Rogue Audio RH-5 User manual

RH-5
Headphone Amplifier
Owner’s Manual
Rogue Audio, Inc.
3 Marion Lane
Brodheadsville, A 18322
Issue date: 11/30/2016
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1) Introduction 3
2) Unpacking your headphone amp 3
3) Installing The RH-5 into your system 4
4) Operation of the RH-5 amplifier 5
5) The optional phono preamplifier 7
6) Troubleshooting 10
7) Registration of your RH-5 10
8) Fuse value 11
9) Specifications 11
10) roduct Warranty 12
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INTRODUCTION
Congratulations on your purchase decision! We at Rogue Audio truly believe that our equipment
provides the “smartest” value in high-end audio. If you have never owned a vacuum tube
headphone amplifier you will be thrilled by the silky-smooth sound and incredible detail that
only a tube amplifier can provide. And with the RH-5 headphone amp, you can be sure that you
are getting the very best in tube amplification. We at Rogue Audio are extremely proud of our
products and want you to enjoy them to their fullest potential. So please, take the time to read
through this short manual so that you can be confident that you have set up your amplifier
properly.
UNPACKING YOUR PREAMPLIFIER
Tools require : none
WARNING - This amplifier uses voltages that coul cause injury or eath. Never
open the amplifier while it is plugge in, an always wait at least 30 minutes after
turning the unit off before unplugging the electrical cor an opening the unit.
Lethal voltages can remain in the electronics after the unit is unplugge .
Your new amplifier has been painstakingly inspected for cosmetic flaws during and after
assembly. In order not to damage the cosmetic appearance of your amplifier it is important that
you follow the unpacking instructions carefully.
1. Open the shipping carton and remove the box containing the remote control and power cord
from the carton.
2. Carefully lift the amplifier out of the carton, and remove the foam pads and plastic bag.
3. Save the packing materials. The packing materials and box have been carefully designed to
protect your valuable equipment during shipping so you don’t want to throw them away.
3

INSTALLING THE RH-5 HEADPHONE AMP INTO YOUR SYSTEM
lace the RH-5 on a flat stable surface with at least 1” of airspace above the amplifier for
ventilation. Do not place any other electronic components or any other objects on top of the
amplifier.
Insert the IEC end of the detachable power cord into the rear of the amp (shown in Figure 1).
lug the opposite end of the power cord into an appropriate power outlet. It is recommended that
both the headphone amp and power amplifier (if you are using the RH-5 as a preamplifier) are
plugged into the same wall outlet if possible (perhaps using a power outlet strip) in order to
avoid creating a ground loop.
Figure 1
Connecting sources to the RH-5:
Connections are made to the inputs on the rear panel of the amplifier shown in Figure 1. Line
level (CD player, tuner, DAC, etc…) connections are made via the three pairs of RCA inputs or
the pair of XLR balanced inputs. If you have the optional phono card and are using a turntable
connect it to the Line 1 inputs. There is also a grounding lug for the turntable if required.
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RCA preamp
outputs
Line 1-3 RCA
inputs
hono ground IEC
Receptacle
XLR preamp
outputs
XLR inputs Rear on/off
hono in (optional)

OPERATION OF THE RH-5 HEADPHONE AMP
Powering up the System:
After all your connections have been made, you are now ready to turn the amplifier on. The
primary power switch is located on the rear of the unit and is shown in figure 1. You can leave
this switch on all the time and it will keep the solid state portions of the RH-5 energized even
though the unit is powered down. Very little power is used in standby and the RH-5 will sound
its best shortly after turn on. The power button located on the front panel is shown in figure 2 and
is used to power the RH-5 on and off between listening sessions. Your amplifier features soft-
starting to prolong tube life as well as to suppress turn-on transients. A countdown timer on the
display shows the time remaining before the RH-5 is ready to use.
When the RH-5 is turned on or off with the rear switch you should not have headphones plugged
in as there are noise transients that could damage sensitive headphones. During normal turn
off/turn on with the front button this is not a concern. When using the front power button all
previous listener settings are retained such as volume and input selection.
To avoid source transients turn on all sources prior to turning on the RH-5 and turn off the RH-5
first when finished listening.
NOTE – The RH-5 will not play music for approximately 20 secon s after power on
while the amplifier goes through its sequential start-up.
Figure 2
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Gain
Volume
Control
4 in XLR
Display on/off
(push button)
Input Selector
ower
Button
3 pin XLR right3 pin XLR left
¼” TSR jacks Mute

Hea phone Connections:
The RH-5 is designed to accept standard ¼” (6.3mm) TSR jacks, 3 pin XLR connectors and 4
pin XLR headphone cables as shown in figure 2. The RH-5 is capable of operating multiple
pairs of headphones simultaneously.
Switches, Buttons an Controls:
Volume Control
The volume control has 185 steps which vary in 0.5 dB increments. At turn on the RH-5 defaults
to a relatively low volume. The volume can be turned continuously until reaching a reading at
either 1 (min) or 185 (max).
Selector Button
The input selector button accesses four different sets of inputs. Each successive push will step
through the three RCA inputs and the XLR input. Note that if the optional phono board is
installed that it replaces the Line 1input.
Mute Button
ushing the mute button mutes the headphone outputs and the variable outputs. The letter “M”
appears on the display to show that the RH-5 is in mute.
Gain Button
ushing the gain button steps the output level through three different gain settings. The
difference between the gain settings allows a wide range of volume operation to accommodate
various headphone sensitivities. For example, if you have very sensitive headphones you can use
gain level “1” and have a useful span of the volume control before the RH-5 plays too loudly.
Conversely, if your headphones are low sensitivity you can use gain setting “2” or “3” so that
you get full volume. There is no performance advantage between the gain settings.
Display On/Off Switch (locate in the volume knob)
ushing in the volume knob will toggle the display on and off. When the display is “off” only a
small blue LED segment remains to show that the RH-5 is turned on. When the display is
toggled back on the current input and volume are displayed. You can adjust the volume level
while the display is off.
Using the RH-5 as a stereo preamplifier:
There are two pairs of variable (preamplifier) outputs on the RH-5 which can be used to drive an
external power amplifier. One pair is RCA and the other pair XLR (balanced).
If you are using the RH-5 as a preamplifier turn on the RH-5 first and then the power amp. Turn
off the power amp first and then the RH-5. Also note that the mute button will mute both the
headphones and preamp outs. If you want to listen to the headphones only you will need to turn
off the external power amp.
6

Remote Control
The RH-5 hand held remote provides most of the functions located on the RH-5 front panel.
Note that the on/off button requires being held down for a moment to avoid accidental turn
on/off.
Phono Amplifier (optional)
The RH-5 hono board provides a high performance phono section that is suitable for the vast
majority of phono cartridges available today. It is user configurable and has adjustments for gain,
and resistive loading. The RH-5 w/phono option is shippe with the gain set at 44 B an the
loa ing set at 47K. This set up is appropriate for most high output cartridges. Before removing
the cover to make any loading or gain adjustments, power off the RH-5 and let it drain off any
voltages for at least 30 minutes. Leave the RH-5 plugged into the wall during this time so that
the voltages can drain down properly. After the RH-5 has sat for at least 30 minutes disconnect
the power cord from the wall or rear of the unit. lease note that best results will be obtained
with cartridges of 0.5mV output and higher. Lower values will work but you may not achieve the
desired maximum volume with low sensitivity headphones.
Setting the cartri ge loa ing – Remove the 10 cover screws using a #2 hillips screwdriver
and pull off the cover.
WARNING - This amplifier uses voltages that coul cause injury or eath. Never
open the amplifier while it is plugge in, an always wait at least 30 minutes after
turning the unit off before unplugging the electrical cor an opening the unit.
Lethal voltages can remain in the electronics after the unit is unplugge .
7
Input select
(up/down)
Mute Display on/off
On/off
Volume
(up/down)

The cartridge loading DI switches are located near the rear of the optional phono board (figure
3). It is important to point out that the cartridge manufacturers recommended loading should be
considered as a starting point and not an absolute. Systems and turntable setups vary
significantly and if you want to get the most out of your analog setup, take the time to find the
settings that sound best in your system.
Figure 3
8
DIP switches for resistive loading
Slide switches for setting the phono gain.

Resistive loading – There are two sets of DI switches (S3 and S5) for setting the resistive
loading (one per channel). The four switches are labeled 1,2,3 and 4. Figure 3 shows the switches
in the 300 Ω position. The loading options are given in Table 1 on the following page.
Resistive Loa ing Table (see figure 3)
1 2 3 4 resistance
on on on on 20 Ω
on off off off 30 Ω
off on on off 75 Ω
off on off off 100 Ω
off off on on 230 Ω
off off on off 300 Ω
off off off on 1K Ω
off off off off 47K Ω
Table 1
Setting the phono gain - The two slide switches S6 and S4 are used to set the gain and are
located on the front right side of the optional phono board (Figure 3).
If the switches are pushed towards the rear 56 dB of gain is provided which is sufficient for most
low output cartridges. When the switches are pushed forward (towards the front of the RH-5)
the phono provides 44 dB of gain which is suitable for moving magnet (MM) and high output
moving coil (MC) cartridges. A setting of 56 dB gain and 300 Ω loading is shown in Figure 3.
Phono noise – lease note that the phono amp is high gain and as you turn up the volume you
may start to increase the noise floor compared to the other inputs. While the RH-5 phono board
has a Signal to Noise ratio of over 70 dB some noise is inevitable with a phono preamp
(particularly through headphones). The volume control is limited to 160 steps in phono.
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TROUBLESHOOTING
Unit does not turn on
Check that the power cord connection is secure and that the rear power switch is turned on
Unplug the power cord from the rear of the RH-5. Wait ten minutes then plug the preamp
back in. Wait 30 seconds then press the power button on the front panel (e.g. reboot).
Unit does not play
Check that the interconnects are connected to the proper input or output.
Check that the interconnects are connected securely.
.
One channel does not play
Check that the tubes are operational and seated correctly and securely
For further problems, please call Rogue Audio Technical Support at 570-992-9901.
OWNER AND WARRANTY REGISTRATION FORM
Included with this manual is an Owner and Warranty Registration Form. lease take a minute to
fill out this card and return it to Rogue Audio. This card must be returned within 30 days of
purchase to validate the warranty.
10

FUSE VALUE
One 1 A slow Blow Type Fuse located on left side of main circuit board.
RH-5 SPECIFICATIONS
Tube Complement Two 12AU7/ECC82 tubes
Frequency Response 5Hz – 50KHz +0/-1 dB
THD <0.05 % 1W
Gain 3dB/12dB/16dB (selectable)
Output Impedance <0.1 Ω (1KHz)
Output power 3.5 W (32 Ω )
1.8W (100 Ω)
.75W (300 Ω)
hono Gain 42dB, 55dB
hono Overload 40 mV
ower Consumption Off 12 W standby
ower Consumption On 31 W
hysical Dimensions 15” W x 13.5” D x 4” H
Weight 19 pounds
Shipping Weight 25 pounds
ower Requirements 115V 50/60Hz or
ower Requirements 220-240V 50/60Hz
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LIMITED WARRANTY
Warranty Perio
This product has been manufactured under the highest standards of quality and workmanship. Rogue Audio Inc. (hereinafter
“Rogue Audio”) warrants this product against defects in material or workmanship as follows:
With the exception of vacuum tubes, Rogue Audio warrants to the original purchaser of this product all parts of this product
against defects in material and workmanship for a period of three years from the date of retail purchase. Rogue Audio warrants
the vacuum tubes for a period of six months from the date of retail purchase. Any defective parts will be replaced free of charge,
excluding shipping and handling.
roof of purchase in the form of a bill of sale or recited invoice which indicates that the product is within the warranty period
must be presented to obtain warranty service. Rogue Audio suggests that the purchaser retain the dealer’s bill of sale as evidence
of the date of retail purchase.
What’s Not Covere
This warranty does not cover cosmetic damage or any damage that results from product misuse, product abuse, installation
error, connection to an improper voltage supply, accident, improper maintenance, alterations, modifications not authorized in
writing by Rogue Audio, lightening, power surges, or acts of God. Use of any other than Rogue Audio factory parts may void this
warranty.
This warranty does not cover the cost of parts and labor which would be otherwise provided without charge under this
warranty, obtained from any source other than Rogue Audio.
This warranty applies only to consumer use of this product and does not cover any product that is used in any trade or business,
or in an industrial or commercial application.
This warranty applies only to the original purchaser of this product when purchased from an Authorized Rogue
Audio dealer.
This warranty is valid only in the United States.
YOUR RIGHTS
ROGUE AUDIO LIMITS ITS OBLIGATIONS UNDER ANY IM LIED WARRANTIES UNDER STATE LAWS TO A
ERIOD NOT TO EXCEED THE WARRANTY ERIOD. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON HOW
LONG AN IM LIED WARRANTY LASTS, AND SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION
OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT
A LY TO YOU. THIS WARRANTY GIVES YOU S ECIFIC LEGAL RIGHTS, AND YOU MAY HAVE
OTHER RIGHTS WHICH MAY VARY FROM STATE TO STATE.
To Obtain Service
To obtain service, you must contact Rogue Audio and obtain a return authorization number. The product must be delivered to
Rogue Audio in its original packaging prepaid at the following address:
Rogue Au io Inc.
3 Marion Lane
Bro hea sville, PA 18322
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