Janszen zA2.1 User manual

Model zA2.1 Electrostatic Hybrid Loudspeaker
Passive Version
O WNER ’ S M ANUAL

zA2.1 Owner’s Manual
 2013 Janszen Loudspeaker, Ltd.
480 Trade Road
Columbus, Oh o 43204 USA
Phone [phone]
ema l [e-mail]
Th s Owner’s Gu de s publ shed only n PDF form n order to save trees and not burden people w th even
more paper than they are already barraged w th. If you’d l ke a pr nted copy and do not have a color pr nter,
there are FedEx Off ce and Staples stores nearly everywhere that can do the pr nt ng job at low cost; you can
ema l them the f le or br ng t to them on a d sk or thumb dr ve. We hope th s s alr ght w th everyone.

Table of Contents
Safety Information ...................................................................... 1
Welcome..................................................................................... 4
Unpacking................................................................................... 5
Carton contents............................................................................... 5
Unpacking ....................................................................................... 5
Feet................................................................................................. 6
Grills................................................................................................ 6
Moving ........................................................................................ 7
Large movements ........................................................................... 7
Small movements............................................................................ 7
Cleaning ..................................................................................... 8
Wooden baffles ............................................................................... 8
Painted and metal surfaces............................................................. 8
Grill cloth ......................................................................................... 8
Warnings......................................................................................... 8
Quick Start.................................................................................. 9
A good starting setup: ..................................................................... 9
Tips: .............................................................................................. 10
Connecting and Powering ........................................................ 12
Binding Posts................................................................................ 12
Cables........................................................................................... 12
Power Cords ................................................................................. 12
Powering ....................................................................................... 13
Setup Details ............................................................................ 16
Backward Tilt ................................................................................ 16
Stereo Image ................................................................................ 16
Room Compensation .................................................................... 17
Exaggerated Treble .............................................................................17
Exaggerated Bass................................................................................17
Room Boom and Suck Out...................................................................18
Features and Specifications..................................................... 19
Warranty ................................................................................... 22

S A F E T I N F O R M A T I O N
1
Safety Information
WARNING: DO NOT EXPOSE THESE SPEAKERS TO RAIN OR
WETNESS, WHICH MAY CREATE A DANGEROUS SHOCK HAZARD,
AND MAY DEGRADE OR RUIN THE SPEAKERS.
WARNING: DANGEROUS HIGH VOLTAGES MAY BE PRESENT
INSIDE THE SPEAKERS. TO AVOID THE RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK,
DO NOT REMOVE THE REAR PANELS OR GRILLS OR OTHERWISE
DISASSEMBLE THE SPEAKERS. THERE ARE NO USER SERVICEABLE
PARTS INSIDE. REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED PERSONNEL.
WARNING: CHANGES OR MODIFICATIONS TO THESE SPEAKERS
NOT AUTHORIZED BY JANSZEN LOUDSPEAKER, LTD. MAY
INVALIDATE REGULATORY COMPLIANCE AND THUS RENDER THE
SPEAKERS UNSUITABLE FOR HOME USE. THIS INCLUDES KEEPING
THE GRILLS INTACT.
WARNING: JANSZEN SHALL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY
PHYSICAL DAMAGES OR INJURY THAT OCCURS AS A RESULT OF
MISUSE, DISASSEMBLY, OR UNAUTHORIZED CHANGES OR
MODIFICATIONS MADE TO THESE SPEAKERS.
WARNING: CONTINUOUS EXPOSURE TO LOUD SOUND CAUSES
HEARING DAMAGE.
WARNING: AMPLIFIERS CAN DELIVER HIGH VOLTAGES TO THE
INPUT TERMINALS TO THE SPEAKERS. TO AVOID THE RISK OF
ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT ALLOW CHILDREN OR ANIMALS
ACCESS TO THE BINDING POSTS.
Caution:
1. Read these instructions – All safety and operat ng nstruct ons should be
read before the speakers are operated.
2. Save these instructions – keep the safety and operat ng nstruct ons for
future reference.
1

S A F E T I N F O R M A T I O N
2
3. Heed the warnings – All warn ngs about these speakers should be followed.
4. Follow the instructions – All operat ng and use nstruct ons about these
speakers should be followed.
5. Condensation – When mov ng the speakers from a cold to warm locat on,
such as dur ng del very on a cold w nter day, mo sture may condense on
components w th n. If th s should occur, the speakers m ght not operate
properly. Consequently, after br ng ng the speakers n from the cold, we
adv se leav ng them dle for a day before connecting or powering them.
6. Water and moisture – The speakers should not be used near water – for
example, they should not be placed near a bathtub, pool, s nk, lawn spr nkler,
etc., and generally should not be placed outdoors.
7. Heat and flames – The speakers should be located well away from strong
sources of heat or flames, such as f replaces, propane heaters, stoves, etc..
. Particulates – Smoke from tobacco or cook ng, aerosol or splattered grease
from cook ng, and a r pollut on over a long per od of t me can have a
deleter ous effect on any speakers, nclud ng these.
9. Power cords – As w th any power cords, they should be routed so that they
are not l kely to be walked on or p nched by heavy objects. It s also mportant
to prevent access from an mals or ch ldren that may chew or otherw se
damage the power cords.
10. Liquids – Care should be taken not to sp ll l qu ds onto the speakers.
11. Foreign objects – Care should be taken not to press, poke or otherw se push
fore gn objects nto the cloth gr lls, such as penc ls, f ngers, toy a rplanes, cat
claws, etc..
12. Cleaning – Do not use abras ve cleaners. Paint: For remov ng d rt and f nger
marks, the pa nt can w thstand glass cleaner, l ghter flu d, alcohol, kerosene, or
naptha. Avo d gett ng any of these substances on the wood, however. Wood:
The wooden surfaces should be w ped w th noth ng more than a soft, damp
cloth. Do not use cleaners. The f nal coat of wax f n sh on the wood w ll be
removed by most types of cleaners. Grill cloth: Do not spray any sort of
cleaner on or near the gr lls. The gr ll cloth can be vacuumed.
13. Overload – It s best not to connect the speaker to an ampl f er that can
del ver more than 400W/channel nto 8 Ohms. The speakers are protected
from cont nuous play at h gh ampl tude w th h gher power ampl f ers, but we
cannot guarantee aga nst the poss b l ty that trans ents del vered by such
ampl f ers w ll cause ser ous damage that requ res serv ce.
If the ampl f er s capable of del ver ng excess ve voltage, then any br ef
trans ent can ru n the electrostat c elements. In other words, f the ampl f er
can ru n the elements, then t probably w ll at some po nt, even when always
play ng “not loud”. Th s can happen from a power-on or power-off trans ent,

S A F E T I N F O R M A T I O N
3
a cable pulled or nserted wh le the ampl f er s on, scrap ng across even just
one groove on an LP, jarr ng a m crophon c component or cable, switching
the preamp to a louder source while it is playing, performing tests that
involve sine wave sweeps or impulse signals, etc.
We can detect th s type of damage eas ly, and t w ll vo d the warranty.
14. YOUR EARS – D stort on and compress on are what make ord nary
speakers seem loud when the volume goes up, but electrostat c speakers do
not do th s.
Because your zA2.1’s are capable of produc ng h gh sound pressure levels
(SPL) w thout d stort on or compress on, t s easy to exceed safe loudness
w thout not c ng. As a general rule, f you can feel the bass n your belly, or f
you have to shout to be heard by a person s tt ng next to you, t m ght be too
loud.
A pa r of zA2.1 speakers can produce a peak SPL of over 108 dB, even n a
fa rly large room, 114 dB n a small room, and w th some k nds of mus c, a
steady level over 100 dB s poss ble. This can damage your ears
permanently, and fairly quickly.
If you hear r ng ng n your ears soon after or w th n a day or so of l sten ng to
loud mus c, you have damaged your ears, perhaps sl ghtly, but permanently. It
s also poss ble to damage your ears even w thout hear ng r ng ng.
It s mportant to know --
No one notices the usual bits of hearing loss right away after each
overexposure. It adds up over time. If you don't avo d exposure to loud
sound, then at a relat vely young age, mus c w ll sound dull, or certa n notes
w ll be m ss ng, or you w ll hear constant no se n your ears, and you w ll have
trouble understand ng what people are say ng, f rst n no sy places l ke
restaurants, and then everywhere. If you th nk you may already have hear ng
loss, t’s never too late to stop mak ng t worse.
15 minutes s the NIOSH and CDC 2002 recommended maximum
exposure time to a steady SPL of 100 dB. The t me l m t s 4 hours at 85
dB. Th s 4 hour t me l m t s cut n half for each add t onal 3 dB n loudness: 2
hours at 88 dB, 1 hour at 91 dB, and so on.
SO PLEASE BE CAREFUL and you will not hurt your ears and thus
your future enjoyment of music.
You can measure loudness w th a s mple sound level meter. If you w sh to
check your exposure, JansZen can supply a good qual ty sound level meter
such as we use ourselves at modest cost. Rad o Shack also offers one. There
are also apps for smart phones that work as sound level meters and spectrum
analyzers, although they w ll probably m ss the h gh frequency extremes due
to m crophone qual ty. Follow the nstruct ons for the dev ce or app to make
sure your read ngs are val d.

W E L C O M E
4
2
Welcome
ou have chosen JansZen loudspeakers!
The zA2.1 w ll br ng you the utmost n mus c l sten ng enjoyment through ts
except onal pur ty and naturalness n sound reproduct on. Wh le these
speakers nclude esoter c technology, you can rest assured that they are des gned and
bu lt w th the best of advanced mater als and techn ques, and are ready to br ng you
cons stent, unwaver ng performance for decades to come.
Please feel free to keep n touch w th us, lett ng us know anyth ng you’d l ke to tell
about your l sten ng exper ences, or about great ampl f ers, source gear, or mus c that
you have found su t you and the speakers part cularly well. We’re also here to help w th
any setup challenges or other quest ons.
Happy l sten ng.
JansZen Loudspeaker, Ltd.
480 Trade Rd.
Columbus, Oh o 43204
[phone]
[e-mail]
Y

U N P A C K I N G
5
3
Unpacking
o not allow the delivery person to leave until you are satisfied that there
has been no shipping damage.
If there s damage, please refuse the sh pment, and t w ll automat cally come
back to us for repa r/replacement. The s tuat on w ll be harder to handle f you not ce
damage after the del very person has left.
Carton contents
Each of the two cartons should conta n one speaker and one power cord, and one of
these should also conta n one bag of sh m washers. If you have ordered carpet sp kes
for self- nstallat on, one carton w ll have both packages of sp kes.
Unpacking
The follow ng steps w ll get your new speakers out of the cartons and onto your floor
w thout m shap:
1) Move the carton onto a carpeted area, or lay a blanket, bath towel, or other
soft mater al down onto the floor to use as an unpack ng surface.
2) Set the carton on ts long s de w th the flaps up, wh ch matches the “th s
s de up” mark ngs on the s des of the carton, and sl ce through the tape to
free the flaps. We’ll call th s s de the top.
3) Remove the power cord, the bag of sh m washers, and f appl cable, the
boxes of carpet sp kes.
4) Bend the flaps back as far as poss ble. If you are work ng alone, the next
steps w ll be eas er f you tape the flaps down aga nst the s des of the
carton.
5) Roll the carton completely over so that the top has now become the
bottom.
6) L ft the carton away and set t as de.
7) L ft the blue foam nsert away from the speaker.
8) Grasp the top end of the speaker, press ng the rema n ng blue foam nsert
aga nst the speaker so that the two do not separate.
D

U N P A C K I N G
6
9) Gently t lt the speaker up unt l t s vert cal, then further unt l the feet to
the s de w th no nsert touch the floor.
10) Wh le cont nu ng to support the speaker, remove the rema n ng blue foam
nsert, and let the speaker down onto all ts feet.
11) Cl p the t e that holds the bag shut, and sl p the bag part ally down.
12) Place the speaker onto ts top by t pp ng onto ts face f rst, then up onto
ts top, remove the bag, and f nally turn t back onto ts feet.
13) Remove the protect ve f lm from the enclosure.
14) We adv se that you reta n all pack ng mater als n case you want to sell or
return the speakers. The cartons can be folded flat, and the nserts can be
nterleaved to occupy less space.
Feet
If the speakers were f tted w th rubber feet, and you w sh to sw tch over to
carpet sp kes:
1) Lay the speaker onto ts face on a carpeted or other soft surface.
2) Us ng a #3 Ph l ps screwdr ver, remove the screws hold ng the feet n
place.
3) Locate the studs n the package of sp kes.
4) Screw the studs nto the nserts n the speaker base. The studs have a slot
at one end to fac l tate th s.
5) Screw the sp kes onto the studs.
6) If the sp kes have been ordered for use on carpet ng, as we would adv se
to make f rm contact w th the floor, ensure that the adjustable t ps are
screwed n t ghtly.
7) If the sp kes are for use on hard floors, metal pads are ncluded to avo d
damage to the floor, and the adjustable t ps can be used to accommodate
uneven surfaces.
Grills
The speakers are des gned to offer opt mal sound reproduct on w th the gr lls n
place, and they also help protect the electrostat c elements, both from mechan cal
damage and from collect ng part culates from the a r.
The gr lls are permanently nstalled. Any attempt to remove them w ll cause
rreparable damage.

M O V I N G
7
4
Moving
he speakers we gh about 28 kg [62 pounds], so they can be hard to move
for someone work ng alone. If you are unpack ng these alone, here are a
few suggest ons.
Large movements
The eas est way to p ck one up s:
1) Ensure that your cloth ng presents no exposed hardware, such as a belt
buckle, snaps, r vets, buttons, etc., that could come nto contact w th the
speaker and scratch the pa nt or wood.
2) Stand ng to one s de, t lt the speaker forward, allow ng t to rest on one
hand.
3) Grasp the far upper foot on the base w th your other hand.
4) L ft using your knees. Do not stra n your back by l ft ng w th your back.
5) To get through doorways, rotate the speaker onto your h p or up onto the
hand that s grasp ng the foot.
Small movements
When f tted w th rubber feet, the eas est way to move a speaker by small amounts
s to t lt t onto two feet and walk t along by rock ng t back and forth onto one
foot at a t me wh le rotat ng t each t me t’s on one foot.
When f tted w th carpet sp kes, damage to the carpet s l kely when attempt ng to
walk the speakers. In th s case, you would do well to place a pa r of wooden or
plast c slats under pa rs of feet and sl de the speaker along on these l ke a sled.
T