Conrad-Johnson Premier 18LS User manual

Thank you for selecting the Conrad-Johnson Premier 18LS line stage
preamplifier as the control center for your audio system. Our first solid-
state component in the Premier range, the Premier 18LS is capable of
remarkably faithful recreation of the dynamics, textures, tonalities, and
ambienceoflivemusicalperformances.Usingit,webelievethatyouwill
experience the excitement of discovery in hearing more from your
favorite recordings than ever before.
Atconrad-johnson,weexpectour productstobe asourceof satisfaction
and of pride to their owners for many years to come. Accordingly, circuit
designs, parts and materials for all conrad-johnson products are se-
lected with a view to maintaining optimal performance over the years.
Our reputation for producing among the industry’s most reliable compo-
nents is a natural consequence of this engineering approach.
Although the Premier 18LS has been designed to operate in an intui-
tively apparent way, you will find useful information on it’s installation
and operation in this manual. Please take a few minutes to read the
manual to better understand the features and capabilities of your Pre-
mier18LS.Notethatthisunitis phaseinverting.See the section entitled
"Getting The Most From Your Premier 18LS" for details on correct
hookup in your system.
In closing, we’d like to welcome you to the family of conrad-johnson
owners. We want you to enjoy your conrad-johnson product to the
fullest. To this end, our staff stands ready to answer any questions you
may have about the function and application of your Premier 18LS, and
to provide any needed service both during, and after the warranty
period. Our goal is to heighten your enjoyment of recorded music.
Premier 18LS Owner’s Manual 1

Limited Warranty For Conrad-Johnson Components
conrad-johnson design, inc. will provide service under warranty to the
original owner on products sold new in the United States for the lesser
period of three years from the date of purchase by the original pur-
chaser, or five years from the date of shipment to the authorized
conrad-johnson dealer. During the warranty period, conrad-johnson will
repair defective units without charge for labor or parts (with the excep-
tion of vacuum tubes and batteries).
Exclusions. The following are not covered under this warranty:
a) Units which have been damaged by misuse, abuse, or accident.
b) Units which have been modified, altered, or improperly repaired by
anyone not specifically authorized by conrad-johnson design, inc.
c) Units not purchased from an authorized conrad-johnson dealer in the
United States for use in the United States.
d) Normal wear
e) Incidental or consequential damages are not covered under this
warranty. Some states do not allow the exclusion of incidental or
consequential damages, so this exclusion may not apply to you.
Obtaining Warranty Service:To obtain warranty service, the unit must
be shipped, along with evidence of purchase, in factory packing to
conrad-johnson design (or designated service center) with freight and
insurance prepaid by the owner. After repair, the unit will be returned
with freight and insurance prepaid by conrad-johnson design to any
destination in the United States.
All implied warranties, including merchantability and fitness for a par-
ticular purpose are limited in duration to the duration of this express
warranty. Some states do not allow limitations on the duration of implied
warranties so the above limitations may not apply to you.
This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may also have
other rights which vary from state to state.
Premier 18LS Owner’s Manual 2

Conrad-Johnson products purchased outside the United States are
covered by warranty terms of the importing distributor in the country in
which the product was originally purchased, which may differ from the
terms set out herein. Importing distributors are not obligated to provide
warranty service for products originally purchased outside their country.
Conrad-Johnson will provide warranty service for products outside the
United States, but in these cases, the customer must pay all shipping,
handling and customs costs both to and from our Service Department.
Questions about this warranty should be addressed to:
Service Department
conrad-johnson design, inc.
2733 Merrilee Drive
Fairfax, VA 22031
The conrad-johnson service department can also be reached by email
at [email protected], by phone at 703-698-8581, or by fax
at 703-560-5360.
Service
If your conrad-johnson audio component requires service, repack it
using the original box and packing material and ship to the Service
Department address above. Boxes and packing materials can be ob-
tained from our service department for a nominal charge, if you no
longer have yours. Include with the unit a note describing the problem
you are having in as much detail as possible. It is especially important
for our technician to know if the problem is intermittent. If you want an
estimate of cost for out of warranty service, be sure to request it in this
note.Be awarethatrequestinganestimate willdelayservice toyour unit
as we will have to contact you for your approval before commencing
service.
Registering The Warranty
Please return the enclosed card to the factory within 30 days of pur-
chase to register the warranty
Premier 18LS Owner’s Manual 3

Installation
All Premier 18LS preamplifiers sold in the United States are configured
for operation on a 60Hz ac power line producing between 108 and 126
volts. Export versions of the Premier 18LS will have the correct operat-
ing voltage and frequency clearly marked on the back panel of the unit,
near the ac power cord. In all cases, the actual line voltage should be
within + 5/- 10% of the nominal rated voltage.
Electromagnetic Interference (EMI)
Considerable care has been taken in the design of the Premier 18LS to
minimize it’s susceptibility to radio frequency interference and other
forms of EMI. Choice of materials, physical layout, grounding practice,
andpowersupplydesign have all been specified with a viewtoreducing
the impact of electromagnetic fields on the performance of this unit. At
the same time, however, our primary goal is the accurate reproduction
of recorded music in the normal home environment, and we have
elected not to compromise this objective by the application of heavy-
handed RFI filters, or by using grounding practices that reduce RFI at
theexpenseofdegraded audio performance. We find that the approach
we have taken has worked extremely well, resulting in only rare in-
stances of EMI problems which could be treated locally as needed,
rather than compromising the performance of our product in the 99.9%
of installations where EMI is not a problem.
CareininstallationcanoftenavoidEMIinducedproblems.Thefollowing
practices should generally be observed in any application, and will be
especially important where EMI may be a problem.
Interconnect cables should be kept as short as possible (3 meters or
less), and shielded cable should be used (cable which has two center
conductors, and a separate external shield connected at only one end).
Physical location and cable "dress" can be an important factor in
minimizing hum pickup. The installation should situate the preamplifier
well away from the power amplifier, and power (ac mains) cords should
be dressed to remain at least 4" (100mm) away from input/output
cables.
Premier 18LS Owner’s Manual 4

Connection
SOURCES (PH/AUX1, TUNER, CD, VIDEO, AUX2): These high level
inputs are electrically equivalent. The load they present to the source
varies with the volume control setting, but in no case will it drop below
12 kohms. Connect the corresponding source components to these
inputs.
EXTERNAL PROCESSOR LOOP (EPL1): A set of line-level inputs and
outputs provided for connection of external signal processors (e.g.
parametric equalizer, tone controls). These can also be used for the
connection of a tape recorder. In this case, connect the EPL OUT to the
recording input of your tape recorder, and the EPL IN to the output of
your tape recorder. The EPL IN connection can also be used as an
additional line level input.
THTR/EPL2: This is an external processor loop designed to conven-
iently accommodate the addition of a surround-sound processor (SSP)
to a high-quality two channel system without compromising two channel
performance. Connect the front left and front right channel outputs from
your SSP to the THTR/EPL2 input. You can also connect the
THTR2/EPL2 OUT to an input on your SSP, allowing you to do matrix
processing on selected two channel sources. When this THTR loop is
selected, the level controls are set to unity gain. Level and balance
control is then accomplished via your surround sound processor.
MAIN OUT1 and MAIN OUT2: 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 18LS inverts phase, it may be necessary to invert the speaker
leads to maintain correct absolute phase. See the section on "Getting
the most out of your Premier 18LS" for an explanation.
Premier 18LS Owner’s Manual 5

Controls
standby: Instandby mode,thedisplay ofthePremier 18LSwillbe blank
and the output muted. The standby led will be lit to indicate standby
mode. Pressing the mute, button on either the remote control or the
front panel will return the unit to normal operation at the previously
assigned level settings and the previously selected input. Pressing the
mute button and holding for two seconds will switch the unit to standby
mode. When first connected to ac mains, or after an interruption of
power, the Premier 18LS will turn on in a default standby mode, with the
level set at 20, and the CD input selected.
source (phono/aux1, tuner, cd, video, aux2): Pressing the button
labeled source will cause the unit to step through these five inputs, in
the order displayed on the front panel. The selected input will be
indicated by an illuminated led.
epl: Pressing the epl button will toggle the unit between the epl input
and a selected source. When source is selected, the input selected as
source will be passed directly to the volume control. When EPL is
selected, the selected source will first pass through the external proces-
sor loop before being routed to the volume control.
theater: Pressing the theater button will toggle the unit between the
theater input and a selected source. When source is selected, the input
selected as source will be passed directly to the volume control. When
THEATER is selected, the selected source will first pass through the
THEATER loop before being routed to the volume control and the level
for both channels will be set and locked to unity gain.
level dn, level up: Level setting on the Premier 18LS is achieved by
using a programmed microprocessor to select combinations from
among an array of high-quality precision resistors. This arrangement
allows 100 steps of approximately .7 dB per step. The steps are num-
bered 0 through 99, with 0 being silence, and 99 being maximum
volume.
The level setting can be changed by pressing the vol dn and vol up
buttons on the front panel. Each time a button is pressed, the level will
move up or down one step. If a button is pressed and held, the level
Premier 18LS Owner’s Manual 6

control will cycle through the steps at an accelerating rate. Balance can
only be set via the remote control.
mute: Pressingthe mutebuttonwillcausethe mainoutputsto muteand
the level display to be zero. Pressing it again will restore the last level
setting. Pressing and holding the mute button for more than three
seconds will switch the Premier 18LS into standby mode. Pressing the
mute button when the unit is in standby mode will switch it back to
operational mode.
Remote Control
All operations of the Premier 18LS can be controlled by the hand-held
wireless remote unit.
MUTE: duplicates the function of the front panel mute button.
PH/AUX,TUNER, CD,VIDEO, AUX2: Youcandirectlyaccess anyinput
by pressing the associated button on the remote.
EPL1, EPL2: Pressing the EPL buttons will insert the associated exter-
nal processor in the signal path. Pressing the button again will re-estab-
lish a direct connection to the selected source. Note that pressing the
EPL2 button selects the THTR/EPL2 input, setting the level to unity
gain.
LEVEL - +: Duplicates the function of the front panel vol dn, vol up
controls.
BALANCE: Allows attenuation of either channel independently of the
other.Pressingtherightbalancebuttonwillreducetheleftchannellevel
setting by one step. Pressing and holding the right balance button will
cause the left channel to cycle down through its level settings at an
acceleratingrate. Pressing theleftbalance button willattenuatethe right
channel in the same manner.
Premier 18LS Owner’s Manual 7

Getting The Most From Your Premier 18LS
In a system of commensurate high quality components, the conrad-
johnson Premier 18LS offers an unparalleled level of sophistication and
refinement in music reproduction. To get the best performance out of
any audio system, there are 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
in the stereo system either preserves the phase of the incoming signal,
and is said to be phase correct, or inverts the phase and is said to be
phase inverting. It is unimportant whether an individual component is
phase correct or phase inverting, as long as the system as a whole is
phase correct. This will be the case if the number of phase inversions is
even (or zero).
The Premier 18LS is phase inverting. If your system has an odd number
of inversions, (for example, if the Premier 18LS is the only phase
inverting unit in the chain) then you must add one phase inversion. This
is conveniently done by reversing the positive 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
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.
Premier 18LS Owner’s Manual 8

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 little better than
average. To complicate matters, our experience suggests that the
choice of interconnects will be system dependent - those that are top
ranked on one system may be a poor choice for a different system.
Consult your conrad-johnson dealer for recommendations for your spe-
cific system.
Performance Tip
Warm up the Premier 18LS before listening: The sonic performance of
the Premier 18LS improves noticeably as the unit warms up. The
midrangebecomesmore lucid, thehighssmoother,and the soundstage
expands. The warm up period can be expected to last about fifteen
minutes.
Questions: If you have questions about the installation or function of
your Premier 18LS do not hesitate to call Customer Service at (703)
698-8581.
Premier 18LS Owner’s Manual 9

Specifications
Gain: 22 dB
Maximum Output: 9V
Bandpass: 2Hz to more than 100kHz
Hum and noise: 96 dB below 2.5V output
Distortion at 1.0 v output: less than .1% THD or IMD
Phase: inverts phase of all inputs at main out
Output impedance: 200 ohms
Mechanical:
Dimensions: 15.25"D x 19"W x 3.315"H
Net Weight: 16 lbs total.
Fuses
The Premier 18LS is protected by two fuses - one on the main ac
power line (F1) and one on the transformer’s audio power supply
secondary (F2). A failure of either of these fuses is a symptom of a
more serious problem, and a competent service technician should
be consulted. In no event should these fuses be replaced with
a value or type different than that originally supplied. Fuse F1
is located in a tray in the ac power line receptacle on the back of
the chassis, F2 is located on the main printed circuit board near
the power transformer.
If configured for 100 or 120V:
F1 20mm T 400 MA
F2 3AG 1/4 amp, slow blow
If configured for 220 or 240V:
F1 20mm T 200 MA
F2 3AG 1/4 amp, slow blow
Premier 18LS Owner’s Manual 10