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8

Setting Up and Using the HA5500

PASSIVE

ACTIVE

WARNING:  Hartke amplifiers can deliver very high power levels.  Driven to
full power, they can damage connected loudspeakers, regardless of brand,
size, or configuration.  Care should be taken not to strain            connect-
ed loudspeakers as this can cause permanent damage and will degrade the
performance of the entire system.  If you see connected  loudspeakers
moving excessively, turn your system down immediately or use the equal-
ization and/or compression controls to reduce the amount  of subharmon-
ic (extremely low frequency) signal.

Setting up your Hartke Systems 5500 Bass Amplifier is a simple procedure
which takes only a few minutes:

1.  Remove all packing materials (save them in case of need for future service)
and decide where the amplifier is to be physically placed.  To avoid potential
overheating problems, be sure that the rear panel is unobstructed and that there
is good ventilation around the entire unit, particularly behind the rear-panel fan.   

2.  Begin by hooking up your bass cabinet or cabinets, using the 1/4” unbal-
anced Speaker output connectors on the rear panel; it is never a good idea to
power up any amplifier that is not connected to loudspeakers.  We recommend
the use of a single 4 ohm cabinet or two 8 ohm cabinets.  Hartke amps are opti-
mized for use with Hartke bass cabinets, although other brands of speakers can
be  substituted.  Any appropriately rated bass cabinet with a minimum imped-
ance of 4 ohms (that is, 4 ohms or greater) can be used.   In order to ensure
correct phase correlation, the tip of the Model 5500 speaker jack should be con-
nected to the “+” (hot) input of your loudspeaker, and the sleeve of the Model
5500 speaker jack should be connected to the “-” (ground) input of your loud-
speaker.

3.  Next, connect the 3-pin AC plug into any grounded AC socket.  Don’t turn the
amplifier on just yet, though.

4.  Use a standard music instrument cable to connect your bass to the appropri-
ate Input jack on the front panel (if your bass has active circuitry,* connect it to
the “Active” input; if not, connect it to the “Passive” input).  On the front panel of
the Model 5500,  set the Master volume control to “0” (fully counterclockwise)
and set both Pre-Amp A (Tube) and B (Solid State) knobs to “5” (the twelve
o’clock position).  Set the Compression knob to its “Off” position (fully counter-
clockwise—you’ll hear a click) and set both Contour knobs to their center
detented “0” position.  Finally, set the graphic equalizer In/Out switch to its “Out”
position.

5.  Press the front panel Power switch in order to turn on the amplifier.
After approximately three seconds, you’ll hear a click, indicating that the relay
protection circuitry has completed cycling and that power to the system has
been provided. 

6.  Set the output of your bass to maximum and then, while playing, slowly turn
the Master volume control up until the desired level is achieved.  If you hear
distortion even at low amplifier Master volume settings, back off the output of
your bass (or check for a faulty cable).

*  Bass guitars that have active circuitry normally require a battery for the
circuitry to be functional.

Summary of Contents for HA5500

Page 1: ...500 WATT BASS AMPLIFIER HA5500 Hartke Hartke Hartke ...

Page 2: ......

Page 3: ...tures 3 Guided Tour Front Panel 4 5 Rear Panel 6 7 Setting Up and Using the HA5500 8 9 About Equalization 10 11 About Compression 12 Appendix A Block Diagram 13 Appendix B Changing the HA5500 Voltage 14 Specifications 15 ...

Page 4: ... performance use in small and medium size ven ues in addition the HA5500 s advanced pre amp features makes it ideal for use in recording environments In these pages you ll find a detailed description of the many features of the HA5500 bass amplifier as well as a guided tour through their front and rear panels step by step instructions for setting up and using each product detailed discussions abou...

Page 5: ...een notes Two independent inputs that accommodate both passive and active bass guitars Protection relay circuitry that protects connected speakers from dangerous overloading and also prevents thumps when powering on or off Effect loop send and return jacks that allow you to connect to professional outboard effects processors An effect Balance knob which enables you to adjust the relative amount of...

Page 6: ...es the amount of preamplifi cation being provided by special circuitry which delivers the sound of a solid state amplifier Note that when both Pre Amp knobs are used at equal settings the amplifier will be twice as loud as when only one is used Avoid setting both Pre Amp knobs on maximum 10 since the result will almost always be undesirable distortion 5 Compression LED Provides a visual indicator ...

Page 7: ...ition the selected frequency area is unaffected it is said to be flat When a slider is moved up above the 0 position towards the 15 position the selected frequency area is boosted and when it is moved down below the 0 position towards the 15 position the selected frequency area is attenuated For more information see the About Equalization section on pages 13 14 of this manual 9 Contour Low Pass co...

Page 8: ...ectly set before powering up the amplifier Fuse ratings are 10 amp for 115 vac and 6 2 amp for 230 vac For information on how to change the voltage rating see Appendix C on page 18 2 AC input Connect the supplied standard 3 pin IEC plug here 3 Speaker outputs Connect any 4 8 or 16 ohm bass cabinet s to these standard unbalanced 1 4 jacks WARNING Because of the high power lev els and low frequency ...

Page 9: ...nd use the Model 5500 Balance knob to adjust the relative mix of dry vs wet signal 8 Direct Out Post Pre switch When pressed in the Pre position signal is routed to the Direct Out jack prior to the Model 5500 ten band graphic equalizer but after the compression circuitry and Contour controls When out the Post position signal is routed to the Direct Out jack after all compression and EQ circuitry b...

Page 10: ...ed ance of 4 ohms that is 4 ohms or greater can be used In order to ensure correct phase correlation the tip of the Model 5500 speaker jack should be con nected to the hot input of your loudspeaker and the sleeve of the Model 5500 speaker jack should be connected to the ground input of your loud speaker 3 Next connect the 3 pin AC plug into any grounded AC socket Don t turn the amplifier on just y...

Page 11: ... instrument and playing style it s a good idea to write it down for future use 10 Now try out the Model 5500 compression circuitry Activate it by turning the Compression knob clockwise from its Off position you ll hear a click when it is activated As you turn the knob clockwise the input signal from your bass becomes more and more severely compressed you ll hear peak signals such as string slaps a...

Page 12: ...ts center detented position 0 it is having no effect When it is moved right of center the particular frequency area is being boosted when it is moved left of center the frequency area is being cut attenuated Because there is very little bass guitar energy at 10 kHz the High Pass Contour control should be thought of as your overall noise control turning it down to the left of the 0 position will he...

Page 13: ...a also has the effect of boosting the overall signal specifically too much low frequency EQ boost can actually cause overload distortion or even harm a connected speaker though the Model 5500 s compression circuitry if on will act to some extent to pre vent this from occurring In general if you re going to apply a fair amount of low frequency EQ boost it s a good idea to keep Compression on if onl...

Page 14: ...a front panel Compression LED which acts as a use ful visual indicator of the continuous activity of the compression circuitry When lit steadily green for example when the Compression knob is set to Off no compression is being applied When unlit compression is being applied to the incoming signal at a ratio of approximately 2 1 When flashing red the compression ratio is approaching infinity limiti...

Page 15: ...XED EQ VR SOLID STATE MIXER SEND 50 mV IN 0 dB TO 4dB RETURN 2 BAND CONTOUR PRE POST AMP PROTECTION GND LIFT NORMAL 50 mV OUT 20 dB TO 30 dB MASTER SECTION 10 BAND OUT 10 BAND IN VR TUBE RMS DETECTOR COMPRESS VCA COMPRESSOR IN OUT SWITCH Model 5500 ...

Page 16: ...n reinsert the mains jumper Finally reinsert the fuse sled by gently pushing it back in until you hear a click Note that the fuse sled carries two fuses one for 115 volt operation actually 105 120 volts and another for 230 volt operation actually 220 240 volts The position of the two fuses in the sled as well as the fuse ratings must be maintained for adequate protection Fuse ratings for the Model...

Page 17: ...tts 8 ohms Total Harmonic Distortion less than 5 Signal To Noise Ratio approx 78 dBm Equalizer Contour Low Pass 18 dB 100 Hz Contour High Pass 18 dB 10 kHz Ten Band Graphic 15 dB center detented 30 Hz 64 Hz 125 Hz 250 Hz 500 Hz 1 kHz 2 kHz 3 kHz 5 kHz 8 kHz Compression Ratio 2 1 to infinity Send Output Level 0 dBM Return Input Level 0 dBM ...

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Page 20: ...Samson Technologies Corp 575 Underhill Blvd P O Box 9031 Syosset NY 11791 9031 Phone 1 800 3 SAMSON 1 800 372 6766 Fax 516 364 3888 www samsontech com ...

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