 96 0 Model 961 Inst aller’s Guide ™ T r oubleshooting the Ar chitect Almost all problems can be eliminated by re-checking the wiring and settings of the Architect amplifier . If a problem cannot be solved using the guide below , please call the AudioControl factory for further assistance. 1. No Sound: a. V erify the Power LE[...]

  • Page 28

    ® 4. Protection LED is Red: a. Check main AC fuses - if one blows, the protection activates b. Something rather serious has happened inside the Architect. Call the AudioControl factory . 5. Speaker Buzzing or Cracking at high volume: a. Reduce the equalizer boost at 75Hz. b. T ry enabling the PFM filter . 6. There is no audio input signal, but the[...]

  • Page 29

    AR C H ITE CT Model 96 0 Model 961 Inst aller’s Guide ™ A Br azen Plug F or Other A udioContr ol Pr oducts AudioControl started out making graphic equalizers in 1977. Our heritage and design experience grew from a background in professional audio, so we were never quite satisfied with what was available for the consumer audio market. Since that[...]

  • Page 30

    ® Appendix A BR I D G I NG TH E AR C H ITECT T o increase the output power of the Architect, you can join (bridge) two channels of the Architect into a single channel of 230 watts. Accomplishing this is a simple matter . Just press the Mono button to send the same audio signal to both channels of the zone and then connect the speaker terminals as [...]

  • Page 31

    AR C H ITE CT Model 96 0 Model 961 Inst aller’s Guide ™ 27 Appendix The commands are broken into two groups: Controls and Inquiries . The Controls issue instructions to the Model 961 for power control and channel muting; the Inquires return the status of amplifier channels, AC line voltage, the amplifier temperature, and the failure data log. C[...]

  • Page 32

    ® 28 The W arranty People are scared of warranties. Lots of fine print. Months of waiting around. W ell, fear no more. This warranty is designed to make you rave about AudioControl. It’ s a warranty that looks out for you and your client, plus helps you resist the temptation to have your friend, who’ s “good with electronics”, try to repai[...]

  • Page 33

    AR C H ITE CT Model 96 0 Model 961 Inst aller’s Guide ™ 29 W hat to do if you need service W hat to do if y ou need service First, contact AudioControl, either by e-mail, phone or F AX. W e’ll verify if there is anything wrong that you can fix yourself, or that it needs to be sent back to our factory for repair . Please include the following [...]

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    AR C H ITE CT Model 96 0 Model 961 Inst aller’s Guide ™ 9 00 Series Specifications Amplifier Power Rating (all channels driven) . . . . . 60 W atts @ 8 ohms Bridged Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230 W atts @ 8 ohms Minimum Speaker Load . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 ohms (2 ohms limited zones) Damping Factor . . . .[...]

  • Page 36

    P/N 913 080 0 22410 70th A venue W est Mountlake T errace, W A 98043 USA 425-775-8461 • Fax 425-778-3166 e-mail: info@audiocontrol.com V isit us on the web at www .audiocontrol.com ® For Those Who Consider Perfection Possible ®[...]