Panamax MAX 5500-EX Owner's Manual

MAX

®

5500-EX Owner’s Guide

Your audio/video components are constantly

being bombarded by electromagnetic interfer-

ence (EMI) and radio frequency interference

(RFI) through their power cords.  This contam-

inated power can affect audio/video equipment

and will degrade the overall performance of

your entire system.  Common symptoms of

contaminated power include pops, hisses,

hums and visual artifacts.

The MAX 5500-EX is designed to filter this

noise, supply clean power to your system and

provide noise isolation between the outlet

banks so that any noise created by an A/V com-

ponent can not contaminate the power going to

equipment plugged into the other outlet banks.  

The heart of the MAX 5500-EX is a 500VA

Isolation Transformer that provides power to

four isolated outlets for your digital source

components or display devices.  These outlets

have no physical connection to the incoming

AC lines or to any of the other outlets on the

MAX 5500-EX.  AC Regeneration through elec-

tromagnetic coupling between the primary and 

secondary windings of the transformer allows

only clean, pure AC power to reach your equip-

ment.  None of the EMI/RFI contamination gets

past the isolation transformer!  In addition, any

noise generated by your digital source compo-

nents is isolated and prevented from reaching

the rest of your equipment.

Sequential Startup/Shutdown:

Complex audio/video systems may be suscep-

tible to voltage transients generated internally

at start-up/shutdown if all of the equipment is

powered on or off at the same time.  This can

cause speaker “thumps” which are not only

annoying but can also damage the speakers.

The MAX® 5500-EX is designed to eliminate

these transients by providing a “start-up” delay

for the High-Current outlets and a “shutdown”

delay for the Switched Outlet Bank.  This allows

the components plugged into the Switched

Outlet Bank to power-up and stabilize before

any amplifiers and powered sub-woofers are

turned on.  This sequence is reversed during

shutdown.  The amplifiers and powered sub-

woofers turn off, their power supplies drain,

and then the equipment plugged into the

Switched Outlet Bank is turned off.

Voltage Sense Trigger:

This feature provides an ON/OFF trigger for the

MAX® 5500-EX using a Direct Current voltage

signal.  Many components such as pre-ampli-

fiers and receivers have a DC trigger built in,

and will transmit a constant power signal when

turned on and in use.  The presence of this

power signal will turn on the MAX® 5500-EX’s

switched outlets.  When the source component

is turned off, the voltage trigger signal is also

turned off and the MAX ® 5500-EX’s shutdown

sequence is initiated.  An AC Adapter of the

appropriate voltage, plugged into a switched

outlet, may also be used if a DC trigger is not

built in.  

The MAX® 5500-EX voltage sense trigger input

uses a standard 3.5mm (1/8") mini-plug jack.

This jack has an electrically isolated switch built

in.  If nothing is inserted into the input jack, the

voltage sense is bypassed and the Power

Button on the front panel has sole control of the

startup/shutdown sequence.  If a plug is insert-

ed into the input jack, the front panel switch is

bypassed and the voltage sense becomes the

startup/shutdown trigger.  

Important, Please

Note:

The unit needs to be plugged in, and in

the powered OFF state before inserting the DC

input trigger mini-plug.

A trigger output is also provided on this model.

When a DC trigger is connected to the MAX®

5500-EX’s Voltage Sense input, the input signal

can be passed through the output jack to con-

trol the startup/shutdown of an additional

device.  There is a 10 second delay between

when the MAX® 5500-EX receives the input

signal and when it is output to the next device.

Automatic Over & Under Voltage Protection:

Panamax’s patent pending power monitoring

circuitry constantly monitors the AC line volt-

age for unsafe voltage conditions such as pro-

longed over-voltages and under-voltages

(brownouts).  These unsafe conditions pose a

very dangerous threat to all electronic equip-

ment within the home.  If the MAX® 5500-EX

senses an unsafe power condition, it will auto-

matically disconnect your equipment from the

power to protect equipment from damage.

Once the voltage returns to a safe level, the

MAX® 5500-EX will automatically reconnect

the power.

Protect or Disconnect AC Surge Protection:

When the MAX® 5500-EX is subjected to a

high voltage surge, its voltage output is limited

to a safe level and the high levels of surge cur-

rent are diverted away from the connected

equipment.

• When subjected to a 6,000V (open circuit

voltage) / 500A (short circuit current) surge,

the MAX® 5500-EX limits its voltage output to

less than 330V peak, UL’s best rating.  The

MAX® 5500-EX will withstand, without dam-

age, 20,000A surges, far exceeding the UL

requirement of only 3000 Ampere surges.

• If the magnitude of the surge is greater than

the capacity of the surge protection compo-

nents, the MAX® 5500-EX's Protect or

Disconnect‘ Circuitry will disconnect your

equipment in order to protect it.   The MAX®

5500-EX will need to be repaired or replaced by

Panamax if this occurs.

Application Specific Coaxial Signal Line

Protection:

Panamax's exclusive SignalPerfect™ Technolo-

gy provides application specific protection for

your satellite and cable TV equipment.  Two

lines of protection are provided for each type.

The satellite connection is for a coaxial cable

connected to a DBS (single or dual LNB) satel-

lite dish.  The antenna connection is for a non-

amplified off-air antenna or cable TV line.   

The protection circuitry has been optimized for

each application and is not interchangeable.

The jacks are not labeled In and Out.  The cir-

cuitry is bidirectional in both signal transmis-

sion and protection capabilities, making it com-

patible with the latest digital cable and satellite

technologies.

Cable TV (Including HDTV) 

– TV tuners oper-

ate at approximately 10 millivolts (0.01 V) and

utilize the frequency spectrum up to 950 MHz.

The clamping level of the MAX® 5500-EX's

cable TV protection circuitry is 1400 millivolts

(1.4 volts).  That's less than 1 volt above nor-

mal operating levels.  The circuitry is also

shielded to prevent interference.

Satellite TV

- Satellite dish LNB's can require

up to 24 volts to operate and utilize the fre-

quency range of 950 MHz to 2.2 GHz.  The

clamping level of the MAX® 5500-EX's satellite

protection circuitry is 25 volts - just 1 volt

above the maximum operating voltage.  The

circuitry is also shielded to prevent interfer-

ence.

Telephone Line Protection:

Digital video recorders and satellite TV

receivers require a telephone line connection

for TV show scheduling and/or Pay-Per-View

services.  The MAX® 5500-EX also provides

surge protection for this line.  One pair of RJ-

11 telephone jacks is provided for this.  The cir-

cuitry utilizes auto-resetting PTCRs and solid-

state SIDACtors“ for reliability and unsur-

passed protection.  The clamping level of the

MAX 5500-EX's telephone protector is 260

volts.  This will allow typical ring voltage (90-

130VAC) and operating battery voltage (-48DC)

to pass through the circuit and still protect the

modem in your satellite receiver from damage. 

Home Theater Power Conditioner

M5500-EX

BANK 1 

ALWAYS ON

BANK 2

ALWAYS ON 

BANK 3

ON

BANK 4

ON

BANK 5

ON

WIRING

OK

METER

LIGHTS

AMPS

VOLTS

POWER AND 

FILTRATION

Key Features

LEVEL 6 EMI/RFI Noise Filtration with True Isolation Transformer Technology:

Model: 

M5500-EX

INS0788E   Rev A   5/05