TASCAM has announced the debut of the MA-BT240 multifunctional mixing amplifier as the newest member of the company’s Compact Commercial Series, offering a feature set that includes the ability to switch between low- and high-amplification impedance, Bluetooth reception for content streaming, a microphone input for convenient paging, ducking capability, and more.
Its half-rack form factor enables it to be placed on a table, shelf, or rack mounted with the optional AK-RS05 (sold separately). The MA-BT240 is stated to deliver 240 watts high impedance amplification for powering 70- or 100-volt loudspeakers in distributed audio systems. It’s also suited for low-impedance (120 watts x 2 channels) amplification for driving loudspeakers that use 4- or 8-ohm loads.
The MA-BT240 includes a switchable front panel mic/line input and a rear panel mic/line input that supports paging. A ducker function is available for the mic — for environments where background music is playing, the system automatically ducks the music (lowers the volume) when an announcement is made. Further, the amplifier has two additional RCA line inputs on the rear panel.
The built-in Bluetooth receiver is intended to make it easy to feed the amplifier with background music and other sources wirelessly. The Bluetooth antenna can be wired for extension (using RP-SMA cables, and extension is possible up to approximately 20 meters), and the pairing point can be changed to a preferred position for more optimal signal reception.
On the output side, the MA-BT240 is outfitted with EQ and a high-pass filter for added control of sound quality and to avoid overload of a high-impedance system. Further, the amplifier’s output supports mono L+R/stereo switching in low-impedance mode. There is also a line output to facilitate the addition of more zones by cascading the output signal to another power amplifier(s). And, the master volume can be adjusted from external controllers. (External controllers must conform to the control terminal specifications of the unit. Euroblock 3.81 mm pitch 3 pin — 1: Vcc 5 V/2: Control/3: GND).
