Primare SPA21, Manual

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1
SPA21 SURROUND AMPLIFIER USER GUIDE
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the Primare SPA21 Surround Ampli-
fier! This chapter introduces you to its key features,
and explains how you can take advantage of its
configurability to create a system perfectly suited
to your requirements.
WELCOME TO THE SPA21 SURROUND AMPLIFIER
The SPA21 provides a comprehensive range of features
to make it ideal as the heart of an unparalleled music or
home entertainment system:
Exceptional processing and
amplifying performance
The SPA21 uses proprietary DSP circuitry developed by
Primare, providing better analog performance than the
current off-the-shelf circuits used in many other surround
amplifier, resulting in a very high standard of multi-
channel audio reproduction. The SPA21 provides up to
192kHz/ 24 bit processing to accommodate all the current
multi-channel audio formats and allow for expansion as
new formats are introduced. The SPA21 incorporates a
high quality power amplifier providing 100 Watts per
channel.
Flexible range of inputs
The SPA21 provides a range of inputs flexible enough to
cater for virtually any combination of sources including:
eight or five plus one external analog RCA inputs, two
coaxial digital inputs, two TOS-Link optical digital inputs.
Video switching
The SPA21 provides two component video inputs, two
S-Video inputs and four composite video inputs,
allowing you to switch up to eight audio-visual sources.
Digital Surround Processing
The SPA21 can decode multi-channel sources encoded
in the Dolby Pro Logic, Dolby Digital, or DTS formats
to provide eight discrete output channels for up to eight
loudspeakers in a surround system. The SPA21 provides
a wide range of processing options to allow you to choose
the ideal mode for each type of material, including Dolby
Pro Logic II, an improved version of Dolby Pro Logic,
and several new processing modes designed to provide
superb results with eight-channel systems from Dolby
Digital and DTS encoded materials.
Multi-channel analog input
In addition to decoding encoded multi-channel sources,
the SPA21 provides a discrete eight-channel analog input
for a DVD audio or SACD player that provides a multi-
channel output.
Full configurability
The SPA21 is fully configurable from either the front
panel or remote control, using a simple set of on-screen
menus, to allow you to set it up with the exact combi-
nation of sources and outputs that you want to use for
your own system. The SPA21 is supplied already set up
with a standard set of sources, designed to cater for the
most usual combination of inputs and outputs in a typi-
cal system, but you can modify these or define your own
sources with total flexibility.
Intuitive user interface
In keeping with the philosophy of the Primare range of
systems, the SPA21 ’s powerful range of features can be
controlled through a very simple and intuitive interface,
designed so that it will not distract you from the pleasure
of listening to music or watching movies on your system.
In fact almost all the features of the SPA21 can be accessed
through just two front panel controls and five push but-
tons; alternatively the same degree of control is provided
through the C20 Remote Control supplied with the
SPA21.