Conrad-Johnson DF2 User manual

Thank you for selecting the DF2 compact disc player as a source for
your audio system. With it, we think you will find yourself enjoying the
musical content of your CDs more than ever.
Atconrad-johnson,weexpectourproductstobeasourceofsatisfaction
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 DF2 has been designed so that its basic operation is
intuitively apparent, it has a number of sophisticated features which are
fully explained in this manual. Please take a few minutes to read the
manual to better understand the features and capabilities of your DF2.
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
mayhaveaboutthefunction and application of yourDF2,andtoprovide
any needed service both during, and after the warranty period. Our goal
is to heighten your enjoyment of recorded music.
DF2 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.
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
DF2 Owner’s Manual 2

United States, but 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 Service Department can also be reached by phone at 703-698-
8581, or by fax at 703-560-5360
Box and Packing
It is recommended that you save the box and packing for your product
so that it can be properly protected in the event it needs to be shipped
for service.
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.Beawarethatrequestinganestimatewilldelayservicetoyourunit
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.
DF2 Owner’s Manual 3

Installation
Because the DF2 dissipates very little heat, ventilation is not an impor-
tantconsideration,allowing greater flexibility for customorbuilt-in instal-
lations. Of course, reasonable judgement must be exercised to see that
the DF2 does not obstruct ventilation required by amplifiers or other
equipment in the system. The DF2 is designed to be mounted horizon-
tally.
All DF2s 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 DF2 will have the correct operating voltage and fre-
quency 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 DF2 to minimize
it’s susceptibility to radio frequency interference and other forms of EMI.
Choice of materials, physical layout, grounding practice, and power
supply design have all been specified with a view to reducing the impact
of electromagnetic fields on the performance of this unit, and to assure
that it does not radiate fields that might interfere with the operation of
other units.
CareininstallationcanoftenavoidEMIinducedproblems.Thefollowing
practices should generally be observed in any application, and will be
especially important where EMI may be a problem.
Audio interconnect cables should be kept as short as possible (3 meters
orless),andshieldedcable should be used (cablewhichhastwocenter
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 DF2 away
from the preamplifier and other sources. Power (ac mains) cords
shouldbedressedto remainatleast4"(100mm)awayfromaudiosignal
cables, and from coaxial digital cables.
DF2 Owner’s Manual 4

Connection
DIGITAL OUTPUT: An RCA type connector is provided to send the
digital signal out to another digital device (for example, digital tape
recorder).
ANALOG OUTPUTS: These are the audio outputs, to be connected to
a line-level input on your preamplifier.
DF2 Owner’s Manual 5

Controls
display: This switches the display on and off.
|| (PAUSE):Pressing this button interrupts play. PAUSE will light up on
the display. To resume play, press a second time.
o/c (OPEN/CLOSE): Pressing this button will open the CD tray. Press
again to close.
> (PLAY): Pressing this button starts playback of the chosen track. If a
track is already playing, pressing it will restart playback from the begin-
ning of the track being played. If the CD tray is open, pressing > will
close the tray, and initiate playback.
(STOP): Pressing this button during play will stop playback. Press-
ing it while programming will clear (erase) the program.
<< AND >> : These buttons can be used to select another track during
play or to select the track to start play with. Briefly pressing the >> button
will move to the next track, while pressing << will move to the previous
track. Pressing and holding these buttons during play will enable fast
search (forward >> or backward <<). These buttons are also used to set
edit parameters (see instructions for tape dubbing, below).
prgm (PROGRAM): This button is used to initiate and then to close
programming of playback.
phase: Pressing this button will switch between "phase correct" play-
back and playback with 180 degrees of phase shift (inverted) to com-
pensate for phase incorrect recordings. The led will light when phase
shifted playback is selected.
pk/fade (PEAK/FADE): Pressing this button when machine is not play-
ing will cause player to scan the entire CD for the loudest passage, and
when found, will play that passage repeatedly, from two seconds before
the peak to two seconds after, allowing recording levels to be set. Press
STOP to end PEAK playback. Pressing this button while the machine is
playing a CD will gradually reduce the sound level (fade out) and pause
the machine. Pressing the button again will resume play and gradually
increase the sound to the original level (fade in).
DF2 Owner’s Manual 6

repeat: Press once before or during play to cause the displayed track
to play continuously. REPEAT 1 will light on the display. Pressing a
second time before or during play will repeat the entire CD, and RE-
PEAT will light on the display. Pressing a third time will end the repeti-
tion.
time: This button is used to select between the program time display
options. During playback, the display initially reads the elapsed time of
the track being played (TRACK TIME will be lit above the time display).
Press time once to switch the display to read the time remaining for the
current track (REM TRACK TIME). Press time again to display time
remaining for the entire CD (TOTAL REM TIME). Pressing once again
will return to the initial display of elapsed track time.
DF2 Owner’s Manual 7

Remote Control
PLAY, STOP, PAUSE, <<, >>, and REPEAT are duplicated on the
remote control. These keys on the remote function in exactly the same
way as the front panel controls. The following additional controls are
available only on the remote control:
NUMBER KEYS 0-9: These keys can be used for direct selection of a
different track during play, a track to begin play with, and tracks for a
program.The second digit in two digit numbers (eg: 12) mustbe entered
within 2 seconds.
SCAN: Press to automatically play the first ten seconds of each track.
To play a full track, press again, or press PLAY.
VOLUME (+ and -): Digitally adjusts the playback level. Important Note:
when playing HDCD encoded discs with an external HDCD D/A con-
verter, volume level must be set to maximum for the HDCD decoder to
operate. The volume control is a convenience feature which we believe
you will find useful. Be aware, however, that volume should be set to the
maximum level for best sonic performance.
SHUFFLE: Press before or during play to play tracks in random order.
SHUFFLE will light on the display. Press again to return to normal play.
If you elect to repeat the entire cd in SHUFFLE mode, the tracks will be
played randomly each time, except that playback will always begin with
the same track.
The handheld remote is a battery operated device, using two 1.5 volt
AAA(or RO3, UM4) batteries. Expected battery life is approximately one
year. Dispose of exhausted batteries correctly, in accordance with local
requirements. Do not dispose of batteries with your household waste.
DF2 Owner’s Manual 8

Display Messages
The DF2 is equipped with a six character alpha-numeric display. This
displayshows track and time information during normal playback. It also
is used to provide other information and instructions regarding the
status and operation of the machine. Some of the messages you may
see are described in this section.
OPEN: cd tray is open
CLOSE: cd tray is being closed.
READ: the CD’s contents are being scanned.
NODISC: there is no CD in the player.
NO AUDIO DISC: disc in player is a non-audio CD (CD-ROM, CD-I, or
CDV).
WRONG TRAC: a non-existent track number has been selected.
FULL: you have attempted to program more than 30 tracks.
GO TO PLAY: you have attempted a function which requires that you
first start play.
GO TO STOP: you have attempted a function which requires that you
first stop play.
DF2 Owner’s Manual 9

CD Playback
Standard Playback
To play a cd:
-- press display, if not already turned on;
-- press o/c to open the cd tray;
-- place a 3" or 5" audio cd in the tray, printed side up;
-- press o/c to close the cd tray. After initializing, the display will
show the number of tracks and total time of the cd;
-- press > to begin play from the beginning of the cd, or
-- select a track to begin play by pressing >> as many times as
needed to get to the desired track number, and then press
play, or simply select a track number directly by using the 0-9
keys on the remote control (the second digit of a two digit
number must be entered within two seconds of the first digit).
-- the track being played will be displayed under TRACK
-- play will stop after the final track is completed.
Programming
The DF2 can be programmed to play up to thirty tracks on a CD in any
desired sequence. To enter a program:
-- if cd is playing, press STOP ;
-- press prgm (PROGRAM lights up and flashes);
-- briefly (less than .5 seconds) press >> or << keys until desired
track number appears under TRACK
-- press prgm to enter this track into the program memory
-- repeat this process for each track to be entered into the pro-
gram. The number of tracks and total playing time of your
program will be shown under TRACK and TOTAL TIME.
-- press > (PLAY) to begin playing the program
Youcanerase the program while playingbypressing o/c, or by pressing
STOP twice. You can erase a program that is not playing by pressing
o/c, or STOP (once).
DF2 Owner’s Manual 10

Getting The Most From Your DF2
In a system of commensurate high quality components, the conrad-
johnson DF2 offers an extraordinary level of sophistication and refine-
ment 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). A system with an odd number of phase
inversions can be corrected by adding one more inversion by reversing
the positive and negative speaker leads.
We recommend that you connect your system for correct absolute
phase, and use the phase invert switch on the DF2 to correct for phase
inverted recordings.
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
DF2 Owner’s Manual 11

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.
Questions: If you have questions about the installation or function of
your DF2 do not hesitate to call Customer Service at [phone].
DF2 Owner’s Manual 12

Specifications
Output @ 0 dB: 1.3V
Frequency Response: 5Hz to 20kHz +0,- .75 dB
Hum and noise: 92dB below 1.0V output
Output impedance: less than 200 ohms
Digital Output Connector: one 75 ohm coaxial (RCA connector).
Dimensions: 13.125"D x 19"W x 3.315"H
Net Weight: 18 lbs.
Fuses
The transformer in the DF2 is protected by two fuses, mounted on
the pc board, near the transformer. 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. The correct fuse value and types are shown below:
digital circuits (two fuses) .1.5 amp "fast blow"
DF2 Owner’s Manual 13