Hill Audio SPB-8420 User manual

RevA 06-2015

Welcome
Thank you for choosing Hill Audio for your sound system. To make sure that this product meets your
expectations and provides long-term, reliable performance, please read and follow this instruction
manual carefully.
Important safety instructions
Read these instructions and all markings on the product. Keep these instructions.
Heed all warnings and instructions, both in this manual and on the product.
Clean only with a dry cloth. Switch off the connected amplifier before cleaning.
Do not use this product near water and avoid any exposure to water.
Do not operate this product in environmental temperatures exceeding 45 degrees Celsius and/or
65% relative humidity.
Position the product in a safe and stable place for operation, out of reach of unauthorized persons.
Make sure any cable connections to and from the product are neither subject to potentially des-
tructive mechanical impact nor present any risk of stumbling or other accident risk to people.
Audio equipment may generate sound pressure levels sufficient to cause permanent hearing
damage to persons. Always start up at low volume settings and avoid prolonged exposure to sound
pressure levels exceeding 90 dB.
Do not open this product for service purposes. There are no user-serviceable parts inside.
Warranty will be void in any case of unauthorized service by the user or other not authorized persons.
Take any precaution required by local law, applicable regulations or good business practice to avoid
injury of people or material damage by use of this product.
Explanation of symbols used in this manual and on the product:
DANGER!
Safety hazard.
Risk of injury or death.
WARNING!
Fire hazard.
WARNING!
Hazardous voltage.
Risk of severe or fatal
electric shock.
ATTENTION!
Read manual
before installation
and operation.
Manual Language
UK This user manual is written in English. For other languages, visit www.hill-audio.com
FR Ce guide est écrit en anglais. Pour les autres langues, visitez: www.hill-audio.com
DE Diese Anleitung ist in Englisch verfasst. Für andere Sprachen: www.hill-audio.com
ES Este manual está escrito en Inglés. Para otros idiomas, visite: www.hill-audio.com
PT Este manual está escrito em Inglês. Para outros idiomas, visite: www.hill-audio.com
IT Questo manuale è scritto in inglese. Per altre lingue, visitare: www.hill-audio.com
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USER MANUAL - SPB8420 LowZ SPEAKER PATCH BOX

PAGE 2
Description
The SPB-8420 Low-Z Speaker Patchbox is a versatile helper for correct speaker-cabling in installed
multi-speaker low-impedance sound systems. After a brief setup, this unit helps to achieve proper
connectivity, correct amplifier load impedance and equal cable lengths within an arrangement of 2, 4
or 8 speakers. The SPB-8420 hence makes small-to-medium-scale low-impedance speaker installa-
tion easy and simple.
Why low-impedance?
While it has become a habit for installers and contractors to install 70V/100V line systems in
distributed sound reinforcement systems, the advantages of such systems mainly relate to
Systems with a very large number of speakers to be driven
Systems with an odd number of speakers or an unsymmetrical layout of speakers to be driven
Systems with relative large distances (> 20m) of the most remote speaker to the driving amplifier
Systems with accepted limitation of the audio bandwith such as paging systems or very low-volume
background music systems
Fact is at the same time that
The average non-department retail stores in malls are sized between 120 sqm and 160 sqm, with
ceiling heights typically being about 3.00...3.50m.
Average restaurants start at about 120 sqm to about 400 sqm, averaging at apout 180 sqm, with
ceiling heights typically 2.50...3.00m. Bars tend to be smaller.
Retail stores and restaurant rooms are mostly of rectangular shape, with side ratios of 1:2...1:3
Non-department retail stores, restaurants, bars and coffee shops tend to have a very low paging
necessity, instead mostly play contemporary music at medium levels as a background program.
Sound systems for such venues are hence well served with speakers systems containing between 4
and 8 speakers. Such system must be able to reproduce contemporary music in full bandwidth at up
to medium levels. In a larger venue of about 200 sqm, this would yield an 8-speaker system with a
distance between the furthest speaker and the amplifier of about 20m. Venues of this size are not
subject to any of the advantages delivered by a 70/100V line system, but rather suffer from their
disadvantages:
Higher system cost due to transformers needed both on the feeding (amplifier) side and the
receiving (speaker) side
Limited full-band frequency response due to saturation effects in the used transformers. While this
can be improved by transformers of superior quality, cost will even be higher in such case, and
full-band music reproduction is still hard to obtain.
This is why small-to-medium-sized retail and hospitality venues are served with better sound and lower
cost by using a low-impedance system. Connecting multiple low-impedance speakers to a single ampli-
fier output however requires a proper cabling arrangement to achieve a suitable amplifier loading;
such cabling arrangement will require suitable parallel/serial wiring or a combination of both. The
SPB-8420 helps doing this with ease and simplicity.
8-Ceiling-speaker
arrangement in a
typical 200sqm
(10x20m) venue
USER MANUAL - SPB8420 LowZ SPEAKER PATCH BOX

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A. Speaker configurations, Setup and Cabling
Low-Z Stereo amplifier
Cables A-1 | A-2 | B-1 | B-2 must
all have the same cross-section and
the same length!
Only use with 8 Ohm drivers.
Total load impedance for amp
outputs A&B is each 4 Ohms with
8 Ohm drivers
Max. power per speaker is
100W RMS
4 Speakers, stereo
NOTE:
Low-Z Stereo amplifier
Cables A-1 | A-2 | A-3 | A-4 | B-1 |
B-2 | B-3 | B-4 must all have the
same cross-section and the same
length!
Only use with 8 Ohm or 4 Ohm
drivers.
Total load impedance for amp
outputs A&B is each 8 Ohms with
8 Ohm drivers and each 4 Ohms
with 4 Ohm drivers
Max. power per speaker is
50W RMS
8 Speakers, stereo
NOTE:
USER MANUAL - SPB8420 LowZ SPEAKER PATCH BOX
SPB8420
SPB8420

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Low-Z Stereo amplifier
(one channel used)
Cables A-1 | A-2 | A-3 | A-4 | B-1 |
B-2 | B-3 | B-4 must all have the
same cross-section and the same
length!
Only use with 8 Ohm drivers
Total load impedance for amp
output A is 4 Ohms with 8 Ohm
drivers
Max. power per speaker is
50W RMS
8 Speakers, mono
NOTE:
B. Wiring
Before connecting your SPB-8420 to your amplifier(s) and speakers, please take the necessary
safety precautions, and prepare the proper cable materials.
Cable Choice
The choice of suitable speaker cables is often a neglected but at the same time essential point of a
low-impedance sound system installation. Speaker cables, specifically long ones, can significantly
contribute to the load impedance of the amplifier, thus reducing the power output and turning some
of the output power into heat instead of delivering it to the speakers. The most important aspect is to
keep cables as short as possible and to choose a sufficient copper cross-section, with maximum
length values as per below:
Cross-Section AWG 2 Ohms 4 Ohms 6 Ohms 8 Ohms
0.75 mm218 1.00 m 2.00 m 3.00 m 4.00 m
1.5 mm215 2.00 m 4.00 m 6.00 m 8.00 m
2.5 mm213 3.50 m 7.00 m 10.50 m 14.00 m
4.0 mm211 5.00 m 10.00 m 15.00 m 20.00 m
DANGER - risk of electric shock. Audio power amplifiers can generate output voltages in
excess of the limits considered harmless to the human body. Initial cabling or any modifica-
tion of cabling shall only be expedited with all amplifiers switched off.
DANGER - risk of fire. Audio power amplifiers may not be secured against output shortcir-
cuits and may be damaged if such short circuit occurs, with such damage potentially lead-
ing to a fire hazard. Any cabling activity bears the danger of unwanted, temporary short
circuits. Initial cabling or any modification of cabling shall only be expedited with all amplifi-
ers switched off.
USER MANUAL - SPB8420 LowZ SPEAKER PATCH BOX
SPB8420

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C. Power Handling
The SPB-8420 has been designed to facilitate the wiring of small-to-medium-scale distributed sound-
systems in low-impedance configuration, in order ensure correct setup and simplicity of installation.
This unit is NOT designed for high-power systems like e.g. club sound main dancefloor systems.
The total load per Input (A, B) is limited to 200W RMS. With 2 speakers connected to each input-
output path (A, B), this yields 100W RMS per speaker, with 4 speakers connected, this yields 50W
RMS per speaker. Since real-world music signals may have a ratio (crest factor) anywhere from 1:6
to 1:20 between RMS power and peak power, connecting speakers with peak/music power handling
capabilities of up to twice the specified RMS power is feasible if only music is played.
DANGER - risk of fire. The total power handling is limited to 2x200W RMS (400W total).
Do not exceed this rating, as the unit may get damaged due to electric contact erosion or
may represent a fire risk due to overheating switch contacts.
USER MANUAL - SPB8420 LowZ SPEAKER PATCH BOX

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USER MANUAL - SPB8420 LowZ SPEAKER PATCH BOX

www.hill-audio.com
Hill Audio products are developed, manufactured and distributed by
Adelto Technologies
Vanguard Way, Shoeburyness, Essex SS3 9QY, UK
www.adelto.com | [email protected]
EC Declaration of Conformity
Manufacturer: Adelto Technologies Limited
Address: Unit 2A Springfield Road, Springfield Industrial Estate,
Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex CM08UA
We declare on our own responsibility, that the equipment
Hill Audio SPB8420
is in conformity with the following directives and standards or regulations:
EMC Directive 2004/108/EC
EN55103-1:2009 (Emissions)
EN55103-2:2009 (Immunity)
EN61000-3-2:2006 + A1:2009 + A2:2009
EN61000-3-3:2008
LVD Directive 2006/95/EC
EN60065:2002 A1:2006 + A11:2008 + A2:2010
ROHS Directive 2002/95/EC
and is marked as follows:
Burnham-on-Crouch, 7. August 2015
Authorized SignaturePlace and date of issuing