B-52 US Series Professional Power Amplifiers - Instruction Manual
THE BEAUTY OF POWER
US SERIES AMPLIFIERS
in limiter circuitry for improved performance when
overloading.Thelimiteractivatesat“clipping”when
the output voltage reaches the power supply voltage
rails. Without limiters, the output voltage will grossly
distort if the signal elevates beyond this point. The
signalwaveformisattened(“clipped”),producing
excessivehighfrequencydistortionnotpresentinthe
originalsignal.Thismakesmusicsound“dirty”and
increases stress on the high frequency transducers,
significantly shortening their life span (most loud-
speaker manufacturers will not honor warranties if
highfrequencydriversare“burnt”duetoaclipped
signal overload). Clip limiters effectively solve this
problem by compressing the signal at clipping. US-
Series amplifiers use intelligent clipping circuitry to
protect both the loudspeakers and amplifier.
NOTE: US-1200 and US-1800 amplifiers have
a built-in limiter circuitry which is constantly
activated. The US-3000 and US-4000 amplifiers
haveanexternalswitchlocatedontherear
panel, which activates and deactivates the clip
limiters. B-52 recommends the clip limiter switch
onboththeUS-3000andUS-4000remainON.
YoumaychoosetoturnOFFthelimiterswhen
using the US-3000 and US-4000 to power
subwoofers.
SETTING UP YOUR US-SERIES AMPLIFIER
CLIP LIMITER: Clipping is the result of an amplifier running into a power supply limitation.
Themaximumoutputvoltagethatanyampliercanproduceislimitedbyitspowersupply.
Attemptingtooutputavoltagelevelthatexceedsthepowersupplyvoltagerailsresultsina
atteningeffectofthesignalcausingittoclip.Aclippedwaveformexhibitsseveredistor-
tions, making it sound harsh. The clip limiter detects this condition and reduces the gain to
minimize the amount of overdrive. To preserve as much of the program dynamics as possi-
ble,thelimiterreducestheaverageprogramleveluntilthepeaksbarelyclip.Eachchannel
hasitsowncliplimiterandyoucanswitchitONorOFF(onlyonUS-3000andUS-4000).
The clip limiter allows brief clipping which is not detectable to the ear. It activates when a
clip condition repeats, to avoid prolonged distortion. When driving full-range speakers, clip
limiting reduces the high frequency distortion caused by low frequency overload. It also
protectshigherfrequencydriversfromexcessoverdriveandharshclippingharmonics.
NOTE:YoumaywanttokeepthelimitersOFFwhenconnectingtheUS-3000and
US-4000 to power subwoofers.
HPF (High-Pass Filter): High Pass Filters (HPF) are also known as low-cut filters. HPFs
ontheUS-Seriesamplierscutoffsignalsbelow50Hz.Asaresult,bassreproductionis
optimized, since ultra-low frequencies, which most speakers cannot reproduce anyway, are
eliminated and more power becomes available for the reproduction of the remainder of the
music signal.
NOTE: You should set the filters to best suit the frequency response of your speakers as
somespeakersareparticularlysensitivetoover-excursion.The50HzltersontheUS-Series
amplifiers work well with most full-range speakers.
NOTE: FormostsubwoofersandinstudioapplicationskeeptheHPFintheOFFposition.
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