Classe Audio CAP-80 User manual

CLASSÉ AUDIO
CAP-80
FULLY REMOTE CONTROL
INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER
CAP-80
OWNER'S MANUAL

CAP80, Issue 1, June 97
2
CLASSÉ DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
1. REPEATED LISTENING DESIGN SESSIONS:
Fine tuning of sound by exchanging and mixing of parts (transistors, capacitors, wiring, PCB boards,
etc.), and adjusting many specific operating voltages within proper engineering ranges, producing an
overall sonic recipe giving the most natural harmonic realism of music typical of instruments in a
live performance.
2. UPGRADABLE SINGLE CIRCUIT DESIGNS:
All Classé products (all preamps, all amps and integrated amplifier) share exactly the same circuit
design philosophy (excluding moving coil and moving magnet phono circuits). This means all
amplifiers and all high level circuits of the preamps benefit from the same design goals. Similar
circuits are then tailored to different power levels, etc. Differences between less expensive models
and more expensive models are parts quality and complement, power supply extravagance and the
amount of filtering, etc. as well as features and packaging.
This means that for years Classé has been constantly sonically fine tuning and technically upgrading
this circuit design and its application, thus reaching a very high level of natural musical enjoyment,
as well as excellent reliability which benefits all models - least expensive, most expensive,
integrated amplifier, preamps and amplifiers alike.
3. EXTREME LONG LIFE IN REAL WORLD CONDITIONS:
Choosing the best attainable quality parts and materials combined with the advantages of the two
above-mentioned areas provide Classé owners with years of proven trouble free reliability and
musical enjoyment.

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CAP-80
OWNER'S MANUAL
TABLE OF CONTENTS
UNPACKING & SET-UP.............................................. 4
A.C. LINE POWER........................................................ 5
INPUTS.......................................................................... 6
OUTPUTS ...................................................................... 7
FRONT PANEL CONTROLS........................................ 8
REMOTE HANDSET..................................................... 11
PROTECTION CIRCUIT............................................... 12
FEATURES AND SPECIFICATIONS ......................... 18

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UNPACKING & SET-UP
Your CLASSÉ CAP-80 integrated amplifier has been carefully wrapped in heavy gauge plastic,
packed in semi-rigid foam and contained in a special box. To remove the unit, open and spread the top
flaps of the box. By its sides, lift out the entire unit with foam pieces intact. Remove each foam side by
pulling straight out. Remove the plastic wrap and inspect the unit for any concealed damage. Apart from
this owner's manual, please ensure the following has also been included:
1) DETACHABLE LINECORD.
2) REMOTE CONTROL UNIT (Allen key and Batteries: AAA x 2 included).
Please report any damage or missing parts to your dealer promptly.
Place the CAP-80 at or near its final set-up position, allowing 8 inches (20 cm.) at the rear for
tightening the speaker output connectors and inserting the interconnects. For optimum sonic
performance, we recommend the optional CLASSÉ REFERENCE A.C. LINE CORD. Consult your
dealer regarding this accessory.
The power transformer in the CAP-80 is located on the left side of the unit. Ideally, a few feet
should separate this area from components that are susceptible to pick up hum. These include turntables
and interconnect cables. In terms of providing adequate airspace for cooling, a clearance of at least 6
inches (15 cm.) should be left above and on each sides of the unit.
The CAP-80 has one A.C. line fuse and one auxiliary transformer fuse (see figure 5, page 16).
The rating should be as follows:
AC LINE FUSE: 3.15 AMPS, SLOW BLOW.
AUXILIARY TRANSFORMER FUSE: 3/4 AMP, FAST BLOW.

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AC LINE POWER
When your new CLASSÉ CAP-80 is first plugged in it is in “Standby” mode, as indicated by a single red
LED in the display. The unit can be turned on by the POWER button on the faceplate (see figure 3, page 13) or
by the POWER button on the remote handset (See figure 1, page 13). When the POWER button is pressed, the
single LED in the display will flash and the display will show a 20 second count down as the unit powers up.
During this period, there will be no response to the selection of any of the functions except POWER. When the
turn on sequence is completed, the volume level will be at 0, the unit will be muted, the display will be at Display
Full On mode, and REG1 input is selected.
While thoroughly musical shortly after initial turn-on, the integrated amplifier will exhibit "sonic growth"
during its first 300 hours of use.
SAFETY FEATURE:
The CAP-80 integrated amplifier is designed with an auto-shut-down circuit that engages after an AC
power failure. When electricity is restored the amplifier will be in “Standby” mode. Merely press the POWER
switch to re-activate the unit after a power failure. This feature will prevent any turn-on surges or unstable output
from reaching the integrated amplifier and possibly the loudspeakers.
CAUTION:
DISCONNECT THE AC LINECORD WHEN MAKING OR CHANGING ANY CONNECTIONS. CONNECT ALL
INTERCONNECT CABLES BETWEEN YOUR ELECTRONICS BEFORE CONNECTING THE AC LINECORDS TO
THE WALL OUTLETS. THIS WILL REDUCE THE POTENTIAL SHOCK HAZARD. "FLOATING THE GROUND”
OR DEFEATING THE GROUND ON THE 3-PRONG LINECORD MAY CREATE A SHOCK HAZARD.

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INPUTS:
The input jacks are clearly marked on the back of the CAP-80 (see figure 4, page 15). The
following inputs are provided: REG1, REG2, REG3, REG4, REG5, BAL1, and TAPE.
REGULAR INPUTS: REG1, REG2, REG3, REG4, and REG5:
These are all high level inputs sharing exactly the same characteristics, and may be
interchanged if so desired. A tape machine should only be connected to the TAPE input. See TAPE
IN and TAPE OUT below.
BALANCED INPUT: BAL1
BAL1, the BALANCED INPUT, is a true differential high level input, wired as follows
Pin 1: ground.
Pin 2: positive (non-inverted) signal.
Pin 3: negative (inverted) signal.
Case: Chassis (earth).
It may be used with CD players that have a balanced output, or any other high level balanced
sources.
TAPE IN
The TAPE IN of the CAP-80 integrated amplifier should be connected to the LINE OUT or
TAPE OUT of the tape deck. The TAPE input is selected only with the TAPE button. (See FRONT
PANEL CONTROLS: TAPE below.)

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OUTPUTS
TAPE OUTPUT
The INPUT jacks, (REG1, REG2, BAL1, etc.), selected by the INPUT SELECTOR will
always be fed to the TAPE OUTPUT jacks. The TAPE OUTPUT jacks should be connected to the
TAPE IN or LINE IN jacks of the Tape Deck.
LOUDSPEAKER OUTPUT
The Classé CAP-80 is equipped with two pairs of 5 way binding posts (one pair for each
channel) for connecting the amplifier output to your speakers. Each pair has a red and a black
terminal. The red terminal should be connected, with speaker wire, to the plus, (+) (red) terminal on
your speaker, and the black terminal should be connected to the negative (-) (black) terminal on the
same speaker.
BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL. DO NOT SHORT THE WIRES TOGETHER.
ATTEMPTING TO OPERATE THE CAP-80 WITH SHORTED SPEAKER WIRES MAY
CAUSE THE AMPLIFIER TO FAIL.

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FRONT PANEL CONTROLS
POWER
When the unit is first plugged in, a single LED will be lit on the display to show that the unit
is plugged in. When the POWER button is pressed, a single LED in the display will flash and the
display will show a 20 second count down as the unit powers up. During these 20 seconds, there will
be no response to any function selection except the POWER button, which can be pressed again to
turn off the unit during this sequence. Please note that if you turn off the unit during the 20
second power-up sequence, you must wait at least 4 seconds to re-start the power-up sequence.
INPUT SELECTOR
The input selector has two buttons for selecting the inputs; (<) and (>). Pressing the <button
selects the input to the Left of the currently selected input, and pressing the >button selects the input
to the Right of the currently selected input. If the >button is pressed when BAL1 is the current input
then the REG1 input will be selected, and if the <button is pressed when REG1 is the current input
then the BAL1 will be selected. The <and >buttons will select from six input connections on the
integrated amplifier, but not TAPE, (see TAPE below.)
TAPE
Pressing the TAPE button selects the signal from the TAPE INPUT jacks to play through the
speakers. You can use this function to either listen to pre-recorded tapes or to monitor the
quality of a recording you are making of another selected source. The Red LED above the TAPE
button will glow to identify that the TAPE input has been selected.

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TAPE (Continued)
To Play a Tape press the TAPE button. The LED will light. Press the Play button on the Tape
Machine, and set the CAP-80 volume at the level you wish to listen at.
To Record on a Tape, select the source you wish to record (REG1, REG2, BAL1, etc.). Turn
on the Tape Recorder and play a short amount of the source you want to record and set the record
levels on the Tape Recorder according to the recommendations of the Tape Recorder manufacturer.
The CAP-80 VOLUME control has no effect on the signal going to TAPE OUT. Once you start
recording you can either monitor the recorded signal by pressing the TAPE button (LED will light)
or listen to the source (LED will be out), or turn the VOLUME down to 0 if you want to.
When TAPE is selected, (the TAPE LED is lighted), the other selected input (REG1, REG2,
BAL1, etc.) will be lit as well but signals from this selected input will be sent to the TAPE OUTPUT
jacks only. If the tape recorder is in Record mode it will record the signals from the selected source,
but if the tape machine is in Play mode it will ignore all signals to it.
If you are monitoring the quality of a recording, pressing the TAPE button on and off will
alternately play the newly recorded signal from the playback head of the tape recorder when it is on
and the source signal when it is off. You will be monitoring when the TAPE LED is lit and listening
to source when it is out.
PLEASE NOTE: If you do not intend to ever record a tape it is not necessary to connect TAPE
OUTPUT to the Tape Recorder.

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VOLUME CONTROL
The VOLUME Control varies the output level of both channels simultaneously. It can be
operated remotely by using the VOLUME buttons on the remote handset supplied with the unit (see
figure1 page 13) or by turning the VOLUME control knob on the front panel of the unit. The volume
control has a total of 120 steps of level adjustments from 0 to 60 in 0.5 stepped increments...
•When the unit is powered on, the volume will be automatically at zero (0) and will be muted.
•when you un-mute the volume will return to the same level it was at before you turned on mute
mode.
PLEASE NOTE: It is normal for the volume to stay at the same level if you turn the VOLUME knob
extremely slowly.
MUTE BUTTON:
Press the MUTE button to temporarily set the VOLUME to 0. The LED above the button
will light. Switching between PLAY (LED OFF) and MUTE (GREEN LED) can be done by either
pushing the MUTE button in momentarily on the CAP-80 faceplate or pushing the MUTE button on
the remote handset. The volume setting is memorized when the unit is in MUTE mode; thus Volume
will return to the same level it was playing at prior to muting when you turn off mute mode.
PLEASE NOTE: the DISPLAY will change to Display Full Off mode after the unit has been in
MUTE mode for an hour. (See DISPLAY below).