Mark Levinson Reference Preamplifier N32 manual

Nº32 Refer ence Phono Modules Owner’ s Manual Madrigal Audio Laboratories R[...]

CAUTION RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK DO NOT OPEN CAUTION: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRICAL SHOCK, DO NOT REMOVE COVER. NO USER-SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE. REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED PERSONNEL. WARNING: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT EXPOSE THIS APPLIANCE TO RAIN OR MOISTURE. The lightning flash w ith arrowhead symbol, within an equi[...]

Important Safety Instructions Please read all instructions and pr ecautions carefully and complet ely before operating your M ark Levinson ® preamplifier . 1. AL W A Y S disconnect your entire syste m fr om the A C mains before c onnecting or dis- connecting an y cables, or when cleaning an y c omponent. 2. This prod uct must be terminated with a [...]

4 From all of us at M adrigal A udio Laboratories, thank you for choosing the M ark Lev ins on Nº32 Reference Phono Preamplifier M odules. A great deal of effort went into the desig n and constr uction of these precision de v ices. U sed prope rly , the y will g ive you many years of enjoy ment.[...]

5 T able of Contents Special Design Features of the Nº32 Reference Preamplifier ....... 6 modular appr oach .............................................................................. 6 input connections .............................................................................. 6 input loading network .......................................[...]

6 Special Design Featur es of the Nº32 Refer ence Pr eamplifier modular appr oach The Nº32 R eferenc e P reamplifier and R efer ence Pho no Pr eamplifier M odules wer e designed together . All the high p erformance po wer sup- ply , ext ensiv e c ontrol and high isolation input circuitry that character- izes the Nº32 R efe renc e Pr eamplifier a[...]

7 tion, optional custom t ermination is pro vided v ia a pair of gold-plated terminal posts within each phono module. N o solder ing is necessary when using these binding posts. ac r egenerated power supply The foundation upon which an y audio c omponent is built is the po wer supply . W ithout an extremely clean, noise-fr ee pow er supply , no aud[...]

8 able fro m our balanced circuitry by including a balanced XLR input connect or ver sion of the phono pr eamplifier modules. 12 3 NC 12 3 NC LEFT + LEFT - TONE ARM GROUND RIGHT + RIGHT - No32 XLR phono module recommended wiring Combined with a shielded, tw isted pair cable fr om cartridge to preamp , the XLR input phono pr eamp offers the ultimate[...]

9 w idth and open loop gain t o pro vide uncompr omised performanc e even at the 60db of gain required by a mo ving coil pr eamplifier . The instrumentation amplifier stage offers high common mode r ejection, a noise-cancellation featur e usually limited to transformer -based designs, while av oiding the serious limitations of those same desig ns. [...]

10 Unpacking W arning! Do not attempt to use your Nº32 Refer ence Phono modules unless your Nº32 Contr oller is using version 1.03 (or gr eater) of its operating softwar e. Prior to installation, check your softwar e by pr essing Setup and turning the Select knob one click to the left, and r eading the r esulting display . If you need new softwar[...]

11 Operating V oltage The Nº32 R eferenc e P reamplifier is set at the fact ory (internally) for 100V , 120V , 230V , 220V , or 240V A C mains operation @ 50 or 60Hz. (230V/50Hz only in E uropean U nion countries, in co mpliance with CE regulations.) This voltage setting cannot be c hanged by the user . M ake sur e that the label near the A C rece[...]

12 Installing the Nº32 Refer ence Phono Pr eamplifier Modules Important! Installation of the Nº32 Refer ence Phono Preampllifier Modules should be done by a qualified and authorized Mark Levinson dealer . The following description is pr ovided for your r efer ence (and that of the dealer). Failur e to observe pr oper ESD (electr ostatic dischar g[...]

13 material needed The following materials and tools are need ed to perform the installa- tion of the Nº32 Phono modules into the Nº32 P reamplifier: 1 – Nº32 refer ence p reamplifier 1 – pair Nº32 phono pr eamp modules 1 – wr ist str ap for ESD pr otection 1 – 3 ⁄ 32 " hex driver 1 – 5 ⁄ 64 " hex driver 1 – 5 ⁄ 32 &[...]

14 3. Remove the two scr ews fr om r ear bottom of Nº32 Preampli- fier top cover that hold it in place (using the 3 ⁄ 32 ” hex key supplied with the Nº32). These are locat ed at the bottom outside c orners of the rear panel. 4. Slide top cover back slightly then up and off. Once y ou hav e slid the c ov er back app ro ximat ely one-half inch [...]

15 5. Peel off the pr otective film covering the copper strip on the end of the wrist strap, and attach it so that the copper strip contacts the chassis of the Nº32; wrap the other end ar ound your wrist. Grounding y ourself to the c hassis on which y ou are wo rking, us- ing a conducti ve ESD wrist str ap , ensur es that no voltag e can build up [...]

16 this , not W arning: The cables must lie flat against phono pr eamp top cover to slide in to Nº32 pr eamp. 8. Gently slide the left phono pr eamp module into the open- ing in the left channel of the Nº32 pr eamp. Repeat for right channel. Do not for ce ! The phono pr eamp modules should slide in easily . If a phono preamp module does not slide[...]

17 11. Carefully lift connector ends of cables out of holes in phono pr eamp top cover . Being careful t o a void cat ching the c onnectors o n the edges of the slots in which they hav e been sitting during installation, set the unattached ends of the r ibbons cable fr ee as shown below . 12. Plug all four cables from phono pr eamp modules into the[...]

18 (closeup) 13. Remove your ESD wrist strap from the chassi and fr om your wrist. It w ould hinder y our replacing the t op c ov er , next. 14. Replace Nº32 preamp top cover and scr ews ( 3 ⁄ 32 ” hex key) W hen replacing the t op c ov er , note the guide pins at the bott om edges as well as the top “key” you noticed befor e. All three mu[...]

19 Customizing Y our Nº32 setup overview The Nº32 Preamplifier has man y provisions for cust om-tailoring the system ’ s operation to match y our preferenc es. The method for modify- ing any of these settings is to: • press the setup bu tton o n either the fr ont panel or the r e- mote co ntrol t o enter the setup mode, accessing the Nº32’[...]

20 Set Phono 1 Name= PH/MC 1 Ph Gain= +60 Gain= +12 dB Offset= 0.0 Bal= <-0.0-> 20Hz HPF=ON R Load=100 C Load=.01uF Set Phono 2 Name= PH/MM 2 Ph Gain= +40 Gain= +12 dB Offset= 0.0 Bal= <-0.0-> 20Hz HPF=ON R Load=47k C Load=100pF Teach IR Mute = -20.0 MaxVol= 80.0 Trig.= 12v,L Sw 1.07 1.02 (the software version numbers ) The Nº32’ s e[...]

21 between the output level o f a given sour ce and the preamplifie r’ s gain str ucture. • Offset — aut omatic volume adjustments implemented whenever switching t o this particular input, use d to ensur e that all sourc es play bac k at the same vol ume, even when their outputs ma y be quite different; the range is ± 20.0 dB in 0.1 dB incre[...]

22 The Ph Gain selection should be made prior to the gain adjustment outlined below , as appr opriate for y our cartr idge ty pe. Otherw ise you may end up att empting to for an inc o rrect phono setting from within the line level portion of the preamplifier . setting (line) gain Each input in the Nº32 can be set for one of four g ain settings: 0 [...]

23 setting the balance The balance (Bal) setting is unique to the p hono preamplifie r , and should be used to c ompensate for the small imbalanc es found in most cartr idges. The best way t o do this is to pla y a monophonic recor ding in normal stereo , c entering the image between y our speakers with the balance co ntrol. Once you kno w the c or[...]

24 setting the capacitive load C Load refers t o the capacitiv e load the phono pr eamplifier presents t o the cartr idge. (Of cours e, an y capacitance in the phono cables is be yond the preamp ’ s cont rol and should be added to this figure .) This number is normally 0.01 µ F for moving coil (MC) cartr idges, and can range fro m about 0p F to [...]

25 Installing a Custom Load A pair of gold plated scr ew terminals is av ailable inside each of the Nº32 phono pr eamplifier modules. I t may be used t o install a “ custom ” resist or for phono cartr idge loading, in the case where a val ue is desired that not availab le from the existing set (3.3 Ω , 5 Ω , 7.7 Ω , 10 Ω , 33 Ω , 50 [...]

26 1. Lift connector end of cable out of hole in shield box if needed. 2. Using the 5 ⁄ 64 " hex driver , remove four button head scr ews fr om top cover of phono module. 3. Car efully lift top cover off over cables and lay it to the side. 4. T ouch the metal enclosur e of module befor e touching any component inside module to pr event ESD d[...]

27 5. Loosen each gold thumb scr ew a few turns. Y ou do not hav e to remo ve the thumbscrews—just loose n them enough to slide the leads of your r esisto r in the gap . 6. Place the leads of r esistor between thumb scr ews and ter - minal posts. 7. Tighten thumb scr ews firmly . The result should look something lik e the photo belo w (although y[...]

28 9. Guide cables thr ough holes and r eplace top cover . 10. Re-install top cover screws. Be careful not t o cross thr ead these relati vely small scr ews. 11. Put cable ends back into holes in top cover and reinstall as per the instructions in Installing the Nº32 Reference Phono Preamplifier Modules , earlier in this manual. Y ou may no w acces[...]

29 Car e and Maintenance T o remov e dust fr om the ext ernal cabinet of the Nº32, use a f eather duster . T o remove dirt and fingerprints, w e rec ommend isopr op yl alco- hol and a soft cloth. Appl y the alcohol t o the cloth first and then lightly clean the surface o f the Nº32, g oing with the g rain of the brushed alu- minum. N o maintenanc[...]

30 U.S. and Canadian W arranty 90-day limited warranty This Mark Levinson® product is warranted to be fr ee from defects in material and workmanship under normal use fo r a perio d of nine ty (90) day s from the dat e of purchase. T o extend the warranty of this Mark Levinson product, r eturn the warrant y registr ation card along w ith a c opy of[...]

31 Obtaining Service W e take␣ great pride in our dealers. E xperience, dedication, and int egr ity make these p rofessionals ideally s uited to assist with our customers ’ ser vice needs. If your Mark Levinson component m ust be serv iced, please co ntact your deale r . Y our dealer will then decide whether the problem can be remedied locally [...]

32 Specifications The correlation between published specifications and sonic quality is unreliable. A list of numbers r eveals vir tually nothing. All tec hnical measurements m ust be subject to qualitativ e as well as quantitativ e interpretation. M easureme nts of the Nº32 yield excellent r esults by an y standards. Howev er , only those specifi[...]

33 Installation Notes[...]

630357 © 3/1999 Madrigal Audio Laboratories, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A. is a registered trademark of Madrigal Audio Laboratories, Inc. a Harman International company MADRIGAL AUDIO LABORA T ORIES R Madrigal Audio Laboratories, Inc. 2081 South Main Street, P.O. Box 781 Middletown, Connecticut 06457 USA Telephone: (860) 346-0896 Fax[...]