Navison audio SE-MKII Operation manual

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STEREO PREAMPLIFIER OWNER’S OPERATING MANUAL
SE-MKII

SE-MKII Owner’s Manual 1
Introduction
Thank you for selecting the Navison audio SE-MKII line stage preamplifier as the control center
for your audio system. The SE-MKII is capable of remarkably faithful recreation of the dynamics,
textures, tonalities, and ambience of live musical perform-ances. Using it, we believe that you
will experience the excitement of discovery in hearing more from your favorite recordings than
ever before.
At Navison audio, we expect our products to be a source of satisfaction and of pride to their
owners for many years to come. Accordingly, circuit designs, parts and materials for all Navison
audio 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 SE-MKII has been designed to operate in an intui-tively apparent way, you will find
useful information on its installation and operation in this manual. Please take a few minutes to
read the manual to better understand the features and capabilities of your SE-MKII. Note that
this unit is phase inverting. See the section entitled "Getting The Most from Your SE-MKII" for
details on correct hookup in your system.
In closing, we'd like to welcome you to the family of Navison audio owners. We want you to enjoy
your Navison audio product to the fullest. To this end, our staff stands ready to answer any
questions you may have about the function and application of your SE-MKII, and to provide any
needed service both during, and after the warranty period. Our goal is to heighten your enjoyment
of recorded music.

Limited Warranty For Navison audio Components
Navison audio 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 purchaser, or five years from the date of shipment to the authorized
Navison audio dealer. During the warranty period, Navison audio will repair defective units without
charge for labor or parts (with the exception 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 Navison audio design, Inc.
c) Units not purchased from an authorized Navison audio 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 Navison audio 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 Navison audio design to any destination in the United States.
All implied warranties, including merchantability and fitness for a particular 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.
The warranty on the Navison audio of products is transferable to subsequent owners provided
that the warranty registration card has been filled in and returned to Navison audio design, inc.
within 30 days of the original purchase, and that the registered owner provides the factory with
a signed notice giving model and serial number of the unit, and the new owner's name and address.
This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other rights which vary from
state to state.
Navison audio 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. Navison audio will provide warranty
service for products outside the United States, but in these cases, the customer must pay all
shipping, handling and customs costs both to and from our Service Department.
SE-MKII Owner’s Manual
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SE-MKII Owner’s Manual 3
Questions about this warranty should be addressed to
Service Department
Navison Audio Design, Inc.
1551 Shaw Drive San Jose CA 95118.
The Navison audio service department can also be reached by
• Email: [email protected]
• Phone: [phone]
• Fax: [phone]
Toll free number
• 1-877-NAV-IZON or (628-4966)
Service
If your Navison 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 obtained 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. Be aware that
requesting an estimate will delay service to your unit 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 purchase to register the warranty.

Installation
The first step in preparing your SE-MKII preamplifier for use is to install the vacuum-tubes. To
do this, remove the top plate of the machine by removing these screws securing on the top plate.
The SE-MKII uses eight type 6H1-EB tubes it’s similar 6922 tubes. After checking the pin
orientation, insert one tube in each tube socket. Next, fit two of the included silicone rubber rings
over each tube, spaced at roughly 1/3 and 2/3 distances. These rings will minimize the effects
of air-borne microphonics on the tubes. Finally, reinstall the top plate of the machine.
Set up
To maintain proper ventilation, mount the SE-MKII horizontally on a flat, hard surface, and take
care that the ventilation holes in the bottom are unobstructed. Allow at least two inches of
clearance above the unit and keep the cabinet or shelf open at the back. Vertical installation is
not recommended.
All SE-MKII sold in the United States are configured for operation on a 60Hz ac power line
producing between 100 and 120 volts. Export versions of the SE-MKII will have the correct
operating voltage and frequency 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.
SE-MKII Owner’s Manual
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Electromagnetic Interference
Considerable care has been taken in the design of the SE-MKII 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. At the same time, however, our primary
goal is the accurate reproduction of recorded music in the normal home environment, and we
have elected not to compromise this objective by the application of heavy-handed RFI filters, or
by using grounding practices that reduce RFI at the expense of degraded audio performance.
We find that the approach we have taken has worked extremely well, resulting in only rare in-
stances of EMI problems which could be treated locally as needed, rather than compromising
the performance of our product in the 99.9% of installations where EMI is not a problem.
Care in installation can often avoid EMI induced problems. The following practices should generally
be observed in any application, and will be especially important where EMI may be a problem.
Interconnect cables should be kept as short as possible (3 meters or less), and shielded cable
should be used (cable which has two center conductors, and a separate external shield connected
at only one end).
Physical location and cable "dress" can be an important factor in mini-mizing hum pickup. The
installation should situate the preamplifier well away from the power amplifier, and power (ac
mains) cords should be dressed to remain at least 4" (100mm) away from input/output cables.
SE-MKII Owner’s Manual 5

Connection
SOURCES (CD, TUNER, and AUX):
These high level inputs are electrically equivalent. The load they present to the source varies with
the volume control setting, but in no case will it drop below 12 kohms. Connect the corresponding
source components to these inputs.
OUT 1 and OUT 2:
Connect to the input of your amplifier (or crossover in a bi-amplified system). We recommend
the use of an amplifier with an input impedance of 20k ohms or higher. Since the SE-MKII inverts
phase, it may be necessary to invert the speaker leads to maintain correct absolute phase. See
the section on "Getting the most out of your SE-MKII" for an explanation.
SE-MKII Owner’s Manual
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Controls
Power: Press the button labeled power to switch the preamplifier on. A time delay auto-muting
circuit is incorporated into the SE-MKII to eliminate transients generated by the warm-up, and
cool down cycles of the vacuum-tubes. All outputs are grounded via relays for approximately 90
seconds after the unit is turned on in order to suppress warm-up transient noises. During this
auto-muting period, the mute indicator led (located middle to the Vol up and Vol dn button) will
flash. All control functions are disabled during the auto-muting cycle. The muting relay also
grounds the outputs immediately at turn-off or in the event of any power line interruption. When
the SE-MKII is turned off (by pressing the power switch again), the standby led (located in the
display window) will be illuminated.
When first connected to ac mains, or after an interruption of power, the SE-MKII will turn on
in a default mode (after auto-muting), with the level set at 25, and the CD input selected. In
subsequent sessions, as long as the ac main has not suffered a power outage, the unit will
turn on at the last used volume setting and input.
Function (cd, tuner, aux): Pressing the button labeled source will cause the unit to
step through these five inputs, in the order displayed on the front panel. The selected input will
be indicated by an illuminated led.
vol dn, vol up:Level setting on the SE-MKII is achieved by using a programmed microprocessor
to select combinations from among an array of high-quality precision resistors. This arrangement
allows 100 steps of approximately .7 dB per step. The steps are numbered 0 through 99, with
0 being silence, and 99 being maximum volume.
The level setting can be changed by pressing the vol dn and vol up buttons on the front panel.
Each time a button is pressed, the level will move up or down one step. If a button is pressed
and held, the level control will cycle through the steps at an accelerating rate. With each step,
a slight "click" will be heard from the opening and closing relays inside the SE-MKII. Balance can
only be set via the remote control.
SE-MKII Owner’s Manual 7

Remote Control
All operations of the SE-MKII can be controlled by the handheld wireless remote unit.
MUTE: Pressing the mute button will cause the main outputs to mute and the level display
to be zero. Pressing it again will restore the last level setting.
CD, TUNER, and AUX: You can directly access any input by pressing the associated
button on the remote.
LEVEL - +: Duplicates the function of the front panel vol dn, vol up controls.
BALANCE: Allows attenuation of either channel independently of the other. Pressing the
right balance button will reduce the left channel level setting by one step. Pressing and holding
the right balance button will cause the left channel to cycle down through its level settings at an
accelerating rate. Pressing the left balance button will attenuate the right channel in the
same manner.
SE-MKII Owner’s Manual
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Vacuum Tube Replacement
The SE-MKII circuit employs eight vacuum tubes (V1 – V8), all 6H1-EB tubes. The 6H1-EB offers
low noise, low microphonics. The brands of tubes we supply have been chosen by first selecting
those brands which are known to be most reliable, then by extensive auditioning of these
acceptable brands with the final choices being made solely on the basis of sonic performance.
We know of no vacuum tubes available which will improve the sonic performance of your SE-
MKII. The tubes in your preamplifier have been tempered by a controlled burn-in procedure that
permits them to perform for a greatly extended period without sonic degradation, and then
selected for minimum residual noise. Replacement tubes are prepared and selected in the same
way. Therefore, we highly recommend that you purchase replacement tube sets from Navison
audio design.
We anticipate tube life to accommodate two to three years of operation without degradation in
normal use - if the preamplifier is switched off when not in use. If the preamplifier is left on at
all times, tube life can be exhausted in a matter of a few months.
SE-MKII Owner’s Manual 9

Getting The Most From Your SE-MKII
In a system of commensurate high quality components, the Navison audio SE-MKII offers an
unparalleled level of sophistication and refinement 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 pressure). 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).
The SE-MKII is phase inverting. If your system has an odd number of inversions, (for example,
if the SE-MKII is the only phase inverting unit in the chain) then you must add one phase inversion.
This is conveniently done by reversing the positive and negative connections to your speakers
(be sure to reverse both channels).
If you are not sure about the phase of every piece in your system, you can establish correct
absolute phase by careful listening. When the system is in correct phase, transients will be
noticeably cleaner and more sharply defined. The effect is especially apparent on plucked string
sounds. A final warning - not all recordings are phase correct (including some "audiophile"
recordings), so listen to several before concluding your investigation of absolute phase.
SE-MKII Owner’s Manual
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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
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 Navison audio dealer for recommendations for your spe-cific
system.
Performance Tip
Warm up the SE-MKII before listening: The sonic performance of the SE-MKII improves noticeably
as the unit warms up. The midrange becomes more lucid, the highs smoother, and the soundstage
expands. The warm up period can be expected to last about fifteen minutes.
Questions:
If you have questions about the installation or function of your SE-MKII.
Don not hesitate to call Customer Service at 408-269-6800
SE-MKII Owner’s Manual 11

Specifications
GAIN : 24.5dB
MAXIMUM OUTPUT : 15V
FREQUENCY RESPONSE : 2Hz to 25KHz (- 2dB at 25KHz)
NOISE - UNWEIGHTED : - 80dB
DISTORTION AT 1.0 V OUTPUT : Less than 0.2% THD
PHASE : Inverts
INPUT IMPEDANCE : Approx. 50K ohms
OUTPUT IMPEDANCE : Less than 1.8K ohms
POWER REQUIREMENTS : 115V / 50-60Hz
Internally adjustable by qualified technician to operate on 230V / 50-60Hz
POWER CONSUMPTION : Approx. 70 watts
MECHANICAL
DIMENSIONS : 15.68"D x 21.84"W x 4,15"H
NET WEIGHT : 35 Lbs total
Specifications are subject to change without notice
FUSES
The SE-MKII has two power transformers (one for the tube circuitry, one for the control circuits),
each of which is protected by a fuse. A 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
fuses are located on the input/output pc board at the back of the chassis. The fuses are identified
as F1 and F2 on this printed circuit board.
If configured for 100 to 120V : F1 1 amp, fast blow 
F2 2 amp, slow blow
If configured for 220 to 240V : F1 1/2 amp, fast blow 
F2 1 amp, slow blow
SE-MKII Owner’s Manual
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Thank you for selecting the NAVISON AUDIO
products for your audio system.
www.navisonaudio.com