Pass XA100 Owner'S Manual Download Page 5

5

XA100 Owner’s Manual

are charged.  The “Power” LED should not be on.  If  the “Power” 
LED is on, don’t get excited, just use the front panel stand-by button 
to go to stand-by mode, with the “Standby” LED on and the “Power “ 
LED off.

OK, so the amplifier is sitting there in stand-by mode with just the 
single blue LED lit.  No speaker connected yet.  You can go ahead 
and connect the source and speakers.  Make sure you are in standby 
mode to protect your speakers from transients.  The prudent installer 
will unplug the XA100’s power cord from the mains while attaching 
speaker cables.

To avoid the possibility of  short circuits always connect speaker cables 
to the speakers prior to connecting to the amplifier.  The output 
binding posts will accept either bare wire or spades.  (Regulatory 
agencies in many countries have banned binding posts that will accept 
a banana plug, forcing us to abandon this option.) Make sure that your 
speaker wires only attach to the outputs of  the amplifier, not to each 
other and never to the amplifier case.  

Some powered subwoofers require an audio signal ground reference 
and their makers may suggest that a black speaker terminal is 
where this voltage reference might be found. On complementary 
designs, which would be typical of  all power amps produced by Pass 
Laboratories™, this is an incorrect and unsafe assumption.  On all 
Pass Laboratories™ power amplifiers a reference of  0 volts will be 
found only at pin 1 of  the XLR input or at the shell of  the RCA input. 

Reference connections for these devices require special consideration 
when used with our product.  If  you have such a device, and wish to 
use it with our product, please contact our Foresthill, California factory 
for specific instructions.... you have been warned.

The amplifier may be driven single-end or balanced, your choice.  
Single-ended input will always occur through the RCA connector 
and balanced input will always occur through the XLR connector.  If  
driving the amplifier single-ended leave the supplied jumpers in place 
between pins 1 & 3 on the input XLR.  On the XLR connector pin 1 is 
ground, pin two is positive input and pin 3 is inverted (negative) input.  
Pin numbers are marked on the XLR.  If  you re-install the jumper 
incorrectly or leave it lying about, the amplifier will not work properly.  
You must choose either XLR or RCA inputs it is not advised to try and 
run both concurrently.

 

XLR input connector showing proper 
placement of  jumper pin for use with 
single-ended (RCA) input.

Summary of Contents for XA100

Page 1: ...1 XA100 Owner s Manual pass TM XA100 Owner s Manual May 18 2006 ...

Page 2: ...that we descriptively characterize as being Single ended Class A This new topology combines the very best characteristics of Pass Laboratories X series amplifiers and the highly rated Pass Laboratories Aleph The XA series is the marriage of a highly refined Aleph output stage with the patented Supersymmetry X front end The emphasis of the XA series is to accentuate performance over power The XA se...

Page 3: ...he XA100 accommodates both single ended RCA and balanced inputs XLR Input impedance s are 11 kohm unbalanced and 22 kohm balanced to permit integration with the widest possible range of upstream components You can position this amplifier anywhere you wish but it must have ventilation We do not recommend placing it in enclosed cabinets or small closets without means for air to circulate freely Stac...

Page 4: ...le circuit breaker does away with the need for disposable fuses The frequency rating of the AC line source is 50 to 60 Hz in all cases Please verify that the amplifiers indicated voltage requirements are consistent with the supplied voltage and current at your location Transformers are input voltage specific and their change is not a trivial matter Looking at the rear panel you will see the AC pow...

Page 5: ...eaker terminal is where this voltage reference might be found On complementary designs which would be typical of all power amps produced by Pass Laboratories this is an incorrect and unsafe assumption On all Pass Laboratories power amplifiers a reference of 0 volts will be found only at pin 1 of the XLR input or at the shell of the RCA input Reference connections for these devices require special ...

Page 6: ... and give us a call if you have problems People are interested in how long it takes for these amplifiers to break in Depending on the resolution of the rest of your audio chain you may or may not notice any break in of the XA100 beyond the first 50 hours of operation You will likely notice the difference in sonic character between cold and normal operating temperature so we recommend letting these...

Page 7: ...r cables which is that they should cost less than the amplifier and contain at least some conductive material We have tried a lot of products and most work well but as a practical matter we cannot make blanket recommendations The amplifier is not sensitive to source interconnects It is also not sensitive to radio frequency pickup which allows some flexibility in choosing source interconnects witho...

Page 8: ... amps RC filtering is used to passively remove ripple from the supply rails All the power transistors in the product are hyper matched parts with gate voltages matched to 0 5 and all devices taken from the same manufacturing lot codes made on the same wafer So how long will this hardware last It is our experience that barring abuse or the odd failure of a component the first things to go will be t...

Page 9: ...al Slew rate plus minus 50 V uS Output Noise 300 uV unweighted 20 20 kHz Balanced CMRR approx 60 dB 1 kHz DC offset 100 mv Power Consumption approx 300 watts Temperature 25 degrees C above ambient at idle Dimensions 19 W x 9 H x 22 D Shipping Weight 68 lbs For more information please contact Pass Laboratories Inc P O Box 219 24449 Foresthill Rd Foresthill CA 95631 Tel 530 367 3690 Fax 530 369 2193...

Page 10: ... of origin for warrantee service Foreign distributors are only required to offer warranty service on Pass Laboratories product that they have imported Please note Conditions of warranty service and customer rights for product purchased outside the United States may vary depending upon the distribu tor and local laws Please check with your local distributor for specific rights and details Any modif...

Page 11: ... one that is fully safety rated by the necessary local authority Power Cord Protection Power supply cords should be routed so that they are not likely to be walked on abraded or pinched by items placed on or against them paying particular attention to cords where they enter plugs or exit from a device Never under any circumstance insert a cut or damaged power cord into a mains power socket Power a...

Page 12: ...speakers putting Pass Laboratories X amplifiers on the bottom for power and control conjoined with Alephs on the top for that smooth warm midrange and top end We well appreciate these complementary differences and for the past few years Pass Laborato ries has been at work marrying these two design concepts into a single amplifier topology The trick was to create an amplifier which carries the best...

Page 13: ...d for preamplifier circuits high quality amplifier front ends and other very low power output stages US Patent 5 710 522 describes the single ended Class A power ampli fier biased by a constant DC current source which negatively ghosts the speaker load with simple but effective current modulation If you have followed developments in audio for the last 10 years you know this design as the Pass Labo...

Page 14: ...ve ambient temperature so that actual chip temperatures are about 70 degrees below their rating The output devices are designed to last a very long time under these conditions with a probable life of about 50 000 hours The power supply of the XA 200 uses elaborate RF filtering and noise sup pression designed to block AC noise and line DC The substantial toroidal power transformer is followed by hi...

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