Audio Control Expands Custom-Install Lineup With New Amplifier/Equalizer

The latest in the ""Architect"" line of problem-solving custom-install components from Audio Control is the Model 200, a unique two-channel amplifier specially optimized for multiroom needs. The Architect Model 200 features specially engineered amplifier circuitry that permits it to drive four 8 ohm speakers per channel with no sacrifice in performance, and fully integrated, six-band equalization specially engineered to promote optimal performance from smaller and in-wall loudspeakers typically used in multiroom systems. The new Architect model also boasts the meticulous quality and bulletproof reliability for which Audio Controlís custom-install designs are widely known.""We looked at how typical multi-speaker audio installations are actually performed,"" says Audio Control President Tom Walker, ""and what we found is that contractors all too often go to extraordinary lengths to ensure that the power amps they select are not over-stressed or even damaged by low-impedance loads."" Continues Walker, ""We decided instead to create a power amp at reasonable cost that is nevertheless optimized for driving very low-impedance loads from the outset, delivering the superb reproduction qualities Audio Control insists on while ensuring that its design was rock-solid under even the most demanding multiroom conditions.""Instead of the cost-saving, integrated circuit ""chip"" outputs used by many multiroom/multichannel designs, Audio Controlís new Architect 200 relies on a far costlier but ultra-rugged, very high current/high power, discrete device output stage. This empowers the Architect Model 200 to deliver a minimum of 200 watts per channel into 2 ohm loads ñ for example, no fewer than four typical multiroom speakers driven in parallel. Whatís more, the Architect 200 can and will do so all day and all night without compromising sonic quality, limiting, or risking overheating. Audio Control utilizes a high-definition BiMOS output stage topology that maintains the audiophile grade sonic refinement of a Class A bipolar transistor design with the efficiency and thermal ruggedness of MosFET outputs. This means that a multiroom system can employ a single Architect Model 200 to supply as many as four stereo remote rooms with dynamic, genuinely high-end music playback without any of the complexities, power-loss, or quality compromises associated with traditional impedance-compensating speaker switching.In typical ""value-added design"" Audio Control fashion, the Architect Model 200 goes a great deal further than simply providing stable, dynamic power for eight loudspeakers. Six installer-adjustable bands of stereo equalization stand ready to contour each systemís response for maximum accuracy, improved extension, or individual taste. Each banís frequency and slope is tailored to deliver the most useful shaping with smaller or in-wall speakers, the most common types employed in whole house systems. Additionally, a variable high-pass filter may be invoked at setup and set to any frequency form 20Hz to 80Hz, preventing potentially damaging levels of bass from reaching smaller woofers. Lastly, the newest Architect line components incorporates Audio Controlís Signal Sense feature, which automatically enable s the amplifier when an audio signal is present at its input.Like all Audio Control products, the Architect Model 200 is assembled entirely in the United States, where Audio Control has been designing and manufacturing the highest quality award-winning home and car audio components since 1997. The companyís headquarters, including research and development, manufacturing and production facilities are located in the state of Washington, in the heart of the rain forest of the Pacific Northwest.The Architect Model 200 will be available in September 1999,For more information, contact Chris Kane or Tom Walker at 425 775 8461.