operating instructions
inspiration C6m
inspiration c6m
cd
tuner
power
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Dear customer,
thank You for purchasing this AVM product. You own now a versatile, excellent sounding hifi
component. Before enjoying music, please read this manual carefully. After that You will know how
to use Your new AVM component in the optimal way.
Sincerely Yours
Your AVM-Team
CAUTION : This unit contains a class 1 laser diode. Do not open. Invisible laser radiation can damage
Your eyes.
Laser diode Type : Ga-Al-As
Wavelength : 755 - 815 nm (@ 25 °C)
Output power : 0,7 mW max.
NOTE: Use only high quality cables for connection between the unit and the other components of
Your hifi set. We recommend cable lengths under 50 cm to avoid interference which can affect the
reception of radio and TV tuners.
Declaration of conformity (for CE only)
We herewith confirm, that the unit to which this manual belongs fulfills the EC rules necessary to
obtain the sign
the necessary measurements were taken with positive results.
AVM Next Generation Audio Technologies GmbH, Daimlerstraße 8, D-76316 Malsch, Germany
Website: www.avm-audio.com, E-mail: info@avm-audio.com
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Table of contents
page
Preamble
2
Table of contents
3
1. Basic information
4
1.1 Mechanical construction 4
1.2 Power supply 4
1.3 Preamplifier 4
1.4 Power amplifier 4
1.5 CD-player, D/A-converter 5
1.5.1 Quantization noise 5
1.5.2 Reduction of jitter 5
1.5.3 Filtering 6
1.5.4 D/A-conversion 6
1.6 Tuner 6
2. Overview
7
2.1 Installation and cooling 8
2.2 Connection to mains 8
2.3 Connecting analogue sources 8
2.4 Connecting a tape recorder 8
2.5 Connecting a processor 8
2.6 Connecting digital equipment 8
2.7 Connecting loudspeakers 8
2.8 Connecting Tuner antenna 8
3. Basic operation
9
3.1 Switching on / standby 9
3.2 Selecting the signal source 9
3.3 Volume setting / MUTE 9
3.4 Setting of input sensitivity 9
3.5 Tuner 10
3.5.1 Tuning 10
3.5.2 Station memory 10
3.6 CD-player 11
3.6.1 Open / close 11
3.6.2 Basic functions 11
3.6.3 Programming a playlist 11
page
4. Menu system
12
4.1 Playmode 12
4.2 Repeat 12
4.3 Random 12
4.4 Tuner mode DAB / FM 12
4.5 RDS-Display 12
4.6 Scanmode 12
4.7 Mode 12
4.8 DAB Antenna 12
4.9 FM antenna 12
4.10 Tone 12
4.11 Bass 12
4.12 Treble 12
4.13 SubBoost 13
4.14 Loudness 13
4.15 Balance 13
4.16 Name 13
4.17 Display 13
4.18 Processor 13
4.19 Monitor 13
5. Remote control
14
6. Cleaning
15
7. If something doesn't work.....
15
8. Technical data
16
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1. Basic information about the C6m
1.1 Mechanical construction
The case is made of magnetic shielding steel and aluminum. The audio-connectors are all gold plated to
minimize electrical losses and provide long lasting perfect contacts.
1.2 Power supply
A switch mode power supply delivers clean, hum-free electrical energy for the digital and analogue sections
of D/A-converter and the preamplifier. All voltages are additionally buffered by large capacitors directly in the
circuitry where they are needed.
The power amplifier has a separate power supply with a powerful toroidal transformer. This guarantees that
independently of the demanded output power the power amplifier has no influence on the preamp or the
D/A-converter.
1.3 Preamplifier section
The input circuits act extremely fast and use special semiconductors for exact and nearly noise free sound
reproduction. SMD technique allows a very compact circuit layout and thus extremely short signal paths.
The volume control is done by highly precise integrated circuits. They allow setting in 0,5 dB steps and their
channel balance is better than 0,05 dB. All this provides an absolutely precise, musical sound reproduction
from lowest to highest listening levels.
If You whish to correct the frequency response at low listening levels or to have more or less treble or bass,
You can activate the sound processor and set the frequency response. For linear reproduction the whole
circuitry is removed out of the signal path by relays and has absolutely no influence.
1.4 Power amplifier
The power amplifier is built on a pc-board with double thick copper coating. The short signal paths allow high
damping factors in order to achieve optimal speed and speaker control.
Protection circuitry against overheat and short circuit is on board to protect Your equipment in an optimal
way.
The power amplifier of the inspiration C6m uses two output stages and two power supplies. One output
stage is working from a low voltage supply when only low power is demanded. During this time the other
output stage is also working, but doesn’t deliver current to the speaker (and therefore produces no heat).
When the output power increases (for example when a drum is beaten), the second output stage with it’s
high voltage supply is activated without delay and delivers high peak power to the speakers. In a music
signal peak power is only demanded for a short period of time. Thus the power amplifier of the inspiration
C6m works in a very efficient way and produces no unnecessary heat.
Of much more importance is the advantage in musical reproduction: the output stage for small signals acts
extremely quick and nearly noise free. So it can unveil the finest details of the music signal. The much more
powerful second output stage delivers the current only for dynamic peaks. These are very important for
realistic reproduction of music, but make only a very small part of the music signal. So this output stage stays
cool and therefore reproduces a fresh and clear dynamic music at any time without ever sounding stressed.
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1.5 CD player / D/A- converter
The inspiration C6m is equipped with upsampling circuitry and highly precise a/d converters. The theory of
function will be described in the following text. If You are not interested in technical details, skip these
chapters and simply listen to the music coming from the C6m. You will discover Your CD collection anew!
And that is what we want to achieve. Because application of new technologies is not just a gimmick but
offers audible and measurable advantages to the listener.
1.5.1 Quantization noise
The quantity of information on a CD is defined by the audio format of 44,1 kHz sampling rate and 16 bits of
resolution. Additional information (i.e. higher resolution or bandwidth) cannot be created by any electronic
circuitry playing back such a CD. It is a fact that conventional d-/a converter systems do not fully reproduce
the given information. This has several reasons: Converting a digital signal to an analogue signal produces
analogue noise. This is because the digital (quantized) values which represent the signal are discrete with a
very fine – but nevertheless limited - resolution. Therefore exist slight deviations in respect to the analogue
original signal which was continuous (means infinite resolution). These deviations are random and cause an
additional noise to the original signal when it is converted from the digital domain to the analogue domain.
This kind of noise is called quantization noise.
The characteristic of this noise is that it has an energy which depends on the resolution used to quantize the
original signal and which is continuously spread over the whole range of the sampling frequency bandwidth.
It is obvious that this noise can mask fine details of the originally recorded music.
For physical reasons it is not possible to avoid quantization noise. Also a reduction of the total noise energy
is not possible because the noise has been created when the signal was recorded. An elegant solution of
this problem is to increase sampling frequency when re-converting the signal from digital to analogue. The
upsampling converter installed in the C6m can increase sampling frequency from 44,1 kHz up to 96 kHz.
When re-converting the upsampled signal the upsampling converter produces the same amount of noise
energy as a conventional converter.
The difference is that the noise energy is spread over a much broader frequency band. So the part of noise
energy which is within the audible spectrum decreases. You can imagine that like if You have a certain
volume of fluid in a small glass. If You fill the fluid in a glass which has much more diameter the quantity of
fluid doesn’t change but height of the fluid surface will be lower than in the small glass. In the same way the
increasing of sampling frequency (called upsampling) broadens the noise bandwidth and reduces the noise
level. Most of the noise energy now is located in a frequency region beyond the audible range and can easily
be filtered out without affecting the music signal.
1.5.2 Reduction of jitter
Jitter means slight, varying deviations in the sampling frequency of a digital signal. These deviations come
from deviations in speed of the CD when it is played back (a natural effect, which can be reduced by
mechanical means, but never fully eliminated). They can additionally come from electronic circuits through
which the signal must pass. When such a signal is converted to analogue the samples arrive sometimes a
little bit too early, sometimes a little bit too late at the DAC. This leads to modulations in the analogue signal
which can affect the quality of the reproduced music. The spatial image is not precise, You cannot exactly
locate the instruments, the sound is a bit roughened.
The solution for this problem is upsampling. Upsampling does not only mean multiplying of sampling
frequency by a fixed factor like it is done by the oversampling technique used in former times. Upsampling
technique is more similar to recording the original digital signal anew with a different sampling frequency (reclocking). That means that the sampling frequency of the original signal and the upsampled signal are fully
independent of each other. Thus if the upsampling converter has a stable jitter free clock the upsampled
signal contains less jitter than the original digital signal.
The musical advantages of re-clocking are the second reason why the AVM inspiration C6m is equipped with
a brand-new upsampling circuitry and an additional stable oscillator circuit.
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