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Physical Placement
Firstly, find a good stable location to place the
phono stage box. Try and avoid close proximity
with units which emit a magnetic field (such as
ampliers etc) as these can induce hum. A high-
quality Hi-Fi stand or shelf as part of a dedicated
Hi-Fi installation is preferable.
Connect the earth
Connect the tonearm earth wire (if it has an earth
wire) to the binding post on the rear panel. It can
be difficult to turn the Earth nut with larger phono
cables already plugged in therefore this should be
done first.
If a bare earth wire is used, make sure it is wrapped
around the binding post thread in a clockwise
direction looking from the rear and that no
exposed wire is left hanging out that could make a
short to other connectors.
Only hand tighten the earth nut making sure the
wire is securely gripped. Do not use spanners or
other tools.
Avoid earth loops
Ideally there should be only one connection to
Earth from a common point. If multiple Earth
connections exist then earth loops can occur if
current flows around such loops. This sometimes
results is audible mains hum at 50/60Hz or even
harmonics of these frequencies. If mains hum is
heard when playing vinyl the best approach is to try
and identify the source of the ground loop and
break it at a sensible point that does not
compromise the safe operation of the entire system.
If in doubt, seek professional assistance.
Connect your Tonearm to the
Discovery 1
Plug the tonearm phono cables into the 2 phono
sockets marked “IN”.
Next plug in a pair of interconnect cables running
from the Discovery 1 outputs marked “OUT”.
Plug the other end of the interconnects into your
pre-amplifier / amplifier input RCA sockets.
Connect the power cable
Finally, connect the mains cable The blue LED on
the front panel will light up to indicate the unit is
powered up.
Front Panel Adjustments
The Discovery 1 phono stage has 2 front panel
controls which make adjustments to suit a wide
variety of MM and MC cartridges. These
adjustments have a significant influence on sound
quality so take time to explore them and not just
settle on the first combination, even if it sounds
great.
The best approach for making adjustments is to
first set the impedance to roughly the right value.
So for Moving magnet (MM) cartridges use the MM
setting and for Moving Coil (MC) cartridges set the
value at 400 ohms as a start point.
Once you have done this start experimenting with
the gain setting to achieve the best sound. Start
with the gain knob turned fully anti-clockwise
which is its lowest then increase gain it by turning
the knob clockwise. Compare for any sign of
‘shouting’ from voices or bass crescendos, for
example and stop increasing the gain once these
tell tale signs manifest themselves.
Next adjust the impedance. Listen to tonal
balance and bass tightness. If the impedance is
too low then the bass tends to become soft and
loose, lacking in punch and definition. If the
impedance gets too high then the mid-band
becomes a little hard / harsh and bass warmth
disappears along with it’s expansive, relaxed feel,
(wherever is should sound relaxed and warm
with proper slow decay).
Impedance Loading
The knob on the left has 5 positions to control the
electrical 'load' placed on the cartridge coils. For
moving magnet cartridges, the switch is usually set
at the MM location. This provides the normal
47Kohms loading used on most MM cartridges and
