Krell Industries MD-2 Quick start guide

KRELL MD-2
m
mm
m
m
m
mm
m
mm
mmm
mm
m
mmm
mmmm
COMPACTDISC TURNTABLE
OWNER’S REFERENCE

A. INTRODUCTION
Welcometo the Krell family of audio components. You
have joined a select gro.up of discriminating listeners who
enjoy the finest in musicreproduction.
Krell Digital (KDI)is dedicated to the development
technologically advanced componentsfor the reproduc-
tion of dlgita.lly recorded music. Thesedesigns continue
the Krell tradition of ~ncompromisingperf6rmance
through leading-edge technology.
This Owner’sReference is divided into several sections,
each designed to perform a different function. AQuestion
and Answersection is also included where answers to
commonquestions are provided. Should you have any
questions or suggestionsplease feel free to contact your
authorized dealer or the KRELLstaff for assistance.
In the unlikely event that your MD-2should require
service you will be pleased to knowthat it is backedby a
c.omprehensive Customer Satisfaction policy and one of
the most advancedservice facilities in the industry. For
detailed information on the terms and conditions of
service please consult y_ourwa.rranty registration card or
your au~orized KREELDistributor.
B. TABLE OF,CONTENTS
2 UNPACKINGANDASSEMBLY
3 DUSTCOVERINSTALLATION
4 BASIC INSTALLATIONANDCONNECTIONS
5 OPERATIONOF THE CD TRANSPORT
6REMOTECONTROL
6 CAREANDCLEANING
7 QUESTIONSANDANSWERS
9SPECIFICATIONS
13 WARRANTYANDSERVICE INFORMATION

C. UNPACKING AND ASSEMBLY
1. Openthe boxand removethe top layer of protective
foam. Thefollowing items will nowbe visibIe:
1Dust Coverencasedin a protective sleeve
1 CDStabilizer
1 ACpower cord
1MD-2RCRemote Control
3 AAABatteries for MD-2RC
1 Packet containing the OwnersReference and
N warranty card
ote: If anyof these itemsare not included[?lease
con.tact yourauthorized dealer immediatelyfor
assistance.
2. Removethe layer of foamcontaining these items and
set it aside for later use. Carefullyremovethe MD-2
transport fromits boxandremovethe protective plastic
wrap.
Note: Saveall packingmaterials. If youmustship your
MD-2in the future repackthe unit in its original pa, ckag-
ingto preventtransit damage.If the unit is returneclto
KRELLfor service please send the cover and the remote
controlunit.
Caution: If your MD-2has the customlucite cover do not
removeit fiomits protective sleeve at this time! This
coveris extremely_delicate andcan be. permanently
scarred if mishandled.Pleasefollowthe instructions
providedin this Referencefor safe installation.
3. Removethe transport screwsfromthe bottomof the
unit. Their locations are markedwith stickers on the
bottomof the chassis.
NOTE:Later pro,duction modelshave a protective plastic
hubthat secures the transport fromthe top of the unit
duringshipping instead ot transport screws. Carefully
removethe-black plastic hubby tu~ing it counterclock-
4, Removethe voltage identification sticker fromthe
backof the unit. Youare nowreadyto install the dust
cover.
2

CAUTION: FAILURE TO REMOVETRANSPORT
SCREWSBEFORE OPERATION COULDRESULT IN
DAMAGETO THE TRANSPORT.
CAUTION: FAILURE TO REMOVETHE PROTEC-
TIVE HUBBEFORETHE UNIT IS PLUGGEDINTO
THE AC RECEPTACLEOR BEFORE OPERATION
COULDRESULT IN,DAMAGETO THE TRANS-
PORT. ~
D. DUST COVERINSTALLATION
1. Standard Version SmokedDust Cover:
Removethe dust cover, in its protective sleeve, fromthe
shipping foam.Toprevent scratching leave the protective
sleeve on the dust coveruntil the covermountingis
complet.e. Thereare twopairs of screwsw.ith wasOer-type
receptacles attachedto the backpanelof the unit tor
mountingthe dust cover. Center the hingepins on the
dust coveroverthe twopairs of screws.Carefullyslide
the hingesinto the slots Formedby the washers.Pushthe
coverdownevenlyonbothsides until it is fully seated.
Finally, removethe protective sleeve.
2. CustomVersion Clear Lucite Dust Cover:
Removethe dust cover fromthe protective foamand its
protective sleeve. Thereare twopairs of screwswith
washer-typehingereceptacles on the back. of the un!t.
Removethe four screwgfromthe unit ancl take off the
black hingereceptacles. Carefullyplace the lucite dust
coversuchthat the circular milled-outportion,is centered
overthe transport. Alignthe slots in the covers hinge
blockswithttie holes in the backof the chassis. Thread
the four screwsinto the chassis throughthe hingeblocks.
Tightendownlightly andadjust the coverso it is ce.n-
tered on the unit. Oncethe coveris aligned tighten clown
the supportingscrews.
NOTE:Theclear lucite cover must be loweredmanually,
as it is very heavyand does not have a damping
mechanism.

E. BASIC INSTALLATION AND
CONNECTIONS
1. Place the unit on a clean level surface awayfrom
excessiveheat, moistureor light. Ideally, the-MD-2
should be placed on the top of an audio componentcabi-
net or other "openair" rigid platform.
2. TheMD-2maybe placed in a cabinet. It will require.
17.0 inches of verticaIclearance betweenthe bottomand
top shelves for properoperationof the cover.
3. If space is limited the MD-2can be operated without
its dust cover. Sixinchesvertical clearanceis adequateto
allowconvenientaccess to the disc transport area.
4. Thelocation of the unit shouldbe within 2 metersof
the digital signal processor.If longerdistanceis required,
werecommendusing a fibre optic data link as it is more
suited to longdistance runs.
5. Connectthe ACpowercord to the backof the unit.
Oncethe powercord is secured, plug the cord into an AC
outlet.
Whenthe MD-2is connectedto the ACoutlet you will
hear a soft clicking soundandthe display onthe front
will showtwoilluminated dashes. This puts the unit in a
standbycondition.
NOTE:While the MD-2has superb regulation and does
not require a dedicatedACcircuit, westrongly advise
against any connections through extension cords or mul-
tiple ACadaptors. Highquality 15 ampgroundedAC
strips are acceptable.
6. Connectthe Digital Outputfromthe MD-2to a Krell
Digital Processoror other compatibledigital-to-analog
audio processor. TheMD-2is compatible with both
industry standard Fibre Optic or Coaxialcable connec-
tors. ~’/i
Careshouldbe taken in selecting th~ type of cable used
to link the MD-2to yourprocessor.If coaxial cable is to
be usedit shouldbe 75o1~m,non-capacitive, with a band-
widthin excess of 10 MHzto prevent dropouterrors.
CAUTION:TheMD-2is a CDTransport only. It is not
designedto connectdirectly to any preampor analog
signal processor.
4

F. TRANSPORT OPERATION
~
. Turn the CDtransport Onby pressing the POWER
utton. Select a disc andplaceit onthe spindle, label side
~ujg.Putthe discstabilizer onthe centerof the CDsoit
fits securelyonthe drive spindle.
CAUTIONS:
a. Neveroperatethe .CD.transport withoutthe disc stabi-
lizer. Thiscan result in damageto the transport or your
valuable compactdiscs.
b. Neverplace the disc stabilizer wherethe cover may
accidentally close on it and be damaged.
c. Donot use anydisc stabilizing tool besides the KDI
CDStabilizer. This devicehas beenspecially machin.ed
to precisely matchthe CDtransport. Failure to heedtlais
warningmaycause damageto the laser transport.
2. Thefunctionsof the front panelbuttons that control
the transport are describedbelow.
DISPLAY
POWER
STOP
PLAY
Changesbetweentrack designation and
elapsed time
Turns unit ONor OFF
sStopsthe disc fromplaying
tarts the discplayingat track. 1; will also
restart playof t-he currenttrack
Reversetrack select
Forwardtrack select
Fast reverse scan
Fast forward scan

G. REMOTE CONTROL
1. Theoperating functions of the RemoteControlare
describei:l below:
PAUSE
STOP
PLAY
Temporarilystops the musicat a specific
point; Pr.essing again resumesplay fromthe
samepoint.
S~topsthe disc fromplaying
:starts the disc playingat track1; will also
restart playof t-he currenttrack
Reversetrack select
Forwardtrack select
Fast reverse scan
Fast forward scan
2. Batteryinstallation:
Removethe two hex hea,d, screwsfromthe bottompor-
tion of the remotecontrol s front plate. Removethe small
top plate to exposethe battery storage compartment.
Ref6rto the polarity drawingwhileinserting the batter-
ies. Replacethe top plate and insert the twohex head
screws.
H. CARE AND CLEANING
CAUTION:Please read this section carefully to prevent
damagethrough impropercleaning methodsor materials.
1. Dueto the exposednature of the laser transport assem-
bly on the MD-2extracare should be taken to insure that
it is not accidentally contaminatedwith finge~rints,
cleaningliquids, etc. Duringday-to-dayuse the laser will
not becomedirty or contaminatedany faster than an
enclosedtransport. However,the laser should be cleaned
at least twice annually to removeresidue fromsmokeand
airborneoils.
Toclean the laser lens: place a drop0f CDcleaningfluid
ona clean, lint free cloth andeng_cN~wipethe lens clean.
6

Cautions:
a. Donot oil the laser transport! This mechanismis com-
ple.tely self-contained anddoesnot require customer
maintenance.
b. Donot touch anypart of the exposedlaser and servo ’
systemwith your hands. This could accidentally damage
tile drive unit ......
2. Toremovefinger ~arks and small scratches fromthe
dust cover werecommenda light hand glaze whichis
specifically designedfor plastics andpainted surfaces. At
Krell weuse a product from 3Mcalle~l "Imperial Hand
Glaze". Its part numberis 05990.Followthe
manufacturer’sdirections.
3. Shoulddeeper scratches need to be removedwerec-
ommenda light or,,medium-dutyplastic polis,h suchas
"Plastic Polish #2 . Followthe manufacturers directions
anduse the light 3Mtype glaze to removeany swirl
marks. Thesecleaning products maybe foundin quality
automotivebodyor detailing shops.
I. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Q. Myanalog-to-digital processor will accommodate
either fibre optic or coaxial digital inputs. Whichoutput
should I use on the MD-2?
A. Whilea high quality coaxial willperformquite well,
werecommendglass fibre optic cable dueto its ability to
completelyisolate the groundingplanes betweenthe
transport andprocessor,andits resistance to RFinterfer-
ence.
Q.I haveinstalled the MD-2but the disc will not turn
whenI press PLAY.Whatshould I do?
A. Checkto see if youremovedthe transport screws from
the bottomof the unit as stated in the UNPACKING
ANDASSEMBLYsection of this manual.
Caution:Shouldthis not be the causeof yourdifficulty.
donot attemptanyrepai.r of this unit. Contactyourautho-
rized Krell Dealei/Distributoror the factory.
7

QAI
Doyou recommendI leave the MD-2ONat all times?
Yes. Thesecircuits are mostaccurate and stable when
left to idle whilenot in use. In fact, discreteparts age
faster whencycled ONand OFF.TheMD-2will sound
better andlast longerif left ON.
NOTE:Youshould disconnect the ACcord from the wall
outlet beforeanyelectrical stormsor if youplan to be
awayfromyour homefor prolongedperiods of time.
AQI
~Willthe MD-2play if the dust coveris fully raised?
Certainly. Theunit will function perfectly evenwith
the dust cover removed.
Q. Dueto the exposednature of the laser assemblyis
there a possibility of damagethroughlaser radiation?
A. No.Thereis an optical sensor underthe CDwhenit is
positioned on the transport hub. This allows the MD-2to
prohibit the laser fromturning on whenit is not covered
with a CD.
IQ. I ownmanyCD’swhich have CDRings on them. Am
able to use these discs with the MD-2?
A. Yes, the MD-2will accept discs with "CDRings".
_D.ueto their very lowmassthey will not damagethe MD-
2’s transport. Whilewecan neither affirm or denythe
benefits derived fromthe use of CDRings, wedo not
feel that anytype of disc equilibriumdeviceis required
with the MD-2whenproperly used with our CDStabi-
lizer
Caution:Westrongly_advise against the use of any type
of additional disc stabilizer. Theseitems add too much
massto the laser servo systemand mayburn out the
drive.
Q. Doyou recommendthe use of "Cones"or other damp-
ing feet with the MD-2?
A. Dueto the extraordinary rigidity of our machiningand
internal dampingwedo not feel that the MD-2requires
additional masscouplingor isolation. If youwishto use
an after-market isolation device yo~maydo so without
fear of dam.agingthe MD-2.Anydevice whichaffi.xes
permanentlyto the chassis or requires a breachof the
external chassis will void the warranty.

Q. Can I use both sets of COAXIALoutputs at the same
time?
A. Yes, the MD-2can drive two different digital to ana-
log converters.
Q. Will the MD-2play CDsingles?
A. Yes, the MD-2willplay CDsingles.
¯ I. SPECIFICATIONS
TRANSPORT
Philips CDM-1 MK11 with Hall effect motor, swing-arm
design in a unicast frame.
LASER
Single Beamwith glass lens
OUTPUT
Digital only in industry standard formats
1 FIBREOPTICvia standard interface
2 COAXIALvia RCAconnectors
REMOTE CONTROL
Wireless infrared
DIMENSIONS
1,9," wide, 12.5" deep
6 ,,high, cover closed
15 tilgh with cover open
WEIGHT
23 pounds, unit only
28 pounds, shipping weight
9