E-4
installation
Overview
e P777 Multichannel Power Amplier is built
to Arcam’s traditional high quality design and
manufacturing standards. It is an extremely high-
performance multichannel power amplier obviously
well suited to multichannel home cinema amplication,
although it also provides superb quality stereo
performance with two-channel sources. e P777 is an
ideal partner for the FMJ AV888 Pre-amp Processor.
Each power amplier module is identical, and is
electrically isolated from the other modules by opto-
isolated circuitry which ensures that each amplier
module has its own isolated supply. is allows the
amplier to give excellent channel separation and very
low distortion.
e P777 also has input and output phono sockets
for the signal being fed to each channel, to allow the
signal to be passed on to additional power ampliers
to drive loudspeakers in other rooms or to bi-amplify
any of the speakers. If the P777 is being used to drive
a ve-channel surround sound system, then the spare
two modules (SBL and SBR) can be used in conjunction
with the main (L and R) modules to bi-amplify suitable
front le and right speakers.
e customised installation of the P777 to a listening
room is an important process which requires care at
every stage. For this reason, the installation information
is very comprehensive and should be followed carefully.
is manual has been written with the assumption that
the installer is familiar with the installation of high-end
audio/video systems.
Placing the unit
< Place the P777 on a level, rm surface, avoiding
direct sunlight and sources of heat or damp.
< e P777 is a powerful amplier and a source of
considerable heat output when driven hard. Take
this into consideration when placing the unit.
< Do not place the unit in an enclosed space such as
a bookcase or closed cabinet unless there is very
good provision for ventilation.
< Do not place any other component or item on top
of the P777 as this may obstruct airow around
the unit, causing the P777 to run hot.
< Do not place your record deck on top of this
unit. Record decks are very sensitive to the noise
generated by mains power supplies which will be
heard as a background ‘hum’ if the record deck is
too close.
Room acoustics
e shape of your room and how it’s furnished will aect
the sound you hear. For instance, too many bare surfaces
can cause reections that may add harshness to the
sound. Adding carpeting and drapes can help.
If you have a choice of rooms, avoid ones that are
perfectly square or have one dimension exactly twice
another. ese rooms can aggravate resonances that
colour the sound.
12V Trigger input
If your pre-amp provides a 12V Trigger output, it can
be connected to the 12V TRIGGER IN socket using a mono
3.5mm jack. is enables the P777 to be turned on
remotely from the pre-amp.
tip: 12V trigger signal
sleeve: ground
Note that the trigger input is only active when the
central power button on the front panel is depressed.
In normal use there is no need to make any connections
to this input.
Power
e P777 is supplied with a moulded mains plug already
tted to the lead. Up to 3kW is drawn at maximum
levels, so a heavy duty IEC mains cable is supplied.
Check that the plug supplied ts your supply – if your
mains supply voltage or mains plug is dierent, or you
need a new mains lead, please contact your Arcam
dealer.
Push the IEC plug end of the power cable into the socket
on the back of the P777, making sure that it is pushed in
rmly. Plug the other end of the cable into your mains
socket and, if necessary, switch the socket on.
Connecting to a pre-amplifier
Two dierent connection types are provided for
receiving signals from your pre-amplier: phono
sockets and XLR connectors. e connection type to use
depends on the set-up that you have.
< If the cables to be used to connect your pre-
amplier to the P777 are less than 3m long, we
recommend connecting your pre-amplier to the
AUDIO IN phono (RCA) sockets of your P777. To
use the phono connections, make sure that all the
channel input switches are not depressed.
< If the cables to be used to connect your pre-
amplier to the P777 are 3m or longer and your
pre-amplier has balanced XLR outputs, we
recommend using these instead of the phono
(RCA) connections. Performance will also be
improved in electrically-noisy environments
by using these connections. To use the XLR
connections, make sure that the
INPUT SELECT
switches are depressed for each channel.
12
3
1
2
3
Pin Function
1 Chassis ground (cable shield)
2 ‘Hot’ (normal polarity)
3 ‘Cold’ (inverted polarity)
Female XLR Male XLR