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Front panel controls, Alternate connectivity, Using the 12 volt input trigger – PS Audio HCA-2 User Manual

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Front Panel Controls

Power

The front panel of the HCA-2 was designed to
bring both a level of elegance and simplicity
into your system. The power button (on/off)
is located on the far left-hand side. When the
HCA-2 is off, pressing this button will initiate the
power up sequence.

Display

The front panel display window contains three
status indicators: Standby, Operate and Fault.
These indicators show the current status of the
unit.

Standby

After pressing the power button to turn on the
HCA-2, the “Standby” indicator will illuminate
in amber. The word “Standby” will be visible in
the front panel display. The HCA-2 will remain
in standby mode for approximately 15 seconds.
During this period no sound will be produced
from the connected speakers.

Operate

After the initial warm-up mode, the “Standby”
indicator will go out, and “Operate” will illuminate
in blue. The PS logo will also illuminate at this
time.

The HCA-2 is now ready to play music.

Fault

The final indicator that may illuminate within the
front panel display is a red “Fault” light. This
indicates an abnormal operating condition. To
reset the HCA-2 and return the unit to normal
operating conditions, unplug the HCA-2 from
the power source and then re-connect. If the
fault light continues to illuminate, please refer to
the Trouble Shooting Guide.

Illumination Control

The blue “Operate” indicator and PS logo can
be dimmed to match your room’s environment.
Locate the small hole found under the bottom
of the HCA-2 directly below the PS logo. Using
the supplied adjustment tool, rotate the dial
mounted just inside this hole to increase or
decrease the brightness of these lights.

Only the blue “Operate” indicator and PS logo
are adjustable in this fashion. The brightness
of the amber “Standby” or red “Fault” indicators
cannot be adjusted.

Alternate Connectivity

The HCA-2 is a stereo amplifier and cannot be
switched into a mono configuration. However,
it can be used in bi-wiring or bi-amping
configurations.

Bi-wire

Bi-wiring allows for separate cables to transfer
the high and low frequencies to the speakers.
This enables each type of cable to be optimized
for the specific frequency bandwidth.

To Bi-wire, use one cable to connect the HCA-2
to the left and right “low” frequency terminals on
the speakers. The second cable can be used
to connect the HCA-2 to the “high” frequency
terminals on the speakers.

Alternatively, Bi-Wire speaker cable may be
used to achieve the same effect.

Bi-amp

If more performance is desired, two HCA-2’s
can be used to drive a pair of speakers if
equipped with dual binding posts.

One HCA-2 should be used to drive the “low”
section of the left and right speakers. A second
HCA-2 should be used to drive the “high”
section of the left and right speaker.

Using the 12 Volt Input Trigger

The HCA-2 can be activated when connected
to another electronic component with a 12
Volt DC output trigger. Many other electronic
components, such as pre-amplifiers or AC
control products, provide an external 12 volt
trigger output.

When a 12 volt DC signal is applied the HCA-2
will respond by switching from off to “Operate”
mode. If the DC voltage is removed, the HCA-2
will power off. The 12 Volt DC input trigger is a
female mini-jack (3.5 mm).

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