moon Nova User manual

NOVA
CD Player
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Owner’s Manual

MOON Nova CD Player
Table of Contents
Congratulations .......................................... 3
Introduction .............................................. 4
Unpacking and Warnings ............................. 5
Installation Tips ........................................ 6
Front Panel Controls ................................... 7
Rear Panel Connections ............................. 10
Operating the Nova .................................. 11
Remote Control Operation ......................... 12
Specifications .......................................... 13
Service and Warranty ................................ 14
www.simaudio.com
IMPORTANT: Please read this entire manual before using this product.
Installation and operating instructions inside.
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MOON Nova CD Player
Congratulations!
Thank you for selecting the MOON Nova CD Player as a part of your hi-fi reproduction system. This
CD Player has been designed to offer state-of-the-art high-end performance in a compact and elegant
package, while retaining all the sonic hallmarks on which Simaudio has made its reputation. We
designed the Nova using the engineering concepts learned while developing the Moon Eclipse CD
Player.
We have been building high performance audio equipment for over 20 years, and the know-how
gained through our cumulative experience is an important reason why MOON components are so
musically satisfying.
The performance of your Nova will continue to improve during the first four to six weeks of use. This
is the result of a “break-in” period required for the numerous high quality electronic parts used
throughout this CD Player.
Please read this manual thoroughly to acquaint yourself with this product’s features prior to using it.
We hope you enjoy listening to the MOON Nova CD Player as much as the pride we have taken in
creating this fine audio product. We understand the power and emotion of music and build our
products with the goal of reproducing these elusive qualities.
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Congratulations 3

MOON Nova CD Player
Introduction
Your MOON Nova CD Player incorporates many significant design features to achieve its “world class”
level of performance. This is an abbreviated list of the more important features:
Separate digital and analog power supplies using two toroidal power transformers.
Seven stages of DC voltage regulation.
Philips based transport mechanism.
BurrBrown DF1704 digital filter with 8X oversampling and two precision matched 24-bit/96kHz
BurrBrown PCM1704-J "Digital To Analog" converters.
Internal upsampling which achieves a 24-bit/352.8kHz level of resolution.
A very accurate 25 PPM digital clocking system.
A capacitor-free signal path using a DC servo circuit and proprietary 6db/octave analog filter.
Pure copper circuit board tracings with low impedance characteristics.
Separate digital and analog audio circuitry mounted on a single circuit board, each with their own
respective ground plane, which minimizes si
g
nal path len
g
ths and eliminates any potential for
interference and signal degradation.
Full-function Bi-directional RS-232 port control and status for custom integration and automation.
Extremely rigid chassis construction to minimize the effects of external vibrations.
Accurate matching of the very finest high quality electronic components.
A symmetrical circuit design.
Designed to be powered up at all times for optimal performance.
Low operating temperature for a longer than normal life expectancy.
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Introduction 4

MOON Nova CD Player
Unpacking and Warning!
The MOON Nova CD Player should be removed from its box with care.
The following accessories should be included inside the box with your CD Player:
9 AC power cable
9 FRM’ Full Function remote control with two ‘AAA’ batteries (USA and Canada only)
9 4 Pointed screw on tips (for the CD Player’s legs)-
9 This owner’s manual
9 Warranty card (USA and Canada only)
As soon as the CD Player is safely removed from its box and placed down, perform a thorough physical
inspection and report any physical damage to your dealer immediately. We suggest that you keep the
original packaging, and that it should be stored in a safe, dry place in case you’re required to transport
the CD Player. The customized packaging is specially designed to protect the CD Player from potential
damage that can arise when shipping such a product.
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WARNING! To reduce the risk of fire or electric shock, do not expose this product to rain or
moisture. Do not attempt to “lift the ground” by removing the ground pin from
the AC cable. Make sure that your household electrical wiring supports proper AC
grounding techniques before plugging in this product. Keep the heat sinks and
top cover free of dust to allow for proper heat dissipation. Never expose this
product to extreme temperatures. Always connect the audio signal path cables
prior to connecting the AC mains.
CAUTION! No user-serviceable parts inside. Do not remove top cover, as severe electrical
shock may result.
IMPORTANT! Make sure that your local AC voltage complies with the unit’s label. Damage
caused by plugging thus amplifier into an AC receptacle of the wrong voltage will
not be covered by warranty.
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Unpacking and Warning 5

MOON Nova CD Player
Installation Tips
The MOON Nova CD Player should be placed on rigid surfaces to prevent any accidents such as falling
over. It is highly recommended that the unit sit on its own dedicated shelf. It should both be placed in
a location with empty space around it for proper heat dissipation. You should never place another
component on top of this unit. As well, you should avoid placing it near a heat source. This could
compromise the CD Player’s performance and reliability.
Once you have decided on a location for the Nova, you should install the 4 pointed screw-on tips onto
the legs of the CD Player. These tips will easily scratch most surfaces, therefore it’s advisable to follow
these instructions:
1) Place your Nova on a soft surface (i.e. carpet) and carefully turn it so that it rests on its side.
2) Screw one tip onto each of the four cylindrical legs.
3) Carefully move the chassis to it’s pre-determined location.
Included with these tips is a small metal rod, intended for final adjustments (if necessary) by simply
threading it through the tiny hole of each of these tips and then gently turning. These adjustable
screw-on tips serve two purposes: Mechanical grounding of the chassis and compensation for surfaces
that aren’t perfectly level.
Since household dust is an excellent insulator of heat, we suggest that you clean both of the curved
side-mounted heat sinks on a regular basis. A smooth nylon brush with long bristles (i.e. paint brush)
is recommended for this task.
You should make all of your audio signal connections prior to making the AC connection between the
Nova and the AC wall outlet.
Finally, if you have not used a CD Player before, you may be unaware that compact discs are very
easily damaged and must be kep very clean. Always store them in their jewel cases. Dirty or finger-
marked discs will reproduce music poorly. Moreover, the player may even mute parts of a track, or be
unable to find some tracks. If you need to clean a CD remember to use a soft lint-free cloth using a
radial action (i.e. starting from the cen er and aiming towards the edges). Do not attempt to clean a
compact disc using a ro ating motion
, t
,
t
t .
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InstallationTips 6

MOON Nova CD Player
Front Panel Controls
Figure 1: Front panel of Nova CD Player
The front panel will look similar to Figure 1 (above). The large digital display window indicates the
track number of the compact disc currently playing (or the total number of tracks in stop mode) and
time information. There are four (4) different display modes for time information; the one engaged is
dependant on the “Display” button which is described in detail on the next page of this section. On the
bottom of the display window, from left to right, are five (5) indicator LED’s that will illuminate as
follows:
‘Prg’ - when Program mode is engaged
‘Scn’ - when Scan mode is engaged
‘Ran’ - when “Random” play mode is engaged
‘Rep’ - when repeat mode is engaged for the entire compact disc
‘Rep1’ - when repeat mode is engaged for one (1) specific track
Each of these functions is described in detail on page 9
The “Standby” button disengages the transport mechanism from the rest of the Nova’s circuitry and
turns off the digital display. However, when in “Standby” mode, all digital and analog audio circuitry
remains powered up to help maintain optimal performance. The blue LED on the Nova will no longer
be illuminated when the player is in “Standby” mode.
To load a compact disc into the Nova, press “Open/Close’, put the CD in the drawer with the label side
facing up and press “Open/Close” again. When a CD is first loaded into the Nova, the total number of
tracks, and total playing time will appear in the display. In the event that you load a CD that contains
no musical tracks (i.e. data only), the word ‘DATA’ will appear in the large digital display window and
the drawer will automatically open to eject this unplayable CD.
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FrontPanelControls 7

MOON Nova CD Player
Front Panel Controls (continued)
Press Xto begin playing a compact disc. Pressing Xwhile a track is already playing will result in the
current track immediately playing again, starting from the beginning.
Press to search backward or to search forward through the compact disc’s tracks. When you’ve
located the track number, press Xto begin playing that track. In the event that you initiate a forward
or backward track change while a disc is already playing, it will automatically start playing the track you
select; you need not press X.
Pressto pause the compact disc currently playing. The disc will continue spinning and the laser will
be suspended in its current position. Pressa second time or Xto resume playing the disc.
Press to stop the compact disc from playing. The laser will return to the start position of the disc.
The “Display” button allows you to scroll through the four (4) different display modes for time
information, as well as turn the digital display on and off. Each time you press the “display” button,
the system scrolls to the next time information mode. Bt default, the Nova will display the elapsed
time of the track currently playing. The scrolling order is as follows:
1. Elapsed time of the current track
2. Remaining time of the current track
3. Elapsed time of the entire compact disc (or programmed tracks)
4. Remaining time of the entire compact disc (or programmed tracks)
If you want to turn the display off, press and hold the “Display” button for 2 seconds. When the
display is off, it will still come back on for a short period of time whenever you press any of the buttons
located on the front panel or the remote control; when you are done, the display will automatically turn
off again. To turn the display back on again, press the “Display” button again. The sonic performance
of the MOON Nova CD Player could improve slightly when the display is turned off.
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FrontPanelControls 8

MOON Nova CD Player
Front Panel Controls (continued)
The “Scan” button forces the Nova to play the first ten (10) seconds of each track on the compact disc
currently loaded into the player. When a track is playing in “scan” mode, you can press the Xbutton
to continue listening to the remainder of the current track; doing this automatically terminates the
“Scan” mode.
The “Prog” button allows you to program a selection of tracks in the order that you wish to listen them.
After loading a compact disc into the Nova, select the first track you wish to listen to, using the or
buttons and then press “Prog”. To program a second track, select it the same way you did for the
first one and press “Prog” again. Repeat this operation as many times as you want to program tracks.
Once you’ve completed programming your track selection(s), the digital display window will show the
number of tracks that have been programmed and their total time. To begin playing your programmed
selections, simply press the Xbutton. Pressing will only suspend the playing of the programmed
selection. Pressing a second time will clear your program selection from the Nova’s memory. As
well, opening the top drawer at any time will also clear your program.
The “Random” button, when pressed, will play each of the tracks on a compact disc in a completely
random order, as opposed to the sequential order as they appear on the disc. If you have already
created a program of selected tracks, it will play these programmed tracks in a random order.
The “Repeat” button (Remote control operation ONLY) performs three (3) functions: Pressing “Repeat”
once will result in the entire disc being played again once it has reached the end of the final track.
Pressing “Repeat” a second time will result in the track currently playing being repeated again once it
has ended. To cancel this mode, simply press the “Repeat” button a third time.
If you have created a program of selected tracks, pressing “Repeat” once will result in your entire
program repeating itself once it has completed its cycle; Pressing “Repeat” a second time will result in
the current track from your program being played again once it has ended; Pressing “Repeat” a third
time will terminate the “Repeat” mode.
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FrontPanelControls 9

MOON Nova CD Player
Rear Panel Connections
Figure 2: Rear panel of Moon Nova CD Player
The rear panel will look similar to Figure 2 (above). On the left side is the analog audio output. There
is one pair of RCA analog audio output connectors that you should connect to a stereo analog input on
your preamplifier or integrated amplifier. Don’t hesitate to use good quality interconnect cable.
There are two (2) digital audio outputs located on the center of the rear panel. One is a BNC
connector labeled “S/PDIF” which allows you to use the Nova as a CD transport whereby, digital signal
processing will be handled externally by another DAC or surround processor such as the MOON
Attraction. You should use a 75Ωdigital audio cable with BNC connectors. In the event that this
isn’t available, you may use a digital audio cable terminated with RCA connectors and RCA-to-BNC
adaptors. It is better to use a BNC-to-BNC connection, but it should not be of a concern if you need to
use adaptors. A second digital audio output uses an AES/EBU connector which is intended for use with
DACs and surround processors that have this type of input. Use a dedicated AES/EBU digital audio
cable for this output.
The MOON Nova is equipped with full-function bi-directional RS-232 port control and status for
custom integration or automation. This is located to the right of the digital audio outputs and uses a
DB9 connector. All information about the RS-232 codes are available upon request or in PDF file
format on our website: www.simaudio.com.
Finally on the far right side is the AC connector to plug the unit into a wall outlet. Use the included AC
power cord. Alternatively, if you wish, you may use a dedicated high-performance AC cable designed
for CD Players.
These rear panel connectors have been chosen because they provide the best possible connections for
your unit. A poor contact will degrade the signal substantially, and plugs and sockets should all look
clean and free of dirt and corrosion. The easiest way to clean them is to remove the cables from their
sockets and push them back in again. This procedure requires that your CD Player and the rest of your
components be completely turned off. Not heeding this warning may result in serious damage to your
equipment. Special contact cleaning fluids and enhancers should not be used, as they deposit a difficult
to remove residue which degrades the performance of your components.
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Rear Panel Connections 10