WestminsterLab UNUM Quick start guide

UNUM Operational Manual

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1. Note to customers, music lover
2. Cautions
3. Package contents
4. Unpacking and installation
5. Names of parts
6. Setting Up
7. Connecting the amplier
8. Operation
9. Maintenance
10. Error signal
11. Troubleshooting
12. Opinions to obtain best performance
13 . Warranty terms
14 . Specication
15. Legal information
Index
UNUM Operation Manual v1.0
2018 Jan

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Thank you for purchasing the UNUM amplier.
Wholeheatedly and sincerely built, the UNUM amplier crystallizes crafts-
manship, skills, simplicity, science and listening experiences.
It is dedicated to every music lover who would like to experience music as it is.
Or further, experience music itself.
Sincerely,
WestminsterLab Team
Note to customers, music lovers
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I. NO USER SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE. Do not open the amplier’s
chassis or remove any of its screws. Contact WestminsterLab or your
dealer if you have service needs.
II. WARNING! Do not expose this amplier to moisture or excessive hu-
midity, and do not use it outdoor. Fire hazard may be resulted.
III. Presence of uninsulated “dangerous voltage” within the product’s en-
closure may be of sufcient magnitude to constitute a risk of electrical
shock to persons.
Cautions
2

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If any of the following items are missing, please contact your dealer:
I. 1 Unum monoblock amplier
II. 1 user manual
III. 4 X Spike bases ( Materials dependent on ordered options )
IV. 4 X M20 screw spikes ( Materials dependent on ordered options )
Package contents
3
I.
II.
III.
IV.

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Unpacking the amplier from the box
Please lift the amplier with meticulous care for the amplier is about 20kg/
44pounds. It is recommended to move it to a location near the place where
it will be installed when the amplier is still in its case. Remove all jewellery
including watches, rings and belts to avoid damages to the exterior of the am-
plier during the removal and installation.
Installation and precautions
Before any installation or connection, it is a MUST to make sure the AC mains
voltage matches the specication of the amplier. (E.g. 110V for Japan, 110V for
US, 230V for UK) The AC mains voltage specication of the specic amplier
is written in the serial number and also indicated above the AC inlet. The seri-
al number of the amplier can be found underneath the amplier towards the
front. There is a window cut out and the serial number is printed inside.
Improper input of the AC mains voltage will permanently damage the ampli-
er and it is not within the warranty conditions.
WARNING! NEVER unplug any cables during operation. It may cause failure
or damage to the amplier and speakers. Be sure that the amplier is off with
NO LED illumination in the front before unpluging any cables. It is even safer
to unplug the AC power cord before unpluging other cables.
It is suggested that there is adequate ventilation for the amplier and place it
on a stable and safe surface.
Unpacking and installation
4

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1. LED indication
2. Main Switch
3. M20 screw spikes
Name of parts
5
1. 2.3.

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1. AC mains voltage specication
2. M20 screw spikes
3. XLR input socket
4. XLR bypass socket
5. Positive binding post
6. Negative binding post
7. AC inlet
8. Fuse box (for fused version)
1.2. 4. 3. 8.7. 6. 5.

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1. Serial number/ AC mains voltage specication
2. M20 screw spikes
3. Main Switch
4. Heatsink
1. 4.
3.
2.

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Rest the amplier on a soft surface or the supplied soft cushion exposing the
four corners of the amplier. Carefully insert the supplied 4 M20 screw spikes
into the main amplier body one by one by rotating them clockwise from the
top of the amplier. The rounded end is intended to be facing down towards
the resting surface of the amplier. You can use a at head screw driver to
help with the installation.
The spike is used to adjust the amount of clearance below the amplier. We
suggest starting with approximately 2cm above the resting surface to allow an
ample space to access the on/off switch at the bottom of the amplier.
Now place the amplier on the desired operating location and adjust the feet
accordingly to ne tune the clearance and level of the amplier.
WARNING! Resting the amplier on its own weight on the ON/OFF switch
may result in non-reversible damage.
Place the supplied 4 metal spike base on the top of the amplier to protect
the spikes and adjustment mechanism. The spike base is also used as the base
if you are stacking UNUMs on top of each other.
Setting up
6

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Connections
7
Audio connection
( Balanced audio recommended )
Daisy chain to another set of
UNUMs for Bi/Tri Amplication
Single / Bi / Tri Amplication Operation
Audio Source ( With Volume Control )/
Pre-amplier
UNUM
(1st Pair)
Audio connection of
another audio channel
UNUM
(2nd Pair)
Connect set/sets of
speaker cable according to
the polarity on both ends

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Audio connection
( Balanced audio recommended )
Bridged Amplication Operation
Audio Source ( With Volume Control )/
Pre-amplier
UNUM
(Same Pair)
Audio connection of
another audio channel
UNUM
(Same Pair)
Connect set both speaker
cable to the Positive Bind-
ing post on the UNUM end,
positive and negative on the
speaker end.
Special set of bridging cable needed
( Please consult your dealer )
Positive
Negative

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Initial power-up of the amplier
PLEASE be sure that all cables are connected correctly before power-up.
Missing or loose XLR input cable or shorting the speaker cables may cause
failure and non-reversible damage to the amplier and speaker.
The power switch is located on the front right underside edge of the am-
plier. Ticking the toggle to the right will power up the amplier. The front
LED should illuminate as RED and within 20 seconds change to WHITE, which
means the amplier is now ready for operation.
After the power is switched on, the amplier requires approximately 30 min-
utes to reach optimal operating condition. Although the amplier will sound
excellent upon initial listening, the sound quality will improve as it warms up.
During operation
The Unum amplier requires no adjustments during normal operation. If there
is no sound or the sound quality is in some way impaired, consult the “Trou-
bleshooting” section in this manual.
WARNING! NEVER unplug any cables during operation. It may cause failure or
damage to the amplier and speakers. Be sure that the amplier is off with no
LED illumination in the front before unpluging any cables. It is even more safe
to unplug the AC power cord before unpluging other cables.
Operation
8

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Maintenance & cleaning
The Unum amplier requires no user maintenance other than to keep it clean
to maintain its heat dissipation performance. It is recommended to use a very
soft cloth to gently wipe the amplier’s surface without any liquids or solu-
tions. For UNUM edition owner, the exposed heatsink at the bottom of the
unit is made from pure copper with 24 karat gold plated, the gold will fade
over time. To maintain the best exterior, please keep the surface from oil and
grease. Be aware not to scratch the surface of the amplier.
Services
Please contact WestminsterLab directly for services / overhaul on the UNUM.
Maintenance
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Within the amplier, there are DC output protection and overheat protection.
When there is a certain amount of DC in the output, the DC output protection
will be triggered and the front LED will illuminate as red. This may be caused
by a high DC amount in the input, unplugging input cable during operation,
or failure of the amplier. When the DC amount drops to safety level for a
period of time, the protection will turn off by itself and the front LED will turn
to white.
When the amplier is overheated, the overheat protection will be triggered
and the front LED will illuminate as red. This may be caused by too low loading
impedance, high environment temperature, overloading the amplier (close
to or exceed the rated output), or failure of the amplier. When the temper-
ature drops to safety level, the protection will turn off by itself and the front
LED will turn back to white.
With safety in mind, the UNUM has a built-in overload protection. Therefore,
please be careful not to short the speaker cables or the binding posts or input
wrong AC mains voltage. The mentioned operation will permanently damage
the amplier which is not covered by warranty.
Protection
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Amplier does not power up
If the front LED is not illuminated, follow the procedures below. If one step
succeeds in activating the power, stop and ignore the other steps.
Check if the AC mains voltage matches the specication of the amplier
which is next to the serial number. Do not connect the AC power cord if they
do not match. This will damage the amplier permanently. Always use a pow-
er cord with ground wire connected.
1. Check if the power switch is ticked to right side. It is located at the
front underside edge of the amplier.
2. Check to make sure the AC cord is plugged into the wall outlet.
3. Check the back of the amplier to make sure the IEC connector is
pushed all the way into the socket on the back of the amplier.
4. For fused version, unplug the power cord and check if the fuse is
blown. Replace with the same type and rating only. (In US, use only a 10
amp, slow-blow fuse.)
5. Check your household electrical box to make sure the circuit breaker
has not been tripped. If it has, ip the breaker back on.
6. If the breaker trips again, make sure the power cord has no damage and
can work properly. You may try the power cord by using it with other
home appliances. Change the power cord if it is not working.
7. Check the speaker cable connection on the amplier and the speaker
to make sure that the terminals are not shorted, and check the entire
length of the cable to ensure there has been no damage.
8. If all of these steps fail to return power to the amplier, consult your
dealer for service.
Troubleshooting
11

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Front LED is illuminated as red and no sound
When the soft start and DC protection are initiating, the front LED will illumi-
nate as red and there will be no sound. Within one minute the LED should illu-
minate as white and there should be sound. If the LED still illuminates as red:
1. Switch off the amplier and test again until it cools down. If this does
not work, the amplier may be overheated. Make sure not to overload
the amplier. Placing it at where ventilation is better is preferred.
2. If it still doen not work, switch off the amplier and unplug the input
XLR cable. Short the 3pins of the XLR input socket (you may need
help from technicians or dealers). Switch on again and check if the LED
turns white within a minute. If it does, it means there maybe DC in the
input which triggers the DC output protection. Make sure to have a
pure signal AC input without DC from the source.
3. If all of these steps fail to restore sound, consult your dealer for ser-
vice.
Front LED is illuminated as white but you hear no sound
Switch off the amplier rst. Follow these steps in order. If one step succeeds
in restoring the sound, stop there and ignore the other steps.
1. Check the cables between the ampliers and the speakers to make
sure they are properly connected and that the cables are not damaged
or shorted.
2. Check your preamp and source device to make sure they are both

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turned on.
3. Check the source device to make sure there is a signal output, i.e. if it’s
a record player, make sure it’s spinning and the tonearm is lowered, or
if it is a CD player, make sure it is in play mode and not in pause, or le
playing for computer/network streamer/le player.
4. Make sure your preamp is not muted and the desired source is select-
ed.
5. Check the line-level connections between the source device and the
preamp, and between the preamp and the ampliers. Reconnect any
cables that may be disconnected or loosen.
6. Try using another pair of interconnect cables (even cheap ones will
work temporarily) instead of which are being used between the source
device and the preamp and between the preamp and the amplier. If
this restores sound, replace the defective cables.
7. If you are using daisy chain, unplug the XLR bypass cables and test only
the Unum amplier which is connected to the source or preamp. If this
gives sounds, the bypass XLR cables may be defective. Replace and try
once again.
8. If all of these steps fail to restore sound, consult your dealer for ser-
vice.

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I. Place on a rigid, stable, heavy mass surface.
II. Use one Unum amplier for each speaker unit/order. Each amplier
handles less loading and results in a better performance in dynamics,
handling and power.
III. Warm up for more than 30 minutes.
IV. Put the amplier as close as possible to the speaker and keep the
speaker cable as short as possible. It is preferable to use a long bal-
anced interconnect cables to the amplier and keep the speaker cable
length minimized. Speaker cables add impedance to the loading in
which power will be wasted in the cable, decreasing the overall perfor-
mance.
V. It is recommended to use a dedicated AC power cord rated at a mini-
mum of 13 amps for 230V mains, or 20 amps for 110V mains. We highly
recommend WestminsterLab power cables to obtain the best experi-
ence and performance.
VI. It is highly recommended to directly connect the source (CD player,
DAC, and streamer) to Unum amplier if the source can control the
output volume, 2. There is no need to choose signals from multiple
sources. This decreases the sources of distortion and retains the quali-
ty of the signals.
Opinions to obtain best performance
12

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WestminsterLab warrants the Unum monoblock amplier against manufac-
turing defects and defects in materials for three years from the date of pur-
chase from an authorized WestminsterLab dealer, subject to the conditions
listed below:
1. The warranty covers only new Unum amplier (product or products)
by WestminsterLab purchased from an authorized WestminsterLab
dealer.
2. The warranty is non-transferable and is valid only for the original pur-
chaser.
3. The warranty is valid only if the product has been used according to the
instructions in the owner’s manual. Damage due to accidents, owner
abuse or negligence is not covered under this warranty.
4. All service must be performed by an authorized WestminsterLab deal-
er. Damage resulting from service by other parties is not covered under
this warranty.
5. All products returned for service must be packaged in the original con-
tainer and must include a photocopy of the original purchase receipt.
If the original container has been lost or discarded, contact Westmin-
sterLab or WestminsterLab dealers for a replacement.
6. If the product must be shipped back to WestminsterLab for warranty
service, the customer shall bear the shipping costs. WestminsterLab
will pay for return shipping.
7. Before shipping the product to WestminsterLab for service, the cus-
tomer must rst obtain a Return Authorization (RA) number from
WestminsterLab. The RA number must be marked clearly on the side
of the package.
Limited Warranty
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