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Instruction Manual Covering: 

 

MB 845 Mono Block 

Amplifiers 

 

Shown with upgraded driver valves (courtesy of Hi Fi World) 

Contents 

 

1 Introduction & Final Inspection 

 

2 Quick Set Up Guide 

 

3 Connecting inputs & outputs 

 

4 Getting the best performance 

 

5 Trouble Shooting 

 

6 Bias Adjustment 

 

7 Valve Replacement  

 

8 Specifications 

 

9 Guarantee 

 

10 Packing Instructions 

 

1 Introduction 

 

Thank  you  for  purchasing  the 

MB  845s

These  pure  valve  mono  block  amplifiers  are  the 
result  of  years  of  careful  design  and  listening  tests 
with  a  wide  range  of  speakers.  The  amplifiers  are 
hand  built  using  carefully  selected  audiophile 
components.  The  transformers  are  hand  wound 
using low oxygen copper and special Japanese long 
grain  iron.  Finally  each  amplifier  is  valved,  carefully 
commissioned and tweaked for best performance in 
Leicester UK.

 

In order to get the best out of your amplifier, please 
read  the 

“SET  UP”  notes.  These  contain  important 

information  about  the  correct  operation  and  safety. 
Should  you  be  uncertain  about  anything  please 
contact your dealer or one of our team. 
Valve amplifiers do need a little more attention than 
their  solid-state  counterparts,  but  the  sonic  results 
are more than worth it. In this manual we have tried 
to include everything that you need to know. Please 
let  us  know  if  you  find  any  errors  or  feel  that  we 
have missed anything out. 
Hi  fi  reproduction  is  a  long  chain  of  events  that 
includes  the  recording,  editing,  mixing  etc,  before 
being  transferred  to  a  medium  such  as  LP,  Digital, 
etc,  before  being  played  through  your  own  source 
unit, the amplifier and finally loudspeakers.  

Your  room  acoustics  will  affect  the  sound  before  it 
finally  reaches  your  ear.  Whilst  the  amplifier  is 
arguably  the  most  important  part  of  a  system,  it  is 
important  to  remember  that  the  weakest  link  will 
always affect the final results. And not all recordings 
are  ‘equal’!  Therefore  a  good  amplifier  will  also 
reproduce recording imperfections. Therefore setting 
up  and  testing  should  be  made  wit

h  a  ‘clean’  well 

balanced recording. 
The 

MB  845

 

are  push-pull  all  triode  power 

amplifiers  using  the  fabulous  845  high  power  triode 
valves.  These  have  very  special  characteristics 
which  many  people  consider  give  the  finest 
reproduction  of  any  valves.  Similar  to  the  300B  but 
with more power and punch. These are in fixed-bias 
mode  which  gives  maximum  power,  cool  running 
and  low  distortion.  You  MUST  occasionally  check 
the bias (at least twice a year). The driver and phase 
splitting  are  also  triode  for  best  sound  quality  and 
low noise. The MB 845s are sensitive enough to be 
used  with  any  pre-amplifier  or  passive  in  most 
situations.    .  Their  simplicity  coupled  with  point  to 
point  hand  wiring  without  the  use  of  printed  circuit 
boards  results  in  an  open  euphoric  sound  that  is 
wonderfully detailed and warm.  

          IMPORTANT! 
THIS MANUAL CONTAINS 
ESSENTIAL HEALTH & 
SAFETY INFORMATION FOR 
YOU AND YOUR AMPLIFIER. 
PLEASE READ & KEEP SAFE 
AND REFER TO IF NECESSARY 

Summary of Contents for MB 845

Page 1: ...roduction is a long chain of events that includes the recording editing mixing etc before being transferred to a medium such as LP Digital etc before being played through your own source unit the ampl...

Page 2: ...min 6 hour test Check input Output Valve Bias level v Sound Quality Channel Balance Valve Microphony Valve Seating Hum level L R mv RF Test LED brightness Serial No sticker and recorded Mains voltage...

Page 3: ...Page 3...

Page 4: ...rminal and Green Yellow to Earth terminal 6 SWITCH ON The blue mains indicator should light up The 845s will glow bright yellow You will likely hear a humming noise for about 30 secs this is normal Af...

Page 5: ...ystem up and play some music with plenty of bass e g dance music preferably in mono FM tuners are usually switchable to mono and stand the speakers close together If correct you should hear plenty of...

Page 6: ...things around to eliminate or prove which component if the problem Left or right amplifier If both probably the source unit Try another source If one amplifier is distorted check the bias No bias read...

Page 7: ...to the valve on test Set the Icon meter to 2000mv or the black mark See pics Making the ve connection 3 Checking Bias You should get a reading of ideally 400mV if each valve is conducting correctly Bu...

Page 8: ...ise yourself with the procedure If changing all the 845s be ready to adjust the bias in order not to overload the power supply Don t worry how low the reading goes this will not cause damage Do final...

Page 9: ...omestic hi fi use It is not guaranteed for commercial Public Address use or use in other situations The guarantee becomes void if the unit has been modified in any way not approved by Icon Audio 10 Pa...

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