operating instructions
INSPIRATION C8/9
EVOLUTION C9
C8
FM
CD
2
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 EC 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 Audio Video Manufaktur GmbH, Daimlerstraße 8, D-76316 Malsch
www.avm-audio.com, 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. Control & operating elements 7
2.1.1 INSPIRATION C8 7
2.1.1 EVOLUTION C9 8
2.2 Pin configuration of connectors 8
2.3 Installation and cooling 9
2.4 Connection to mains 9
2.5 Connecting analogue sources 9
2.6 Connecting digital equipment 9
2.7 Connecting a recorder 10
2.8 Connecting processors / equalizers 10
2.9 Connecting subwoofers 10
2.10 Connecting the loudspeakers 10
2.11 Connecting tuner antenna 10
3. Basic operation 11
3.1 First operation / self test 11
3.2 Switching on / standby 11
3.3 Selecting the signal source 11
3.4 Volume setting 11
3.4.1 Setting of input sensitivity 11
3.5 Tuner 12
3.5.1 Tuning 12
3.5.2 Station memory 12
3.5.3 Selecting a station 12
3.6 CD-player 13
3.6.1 Insert / eject 13
3.6.2 PLAY, PAUSE, STOP 13
3.6.3 SKIP / SEARCH 13
3.6.4 Programming a playlist 14
3.6.5 Random play 14
page
4. Menu system 15
4.1 Repeat 15
4.2 RDS-Display 15
4.3 Scanmode 15
4.4 2-CH-Mode 15
4.5 Bandwidth 15
4.6 Sensitivity 15
4.7 Tone Control 15
4.8 Bass 15
4.9 Treble 15
4.10 Loudness 16
4.11 Balance 16
4.12 Set poweramp 16
4.13 Set processor 16
5. Remote control 16
6. Cleaning 17
7. If something doesn't work..... 17
8. Conditions of warranty (EC only) 18
9. Technical data 19
10. Appendix 20
10.1 Personal setup 20
10.1.1 Set display brightness 20
10.1.2 bass & treble control 20
10.1.3 skip unused inputs 20
10.1.4 define input names 20
10.1.5 gain fix / variable 20
10.1.6 FM auto store 21
10.1.7 Set autoplay 21
10.2 Reset 21
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1. Basic information
1.1 Mechanical construction
The case is fully made of aluminium. 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 amplifiers of C8 also are fed by a separate switch mode power supply. The C9 is equipped with
two independent switch mode power supplies - one for each power amplifier.
This concept guarantees that independently of the demanded output power the power amplifier has no
influence on the preamplifier 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
C8 and C9 use for each channel a separate powerful and efficient digital class-D amplifier. These amplifiers
have an analog feedback loop from output to input. This ensures a nearly load-independent frequency
response and a very good damping factor.
Further highlights are very low output noise, low distortion and an extremely good efficiency. Even when
delivering peak power levels to the speakers they deliver over 90% of the supplied energy to the speakers
and thus produce nearly no heat.
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1.5 CD player / D/A- converter
C8 and C9 are 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. 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 increases sampling frequency from 44,1 kHz / 16 Bits up to 192 kHz / 24 Bits.
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 C8 and C9 are equipped with a
brand-new upsampling circuitry and an additional stable oscillator circuit.
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1.5.3 Filtering
If a digital signal is converted to analogue the analogue signal contains not only the original signal, but as
well it’s mirror image which lies in the frequency domain beyond one half of the sampling frequency. This
mirror image (aliasing) can cause unwanted interference with the original signal and thus must be filtered out
before passing the signal to the amplifier.
If the original sampling rate of 44,1 kHz is used the filter slope must be positioned somewhat above 20 kHz
and has to be very sharp in order to let the audio signal pass and to eliminate the aliasing components. Such
filters cause a large phase deviation at the end of the pass band and have often also amplitude deviations.
This leads to a harsh reproduction of music and can also affect the localization of solo instruments and
voices.
Upsampling to higher rates makes it possible to set the filter frequency far out of the audio signal range. For
example at 192 kHz sampling rate the filter must take effect at 96 kHz. In this frequency region no music
signal is present. Thus the filter can theoretically not affect musical reproduction.
1.5.4 Digital- / analogue conversion
C8 and C9 use highly precise 24-bit differential converters to reproduce the analogue signal out of the digital
data. Two converters on the same chip are used to output balanced signals. These signals are fed into a
differential amplifier. The difference between the signals is twice the audio signal (because one of the signals
is inverted) and the difference of the inaccuracies of the converters. As the two converters are on the same
chip, their inaccuracy is nearly the same and thus also nearly eliminated by the differential amplifier.
The second advantage of this differential technique is that the (very low) individual noise coming from the
converters is reduced by 3 dB.
The result is a clearly audible advantage in dynamic of the music signal and an audibly improved
reproduction of the finest details.
1.6 FM-Tuner
The tuner can be adapted to different reception situations. You can set bandwidth, and sensitivity values in
order to achieve optimal sound quality from aerial antenna as well as from cable. With it’s high sensitivity the
tuner can also work with a simple indoor antenna.
The stereo decoder offers high channel separation as well as very low noise.
The RDS section (audio data system, not available in all countries) is processor controlled and shows You
station names and texts with additional information about the program You are listening to.
The station memory allows You to store up to 63 stations. It stores not only their frequency, but also the
individual setting of sensitivity, bandwidth and mode (mono/stereo).
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2. Control & operating elements
2.1.1 INSPIRATION C8
The numbers in the drawings below mark the control elements. They refer to the numbers in the text, where
the operation of the unit is described.
1413121110987654321
C8
FM
CD
1 Power button (on / off)
2 Control LED
3 Display
4 Multifunctional button (soft key)
5 Multifunctional button (soft key)
6 Multifunctional button (soft key)
7 Multifunctional button (soft key)
8 Multifunctional button (soft key)
9 CD-slot
10 Source selector CD
11 Source selector FM (tuner)
12 Selector UP
13 Selector DOWN
14 Volume knob
353433323130292827262524232221201918171615
O
I
DIGIAL OUTPUTSDIGITAL INPUTS
TRIGGER OUTEXT IR
RS 232
MAIN INPRE OUTFIX OUT
OUT
IN
VIDEO
PLAYER
AUDIO
PLAYER
SUPPLY
PLAYER
IN3IN2IN1PHONOFM
GND
-+-+LEFTRIGHT SPAKERS
15 Ground socket for turntable chassis
16 Antenna socket
17 Phono input
18 High level analogue inputs
19 Speaker terminals
20 Supply output for music players (USB)
21 Audio input for music player
22 Video in/out for music player
23 Output for recorder (fixed level)
24 Pre amplifier output
25 Power amplifier input
26 Digital input USB
27 RS 232 connector
28 Digital input RCA Cinch
29 Digital input optical
30 Connector for external IR-sensor
31 Digital output RCA Cinch
32 Trigger outputs
33 Digital output optical
34 Mains switch
35 Mains connector
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