Dan D'Agostino MLife User manual

MLife integrated amplifier
Owner’smanual

D’AgostinoMLifemanual/page2
Legalnotifications
DanD’AgostinoMasterAudioSystemsisaregisteredtrademarkofD’AgostinoLLC.
Theinformationinthisowner’smanualissubjecttochangewithoutnotice.Current
Version1.0ofthismanualwasproducedbytheDanD’AgostinoLLCengineering,sales
andmarketingdepartments.
TheinformationinthismanualisthesolepropertyofD’AgostinoLLC.Anyreproduction
inwholeorpartwithouttheexpressedwrittenpermissionofD’AgostinoLLCis
prohibited.Nomaterialhereinmaybetransmittedinanywayincludingeitherelectronic
ormechanicalmethodsforanypurposewithoutexpressedwrittenpermissionof
D’AgostinoLLC.
CAUTION:NOUSERSERVICEABLEPARTSINSIDE.Donotopentheamplifier’s
chassisorremoveanyofitsscrews.ContactD’AgostinoLLCoryourdealerifyouhave
serviceneeds.
WARNING:Donotexposethisamplifiertomoistureorexcessivehumidity,anddonot
useitoutdoors.Firehazardmayresult.
Thelightningflashwitharrowhead,withinanequilateraltriangle,is
intendedtoalerttheusertothepresenceofuninsulated“dangerous
voltage”withintheproduct’senclosurethatmaybeofsufficientmagnitude
toconstituteariskofelectricalshocktopersons.

D’AgostinoMLifemanual/page3
The
exclamation
pointwithin
an
equilateral
triangleis
intendedto
alertthe
usertothe
presenceof
important
operating
maintenanc
e
(servicing)
instructions
inthe
literature
accompanyi
ngthe
appliance.
MLifelimitedwarranty
D’AgostinoLLCwarrantstheMLifeagainstmanufacturingdefectsanddefectsin
materialsforfiveyearsfromthedateofpurchasefromanauthorizedDanD’Agostino
MasterAudioSystemsdealer,subjecttotheconditionslistedbelow:
1)ThewarrantycoversonlynewproductspurchasedfromanauthorizedD’Agostino
LLCdealer.
2)Thewarrantyisnontransferableandisvalidonlyfortheoriginalpurchaser.
3)Thewarrantyisvalidonlyiftheproducthasbeenusedaccordingtotheinstructions
intheowner'smanual.Damageduetoaccidentsorownerabuseorneglectisnot
coveredunderthiswarranty.
4)AllservicemustbeperformedbyanauthorizedDanD’AgostinoMasterAudio
Systemsdealer.Damageresultingfromservicebyotherpartiesisnotcoveredunder
thiswarranty.
5)Allproductsreturnedforservicemustbepackagedintheoriginalcontainerandmust
includeaphotocopyoftheoriginalpurchasereceipt.Iftheoriginalcontainerhasbeen
lostordiscarded,contactD’AgostinoLLCforareplacement.

D’AgostinoMLifemanual/page4
6)IftheproductmustbeshippedbacktoD’AgostinoLLCforwarrantyservice,the
customershallpayshippingcosts.D’AgostinoLLCwillpayforreturnshipping.
7)BeforeshippingtheproducttoD’AgostinoLLCforservice,thecustomermustfirst
obtainaReturnAuthorization(RA)numberbycallingD’AgostinoLLC.TheRAnumber
mustbemarkedclearlyonthesideofthepackage.
8)ThiswarrantycoversonlydefectsinproductsmadebyD’AgostinoLLC.Itdoesnot
coverincidentalorconsequentialdamages,ordamagestootherproductsresultingfrom
defectsinD’AgostinoLLCproducts.
9)U.S.residents:Dependingonwhichstateyoulivein,youmayhaveotherrightsnot
elaboratedinthisdocument.Forfurtherinformation,contactD’AgostinoLLC.
10)Residentsofothercountries:Yourauthorizedimporterordealerbearsthedirect
responsibilityforwarrantycoverageofyouramplifier.Pleasecontactyourimporteror
dealerwithrequestsforserviceunderwarranty.D’AgostinoLLCwillworkwithyour
importerordealertoassurethatthetermsofthewarrantyarefulfilled.
Forquestionsonwarrantyandservicematters,contactD’AgostinoLLCat:
+1.480.5753069or+1.2036448743,oremail[email protected].

D’AgostinoMLifemanual/page5
AnotefromDanD’Agostino
Founder,CEO,andChiefDesignerofDanD’AgostinoMasterAudioSystems
ThankyouverymuchforpurchasingtheMomentumMLife.I’mespeciallyexcitedabout
thiscomponent,becauseitfulfillsadreamI’vehadforthelastdecade:tocombinethe
uncompromisedsoundqualityIdemandwiththeincredibleconvenienceandunlimited
listeningoptionsprovidedbynetworking,theInternetandsmartphones.
TheMLifeispureMomentum,rightdowntothecoreanalogpreampandpoweramp
circuits,whichareessentiallythesameastheonesintheMomentumintegrated
amplifier.Ithasthesamemusicality—andthesameeffortlesspower—thatallmy
amplifiersareknownfor.Withthisamp,youcantrulyachievethemaximum
performanceyourspeakersarecapableof,nomatterwhatspeakersyouuse.
IhavetoadmitI’vealwayslovedtheconveniencethatmassmarketwirelessaudio
productsoffer.Ihaven’tbeensatisfiedwiththeirsound,butIknewitwaspossibletodo
better.TheMLifeisproof.Forthefirsttime,Momentumqualityaudiocircuitryandbuild
qualityarecombinedwiththefeaturesfoundinthebestwirelessaudioproducts.
Thelisteningoptionsareendless.Youcanlistentofullquality,losslessaudiostreamed
throughAirPlayorfromUSBdrivesandsticks.YoucanstreamInternetservicessuch
asRhapsody,SiriusXMandTuneInRadio.Youcanevenstreamfromyourphoneor
tabletviaBluetooth.Andofcourse,youstillhavefiveanalogaudioinputs—feedinga
pureanalog,fullybalancedsignalpath—togetthebestsoundyou’veeverheardfrom
yourturntable,musicserver,orthefrontleftandrightchannelsofyourhometheater.
TheanalogcircuitsintheMLifeusethroughholeconstruction,inwhichthecontactlegs
ofthecomponentsgoallthewaythroughthecircuitboardandaresolderedfrom
underneath.Thistechniquewasthenormdecadesago,butitwasmostlyabandoned
whenlessexpensivesurfacemountconstructionwasinvented.
WeassembletheMLifebyhandinourArizonafactory,literallyabout20feetfrommy
desk.Theunityou’vepurchasedhasbeenfullytestedtoensureitworksperfectlyand
achievestheperformanceIdemand.IhopeyouenjoyusingtheMLifetofindgreatnew
music—andtoenjoyyouroldfavoritesmorethaneverbefore!
Sincerely,

D’AgostinoMLifemanual/page6
Packagecontents
Ifanyofthefollowingitemsaremissing,pleasecontactyourdealer:
1MLifeencasedinprotectivestaticclingvinyl
1owner’smanual
1pairofwhiteliftinggloves
1microfibercleaningcloth
1ACpowercord
1DCcable(powersupplytomainunit)
1Ethernetcable
1WiFirouter
1AppleiPodtouchpreloadedwithMomentumapp
UnpackingtheMLifefromthePelicancase
Whiletheintegratedamplifierisstillinitscase,pleasemoveittoalocationnearthe
placewhereitwillbeinstalled.Removealljewelryincludingwatches,ringsandbelts
fromyourpersontoavoiddamagetotheexterioroftheintegratedamplifierduringthe
removalandinstallation.WerecommendthattwopeoplelifttheMLife.Becauseitis
machinedfromsolidaluminum,itismuchheavierthanitlooks.
ThefinishoftheMLifeisextremelydelicate.Toitspristinesurface,westronglysuggest
wearingthesuppliedwhiteliftinggloveswhenhandlingtoavoidabrasion,fingerprints
causedbyoilsfromskin,etc.SeeOperation:Maintenanceforinstructionsoncleaning.
Installationrequirements
Thisamplifier’sdensemetalchassismakesitmuchheavierthanmostotherintegrated
amps,somakesurethesurfacethatwillsupportthiscomponentcansafelyholdits
weight.
Adequateventilationmustbeprovidedfortheamplifier.Thereshouldbeatleast3
inchesofclearanceoneachsideand3inchesofclearanceatthetop.Thebottomvents
mustnotbeobstructedbythickcarpet,dust,etc.Werecommendthattheintegrated
ampbeinstalledinanopenequipmentracktoassureproperventilation.Theampmay
beinstalledinaclosedcabinetorinanequipmentcloset,butthecabinetorclosetmust
bedesignedwithsubstantialventilationattopandbottom;activeventilation(i.e.,
poweredfans)ispreferred.Donotplacetheintegratedampdirectlyonacarpetedfloor.
DonotplugtheMLifeoranyotherDanD’AgostinoMasterAudioSystemsproductintoa
powerstriporpowerconditioner.

D’AgostinoMLifemanual/page7
TheMLifeisdesignedwithspecialconefeetthatscrewintothebottomofthemain
chassisandmatchupwithindentationsonthetopofthepowersupply.Thebottomof
thepowersupplyhassoftfeetdesignedtoisolatethemainchassisassemblyfrom
vibration.(Thesefeetwillnotstainormarthesurfaceunderneaththem.)
Toattachtheconefeet,firstremovethevinylwrapthatcoverstheamplifierandprotect
thefinish.(Savethevinylwrapintheboxtouseagainifyoueverneedtoshipthe
amplifier.)Usetwopeopletoturntheintegratedamplifierchassisupsidedownand
placeitonasoftbutsecuresurface—afewtowelsdrapedoverasturdytable,for
example—andplacethevinylwrapatopthetowelsforextraprotection.Screwthefeet
allthewayintothethreadedholesonthebottomofthechassis.Nowplacethepower
supplyintheplacewhereyouwanttoinstalltheMLife.Usetwopeopletoturnthe
integratedampbackoveragain.Placeitcarefullyatopthepowersupplychassis,lining
upthepointsoftheconefeetwiththeindentationsonthetopofthepowersupply.
Ifyouneedtoreturntheamplifierforservice
IfyoushouldneedtosendtheMLifebacktousforservice,besuretousetheoriginal
boxandmaterialsforshipment.
Beforeyoushiptheamplifier,unplugitfromthewallandletitcooldownfor6hours.To
protectthefinishduringshipping,rewraptheamplifierinthevinylcoveringitcamein.
Makesuretheampiscompletelycoolandhasnotbeenpluggedinfor6hoursbefore
youdothis.Wrappingtheamplifierwhenitiswarmwillcausethevinyltoleechintothe
amplifier’ssurfaceandwillpermanentlydamagethefinish.

D’AgostinoMLifemanual/page8
Frontpanel
1.Sourceselectorbuttons
2.Volumesettingindicator
3.Volumecontrolknob
4.LCDscreen
5.Bluetoothantenna
6.Standby/PowerOnbutton
7.Headphonebutton

D’AgostinoMLifemanual/page9
Rearpanel
1.AmplifierDCinput(frompowersupply)
2.Rightchannelspeakeroutput
3.Toslinkopticaldigitalaudioinput
4.USBdigitalaudioinput
5.XLRanalogaudioinputjacks
6.Leftchannelspeakeroutput
7.Headphonejack
8.RJ45Ethernetjack
9.PowersupplyDCoutput(toamplifier)
10.IECpowercordconnectorandfuseholder
11.RS232controlinput
12.3.5mmIRcontrolinput

D’AgostinoMLifemanual/page10
TypicalMLifeconfiguration
ThisdrawingshowsatypicalMLifeinstallation,usingthewirelessrouterincludedwith
theMLife.Anexistingwirelessroutermaybeusedinsteadofthesuppliedrouter.For
bestperformance,connectalldigitalfilesources(NASdrive,computer,etc.)tothe
samerouterthattheMLifeisconnectedto.Wiredconnectionsarepreferred,especially
ifyouarestreaminghighresolutionaudiofilesfromanetworkedsourcetotheMLife.
Specificrequirementsandsuggestionsforeachoftheaboveconnectionsarediscussed
onthefollowingpages.