9
HEADPHONE USE
The CSP2 is a world class OTL headphone am-
plifier. It will operate most headphones be-
tween 30 ~ 600 ohms. It uses a standard 1/4
inch stereo jack that is directly tied to the out-
put and controlled by the master volume con-
trol.
The headphone output is none effected by the
stereo line output and is not adjustable. The
CSP2 has enough output to drive even the most
stubborn headphones. This means in most
good quality phones, there will be more then
enough power. We find it almost impossible to
get past 1/3rd volume without it becoming too
loud for comfort. Use this power wisely, don’t
damage your hearing.
You can have your line level outputs hooked up
and in use with no detectable change to the
sound in your headphones. This makes it possi-
ble to have your stereo speakers playing at the
same time if desired.
If listening to your stereo speakers and the
headphones are inserted into the headphone
jack there will be a detectable reduction in vol-
ume on the line level outputs. This is normal
and can be overcome by simply unplugging the
headphones during critical listening of your
main speakers. This is normally done anyway
so you don’t hear music coming out of your
headphones when your trying t listen to your
speakers.
We think you’ll find the sound of the CSP2 on a
good set of headphones to be non-violating,
naturally big sounding with rich detail and no
listener fatigue.
Remember that the resolution of headphone lis-
tening is probably 10 fold higher then listening
to your loudspeakers. For this reason the inter-
connect cables between the source and CSP2
are of utmost importance's for maximum plea-
sure. Try at least a few different pair to hear
how big the changes are between them and
then buy a good set of cables from us.
HOW TO OPERATE
After finding an appropriate place for the
amplifier you can install the tubes and con-
nect the cables. Do not hook up the input
cables at this time. Install the power cord
and plug it into a grounded receptacle and
turn the unit on.
Let the CSP2 warm up for several minutes
with the volume control all the way down.
Now install a pair of interconnect cables be-
tween the output jacks of the CSP2 and the
input jacks on your amplifier. After the two
are connected you may power up your ampli-
fier. You now have both the amplifier and
preamplifier on and connected together. If
there is no hum from bad cables or ground
loops and no noise or hiss from bad tubes
you are ready to hook up your source(s) to
the CSP2. Always have the volume control
all the way down before hooking up your
source(s).
BURN-IN PROCESS
Expect less then wonderful sound for the
first 20 to 40 hours of operation as the ca-
pacitors break-in. The fastest way to ad-
vance the burn in process is to play the amp
for 5 hours and then turn it off for at least 5
hours. Repeat this at least 5 times. Most
customers find that the amp really blooms in
about the 3rd week of their evaluation.
Unlike a power amp, the CSP2 can be burned
it without turning on your amplifiers. Just
put some good sounding music on it, adjust
the volume to about 1/2 way and let it play
on repeat. While there are several high tech
“burn-in” CD’s available to accelerate the
process, we find real music actually works
better.
