Instruction/ maintenance manual of the product Reference Preamplifier N32 Mark Levinson
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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.
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.
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 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 .
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 .
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 pho.
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 .
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 .
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).
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 .
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.
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.
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 .
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 .
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 .
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 .
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.
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.
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If you already are a holder of Mark Levinson Reference Preamplifier N32, but have not read the manual yet, you should do it for the reasons described above. You will learn then if you properly used the available features, and whether you have not made any mistakes, which can shorten the lifetime Mark Levinson Reference Preamplifier N32.
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