PA amplifier: The mastermind for your sound system solution

From retirement homes to amusement parks: We have the right PA amplifiers for installers and planners

The PA amplifier is the hidden hero of most public address systems. Hidden? For the audience in any case: Because they only hear the sound of the flush-mount ceiling speakers  or the wall-mounted speaker and has no idea that a lone hero in the background is the brains behind the entire system. And for the owner of the system, too, the PA amplifier is at best an inconspicuous hero. Because a PA amplifier should simply do what it is supposed to do – and nothing else. This is what we design our devices for: Stability, robustness, simple, intuitive operation. You can find out exactly what that means here.

Your project is our project: We help with PA applications where you need it. From selection to decision: And how the entire PA layout is planned and implemented.

Are you a retailer, installer or specialist planner and have questions?


Michael Krebbing has answers:
+49 421 48 65 352
krebbing@monacor.de
Our current catalogue here as e-paper

Have a look at our products:

Power amplifiers
Digital power amplifiers
Zone mixing amplifiers
Mixing amplifiers
Hi-fi Amplifiers
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Our analogue power amplifiers: Decades of optimised PA workhorses

Power amplifiers

MONACOR has been at home in the PA segment for decades. We have developed our PA amplifiers based directly on the needs of our customers. Our range of models offers you a broad performance spectrum that covers PA scenarios from the small corner pub in the neighbourhood to the PA system of a large office complex including a large conference room, individual offices and voice alarm systems.

We have consistently designed our mono PA amplifiers for reliable performance and robust construction. They offer full performance for announcements, voice alarms or high-quality music at all times. In addition, our PA amplifiers are suitable for conferences, readings, discussion rounds and basically all events where microphone sound needs to be amplified without compromising performance and without requiring any major technical infrastructure.

The advantages of analogue PA amplifiers

In the digital age, it often seems the obvious thing to do is to buy digital devices. After all, digital devices are in many cases simply practical. However, there are some scenarios where the analogue alternative may be more suitable. Here are some of the reasons why analogue PA amps are sometimes just plain better than digital PA amps.

  • They are simpler devices (in a good sense): The new digital amplifiers often consist of many more parts and are much more complicated than analogue PA amplifiers. If you want to minimise the chance of something going wrong with your amplifier, the analogue PA amplifier is a good choice. Troubleshooting and repairs are easier in analogue devices, especially if the end user has a little knowledge of electronics or really wants to understand how the device works.

  • A controversial but widely accepted assumption: They offer a more classic sound: Some people prefer the clear and very clean sound that a digital amplifier can give them. If you are a fan of the classic sound when using your PA amplifier to listen to older music, such as classic rock or older country music, an analogue amplifier might be a better choice. This can be a particularly good choice, especially if you're using classic devices. For example, if you are looking for an amplifier that you can connect to your turntable or old-school radio.

An example of our analogue power amplifiers: The PA-4120 with 4 x 120 watts

  • 4 channels with 120 watts each

  • Routing switch for parallel operation on 2 channels each

  • Temperature controlled fan

  • Connection for external on and off switch

  • LED display: Clip, protect, excess temperature, level

  • Mains or 24 V emergency power operation

  • Also available as a digital version: PA-4120D


read more


An example of our analogue power amplifiers: The PA-4120 with 4 x 120 watts

  • 4 channels with 120 watts each

  • Routing switch for parallel operation on 2 channels each

  • Temperature controlled fan

  • Connection for external on and off switch

  • LED display: Clip, protect, excess temperature, level

  • Mains or 24 V emergency power operation

  • Also available as a digital version: PA-4120D

read more

Classic scenarios for our PA amplifiers

Do you already know our Audio Solution Guide?

We would be happy to advise you personally. However, our decades of experience in the planning and implementation of PA systems show that certain scenarios are repeatedly implemented. Although these scenarios are also always unique, to a certain extent they share the same basic principles. You can compare this with other building services, such as fire protection: Of course, every building is different. But there are exemplary solutions, which we have prepared for you in a brief and graphically clear way. With our numerous application examples, we show you pragmatic, price-efficient and flexible solutions for professional PA technology from the MONACOR range. Allow yourself to be inspired by our specially selected practical solution scenarios.

Our digital power amplifiers: Compact and efficient

Digital power amplifiers

Digital – some people may be sick of hearing that. And we can understand that. There are digitalisation steps that (still) cause more problems than they solve. With this in mind, we have built our product category of digital power amplifiers. That means:

  1. Our digital amplifiers are not crammed with (digital) features, although the technology would allow it. Because that only makes a device unnecessarily complicated and prone to errors. We always have you in mind: It is not you as a professional who ultimately operates the device, but most of the time it's an end user.
  2. The interface of our digital PA amplifiers benefits from advanced technology, but is not "digitalised through and through". That's why even users who have spent their lives working with analogue PA amplifiers will feel at home. This was important to us: To take the advantages of digital technology and to preserve the decades of experience from analogue product design. Our digital amplifiers work with 1 and 0 and nothing in between – but our product design does not.

An example of our digital power amplifiers: The PA-1250D with 250 watts of output power

  • Efficiency of over 90%

  • Integrated energy saving functions

  • low battery capacity required for emergency power operation

  • Hardly any cooling requirements: low heat loss

  • No fan, suitable for noise-sensitive areas such as offices, conference rooms or churches

  • Protective circuit against short circuit and overheating

  • Extensive, menu-driven setting options

  • Switchable 200 Hz high-pass filter, 6 dB/oct.

  • Additional priority input


read more


An example of our digital power amplifiers: The PA-1250D with 250 watts of output power

  • Efficiency of over 90%

  • Integrated energy saving functions

  • low battery capacity required for emergency power operation

  • Hardly any cooling requirements: low heat loss

  • No fan, suitable for noise-sensitive areas such as offices, conference rooms or churches

  • Protective circuit against short circuit and overheating

  • Extensive, menu-driven setting options

  • Switchable 200 Hz high-pass filter, 6 dB/oct.

  • Additional priority input

read more

The advantages of digital PA amplifiers

Digital PA amplifiers have become increasingly popular for good reasons. Many of our customers convince one or the other analogue enthusiast to try out a digital amplifier. We have compiled the 4 most important reasons here.

  1. The main advantage of the Class D amplifier is its high efficiency: About 90%. That is significantly more than its analogue counterparts. These class AB amplifiers usually achieve an efficiency of 50 to 70%.
  2. The high efficiency means that the unit can be made smaller.
  3. In some cases, the high efficiency means heat sinks and fans can be eliminated.
  4. When used in portable devices, higher efficiency leads to a longer battery life. Efficiency varies directly with output power and decreases as power decreases.

A Class D amplifier converts the analogue input signal into a pulse width modulated (PWM) signal.

The PWM signal triggers the output stage completely on or off with each pulse. When one of the amplifier's Field Effect Transistors (FETs) is on, the current through it is high but the voltage across it is very low, so it is only during the brief transitions between the on- and off-states that power is converted to heat. When the FET is off, the voltage across it is high but the current is close to zero. This ensures that the Class D amplifier does not cause any power loss, except during transitions.

The analogue signal is applied to an input of a comparator. This converts the analogue signal into a PWM signal. At the same time, a triangular or ramp waveform with the desired switching frequency is applied to the other input. The pulse width varies with the amplitude of the input signal. The output of the FET power stage is also a PWM signal. This is supplied to a choke-capacitor (L-C) low-pass filter to recover the amplified (once again) analogue signal. The frequency of the triangle signal must then be significantly higher than the cut-off frequency of the low-pass filter.
An alternative to the PWM mentioned in step 1 is pulse density modulation (PDM). This uses a series of short-duration square-wave pulses, the density of which varies according to the analogue input amplitude, for example from the mixer. The PDM is generated with a sigma-delta modulation.

In the case of class D PA amplifiers with lower output power, the output signal is transformed to a voltage of 70 V or 100 V using an audio transformer. This means longer cables can be used between the amplifier and (100 V) speaker without causing major power losses. With the class D PA amplifiers with high output power, the output signal is transmitted directly to the (100 V) loudspeaker lines without a transformer, as is the case with MONACOR PA-9100D, PA-928D and PA-914D.

Classic scenarios for our PA amplifiers

Bar
Bar
Flush-mount speakers and surface-mount speakers 150-270 m²
Museum
Museum
Flush-mount speakers and surface-mount speakers 1700-2000 m²

Our PA zone mixer amplifiers: Multiroom solutions with the same sound sources but only one amplifier

Zone mixing amplifiers

PA applications in several different zones can be a particular challenge. We like to see it from the point of view of the future user: A location that is customised with sound in different rooms and outdoor areas has a special attraction and is always a little "magical". And that's what we often want to achieve with PA application: Improving the setting of a building, a bar, a shop. If we want to provide sound for a chill-out lounge, a dance floor and a beer garden at the same time, this can also be done with a PA amplifier. And because we always have the user in mind, we have made MONACOR PA amplifiers particularly intuitive and easy to use. Clear design, no unnecessary frills, no features that nobody uses anyway: simply an amplifier that provides independent sound to different zones. By the way, we have already written one article about multiroom PA application.

An example of our zone mixer amplifiers: The PA-6020Z with 600 watts of output power

  • 20 zones, individually switchable

  • 3 microphone/line inputs via combination jacks

  • 2 stereo line inputs via cinch sockets

  • Connections for up to 32 command microphones

  • Continuous and wailing tone, auto mute

  • 2-tone or 4-tone gong adjustable

  • Bass, treble and master controls

  • Signal/clip indication via LEDs

  • Regulated fan

  • Slots for various functions optionally available

  • 15 V phantom power for electret microphones

  • Connection for up to 3 PTT microphones PA-4300PTT

  • Mains and 24 V emergency power operation


read more


An example of our zone mixer amplifiers: The PA-6020Z with 600 watts of output power

  • 20 zones, individually switchable

  • 3 microphone/line inputs via combination jacks

  • 2 stereo line inputs via cinch sockets

  • Connections for up to 32 command microphones

  • Continuous and wailing tone, auto mute

  • 2-tone or 4-tone gong adjustable

  • Bass, treble and master controls

  • Signal/clip indication via LEDs

  • Regulated fan

  • Slots for various functions optionally available

  • 15 V phantom power for electret microphones

  • Connection for up to 3 PTT microphones PA-4300PTT

  • Mains and 24 V emergency power operation

read more

OUR MAGAZINE WITH TIPS, SUGGESTIONS AND IDEAS

Music in shops?

Not only owners, but also installers and planners still underestimate how important music is in shops. Everyone involved in the project is now aware that music is needed for a good shopping experience. But the fact that this background music has to be planned with exactly the same attention to detail as in sound projects where the music is in the foreground or takes on a more dominant role is not yet so common. Shops can have several zones in addition to the actual sales area, such as an area where people can have a coffee or an area for tastings. This then requires amplifiers that can sound several zones differently using 100-volt technology. For example zone matrix amps like this one. Are you a planner or dealer and would you like more advice in this area? Here we give inspiration how music playback works in retail.

Are you a retailer, installer or specialist planner and have questions?


Michael Krebbing has answers:
+49 421 48 65 352
krebbing@monacor.de

Read more about our sound technology projects here

Our PA mixer amplifiers: Multiple sound sources, but only one mixed playback?

Mixing amplifiers

Mixer amplifiers are in high demand today. Because the sources for sound reproduction are more diverse than ever before: Smartphone via Bluetooth, jack connection, WLAN, MP3 playback, USB connection, radio and much more. Particularly for gastronomy mixer amplifiers are very useful.

Mixer amplifiers are a child of our time: They combine the desire for the most flexible PA application possible from all conceivable sources.

An example of our mixer amplifiers: The PA-928D with 5 input channels and 280 watts

  • Class D concept with PASCAL amplifier module

  • Energy-saving thanks to high efficiency

  • Lightweight construction

  • Compact switch-mode power supply

  • Noiseless thanks to the fanless cooling concept

  • 4 balanced mic/line inputs


read more


An example of our mixer amplifiers: The PA-928D with 5 input channels and 280 watts

  • Class D concept with PASCAL amplifier module

  • Energy-saving thanks to high efficiency

  • Lightweight construction

  • Compact switch-mode power supply

  • Noiseless thanks to the fanless cooling concept

  • 4 balanced mic/line inputs

read more

Reinforcement for teachers as well: PA amplifiers in schools and universities

Good education needs good teachers and, increasingly, new multimedia applications. can help. And in fire protection, for example for voice alarms, a PA system is even mandatory. The challenge: The budgets are often tight, but the demands on speech intelligibility and user-friendliness are nevertheless high. Here, too, we help you plan well and stick to budgets. You can get a first impression in this article on Public address systems in schools or via PA solutions in lecture halls.

Our Hi-Fi amplifiers: for the fullest music enjoyment in any size and volume

Hi-fi Amplifiers

Wait a minute, you're on the PA amplifiers page, what's Hi-Fi got to do with that? We believe: Hi-Fi amplifiers can often be an alternative to a PA, depending on where they are used. Let's take an objective look at what Hi-Fi actually is:

Hi-Fi is short for High Fidelity. This in turn refers to the reproduction of audio with little to no noise, without modifications and distortion. The playback is as close as possible to the original, i.e. as it was recorded, mixed and mastered in the recording studio. In essence, Hi-Fi amplifiers and speakers are devices designed to reproduce audio signals as faithfully as possible. Fun fact: Hi-Fi is a development based directly on the needs of users. As early as 1930, the entrepreneur and amateur violinist Avery Fisher had the vision of a radio that could play back an orchestral recording as if you were in the same room. As true to the original as possible. To do this, he began experimenting with different loudspeaker housings. The production of Hi-Fi speakers can therefore be quite elaborate if the product developer is serious (and we never mess around when it comes to sound): high-quality materials for the loudspeaker housings that produce few resonances and good electronics that produce little noise.

Ultimately we want the sound to come out the way it went in. The difference is mostly just that 100-volt technology. For example, Hi-Fi can be an alternative for leisure facilities where good music is important.

The MONACOR brand has always been closely associated with projects in which foreground music is important.

We have provided sound beach clubs, outfitted DJs and rocked entire amusement complexes. But that doesn't mean we can only think big. Our Hi-Fi amplifiers are robust and particularly well suited for offices and sound system scenarios in which high-quality and flexible PA applications, also in the low-impedance range, play an important role. We offer Hi-Fi amplifiers in various sizes, also with integrated MP3 players, Bluetooth receivers, FM radio and USB interfaces, for example our SA-130DMP with 140 watts nominal power.

 

PA amplifier: Decades of expertise as the heart of our audio solutions

We are not only dealers, but solution providers. What does that mean? We work with installers, planners and in-house technicians far beyond the actual sale of an amplifier or speaker system. As a solution provider, we are a link between the technical professionals on the one hand and the planning offices on the other. Sometimes we advise the builder on acoustics, sometimes it is architects who plan entire lecture halls with us, in which both the lecturer and each individual student should be able to hear everything perfectly. The PA amplifier is always central to all public address systems. But not just any PA amplifier, but exactly the right PA amplifier, at the right time in the right place. We would like to make this possible for you – or we would be happy to implement it together with you.

Not keen on call centres? We aren't either!

When we say we're a solution provider, that also means you don't have a call centre on the phone when you call us. Instead, our technical project management usually answers the phone. We help – always! Our own technical customer service with highly qualified employees is a key part of our range of services. This makes our project support and advice very comprehensive:

  • Dedicated contact persons who have been in the industry for decades,
  • a large spare parts warehouse,
  • a technical archive,
  • and the fastest reaction and processing times are a matter of course for us.

Accredited test laboratories complete our comprehensive technical documentation.

What's in it for you?

That's simple: better audio technology and speedier constructive service.

This is important in order to guarantee you the greatest possible (investment) security. We call this: aggressive quality policy. Aggressive, because we apply strict test criteria within narrow tolerance limits to ourselves and question them again and again.

Want more MONACOR? Go ahead and take a look at what we have to offer in the sound technology realm. If you are a retailer in the field of audio technology and are looking for new partners or are planning sound system projects, contact us directly.

MONACOR INTERNATIONAL offers a high quality and perfectly adapts products to their target groups. Look on our respective brand website to find out what our product brands got in store for you.
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