Manley STEELHEAD RC Owner'S Manual Download Page 7

Each cartridge manufacturer’s product will work best in a laboratory sense when terminated 

(loaded) with a certain amount of resistance and capacitance. By lab sense it is meant that the signal 

developed by the cartridge is at maximum power transfer into the pre-amp, with minimum overshoot and 

ringing, 

fl

 attest frequency response and gentle roll-off characteristics. But it is those settings that create the 

most musically satisfying results for you that are of uppermost importance. And your termination prefer-

ences may rightly deviate unpredictably from some lab-based norm. A good place to start is with those 

values recommended by the cartridge manufacturer, less the interconnect cable capacitance. A good default 

value, if the recommended cartridge load capacitance is unknown, is 150 pF, the sum of cable and termina-

tion capacitance switch settings. This value re

fl

 ects a de facto standard as used by pre-amp manufacturers 

past and present. From there we encourage you to scrutinize a range of switch settings until you 

fi

 nd those 

values which best suit you and your accompanying components. 

Also notice that the audible affects of varying the termination capacitance can differ substantially 

between cartridge types and brands. This is to be expected due to the greatly varying source impedance 

characteristics of the cartridges available today. In general you may expect the termination capacitance 

value to alter, at one extreme, subtle imaging and spatial cues, and at the other high-frequency content, 

forwardness and speed of the reproduced sound. As with the load Z switch, feel free to tune the termination 

capacitance switches for maximum sonic satisfaction even though the 

fi

 nal setting differs from the car-

tridge manufacturer’s specs

5. 

SWITCH-SELECTABLE AMPLIFIER GAIN 

Cartridge output levels and downstream line-level interconnect drive voltage requirements can vary 

greatly between manufacturers. Hence a four-step ampli

fi

 er-block gain control has been included to ac-

commodate these differences, as well as differing cartridge sensitivities. You may select from 50 to 65 dB 

of gain in 5 dB steps. The gain 

fi

 gure is referred to ampli

fi

 er gain at 1 kHz. Notice that the pre-amp gain is 

about 20 dB higher (10 times) at 20 Hz and about 20 dB lower (0.1 times) at 20,000 Hz. The MC step-up 

autoformer may also provide approximately 2 to 12 dB of additional voltage gain depending on cartridge 

source impedance and load switch setting. 

6. 

PUSH-BUTTON SWITCH FUNCTIONS 

Four feature switches have been provided for a variety of utility functions. 

MUTE kills audio signals present at both the FIXED and VARIABLE outputs.
DIM reduces the output level by 20 dB, or about 1/4 previous volume. The DIM function is ef-

fective at the VARIable outputs only. Notice that preamp speci

fi

 cations at the VARIable output may be 

slightly compromised with the DIM feature engaged. This feature should be treated as a convenience for 

use when, for example, cueing up a record. System-menacing pops and thumps due to needle-drop are 

held at bay yet sound from the pick-up may still be heard.

SUM combines the ampli

fi

 ed audio into a binaural signal, present at the VARIable outputs only.  

Monophonic or the lateral-only modulation content of your stereo records may now be heard. True mono 

may be experienced if the feed to one of your two loudspeakers is cut.

SLEEP toggles the STEELHEAD between normal operating state and a near zero-power sleep 

mode. No operating voltages are present when in sleep mode, except for some keep-alive CMOS system 

control logic, energized by a separate small mains transformer in the power supply. 

7

Summary of Contents for STEELHEAD RC

Page 1: ...MANLEY STEELHEAD RC MM MC GRAMOPHONE CARTRIDGE PREAMPLIFIER OWNER S MANUAL MANLEY LABORATORIES INC 13880 MAGNOLIA AVE CHINO CA 91710 USA TEL 1 909 627 4256 FAX 1 909 628 2482 www manley com...

Page 2: ...NTENTS SECTION PAGE INTRODUCTION 3 INSTALLATION PRECAUTIONS 4 FEATURES AND APPLICATIONS 5 OPERATIONAL NOTES 9 REMORA REMOTE CONTROL OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS 12 TROUBLESHOOTING 16 MAINS CONNECTIONS 18 SP...

Page 3: ...bility UNPACKING Unpack the preamplifier carefully and make sure that all supplied accessories are present Examine all items for any possibility of shipping damage All six tubes should be standing at...

Page 4: ...ipment If however the preamp provenance is unknown then the mains voltage selector switch should be checked and reset to the correct voltage if necessary The mains fuses must also be checked for prope...

Page 5: ...en ignored causes most phono stages to continue rolling off the highest octave signals coming from the phono pickup rather than turning the final corner and shelving to flat response at about 50 kHz C...

Page 6: ...is instance a technically wrong setting is completely harmless for all equipment involved In the case of the MM input the typically higher cartridge output levels allow fixed resistor termina tion wit...

Page 7: ...rs from the car tridge manufacturer s specs 5 SWITCH SELECTABLE AMPLIFIER GAIN Cartridge output levels and downstream line level interconnect drive voltage requirements can vary greatly between manufa...

Page 8: ...o the STEELHEAD s VARIable output jacks 9 SEPARATE BUFFERED FIXED AND VARIABLE OUTPUTS Choice of constant level source for interconnection to a line level only pre amp or recorder and variable outputs...

Page 9: ...then attach the grounded IEC power cable jack to the IEC plug Keep the power off until all other system connections are completed Proceed by connecting the input and output cabling to the signal sour...

Page 10: ...ar make sure the mains power is off and mains cords are unplugged Then unplug the power supply from the preamp If the preamp has been powered up within the last 15 minutes stop and let the large inter...

Page 11: ...mas tree lights in the attic no Be careful to straighten any bent tube pins prior to installation pin misalignment will make fitting the replacement tube difficult or impossible and may damage the soc...

Page 12: ...GREEN while the transmitter is active As the battery voltage wanes the green light may flash RED briefly when the transmitter is switched on that s when the load on the battery is heaviest When the b...

Page 13: ...assive volume control offers highest headroom option over silicon based devices Precautions when using the Remora Remote system Use only fresh alkaline 9 volt 006P batteries in the remote transmitter...

Page 14: ...of another Remora enabled Manley preamplifier that may be nearby in range of the transmitter If necessary you may alter the specific short user number of the transmitter When you do so the receiver ca...

Page 15: ...e Steelhead s receiver decoder is configured to be in programming mode looking for any new user number changes If the decoder detects the new user number programming string from an armed remote during...

Page 16: ...Replace with correct fuse Bad or unplugged Check cables and outlets power cable AC outlet not energized Rolling Grayout Abandon California elect Libertarians Power supply pilot ON HEAD not responding...

Page 17: ...uts install shorting plugs Replace jumper if necessary Establish inter chassis connec tion Check lead head shell continuity Check for proper connection Keep source lines away from transformers motors...

Page 18: ...quipment WEEE Information for customers The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union have issued the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive The purpose of the Direc tive...

Page 19: ...Typically less than 2 degrees Inter channel differential gain Less than 0 5 dB from 20 Hz to 20 kHz any gain setting Dynamic Range 101 dB 1 kHz 1 THD 200 Ohm source 47 k Ohm input 55dB Gain 97 dB 1 k...

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