Constellation Audio Hercules II - Manual (Page 9)

9
9. Master power switch
This switch disconnects the amplifier from AC power.
If the switch is set to the Off position, the front power
switch will not be active and the status indicator LED will
not be illuminated. If the switch is set to the On position,
the front power switch will become active and the LED will
glow solid red, indicating standby mode.
This switch also resets the amplifier’s internal circuit
breaker. If the circuit breaker trips, flip the switch off and
on again to reset it.
10. Mute switch
This switch puts the amplifier into mute mode. In this
mode, the amplifier is fully powered up, but the sound is
muted. Use this mode if you wish to mute the sound, of
course, but also when you are checking the connections
into and out of the amplifier. In the event of an accidental
disconnection, using the mute mode will prevent
unwanted bursts of sound from coming through the
speakers.
11. Input select switch
Use this switch to select which of the amplifier’s inputs you
wish to use. The BAL setting (left position) selects the
balanced input, which should be used with balanced-
output preamps not manufactured by Constellation Audio.
The Direct setting (middle position) selects the Direct input, which should be used for connections to the
Constellation Audio Virgo or Altair preamp. This setting and input form half of the Constellation Direct—an
audio interface that is, in essence, perfectly balanced. The positive- and negative-going halves of the signal
will exhibit near-zero difference except for their polarity.
The RCA setting (right position) selects the RCA input, used with preamps that do not offer balanced output.
This connection is provided for convenience only; for best performance, use a preamp with balanced output.
12. Biwire switch (Hercules II Stereo only)
This switch, found only on the Hercules II Stereo, allows easy configuration of the amplifier for biwiring—using
one channel of the amp to power the speaker’s woofer and the other channel to power the tweeter and
midrange drivers. (This arrangement is also known as passive biamping.) To use this switch, you must have
speakers that are designed for biwiring, i.e., that have at least two sets of binding posts.
To biwire your speakers, connect one channel of the Hercules II Stereo to the speaker’s lower set of binding
posts, and the other channel to the speakers upper set of binding posts. Set the Biwire switch to on. Use only
the right-channel (lower) input on the Hercules II. Turning Biwire on sends this signal to both channels of the
amp.