English A38/P38 H ANDBOOK Integrated and power amplifiers
safety guidelines CAUTION ATTENTION RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK DO NOT OPEN RISQUE DE CHOC ELECTRIQUE NE PAS OUVRIR CAUTION: To reduce the risk of electric shock, do not remove cover (or back). No user serviceable parts inside. Refer servicing to qualified service personnel. Class I product This equipment is a Class I electrical appliance. It requires safety connection to electrical earth (‘ground’ in the U.S.).
safety guidelines........................................E-2 Important safety instructions........................... E-2 Safety compliance................................................. E-2 welcome.......................................................E-3 overview......................................................E-4 Placing the unit ..................................................... E-5 Power.......................................................................... E-5 Interconnect cables........
overview The A38 Integrated Amplifier and P38 Power Amplifier are designed to produce a level of performance that will truly bring music and movies to life. with sealed reed relays from Arcam’s range-topping C31, deliver a wonderfully transparent signal to each power amplifier. A completely new volume control gives unprecedented linearity and noise performance, allowing fine details to be reproduced in startling clarity.
< < < < < < Place the amplifier on a level, firm surface, avoiding direct sunlight and sources of heat or damp. Do not place the A38 on top of a power amplifier or other source of heat. Do not place the amplifier in an enclosed space such as a bookcase or closed cabinet unless there is good provision for ventilation. The A38 and P38 are designed to run warm during normal operation.
NOTE A38 connections The Trig out and Remote in functions are only used in multi-room systems. They are not required for normal use. Speaker terminals The A38 is equipped with two pairs of speaker terminals. See page 8 for information on connecting loudspeakers. Phono input A high quality phono input is available as an optional extra to the A38. See page 7 for more information. � ����� ��� Power inlet Connect the correct mains cable here.
Recording loops Phono input Although the inputs are labelled for specific devices, all have the same characteristics and each may be used with any line-level product. The exception is the optional Phono input (see page 16 for specification). The A38 is equipped with two recording loops, for use with recording devices (such as cassette decks, CD recorders, DAT recorders, VCR, PVR etc.). As standard, no phono input is fitted to the A38. DVD Intended for the analogue outputs from a DVD-player.
Connecting loudspeakers to the A38/P38 loudspeakers Single wiring Notes on making speaker connections Single wiring is the conventional wiring method of running a single cable per channel between the amplifier and the speaker; this is the easiest technique. < Bi-wiring Bi-wiring is running two separate cables between the amplifier and each speaker, with one cable carrying the low-frequency information, the other the higherfrequency signals.
Both the A38 and P38 are designed for bi-wiring, which is why there are duplicate speaker terminals on the back. For single wiring, we recommend that you use the lower set of speaker terminals on your amplifier. If each speaker has more than one pair of connecting terminals, use the terminals labelled LF or ‘Low Frequency’ for each speaker.
A38 operation Switching the A38 on Changing the volume Selecting an audio source Recording an audio source The power button switches the unit on and off; alternatively, the unit can be switched in and out of stand-by mode by pressing the 2 button on the remote control handset. Use the control knob to change the volume. Turn the knob clockwise to increase the volume, anti-clockwise to reduce it.
‘Power On’ state A38 setup Adjusting listening settings The A38 allows you to customise various features of the amplifier to fit your system. Use this diagram to help you navigate through the available configuration options. In the diagram, the control knob is shown as . you have found the setting that you wish to adjust (as shown on the front panel display), you can change the setting using the control knob.
The CR90 Universal remote controller remote control Source keys As the CR90 can control your A38 as well as a range of other equipment, many of the buttons have more than one function depending on the ‘device mode’ or ‘page’ selected. This section refers only to the A38. Please note that the P38 Power Amplifier can only be controlled indirectly through a pre-amp. The CR90 is a sophisticated ‘universal’ remote control that can control up to eight devices.
� � � � � � � � 2 1–9 � ��� �� ����� ������ ����� � ����� ����� ��� ��� ��� ��� ��� �� ��� ��� ��� Shift �� BC D E OK Mode Menu ���� ���� ���� Disp ���� �� ������ ���� ������ – /+ ���� ��� Amp commands Power – Switches A38 between stand-by and on Some number keys can be used for source selection: 1 DVD input 2 Not used for A38 3 AV (television sound input) 4 AUX Auxiliary line input 5 Not used for A38 6 SAT Satellite decoder input 7 TUN DAB/FM/AM tuner input 8 CD input 9 N
����������������� ����������������� ��� P38 connections ������� ������ ����������� ����������������� ���������� ���� ��� ������ �� ���� � ��� ����������������� ����� � ������������������ �� ��� Connecting to loudspeakers Other connections The P38 amplifier may be connected by simple wiring, bi-wiring or bi-amping – see page 9 for details. In addition, see the following section on the Mono Link (and the diagram below) for another way of bi-amping loudspeakers using a pair of P38s.
English Remote switching By making a connection from the TRIG OUT socket of the A38 Integrated Amplifier to the REMOTE IN socket of your P38, you can use the A38 to switch the power amplifier on and off. If configured in this way, the front panel POWER button of the A38 (or the 2 button on the remote control) switches both amplifiers on and off together. This facility allows you to position your power amplifier in a remote location (such as close to the speaker it is amplifying), yet still control it.
A38 specifications Continuous power output (20Hz—20kHz at 0.5% THD), per channel 100W Both channels, 8Ω, 20Hz—20kHz 150W Single channel, 8Ω, 20Hz—20kHz 140W Both channels, 4Ω, 20Hz—20kHz 200W Single channel, 4Ω, at 1kHz 0.
Remote-control codes If you are having trouble with your amplifier, check the following items. The following tables give the infrared commands accepted by the A38. No sound Check the following: < Both the A38 and (if applicable) P38 poweramplifiers are switched on. < The amplifier is not muted (indicated on the A38 by Muted being shown on the front-panel). < The selected source is generating audio (e.g., if CD is selected, then the CD is playing).
Worldwide Guarantee product guarantee This entitles you to have the unit repaired free of charge, during the first two years after purchase, at any authorised Arcam distributor provided that it was originally purchased from an authorised Arcam dealer or distributor.
