Mesa/Boogie Vacuum Tube Audio manual

Vacuum Tube Audio Owner's Manual 1317 Ross Street Petaluma California 94954 USA[...]

Thank you for selecting a Mesa Engineering amplifier to be your instrument of choice in your home or studio playback system. We know how many different products you had to choose from and are honored that you have entrusted us with your hard-earned entertainment funds. We have worked hard to make your new TIGRIS amplifier the best and most comprehe[...]

CHAPTERS: Page # 1 - Precautions.................................................. 01 2 - Overview...................................................... 1-2 3 - Installation................................................... 3 3 - 1 Unpacking............................................ 3 3 - 2 Location...............................................[...]

P AGE 01 Your Mesa Engineering amplifier is a professional instrument. Please treat it with respect and operate it properly. USE COMMON SENSE AND ALWAYS OBSERVE THESE PRECAUTIONS: • Do not expose amplifier to moisture, rain or water, direct sunlight or extremely high temperatures. • Always insure that amplifier is properly grounded. • Always [...]

P AGE 1 Operating Instructions Chapter 2 OVERVIEW: Y our new Mesa TIGRIS is an audiophile amplifier with a musical heritage. More than just a playback amp, the TIGRIS is a musical instrument in its own right, handbuilt with the same commitment and passion that we bestow upon our entire line of M esa/Boogie products. In the realm of live performance[...]

P AGE 2 2 - OVERVIEW: ( Continued, Chassis Illustrations ) WARM OPERATE TAPE CD AUX 1 AUX 2 HEADPHONES FRONT VIEW: TIGRIS WARM OPERATE V ACUUM T UBE A UDIO NEGATIVE FEEDBACK 4 OHM COMMON 8 OHM PREAMP OUT SET LEVEL HEADPHONES SPEAKERS 8 OHM COMMON 4 OHM STAGE I STAGE II ZERO STAGE III REAR BAY: TIGRIS REAR PANEL: TIGRIS RECORDING OUT 4A SB FUSE WARN[...]

P AGE 3 power cord! Please retain the packing materials for future use and store in a cool, dry place. Should your TIGRIS ever require service at the factory , it is mandatory to ship the amplifier in the original packing materials to prevent in-transit damage. Also, should you change your living quarters, you’ll be glad to have this packing to p[...]

P AGE 4 sounds superior - or vice versa. T rust your ears! Y ou will not cause damage to your speakers or the TIGRIS by mismatching. Experiment to obtain the most pleasing results! Spades or steel spring bananas, gold- or rhodium plated, are the preferred cabl e terminations. Spades may be stacked for bi-wiring, or you can use spades and bananas si[...]

P AGE 5 Y connector of sorts, because it ef fectively adds a second pair of outputs to every source component you own. If you want to ru n two systems from the same source component, you can connect a preamplifier to the T ape Output, which in turn would control a seco nd amplifier . This of course would obliterate this output for recording purpose[...]

P AGE 6 Passive vertical bi-amplification does not require an electronic crossover . It simply means having two amplifiers of equal or unequal power drive the high - and low frequency drive units of your loudspeakers separately . This is different from using monoblocks w here each one-channel amplifier drives only one speaker , or from horizontal b[...]

P AGE 7 control instead. This avoids running the load resistor of the headphone circuit unnecessarily hot. T o mute the speakers in the second- ary room while the main room remains active, either turn off the secondary amplifier or turn the Level Set to zero. W e recommend turning off the second amp so that your favorite inter-room level balance st[...]

P AGE 8 At the very right of the T ube Bay is a mini-toggle switch which you will probably set once and then leave alone. The easiest w ay to understand the purpose of this switch is to consider the TIGRIS as having two separate reference groups to ground: one external and two internal. The internal Grounds are the common zero voltage points for th[...]

P AGE 9 the amplifier in order to avoid unwanted sudden volume surprises when you are ready to enjoy your music again. Y ou now have successfully installed your new TIGRIS amplifier , enjoy and happy listening! The following chapters include more in-depth coverage of technical issues and explain the advanced features - but if you’re imp atient, g[...]

P AGE 10 genetic traits into a new hybrid - such as a rose with no thorns but bigger flowers and stronger scent. With T andem-State Imaging, you can combine varying amounts of Pentode / T riode operation simultaneously , effectively creating a sonic hybrid that marries the harmonic “rightness” of T riode operation with the dynamics and frequenc[...]

P AGE 1 1 The feedback settings of the TIGRIS correspond with the following approximate values ( your actual speaker load and the output tab chosen will affect the values slightly ): Higher amounts of feedback affect driver control in speakers by increasing the amplifier ’ s damping factor and reducing speaker motion. Damping factor refers to the[...]

P AGE 12 what to listen for when you resume listening to your speakers. If you wish to mute your main speakers not to listen to Headpho nes but while a second pair of speakers is active in a multi-room application via the Preamp Output, we recommend adjusting the multi-r oom volume with the Level Set attenuator , leaving the Master V olume control [...]

P AGE 13 Note that the voltage relationship between the three elements is similar and that the difference between cathode and the grid v oltages is the same in both examples: The grid is 50 V olts more negative or less positive in both. Thus as far as the electrons are concerned, the static operating conditions between the two systems are quite sim[...]

P AGE 14 amplification was going on in the opposite half circuit. That’s the Class B part. The trick is to get the large magnitude signal to pass back and forth in a push-pull circuit without major distortion occurring due to cut- off. That’s because the tubes, having first been driven into cut-of f, must then resume drawing current. That off a[...]

P AGE 15 Although the term filament and heater are often used interchangeably , there are specific differences: A filament is a directly heated cathode where cathode coating is applied directly to the heating element. Examples are 5U4 twin diode rectifier and 300B triod e amplifier tubes. A heater , on the other hand, is a heating element which is [...]

P AGE 16 This section is a continuing technical treatise on the workings of Irish Pubs but to make it easier for the layman to understa nd, it is explained in terms of vacuum tube technology . Enter the original bar - free beer and no doors. Well, it turns out that some con trol over the flow can be a necessary and useful advantage. This led to the[...]

P AGE 17 Occasionally though, bar doors - even the louvered type - were found to be too effective, and too many customers turned away . Something further was needed to increase the attraction of the bar and overcome the resistance created by the door . Thus the co cktail waitress was invented. Once again the idea was inspired by the vacuum tube. It[...]

When the time comes to replace tubes, make a note of the color code on your power tubes before you call us with your order . At the bottom of the tubes, you will find a label listing a three letter abbreviation such as GRY , WHT , YEL, GRN...this is our in-hou se system of separating our computer- tested tubes into different Bias categories. T ubes[...]

P AGE 19 the headphone potential, we initially jerry-rigged a headphone jack to the speaker outputs. This proved impressive enough, so w e re- engineered some of the internal earthing arrangements to further quiet the power amp stage which, rather than the preamp stage, would drive the headphones. This transferred T andem-State Imaging - access to [...]

production! Rather than worrying about future ‘Mark II and III’ upgrades with additional expenses and down-time for shipping, you can rest assured that you purchased a fully matured design. Rather than using our customers as beta-testers to fine-tune a design, we spent two trade shows and a year ’s worth of collaboration with retailers and co[...]

P AGE 21 The most common failure in a tube amp are ... tubes, you guessed right. There are two main types of tube failure: shorts and no ise. Both large and small tubes may fall prey to either of these problems, but diagnosis and remedy is usually simple. Let’s begin with noise: Often caused by contamination within a tube, a noisy tube can usuall[...]

When evaluating and choosing components, specs may be used as a starting point to reduce the number of options to a realistic figure, but then it becomes vitally important to remember how these components will be ultimately used: for the joy of music in a home environment, as opposed to on a test bench in an anechoic chamber . We thus encourage you[...]

P AGE 23 Y our M esa TIGRIS Integrated & Headphone amplifier is covered by a limited 30 days warranty . T o extend it to its full three years coverage on parts & labor , you must complete the warranty registration form in Chapter 15 and return it to us by mail within 30 days from date of purchase.In the event your TIGRIS needs service under[...]

P AGE 24 15 - WARRANTY REGISTRATION FORM: Congratulations! Y ou have just purchased one of the finest integrated amplifiers on the market. Y ou should enjoy countless hours of musical magic in the comfort of your home for years to come. T o help us serve you with your purchase, please fill out this form and return to us together with a copy of your[...]

WARRANTY REGISTRATION FORM: ( Continued ) What other products would you like to see from us in the future? How do you rate your dealer in terms of presentation? poor good excellent Product knowledge? poor good excellent Customer Service? poor good excellent Anything else about your dealer we should know? How important are specs versus listening to [...]

The Spirit of Art in Technology OO GI E B M ESA Thank you for trusting MESA/Boogie to be your amplifie r company. We wish you many years of toneful enjoyment from this handbuilt all tube instrument.[...]

1317 Ross Street Petaluma, CA 94954 USA (707) 778-6565 Phone (707) 765-1503 Fax The Spirit of Art in Technology[...]