APART Champ-2 User manual
INFO@APART-AUDIO.COM
MANUAL
Champ - 2
MANUAL
Audiophile Stereo Power Amplier
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2
• Caution: hot and sharp surfaces ! This professional device needs to be installed by
qualied personnel only.
Please check the carton box for any kind of damage on reception of the goods. In case of a• damaged carton, please contact your dealer before opening the carton.
!!!! Danger !!!! Exposure to extremely high noise levels may cause a permanent hearing• loss. Individuals vary considerably to noise induced hearing loss but nearly everyone will lose
somehearingifexposedtosufcientlyintensenoiseforasufcientamountoftime.Therefore
it is recommended that all persons exposed to equipment capable of producing high sound
pressurelevels,suchasthisamplier,beprotectedbyhearingprotectionwhileinstallingor
operating this unit.
Read all documentation before operating your equipment.• Keep all documentation for future reference.• Save the carton and packing material even if the equipment has arrived in good condition.• Should you ever need to ship the unit, use only the original factory packing.• Do not spill water or other liquids into or on 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 frayed or broken.• Always operate the unit with the AC ground wire connected to the electrical system ground.•
Havegaincontrolsonampliersturneddownduringpower-uptopreventspeakerdamageif• there are high signal levels at the inputs.
Donotconnecttheinputs/outputsofampliersorconsolestoanyothervoltagesource,such•
asabattery,mainssource,orpowersupply,regardlessofwhethertheamplierorconsoleis
turned on or off.
Power down & disconnect units from mains voltage before making connections.• Do not use the unit near stoves, heat registers, radiators, or other heat producing devices.•
Donotoperateequipmentonasurfaceorinanenvironmentwhichmaydistortthenormalow• of air around the unit. If the unit is used in an extremely dusty or smoky environment, the unit
should be periodically “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 required to drive equipment to full• output.
Donotruntheoutputofanyamplierbackintoanotherinput.• Do not ground the red output terminal, never connect a red output terminal to another red• output terminal.
Incaseofmal-functionthisdeviceshouldbeservicedbyqualiedservicepersonnelonly.•
Safety First!
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Dear customer,
Whydoeslivemusicleaveanunforgettableimpressiononyou?Theanswerissimple:dynamics.
Theabilityofasoundsystemtoproducecrystalclearlowlevelsoundsaswellasextreme
musical peaks without any distortion, the power to leave some headroom for those occasional
peaksinmusic.Purepower!Thiseaseofmusicreproductioncannotbedescribedinguresor
specications.
In the following pages we will explain how we have reached our goal. Champ-2 features an
exceptionallydynamicoutputstage,auniqueclassGamplier,allpackedinaoneunitfanless
enclosure. While our competitors are struggling with often poorly designed so called energy
efcientclassDdigitalampliers…well,wehavetakenacloselookandlistenedcarefullytosome
of these designs, and we were not impressed. We got inspired to make somethingAPart from all
the rest, and started from scratch.
Takealookatournewchampionwithhisstrikingdesignandpowerfulsetoffeaturesthatwill
exceed the demands of passionate music lovers as well as system integrators. Designed with
a continuous 4 ohm, 2 ohm dynamically stable high current output stage, Champ-2 will surprise
youwithitssonicexcellenceanddynamiccapacities.Remember,thisuniqueamplierhasbeen
developed with the impact of live music dynamics in mind. A true beauty, inside as well as outside,
but also a beast if necessary.
TakeyourtimeandlistentoournewChamp-2amplier.Pleasefastenyourseatbeltsandbeware,
you might get blown away, not by the cooling fan, simply because there isn’t any. Experience the
pure musical power of Champ-2.
Manual contents
1. Fanless design and highlights
2. Features
3. Inputs and outputs
4. Rack mounting and wiring
5. Standalone use
6. Technical specications
Introduction
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Audiophile grade components mounted on solid aluminum and steel construction chassis for•
thehighestpossiblesignalintegrityandreliability,evenunderdifcultcircumstances.
Highcurrent,highvoltagediscreteoutputstageinclassGconguration,capableofdriving• even the most demanding speaker systems and combinations. Either at low or high power, you
will hear the Champ-2 difference.
Customdesignedsidemountheatsinks,incombinationwithclassGampliertopologyhave•
madeitpossibletocreateadiscretehighpoweramplierwithouttheneedofanoisydustcol-
lectingcoolingfaninsidetheenclosure.Thismeanslessmaintenance,noannualfanordust
lterexchangeprocedure,nomoreampliercleanout…no unwanted noise from cooling
fans, Champ-2 relies on convectional cooling only, a unique feature in this output power class,
and all packed in a 1 unit 19 inch case!
IntegratedAPClimitercircuitryandcliplimiteradaptabletotheactualspeakerload.Thisintel-• ligent circuit will prevent harsh distortion caused by clipping, provided that the input signal itself
isnotdistortedofcourse…whatgoesin,comesout.
A stunning 38800 µF of high grade electrolytic capacitors, high power toroidal transformer for• ultimate power reserve.
Self-supportinglowresonancesteelsubframe.Torsionfreefrontandsidepanelconstruction• with integrated heatsink assembly.
Solid aluminum brushed front panel with removable 19” brackets and handles for use in a rack• or as a standalone unit in high quality audio systems.
MultipurposeinputcongurationfeaturingbalancedinputsonXLRconnectorsandunbalanced•
inputsonRCAconnectors…
1. Fanless design and highlights
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Intelligent• APC circuitry constantly analyses incoming music signals and keeps dynamics
alive.Anadditionalultrafastpeaklimiteravoidsamplierclippingincasesomeonehitsthe
inputstoohard.Pleaseremember,thisisamusicalamplier,pleaseleavesomeheadroom
and enjoy the music.
Bridgeorstereomode:morethandoubletheoutputpowerandconvertthisamplierintoa•
monoblockamplierwithonepushonabutton.Minimum load impedance is 8 ohms in
bridge mode.
Protectioncircuitry:theprotectioncircuitryisanotheruniquedesignfeatureofthisampli-•
er:togetherwiththeAPCcircuitry,outputsignalsareconstantlymonitoredbytheprotection
circuits, and speaker outputs will be cut in case of extreme overload, short circuits, DC offset,
overheating…Thiscircuitisalsocapable(withincertainlimits)ofreducingtheinputsignalto
prevent clipping, distortion and other musically destructive situations. We have done our best to
makesurethisamplierwillproducecleanpower,butit is also the user who is responsible
for the nal result: the APC circuitry can not clean up a clipped input signal, in other
words: what goes in, comes out. Don’t forget to set the impedance selector correctly for
both channels and remember to divide the speaker’s impedance by a factor 2 if you are
planning to use the amplier in bridge mode ! Example in bridge mode: speaker load = 8
ohms, set channel 1 impedance selector to 8 : 2 = 4 ohms setting (4 – 8 ohms).
Versatileinputandoutputconnectorcongurationwithbalancedandunbalancedinputsand•
additionallinelevelsignaloutputsforlinkingthesignaltootherdevicesforincreasedexibility.
Thespeakeroutputterminalsacceptspeakercablesaswellas4mmbananaplugs.
Groundliftswitchtoenableyoutondthecauseofsystemgroundloopsincaseofhumor• excessive noise.
2. Features
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What is APC ?
APC is one of the most intelligent amplier protection circuits ever designed, simply
because it does the job without interfering with the typical dynamic character of
music. APC allows you to fully exploit the potential of the amplier, maintaining high
power reserves and thus producing high, clean power.
It is a common misunderstanding that high power ampliers will overload or destroy
lower power speakers, the opposite is true. You can easily destroy a 500 Watt rated
speaker with a simple 50 watt power amplier ! Why ? In order to produce a low tone,
such as a kick drum or bass guitar, you need about 80 % or more of an amplier’s
power. Because distortion is less audible in low frequencies, you would want to
increase the level more than the amplier can supply. This causes low frequency
distortion which causes high frequency harmonics. These harmonics contain more
high frequency energy than the high frequency speaker can deal with. Result: harsh
distortion and sudden heat rise in the high frequency speaker’s voice coil. After a
short while, the high power speaker may burn out.
Conclusion: don’t punish your speakers with weak ampliers. Set the APC control
to a power level equal to your speaker’s RMS input power and avoid hitting the clip
limiter !
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1)Volumepotmeterchannel1:usethispotmetertopresetthevolume.Incasetheamplierhas
been switched to bridge mode, this potmeter sets the level for bridge operation.
2)Signalledchannel1:thisledlightsupgreenwhenasufcientlystrongsignalispresentonthe
left channel, after passing the input level control. At startup, the led will light up red during a
few seconds, this is perfectly normal. When it lights up red during use, the power transformer
orpoweramplierisoverheatedorinprotectmodeandisshutdown.Turnoffthepower.The
amplier will not turn on automatically after most error conditions. In some cases, the
user MUST turn off power and remove the overload and then power on again ! More
details can be found in the table below.
3)APCactivityledleftchannel:thisledlightsupwhentheAPCcircuitryisactive.TheAPC
circuitry reduces the gain at the inputs to guarantee the full dynamic range of the power
ampliercircuits.
4)Clipledchannel1:thisledlightsupwhenevertheamplierclips.Thisisawarningsign:you
are pushing things a little too far or you are overloading the amp. Reduce the input level by a
few dB so that this led never lights up anymore ! Don’t ignore this!
5)Templedleftchannel:thisledlightsupwhentheamplierisoverheated.Outputpower
willautomaticallybecutbytheAPCcircuitry.Thispartoftheprotectioncircuitresetsitself
automaticallywhentemperaturehasnormalized.Whenbothsignalled(2)andtempled(5)are
red,thepowertransformer’sthermalprotectionisactiveandtheamplierisshutdown.Turn
off the power and let it cool down. The amplier will not turn on automatically after the
transformer has cooled down, the user MUST turn off the power, remove the cause of
the fault condition, wait for cooling down and then power on again!
6)Bridgeled:thisledlightsuptoindicatethattheamplierisinbridgemode.
7)Powerswitchandpowerled:iptheswitchtopowerontheamplier.Theblueledwilllightup
to indicate that mains power is present.
3. Inputs and outputs
Frontpanellayout:
1234 756 8910 11 12
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8) Signalledchannel2:thisledlightsupgreenwhenasufcientlystrongsignalispresent
on the left channel, after passing the input level control. At startup, the led will light up red
during a few seconds, this is perfectly normal. When it lights up red during use, the power
transformerorpoweramplierisoverheatedorinprotectmodeandisshutdown.Turnoffthe
power. The amplier will not turn on automatically after most error conditions. In some
cases, the user MUST turn off power and remove the overload and then power on
again ! More details can be found in the table below.
9) APCactivityledrightchannel:thisledlightsupwhentheAPCcircuitryisactive.TheAPC
circuitry reduces the gain at the inputs to guarantee the full dynamic range of the power
ampliercircuits.
10)Clipledchannel2:thisledlightsupwhenevertheamplierclips.Thisisawarningsign:you
are pushing things a little too far or you are overloading the amp. Reduce the input level by a
few dB so that this led never lights up anymore ! Don’t ignore this !
11)Templedleftchannel:thisledlightsupwhentheamplierisabouttooverheat.Outputpower
willautomaticallybelimitedbytheAPCcircuitrytoavoidfurtheroverheating.Thispartofthe
protection circuit resets itself automatically when temperature has normalized. When both
signalled(2)andtempled(5)arered,thepowertransformer’sthermalprotectionisactive
andtheamplierisshutdown.Turnoffthepowerandletitcooldown. The amplier will not
turn on automatically after it has cooled down, the user MUST turn off power, wait for
cooling down and then power on again ! More details can be found in the table below.
12)Volumepotmeterchannel2:usethispotmetertopresetthevolume.Inbridgemode,this
potmeter has no function.
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Fault
condition SGL led CH1
= red TEMP led CH1
= red SGL led CH2
= red TEMP led CH2
= red What to do ? Output signal
condition
Ch 1 amp
overheat
Yes Reduce input
signal or check
amplierload.
Wait for cool
down.
No output
Ch 2 amp
overheat
Yes Reduce input
signal or check
amplierload.
Wait for cool
down.
No output
Ch 1 amp
error (DC,
HF, short
circuit,
overload)
Yes Switch off power
and remove
error.Leave
switched off
for at least 10
seconds. Switch
power on.
No output
Ch 2 amp
error (DC,
HF, short
circuit,
overload)
Yes Switch off power
and remove
error.Leave
switched off
for at least 10
seconds. Switch
power on.
No output
Transformer
thermal
protection
Yes Yes Yes Yes Switch off power
and wait for cool
down*.
No output
*In case the transformer is overheated, it may take a long time before the amplier has cooled
down sufciently. In such cases, you may have overloaded the amplier too much. Power off the
amplier immediately, correct the error and wait until the amplier has cooled down.
Led status messages
Under normal circumstances, this amplier will not overheat. If any of the above
mentioned overheating situations occur, please check the load impedance, the
ventilation and last but not least, input levels. The intelligent APC circuitry will
reduce input gain and level to a safe margin within certain limits. This circuitry can
not correct an input signal that is already clipped and distorted.
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1)Channel2unbalancedinputoncinchconnectors:usethetoporbottomcinchconnectorto
applyanunbalancedsignalonchannel2.Theseconnectorsarewiredinparallel,thismeans
you can use the second connector as a signal link connector.
2)Channel2balancedinputonNeutrikXLRconnector,thisconnectoriswiredinparallelto
connector‘3’.Thisallowsyoutolinkthebalancedsignaltoanotheramplier.
3)Channel2balancedinputonNeutrikXLRconnector,thisconnectoriswiredinparallelto
connector‘2’.Thisallowsyoutolinkthebalancedsignaltoanotheramplier.
4)Groundliftswitch:usethisswitchtoliftorconnectaudiogroundtosafetyground.Thiscanbe
usefull in case of hum.
5)Speakerloadimpedanceselectorchannel2:setthisselectorcorrectlyaccordingtothe
actualloadimpedance.For4to8ohmsapplications:switchisnotpushedin.For2to3
ohmapplications:pushthebuttonin.Pleasenotethattheimpedancementionedisthetotal
loadoftheamplierchannel,thismeansthatifyouconnectforexample3speakerswith8
ohmimpedance,youMUSTpushthebuttoninbecausetheloadontheamplieris8:3=
2.7 ohms. In case of bridge operation this button has no function. Use channel 1 impedance
selector in case of bridge operation.
6)Channel2speakerbindingpost:thisconnectoracceptsspeakercableaswellas4mm
banana plugs. Remove the protective cover from the middle of the red/black binding post in
caseyouwanttousebananaplugs.Forbridgemodeapplications,youMUSTusethered
bindingpostsonly:channel2redplugisbridgemodenegativespeakerconnector.
7)Mainscableconnector:plugthemainscableconnectorhere,thissocketalsocontainsamains
fuseholder.Replacethisfuseonlywitha3AT250Vtype.
8)Channel1speakerbindingpost:thisconnectoracceptsspeakercableaswellas4mm
banana plugs. Remove the protective cover from the middle of the red/black binding post in
caseyouwanttousebananaplugs.Forbridgemodeapplications,youMUSTusethered
bindingpostsonly:channel1redplugisbridgemodepositivespeakerconnector.
Rearpanellayout:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8910 11 12 13
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