PS Audio GCA Power Amplifier Series Owner's Reference Manual - page 7
4826 Sterling Drive, Boulder, CO 80301
PH: 720.406.8946 service@psaudio.com www.psaudio.com
Quick Start Guide 3
®
Quick Start Guide
Owner’s Reference
GCA Power Amplifi er Series
©2004 PS Audio International Inc. All rights reserved.
Pay close attention to the polarity on the rear panel binding posts. It is critically important that you
match plus and minus (red and black) of the GCA Series Power Amplifi er to the plus and minus of your
speaker. Carefully observe the polarity. The plus or red terminal of the GCA Series Power Amplifi er
must eventually be tied to the plus or red terminal of your loudspeaker. The GCA Series Power
Amplifi er is a non-inverting amplifi er design meaning it is in phase with the input signal.
Most subwoofers have low level inputs only, as in an RCA or XLR connector. Some subwoofers have
high level inputs where the output of the amplifi er can be connected as an input to the subwoofer.
Generally there is no problem. In a few rare instances there may be a problem, whcih will show itself
as problematic if the amp’s protection comes on after hooking up the sub. REL subwoofers and some
Sunfi re subwoofers can be problematic. Please check with the factory or your dealer if you encounter
these subwoofers or any problems.
These binding posts, on the rear panel of the GCA Series Power Amplifi er, will accept either spade or
banana type connectors. To use a spade or forked connector, simply unscrew the binding post, place
the tongs of the spade over the threaded binding post and tighten the outer barrel of the binding post.
It is permissible to us a wrench to tighten the binding post down.
The banana style connectors should be inserted into the center hole on the rear of the binding post.
The PS Audio binding post is a unique locking design for banana style connectors. You should not
attempt to insert a banana connector into the GCA Series Power Amplifi er’s binding post while the
binding post is locked closed. To insert a banana style speaker cable connector, loosen the outer
barrel of the GCA Series Power Amplifi er’s binding post, insert the banana connector and then tighten.
Note that once this has been tightened, the banana connector is locked securely in place. Do not
attempt to remove the banana connector without fi rst loosening the outer barrel of the binding post.
Make sure that neither the + nor the – terminals of the amplifi er come in contact with each other, or
ground, or anything other than the speaker terminals when the amplifi er is on. This will shut the amp
off and place it in a protection mode.
Plug the GCA Series Power Amplifi er into the power source using the AC power cable you selected. It
is advisable to use as short a power cable as possible to the GCA Series Power Amplifi er. We do not
recommend plugging the GCA Series Power Amplifi er into an extension strip or plug extender unless
it is of the highest quality and heavy duty design, such as the PS Audio Juice Bar or device with similar
properties.
Turn your equipment back on. Make sure everything is powered up properly with the GCA Series
Power Amplifi er between the AC receptacle and your AV equipment.
Make sure the preamplifi er or surround processor that is feeding the GCA Series Power Amplifi er is
turned on fi rst. Then, press the front panel PS logo on the GCA Series Power Amplifi er to power up
the GCA Series Power Amplifi er. There is a normal 2 second delay for the amplifi er once powered
up.
At this point you should be ready to enjoy the benefi ts of the GCA Series Power Amplifi er and enjoy!
Be careful when
connecting a
subwoofer
Check for porper
polarity
Locking binding
posts
Connecting a
banana style
Do not ground
the outputs
Plug it into a
power source
Push the front
panel logo to turn
it on