Conrad-johnson design Premier Ten User manual

Congratulations on your purchase of the conrad-johnson Premier Ten
vacuumtubeline-stagepreamplifier.Youhaveacquiredoneofthefinest
pieces of music reproduction equipment available today. The result of
more than a decade of research by conrad-johnson design into the
application of vacuum tube devices to the reproduction of recorded
music, the Premier Ten was designed to establish the reference stand-
ard among line-stage preamplifiers for reproducing the dynamics, to-
nalities, textures and ambience of a live musical performance. The
design and materials have been carefully selected to yield years of
unvarying excellence.
Please take a few minutes to read this manual so that you will better
understand the features and capabilities of your Premier Ten. NOTE
THAT THE PREMIER TEN IS PHASE INVERTING. See the section
entitled "Getting the most from your Premier Ten" for details on correct
hookup in your system.
Premier Ten Owner’s Manual 1

LIMITED WARRANTY FOR THE conrad-johnson Premier
Ten
1. conrad-johnson design, inc. warrants to the original purchaser that
the PremierTen willbe freeof defectsin materialsand workmanshipfor
a period of three years from the date of original purchase.
2. conrad-johnson will repair defective units without charge for labor or
parts (with the exception of the vacuum tubes) subject to the following
conditions:
a) The unit must not have been altered or damaged through
misuse, abuse, negligence, accident, or improper operation.
b) The purchaser must provide evidence of purchase at the time
service is requested.
c) All repairs must be undertaken at the factory or other service
center designated by conrad-johnson design, inc. Units submitted
for warranty repairs must be shipped in the factory packing carton
to conrad-johnson design or its designated service center, freight
and insurance prepaid by the owner, and will be returned to the
owner, freight and insurance prepaid by conrad-johnson design.
Replacement cartons are available from the factory for a nominal
charge.
d) Normal wear and maintenance are not covered by this warranty.
3. The above warranty may be transferred to subsequent owners pro-
vided that the warranty registration card has been returned to conrad-
johnson design, inc. within 30 days of the original purchase and that the
registered owner provides the factory with a signed notice giving the
newowner’s nameand address andthe modeland serialnumber of the
unit.
4. Where permitted by law, conrad-johnson design’s liability shall be
limited to that set forth in this warranty. No other warranty of any kind,
expressed or implied, is made by conrad- johnson design, inc., and all
implied warranties, including merchantability and fitness for a particular
"purpose", which exceed the obligations and time limits set forth herein
are hereby disclaimed. conrad-johnson design, inc. shall not be liable
for incidental or consequential damages. Some states do not allow the
exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, or limita-
tions on how long an implied warranty lasts, so the above limitations or
exclusions may not apply to you.
Premier Ten Owner’s Manual 2

4. This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have
other rights which vary from state to state. Questions about warranty
service should be addressed to:
Service Department
conrad-johnson design, inc.
2733 Merrilee Drive
Fairfax, VA 22031
REGISTERING THE WARRANTY
Please return the enclosed card to the factory within 30 days of pur-
chasetoregisterthewarranty.Thewarrantymaybetransferredtoanew
owner if it has been properly registered initially and if the registered
owner sends a signed notice providing the name and address of the
new owner and the model and serial number of the unit.
Proper registration of the warranty is important! Not only will it preserve
transferability of your warranty, it will also enable us to inform you of any
alterations in the design of a given model and of any new products we
offer which are likely to be of interest to you.
Premier Ten Owner’s Manual 3

INSTALLATION
The Premier Ten dissipates a significant amount of heat (approximately
20 watts). Accordingly, proper attention should be paid to ventilation.
The unit should be mounted horizontally on a flat hard surface so that
the ventilation holes in the bottom are unobstructed. At least two inches
of clearance should be provided above the unit and the cabinet or shelf
should be open at the back. Vertical installation is not recommended.
To minimize hum pickup, keep the unit well away from the power
amplifier, and route power cords away from input cables.
The Premier Ten requires an ac power line providing between 108 and
125 volts at 50 to 60 Hz. Alternatively, the Premier Ten is optionally
available for operation on 100, 220, or 240 volt power lines.
CONNECTION
AUX/PH, TUNER, CD, TAPE 1, TAPE 2: These high level inputs are
electrically equivalent. They present a 17k ohm load to the source. The
outputs of your tape recorders should be connected to TAPE 1 and
TAPE 2 connectors.
RECORD 1, RECORD 2: The record outputs connect the selected
signaltoyourtaperecordersorexternalprocessingloop(eg.equalizer).
This output signal is not affected by the level and balance controls.
Connect to the inputs of your tape recorders or external processors.
OUTPUT: Connect to the input of your amplifier (or crossover in a
bi-amplified system). We recommend the use of an amplifier with an
input impedance of 20k ohms or higher. Since the Premier Ten inverts
phase, it may be necessary to invert the speaker leads to maintain
correctabsolute phase. See thesection on "Getting themost out of your
Premier Ten" for an explanation of this.
Premier Ten Owner’s Manual 4

USE OF EXTERNAL TONE CONTROLS OR OTHER
EXTERNAL SIGNAL PROCESSING DEVICES:
Use Tape 1 and Record 1 for your tape recorder. Connect the output of
the tone controls to Tape 2 and the input of the tone controls to Record
2. To use the tone controls, select Tape 2 on the Source Selector and
use the Record Selector to select phono, tuner, cd or tape 1. By
selecting the input directly on the source selector, the tone control
processor will be bypassed.
Premier Ten Owner’s Manual 5

CONTROLS
OFF, POWER: Because of the delayed warmup characteristics of vac-
uum tube equipment, a time delay muting circuit is incorporated in this
preamplifier. All outputs are grounded via relays for approximately 90
seconds after the unit is turned on in order to suppress warm-up
transient noises. During this muting period, and any time that the mute
button is depressed, the red mute indicator led will flash. The muting
relay also grounds the outputs immediately at turn-off or in the event of
any power line interruption.
SOURCE SELECTOR: AUX/PH, TUNER, CD, TAPE 1, TAPE 2: This
selector switch is used to choose an input for listening.
RECORD SELECTOR: AUX/PH, TUNER, CD, TAPE 1, TAPE 2.: This
control selects the signal to the record outputs, allowing the user to
record one source while listening to another.
BALANCE: This control is an eleven position stepped attenuator, ad-
justing the channel balance in approximately .75 dB steps. The maxi-
mum attenuation is under 4 dB, so both channels will be present even
in the extreme positions. In normal use the control will be centered.
LEVEL: The Premier Ten volume control is a twenty-three position
stepped attenuator, selecting among twenty-three pairs of precision
resistors for each channel.
Premier Ten Owner’s Manual 6

VACUUM TUBE REPLACEMENT
The Premier Ten uses four vacuum tubes, all 6GK5s. This type has
beencarefully chosenfor itsparticular circuitapplication. Itis wellknown
that tubes of a given type vary sonically depending on the manufacturer.
We have chosen the brands of tubes we supply based on extensive
auditioning of available brands with the choices being made solely on
the basis of sonic performance without regard for either cost or prestige.
We know of no vacuum tubes available which will improve the sonic
performance of your Premier Ten. In addition, the tubes in your pream-
plifier have been tempered by a controlled burn-in procedure that
permits them to perform for a greatly extended period without sonic
degradation. We anticipate two to three years of operation without
degradation in normal use. The tubes have also been hand selected to
achieve the minimum residual noise in your preamplifier. Therefore, we
highly recommend that you purchase replacement tube sets from
conrad-johnson design.
Premier Ten Owner’s Manual 7

GETTING THE MOST FROM YOUR PREMIER
TEN
The conrad-johnson Premier Ten offers an unparalleled level of sophis-
tication and refinement in music reproduction, but it cannot transform an
inferior stereo system. Only high quality amplifiers and loudspeaker
systems will be capable of fully revealing the capabilities of this preci-
sion instrument.
Given a system of high quality components, there remain a number of
important details which must be attended to.
ABSOLUTE PHASE
Musical notes are heard through the ear’s response to waves of alter-
nating rise and fall of air pressure. Musical transients are almost exclu-
sively positive: that is, the initial effect is a rise in pressure. The ear is
capable of distinguishing these positive transients from the musically
unnatural alternative of a negative transient (an initial fall in air pres-
sure). In terms of your stereo system, these transients are created by
your loudspeakers. If the speakers respond to musical transients by first
moving out, they are creating a rise in pressure, and the system is said
to be "phase correct". If they respond by moving in, they create a fall in
pressure and the system is said to be phase inverting. Each component
inthe stereo systemis either phasecorrect or phaseinverting (including
the source and speakers-these are normally phase correct). It is of no
consequence if an individual component is phase inverting, as long as
the system as a whole is phase correct. This will be the case as long as
the number of phase inversions is even (or zero).
THE PREMIER TEN IS PHASE INVERTING. If your system has an odd
number of inversions, then you must add one phase inversion. This will
be the case if the Premier Ten is the only unit in the chain that inverts
phase. THIS IS CONVENIENTLY DONE BY REVERSING THE POSI-
TIVE AND NEGATIVE CONNECTIONS TO YOUR SPEAKERS (be
sure to reverse both channels).
If you are not sure about the phase of every piece in your system, you
can establish correct absolute phase by careful listening. When the
system is in correct phase, transients will be noticeably cleaner and
Premier Ten Owner’s Manual 8

more sharply defined. The effect is especially apparent on plucked
string sounds. A final warning-not all recordings are phase correct
(including some "audiophile" recordings), so listen to several before
concluding your investigation of absolute phase.
THE IMPORTANCE OF WIRES
Interconnect and speaker wires are an important element in your stereo
system. Interconnects are available which will permit a reference quality
system to blossom and fulfill its promise of musical reality. Others will
strangle the system to the point where it becomes no better than
average. To complicate matters, our experience suggests that the
choiceof interconnects will be systemdependent- those that areranked
first on a given system may be a poor choice for a different system.
Consult your conrad-johnson dealer for recommendations for your spe-
cific system.
TIP
WarmupthePremierTenbefore listening:Thesonicperformanceofthe
Premier Ten improves noticeably as the unit warms up. The midrange
becomesmore lucid, thehighs smoother, andthe soundstage expands.
The warm up period can be expected to last several minutes.
Questions: If you have questions about the installation or function of
your Premier Ten do not hesitate to call Customer Service at (703)
698-8581.
Premier Ten Owner’s Manual 9

Premier Ten SPECIFICATIONS
Gain: 25dB
Maximum Output: 20V
Bandpass: 2Hz to more than 100kHz
Hum and noise: 94dB below 2.5V output
Distortion at 1.0 v output: less than .5% THD or IMD
Phase: inverts phase of all inputs at main out
Ouput impedance: less than 200 ohms
Mechanical:
Dimensions: : 19"W x 5.25"H x 16 3/8"D
Net Weight: 28 lbs.
Premier Ten Owner’s Manual 10