Specifications

Page 4
OPERATION
THE ESL AMPLIFIER IS DESIGNED
TO BE LEFT "ON" CONTINUALLY.
It is extremely efficient. It only draws six watts
at idle (less than most preamps), so feels cool
and does not waste electricity. Although there is
a power switch on the back panel, the amplifier
is designed to be left on continually. Electronics
last longer when they are left on, as repeatedly
switching them on and off is stressful to them.
You can expect an indefinite life-span if you just
leave it on.
Check that the cables are properly phased (that
the cables are connected to the red and black
terminals on the speakers and amplifier
identically for both channels). Out-of-phase
connections will result in an image that is diffuse
and directionless rather than having pin-point
precision.
Some preamplifiers produce large turn-on and
turn-off DC voltages, which you will hear as a
“thump.” If your preamplifier does this, be aware
that these surges probably will briefly drive the
amplifier to full output. When an amplifier has
as much power as the ESL Amp, such voltage
surges can damage speakers and/or blow fuses.
Well-designed preamps won't do this, but it is
surprising how many expensive preamplifiers
have this problem.
To avoid such problems, turn on your
preamplifier first. Within five seconds, solid
state preamplifiers will have stabilized so you
can safely turn on the ESL amplifier. If your
preamplifier uses vacuum tubes, you should wait
a full minute before turning on the amplifier.
When turning off the system, turn off the
amplifier first, wait about a half minute for the
power supply capacitors to mostly discharge,
then turn off the preamplifier. An excellent way
to avoid this cumbersome start-up and turn-off
procedure is to always leave your preamplifier
and amplifier on.
OUTPUT FUSE REPLACEMENT
The amplifier has an 8-amp, fast-blow, output
fuse for each channel. These are located on the
back panel near the red speaker binding posts.
The amplifier will deliver over 600
watts/channel on music when using these fuses.
If you have relatively delicate speakers, you may
wish to replace these fuses with 2 amp, fast-blow
fuses to protect your tweeters. These fuses are
American AGC types, which are standard fuses
that measure
1
/
4
" diameter by 1-
1
/
4
" long. Two
spare fuses are supplied with the amplifier.
If you should blow a fuse, you may access the
fuse by pressing firmly inward on the cap and
turning it
1
/
4
turn counter-clockwise (bayonet
type). The cap will then spring out and can be
removed, the fuse replaced, and the cap
reinstalled.
You should never blow a fuse. If this occurs, you
should find the problem and correct it. Note that
by far the most common cause of blown fuses is
changing speaker cables while leaving the
amplifier on. It is hard to avoid touching the two
cable ends together when changing cables, and
shorting the cables will usually blow the fuse. So
always turn the amplifier off and wait 30 seconds
for the capacitors to discharge before changing
cables.
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