Genesis Reference Amplifier Owners Manual Ver 2.0
7
The use of single-ended to balanced converters that simply short pin 3 to
ground is not recommended as performance will be compromised. Some
form of balancing adapter may be used, but the performance of the GR-Amp
will be limited by the sonic quality of the device. A high quality single-ended
to balanced converters such as the FM Acoustics FM214 can be used
between your single-ended preamplifier and the GR-Amp.
The single-ended version of the GR-Amp converts a single-ended input into
the true balanced signal required by the amplifier at a very slight reduction in
transparency. The single-ended version of the GR-Amp is ground-lifted.
Hence, care may be needed in the grounding scheme of your entire system.
Playing Music
Make sure that your amplifier is properly connected to a high-current power
outlet. Before you turn the amplifier on, check that the speaker connections
and inputs are properly hooked up and tightened. Make sure that you turn
down the volume control on your preamplifier first before turning your
amplifier on.
Locate the power toggle switch on the back next
to the power umbilical inlet and flick it upwards to
turn the amplifier ON. In less than a second, you
will hear a faint click to indicate that the soft-start
circuit has engaged and the LED(s)
3
under the
amplifier will glow.
Unlike most power amplifiers, the power toggle
switch on the back of the amplifier is not the
actual power switch. We have found that most
toggle or rocker switches degrade the power
supply path. Hence, the power toggle is a low-
voltage, low-power trigger that switches in a
high-current hermetically sealed relay with silver
contacts that is the actual power switch. Hence, if the amplifier does not
switch on or off, resist flicking the switch up and down quickly. Wait a couple
of seconds before trying the switch again.
Give your amplifier a warm-up period of at least 10 seconds for the circuits to
stabilize before attempting to play any music. Because of a special “stay
warm” circuit, as long as the amplifier is plugged in continuously, it will warm
3
Note that there are two blue LEDs under the 360W amplifier module, and
one blue LED under the 180W amplifier module.
