TACT Millennium MKII User manual

J.
A guide to the functions and ultimate pertormance of the world's first true digital amplifier
(,'-.,
Owners Manual HT
AL'PId

Table
of Confents
TACT
Mittennium . OwnersManual 2
.........5
........4
........5
Millennium
- aplatform
for
future
formats..
Front
panel
controls........ ..........'...,.,..5
...................5
The
display
Dimmer .......................8
Trouble
Shooting .................8
ProtectionMode........... .........8
When
the
TACTlogo
isflashing..... .............8
TACTMillennium
A/Dmodule ................9
TACT
MillenniumRCSmodule ................9
TACTMillenniumformat

Safety Instructions
AII terminals are hot
C(
CAUTION:
TOREDUCETHERISK
OFELECTRICAL
SHOCK,DO
NOTREMOVE
COVER.NOUSER-SERVICEABLE
PARTSINSIDE.
REFER
SERVICINGTOANAUTHORIZED
TACTDEALER.
WARNING: TOREDUCETHERISK
OFFIRE
ORELECTRIC
SHOCK.DO
NOTEXPOSE
THISAPPLIANCETORAIN
ORMOISTURE.
This
equipment
generates,
usesandcan
radiateradio
frequency
energyand,if not installedandused inaccordance
with the
instruc-
tions,maycause harmfulinterference
to radio
communications.
Howeve7
there
isnoguarantee
that interference
willnot occurina
pa
rticuI
a
r instaII
ation.
This
canbe determinedby turningtheequipment
onandoff, the
userisencouragedto try to correctthe interference
byoneor more
of thefollowing measures:
. Reorientorrelocate
the
receiving
antenna.
. lncrease
theseparation
betweentheequipment
andthereceiver.
. Connectthe equipmentinto anoutleton a circuitdifferent
from
that to which thereceiver isconnected.
. Consultthedealeroran experiencedradiolWtechnicianfor heln.
CAUTION:
. Changes
or modifications to thisequipment
not expressly
approved
by themanufacturer
could
void
theuser'sauthority
to
operatethe equipment.
. Power
isonlycompletely removed
from thecircuitrywhentheIEC
power cableisdisconnectedfrom theMillennium.lnStandbymode
thestandbycircuitry ispowered
. The
speakeroutputs
are
balanced,
allterminals
arehotand
shouldnever
beshortedto thechassrs
orother
speakerposrs.
. Nobridgecouplingis possible.
lmportant Symbols
. Thelightning flashwith arrowhead
symbol,within an equilateral
triangle,isintended
toalerttheuser
to the
presence
of uninsulated
"dangerous
voltage"
withinthe
product's
enclosurethatmay
beof
sufficientmagnitude
to constitutea risk
of electricshock
to persons.
. The
exclamation
point withinanequilateral
triangleisintended
to
alert theuser
to the presence of important
operatingandmainte-
nance6erui.c.ing)
instructionsin theliterature
accompanying
the
appliance.
"'
. Markingby the "CE"
symbol
(shown
left)indicates
complianceof
thisdevicewith theEMC
(Electromagnetic
Compatibility)
andLVD
(LowVoltageDirective)
standardsof theEuropean
Community.
TACTMittennium . OwnersManual 3

Unpacking and placement
Keep the hox
Things to avoid
TACT
Miltennium . OwnersManual 4
' Always
disconnect
your entire
system
from the
AC mains
before
connecting
or disconnecting
any cables,
or whencleaning
any
component.
. This
productisequipped
with a three-conductor
ACmains
power cordwhich
includes
anearth
groundconnection.
To
pre-
ventshock
hazard,
all three
connections
must
ALWAys
be used.
' Alwayskeepelectrical
equipment
out of the reach
of chirdren.
The
TACT
Millennium
isheavy
and has
nobuiltin handles.
Unpacking
it canbe a little bit tricky.To
prevent back
or toe
injuries,
westrongly
recommendyou to get someone
to help
you
whenit'stimeto lift the
amplifier
out of the
box.
or
Openthebox,foldout thecarton
flaps,
withoutremoving
any
packaging
material,
carefully
turn thebox upside
down andsimpry
remove
theboxfrom theamplifier.
Note:Keep
allpacking
materials
for futuretransport
ofyour TACT
Millennium.
shippingthe
amplifier
in anything
otherthan its
pur-
pose-designed
packing
material
mayresult
in damage
thatis not
covered
by the warranty.
Place
theTACT
Millennium
near
thedigital
sources,
thus keeping
interconnects
reasonably
short.lt may
beplaced
on a shelfor in a
cabinet
where
it'seasy
to operate.
Note
thatadequate
clearancefor theACcord,
speaker
cabres
and
interconnects
mustbe left
behind
the TACT
Millennium.
Due
to theMillennium's
highefficiency,
it won't get
very
warm
even
after hoursof operation.This
will give
you great flexibility
in
terms
of placement.
Justmake
surethat theventilation
slots
at the
upper
section
of thebackpanel
aren'tcovered.
Safetyand Maintenance
' Don't useflammable
chemicals
whencleaning
the
Miilennium.
. Don't operate
theMillennium
with the
coverremoved.
. Don't wet theinside
of theMillennium
withanyliquid.
. Don'tpour orspillliquids
directly
onto this
theMillennium.
. Don'tbypass
anyfuse.
' Don'treplace
anyfusewith a value
or type
otherthanspecified.
oDon'tattemptto repair
this
product.
lf aproblem
occurs,
cantact
your TACT
dealer.
. Don't eipose theMillennium
to extremely
highor
low temperatures.

Introduction
Quick setup
TACTMillennium is the world's first true-digital power
amplifier where digital audio data is converted directly
into sound without analog amplification or conventional
low-level D/A conversion involved at any step.
Thecore technology is basedon patented EQUlBlTru
processingand output modules.
The TACT
Millennium is a modular design, a platform for
state-of-the-artmusicreproduction.This meansthatyou
canadd functions or upgrade the pertormance when the
tech
nology becomesavailable.
Thismanual will expand together with your Millennium.
lf you take the time to register
your investment,we
guarantee that you will get information about future
u
pgrades and expansions.
Pureand simpledesign
TheMillenniumisvery
easyto operate.Threebuttons
anda
volumecontrolarewhatyou haveatyour disposal.
1.Power
ON|OFF
2.Analoginputselector(*)
3. Volume
control & display
4. Digitallnputselector
("The
analoginputselector
(2)
isonlyactivewhen theoptional
TACTAnaloglnputModuleisconnectedto the Millennium.)
A. Connect
your speakercablesto theterminalson theback-
panel.
The
speakerimpedanceshould
be4-16Ohms.
lf the speakerscanbebi-wired,usebothsets
o/ terminals.
Make
sure
that thered(+)terminal
gets
connectedwith the
corresponding
positive
(+)terminal
onyour speaker.European
versionsof theMillenniumwillnot accept
banana
plugs.
Do
notattemptto remove
the plastic
safety
plugs,
usespadesor
simplybarewires.
B. Connect
your CD/DVD/MD/DAT
player
to oneof thedigital
inputsorananalogsourceto theA.l.M.Turn
on the
power
to
yoursource.
C.Turnon theTACTMillenniumwith the
power button (1).
D. Presstheanalogor digital
(2/4)
input selector
once.The
Millenniumwillnow boot upand
you mustse/ect
theinput
where
you connected
thesource.lf theEquibit
logoisflashing,
press
theinputse/ecfors2 or 4 to find therightsource.When
the Millenniumdetectsa signal,thelogo will stop flashing.
''.t
E.Adjustthevolumewith thewheel
(3)
to a moderate level.
F.Activate
yourdigitalor analog
sourceandadjustthevolume.
lf you experience
any problems during thisprocedure,
pleaserefer to the following pages for a more detailed
explanation of the setup.
5
TACTMillennium. Owners Manual

Advanced Setup
Check the mains voltage!
TACT
Millennium backpanel
5. Ventilation
slot
6. Digitalinput 1&2
7. Digital
input3
8.Mainsvoltageinformation
label
9.A/D converterinput (optional)
10.
Microphoneinput for RCSmodule
(optional)
11.RS232 interface
12.
IECmains
power connector
13.
Digital
output
14.Digital
input4
15.Clock
Gateinterface
Clock Gate lnterface
Analog Input Module
TACTMiltennium . Owners Manual 6
Attempting to operate the Millennium at an incorrect
voltage candamage the unit!
Powerissupplied
viathelEC-connector
on thebackpanel.
Neither
thevoltage
nor thelinefrequency
settingmay
be
changedbytheuser.Make
surethat thelabel
on therear
panel
of the
Millenniumindicates
thecorrectAC operating
voltageforyour country.
When
the
powerswitch(1)
is pressed
- thestandby
circuitry,
which
controls
the mainsrelaywillbeactivated.
Theamplifierwill startin standbymode indicatedby thered
TACTlogo.Aftera few seconds,
theamplifiercanbe
switched
intooperationalmodebypressing
anyof thetwo
inputselector
(2or 4) buttons
or usingthepowerbuttonon
theremote
control.ln operational
mode,thedisplaylocated
in the wheelwill be visible
To
bring theampbacktostandby
mode,
press
thepower
buttonon theremote
or press theinput
selectorbuttons
simultaneously
for2 seconds. This
willalsodefaultthevol-
umesetting (See
sectionon volume
contro|.
Digital Inputs
There
are4 digital
inputson thebackpanel
corresponding
to
4 inputindicators
at theright hand section
of thedisplay:
DI - BNCinput (6)
D2 - BNCinput (6)
D3 - RCA
input (7)
D4 -AES|EBUinput (14)
TheD (4)
buttonon thefrontpanel
andon theremote
control
isused
to togglebetween
theinputs.The
two EIVC
connec-
tors
canbe usedwithstandardRCS
pluqs
if a BNC/RCS
con-
verterisused.
Clock Gate
A proprietary
S-poleXLRinput isprovidedfor a clock
syn-
chronizedCD-transport,
wherethereference
clockiscon-
trolledby theMillennium.
Thisfeature
iscalled
ClockGate.
Whena compatible
deviceisconnected
to theS-pole
connec-
tor (10),
position
D4 selectstheClockGateinputasa source.
(This
means
thatanvClockGate
source
will overridethe
AES/EBUinput.)
Digital Output
Ihe se/ecfed
analog
or digitalinputsource isrelayed
to the
digitaloutput.Usetheoutputfor recording
CD:setc.
'
-:.
Analog lnputs
Oneof thetwo S-poleXLRs
(15)
isdedicated for the
optional
AnalogInputModule
A.l.M., whichwill be clock
synchro-
nized
and
powered
by the Millennium.
When
theA.l.M.is
connected,
oneof fouranaloginputs
canbese/ectedby tog-
gling
throughinput
Al to44. When
theA.l.M.
isnotpre-
sent,theAl indicatorwill flashand theMillennium
returnsto
the
previous
digital
input.

TheWheel
TACTMil lenniu m Display
16.
Analoginputindicator
17.Volume
Control
18.TACTlogo& Standby
indicator
19.Digitalinputindicator
20. Equibitlogo& inputlockindicator
21. Volumelevel
(dB)
Set the max. Ievel
The dB'scaleis not linear
Adjusting the volume
Thevolume
canbeadjustedby turning thebig wheelor press-
ing volume
up/downon theremote control.
Thevolumelevelisdisplayedin decibels
(dBl where 99.9d8is
themaximum
setting
giving
fullpower for a full-scaleinput
form a digital
source.
Notethatnoclipping is possible.
Somerecordingsmay
be
recorded
atalower
level
thatdoesn'tmakeuseof thefull
16
bit dynamicrangeof theCD.TheMillenniumwillnot deliv-
er fullpower with suchrecords.
The
volume
isadjustedin
approx.
500uniformstepsof 0.1BBdB.
The
valuedisplayedis
always
roundedto 0.1d8resolution.Howeve4
not all3-digit
volume
levelscanbe set,thevalue will increasewith either
0.1d8or0.2d8accordingto theroundingnumber.
PresetVolume
WhentheMillennium isturnedon, thevolume/s
sefto apre-
programmed
value.Thislevel
caneasilybechanged;
adjust
thevolume
to thedesiredlevel,
press
theA andDbuttons
simultaneouslyfor2 seconds.Thedisplaywillconfirmthesef-
tingby flashingthevolumeand theamplifierautomatically
entersstandbymode.
Maximum output level
Thevolume
control
with itslow-friction,
high
precision
ball
bearings
caneasilyspinup to fulloutput. To
prevent
damage
toyour speakers,a maximumvolume
levelcaneasily
bepro-
grammed.
. Adjustthe
volume
to thedesiredlevel
and
press
the "MAX
VOL"keyon theremote
controlto activatethisfeature.
TheMillenniumdisplayconfirms
thesettingwith "On".
. Io reset
themaximum output to 99.9d8,
simply
press
the
"MAX VOL'again.
The
displaywillacknowledge
this
with"OFF".
Notethat this operationcan
only
bedonewith
theremote
control.
SettingtheMaxlevelisan easywayto
protectyour speakersfrom extreme
powerlevels.
Power
At a first
glance,
theoperation
of thisveryaccurate
dBscaled
volume
controlmaycomeasa bit of a surpilse.
Normal
opera-
tion willbeat levels
that seemto be vervcloseto themaxi-
mumpowerof the amplifier.
Volume level Correspondsto (at BA)
99.9d8 ..........1s0 W
96.9d8,..... ......75 W
92.9d8:.'.... ......30 W
89.9d8 ls W
B2.9dB ..............3
W
79.9d8 l.s W
Keep
inmindthatthedBscale isnot linear,
a 10 dBincrease
correspondsto 10timesthe
power
levelanda3dBincrease
equals2 timesthe
power.
TACTMittennium. OwnersManual 7

Set the dimmer
Trouhle Shooting
Flashing TACT logo
Most prohlems are temporary
Display light control
WhentheMillenniumisin operationalmode(ON),
threelevels
of display-lightsettingsare possible.
TheDIMbutton on theremote
controltoqqlesbetween:
A. Maximum light
B. Dimmed
C. Dimmed and volume display/input indicators off
Regardlessof thissetting,
any
change
in displayinformation
activates
maximumliqht for twoseconds.
Polarity
You
canswitchthe
polarity180"with theremote
control.
The
displayconfirms
the
polarity
with either
"pos" or "neg".
Mute
When"Mute" isactivated
from the remote
controlthedisplay
shows
"---" andtheampwillbemuted.Press
fhe"Mute" but-
ton againor changethevolume to deactivatethemutesfatus.
Protection Mode
A sophisticated monitoringcircuitcontrolstheoperationof the
amplifier.Whenanerror
isdetected,theamplifiershutsdown
intoprotection modeimmediatelyandindicatesthestatus by
flashing
the TACT
logo.
Protection mode canbe triggered by:
1.Overload/short-circuit of thespeakeroutputs
(limitscurrentto approx.35 Amps)
2. DC
defectedat thespeakeroutputs,thiscanbedueto
extreme
program
material.
3. lnternal
powerfailureburnedluses
etc.
4. Mainssupplyvoltageistoo low or toohigh.
5. Overheatingof theamplifier.
Most of theabovementionederrorconditions
are
normally
temporary.WhentheMillennium
goes
intoprotection mode,
switchoff the
powerand inspecttheamplifier.
Check
the
speakercables,feelif the coverisveryhot. Turnon theamplifier
againto see if normaloperationmodemay
beresumed.
lf theerrorcondition
persists,
the
Millennium
willreturnto pro-
tectionmodeimmediately.lf thisis thecase,
the
Millennium
needsauthorized
service.
. Nobridgecouplingis possible.
. Thefrequencyresponse
of the
Millennium
extendsdown to
DC.Playback
of materialwith extremeinfrasonic
program
materialmaycausetheamp to go intoprotection
mode
in
ordertoprotect thespeakers.
TAO Mittennium . OwnersManual 8

Future upgrades & features
www,tactaudio.com
TheTACTMillennium
isamodulardesign,a
platform
for
crr+n n{ +h^ -r+ m,lqi/- ronrnr] rrrf inn Th;. t-^-^c f hrr ,,n,
5ldle-Ur-Lne-drL
rnL-,- ,nlsmeansInaI you
canaddfunctionslike
theRoomCorrectionSystem,an
Analog
lnputModule,
aClockGatecontrolled
DVD-
player
orsimply
upgradetofutureAudioFormats.
-rA^+,-
+A^A^-, ,,,,
Cf the MtllenniUm Cnnrenf . whefevcr the
I t
laL ) Lttc ucou(y nl Lt
tc lvilllct ll llutu Lvi /LCA/(/ vvt toL.vct
future
standards
will be,
you willeasilybeableto imple-
menttheminyour systemforareasonable
cost.
Thismanualwill
expandtogetherwith
your
Millennium.
lf
you
takethetimeto register
your
investment,we
guaran-
teethat
you
will
get
information
about
future
upgrades
andexpansionswhen
theybecomeavailable.
Pleasestopbyat
our
web
sitehttp://www.tactaudio.com
for
updatedinformation
aboutrrew
products
andupcom-
ing
events
from
TACTAudio.
Patents
Pendrng
EQUIBITTMtechnology
andtrademarkislicensedfrom
Toccata
Technology,DK-2400
NVDenmark
www.
toccatatech.d
k
TACTisa reqrstered
trademarkof TACTAudio, Inc.
TACTAudia AIS (Europe)
Horhavevej
66
DK-8270Hojbjerg,Denmark
PhoneG 5) 8627 7500Fax
(+45)
862745A0
e-ma
i
|
: lyn
g
dorf@tactau
dio.com
TACTAudio, Inc. (USA)
201GatesRoad
UnitG
Little Ferry,NJ07643
U.5.A.
Phone201
440
9300
Fax
2014405580
e-maiI: g
unnar@tactau
d
i
o.co
m
TAr-Ti: a reg:lered
traclemark.:
TAaI Aucl
o, inc
Pr-rbl
caiion
nur.:. D.1i.009-4
G Ek
Prr::irnu5A iii93
9
TACTMillennium . Owners Manual