Arcam FMJ Amplifier A18 User Manual

A18

Handbook Integrated ampliﬁer

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ank you and congratulations for purchasing your Arcam FMJ Ampliﬁer.

contents

Arcam has been producing specialist audio products of remarkable quality for over three

decades and the new A18 ampliﬁer is the latest in a long line of award winning HiFi. e design

of the FMJ range draws upon all of Arcam’s experience as one of the UK’s most respected audio

companies, to produce Arcam’s best performing range of stereo ampliﬁers yet – designed and

built to give you years of listening enjoyment.

safety guidelines.......................................e-2

Important safety instructions.............................E-2

Safety compliance...................................................E-2

welcome… .................................................e-3

welcome…

overview.....................................................e-4

Placing the unit .......................................................E-5

Power ...........................................................................E-5

Interconnect cables................................................E-5

is handbook is a guide to installing and using the A18 Integrated Ampliﬁer, including

information on the more advanced features. Use the contents list shown on this page to guide

you to the section of interest.

A18 connections .......................................e-6

Pre-ampliﬁer connection.....................................E-7

Audio inputs..............................................................E-7

Recording loops.......................................................E-7

Phono input...............................................................E-7

loudspeakers .............................................e-8

Single wiring .............................................................E-8

Bi-amping...................................................................E-8

We hope that your FMJ ampliﬁer will give you years of trouble-free operation. In the unlikely

event of any fault, or if you simply require further information about Arcam products, our

network of dealers will be happy to help you. Further information can also be found on the

Arcam website at www.arcam.co.uk.

e FMJ development team

remote control...........................................e-9

The CR10 remote control.....................................E-9

Ampliﬁer commands.............................................E-9

Switching on .......................................................... E-10

Selecting an audio source ................................ E-10

Listening .................................................................. E-10

operation................................................. e-10

Adjusting listening settings............................. E-10

Processor mode .................................................... E-10

Recording an audio source .............................. E-11

Troubleshooting................................................... E-11

speciﬁcations.......................................... e-12

product guarantee ................................ e-13

e-3

Arcam’s A18 Integrated Ampliﬁer provides class-leading

sound quality.

With a torrodial power supply, acoustically damped

chassis and very low levels of noise and distortion, the

A18 reproduces music with all its original authority and

detail.

Drawing on the many years of ampliﬁer design

experience at Arcam, the A18 uses the best quality

components and engineering practice to produce a

product that will give many years of musical pleasure

and reliable service.

e A18 Integrated Ampliﬁer is designed to produce a

level of performance that will truly bring music to life.

overview

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phONO

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e-4

Placing the unit

Power

interconnect cables

Place the ampliﬁer on a level, ﬁrm surface, avoiding

direct sunlight and sources of heat or damp.

e ampliﬁer is supplied with a moulded mains plug

already ﬁtted to the lead. Check that the plug supplied

ﬁts your supply – should you require a new mains lead,

please contact your Arcam dealer.

We recommend the use of high-quality screened cables

that are designed for the particular application. Other

cables will have diﬀerent impedance characteristics

that will degrade the performance of your system (for

example, do not use cabling intended for video use to

carry audio signals). All cables should be kept as short

as is practically possible.

Do not place the A18 on top of a power ampliﬁer or

other source of heat.

Do not place the ampliﬁer in an enclosed space

such as a bookcase or closed cabinet unless there is

good provision for ventilation. e A18 is designed

to run warm during normal operation.

If your mains supply voltage or mains plug is diﬀerent,

please contact your Arcam dealer immediately

Push the IEC plug end of the power cable into the

socket on the back of the ampliﬁer, making sure that it

is pushed in ﬁrmly. Plug the other end of the cable into

your mains socket and, if necessary, switch the socket

on.

It is good practice when connecting your equipment to

make sure that the mains power-supply cabling is kept

as far away as possible from your audio cables. Failure to

do so may result in unwanted noise in the audio signals.

Do not place any other component or item on top

of the ampliﬁer as this may obstruct airﬂow around

the heat-sink, causing the ampliﬁer to run hot. (e

unit placed on top of the ampliﬁer would become

hot, too.)

Make sure the remote-control receiver to the

right of the front panel display is unobstructed,

otherwise this will impair the use of the remote-

control.

Do not place your record deck on top of this

unit. Record decks are very sensitive to the noise

generated by mains power supplies which will be

heard as a background ‘hum’ if the record deck is

too close.

e-5

A18

connections

Speaker terminals

Phono earth terminal

Aux input

See page 8 for information on

For connecting your turntable

earth lead, if required. Note that

this terminal must not be used as a

safety earth.

Analogue 3.5mm stereo jack socket,

intended for connecting a portable

MP3 player.

connecting loudspeakers.

Power inlet

Connect the correct

mains cable here.

A18 INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER

PRE

OUT

PHONO

(MM)

PVR

DVD

SAT

TUNER

50 – 60 Hz

POWER INLET

220V-

240V

–

AUX

PHONES

POWER

350VA MAX

4 – 16 OHMS

OUT

CLASS

WIRING

Pre-ampliꢀer connection

ꢀis socket is only used if you are using

the A18 as a pre-amp, for example, when

using the A18 in conjunction with a P38.

See page 8 for more information.

Audio connections

Phones

Mains voltage

3.5mm stereo jack socket,

intended for use with a set of

headphones.

Ensure that the voltage indicated

matches your local power supply.

If not, please contact your dealer.

audio inputs, although any suitable device may be

connected to the line-level inputs. (Note, however,

that the name of the input shown on the front-panel

display cannot be changed.)

DVD, SAT, TUNER and CD

PHONO

In addition to the line level inputs, the AV and PVR

connectors both have line level outputs for use in

recording from other sources.

See page 7 for more information.

Note

Please read the ‘Placing the unit’, ‘Power’ and

‘Interconnect cables’ sections on page 5 before

E-6

Pre-amplifier connection

audio inputs

Recording loops

Phono input

Although the inputs are labelled for speciﬁc devices, all

have the same characteristics and each may be used with

any line-level product. e exception is the phono (MM)

input (see page 12 for the speciﬁcation).

e A18 is equipped with two recording loops: AV and

PVR. ese are for use with recording devices – such as

a CD recorder, DAT recorder, cassette recorder, VCR,

PVR, etc. e AV outputs may have any of the input

connectors assigned to them for recording purposes.

e phono inputs provide a pre-ampliﬁcation stage to

treat the low-voltage output from a moving magnet

cartridge (input speciﬁcations are given on page 12). If

you have already an external phono ampliﬁer that you

wish to use, connect its output to one of the line-level

inputs.

pre out

To use your A18 as a dedicated pre-ampliﬁer, or as part

of a bi-amp’ed system, connect the ^{pre out}sockets to

the input sockets of your power ampliﬁer.

AV In

AV out

Intended for the analogue outputs from general audio-

visual equipment, such as a VCR, digital TV/satellite

receiver, or Nicam tuner.

Connect these output sockets to the input sockets of

your recording device (usually labelled record or In).

To record from a particular source, press the appropriate

source button (for example, ^tuner), then press AV. Any

source selected immediately before AV is routed to the

AV out connectors for recording purposes and is shown

on the front panel (e.g. RCꢀꢀTUNER).

pVr In

Intended for the analogue outputs from a Personal

Video Recorder, or similar device.

dVd

Intended for the analogue outputs from a DVD-player.

sAt

pVr out

e ^{pVr out}also has the source selected immediately

before AV routed to it, unless that source is pVr In, in

which case pVr out is muted. As with AV out, changing

to another source will change the signal that is sent to

pVr out.

For connection to a satellite TV receiver or cable box.

tuner

Intended for the analogue outputs from an FM, AM or

DAB radio tuner.

Intended for the analogue outputs from a CD player.

AuX

is is a 3.5mm analogue input on the front panel

intended for use with devices such as MP3 players. To

connect an MP3 player (or other portable audio device)

you will need a 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable connected

between the ^AuXinput and the headphone socket of the

device.

e-7

Single wiring

Single wiring is the conventional wiring method of

running a single cable per channel between the ampliﬁer

and the speaker; this is the easiest technique.

If each speaker has more than one pair of connecting

terminals, use the terminals labelled ^Lfor ‘Low

Frequency’ for each speaker.

notes on making speaker

Similarly, connect the negative terminal of the ampliﬁer

(coloured black and labelled with r–) to the negative

terminal of your speaker. Repeat the process for the leﬅ

speaker, using the ampliﬁer terminals labelled +L and L–.

connections

Do not make any connections to any ampliﬁer

while it is switched on. We recommend that

your ampliﬁer is completely disconnected from

the mains supply before starting.

loudspeakers

If your speakers support bi-wiring, then there is a strip

of conductive metal on the speakers connecting the low-

frequency terminals to those for the higher-frequencies;

this mUST NOT Be RemOVeD in a single-wired

system.

Before switching your ampliﬁer(s) on for the

ﬁrst time aﬅer connecting to speakers, please

check all connections thoroughly. Ensure that

bare wires or cables are not touching each other

or the ampliﬁer’s chassis (which could cause

short circuits), and that you have connected

positive (+) to positive and negative (–) to

negative. Be sure to check the wiring for both

the ampliﬁer and the speaker.

Connect the positive terminal of the right speaker

connection on the ampliﬁer (coloured red and labelled

+r) to the positive terminal of your right speaker.

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Aﬅer making connections: switch the

ampliﬁer(s) on, select a source signal, then

gradually increase the volume to the required

listening level.

If you are unsure as to how your system should

be connected, or need advice on bi-amping,

please contact your Arcam dealer who will be

happy to help you.

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An A18 connected to speakers using single wiring

Note that the strip of metal on the speakers connecting

bi-amping

Bi-amping is the separation of the ampliﬁcation of low-

and high-frequency signals over two ampliﬁers.

Bi-amping requires the use of two ampliﬁers per

channel. Normally, your A18 is used to drive the high-

frequency (treble) speakers, with a P38 used for the

lower (bass) frequencies.

the lower terminals to the upper terminals mUST Be

RemOVeD. Failure to do so will result in damage to

both ampliﬁers, which will not normally be covered

under warranty.

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Connect your A18 to the speakers as described for

single wiring, with the exception that the A18 should

be connected to the speaker terminals labelled ^hfor

‘High Frequency’. en connect the power ampliﬁer

(an Arcam P38 for example) to the Lf or ‘Low

Frequency’ terminals, as in the diagram. A pair of audio

interconnect cables are also required to connect the

pre-amp outputs of the A18 to the power amp inputs of

the P38.

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An A18 and P38 connected to speakers using bi‑amping

e-8

amplifier commands

the cr10 remote control

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Toggles the mute function to silence speaker

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output. Mute is displayed on screen when

e CR10 is pre-programmed for use with the A18 as

well as Arcam CD players (such as CD17).

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active.

remote

control

VoL –

VoL +

Decrease (VoL–) and increase (VoL+)

amplifer volume

e CR10 requires a clear line of sight to the front panel

display of A18 to ensure reliable operation. Make sure

you have inserted the two AAA batteries supplied before

attempting to use the CR10.

Source Selects the ampliﬁer input:

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keys

dVd DVD input

sAt Satellite decoder input

Keys on the CR10 that control the A18 are shown not

greyed-out.

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AV (television sound) input

tun DAB/FM/AM tuner input

AuX Auxiliary line input

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pVr Personal Video Recorder input

CD input

inserting batteries into the

remote control

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pho Phono input

Adjust bass levels (using VoL– and VoL+

controls) between -7, through 0, to +7

Adjust treble levels (using VoL– and VoL+

controls) between -7, through 0, to +7

Adjust balance levels (using VoL– and VoL+

controls) between L (leﬅ) 9, through 0, to

R (right) 9

bAss

treb

bAL

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proc

Toggles between PROC ON and OFF.

PROC mode is only available if the AV input

is selected

1. Squeeze the tab and liﬅ oﬀ the remote control’s

battery compartment cover.

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When in PROC mode, the ^{VoL -}and VoL +

can be used to adjust the PROC volume

setting.

drct

Toggles direct mode (i.e. tone defeat)

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dIsp

Cycles through display panel brightness

options (bright, oﬀ, dim)

Cycles through displaying the settings for

Bass, Treble and Balance

Mode

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2. Insert the two ‘AAA’ batteries supplied in the

proper direction, following the ‘+’ and ‘–’ marks

in the battery compartment.

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3. Replace the battery compartment cover, locking

the tab with a click.

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e-9

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AUX

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operation

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Switching on

listening

adjusting listening settings

e A18 allows you to customise the balance, bass

and treble levels of the ampliﬁer to ﬁt your system.

Adjustments can be made either on the front panel or by

using the CR10 remote control. Click the corresponding

button to view the current setting, then use the control

knob on the front panel (or VoL +/– buttons on the

CR10) to adjust.

Processor mode

e front panel power button switches the unit on and

e A18, in combination with a power ampliﬁer, can

be used to drive the front leﬅ and right speakers of a

surround-sound system, when fed from a multi-channel

processor. e volume of the entire system may then be

controlled using the processor.

listening using speakers

oﬀ.

Use the control knob to change the volume. Turn the

knob clockwise to increase the volume, anti-clockwise

to reduce it.

e power light (next to the ‘A18 Integrated Ampliﬁer’

text) indicates the state of the ampliﬁer. e power LED

is green and ON if the power is connected and the unit

is turned ON.

listening using headphones

While in Processor mode, you can feed the sound from

the processor into ^{AV In}and set the ‘Proc mode volume’

of the A18 to match the ampliﬁers that drive your

other loudspeakers. Set this ‘Proc mode volume’ using

the VoL+ and VoL– buttons on the remote. e last set

value of ‘Proc mode volume’ is remembered whenever

Processor mode is selected.

e headphones socket (phones) accepts headphones

with an impedance rating between 8Ω and 2kΩ, ﬁtted

with a 3.5mm stereo jack plug.

display

balance

e front panel dIspLAy button (or dIsp on the remote

control) changes the display brightness between ‘on’,

‘dimmed’ and ‘oﬀ’. If the A18 is powered oﬀ with the

display brightness set to ‘oﬀ’, the display resumes to

‘dimmed’ when the unit is powered on again.

is setting allows you to increase the volume of one

channel (leﬅ or right) relative to the other. Altering

the balance (from L9 to R9, via the neutral value 0)

may help to restore the stereo image for an oﬀ-centre

listening position.

e pre-amp outputs and speakers are muted when

headphones are plugged in. e headphones socket is

always active, unless output has been muted.

Processor mode may be toggled on and oﬀ (when

AV is selected as the source) by using the front panel

processor Mode button or proc on the remote. ‘PROC’

remains lit on the display while Processor mode is

active.

Muting output

Selecting an audio source

e audio source may be selected from the front panel

(phono, AuX, cd, tuner, sAt, dVd, pVr or AV), or the

remote control (dVd, sAt, AV, tun, AuX, pVr, cd or pho).

e output of the A18 can be silenced by pressing Mute

bass

on the front panel (or on the remote control). Press

is setting allows you to increase or decrease the level

of low frequency elements in the sound within the range

+7 to -7.

Mute/ for a second time (or change the volume) to

cancel mute.

In each case, the source is selected from the input

sockets with the corresponding name.

Treble

is setting allows you to increase or decrease the level

of high frequency elements in the sound within the

range +7 to -7.

direct mode

is is a ‘tone defeat’ setting which ignores any Bass and

Treble trim values.

Press ^drct(Direct) on the remote control to toggle this

setting; ‘DIRECT’ is lit on the display when Direct mode

is active.

e-10

troubleshooting

If you are having trouble with your ampliﬁer, check the

following items.

no sound

Check the following:

e A18 ampliﬁer is powered up and switched on.

e ampliﬁer is not muted (i.e. Mute is not shown

on the display panel).

e selected source is generating audio (e.g., if CD

is selected, then the CD is playing).

e AV input is selected on the A18 instead of the

expected source. If there is no sound because the

AV input is selected, press the correct source button

on the front panel or remote control.

Recording an audio source

e A18 allows you to record and monitor the sound

from any connected source.

e speaker outputs are connected on the A18 (or

on the power ampliﬁer, in the case of a bi-amping

arrangement).

e back panel ^{AV out}or pVr out sockets can be

connected to the input sockets of your recording device

(these are usually labelled record or In). e two

recording loops have a similar function to each other,

but are not exactly the same in operation.

Sound cuts-out unexpectedly

If the temperature of the internal heatsink rises above

a safe level, then a thermal cut-out inside the ampliﬁer

operates to protect the unit and the protection system

temporarily removes power to the speakers. e system

will reset itself as the heatsink cools down.

To record from a particular source, press the appropriate

source button (for example, ^tuner), then press AV. Any

source selected immediately before AV is routed to the

AV out connectors for recording purposes and is shown

on the front panel (e.g. RCꢀꢀTUNER).

With two pairs of low-impedance speakers

connected (6Ω or less), overloads are more likely.

Overloading the ampliﬁer may cause it to shut

down because of overheating.

Note that, due to the high output voltage from a

CD player, it is possible to drive your ampliﬁer at

full power even though the volume is not set at

maximum.

e ^{pVr out}also has the source selected immediately

before AV routed to it, unless that source is pVr In, in

which case pVr out is muted. As with AV out, changing

to another source will change the signal that is sent to

pVr out.

e-11

Continuous power output (20Hz—20kHz at 0.5% THD), per channel

Both channels, 8Ω, 20Hz—20kHz

Single channel, 4Ω, at 1kHz

50W

70W

Harmonic distortion, 80% power, 8Ω at 1kHz

0.01%

Inputs

Phono cartridge:

speciﬁcations

Input sensitivity at 1kHz

Input impedance

2.5—15mV

47kΩ

Signal/noise ratio (CCIR, 45W)

Overload margin

88dB

31dB

Line and AV inputs:

Nominal sensitivity

Input impedance

250mV—1.5V

22kΩ

Signal/noise ratio (CCIR, 45W)

98dB

Preampliﬁer output

Nominal output level

Output impedance

630mV

<50Ω

Headphone output

Maximum output level into 600Ω

Output impedance

100Ω

General

Mains voltage

110—120V or 220—240V

Power consumption (maximum)

Dimensions W x D x H (including feet)

Weight (net)

350W

432 x 275 x 85mm

7.2kg

Weight (packed)

9.1kg

Supplied accessories

mains lead

CR10 remote control

2 x AAA batteries

E&OE

NOTe: All speciﬁcation values are typical unless otherwise stated.

continual improvement policy

Arcam has a policy of continual improvement for its products. is means that designs and speciﬁcations are

subject to change without notice.

e-12

Worldwide guarantee

is entitles you to have the unit repaired free of charge, during the ﬁrst two years

aﬅer purchase, at any authorised Arcam distributor provided that it was originally

purchased from an authorised Arcam dealer or distributor. e manufacturer can take

no responsibility for defects arising from accident, misuse, abuse, wear and tear, neglect

or through unauthorized adjustment and/or repair, neither can they accept responsibility

for damage or loss occurring during transit to or from the person claiming under the

guarantee.

product

guarantee

The warranty covers:

Parts and labour costs for two years from the purchase date. Aﬅer two years you must pay

for both parts and labour costs. e warranty does not cover transportation costs at any

time.

claims under guarantee

is equipment should be packed in the original packing and returned to the dealer from

whom it was purchased, or failing this, directly to the Arcam distributor in the country of

residence.

It should be sent carriage prepaid by a reputable carrier – not by post. No responsibility

can be accepted for the unit whilst in transit to the dealer or distributor and customers are

therefore advised to insure the unit against loss or damage whilst in transit.

For further details contact Arcam at:

Arcam Customer Support Department,

Pembroke Avenue, Waterbeach, CAMBRIDGE, CB25 9QR, England

or via www.arcam.co.uk.

Problems?

If your Arcam dealer is unable to answer any query regarding this or any other Arcam

product please contact Arcam Customer Support at the above address and we will do our

best to help you.

on-line registration

You can register your product on-line at www.arcam.co.uk.

correct disposal of this product

is marking indicates that this

product should not be disposed

with other household waste

throughout the EU.

To prevent possible harm to the

environment or human health from

uncontrolled waste disposal and to

conserve material resources, this product should be

recycled responsibly.

To dispose of your product, please use your local

return and collection systems or contact the retailer

where the product was purchased.

e-13

A&r cambridge Ltd, pembroke Avenue, waterbeach, cAMbrIdGe cb25 9Qr, england

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