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K O S T A S

M E T A X A S   D E S I G N

O p e r a t i n g   I n s t r u c t i o n s

11

Steps for Connection

1. Ensure that the ON/OFF switch on the back panel is in the OFF position before 
connecting the amplifier into your system.

2. Once connected, ensure that there are no 'short circuits' in the speaker wires, then 
proceed to switch the unit ON.

Note: For the best results, it is recommended that the unit is powered on for at least 15
minutes before critical listening is attempted.

DC Protection Circuits

The output stage of the preamplifier is connected to a DC protection circuit which 
activates a relay if it senses any DC before it can cause any damage to your speakers. 

Mains Fuse

A 2AMP SLOW BLOW DA205 Type fuse is located on the AC MAINS SOCKET. If this blows,
simply replace with the same rating fuse. If the fuse continues to blow, please refer to the
Maintenance Section of this manual for further instructions.

Serviceability

The complete active circuitry of the amplifier including primary filtering capacitors are all
mounted to the large single ground P.C.B. Easy access to the board is maintained by simply
removing the base to gain access to the 'component side' for servicing.

Summary of Contents for Marquis

Page 1: ...K O S T A S M E T A X A S D E S I G N Marquis K O S T A S M E T A X A S D E S I G N ...

Page 2: ... a d e s o f H i E n d 0 2 L i s t e n i n g R e f e r e n c e 0 5 D e s i g n P h i l o s o p h y 0 6 O p e r a t i n g I n s t r u c t i o n s 1 1 W h a t t h e c r i t i c s s a y 1 2 S p e c i f i c a t i o n s 1 4 C o n t r o l s F e a t u r e s 1 5 M a i n t e n a n c e 1 6 S c h e m a t i c 1 8 E C C o n f o r m i t y 1 9 ...

Page 3: ...wer supply First DAC to use lowest jitter APOGEE CLOCK First FULL range and high efficiency electrostatic First Audio Manufacturer to use BMW Porsche CAD PCB software design systems Yo u a r e a b o u t t o l i s t e n t o a n a m p l i f i e r w h i c h h a s e v o l v e d f r o m o v e r 2 0 y e a r s o f d e d i c a t e d l i s t e n i n g a n d t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o f t h e s t a t e o...

Page 4: ...K O S T A S M E T A X A S D E S I G N 3 Decades of Hi End 1980 s 02 Opulence Preamplifier Assembly Engraving Kostas Metaxas circa 1985 Soliloquy Monoblocks Ecstatic Revelation Electrostatics ...

Page 5: ...Speaker Reference System circa 1992 Assembly Assembly CZAR 2 way full range electrostatic Opulence Marquis Charisma Preamplifiers Stainless Steel Turret Punching Iraklis on test Empress Full range electrostatics using plastic composite moulded frame PCB design EMPEROR Assembly ...

Page 6: ... by component basis in 3D The Protel PCB software www protel com extends the quite normal listening tests on a component by component level to the PCB level Schematic Based simulations can test or verify the PCB s signal integrity by running the Signal Integrity Simulator which displays a Reflection and Crosstalk Analysis And the 3D visualization allows one to include the PCB as part of the overal...

Page 7: ...kest link in the playback chain K o s t a s M e t a x a s products have been conceived using extensive listening tests with a variety of state of the art ancillary equipment for more than 25 years Our amplifiers have been designed using a variety of state of the art phono playback equipment and our ABSOLUTE REFERENCE a custom made battery powered Stellavox SM 8 Tape Recorder using 1 4 tape at 30 i...

Page 8: ... POWER SUPPLIES Every power amplifier uses a large high current power transformer which feeds a high current bridge rectifier to convert the AC from the transformer into DC voltages which are then mains ripple filtered using massive comput er grade capacitors The rectifier bridge that is normally used is relatively large handles high current and low voltage which slow switching speed because of it...

Page 9: ...ve as it goes through R and returns back to the OUTPUT of the TRANSISTOR circuit and VALVE circuit In the VALVE circuit when 10 VOLTS travels across the 50 000 Ohms R towards the power supply impedance of 2 Ohms the 10V signal is attenuated 50 000 2 25 000 times Therefore 10V 25 000 0 0004 Volts of 1 0kHz sine wave On its way back to the OUTPUT of the circuit it is attenuated by the impedance of t...

Page 10: ...like the output impedance or Damping Factor of a power amplifier is less than one ohm at D C If we use a 2 0 Volt zener diode as our fixed DC voltage reference at the input of the D C amplifier which has a gain of 10 the resulting output voltage is 20 Volts D C The negative feedback loop of the amplifier which fixes the gain of 10 times the 2 0 Volt zener reference is very important because it mai...

Page 11: ...would effectively have a theoretical output impedance or Damping Factor at V of zero ohms at all fre quencies as a result of its wide bandwidth before the addition of nega tive feedback In this way the attenuation of the 10 Volts across the resistor R resid ual would be complete and no attenuated component of the 10 VOLT sine wave could be deflected and return to the OUTPUT of the circuit and caus...

Page 12: ...astest amplifier circuit and add a slow I C voltage regulator with an output capacitor and call it a finished design Our discrete voltage regulators are designed to have the absolute lowest noise reject mains ripple but more importantly to have a speed 1000 V microsecond which is a result of their wide bandwidth design an open loop frequency response greater than 500kHz and output imped ance which...

Page 13: ... The output stage of the preamplifier is connected to a DC protection circuit which activates a relay if it senses any DC before it can cause any damage to your speakers Mains Fuse A 2AMP SLOW BLOW DA205 Type fuse is located on the AC MAINS SOCKET If this blows simply replace with the same rating fuse If the fuse continues to blow please refer to the Maintenance Section of this manual for further ...

Page 14: ...self on the signal handling its chores with near invisibility K e n K e s s l e r H I F I N E W S R E C O R D R E V I E W E n g l a n d The Marquis constitutes in our opinion pure gold and is already the reference point in this price category and will not be superceded in a hurry Jean Hiraga Patrick Vercher LA NOUVELLE REVUE DU SON France The conclusion the sensation is perfect An Amplifier for 90...

Page 15: ...ade body and attack not slowing at all The mids are very descriptive with very good detail and purity soft and extremely sweet The highs are delicate with excellent body and special plasticity The stereo image has excellent dimensions and very good black character and by saying this I mean the black space that separates the instruments and makes them sound as separate entities with lifelike positi...

Page 16: ...capacitance of long greater than 2 metres interconnection cables 2 POWER SUPPLY An external supply houses the completely dual mono high current 46 000uF of primary filtering and stacked 100 Watt toroidal trans formers The DC supply is connected via a 5 pin umbilical cord socket arrangement to the mainframe where the D C encounters another 10 000uF of filtering before it reaches the regulation circ...

Page 17: ...K O S T A S M E T A X A S D E S I G N Contr ols Featur es 15 ...

Page 18: ... is in the UP position and VOLUME control is at position 9 5 Measure the voltage drop after the regulators the emitter of Q16 30 which should be 20 volts 6 If voltages are O K check the waveform on the oscilloscope it should show crossover distortion 7 Clip a multimeter across any of the 100OHMS output stage emitter resistors R46 56 55 45 and turn the trimpot anticlockwise until you measure approx...

Page 19: ...K O S T A S M E T A X A S D E S I G N Maintenance 17 ...

Page 20: ...R55a R56a KOSTAS METAXAS MARQUIS PRE AMPLIFIER CE1 CE2 CE3 CE4 CE5 CE6 CE7 CE8 DE5 DE6 DE7 DE8 DE9 DE10 DE11 DE12 R75a R75 R74a R74 C13 C13a CP1 CP2 CP3 CP4 R66 R67 R65 R37 DL2 DL1 DL4 DL3 1 2 3 4 5 6 JP1 VOL_R VOL_L 30V Q12 Q12a Q13a Q13 1 2 3 Q14 1 2 3 Q14a 1 2 3 Q15a 1 2 3 Q15 Q9a Q9 Q11 Q11a Q5 Q6 Q5a Q6a Q7a Q8a Q7 Q8 Q1 4 6 5 3 1 2 RA1 Q18a Q22a Q19a Q25a Q27a Q26a Q24a Q31a Q32a Q28a Q23a Q...

Page 21: ...ested to EN55020 Electromagnetic immunity of broadcast receivers and associated equipment In accordance with CISPR 16 1 Radio disturbance and immunity measuring apparatus CISPR 16 2 Methods of measurement of disturbances and immunity IEC 801 2 IEC 801 3 3V m 20dB IEC 801 4 1KV AC lines M a n u f a c t u r e r Metaxas Audio Systems 1460 Woodend Rd Romsey 3434 Victoria AUSTRALIA www metaxas com meta...

Page 22: ...K O S T A S M E T A X A S D E S I G N Design Philosophy 20 ...

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