Kungsbacka, Sweden -- When you've been manufacturing amplifiers for a quarter century, you learn to perfect your techniques.
Such is the case for Lab.gruppen, which laid its roots producing professional audio reinforcement products for the performance market. As part of the TC Group (which currently consists of Tannoy, TC Electronic, TC Helicon and TC Applied Technologies), Lab.gruppen recently introduced the C Series, a family of amplifiers designed for permanent installations. The line, distributed in North America by TC Electronic, is comprised of three four-channel amplifiers consisting of 400 watts, 700 watts and 1,200 watts per channel. Installers may adjust settings for low impedance or constant voltage (70V/100V) per output channel on an individual basis, in addition to configuring the amps asymmetrically, thanks to the products' adjustable gain, bridge-mode operation, advanced voltage peak limiting and current peak limiting features.
"We require a great amount of flexibility out of these amplifiers," explained Thomas Mittelmann, international sales manager at Lab.gruppen. "We have to make the amplifiers to match the great variety of loads that are out there."
This, says Mittelmann, is what prompted the company to allow for asymmetrical configurations. "With this series, you can configure each and every individual amplifier channel-and we are talking about four channel models-to drive any type of output load starting from high power/low impedance, such as subwoofers, all the way to high impedance, constant voltage line speakers," he said.
Mittelmann emphasizes that in developing the C Series, Lab.gruppen aimed to simplify the contractor's job. "Efficiency is a critical factor on all levels," he said. "At the same time, it should save the end user space-our amplifiers are pretty compact. Also, our amplifiers are famous for not generating much heat to start with, so the investment in air conditioning can be smaller."
And, system designers needn't spend hours flipping through copious product catalogs to determine which product is best suited for the application. "Due to the flexibility and the ability to set each amplifier up individually, these amps perform a majority of the jobs that are out there," Mittelmann noted.
