APart-Audio CHAMP-3D User manual

MANUAL

CHAMP-3D

Audiophile Digital Power Amplier

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•Caution:hotandsharpsurfaces!Thisprofessionaldeviceneedstobeinstalledbyqualified

personnelonly.

•Pleasecheckthepackingforanykindofdamageuponreceptionofthegoods.Ifthepackingis

damaged,pleasecontactyourdealerbeforeopeningit.

•!!!!Danger!!!!Exposuretohighsoundpressurelevelsmaycausepermanenthearingloss.

Hearinglossinducedbyexposuretohighsoundpressurelevelswillvaryfromindividualto

individual,butnearlyeveryonewilllosesomehearingwhenexposedforasufficientamountof

time.Thereforeitisrecommendedthatallpersonsexposedtoequipmentcapableofproducing

highsoundpressurelevels,suchasthisamplifier,wearsufficientearprotectionwhileinstalling

oroperatingthisunit.

•Readalldocumentationbeforeoperatingyourequipment.

•Keepalldocumentationforfuturereference.

•Keepthecartonandpackingmaterial,eveniftheequipmenthasarrivedingoodcondition.

•Shouldyoueverneedtosendtheunitback,useonlytheoriginalfactorypacking.

•Donotspillwaterorotherliquidsonorintotheunit.

•Makesurepoweroutletsconformtothepowerrequirementslistedonthebackoftheunit.

•Donotusetheunitiftheelectricalpowercordisdamaged.

•AlwaysoperatetheunitwiththeACgroundwireconnectedtotheelectricalsystemground.

•Turnthelevelcontrolsontheamplifiersallthewaydownduringpower-uptopreventspeaker

damageiftherearehighsignallevelsattheinputs.

•Donotconnecttheinputs/outputsofamplifiersorconsolestoanyothervoltagesource,such

asbatteries,mainssourcesorpowersupplies,regardlessofwhethertheamplifierorconsoleis

turnedONorOFF.

•Powerdownanddisconnectunitsfrommainsvoltagebeforemakingconnections.

•Donotusetheunitnearstoves,heatregisters,radiators,orotherheatproducingdevices.

•Donotoperateequipmentonasurfaceorinanenvironmentwhichmaydistortthenormalflow

ofairaroundtheunit.Iftheunitisusedinanextremelydustyorsmokyenvironment,theunit

shouldregularlybe“blownfree”ofdust.

•Donotremovethecover.Removingthecoverwillexposeyoutopotentiallydangerousvolt-

ages.

•Donotdrivetheinputswithasignallevelhigherthanthatwhichisrequiredtodriveequipment

tofulloutput.

•Donotruntheoutputofanyamplifierbackintoanotherinput.

•Incaseofmalfunction,thisdeviceshouldbeservicedbyqualifiedservicepersonnelonly.

Safetyfirst!

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Features

•Modulardesign,highpower2.1amplifierwith3Hypex™audiophileClass-Ddigitalamplifier

modules.

•Highendoperationalamplifiersintheanalogsignalpath.

•Highthermalefficiency,typically92%.

•Exceptionallyhighdampingfactorfortightbassresponse.AllthebenefitsofaClass-Damplifier

withthehighlyappreciatedclassicanalogamplifiersound.

•Designwithoutfans,oversizedconvectionalcooling,traditionalpowersupplyunit.

•Toroidalpowertransformerandseparatepowersuppliesfor2channelandmonoblock

amplifiers.

•Softstartpowersupplyunit.

•Standbyfunctionwithseparatestandbypowertransformer,accessibleviaRS232.

•Lowstandbypowerconsumption.

•IntegratedAnalogDevices®digitalsignalprocessor(DSP),featuring24bitanalogtodigital

converters(ADC),4bandfullyparametricequalizer,crossoverwithfreelyselectablefrequencies

andLinkwitz-RileyorButterworthfiltercharacteristics,delay,compressorandcliplimiter.

•Balancedinternalanalogsignaldistribution.

•µCcontrolledoperation.

•Intelligentautoloudnesssystem.

•BalancedXLRfemaleandmaleinputconnectorsandeuroblockinputs,withpass-through.

•4-poleSpeakon®outputconnectorsonallchannels.

•Extendedspeakerandamplifierprotectioncircuits:DCprotection,over-currentprotection,over-

temperatureprotection.

•Real-timemainsvoltagemonitoringsystem:disablestheamplifiersandmainpowersupplyin

casethemainsvoltageisoutofrange.

•Real-timepowersupplymonitoringsystem:disablestheamplifierswhentheinternalDCsupply

isoutofrange.

•Lockablefrontcontrols,passwordprotectedparameteraccess,remoteoperationviaRS232and

externalvolumecontrolusingasingleexternalpotentiometer.

•3locklevels:locked,unlockedandvolumeonly.

•Individualchannelmute/selectbuttonsandversatileLEDVUmeters,dotmatrixLCDdisplay

androtaryencoder.

•Userdefinabledisplaytextandfont,adjustableviaRS232.

•User-friendlymenustructurewithdisplayguidancetoaccessalladjustableparameters.

•Speakerwizardmenuwithpresetx-overandlimiterparameters,optimizedforusewithourmost

popularspeakerconfigurations.Versatilemodularamplifier,applicableforbothbackground

musicsystemsaswellasmediumpowerapplications.

•Userdefinablemaximumoutputlevel,idealforuseinsmallpubsorotherplaceswhere

maximumsoundlevelsarerestricted.Noneedforexternalsoundlevelcontrollers.All

parameterscanbelockedandpassword-protected.

•Groundliftswitch.

•ThisunithasNOTbeendesignedforuseinmobileapplications,suchas:mobilediscobars,

mobilePAsystems,Livebands,audiorentalsystems…

•FirmwareupdatepossibleviaRS232port.

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Connections

Rearpanellayout

1)Externalvolumecontrolon2poleeuroblock:hereyoucanconnectastandard10kΩlinear

potentiometer,wiredasanadjustableresistor,usingashieldedcable.Connecttheshieldto

the–connector.Whenenabledinthesettingsmenu,thisexternalpotentiometerallowsyouto

increaseordecreasethemastervolumein2dBsteps.Enablingtheexternalvolumecontrol

automaticallydisablesthefrontpanelmastervolumecontrol.Serialportvolumecontrolwill

alsobedisabled.Whennoexternalpotentiometerisconnectedwhiletheexternalvolume

controlfeatureisenabled,ortheconnectingcableisfaulty,orthevalueofthepotentiometeris

outofrange,the3SGL/ERRORLED’sonthefrontpanelwilllightupredandblink.Thedisplay

willshow“INVALIDEXT.VOL”andtheaudiosignalwillremainmuteduntiltheconnectionhas

beenrepairedortheexternalvolumecontrolhasbeendisabledinthesettingsmenu.

2)RS232portonDB9connector.Standardserialportconnectorforprogramming,external

controlandfirmwareupdatesusingourfirmwareupdateprogramavailableonline.Portsettings

arefixedat19200baudrate,8databits,noparity,nohandshake.LF(linefeed),BS(backspace)

andECHOarenotenabledbutcanbeenabledusinganRS232commandstring.More

informationintheRS232commandschapter.

WhenthetextreturnedviaRS232isgarbledornocommunicationispossible,adjustyour

communicationparameterstomatchthoseoftheunit.IfyouarenotfamiliarwithRS232

communication,serialcablesandcommunicationparameters,askforassistancefroma

qualifiedengineer!

!!!WARNING!!!

ConnectingacomputeroranyothersimilarcontroldeviceviaRS232,maycauseasevereground

loop!Groundloopsmaycauseerraticbehaviorandeventuallydamageyoursystemcomponents.

3)APNETconnector.Forfutureuse.DONOTconnectanykindofcomputernetworkcablehere.

Itwillresultinmalfunctionordamagetoyournetwork!

4)RightchannelXLRmaleinputconnector.



5)RightchannelXLRfemaleinputsignalconnector.

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6)Rightchannelbalancedinputoneuroblock.Items4,5and6arehardwiredinternallyandcan

beusedtocreateadaisychainforconnectingevenmoreamplifiers.

7)Leftchannelbalancedinputoneuroblock.Items7,8and9arehardwiredinternallyandcan

beusedtocreateadaisychainforconnectingevenmoreamplifiers.

8)LeftchannelXLRmaleinputsignalconnector.

9)LeftchannelXLRfemaleinputconnector.

10)Subwooferoutputon4poleSpeakon®connector.Pins1+and2+,aswellas1-and

2-areconnectedinparallel.Minimumloadimpedanceis4ohmsoneachSpeakon®

connector.

11)Subwooferoutputon4poleSpeakon®connector.1+and2+,aswellas1-and2-are

connectedinparallel.Thisconnectorcarriesexactlythesamesignalas10andishardwired

internally.Minimumloadimpedanceis4ohmsoneachconnector.Incaseyouwanttouse

2pieces4ohmsubwoofers,thenwirethemindependently.Onesubconnectedto10,the

secondto11.Alwaysmakeuseofthe4connectionpins(1+and2+,1-and2-)toavoid

contactburn-incausedbytheextremecurrentsflowingthroughtheseconnectors!

12)Rightspeakeroutputon4poleSpeakon®connector.1+and2+,aswellas1-and2-are

connectedinparallel.Alwaysmakeuseofthe4connectionpins(1+and2+,1-and2-)to

avoidcontactburn-incausedbytheextremecurrentsflowingthroughtheseconnectors!

13)Leftspeakeroutput4poleSpeakon®connector.1+and2+,aswellas1-and2-are

connectedinparallel.Alwaysmakeuseofthe4connectionpins(1+and2+,1-and2-)to

avoidcontactburn-incausedbytheextremecurrentsflowingthroughtheseconnectors!

14)Groundliftswitch:thisswitchnormallystaysinthe“EARTH”position.Incaseyouhave

createdagroundloop,youcanswitchittothe“LIFT”position,tohelpyoufindthesourceof

thegroundloop.However,whenthegroundloopissevere,activatingtheswitchwillnothelp

much,andeventuallyoneormoresystemcomponentsmayfail.Whenexcessivenoise,hum

orsysteminstabilityoccurs,poweroffalldevices,andstartconnectingallunitsindividually.

Tunersconnectedtoanoutdoorantennaoracablesignaldistributionsystem,computers,

serialcontroldevicesandlaptopsaretheusualsuspects.

15)Mainsinletconnector:pluginthesuppliedmainscablehere.Themainsfuseislocated

insidetheunitandcanbeaccessedbyremovingthetopcoveroftheunit.Forauthorized

personnelonly!Whenthefuseblowsregularly,checkyoursystemfirst,removeanyground

loopscausedbyfaultyinstallation.Alwayscheckforshortcircuitsonyourspeakerlines,

audiosignallinesandotherconnections.

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Operation

Frontpanellayout

1)Powerswitch:powerontheunitbyflippingtheswitchtothe‘on’position.Inthe‘OFF’position,

ALLelectricalcircuitsaredisabled.Inthe‘on’position,theunitcanbeswitchedtostandby

usinganRS232instruction,whichwillturnoffthemainpowersupply,resultinginverylow

standbypowerconsumption.

2)Submute/selectswitch:duringnormaloperation,pushoncetomutethesubchannel.During

parameterediting,thisbuttoncanbeusedtoselectthesubchannel.Ineditingmode,you

canalsopushmultiplechannelswitchesatoncetoedittheparameterssimultaneouslyforall

channels.

3)Leftchannelmute/selectswitch:duringnormaloperation,pushoncetomutetheleftchannel.

Duringparameterediting,thisbuttoncanbeusedtoselecttheleftchannel.Someparameters

arelinkedforleftandrightchannels.

4)Rightchannelmute/selectswitch:duringnormaloperation,pushoncetomutetheright

channel.Duringparameterediting,thisbuttoncanbeusedtoselecttheleftchannel.Some

parametersarelinkedforleftandrightchannels.

5)DotmatrixLCDdisplaywithbluebackgroundlight.Thestandardtextdisplayedonthenormal

screencanbeeditedusingRS232commands.Thedisplayshowstheactualmasterlevel.On

theright,arrowsymbolsappear.Thesearelocatednexttothethreepushbuttonsusedfor

parameterediting.Thesymbolsmaychangetotext,relatedtothefunctionofthepushbuttons.



6)Menubuttons.Duringnormaloperation,theuppermostbuttonisusedtoenter(returnto)

themainmenu,themiddleandlowerbuttonsareusedforscrollingthroughtheavailable

parametersappearinginthedisplay.Aneditableparameterwillbehighlightedinthedisplay,

andthevaluecanbechangedbyturningtherotaryencoder.Thefunctionofthepushbuttons

willchangewhennecessary.Thefunctionofthepushbuttonsisdescribedontherightsideof

theLCDdotmatrixdisplay.

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LEDVUMeter

Innormalsituations,theLEDVUmeterindicatesthechannel’soutputlevel,where0dBistheabsolute

maximum.TheLED’swilllightupingreen,showingtheactualoutputlevel.

WhenthepushbuttonbeneaththeVUmeterispushedonce,thechannelismuted.TheSGL/ERROR

LEDwilllightuporange.WhentheSGL/ERRORisred,anerrorhasoccurredandthechannelwillbe

disabledormuteduntiltheerrorisremoved.

Whenthemasterlevelisturnedup,theoutputlevelwillincrease.Whenthemaximumsafelevelis

reached,theinternalcompressorwillreducetheoutputsignal.TheupperLED’sintheVUmeterwill

becomeorangetoindicatethemeasureofautomaticgainreduction.Whenthe0dBLEDlightsupred,

theamplifierisclipping.Alwaysavoidclipping!

LCDDisplay

Wheninuse,thedisplaywillshowtheuserdefinabletext.Defaulttextis

CHAMP3D,largefont.Thistextandthefonttypecanbechangedvia

RS232instructions.

Theactualmasterlevelisalsoshown,inthiscase-72dB.

Pushingthepushbuttonnexttothearrowwillallowyoutoenterthemain

menu.Thenextscreenwillpopup

7)Rotaryencoder:innormaloperation,youcancontrolthemastervolumewiththisencoder.

Whenyouenterthemenu,thisencoderisusedtochangetheselectedparametervalue.The

editableparameterwillbehighlightedinthedisplay.

8)StandbyLED:thisLEDlightsupwhentheamplifierisinstandbymode.Thestandbyfunctionis

availableviaRS232instructiononly.WhenthemainspowerswitchisintheOFFposition,all

electricalcircuitswillbedeactivatedandstandbymodewillnotbeavailable.

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Youwillnoticethatanup-anddownarrowhasappearednextto

thepushbuttons.Usethesetoscrollthroughthedifferentmenus.

Whenyouwanttoenteramenu-inthiscasethe“LEVELS”menuis

highlighted-pushtheupperbutton.

Thenextscreenappears.

Nowusetheup-ordownbuttonstoselecttheSUB,LEFTorRIGHT

channelandturntherotaryencodertosetthelevel.Youcanalsopush

thebuttonsunderneaththeLEDVUmeterstoselectthechannels,and

ifnecessary,youcanpushthesebuttonssimultaneouslytoeditthelevel

ofallchannelssimultaneously.Someparametersarelinkedforleftand

rightchannels.

Themenustructurelookslikethis:

LEVELS

MAX LEVELS

SPEAKER WIZARD

CROSS-OVER

EQUALIZER

DELAY

SETTINGS

EXIT

SAVE AND EXIT

SUB

LEFT

RIGHT

MASTER

LEVELS

SUB

LEFT

RIGHT

MASTER

MAXLEVELS

EQUALIZER

BAND

TYPE

FREQ

GAIN

EQUALIZER

LEFTDELAY

RIGHTDELAY

DELAY

CONTRAST

AUTOLD

EXTVOL

LOCKMODE

SETTINGS

CROSS-OVER

TOPTYPE

TOPFREQ

SUBTYPE

SUBFREQ

SUBLOCUT

SUBPHASE

INFO@APART-AUDIO.COM

Hereyoucaneditthelevelsofallchannelsrelativetoeachother.Defaultvalueis0dB.Itis

recommendedtousethisparameterforlevelmatchingonly.Example:youwanttoadjustthe

levelofthesubwooferbecauseitis3dBlouderthantheL/Rspeakers:inthiscasesettheSUB

parameterto-3dB.Afteradjusting,pushtheupperbuttontogobacktothemainmenu,select

“SAVEANDEXIT”andpushtheupperbuttonagaintosaveyourselection.Someparameters,

suchasallaudiorelatedparameters,arenotautomaticallysaved.Systemsettings,suchas

displaycontrast,areautomaticallysaved.

PleasenotethatdecreasingtheMAXlevelwilldecreasethemasterlevel.Whileincreasingthe

MAXlevelwillnotincreasethemasterlevel.

WhentheLEVELSandMAXLEVELSmenuisused,theSGL/ERRORLED’swilllightupingreen,

showingyouwhichchannelisselected.Insomecases,youcanedittheparametersofmultiple

channelssimultaneously.Whenthisisthecase,theselectedchannelwilllightupstrong,while

theselectablechannelswilllightupweak.Pushthechannelselectbuttonssimultaneouslyto

selectthemforsimultaneousparameterediting,thegreenchannelLED’swilllightupstrong

andtheeditableparameterfortheselectedchannelswillbehighlightedintheLCDdisplay.In

somemenus,suchastheequalizerandcrossovermenu,theleftandrightchannelparameters

areautomaticallylinked.ThegreenchannelLED’swillautomaticallylightupstrongforboth

channels.

Thespeakerwizardmenuoffersyouaneasywaytoautomaticallyadjustallaudiorelated

parametersforoptimumcompatibilitywithourmostpopularspeakersets.Enterthespeaker

wizardmenuandfollowtheon-screeninstructions,choosethenumberandtypeofspeakersin

yourset-up.Firstselectthetypeandnumberofspeakersusedinyoursystem,subwoofer(s)as

wellastopspeakers.Afterspeakerselection,thefollowingmessagewillappearinthescreen:

“CHANGEMASTERANDMAXMASTERLEVEL”or“PROCEED”.AdjusttheMASTERleveltoyour

specificneeds.ThevalueoftheMASTERlevelwillbeusedasMAXMASTER.Ifyoudon’twantto

settheMASTERandMAXMASTER,justproceedtothenextstepbypushingtheupperarrow.

Afteradjustment,presstheupperbuttontoenterthe“LOCKMODE”menu.Adjustthemodeif

necessary.Ifyouselect“VOLONLY”or“LOCKED”,youwillbeaskedifyouwanttochangethe

password.Ifyoudon’tchangethepassword,thepreviouspasswordwillremainvalid.

Importantparameters,suchascrossoverfrequency,filtertype,equalizersettingsandlimiter

thresholdswillbeoptimized.Youcanofcourseadjustcertainparameters,suchasequalizer

setting,subwooferphaseanddelaysettingstomatchyourspecificsituation.Wedonot

recommendchangingthemaximumspecifiedlevels,becausethismayresultindamagetoyour

speakers.

LEVELS MAXLEVELS

SPEAKERWIZARD

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Toptypemeans:crossovertypefortheL/Rchannels.Thisparameterislinkedforbothchannels.

Subtypemeans:crossovertypefortheSubchannels

Therearedifferenttypesofcrossovercharacteristicselectable:

OFF->nocrossover,thechannelsworkatfullrange,validforL/Ramplifiersonly.

L-R48->Linkwitz-Riley48dB/octave(default)

L-R24->Linkwitz-Riley24dB/octave

L-R12->Linkwitz-Riley12dB/octave

BUT48->Butterworth48dB/octave

BUT24->Butterworth48dB/octave

FIRST6->Firstorderfilteror6dB/octave

SubfreqandTopfreqmeans:thecrossoverfrequency.Thisisfreelyselectable.

Sublocutmeans:thefrequencywherethe48dB/octavesubsonicfilterwillbeactive.Valid

parametersare:OFFor10to80Hz.FilterslopeisL-R48andcannotbechanged.

Subphase:whensettoOFF,thesubchannelisinphasewiththeL/Rchannels.Whensettothe

“ON”position,subphaseis180°,alsocalledphasereverse.Ifthelowfrequencyresponseof

yoursystemisinsufficient,experimentwiththephasesettingfirst.

FinetuningcanbedoneviatheDELAYmenu.

EQUALIZERONorOFF

BAND:selectband1to4

TYPE:selectequalizertype:HPF,LOSHELF,PEAK,HISHELF,LPF

FREQ:selectequalizerfrequency

GAIN:setequalizergain

Q:setQ-factor

Allequalizerfrequenciescanbefreelyselected.

TheseQ-factorsareselectable:

0.08,0.12,0.18,0.25,0.35,0.50,0.71,1.00,1.41,2.00,2.83,4.00,5.66,8.0,

11.3,16.0

ThehighertheQ-value,themorenarrowthebandwidthoftheequalizer.

IfyouarenotfamiliarwithequalizersettingsandQ-factors,leavetheQ-factortoitsdefault

settingof0.71!

HPFstandsforhighpassfilter:allfrequenciesbelowtheselectedfrequencywillbecut.

LPFstandsforlowpassfilter:allfrequenciesabovetheselectedfrequencywillbecut.

NOTE:withaQ-factorof0.71(default),the-3dBpointequalstheselectedfrequencyforHPF

andLPF.HPFandLPFhaveafixedslopeof12dB/octave.

CROSS-OVER

EQUALIZER

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