APart-Audio CHAMP-3D User manual

MANUAL
CHAMP-3D
Audiophile Digital Power Amplier
[e-mail]

WWW.APART-AUDIO.COM
2
•Caution:hotandsharpsurfaces!Thisprofessionaldeviceneedstobeinstalledbyqualified
personnelonly.
•Pleasecheckthepackingforanykindofdamageuponreceptionofthegoods.Ifthepackingis
damaged,pleasecontactyourdealerbeforeopeningit.
•!!!!Danger!!!!Exposuretohighsoundpressurelevelsmaycausepermanenthearingloss.
Hearinglossinducedbyexposuretohighsoundpressurelevelswillvaryfromindividualto
individual,butnearlyeveryonewilllosesomehearingwhenexposedforasufficientamountof
time.Thereforeitisrecommendedthatallpersonsexposedtoequipmentcapableofproducing
highsoundpressurelevels,suchasthisamplifier,wearsufficientearprotectionwhileinstalling
oroperatingthisunit.
•Readalldocumentationbeforeoperatingyourequipment.
•Keepalldocumentationforfuturereference.
•Keepthecartonandpackingmaterial,eveniftheequipmenthasarrivedingoodcondition.
•Shouldyoueverneedtosendtheunitback,useonlytheoriginalfactorypacking.
•Donotspillwaterorotherliquidsonorintotheunit.
•Makesurepoweroutletsconformtothepowerrequirementslistedonthebackoftheunit.
•Donotusetheunitiftheelectricalpowercordisdamaged.
•AlwaysoperatetheunitwiththeACgroundwireconnectedtotheelectricalsystemground.
•Turnthelevelcontrolsontheamplifiersallthewaydownduringpower-uptopreventspeaker
damageiftherearehighsignallevelsattheinputs.
•Donotconnecttheinputs/outputsofamplifiersorconsolestoanyothervoltagesource,such
asbatteries,mainssourcesorpowersupplies,regardlessofwhethertheamplifierorconsoleis
turnedONorOFF.
•Powerdownanddisconnectunitsfrommainsvoltagebeforemakingconnections.
•Donotusetheunitnearstoves,heatregisters,radiators,orotherheatproducingdevices.
•Donotoperateequipmentonasurfaceorinanenvironmentwhichmaydistortthenormalflow
ofairaroundtheunit.Iftheunitisusedinanextremelydustyorsmokyenvironment,theunit
shouldregularlybe“blownfree”ofdust.
•Donotremovethecover.Removingthecoverwillexposeyoutopotentiallydangerousvolt-
ages.
•Donotdrivetheinputswithasignallevelhigherthanthatwhichisrequiredtodriveequipment
tofulloutput.
•Donotruntheoutputofanyamplifierbackintoanotherinput.
•Incaseofmalfunction,thisdeviceshouldbeservicedbyqualifiedservicepersonnelonly.
Safetyfirst!

[e-mail]
3
Features
•Modulardesign,highpower2.1amplifierwith3Hypex™audiophileClass-Ddigitalamplifier
modules.
•Highendoperationalamplifiersintheanalogsignalpath.
•Highthermalefficiency,typically92%.
•Exceptionallyhighdampingfactorfortightbassresponse.AllthebenefitsofaClass-Damplifier
withthehighlyappreciatedclassicanalogamplifiersound.
•Designwithoutfans,oversizedconvectionalcooling,traditionalpowersupplyunit.
•Toroidalpowertransformerandseparatepowersuppliesfor2channelandmonoblock
amplifiers.
•Softstartpowersupplyunit.
•Standbyfunctionwithseparatestandbypowertransformer,accessibleviaRS232.
•Lowstandbypowerconsumption.
•IntegratedAnalogDevices®digitalsignalprocessor(DSP),featuring24bitanalogtodigital
converters(ADC),4bandfullyparametricequalizer,crossoverwithfreelyselectablefrequencies
andLinkwitz-RileyorButterworthfiltercharacteristics,delay,compressorandcliplimiter.
•Balancedinternalanalogsignaldistribution.
•µCcontrolledoperation.
•Intelligentautoloudnesssystem.
•BalancedXLRfemaleandmaleinputconnectorsandeuroblockinputs,withpass-through.
•4-poleSpeakon®outputconnectorsonallchannels.
•Extendedspeakerandamplifierprotectioncircuits:DCprotection,over-currentprotection,over-
temperatureprotection.
•Real-timemainsvoltagemonitoringsystem:disablestheamplifiersandmainpowersupplyin
casethemainsvoltageisoutofrange.
•Real-timepowersupplymonitoringsystem:disablestheamplifierswhentheinternalDCsupply
isoutofrange.
•Lockablefrontcontrols,passwordprotectedparameteraccess,remoteoperationviaRS232and
externalvolumecontrolusingasingleexternalpotentiometer.
•3locklevels:locked,unlockedandvolumeonly.
•Individualchannelmute/selectbuttonsandversatileLEDVUmeters,dotmatrixLCDdisplay
androtaryencoder.
•Userdefinabledisplaytextandfont,adjustableviaRS232.
•User-friendlymenustructurewithdisplayguidancetoaccessalladjustableparameters.
•Speakerwizardmenuwithpresetx-overandlimiterparameters,optimizedforusewithourmost
popularspeakerconfigurations.Versatilemodularamplifier,applicableforbothbackground
musicsystemsaswellasmediumpowerapplications.
•Userdefinablemaximumoutputlevel,idealforuseinsmallpubsorotherplaceswhere
maximumsoundlevelsarerestricted.Noneedforexternalsoundlevelcontrollers.All
parameterscanbelockedandpassword-protected.
•Groundliftswitch.
•ThisunithasNOTbeendesignedforuseinmobileapplications,suchas:mobilediscobars,
mobilePAsystems,Livebands,audiorentalsystems…
•FirmwareupdatepossibleviaRS232port.

1 2 3
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
WWW.APART-AUDIO.COM
4
Connections
Rearpanellayout
1)Externalvolumecontrolon2poleeuroblock:hereyoucanconnectastandard10kΩlinear
potentiometer,wiredasanadjustableresistor,usingashieldedcable.Connecttheshieldto
the–connector.Whenenabledinthesettingsmenu,thisexternalpotentiometerallowsyouto
increaseordecreasethemastervolumein2dBsteps.Enablingtheexternalvolumecontrol
automaticallydisablesthefrontpanelmastervolumecontrol.Serialportvolumecontrolwill
alsobedisabled.Whennoexternalpotentiometerisconnectedwhiletheexternalvolume
controlfeatureisenabled,ortheconnectingcableisfaulty,orthevalueofthepotentiometeris
outofrange,the3SGL/ERRORLED’sonthefrontpanelwilllightupredandblink.Thedisplay
willshow“INVALIDEXT.VOL”andtheaudiosignalwillremainmuteduntiltheconnectionhas
beenrepairedortheexternalvolumecontrolhasbeendisabledinthesettingsmenu.
2)RS232portonDB9connector.Standardserialportconnectorforprogramming,external
controlandfirmwareupdatesusingourfirmwareupdateprogramavailableonline.Portsettings
arefixedat19200baudrate,8databits,noparity,nohandshake.LF(linefeed),BS(backspace)
andECHOarenotenabledbutcanbeenabledusinganRS232commandstring.More
informationintheRS232commandschapter.
WhenthetextreturnedviaRS232isgarbledornocommunicationispossible,adjustyour
communicationparameterstomatchthoseoftheunit.IfyouarenotfamiliarwithRS232
communication,serialcablesandcommunicationparameters,askforassistancefroma
qualifiedengineer!
!!!WARNING!!!
ConnectingacomputeroranyothersimilarcontroldeviceviaRS232,maycauseasevereground
loop!Groundloopsmaycauseerraticbehaviorandeventuallydamageyoursystemcomponents.
3)APNETconnector.Forfutureuse.DONOTconnectanykindofcomputernetworkcablehere.
Itwillresultinmalfunctionordamagetoyournetwork!
4)RightchannelXLRmaleinputconnector.

5)RightchannelXLRfemaleinputsignalconnector.

[e-mail]
5
6)Rightchannelbalancedinputoneuroblock.Items4,5and6arehardwiredinternallyandcan
beusedtocreateadaisychainforconnectingevenmoreamplifiers.
7)Leftchannelbalancedinputoneuroblock.Items7,8and9arehardwiredinternallyandcan
beusedtocreateadaisychainforconnectingevenmoreamplifiers.
8)LeftchannelXLRmaleinputsignalconnector.
9)LeftchannelXLRfemaleinputconnector.
10)Subwooferoutputon4poleSpeakon®connector.Pins1+and2+,aswellas1-and
2-areconnectedinparallel.Minimumloadimpedanceis4ohmsoneachSpeakon®
connector.
11)Subwooferoutputon4poleSpeakon®connector.1+and2+,aswellas1-and2-are
connectedinparallel.Thisconnectorcarriesexactlythesamesignalas10andishardwired
internally.Minimumloadimpedanceis4ohmsoneachconnector.Incaseyouwanttouse
2pieces4ohmsubwoofers,thenwirethemindependently.Onesubconnectedto10,the
secondto11.Alwaysmakeuseofthe4connectionpins(1+and2+,1-and2-)toavoid
contactburn-incausedbytheextremecurrentsflowingthroughtheseconnectors!
12)Rightspeakeroutputon4poleSpeakon®connector.1+and2+,aswellas1-and2-are
connectedinparallel.Alwaysmakeuseofthe4connectionpins(1+and2+,1-and2-)to
avoidcontactburn-incausedbytheextremecurrentsflowingthroughtheseconnectors!
13)Leftspeakeroutput4poleSpeakon®connector.1+and2+,aswellas1-and2-are
connectedinparallel.Alwaysmakeuseofthe4connectionpins(1+and2+,1-and2-)to
avoidcontactburn-incausedbytheextremecurrentsflowingthroughtheseconnectors!
14)Groundliftswitch:thisswitchnormallystaysinthe“EARTH”position.Incaseyouhave
createdagroundloop,youcanswitchittothe“LIFT”position,tohelpyoufindthesourceof
thegroundloop.However,whenthegroundloopissevere,activatingtheswitchwillnothelp
much,andeventuallyoneormoresystemcomponentsmayfail.Whenexcessivenoise,hum
orsysteminstabilityoccurs,poweroffalldevices,andstartconnectingallunitsindividually.
Tunersconnectedtoanoutdoorantennaoracablesignaldistributionsystem,computers,
serialcontroldevicesandlaptopsaretheusualsuspects.
15)Mainsinletconnector:pluginthesuppliedmainscablehere.Themainsfuseislocated
insidetheunitandcanbeaccessedbyremovingthetopcoveroftheunit.Forauthorized
personnelonly!Whenthefuseblowsregularly,checkyoursystemfirst,removeanyground
loopscausedbyfaultyinstallation.Alwayscheckforshortcircuitsonyourspeakerlines,
audiosignallinesandotherconnections.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
WWW.APART-AUDIO.COM
6
Operation
Frontpanellayout
1)Powerswitch:powerontheunitbyflippingtheswitchtothe‘on’position.Inthe‘OFF’position,
ALLelectricalcircuitsaredisabled.Inthe‘on’position,theunitcanbeswitchedtostandby
usinganRS232instruction,whichwillturnoffthemainpowersupply,resultinginverylow
standbypowerconsumption.
2)Submute/selectswitch:duringnormaloperation,pushoncetomutethesubchannel.During
parameterediting,thisbuttoncanbeusedtoselectthesubchannel.Ineditingmode,you
canalsopushmultiplechannelswitchesatoncetoedittheparameterssimultaneouslyforall
channels.
3)Leftchannelmute/selectswitch:duringnormaloperation,pushoncetomutetheleftchannel.
Duringparameterediting,thisbuttoncanbeusedtoselecttheleftchannel.Someparameters
arelinkedforleftandrightchannels.
4)Rightchannelmute/selectswitch:duringnormaloperation,pushoncetomutetheright
channel.Duringparameterediting,thisbuttoncanbeusedtoselecttheleftchannel.Some
parametersarelinkedforleftandrightchannels.
5)DotmatrixLCDdisplaywithbluebackgroundlight.Thestandardtextdisplayedonthenormal
screencanbeeditedusingRS232commands.Thedisplayshowstheactualmasterlevel.On
theright,arrowsymbolsappear.Thesearelocatednexttothethreepushbuttonsusedfor
parameterediting.Thesymbolsmaychangetotext,relatedtothefunctionofthepushbuttons.

6)Menubuttons.Duringnormaloperation,theuppermostbuttonisusedtoenter(returnto)
themainmenu,themiddleandlowerbuttonsareusedforscrollingthroughtheavailable
parametersappearinginthedisplay.Aneditableparameterwillbehighlightedinthedisplay,
andthevaluecanbechangedbyturningtherotaryencoder.Thefunctionofthepushbuttons
willchangewhennecessary.Thefunctionofthepushbuttonsisdescribedontherightsideof
theLCDdotmatrixdisplay.

[e-mail]
7
LEDVUMeter
Innormalsituations,theLEDVUmeterindicatesthechannel’soutputlevel,where0dBistheabsolute
maximum.TheLED’swilllightupingreen,showingtheactualoutputlevel.
WhenthepushbuttonbeneaththeVUmeterispushedonce,thechannelismuted.TheSGL/ERROR
LEDwilllightuporange.WhentheSGL/ERRORisred,anerrorhasoccurredandthechannelwillbe
disabledormuteduntiltheerrorisremoved.
Whenthemasterlevelisturnedup,theoutputlevelwillincrease.Whenthemaximumsafelevelis
reached,theinternalcompressorwillreducetheoutputsignal.TheupperLED’sintheVUmeterwill
becomeorangetoindicatethemeasureofautomaticgainreduction.Whenthe0dBLEDlightsupred,
theamplifierisclipping.Alwaysavoidclipping!
LCDDisplay
Wheninuse,thedisplaywillshowtheuserdefinabletext.Defaulttextis
CHAMP3D,largefont.Thistextandthefonttypecanbechangedvia
RS232instructions.
Theactualmasterlevelisalsoshown,inthiscase-72dB.
Pushingthepushbuttonnexttothearrowwillallowyoutoenterthemain
menu.Thenextscreenwillpopup
7)Rotaryencoder:innormaloperation,youcancontrolthemastervolumewiththisencoder.
Whenyouenterthemenu,thisencoderisusedtochangetheselectedparametervalue.The
editableparameterwillbehighlightedinthedisplay.
8)StandbyLED:thisLEDlightsupwhentheamplifierisinstandbymode.Thestandbyfunctionis
availableviaRS232instructiononly.WhenthemainspowerswitchisintheOFFposition,all
electricalcircuitswillbedeactivatedandstandbymodewillnotbeavailable.

WWW.APART-AUDIO.COM
8
Youwillnoticethatanup-anddownarrowhasappearednextto
thepushbuttons.Usethesetoscrollthroughthedifferentmenus.
Whenyouwanttoenteramenu-inthiscasethe“LEVELS”menuis
highlighted-pushtheupperbutton.
Thenextscreenappears.
Nowusetheup-ordownbuttonstoselecttheSUB,LEFTorRIGHT
channelandturntherotaryencodertosetthelevel.Youcanalsopush
thebuttonsunderneaththeLEDVUmeterstoselectthechannels,and
ifnecessary,youcanpushthesebuttonssimultaneouslytoeditthelevel
ofallchannelssimultaneously.Someparametersarelinkedforleftand
rightchannels.
Themenustructurelookslikethis:
LEVELS
MAX LEVELS
SPEAKER WIZARD
CROSS-OVER
EQUALIZER
DELAY
SETTINGS
EXIT
SAVE AND EXIT
SUB
LEFT
RIGHT
MASTER
LEVELS
SUB
LEFT
RIGHT
MASTER
MAXLEVELS
EQUALIZER
BAND
TYPE
FREQ
GAIN
Q
EQUALIZER
LEFTDELAY
RIGHTDELAY
DELAY
CONTRAST
AUTOLD
EXTVOL
LOCKMODE
SETTINGS
CROSS-OVER
TOPTYPE
TOPFREQ
SUBTYPE
SUBFREQ
SUBLOCUT
SUBPHASE

[e-mail]
9
Hereyoucaneditthelevelsofallchannelsrelativetoeachother.Defaultvalueis0dB.Itis
recommendedtousethisparameterforlevelmatchingonly.Example:youwanttoadjustthe
levelofthesubwooferbecauseitis3dBlouderthantheL/Rspeakers:inthiscasesettheSUB
parameterto-3dB.Afteradjusting,pushtheupperbuttontogobacktothemainmenu,select
“SAVEANDEXIT”andpushtheupperbuttonagaintosaveyourselection.Someparameters,
suchasallaudiorelatedparameters,arenotautomaticallysaved.Systemsettings,suchas
displaycontrast,areautomaticallysaved.
PleasenotethatdecreasingtheMAXlevelwilldecreasethemasterlevel.Whileincreasingthe
MAXlevelwillnotincreasethemasterlevel.
WhentheLEVELSandMAXLEVELSmenuisused,theSGL/ERRORLED’swilllightupingreen,
showingyouwhichchannelisselected.Insomecases,youcanedittheparametersofmultiple
channelssimultaneously.Whenthisisthecase,theselectedchannelwilllightupstrong,while
theselectablechannelswilllightupweak.Pushthechannelselectbuttonssimultaneouslyto
selectthemforsimultaneousparameterediting,thegreenchannelLED’swilllightupstrong
andtheeditableparameterfortheselectedchannelswillbehighlightedintheLCDdisplay.In
somemenus,suchastheequalizerandcrossovermenu,theleftandrightchannelparameters
areautomaticallylinked.ThegreenchannelLED’swillautomaticallylightupstrongforboth
channels.
Thespeakerwizardmenuoffersyouaneasywaytoautomaticallyadjustallaudiorelated
parametersforoptimumcompatibilitywithourmostpopularspeakersets.Enterthespeaker
wizardmenuandfollowtheon-screeninstructions,choosethenumberandtypeofspeakersin
yourset-up.Firstselectthetypeandnumberofspeakersusedinyoursystem,subwoofer(s)as
wellastopspeakers.Afterspeakerselection,thefollowingmessagewillappearinthescreen:
“CHANGEMASTERANDMAXMASTERLEVEL”or“PROCEED”.AdjusttheMASTERleveltoyour
specificneeds.ThevalueoftheMASTERlevelwillbeusedasMAXMASTER.Ifyoudon’twantto
settheMASTERandMAXMASTER,justproceedtothenextstepbypushingtheupperarrow.
Afteradjustment,presstheupperbuttontoenterthe“LOCKMODE”menu.Adjustthemodeif
necessary.Ifyouselect“VOLONLY”or“LOCKED”,youwillbeaskedifyouwanttochangethe
password.Ifyoudon’tchangethepassword,thepreviouspasswordwillremainvalid.
Importantparameters,suchascrossoverfrequency,filtertype,equalizersettingsandlimiter
thresholdswillbeoptimized.Youcanofcourseadjustcertainparameters,suchasequalizer
setting,subwooferphaseanddelaysettingstomatchyourspecificsituation.Wedonot
recommendchangingthemaximumspecifiedlevels,becausethismayresultindamagetoyour
speakers.
LEVELS MAXLEVELS
SPEAKERWIZARD

WWW.APART-AUDIO.COM
10
Toptypemeans:crossovertypefortheL/Rchannels.Thisparameterislinkedforbothchannels.
Subtypemeans:crossovertypefortheSubchannels
Therearedifferenttypesofcrossovercharacteristicselectable:
OFF->nocrossover,thechannelsworkatfullrange,validforL/Ramplifiersonly.
L-R48->Linkwitz-Riley48dB/octave(default)
L-R24->Linkwitz-Riley24dB/octave
L-R12->Linkwitz-Riley12dB/octave
BUT48->Butterworth48dB/octave
BUT24->Butterworth48dB/octave
FIRST6->Firstorderfilteror6dB/octave
SubfreqandTopfreqmeans:thecrossoverfrequency.Thisisfreelyselectable.
Sublocutmeans:thefrequencywherethe48dB/octavesubsonicfilterwillbeactive.Valid
parametersare:OFFor10to80Hz.FilterslopeisL-R48andcannotbechanged.
Subphase:whensettoOFF,thesubchannelisinphasewiththeL/Rchannels.Whensettothe
“ON”position,subphaseis180°,alsocalledphasereverse.Ifthelowfrequencyresponseof
yoursystemisinsufficient,experimentwiththephasesettingfirst.
FinetuningcanbedoneviatheDELAYmenu.
EQUALIZERONorOFF
BAND:selectband1to4
TYPE:selectequalizertype:HPF,LOSHELF,PEAK,HISHELF,LPF
FREQ:selectequalizerfrequency
GAIN:setequalizergain
Q:setQ-factor
Allequalizerfrequenciescanbefreelyselected.
TheseQ-factorsareselectable:
0.08,0.12,0.18,0.25,0.35,0.50,0.71,1.00,1.41,2.00,2.83,4.00,5.66,8.0,
11.3,16.0
ThehighertheQ-value,themorenarrowthebandwidthoftheequalizer.
IfyouarenotfamiliarwithequalizersettingsandQ-factors,leavetheQ-factortoitsdefault
settingof0.71!
HPFstandsforhighpassfilter:allfrequenciesbelowtheselectedfrequencywillbecut.
LPFstandsforlowpassfilter:allfrequenciesabovetheselectedfrequencywillbecut.
NOTE:withaQ-factorof0.71(default),the-3dBpointequalstheselectedfrequencyforHPF
andLPF.HPFandLPFhaveafixedslopeof12dB/octave.
CROSS-OVER
EQUALIZER

[e-mail]
11
ThelineatthetopshowsapeakingequalizerwitharelativelylowQ-factororwidebandwidth.
Boostlevelis9dB,centerfrequencyis1kHz.Thistypeofequalizercorrespondstothetypical
mid-tonecontrolfoundonmostaudioequipment.
RedlineshowsapeakingequalizerwitharatherhighQ-factororlowbandwidth,Cutlevelis
-6dB.Centerfrequencyis100Hz.
Thelineatthetopshowsahighshelfequalizer,theredlineshowsalowshelfequalizer.These
typesofequalizercorrespondtothetypicalbassandtrebletonecontrolsfoundonmostaudio
equipment.
LoandHishelfequalizer:
Peakingequalizer:

WWW.APART-AUDIO.COM
12
DELAYmenu:
Thedelaycanbeadjustedinstepsof291.6667µs,whichisthetimenecessaryforsoundto
travel10cmindryairat20°C.Forconvenience,thedelaytimeisexpressedinmeters,notinµs.
Thedelaymenucontainsthefollowingsubmenus:
LEFTDELAY:setthedelayfrom0to6metersin0.1meterstepsfortheleftchannel
RIGHTDELAY:setthedelayfrom0to6metersin0.1meterstepsfortheleftchannel
0meterscorrespondsto0milliseconds,ornodelay(OFF).
6meterscorrespondsto17.48milliseconds(at20°C,dryair,speedofsoundequals343.2m/s)
Thedelaycanbeadjustedinstepsof291.6667µs,whichisthetimenecessaryforsoundto
travel10cmindryairat20°C.Forconvenience,thedelaytimeisexpressedinmeters,notinµs.
Thedelaymenucontainsthefollowingsubmenus:
LEFTDELAY:setthedelayfrom0to6metersin0.1meterstepsfortheleftchannel
RIGHTDELAY:setthedelayfrom0to6metersin0.1meterstepsfortheleftchannel
0meterscorrespondsto0milliseconds,ornodelay(OFF).
6meterscorrespondsto17.48milliseconds(at20°C,dryair,speedofsoundequals343.2m/s)
CONTRAST:setthecontrastoftheLCDdisplay.
AUTOLD:setautomaticloudnessONorOFF.
EXTVOL:enableordisableexternalvolumecontrolusingastandard10klinearpotentiometer
ora0to10Vsource.
LOCKMODE:chooselockmode:UNLOCKED,VOLONLYorLOCKED.
WhenyouchangethelockmodefromUNLOCKEDtoLOCKEDorVOLONLY,youwillbe
askedtochangethepassword.Defaultpasswordwhenleavingthemenuis:1234.Maximum
numberofcharactersis4.
Whenyouchoosetochangeyourpassword,youcanenteritbyturningtherotaryencoder,the
selectedcharacterwillchange.Movethecursortothenextcharacterbypushingtheuppermost
button(rightarrow)andsoon…Toenterthepassword,pleasefollowthesameprocedure.
Whenthepasswordislost,you‘llbeunabletounlocktheunit!Contactyourauthorizeddealer
forassistance.
WhenyouchooseLOCKEDmode,theuserwillnotbeabletochangethemasterlevel.
Therefore,youmustadjustthemasterleveltothedesiredvalueandthenperformSAVEAND
EXIT.Ifyoudon’tsavethesettings,thenexttimetheunitispowered-on,itwillreturntothemaster
levelthatwaspreviouslystored.Thedefaultmasterlevelis-∞andnosoundwillbeheard!
EXTVOLpotentiometerconnection,useastandardshieldedaudiocable:
DELAY
SETTINGS

[e-mail]
13
RS232commands
EXTVOLpotmeterconnection,useastandardshieldedaudiocable:
Exitthemainmenuandsaveallparametersthathavebeenchanged.
IMPORTANT:
Someparameterswillnotbesavedwhenexitingwithoutsaving:
Allaudiorelatedparametersarestoredinatemporarymemorylocationandwillbelostwhen
cyclingpower.Inordertosavethem,youneedtoselectSAVEANDEXIT.
LEVELS,MAXLEVELS,EQsettings,CROSS-OVERsettings,includingthePHASEsettingofthe
subwooferchannel,AUTOLDsettingandDELAYsettingsmustbesavedpriortoexitingthemain
menu.Allsystemrelatedparameters,suchasdisplaycontrastetc,areautomaticallysaved.
ViaRS232evenmorefeaturesareavailable,withtheexceptionofthepasswordprotectionwhich
isaccessibleONLYviathefrontpanelcontrols.
Forexample,itispossibletoeditthestandardtextappearingonthedisplayusingRS232
commands.Onthefollowingpages,wewillexplainthepossibilitiesofremotecontrolviaRS232.
IncaseyoumightexperienceRS232communicationproblems,consultanexperiencedsystem
engineertogetyoustarted.
Portsettingsarefixedat19200baudrate,8databits,noparity,nohandshake.LF(linefeed),BS
(backspace)andECHOparametersarenotenabledbydefault.Theycanbeenabledusingan
RS232commandstring.WestronglyadvisenottochangeanyRS232communicationrelated
parameters.
Instructionsarenotcasesensitive.Eachcommandmustendwith“<CR>”.Whentheinstruction
hasbeenexecuted,theunitwillsendareply,providedthataparameterorsettinghasbeen
changed.
Iftheparametervalueisalreadyequaltothevaluespecifiedintheinstruction,noparameter
willbechangedsotheunitwillnotreply!Thereasonisobvious:onlychangesarereported.Itis
possibletoretrieveavaluebyusingtheGETcommand.E.g.GETMASTER.
Exitthemainmenuandreturntothemainscreenwithoutsaving.Pleasenotethatsome
parameters,suchassystemsettingswillautomaticallybesaved.
EXIT
SAVEANDEXIT
CONNECTTOEXTVOLCONTROL+
CONNECTTOEXTVOLCONTROL-

WWW.APART-AUDIO.COM
14
Cableconnections:
Otherpinsarenotused.Cableiswiredstraightthrough,meaningnullmodemcableswill
notwork.Donotattempttoconnectthisunitusingnoncompatiblecablesoruntestedserial
ports.Whenusedwithacomputer,bewareofpossiblegroundloopscausedbytheserialport
connection.Makesureyoucanaccess(andmodifyifnecessary)theserialportsettingsonyour
controldevice/computer.Ifyouarenotfamiliarwithserialcontrol,askforassistancefroma
qualifiedengineer.
Pin2:TXdata:datatransmissionoutput
Pin3:RXdata:datareceptioninput
Pin5:GND:ground
!!!IMPORTANT!!!
Whenthecommand(SET,GET,INC,DEC)isinvalid,theunitwillsend:“ERROR:Unknown
Command!”Whenaninvalidattributeissent,theunitwillreply:“ERROR:UnknownAttribute!”
Whenyouattempttosendaninstructionwithavalueoutofrange,theunitwillreply:“ERROR:
ValueInvalid!”However,thisdoesnotapplytooutputlevelrelatedcommands.Inthesecases,
theunitwillsetthevaluetothevalueclosesttotheabsolutelimitvalue.Forexample,yousend
“SETMASTER-99”.Theunitwillnotreplywithanerrormessage,instead,thereplywilllook
likethis:“MASTEROFF”.ThelowestpossibleMasterlevelis-80,so-99meansthatthemaster
islowerthanthelowest(-80)value.Themasterwillbemuted.Whenacommandthatdoes
notrequirevaluefeedbackhasbeenexecuted,theunitwillreply:“InstructionExecuted!”,for
examplewhentheuserdefinabledisplaytextorfonttypehasbeenaltered.Whentheinstruction
isinvalid,thereplywillbe:“ERROR:InvalidInstruction!”
WhenthetextreturnedviaRS232isgarbledornocommunicationispossible,adjustyour
communicationsparameterstomatchthoseoftheunit.Alsomakesurethefrontpanel
operationisunlocked.Whenacommunicationerrorhasoccurredduetoinvalidcommunication
parametersorunknowncharacters,youwillneedtoflushtheRS232buffermanually:whenthe
unitreceives“<CR>”or“enter”,thebufferwillbeflushed.Alternatively,youmightconsider
cyclingthepower,justtobesure.Duringthepower-onprocedure,theunitwillidentifyitselfvia
atextdumpontheserialport.Whennotextisshownonyourserialcommunicationdevicewhile
theamplifierisperformingitspower-onselftests,yourcommunicationparametersorserialcable
arewrong,notconnectedorincompatible.
WesupposeyouarefamiliarwithRS232communication,serialcablesandRS232portsettings.
IncaseyoumightexperienceRS232communicationproblems,consultanexperiencedsystem
engineertogetyoustarted.

[e-mail]
15
Eachinstructionhasatleastacommandandanattribute.Inmanycases,extravaluesare
necessary,suchasanumericorbinaryvalue.Instructionsalwayshavetobeendedwith
<CR>,carriagereturn.Nospacebetweenthelastcharacteroftheinstructionandthe<CR>.
Instructionsarenotcasesensitive!
The4possiblecommandsare:SET,GET,INCandDEC.WiththeINCandDECcommand,a
“stepvalue”canbespecified.Thisneedstobeapositivenumberbetween1and10.Astep
valuehigherthan10,willresultinastepvalueof10.Ifnovalueisspecified,defaultvalue1will
beused.ThismeansthatwitheveryINCorDECcommand,thevaluewillincreaseordecrease
by1step.
Example:themasterlevelis-50andthefollowinginstructionissent:
INCMASTER<CR>(youwanttoturnupthemastervolumeby1step)
Themasterlevelnowwillbe-49.Nowthenextinstructionissent:
DECMASTER8<CR>(youwanttoturndownthemastervolumeby8stepsatonce)
Themasterlevelisnowsetto-57becausetheunithasdecreasedthemasterlevelby8steps
asrequested.TheunitwillreplyviaRS232:MASTER-57(withVALFBon,andprovidedthat
thevaluehasbeenchanged)or“Instructionexecuted!”(withVALFBoff).Whenyousendthe
instruction:“SETMASTER-99<CR>”,theunitwillsetthemasterlevelto“OFF”andwillreply:
“MASTEROFF”,becausethelowestpossiblemasterlevelis-80.Sincetherequestedlevelis
belowthelowestpossiblelevelvalue,theunitwillsetthemasterleveltotheOFF(mute)position.
Fromhere,commandswillbeshownbetween“…”,andthe<CR>orcarriagereturnisomitted
inthetextforclarity.
Belowisalistwithallpossiblecommandsandattributes.PossiblecommandsareSET,GET,
INC,DEC.WhenSETisused,avalueneedstobespecified.Thiscanbeanumericvalueora
binaryvalue(ONorOFF).WhenINCorDECisused,andnovalueisspecified,thedefault
stepvalue1isused.Validvaluesrangingfrom1to10canbespecifiedwhenusingINCor
DECcommands.Whenusingthe“SET”command,youcanspecifyavaluewithintherange
ofpossiblevalues,forexample,youwanttosetthemasterlevelto-45dBwithoutknowingthe
actuallevel:thecommandlookslikethis:“SETMASTER-45”
Notallpossiblecommandsrequireavalue.Ifavalueisnecessary(oroptional),itwillbe
mentioned.Pleasenotethatallaudiorelatedparametersthathavebeenedited,willbelostafter
cyclingthepower,unlesstheinstruction“SETSTOREON”issent.

LEVEL:hereyoucansetthelevelofthechannelsrelativetoeachother,itisadvisedtoleave
thisparametersetto0,unlessyouwanttodecreasethelevelofthesubwooferbyforexample3
dB.Inthiscasethecommandlookslikethis:“SETLEVELSUB-3”
PleasenotethatthisparameterwillNOTchangeiftheMAXLEVELissettoavaluelowerthanthe
LEVELvalue.

MAXLEVEL:hereyoucanspecifythemaximumlevelforeachchannelindividually.Possible
commandsareSET,GET,INC,DEC.PleasenotethatthelowestLEVELorMAXLEVELparameter
willbeused.Asaconsequence,whenMAXLEVELvalueislowerthanLEVELvalue,theLEVELwill
changetothevalueofMAXLEVEL.

WWW.APART-AUDIO.COM
16
MAXMASTER:setthisparametertothedesiredmaximummasterlevel.Ifsettoavalueof-20,
themaximumpossiblelevelis-20dB.Iftheuserwantstoabusethissettingandincreasesthe
levelattheinput,theamplifierwillstarttoreducetheinternalgain.TheVUmeterlevelLED’s
willchangefromgreentoorange,indicatingthatthegainisbeingreduced.Inworstcase,the
amplifierwillshow“INPUTOVERLOAD”onthedisplay,andthelowerLED’sontheVUmeters
willblinkred.Whenthiswarningisneglected,theamplifierwillproducedistortedsound.What
yousetiswhatyouget!Possiblecommandsare:SET,GET,INC,DEC.Possiblevaluesare
betweenOFF(notrecommended,becausetheamplifierwillnotproduceanysound)and6.
Practicalvaluesbetween-20and0arerecommended.
MUTE:possiblecommandsareSETandGET.Youhavetospecifythechannel:SUB,LEFTor
RIGHTandalsoabinaryvalue:ONorOFF.Aninstructioncouldlooklikethis:“SETMUTESUB
ON”.TheamplifierwillmutethesubchannelandtheSGL/ERRORLEDonthesubchannelwill
lightuporange.Whentheinstruction“GETMUTESUB”issent,theamplifierwillsendthesub
channel’smutestatus,inthiscase“MUTESUBON”.
XTOPTYPE:possiblecommandsare:GET,SET.Possibleattributesare:OFF,L-R48,L-R24,
L-R12,BUT48,BUT24,BUT12,FIRST.Thisinstructionspecifiesthecrossovertypefortheleft
andrightchannel,alsocalledtoporsatellitechannel.Theparameterislinkedforleftandright
channel.L-RmeansLinkwitz-Riley,BUTmeansButterworthandthenumericvalueisthefilter
slopeindB/octave.
XTOPFREQ:possiblecommands:GET,SET.Allvaluesbetween10and20.000arepossible,
however,practicalvaluesarebetween80to200Hz.Thisinstructionspecifiesthecrossover
frequencyfortheleftandrightchannel,alsocalledtoporsatellitechannel.Theparameteris
linkedforbothchannels.
XSUBTYPE:possiblecommandsare:GET,SET.Possibleattributesare:L-R48,L-R24,L-R12,
BUT48,BUT24,BUT12,FIRST.Thisinstructionspecifiesthecrossovertypeforthesubwoofer
channel.
XSUBFREQ:possiblecommands:GET,SET.Allvaluesbetween10and20000arepossible,
however,practicalvaluesarebetween80to200Hz.Thisinstructionspecifiesthecrossover
frequencyforthesubwooferchannel.
SUBLOCUT:possiblecommands:GET,SET.Allvaluesbetween10and80arepossible.You
candisablethisfilterbysending:“SETSUBLOCUTOFF”.Thisinstructionenablesordisablesthe
subsonicfilteronthesubchannel.
SUBPHASE:possiblecommands:GET,SET.BinaryvaluesareON,OFF.Thiscommand
specifiestheelectricalphasebetweensubwooferandL/Rspeakers,defaultisPHASEOFF,
meaning0°phasedifferencebetweenboth.ONmeans180°orphasereverse.
EQ:possiblecommands:GET,SET.BinaryvaluesareON,OFF.Pleasenote:whenequalizer
isOFF,obviouslyyouwillnotbeabletohearanychange.Whennoequalizerisinuse,setthis

[e-mail]
17
parametertoOFF.ChangeswillbedisplayedonlywhenEQissettoON.
EQTYPE:possiblecommands:GET,SET.Youhavetospecifytheequalizerbandfrom1to4.
PossiblevaluesareOFF,HPF,LOSHELF,PEAK,HISHELF,LPF.Acommandcouldlooklikethis:
“GETEQTYPE3”.Theunitwillreply:“EQTYPE3PEAK”indicatingthatthethirdbandofthe
equalizerisapeakingtypeequalizer.
EQFREQ:possiblecommands:GET,SET.Youhavetospecifytheequalizerbandfrom1to
4.Possiblevaluesarefrom10to20000.Aninstructioncouldlooklikethis:“SETEQFREQ2
1000”,indicatingthatyouwanttosettheequalizercenterfrequencyofequalizerband2to
1000Hz.Theunitwillreply:“EQFREQ21000”ifthefrequencyischangedandVALFBisON.
EQGAIN:possiblecommands:GET,SET.Youhavetospecifytheequalizerbandfrom1to4.
Possiblevaluesarefrom-12to12(dB)in0.1dBsteps.Aninstructioncouldlooklikethis:“SET
EQGAIN23.5”indicatingthatyouwanttosettheequalizergainofequalizerband2to3.5dB.
Theunitwillreply:“EQGAIN23.5”.
EQQFACTOR:possiblecommands:GET,SET.Youhavetospecifytheequalizerbandfrom1to
4.Possiblevaluesare0.08,0.12,0.18,0.25,0.35,0.50,0.71,1.00,1.41,2.00,2.83,4.00,
5.66,8.00,11.3,16.0.Acommandcouldlooklikethis:“SETEQQFACTOR32.00”.Theunit
willreply“EQQFACTOR32.00”
DELAY:possiblecommands:GET,SET.Youhavetospecifythechannel:LEFT,RIGHTorALLfor
bothandalsothevaluebetween0.0and6.0in0.1metersteps.Aninstructioncouldlooklike
this:“SETDELAYRIGHT2”.Theunitwillreply:“DELAYRIGHT2.0”
AUTOLD:possiblecommands:GET,SET.BinaryvaluesareON,OFF.WhenAUTOLDisON,
agentleboostoflowandhighfrequencieswillbeappliedtotheaudiosignalonlowvolume
settings.Athighvolumesettings,theeffectisgraduallyswitchedoff.
EXTVOL:possiblecommands:GET,SET.BinaryvaluesareON,OFF.Usethisparameterto
enableordisabletheexternalvolumecontroloption.Pleasenotethatenablingtheexternal
volumewillalwaysdisablethevolumecontrolfunctionusingthefrontdial!Whentheunitis
locked,itwillstillbepossibletocontrolthevolumeviatheexternalvolumecontrol,however,the
maximumsetmasterlevelwillalwaysberespected.Externalvolumecontrolwillalwaysbein2
dBsteps,whereasfrontdialvolumecontrolispossiblein1dBsteps.Thisisnotamalfunction!
LOCKMD:possiblecommands:GET,SET.PossiblevaluesareLOCKED,UNLOCKED,
VOL_ONLY.SupposeyouwanttolockthefrontpaneloperationviaanRS232command,in
thiscasethecommandlookslikethis:“SETLOCKMDLOCKED”.Thepasswordtounlockthe
unitcanbechangedonlyviathefrontpanelcontrols,notviaRS232.Thismeansthatanyuser
capableofcommunicatingwiththisunitisabletounlockthefrontpanelcontrolsusingRS232
commands.However,theRS232commandscanbelocked.Theprocedureisdescribedbelow,
see“RS232LOCK”.

WWW.APART-AUDIO.COM
18
STORE:possiblecommands:GET,SET.BinaryvalueisONonly.Usethiscommandtostoreall
editedaudiorelatedparameters.Thestoreinstructionlookslikethis:“SETSTOREON”.
ECHO:possiblecommands:GET,SET.BinaryvaluesareON,OFF.Usethiscommandtoenable
ordisableECHOviaRS232.
LF:possiblecommands:GET,SET.BinaryvaluesareON,OFF.Usethisinstructiontoenableor
disableLineFeedviaRS232.
BS:possiblecommands:GET,SET.BinaryvaluesareON,OFF.Usethisinstructiontoenableor
disableBackspaceviaRS232.
VALFB:possiblecommands:GET,SET.BinaryvaluesareON,OFF.Usethisinstructionto
enableordisablevaluefeedbackviaRS232.
USRSTF:withthisinstructionyoucansettheuserstringfont.Thereare3fonttypesavailable.
Possiblecommandsare:SET,GET,possiblevaluesare:1,2,3.
USRSTR:Possiblecommandsare:SET,GET.Withthiscommandyoucanprogramtheuser
stringtextthatwillbeshownonthedisplay.Inordertochangethetext:“SETUSRSTRxxxxxxxx”.
Themaximumnumberofcharactersdependsonthefonttype(1,2,3)andcharacterwidth.The
maximumis16ASCIIcharacters.Thetextwillbeautomaticallystoredinmemory.Theuserstring
iscasesensitive.
INFO:possiblecommand:GET.UsethisinstructiontogetstatusinformationviaRS232.
SERIAL:possiblecommand:GET.Usethisinstructiontogettheserialnumberfromtheunit.
HWVRSN:possiblecommand:GET.Usethisinstructiontogetthehardwareversion.

SWVRSN:possiblecommand:GET.Usethisinstructiontogetthesoftwareversion.
RESTORE:possiblecommand:SET.BinaryvalueON.Usetheinstruction“SETRESTOREON”
torestorethefactorysettings.Alluserdefinedsettingssuchasequalizerandcrossoversettings
willbeoverwrittenwiththefactorydefaultsettings.Theunitwillautomaticallyshutdownand
restartwiththemasterlevelat-∞.Thestandardpasswordtounlocktheunitisthis:“1234”
(withoutthebrackets).Weadviseyoutochangethispasswordtoalessobviouspassword,in
casethelockfunctionisrequiredofcourse.
STANDBY:possiblecommands:SET.BinaryvalueONorOFF.Aninstructioncouldlooklike
this:“SETSTANDBYON”,inthiscasetheunitwillgointostandbymode,currentconsumption
willbeminimal.Itisalsopossibletorequestthepowerstatusbysendingthe
“GETSTANDBY”command.

[e-mail]
19
RS232LOCK:possiblecommands:SET.BinaryvalueONorOFF.Withthecommand:
“SETRS232LOCKON”youcanlockoperationviaRS232.TheRS232lockfunctionwillbe
activeONLYWHENTHE(frontpanel)LOCKMODEISSETTOLOCKEDORVOLONLY!When
lockmodeissettoLOCKEDorVOLONLY,itisnotpossibletounlocktheRS232lockusing
anRS232command!Firstunlocktheunitusingthefrontpanelcontrols->RS232lockwill
automaticallybeunlocked.
factorydefaultsettings:if,foranyreason,youfeeltheneedtorestorethefactorydefaultsettings,
youhavetosendacommandviaRS232:“SETRESTOREON”.Theunitwillrestartautomatically
anddefaultsettingswillbewrittentotheinternalmemoryduringpowerup.Itisnotpossibleto
restorethefactorydefaultsettingsviathefrontpanelcontrols.
Afterafirmwareupgrade,alluserdefinedsettingswillbemaintained,however,itis
recommendedtocheckandadjustthesettingsafterafirmwareupgrade.Thenewestfirmware
willbeavailableonourwebsite:www.apart-audio.com
Afirmwareupdaterprogramwillalsobeavailablefordownload.Inordertoupdatethe
firmware,youneedacomputerwithaworkingserialportandanappropriateserialcable
betweenChamp3Dandyourcomputer.Ifyouarenotfamiliarwithserialportsandcables,ask
forassistancefromaqualifiedengineer.

WWW.APART-AUDIO.COM
20
WarninganderrormessagesshownontheLCDdisplay
•SUBAMPSHUTDOWN:thesubwooferamplifierhasshutdownduetoanerror:over-
temperature,supplyvoltageerrororshortcircuitontheoutput.
•SUBAMPDCERROR:thesubwooferamplifierhasencounteredaDCoffseterrorandhasshut
down.
•LEFTAMPSHUTDOWN:theleftchannelamplifierhasshutdownduetoanerror:supply
voltageerrororshortcircuitontheoutput.
•RIGHTAMPSHUTDOWN:therightchannelamplifierhasshutdownduetoanerror:supply
voltageerrororshortcircuitontheoutput.
•LEFTAMPDCERROR:theleftchannelamplifierhasencounteredaDCoffseterrorandhas
shutdown.
•RIGHTAMPDCERROR:therightchannelamplifierhasencounteredaDCoffseterrorandhas
shutdown.
•INVALIDEXT.VOL:theexternalvolumecontroloptionhasbeenenabledwhilenoexternal
volumecontrolispresentattherearconnector,ortheexternalvolumepotentiometervalueis
outofrange.
•INPUTOVERLOAD:theanaloginputisoverloaded,thiscanbecausedbyanincompatible
systemconfigurationoraseveregroundloop.
•SUBAMPOVERLOAD:thesubwooferamplifierisbeingoverloaded,duetoextremelylowload
impedanceorashortcircuit.
•LEFTAMPOVERLOAD:theleftchannelamplifierisbeingoverloaded,duetoextremelylow
loadimpedanceorashortcircuit.
•RIGHTAMPOVERLOAD:therightchannelamplifierisbeingoverloaded,duetoextremelylow
loadimpedanceorashortcircuit.
Whenoneoftheabovementionederrorshasoccurred,westronglyadvisetoswitchoftheunit.
Thendisconnectallinputsandoutputsandpoweronagain.Incaseexternalvolumecontrol
isenabled,disabletheexternalvolumecontrolinthesettingsmenuandcheckiftheerrorstill
occurs.Incaseoverheatingisthecauseoftheerror,waitforafewhoursandallowtheamplifier
tocooldown.Incasethemainssupplyispermanentlyoutofrange,theamplifierwillnotpassits
initialpower-onself-testsandwillnotswitchon.Firsttracethecauseoftheerror,removetheerror
situationandpoweronagain.
Whenthereisatemporaryproblemwiththemainssupplyvoltage,causedbyaspikeorvoltage
dip,theunitwillpowerdownandrestart.Inthiscase,duringpoweronselftest,therewillbean
additionalmessage“WatchdogReset”intheRS232startuptextdump.