Lab.gruppen LAB 1600 User Manual
Page 5

There is no ground lift switch or terminal on this 
amplifier. The signal ground is always floating via a 
resistor to chassis and the grounding system is 
automatic. If a potential above 0.6V presents itself 
between signal ground and chassis ground, a short 
circuit is introduced between the two, thereby 
enabling electrical protection. If a unit in the system 
is faulty, its mains fuse will blow, due to this 
automatic ground system. 
If however you wish to tie the signal ground to 
chassis, connect the XLR-connector’s shell lug to 
pin 1. In the interest of safety never disconnect the 
earth pin on the AC cord. 
For all units that are EMC approved (radio 
interference), there is an AC mains filter. This filter 
needs the chassis ground for reference, otherwise a 
current loop is formed via the signal ground. 
Use the balanced input to avoid hum and 
interference. 
 
5. Power consumption 
There are three ways to determine the 
power/current consumption of the amplifier: 
 
First, the peak current draw at full output
power. Under this condition the power will trip the 
wall breaker within 30 second and the amplifier 
will operate for less than 2 minutes before 
thermally limiting. During this time, the 
temperature of the power supply will be stabilised 
at a temperature that will have no effect on the 
insulation rating of the AC line cord. 
 
Secondly, the maximum expected average
current under worst case program material which is 
1/3 of full power according to the FTC-standard. At 
this level the music will be in the state of constant 
clip and is therefore the highest power level one 
can obtain without completely obliterating the 
program. 
 
At last, the "normal operating power", as
measured according to the safety standard IEC 65 
and used by a majority of safety agencies. The 
normal operating power is measured using pink 
noise, with an average output power equal to 1/8 of 
full power. The one eighth of the total power is as 
loud as you can play music while making some 
attempt to avoid obvious clipping. It also 
corresponds to a headroom of 9dB, which is very 
low for an audio program. 
 In 2 ohms operation, the protection of the amplifier 
circuit will not permit long term current draw and 
the component temperature rise will stabilises well 
below the rating. 
 
MAX OUTPUT POWER
MAINS INPUT POWER
Power
Full Power
1/3 Power
1/8 Power
Idle
sine wave
note 1
note 2
LAB 1600
8 ohms
2X
410
1500
800
500
140
4 ohms
2X
800
2800
1600
1000
140
2 ohms
2X
870
3100
1600
1000
140
note 1
Mean power with music as program source
Normal" music power with 9dB headroom,
The amplifier driven to clip level
note 2 IEC standard power rating.
Table 1.
The current draw can be calculated by dividing the mains input power by the mains voltage. 
We recommend you to design the power distribution for at least the current at 1/8 power and 1/3 power for 
heavy duty demands like discos etc. 
The heat power can be calculated as the following example: 
We consider a headroom of at least 9dB and a 4 ohms load on an amplifier producing 800 watts per channel. 
The 1/8 power per channel is then; 800 / 8 = 100 watts, total output; 2 x 100 = 200 watts. 
The power consumption according to the chart above is then 1000 watts. 
The heat power produced is the difference between the power consumption and output power; 
1000 - 200 = 800 watts per amplifier.
 
6. Input connections 
XLR Input connectors are balanced and wired 
according to the IEC 268, that is pin 2 hot, and wired 
in the following way: 
 
PIN 1 
GROUND/SHIELD
PIN 2
HOT
PIN 3
COLD
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 3. XLR input connector pinout
 
 
There are also TRS jacks for linking etc. They are 
wired as follows: 
 
TIP HOT 
RING COLD 
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