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Genesis Reference Amplifier 30

th

 Anniversary Monoblock Owners Manual

  

 

7

 

About Your Amplifier 
 

Background  

The Genesis Reference Amplifier uses proprietary designs and circuits, high 

quality components, and state-of-the-art Class D amplifier modules to deliver 

sonic performance rivaling amplifiers costing much, much more. The design 
brief was to deliver a load-invariant, wide-bandwidth amplifier that would 

deliver the musicality, emotion, and tonal colors and timbre of a low-powered 

valve amplifier with the reliability, power, and control of a high power solid-

state design. 

 

A valve amplifier matched with an appropriate loudspeaker can produce a 

sound that we can only call magical. The hard, brittle, and edgy presentation 
of many transistor amplifiers is contrasted with the rich, lush and silky sound 

of the tube amplifier. Often, valve amplifiers offer much better imaging and 

sound stage presentation compared to an equivalently priced solid-state 
amplifier. It is more musical, and the performance seems almost 

alive

 

However, a solid-state amplifier often offers better control and dynamics, is 
easier to set-up and to own (without having to change tubes every so often). 

Except for Class A solid state amplifiers, they also run much cooler and 

consume less electricity than valve amplifiers. Solid-state amplifiers are also 

able to drive a far wider range of loudspeakers than most valve amplifiers. 

 

The Genesis Reference Amplifier (GRAmp) offers the best of both worlds, 

without the disadvantages of either. 

 

Design and Construction 

The GRAmp challenges the status quo of music amplifiers by marrying the 
advantages of tube (emotion, imaging, soundstage, and portrayal of tonal 

colors) with solid state (control, dynamics and accuracy). It uses a modified 

Class D power amplifier module with ground-breaking power supply 

technologies, and resonance and vibration control to achieve this. 

 

Dynamic Power Delivery Supply (DPDS) 

Traditional DC power supplies developed with established design principles 

are usually specified into a constant steady current draw with a resistive 

load. However, except for Class A amplifiers (and Class AB at low power), 

the load is not linear. The power supply is hence specified for the maximum 
current drawn, but such a huge power supply is often slow. Resulting in a 

dark, brooding, muscle-bound sound. 

 
The Genesis DPDS, on the other hand, is designed to deliver current into a 

non-linear, dynamic, rapidly changing musical load, leading to a sense of 

Summary of Contents for 30th Anniversary Monoblocks

Page 1: ...ing Up 3 Safety Information 4 Set up and Operation 5 Speaker Connections 5 Input Connections 5 Playing Music 6 About Your Amplifier 7 Background 7 Design and Construction 7 Dynamic Power Delivery Supp...

Page 2: ...h the Genesis M60 tube monoblocks Soon reviewers started to say that Class D finally arrived for the audiophile market even though many confused Class D as digital amplifier Class D has reached maturi...

Page 3: ...ll incoming vibration Once you decide on the placement of the amplifier module connect everything up before you plug the power transformer into the wall Always connect up the system towards the power...

Page 4: ...isconnect the power supply and power transformer from the amplifier module without turning the amplifier off and unplugging the power transformer from the wall outlet first 4 Before turning the amplif...

Page 5: ...DSPEAKER TERMINALS Unlike many other Class D amplifiers the output terminals of the GR Amp do not float at a significant voltage above ground potential which makes the GR Amp useable with all loudspea...

Page 6: ...relays that turn the power amplifier on and a split second later unmutes the amplifier Flicking the switch down releases the low power circuit and turns off the two high current relays Give your ampli...

Page 7: ...ut having to change tubes every so often Except for Class A solid state amplifiers they also run much cooler and consume less electricity than valve amplifiers Solid state amplifiers are also able to...

Page 8: ...the capacitance or size of the capacitor The larger the capacitor the slower it is There are lots of very small solid state amplifiers that have excellent sound They all have tiny power supplies and...

Page 9: ...1 MHz The electronic regulator used in the GRAmp exceeds the specifications of an excellent choke It is an exceedingly fast discrete circuit and not a generic design Spectrum analysis up to 16 MHz im...

Page 10: ...sformer will result in high frequency noise bleeding through from the input to the output A phenomenon that we noted in the design of the transformer is that when the coils are wound so tightly that t...

Page 11: ...t to mark the floor use a thin disc of copper a copper penny will do under each spike The weight of the amplifier on the spike will deform the disc and create a small indentation The other side of the...

Page 12: ...er Output 800w per channel 4ohm Current limited to 20amps for 20ms Frequency Response 10Hz 50kHz 0dB 3dB Power Bandwidth 18Hz to 40kHz Input Impedance 35k Ohms Balanced 25k Single ended Damping 2 000...

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