Rane MA3 Multichannel Amplifier
The MA 3 is a three-channel amplifier designed to operate reliably in commercial environments. The MA 3 was specifically designed for use in:
- Paging
- Foreground Music
- Background Music Distribution.
It is also a perfect companion to the Rane family of paging, foreground music, and background music products, such as the Rane CP series.
Each channel of the MA 3 delivers 40 watts of continuous average power into 8 ohms and 60 watts into 4 ohms. Up to three optional 40 watt, 70.7 volt or 100 volt constant-voltage audio transformers may be installed inside the MA 3, eliminating the need for external wiring or transformer mounting.
The MA 3 uses a conventional linear power supply with toroidal transformer. This configuration minimizes the emissions associated with switching supplies and noisier transformer designs. The power supply features independent secondary supplies for each channel, minimizing load regulation interaction and crosstalk.
Thermal management is accomplished with a sealed heat-tunnel design incorporating low velocity forced air and large aperture openings. This design minimizes the noise usually associated with forced air cooling and eliminates the need for an air filter. Forced air cooling allows the amplifier to operate reliably in harsh environments and avoid the buildup of heat in unventilated racks associated with passive convection cooling. The combination of a solid, conservative power supply and forced air cooling allows the MA 3 to simultaneously deliver 60 watts of continuous-average-power to all three channels.
SPiKe* dynamic protection circuitry completely safeguards each channel against over-voltage, under-voltage, overloads, transients from inductive loads, thermal runaway and instantaneous temperature peaks. Biasing is not allowed to occur when an under-voltage condition exists, reducing turn on and turn off transients.Fast-response limiters allow the MA 3 to tolerate up to 20 dB of overdrive into 8 and 4 ohm loads while holding THD below 1 percent. This means no loss of speech intelligibility or harsh clipping. This feature greatly increases the dynamic range of the system without external limiters. Peak-responding, load-adaptive meters accurately indicate the remaining headroom. The meters are helpful in setting system levels and indicating signal compression.
Balanced inputs with Euroblock connectors are provided. Euroblock output connectors accept up to 12 gauge wire. Rear panel Level controls allow amplifier sensitivity adjustment. Internally selectable 80 Hz highpass filters offer protection against over excursion of small bookshelf speakers and saturation of distribution transformers at low frequencies.
