User Manual

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536 MONAURAL / N
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534 DUAL-MONAURAL AMPLIFIER / OWNER’S MANUAL
SPECIAL DESIGN FEATURES
Thank you for purchasing a № 536 monaural or № 534 dual-
monaural amplifier. Since 1972, Mark Levinson® has been
dedicated to the uncompromising art of sound, with the guiding
principle of musical purity above all else. To achieve that goal
like never before, Mark Levinson engineers scoured company
archives, ultimately developing a proprietary, new, yet familiar
amplifier design featuring outstandingly high current and
tremendous open-loop linearity. The result is the Mark Levinson
№ 536 monaural and № 534 dual-monaural amplifiers. These fully
discrete amplifiers drive virtually any loudspeaker effortlessly for
impeccable imaging, musicality, and openness.
Philosophy
The pursuit of perfect amplification is a well-known theme in
high-end audio. New technologies present new approaches,
while looking to the past provides inspiration for the future. It
was in that spirit that these amplifiers were developed: advised
by the traditions and art of classic amplifier design, and infused
with modern technology. A fully discrete, direct-coupled signal
path; a highly linear, low-feedback design; and voltage gain
and drive stages operating in class A, are joined by the modern
system integration capabilities provided by Ethernet, RS-232,
and USB for monitoring and network control.
Design Principles
Mark Levinson core design principles are its very high open-
loop linearity and extremely high bias current. Because the
amplifier circuitry was designed to have such intrinsically
high performance, it requires very little feedback to achieve
impeccably low distortion and enormously wide bandwidth.
Employing unusually high bias current enables superb linearity
with wide bandwidth: nearly immune to the effects of parasitic
capacitances, these amplifiers are able to change voltage with
unreserved agility. These design principles create the hallmarks
of Mark Levinson amplification: effortlessness, openness, and
unadulterated smoothness throughout the entire frequency
range, regardless of load or listening level.
Components
Mark Levinson takes pride in both the art and science of
engineering. To that end, components are selected based not
only on their technical merits, but also on their sonic capabilities.
The № 536 Monaural Amplifier contains 12 discrete 15A, 260V,
200W TO-264 bipolar output transistors per output stage
(24 total); and 12 discrete 230V, 70MHz TO-220 bipolar driver
transistors per output stage (one for each output transistor, 24
total). Its power supply contains eight discrete, high speed, 40A,
250V TO-220 Schottky rectifiers per output stage (16 total) and
18 filter capacitors per output stage (36 total) for a grand total
of 169,200 microfarads of storage capacitance.
The № 534 Dual-Monaural Amplifier contains 12 discrete 15A,
260V, 200W TO-264 bipolar output transistors per channel
(24 total); and 12 discrete 230V, 70MHz TO-220 bipolar driver
transistors per channel (one for each output transistor, 24 total).
Its power supply contains eight discrete, high speed, 40A, 250V
TO-220 Schottky rectifiers per channel (16 total) and 18 filter
capacitors per channel (36 total) for a grand total of 118,800
microfarads of storage capacitance.
The amplifiers also feature custom-designed, low noise toroidal
transformers, rated for 1,800VA and 1,900VA total continuous
power, respectively, with separate secondary windings for each
output stage. The output stage and power supply components are
over-specified to offer unsurpassed performance and reliability.
The input stages contain matched-pair, low-noise, high-gain,
dual JFET input transistors, which in turn are connected in
a double cascode configuration to bipolar transistors; the
combination of devices offers inherently low distortion and
wide bandwidth, as well as the ability to effortlessly swing
large signal voltages. This circuit operates in class A and uses
discrete TO-126 bipolar pre-driver transistors to accurately
drive the massive output stages.
Features
• Class AB design rated at:
a. № 536: 400W into 8 ohms and 800W into 4 ohms
b. № 534: 250W per channel into 8 ohms and 500W per
channel into 4 ohms
• Fully discrete signal path, input to output
• High linearity, low-feedback design for low distortion and
wide bandwidth
• Voltage gain and driver stages operate in class A
• Direct coupled: no capacitors in the signal path
• Custom-designed, low-noise toroidal transformers
• High current linear power supplies employing low noise, high
speed discrete Schottky rectifiers and multiple paralleled
filter capacitors
• Mirror-image symmetrical design
• Four binding posts per channel with Hurricane terminals for
standard and bi-wired loudspeaker connections
• System controls: Ethernet, RS-232, IR input, 12V trigger input
and output, USB
SPECIAL DESIGN FEATURES