darTZeel NHB-108 model one
User Manual, version B 1.0
Page 8 of 35
4. Who am I?
Your
darTZeel NHB-108 model one
bears, on its
front panel, its
Identification Plate (1)
. On this 24k
gold plated brass plate are engraved your name, and
the serial number. Do not unscrew the plate since it
is the identity card of your machine!
The serial number can be read as follows:
TZ-
XY
1081.
dcbZ
X
= Century of making
Y
= Batch number
dcb
= Identity in the batch number
Z
= Version (
A
or
B
)
Example:
The sample bearing the serial number
TZ-
UC
1081.
001B
Is the first machine of the third batch, made in the
21
st
century, and of version
B
. This numbering is
thus valid until the end of the 26
th
century.
From the second batch, we chose to manufacture
only the
darTZeel NHB-108
s in version
B
. Actu-
ally this version even offers some slight improve-
ment over the version
A
. If you want to know how
the version
A
differs, please visit our website at
www.darTZeel.com
, where you can download the
previous manuals.
It is vital to bear in mind all the following notes
and remarks concerning the use of your
darTZeel NHB-108 model one
.
Thank you.
5. Connecting and setup
5.1. Important prior notice
In order to protect the loudspeakers, your
darTZeel
NHB-108 model one
features a special monitor-
ing circuit. If any abnormal situation is detected,
this circuit will intentionally melt the power fuse(s).
This behaviour is not be interpreted as a failure.
The NHB-108 has been designed to behave this
way, in line with our philosophy of not spoiling the
sound by adding any protection circuit in the signal
path. If you want to know more about this specific
circuit, also called Crowbar, please refer to the
technical section, in chapter
T6
.
5.2. Location
Before making the first connection, you should
think carefully about the location where you are
going to put your gear. If you planned to fit your
darTZeel NHB-108 model one
into furniture,
please bear in mind that you must allow at least one
inch of free space all around the unit, for proper
cooling.
If you do not respect this, the
darTZeel NHB-108
model one
may stop playing if it becomes too hot.
The heat sinks shutdown point is at around 70°C,
and the power supply starts up again when the tem-
perature has dropped to 55 °C.
Please also note that permanent excessive tempera-
ture will reduce the life span of your machine. Read
the technical section at the end of this manual if you
want to learn more about this topic.
Anyway, if possible, always leave enough space
around your
darTZeel NHB-108 model one
, allow-
ing you to gain easy access to it when making con-
nections.
5.3. Speaker
impedance
The
darTZeel NHB-108 model one
can drive virtu-
ally any loudspeaker, provided its nominal imped-
ance is between 1.5 and 8 ohms. Above 8 ohms,
maximum available power output will be slightly
reduced, but without any sound quality loss.
Nominal standardized impedance can vary by ±
20%, and can thus reach the following critical
minimum values:
6.4
Ω
in the case of 8
Ω
speakers
3.2
Ω
in the case of 4
Ω
speakers
1.6
Ω
in the case of 2
Ω
speakers
If your loudspeakers are between 3
Ω
and 8
Ω
,
which is nearly always the case, you can directly
hook them to the
Speaker Terminals (6)
.
Black terminal (upper) = Ground.
Red terminal (lower) = Live signal.
If your loudspeakers impedance is less than this, or
if you want to parallel 2 pairs of 4
Ω
speakers, you
must go to chapter
6.3. "User parameters"
before
you consider going further.
If you do not respect the above, you may encounter
some blown fuses when playing music at loud lev-
els.
CAUTION: You must connect your loudspeakers to
the
Speaker Terminals (6)
before powering ON
the darTZeel NHB-108 model one!
