Altmann BYOB Owner's manual

CUSTOMER INFORMATION
DIPL.-ING. CHARLES ALTMANN · AM MÜHLENBUSCH 57 · 42781 HAAN · GERMANY · PHONE [phone]
CONGRATULATIONS
You’ve just become the proud owner of the Altmann BYOB amplifier.
When people come up to compliment you on your sound, you can smile knowingly ... and hopefully you’ll tell them a little
about us!
This BYOB amplifier has been designed, tested, improved, tested again and refined to deliver maximum musical perfor-
mance of any style, in any situation.
VIBRATIONAL OPTIMIZATION
The Altmann BYOB amplifier is vibrationally optimized. Unlike other hifi-components that come in a bad sounding enclosu-
re, your Altmann BYOB amplifier is tightly fastened on a solid spruce board, which is treated with natural wood resins.
The idea is simple: „As we cannot prevent subtle vibrations from entering our hifi-system, let’s just give them a better sound
character.“
BATTERY POWER & CHARGING
The Altmann BYOB amplifier relies on battery-power as it is the only source of clean power. It thus completely avoids many
disturbing problems that normally arise with mains powered equipment.
Your Altmann BYOB amplifier is designed to be powered by a 12V car battery, which you supply (Bring-Your-Own-Bat-
tery). We did all our tests with a „Optima Red-Top“ lead-acid battery, which is also non-spillable. Technically, you can also
use a gel-battery, it may, however, sound different.
A car battery is designed to be charged with a car battery charger. You can get that part locally & low cost from almost
any car supply shop. Always disconnect the BYOB before connecting the charger.
The blue LED indicates battery charge. It will light bright with full charge, and will go off, if the battery charge drops below
10 Volts. Please load your battery, when the blue LED goes dim.
BURN-IN & AGEING
Every BYOB-product is manufactured on a customs basis after the reception of your order. As it comes fresh, please allow
a couple of weeks for burn-in and settlement of the lacquer and wood.
As wood is a living material, it will naturally age, of course not in a degenerative but in a positive sense. As with any musi-
cal instrument, it must be played to develop its sound. The same is true for your BYOB amplifier. The more you play it, the
better it gets.
GUARANTEE & SAFETY
Every Altmann BYOB product is covered by a 5 years guarantee when treated according to the operational instructions:
If it fails, I will repair it for free, no other claims possible.
A car battery is a harmless and safe device, as long as you observe the safety precautions printed on the operational in-
structions. However, if you do any nonsense with it, like shorting the two output poles or your battery with a screwdriver or
any other piece of metal or wire, the experience may become very hot and/or explosive and/or acidic. Please treat your
battery with the proper respect and keep it out of the reach of your children.
PERFORMANCE STANDARD
The performance standard of your BYOB amplifier is A Performance Standard.
Happy listening...
ALTMANN
MICRO MACHINES
ALTMANN BYOB - BRING YOUR OWN BATTERY -
AMPLIFIER
www.altmann.haan.de www.jitter.de www.mother-of-tone.com

ALTMANN
MICRO MACHINES
DIPL.-ING. CHARLES ALTMANN
AM MÜHLENBUSCH 57
42781 HAAN • GERMANY
Phone: [phone]
Altmann BYOB - Bring Your Own Battery -
Stereo Amplifier www.altmann.haan.de
www.jitter.de
www.mother-of-tone.com
ALTMANN BYOB
R
L
R
L
Off
On
Power Switch
Input Right Channel
Input Left Channel
10
Power Input Socket
Charge Status LED
Full charge -> bright
Low charge -> dim
Below 10V -> off
Module and Circuit Screws -> do not remove, do not loosen.
Output Right Channel
negative
positive
Output Left Channel
negative
positive
Volume Control
Fuse 10 Amps
Check polarity before connecting to battery.
Before charging battery, always disconnect BYOB amplifier from battery.
Power On & Plus
Indicator
+ Plus, Red
- Minus, Black

ALTMANN BYOB - BRING YOUR OWN BATTERY - AMPLIFIER
OPERATIONAL & SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS
DIPL.-ING. CHARLES ALTMANN · AM MÜHLENBUSCH 57 · 42781 HAAN · GERMANY · PHONE [phone]
Checklist:
• If you barely know the difference between a plus pole and a minus pole, let someone help you to do the job.
• A car battery is a very powerful device. Please never short circuit the plus and minus pole of your battery, as it
may become very hot, or even explode. Keep any metal objects that are not needed for operation away from
the battery. Keep the battery out of the reach of children.
• Please use only a 12V car battery. Do not use a 24 Volt truck battery.
• Please use only a car battery charger that is designed to charge 12 V car batteries.
• Before connecting a battery charger to the battery, disconnect the power cable from the BYOB amplifier.
Reconnect only after disconnecting the battery charger from the battery.
• The blue LED of the BYOB amplifier indicates the battery charge. It lights bright when the battery is fully
charged (12V). If it lights dim, the battery charge is about 10..11 Volt. The blue LED goes off, when the battery
charge is below 10 Volt. Please charge the battery, when the blue LED is off or dim or if it softly blinks with the
music being played.
• Every Altmann BYOB product needs to be connected with the proper polarity. Each BYOB amp comes with a
battery cable, that is tested together with your BYOB amp before shipping, and is in the right polarity. The
battery cable has a red (+, plus) wire and a black (-, minus, ground) wire. The red wire is connected to the plus
battery pole clamp, which has a large pole diameter. The black wire is connected to the minus battery pole
clamp, which has a small pole diameter. This way, when connecting the clamps to a standard car battery, you
cannot change the polarity since the large pole clamp only fits the large diameter plus-pole of the battery, and
vice versa. The other end of the supplied battery cable is screwed to the byob connector in the right
polarity, and can only be plugged into the amp with the right polarity. So unless you behave very stupid, you
cannot do anything wrong. If, for any reason, you change or modify the battery cable and reverse the polarity,
you will smoke your BYOB amp immediately. This is not covered by the guarantee.
• Any Altmann BYOB product is sensible to humidity and fluids. If it comes in contact with any fluid (i.e. water,
beer, wine, oil, etc.) it may fail. This is not covered by the guarantee.
• Any Altmann BYOB product is sensible to overvoltage. The maximum voltage is 18 Volt. This is especially
important, when you charge the battery. Always, before you connect a charger to the battery, disconnect the
BYOB. Reconnect the BYOB only after having disconnected the charger.
• Do never connect or touch the speaker output posts with any cable that is not a speaker cable, as all speaker
posts may carry voltage (half of the supply voltage) with respect to battery ground (because of the bridged
operation of the amplifier). A simple rule to prevent this: Always switch the BYOB amplifier OFF, when you
want to connect or disconnect something.
• Do not connect any part of the circuit board with any cable or metal object.
• If you remove or loosen any of the screws that fix the BYOB circuit to the spruce board, the guarantee is void.
• If you fail to observe the above precautions, and fry your BYOB, I will try to repair it at a reasonable cost.
• If the output sounds distorted for any time, please turn the volume down, in order to prevent damage to your speakers.
The amp may clip, when the battery is weak or not charged, or you are simply too loud, or your speakers efficiency is
very low. Don’t panic. You can attain crazy levels of volume and sound quality with the right speaker.
Connection Sequence: Toggle BYOB power switch in the OFF-position. Connect the speakers to the BYOB amp’s speaker
posts. Speaker polarity is indicated. Connect the RCA input to the BYOB’s RCA inputs. Connect the battery pole clamps of the
power cable to the battery. Connect the other end of the power cable to the BYOB’s power input socket. Turn volume fully down
(anti-clock-wise). Toggle BYOB power switch in the ON-position -> blue LED lights up. Start source (i.e. CD, tape, phono). Turn
volume up a little. Enjoy...
ALTMANN
MICRO MACHINES
AMM reserves the right to make changes without further notice to any products herein to improve reliability, function or design.

Limited Warranty:
ALTMANN MICRO MACHINES („AMM“) warrants to you as an end-user purchaser AMM Hardware Products against defects in material
and workmanship for a period of FIVE (5) YEARS from the date of original manufacturing, as indicated on the guarantee certificate.
If you discover a defect, AMM will, at its option, repair, replace, or refund the purchase price of this product at no charge to you,
provided you return it during the warranty period, with transportation charges prepaid, to the authorized AMM dealer from whom you
purchased it, or directly to AMM Germany.
To each product returned for warranty service, please attach your name, address, telephone number, error description, and the original
guarantee certificate bearing the appropriate AMM serial numbers as proof of original retail purchase.
AMM does not warrant any products that are not AMM products. This warranty does not apply if the product has been damaged by
accident, abuse, misuse, or misapplication; if the product has been modified without the permission of AMM; if any AMM serial number
has been removed or defaced, or if the original guarantee certificate is lost or not available.
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WRITTEN, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. AMM SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING,
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DIPL.-ING. CHARLES ALTMANN · AM MÜHLENBUSCH 57 · 42781 HAAN · GERMANY · PHONE [phone]
ALTMANN
MICRO MACHINES
ALTMANN MICRO MACHINES
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