Operating Manual Mark Levinson® Nº38 Preamplifier Madrigal Audio Laboratories, Inc.
WARNING: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT EXPOSE THIS APPLIANCE TO RAIN OR MOISTURE. 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.
Important Safety Instructions Please read all instructions and precautions carefully and completely before operating your Nº38 Preamplifier. 1. ALWAYS disconnect your entire system from the AC mains before connecting or disconnecting any cables, or when cleaning any component. 2. This product is equipped with a three-conductor AC mains power cord which includes an earth ground connection. To prevent shock hazard, all three connections must ALWAYS be used.
From all of us at Madrigal Audio Laboratories, thank you for choosing the Mark Levinson® Nº38 Preamplifier. A great deal of effort went into the design and construction of this precision device. Used properly, it will give you many years of enjoyment.
Table of Contents Unpacking and Placement ........................................................................ 7 Placement ............................................................................................. 7 Ventilation .............................................................................................. 7 Unpacking .............................................................................................. 7 Nº38 bottom-panel label .................................................
Unpacking and Placement Unpacking Unpack your Nº38 Preamplifier and keep all packing materials for future transport. Locate and remove all accessory items from the cartons. Accessories include: 1 1 1 1 2 90° shielded AC power cord Nº38 remote control 5⁄64" Allen key 1⁄8" Allen key alkaline batteries for the remote control Carefully inspect the product for damage and flaws. If you find any, see your Mark Levinson dealer immediately.
Operating Voltage The Nº38 Preamplifier is set at the factory (internally) for 100V, 120V, 200V, 230V, 220V, or 240V AC mains operation @ 50 or 60Hz. (230V/ 50Hz only in European Union countries, in compliance with CE regulations.) This voltage setting cannot be changed by the user. Make sure that the label on the bottom panel of the Nº38 (adjacent to the AC cord) indicates the correct AC operating voltage for your location.
A Quick Start… We recognize that many people are understandably eager to begin listening to their new components, and that reading the manual is often done (if at all) at a later time—perhaps while listening to music through the new product itself. We strongly recommend that you read this manual thoroughly, as the Nº38 Preamplifier incorporates many unusual features which enhance its operation.
1 2 3 4 5 6 display intensity R inverted mode polarity MADRIGAL AUDIO LABORATORIES PREAMPLIFIER Nº 38 monitor mono 1 record select 2 3 7 balance 4 5 6 8 mute 9 standby 10 Front panel 1 DISPLAY INTENSITY BUTTON Cycles among four levels of brightness (including “off”) for the display, allowing adjustment for various ambient lighting conditions. When “off,” the display will turn on for a few seconds whenever a setting is changed.
operating modes is given by the Mode Indicators below the Alphanumeric Display. (See 3, above.) 5 INVERTED POLARITY INDICATOR The polarity (sometimes inaccurately called “absolute phase”) of the output of the Nº38 may be inverted via the Nº38 remote control, in which case this LED will light as confirmation. A second press of the Polarity button on the remote control will restore the polarity of the output to its original, non-inverted state.
1 2 3 4 right rec out 1 5 4 c o m m u n i c a t i o n slave external right rec out 2 p o r t s master left rec out 2 left rec out 1 PREAMPLIFIER Nº38 designed and manufactured in U.S.A.
If your system calls for multiple outputs from the Nº38 (as might be the case for “passive” biamplification, for example), you may use balanced Y-adaptors to split each balanced output into two balanced outputs. The low output impedance (6Ω) of the Nº38 can easily drive multiple power amplifiers. Biamplification 2 SINGLE-ENDED MAIN OUTPUTS Single-ended (“unbalanced”) outputs are provided for compatibility with a wide range of associated components, including power amplifiers and electronic crossovers.
5 SLAVE AND MASTER COMMUNICATOR PORTS These communications ports allow the Nº38 to “link” to certain compatible Mark Levinson components. (See “Linked Functions.”) The Mark Levinson Linking system uses a Digital Audio Processor as the Master of (and central clearinghouse for) inter-component communications. Other components such as digital transports are connected to the Master as “Slaves,” and can be “daisy-chained” using their Slave In and Slave Out jacks.
The RJ-45 cable needed for the Link connection between source components and the preamplifier may be purchased from your Mark Levinson dealer. It may also be easily and inexpensively made to length using two RJ-45 connectors and the appropriate length (up to 100 feet/30 meters) of RJ-45 (flat, eight conductor) cable. RJ-45 cables and connectors are used throughout the world for both telecommun-ications and computers, and are widely available at low cost.
Remote Control R MADRIGAL AUDIO LABORATORIES 1 2 3 4 5 mono polarity display mode 1 2 3 4 5 6 volume mute 1 MONO Pressing this button will toggle the Nº38 in and out of the Mono mode, having the same effect as pressing the front panel mono button. Mono mode activates circuitry which combines Left and Right input signals, and sends the resulting monophonic signal to both Left and Right outputs.
Set-up and Installation Connections and cables The Nº38 incorporates both RCA-type and XLR-type connectors for audio signal input and output. The Madrigal-designed RCA-type connectors used for single-ended audio interconnection are a great improvement over ordinary RCAtype connectors, offering superior contact integrity and mechanical locking when used in conjunction with the Madrigal cable-mounted RCAs.
Set-Up Overview The Nº38 Preamplifier has many provisions for custom-tailoring the system’s operation to match your preferences. The consistent method for modifying any of these settings is to enter a Set-Up mode by pressing and holding a button for several seconds; the setting is then modified, either by pressing a button or turning the volume knob; and then the new preference is confirmed by pressing and holding the original button again for several seconds.
The EQ Alias The EQ alias also deserves special mention: if your loudspeaker requires a dedicated equaliser for proper operation (or if you have any other reason for using an EQ much of the time), you may connect the outputs of the equalizer to the input named “EQ.” By “recording” the source you wish to listen to (selecting it on the record path), and montioring the EQ input, you will be able to run all signals through the equalizer prior at a line level.
You may elect not to use either Record Output with this particular device, as may be the case if you have several devices in your system that are capable of recording. In this case, leave the display on “RECD NONE” and move to Step 6. You may also select either Record Output 1 or 2 to be associated with this particular input. To do so, press the input button repeatedly until you see your choice of OUT1 or OUT2 in the display. (OUT1 is given as an example on the next page.
Programming Input Offsets The Nº38 allows you to adjust the relative outputs of your various sources with respect to one another, so as to avoid disturbing and/or potentially dangerous changes in output levels as you switch from one source to the next. These Input Offsets are made relative to whichever source tends to be the loudest—that is, you raise the outputs of the remaining sources to match that of your loudest source.
currently chosen input, and “2.8” indicates the current offset for that input. 6 PRESS AND HOLD THE MODE BUTTON AGAIN… until the display reads NEW DATA, as below. This indicates that your new Input Offset has been stored in nonvolatile memory. As a result, this new setting will survive power outages and other interruptions in AC power to the preamp. You may wish to repeat this process in order to refine your settings.
In effect, you are setting the Input Offset of this input to remember an absolute volume setting (whatever it was before you held the Mode button down) rather than a relative setting (that is, relative to the current playback volume). 5 PRESS AND HOLD THE MODE BUTTON AGAIN… until the display reads NEW DATA. This indicates that your new Automatic Output Level has been stored in non-volatile memory. Your Nº38 will now automatically return to this volume setting whenever this input is selected.
2 ADJUST THE VOLUME KNOB TO YOUR PREFERRED SETTING You may select any value between -1 and -60 decibels (inclusive), in one-decibel increments. 3 PRESS AND HOLD THE MUTE BUTTON AGAIN When the display reads NEW DATA, the Nº38 will have saved your new setting in non-volatile memory. The Mute button will toggle you back and forth between the “Normal” playback level and a level which is as many decibels below that level as you have elected to use as your Mute function.
Standby Timer In a similar fashion, the user of a Nº38 or Nº38S can elect to have the preamplifier (and the entire system, if Linked) go into standby after a certain period of time, much like a “Sleep Timer” on many alarm clocks. To engage the Standby Timer on the Nº38/S: 1. press and hold the standby button until the display reads TIME OFF. 2. turn the volume knob to select a time between 1 and 120 minutes. (Example: TIME 60 would turn off the system in an hour.) 3.
Operational Modes The Monitor Mode The majority of time you spend with your Nº38 will be spent in the Monitor mode. In this mode, the display indicates the alias of the input you have selected and the listening volume (in decibels). The Output Control acts as a volume knob, increasing or decreasing the volume in 0.1 dB increments above 39.0 (with gradually increasing increments below this low level). The Input Selection buttons select the source to be listened to at any point in time.
display will alternatively read the alias of the chosen input and “RECD OFF” as shown below. Defeating the Record Outputs eliminates even the possibility that the input impedance of a recording device could have an effect on the sound quality of the preamplifier. We recommend that Record Outputs be turned OFF when not in use.
Using Surround Sound Processors The Nº38 Preamplifier incorporates a special surround sound processor mode which makes it uniquely capable of integrating the highest performance audio with surround sound—that is, dual-purpose music and movie systems. In order to better understand the value of this design, it is essential to understand a bit about the nature of a Dolby Pro-Logic Surround™ decoder.
Surround sound processors should not be in a tape loop The last remaining alternative would seem to be to insert the decoder “within” a preamplifier by hooking it up in a tape loop. Unfortunately, this set-up returns the Left and Right outputs of the decoder to the preamplifier, where they can be inappropriately changed without changing the Center and Surround outputs. It is therefore inappropriate to place surround sound decoders in a tape loop.
Noise in A/V systems Ground Isolation Adaptor In some cases, connecting your audio and video systems together in this fashion can result in noise, typically a 60 Hz or 120 Hz hum. The most common cause for this noise is a “ground loop” caused by the presence of two ground references in the system: one from the power company and another from the cable-television company.
Linked Functions The Nº38 has the ability to “link” several of its functions to certain compatible Mark Levinson components (such as the Nº30 and Nº35 digital processors and the Nº31 CD transport). Note: to take advantage of linked functions, you must connect the Nº38 to the other, compatible Mark Levinson components via their communication ports. (See “Rear Panel” and “Set-up and Installation.
Care and maintenance To remove dust from the cabinet of the Nº38, use a feather duster. To remove dirt and fingerprints, we recommend isopropyl alcohol and a soft cloth. Apply the alcohol to the cloth first and then lightly clean the surface of the Nº38, going with the grain of the brushed aluminum. PRECAUTION 32 At no time should liquid cleaners be applied directly to the Nº38, as direct application of liquids may result in damage to electronic components within the unit.
U.S. and Canadian Warranty 90-Day Limited Warranty Five Year Extended Warranty This Mark Levinson® product is warranted to be free from defects in material and workmanship under normal use for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of purchase. To extend the warranty of this Mark Levinson product, return the warranty registration card along with a copy of the original receipt of purchase to Madrigal Audio Laboratories, Inc., P. O. Box 781, Middletown, CT 06457.
Obtaining Service We take great pride in our dealers. Experience, dedication, and integrity make these professionals ideally suited to assist with our customers’ service needs. If your Mark Levinson component must be serviced, please contact your dealer. Your dealer will then decide whether the problem can be remedied locally, or whether to contact Madrigal for further service information or parts, or to obtain a Return Authorization.
Specifications The correlation between published specifications and sonic quality is unreliable. A list of numbers reveals virtually nothing. All technical measurements must be subject to qualitative as well as quantitative interpretation. Measurements of the Nº38 yield excellent results by any standards. However, only those specifications that apply to its actual operation are included here.
Dimensions 13.38" 34 cm 0.425" 1.1 cm 7.68" 19.5 cm 2.85" 7.24 cm Dimensions, Nº38, top view 0.10" 2.00" 5.1 cm 4.45" 11.3 cm 7.34" 18.6 cm 2.00" 5.1 cm 15.55" 39.5 cm 11.55" 29.3 cm 1.19" 3 cm 0.875" 2.2 cm 6.5" 16.5 cm 15.75" 40 cm 7.34" 18.6 cm 2.00" 5.1 cm 0.10" 2.5 mm 0.925" 2.3 cm 13.38" 34 cm Dimensions, Nº38, side view 2.96" 7.5 cm 3.76" 9.5 cm 2.00" 5.1 cm 3.125" 7.9 cm (AC input) 2.25" 5.7 cm 36 0.08" 2 mm 2.25" 5.7 cm 0.08" 2 mm 0.5" 1.
MADRIGAL AUDIO LABORATORIES 2081 South Main Street, P.O. Box 781 Middletown, Connecticut 06457 USA Telephone: (860) 346-0896 Fax: (860) 346-1540 http://www.madrigal.com/ ® is a registered trademark of Madrigal Audio Laboratories, Inc. a Harman International company 630124-6 ©1/1997 Madrigal Audio Laboratories, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A.
