G-Rod CBA‐1 Audio Cable MicroAmp User manual

AudioCableMicroAmp
ModelCBA‐1OperationManual
G-RODaudioLLC
7151W. RivuletDrive
Tucson,AZ85743
USA
(520)395‐8436
www.g‐rod.com
DesignedandManufacturedinUSA
©2011G-RODaudioLLC
WAR NING!
Thisdeviceadds25dBofgaintotheaudiosignal–Up
to8timeslouder!ThepurposeoftheAudioCable
MicroAmpistoachievethesamelisteninglevelsas
normal,withthevolumecontrolsonyourdevicesset
lower,reducingnoiseanddistortionandimproving
soundquality.
READBEFORECONNECTING
BeforeusingtheG-RODMicroAmp,SETTHEVOLUME
CONTROLSTOMINIMUMontheaudiosourcehead‐
phonejackandonthestereoamplifier.Whencon‐
nected,setthevolumeontheMP3playerto1/3to1/2
volumeandthevolumecontrolonthestereoallthe
waydown.
NOTE:TheCBA‐1AudioCableMicroAmpisapreampli‐
fieronly,itdoesnotaddpowertoyouraudiosystem.
HEARINGLOSS
Yourearscanbegintosufferpermanenthearinglossby
sustainedexposuretosoundsover85dBSPL(Sound
PressureLevel).
Besmart–neverlistentomusicatsustainedvolumes
over100dB.Whenlisteningatlouderlevels,dosofor
nomorethan10minuteatatime.Giveyourearsa30
minutebreakbeforedoingitagain.Keepyourears
golden!
INTRODUCTION
WhatisaG-RODAudioCableMicroAmp?
TheAudioCableMicroAmpisavoltageamplifying
devicethatincreasesthevoltagelevelfromlow‐imped‐
anceheadphonejackstoprovidethehighervoltage
levelsrequiredbytheline‐levelinputsofstereoamplifi‐
ers.Itisanimpedancematchingaudiopreamplifier,
designedtomatchthelowoutputimpedance(8‐32
Ohms)ofheadphonejackstothehighinputimpedance
(1000Ohms)ofthelineinputsonstereoamplifiers.
TheAudioCableMicroAmpadds25dBofgaintothe
outputofyouraudiodevice(about8extrastepson
yourvolumecontrol).Thismakesitpossibletolower
thevolumecontrolsettingsonyourinputandoutput
deviceswhileprovidingincreasedsoundvolumeand
clarity.
TheG-RODMicroAmpisaudiophilequality,withspeci‐
ficationsthatmatchthoseofhigh‐endaudiophilesys‐
tempreamplifiers.Itdoesnotuseanyformofsignal
processingtoaltertheoriginalsound.TheMicroAmp
voltageamplifying/impedancematchingdesign
reducesnoiseanddistortionandimprovestheoverall
soundquality.
TheMicroAmpboostssignallevelsbeyondwhatis
neededtoattainthemaximumlevelyouraudiosystem
iscapableof.OVERDRIVINGTHEVOLUMEOFYOUR
SYSTEMWILLCAUSEDISTORTIONANDMAYDAMAGE
YOURSTEREOAMPLFIER,SPEAKERS,ORYOURHEAR‐
ING.
SUPPLIEDACCESSORIES
1‐ft.rightangleMicro‐USBtoUSBTypeAcable
1‐ft.3.5mmtorightangle3.5mmstereoaudiocable
SYSTEMREQUIREMENTS
USBPower–USBjack,12V–to–5VUSBcarpower
adaptor,Micro‐USBcellphonecharger.
AudioSource–3.5mmstereoheadphonejackfrom
MP3playerorotheraudiodevice,laptopandnotebook
computers,andportableDVDplayers.
StereoAmplifier–Carstereosystemswith3.5mm
externalaudio(iPod)inputjacks(carsfrom2006to
present),after‐marketcarstereosandCDchangers
withaudioinputjacks,desktopstereosystems,audio‐
philestereosystems,homeentertainmentsystems,
TVs.
HOOKINGUPTHEMICROAMP
TheG-RODAudioCableMicroAmpiseasytoconnect
anduse–justfollowthesimpleinstructionsbelow:
1.TurndownthevolumecontrolonyourMP3player
(orotheraudiosource)drivingtheMicroAmpandalso
thevolumecontrolonyourstereoamplifier.
2.Usinganappropriate3.5mmstereocable(notpro‐
videdbyG-ROD),connecttheoutputoftheMicroAmp
tothelineinputjackofyourcarstereo,homestereo,or
TV.
3.Usingthe3.5mmstereocableincludedwithyour
MicroAmp,connecttheinputoftheMicroAmptothe
headphonejackofyourMP3player(orotheraudio
source).
4.UsingtheMicro‐USBpowercableincludedwithyour
MicroAmp,connectthesmallendofthecabletothe
Micro‐USBjackontheMicroAmpandthelargeendof
thecabletoastandardUSBpowerjack.
Forcarstereoapplications,theUSBpowerjackwillbe
ona12V–to–5VUSBcarpoweradapter.
ForhomestereoandTVapplications,theUSBpower
jackwillbeonawall‐powered5VUSBpoweradapter.
Forpersonalcomputer(PC)applications,theUSB
powerjackwillbeastandardUSBconnectoronthePC.
5.TurnontheMP3player(orotheraudiosource).
MAKESURETHEVOLUMECONTROLISTURNEDDOWN.
Thenturnonthestereoamplifier.MAKESURETHE
VOLUMECONTROLISTURNEDDOWN.
OPERATINGTHEMICROAMP
TheG-RODAudioCableMicroAmpisveryeasytooper‐
ate–simplyusethevolumecontrolsontheMP3player
(orotheraudiosource)andthestereoamplifieras
describedbelow.
ToavoidoverdrivingtheMicroAmp,setthevolume
controlontheMP3player(orotheraudiosource)to
aboutonethirdtoonehalfvolume,andslowlyadjust
thevolumecontrolonyourstereoamplifier,startingat
fullyoff,untilyougetanacceptablevolumelevel.
Experimentwiththevolumecontrolsettingsonthe
MP3playerandthestereoamplifiertogetabalance
betweenthesettings.Youshouldnotneedtoturnthe
volumecontrolontheMP3playerupveryhigh.Once
youhaveafeelforthewaythevolumecontrolsinter‐
act,chooseabalancedsettingandenjoy.
Ifyounoticedistortioninthesound,turndownthevol‐
umecontrolontheMP3playeruntilthedistortiongoes
away,andusethevolumecontrolonthestereoampli‐
fiertogetthevolumelevelyoudesire.
HOWITWORKS
Theheadphonejackoutputsonportableaudiodevices
suchasMP3playersaredesignedtodriveheadphones
thatarerelativelylowimpedance,typically8to32
ohms.Theheadphonejackoutputmustsupplysignifi‐
cantcurrenttodrivethespeakersintheheadphones,
butthevoltagelevelsavailablefromtheseheadphone
jacksislimitedandtypicallytoolowtodrivestereo
amplifierline‐levelinputswithoutturningupthevol‐
umetomaximumontheMP3player.Havingtoturn
thevolumetomaximumontheMP3playerforcesthe
headphoneamplifieroftheMP3playerintoanoperat‐
ingmodewithveryhighnoiseanddistortion,making
thesoundveryunpleasant.
TheG-RODAudioCableMicroAmpamplifiesthevolt‐
agelevelfromtheMP3headphonejack,providinga
muchlargervoltageleveltodrivetheline‐levelinputs
ofthestereoamplifier.ThisallowstheMP3playervol‐
umecontroltobeturneddownsotheheadphone
amplifierisnotoverdrivenandresultsinmuchlower
noseanddistortionandacleanermuchmoreenjoy‐
ablesound.
SPECIFICATIONS
Distortion<0.01%
Signaltonoiseratio>100dB
Gain25dB
NominalAudioInput31mV(‐28dBu)
Output0.775V(0dBu)
MaximumAudioInput116mV(‐16dBu)
Output2.9V(11.5dBu)
Inputpower5VDCMicro‐USB
Powerconsumption50mW
Dimensions:2.3”x1”x0.5”
TROUBLESHOOTING
NOSOUND
Cause–NoUSBpower
Solution–CheckUSBpowersourcewithanother
device
Cause–Connectionsreversed
Solutions–Verifyproperin/outaudiocables
DISTORTION
Cause–OverdrivingtheInput
Solution–Turndownsourcevolume
HUM,BUZZ,CLICKINGSOUNDS
Cause–Groundloops
Solution–Unplugchargerfrominputdeviceorusean
isolatedpowersupplyforcharginginputdevice
G-RODCUSTOMERSUPPORT
support@g‐rod.com (520)395‐8436
Micro-USB POWER IN
3.5mm
FROM MP3 3.5mm TO
STEREO AMP
AUDIO
IN AUDIO OUT

AudioCableMicroAmpApplication1–MP3Playerto CarStereo
NOTE:12VUSBCarAdapterisnotsuppliedbyG-ROD
AudioCableMicroAmpApplication2–MP3PlayertoStereo
NOTE:ACtoUSBAdapternotsuppliedbyG-ROD
CAR STEREO
SMART PHONE
OR MP3 PLAYER
3 FT AUDIO CABLE
12V USB CAR ADAPTOR
1 FT AUDIO CABLE
1 FT USB CABLE
1 FT USB CABLE
AUDIO IN AUDIO OUT
AUX IN
CAR STEREO
USB JACK
HEADPHONE
OUTPUT JACK
1 FT USB CABLE
1 FT AUDIO CABLE
6 FT AUDIO CABLE 3.5mm
TO RCA
AC TO USB ADAPTOR
STEREO
SMART PHONE
OR MP3 PLAYER
AudioCableMicroAmpApplication3–NotebookComputerto Stereo AudioCableMicroAmpApplication4–NotebookComputerto Te lev is io n
6 FT AUDIO CABLE
3.5mm TO RCA
STEREO
1 FT USB CABLE
1 FT AUDIO CABLE
NOTEBOOK
COMPUTER
LIMITEDWARRANTY
G-RODaudioLLCwarrantiestheCableMicroAmpproductagainstdefectsin
materialsandworkmanshiponly.Itemssubjecttoabuseormisusewillnot
bewarranted.WarrantyclaimsmustbereturnedpostagepaidtoG-ROD
audioLLCandwillberepairedorreplacedattheirdecision.G-RODaudioLLC
doesnotwarrantthisitemtobesuitableforanyspecificpurpose.
1 FT USB CABLE
6 FT VGA CABLE
1 FT AUDIO CABLE 6 FT AUDIO CABLE
REAR OF TV
TELEVISION
NOTEBOOK
COMPUTER