Operating Manual Mark Levinson® Nº 333 Nº 332 Nº 331 Dual Monaural Power Amplifiers 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 Mark Levinson® power amplifier. 1. ALWAYS disconnect your entire system from the AC mains before connecting or disconnecting any cables, or when cleaning any component. 2. This product must be terminated 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. 3.
Table of Contents Unpacking Your Amplifier ........................................................................... 6 Warm up/break-in period ................................................................................. 6 Placement Considerations ......................................................................... 7 Ventilation ........................................................................................................... 7 Operating Voltage, Nº333 .................................
Unpacking Your Amplifier Warning! Under no circumstances should you consider unpacking your amplifier without adequate assistance, as both personal injury and damage to the product is likely unless you follow the procedures listed below. The shipping weight of your Dual Monaural Power Amplifier is over 100 lbs. (45 kg)—the Nº333, for example, weighs in at 150 pounds (68 kg)! Any freight this massive must be handled with extreme care to avoid injury.
Placement Considerations PRECAUTION For your protection, review “Important Safety Instructions” and “Operating Voltage” before you install your amplifier. Your Mark Levinson 300-series power amplifier is specifically designed to stand on the floor, and must be used as a freestanding unit. In most installations, locating it near the loudspeakers is best.
Operating Voltage, Nº333 Your Mark Levinson Dual Monaural Power Amplifier is characterized by its remarkable ability to pass a musical signal with utter integrity, regardless of how demanding that signal and the loudspeakers used might be. When called upon to do so, your amplifier is capable of generating truly prodigious power levels into virtually any speaker load, on either an instantaneous or a continuous basis.
The power demands that a single Nº 333 might conceivably make when being used to reproduce music with actual loudspeakers are substantially lower, safely within the normal abilities of 100V and 120V, 15 ampere lines. Still, for the best possible performance with extremely difficult loads, we recommend installing a dedicated AC line for the amplifier with 30-ampere capability. The operating voltage of the Nº 333 cannot be changed by the user, and any attempt to do so will void the warranty.
Operating Voltage, Nº332 & Nº331 Your Mark Levinson Dual Monaural Power Amplifier is characterized by its remarkable ability to pass a musical signal with utter integrity, regardless of how demanding that signal and the loudspeakers used might be. When called upon to do so, your amplifier is capable of generating truly prodigious power levels into virtually any speaker load, on either an instantaneous or a continuous basis.
Nº 331 AC mains maximum current requirements 100V 120V 200V 210V 220V 230V 240V .1 .09 .05 .047 .045 .043 .042 Standby 1.08 0.90 0.54 0.52 0.49 0.47 0.45 On, at idle 2.60 2.20 1.32 1.26 1.20 1.15 1.10 100w @ 8Ω* 7.32 6.10 3.66 3.48 3.33 3.20 3.05 200w @ 4Ω* 12.4 10.4 6.20 5.90 5.63 5.40 5.17 400w @ 2Ω* 21.5 18.0 10.8 10.3 9.80 9.40 8.98 Off * power ratings are continuous (rms) with less than 0.5% THD, from 20-20,000 Hz.
Special Design Features Congratulations on your purchase of a Mark Levinson Nº 300-series Dual Monaural Power Amplifier. While your new amplifier is straightforward in its everyday use, it includes several design features which are responsible for its outstanding performance. In particular, your new Dual Monaural power amplifier defies the accepted wisdom that it is impossible to design a large, powerful amplifier that also has all of the finesse of the finest smaller amplifiers.
test of the Nº333 at maximum power requires about 45 amperes at 120V. (The laws of physics refuse to be cheated. Long-term, you cannot deliver more power into the speaker than you can pull from the wall.) Thirty-two TO-3 output transistors are distributed in the heatsinks of the Nº 333 to conduct and control the flow of its remarkable power capabilities to the loudspeaker. There are eight matched, complementary pairs of output transistors in each channel of the amplifier.
In addition, the AC input to each transformer is fused to protect against excessive current conditions such as driving shorted outputs. Inrush limiting prevents premature aging of power supply components during power-up, and switches offline once the power supply has been charged. Finally, your amplifier incorporates a controlled clipping circuit that prevents the output devices from saturating.
R MADRIGAL AUDIO LABORATORIES Nº 333 DUAL MONAURAL POWER AMPLIFIER 2 1 Front Panel 1 STANDBY BUTTON When power is first applied to the power amplifier (if yours is a CE-certified unit, this means plugging it in and turning on the rear panel AC mains switch), the amplifier remains off. Pressing the front panel standby button will bring the amplifier from off to standby.
2 1 DUAL MONAURAL POWER AMPLIFIER Nº 333 inputs inputs 6 communication ports remote turn-on jacks ~ac mains 5 4 3 Rear Panel Caution! Turn the volume on your preamplifier all the way down before attempting to connect anything to your Mark Levinson power amplifier. 1 BALANCED AUDIO INPUT Accepts a signal from a preamplifier with balanced outputs via a high quality XLR connector.
2 SINGLE-ENDED INPUTS These RCA connectors accept single-ended inputs from preamplifiers with single-ended (RCA) outputs. Single-ended input signals are converted to balanced signals immediately upon being received at the amplifier, and are handled as balanced signals thereafter. If your preamplifier does not support balanced connection to the power amplifier, connect the single-ended output of your preamplifier to the RCA input on the amplifier.
In addition, should a fault condition cause any amplifier’s protection circuitry to activate, it can report the nature of the problem to a linked Mark Levinson preamplifier via this communications link. If this occurs, the preamplifier will display the number of the amplifier at fault (AMP1 being the first amplifier in the daisy chain, AMP2 being the second amplifier, and so on).
5 Caution! SPEAKER BINDING POSTS The Mark Levinson 300-series amplifiers are equipped with custom made, gold-plated, high-current binding posts for output termination to a loudspeaker system. To take full advantage of the amplifier’s sonic quality, we recommend using high-quality speaker cable; please see your Mark Levinson dealer. NEVER connect a power amplifier’s output terminals to any device other than a loudspeaker. NEVER short-circuit the amplifier’s output terminals.
6 AC MAINS CORD AND AC MAINS SWITCH Conventional IEC standard power cords cannot be used in the Nº 333, due to the potential current requirements of Nº 333 when operating into low impedance loads. (The highest available current rating for an IEC standard three-conductor connector such as is used on most stereo equipment, including other Mark Levinson products, is 16 amperes.) Instead, the Nº 333 incorporates a high current AC cord which is attached directly to the amplifier itself.
Two fast-acting 30 ampere fuses are located inside the Nº 333, on the AC mains module. The Nº332 uses two 15 ampere slo-blo fuses, and the Nº331 uses two 10 ampere slo-blo fuses. The protection circuitry has been designed such that only a catastrophic failure could cause these fuses to blow. As a result, if you suspect that your AC fuses have blown, disconnect your amplifier from the AC mains and contact your Mark Levinson dealer for assistance. Do not attempt to replace these fuses yourself.
Bridged Operation Your Mark Levinson amplifier has been designed to be extremely versatile. Should your needs change or grow over time, you may wish to add additional power by one of two means: Bridging, or Biamping. We will discuss bridged operation first. Bridging Explained Bridging refers to the act of reconfiguring the circuitry in both the left and right channels of your amplifier to act as though it were a single, much larger amplifier.
The “normal” leg of the Madrigal Balanced Bridging Input Adapter will be marked with a red stripe to indicate positive polarity, and the inverted leg will be marked with a black stripe to indicate inverted polarity (corresponding to the red and black terminals of your loudspeaker). The Balanced Bridging Output Adapter is simply a single, heavy gauge bus bar, used to strap two of the output ground terminals together.
3 CONNECT ONE END OF THE BALANCED BRIDGING OUTPUT ADAPTER TO TWO SIDE-BY-SIDE BLACK OUTPUT TERMINALS All Mark Levinson amplifiers have two sets of output terminals per channel, wired in parallel (for convenience when biwiring). You may use either the upper or the lower black output terminals. Connect one end of the Balanced Bridging Output Adapter to a black output terminal on one side of the amplifier, and then connect the other end to a black output terminal on the other side of the amplifier.
Single-Ended Bridging Kit Single-Ended Bridging Input Adapter (pin configuration) Male XLR Output (normal) Pin 1: signal ground Pin 2: signal + (non-inverting) Pin 3: signal ground 1 2 3 Female RCA Input Skirt: signal ground Center: signal + (non-inverting) 1 2 3 Male XLR Output (inverted) Pin 1: signal ground Pin 2: signal ground Pin 3: signal + (non-inverting) Bridging Output Adapter (not drawn to scale) The “normal” leg of the Madrigal Single-Ended Bridging Input Adapter will be marked with a red
Single-Ended Bridged Input Connection 26
Biamplification In contrast to bridged operation (wherein a two channel amplifier is “fooled” into behaving as a single, larger amplifier), biamplification makes use of a two-channel amplifier to drive different portions of a single loudspeaker. As with bridging, it offers a modular way of increasing the overall performance of your system (if your loudspeakers support biamplification).
Passive biamping wiring diagram 28
Care & Maintenance To remove dust from the cabinet of your amplifier, use a feather duster or a lintfree soft cloth. To remove dirt and fingerprints, we recommend isopropyl alcohol and a soft cloth. Dampen the cloth with alcohol first and then lightly clean the surface of the amplifier with the cloth. Do not use excessive amounts of alcohol that might drip off the cloth and into the amplifier.
U.S. and Canadian Warranty 90-Day Limited 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 performance is unreliable. Measurements of the your amplifier yield excellent results by any standards. However, only those specifications that apply to its actual operation are included here. All specifications are subject to change at any time, in order to improve the product.
Dimensions: Nº 333 & Nº332 9.85" 25 cm 3.86" 9.8 cm 0.425" 1.1 cm 3.86" 9.8 cm R MADRIGAL AUDIO LABORATORIES Nº 333 DUAL MONAURAL POWER AMPLIFIER 9.0" 22.9 cm 0.45" 1.14 0.425" 1.1 cm 17.56" 44.6 cm 18.85" 47.88 cm 0.257" 6.53mm 3.825" 9.72cm 9.91" 25.17cm 17.38" 44.15cm 1.22" 3.1cm 3.825" 9.72cm 8.05" 20.45cm 2.75" 6.99cm 8.05" 21.
Dimensions: Nº 333 & Nº332 (cont.) 18.85" 47.88 cm 17.38" 44.15 cm 1.25" 3.16 cm 0.23" 58 mm 10.3" 26.16 cm 0.45" 1.14 cm 19.11" 48.
Dimensions: Nº 331 3.86" 9.8 cm 3.86" 9.8 cm 9.85" 25 cm R MADRIGAL AUDIO LABORATORIES Nº 331 DUAL MONAURAL POWER AMPLIFIER 9.0" 22.9 cm 0.31" .78 cm 2.23" 5.66 cm 14.36" 36.47 cm 17.56" 44.6 cm 18.85" 47.88 cm 0.257" 6.53mm 3.825" 9.72cm 9.91" 25.17cm 17.38" 44.15cm 1.22" 3.1cm 3.825" 9.72cm 8.05" 20.45cm 2.75" 6.99cm 8.05" 21.
Dimensions: Nº 331 (cont.) 0.23" 58 mm 18.85" 47.88 cm 9.31" 23.6 cm 0.45" 1.14 cm 2.23" 5.6 cm 2.23" 5.6 cm 19.11" 48.
Madrigal Audio Laboratories, Inc. 2081 South Main Street, P.O. Box 781 Middletown, Connecticut 06457 USA Telephone: (860) 346-0896 Fax: (860) 346-1540 http://www.madrigal.com/ R MADRIGAL AUDIO LABORATORIES is a registered trademark of Madrigal Audio Laboratories, Inc. a Harman International company 630319-2 © 6/1998 Madrigal Audio Laboratories, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A.