Crown Audio 133472-1A manual

1 Amplifi er Application Guide Amplifi er Application Guide © 2006 by Cro wn A udio ® Inc., 1718 W . Misha waka Rd., Elkhart, IN 46517-9439 U.S .A. T elephone: 574-294-8000. F ax: 574-294-8329. www .crownaudio .com T r ademark Notice: Amcron ® , BCA ® , and Crown ® , Crown A udio, IOC ® , IQ System ® , ODEP ® and VZ ® are registered trad[...]

2 Amplifi er Application Guide The inf or mation fur nished in this manual does not include all of the details of design, production, or v ariations of the equipment. Nor does it cov er e very possible situation which ma y ar ise during installa- tion, operation or maintenance . If you need special assistance be yond the scope of this manual, plea[...]

3 Amplifi er Application Guide T able of Contents Introduction .................................................................................................. 4 Chapter 1: Crown Amplifi ers In-Depth ....................................................... 5 1.1 Rack Cooling .......................................................................[...]

4 Amplifi er Application Guide Intr oduction This application guide provides useful inf or mation designed to help you best use your ne w Crown ® amplifi er . It is designed to complement your amplifi er’ s Operation Manual , which describes the specifi c features and specifi cations of your amplifi er . Helpful guides and tips on subjects[...]

Chapter 1: Crown Amplifi ers In-Depth 5 Amplifi er Application Guide In This Chapter • Rack Cooling • System Wir ing • Amplifi er Load Impedance • Multi-W ay Systems • Distributed Speak er Systems • Setting System Gain Structure T his chapter provides inf or mation to help you get optimum perf or mance from your Cro wn amplifi er . [...]

6 Chapter 1: Crown Amplifi ers In-Depth Amplifi er Application Guide sides) is not bloc ked or cov ered by cab les. Also , if y our Crown amp has f oam fi lters , they can be cleaned with mild dish detergent and water when needed. The side walls of the r ack should be at least 2 inches (5 cm) aw ay from the chassis f or amps with side venting as[...]

Chapter 1: Crown Amplifi ers In-Depth 7 Amplifi er Application Guide 1.2 System Wiring The inf or mation in this section cov ers making input and output wir ing connec- tions, as w ell as troubleshooting prob lems relating to system wir ing. 1.2.1 Input Wiring Input Connector Wiring Ref er to the f ollowing diag rams f or input cable wiring for c[...]

8 Chapter 1: Crown Amplifi ers In-Depth Amplifi er Application Guide Unbalanced, Grounded Sour ce , T win-Lead Shielded Cable F or use with components equipped with three-wire grounded A C line cord or other ground connection. Unbalanced, Floating Source, T win-Lead Shielded Cable F or use with components equipped with two-wire A C line cord or b[...]

Chapter 1: Crown Amplifi ers In-Depth 9 Amplifi er Application Guide 1.2.2 Solving Input Prob lems Infrasonic (Subaudible) Frequencies Sometimes large infrasonic (sub- audible) frequencies are present in the input signal. These can damage loudspeakers b y ov er loading or ov erheating them. T o attenuate such frequencies, place a capacitor in ser[...]

10 Chapter 1: Crown Amplifi ers In-Depth Amplifi er Application Guide 1.3 Output Wiring 1.3.1 Output Connector Wiring 5-W ay Binding P ost If the amplifi er is set f or Stereo (Dual), connect the positive (+) and negative (–) leads of each loudspeaker to the appropri- ate Channel 1 and Channel 2 output connectors as shown in Figure 1.6. If the[...]

Chapter 1: Crown Amplifi ers In-Depth 11 Amplifi er Application Guide Barrier Block If the amplifi er is set f or Stereo (Dual), connect the positive (+) and negativ e (–) leads of each loudspeaker to the appropriate Channel 1 and Channel 2 output connectors as shown in Figure 1.9. If the amplifi er is set f or Bridge-Mono (if equipped), conn[...]

12 Chapter 1: Crown Amplifi ers In-Depth Amplifi er Application Guide 3b . If the Mode switch is in the “Stereo” posi- tion (f or stereo con- fi guration), connect the positiv e (+) and negativ e (–) leads of each wire to the appropriate Chan- nel 1 and Channel 2 connectors as shown in Figure 1.14. Y ou ma y use all 4 poles of the Channel [...]

Chapter 1: Crown Amplifi ers In-Depth 13 Amplifi er Application Guide T o connect the Speakon plug into the mating connector on the speaker , line up the notches between the inser t and the mating connector , then inser t the plug and tur n one quar ter-tur n clockwise as shown in Figure 1.19. The thumb- lock on the housing will snap into the loc[...]

14 Chapter 1: Crown Amplifi ers In-Depth Amplifi er Application Guide Each speaker has an impedance rating, typically 4 or 8 ohms. Connect- ing one 8-ohm speaker to an amplifi er channel presents an 8-ohm impedance to the channel. If two or more speakers are wired to the same channel, the net impedance presented to the channel will be either mor[...]

Chapter 1: Crown Amplifi ers In-Depth 15 Amplifi er Application Guide 1.3.3 Determining Appr opriate Speaker Wire Gaug e Y ou should choose loudspeaker cab les with suffi cient gauge (thic kness) f or the length being used. The resistance introduced by inadequate loud- speaker cab les will reduce both the output power and the motion control of t[...]

16 Chapter 1: Crown Amplifi ers In-Depth Amplifi er Application Guide T wo different types of fuses are required f or ther mal protection and v oltage protection. Slow-b low fuses are usually selected to protect loudspeakers from thermal damage because they are similar to loudspeakers in the w ay the y respond to ther mal conditions ov er time. I[...]

Chapter 1: Crown Amplifi ers In-Depth 17 Amplifi er Application Guide 4. Nev er connect the amplifi er’ s input and output grounds together . 5. Nev er tie the outputs of multiple amplifi ers together . 6. Keep loudspeak er cables well separated from input cab les. 7. Install a low-pass fi lter on each input line (similar to the RF fi lters[...]

18 Chapter 1: Crown Amplifi ers In-Depth Amplifi er Application Guide le vel to driv e the speaker , and are connected across the wires (see Figure 1.26). The combination of transf or mer and speaker line presents a m uch higher impedance to the amplifi er than would the speak er itself, making it possib le to add many speak ers to a single home[...]

Chapter 1: Crown Amplifi ers In-Depth 19 Amplifi er Application Guide Figure 1.27 T ypical Single-Amp, Stereo, T wo-Way Hookup Figure 1.28 T ypical T wo-Amp, Bridge-Mono, T wo-Way Hookup[...]

20 Chapter 1: Crown Amplifi ers In-Depth Amplifi er Application Guide Figure 1.29 T ypical Three-Amp, Bridge-Mono, Three-Way Hookup Figure 1.30 Fault Status External Circuit Design When you use an activ e crossov er to split the pow er drive to the loudspeak er components, y ou gain a wide range of advantages , including: 1. Increased gain becaus[...]

Chapter 1: Crown Amplifi ers In-Depth 21 Amplifi er Application Guide 1.5 F ault Monitoring The F ault (RJ-11) jack, which looks like a telephone plug, is located on the back of y our amplifi er (if equipped). It gives y ou an easy wa y to remotely monitor the amplifi er’ s f ault status. T o set up a circuit that will cause an LED to light w[...]

22 Chapter 1: Crown Amplifi ers In-Depth Amplifi er Application Guide 1.6.1 System Levels When setting system gain, star t at the front of the system and work your wa y toward the amplifi er . A system with the low est noise fl oor and maximum o v erall gain will ha ve most of its gain early in the signal chain. Star t out by setting y our mix [...]

Chapter 2: T roub leshooting 23 Amplifi er Application Guide In This Chapter • T roubleshooting Flo wchar ts T his section provides fl o wchar ts to assist you in troub leshooting problems with your amplifi er . In some situations the problem ma y not be with the amplifi er , but r ather ma y be caused by a system condition. The fl owcharts [...]

24 Chapter 2: T roub leshooting Amplifi er Application Guide Figure 2.2 No Power 2.1 No P ower No Powe r I s the P ow er (Enabl e) sw itch o n? I s am p plugged in to the AC sour ce? P lug am p in to the AC source . Turn the Pow er (Enabl e) sw itch on. I s the P ow er (Enabl e) ind ica to r lit? I s AC sour ce suppl yi ng pow er to outlet? Does a[...]

Chapter 2: T roub leshooting 25 Amplifi er Application Guide Figure 2.3 No Sound 2.2 No Sound No Sou n d Ar e th e le v e l contr ols turned up? A re signal ind ica to r s bli nki ng? Chec k si gnal s ource for adequate output . Turn up level control s unti l you hear out put. No No Ye s Does am p have Fault, TLC or ODE P ind ica to r s? Fault or [...]

26 Chapter 2: T roub leshooting Amplifi er Application Guide Figure 2.4 Bad Sound Figure 2.5 Amp Overheating Am p Ov e r he atin g Is t h e a m p operating w ithi n its r a te d im pedance? A re the fil ters (if equi pped) cl ogged? Cl ean or replace filters. Ye s Ye s Refer am p to ser vice cent er. No Is t h e a m p getti ng enough cool air? S e[...]

Chapter 3: Glossar y of T erms 27 English Amplifi er Application Guide In This Chapter • Glossar y of T er ms T his section provides a handy glossary of ter ms used in the discussion of profes- sional audio amplifi ers. Some ter ms are unique to Crown amplifi ers . Most of the ter ms provided do not directly relate to amplifi ers, b ut as amp[...]

2 8 Chapter 3: Glossar y of T erms Amplifi er Application Guide Bus In audio terms, a Bus is a point in a circuit where many sig- nals are brought together . F or e xample: Most electronic items hav e a Ground Bus where all of a device’ s individual ground paths are tied together . In mix ers, we ha ve Mix Busses, where multiple channels’ sign[...]

Chapter 3: Glossar y of T erms 29 English Amplifi er Application Guide manif ests itself as some type of hum, static, or b uzz. Such electromagnetic fi elds are produced by fl uorescent lights, power lines , computers, automobile ignition systems , tele vi- sion monitors, solid state lighting dimmers , AM and FM radio transmitters, and TV transm[...]

3 0 Chapter 3: Glossar y of T erms Amplifi er Application Guide I Load/ I Limit Indicator An indicator of some Crown amplifi ers that shows current fl ow to the loudspeakers (“current load”) and the maxim um cur- rent av ailable from the amplifi er (“current limit”). T ypically , the indicator will glow one color to indicate that curren[...]

Chapter 3: Glossar y of T erms 31 English Amplifi er Application Guide the amplifi er that allows a single input to f eed two combined output channels in order to provide a single output with twice the current of an individual channel in Stereo or Dual mode. P eak On a graph of a sound w av e or signal, the highest point in the wa vef or m. The p[...]

3 2 Chapter 3: Glossar y of T erms Amplifi er Application Guide Sound Pressure Level (SPL) The acoustic volume or perceiv ed loudness of sound, measured in decibels. SPL is a function of a signal’ s amplitude. Speakon ® A type (and brand) of multi-pin connector de veloped by Neutrik ® which is now commonly f ound on speakers and amplifi ers i[...]

Appendix: Suggested Reading 33 English Amplifi er Application Guide T his Appendix provides a a list of suggested pub lications for fur ther reading about prof essional audio . Appendix Suggested Reading A udio Systems Design and Installation by Philip Giddings , Phillip Giddings P aperback - 574 pages (1990) Sams; ISBN: 0240802861 A udio Systems [...]

34 Appendix: Suggested Reading Amplifi er Application Guide NORTH AMERICA SUMMAR Y OF W ARRANTY The Crown A udio Division of Crown Inter national, Inc., 1718 W est Mishaw aka Road, Elkhar t, Indiana 46517-4095 U .S.A. warrants to y ou, the ORIGINAL PURCHASER and ANY SUBSE- QUENT O WNER of each NEW Crown product, f or a per iod of three (3) years f[...]

Appendix: Suggested Reading 35 Amplifi er Application Guide WORLD WIDE SUMMAR Y OF W ARRANTY The Crown A udio Division of Crown Inter national, Inc., 1718 W est Mishaw aka Road, Elkhar t, Indiana 46517-4095 U .S.A. warrants to y ou, the ORIGINAL PURCHASER and ANY SUBSE- QUENT O WNER of each NEW Crown1 product, f or a per iod of three (3) years fro[...]