Chord Electronics Symphonic Owners manual
welcome
Thank you for buying a Chord Electronics product.
Before you start to enjoy using your Chord Electronics product, please take a couple of
minutes to read how to connect your audio equipment and loudspeakers to your Chord
Choral product and how to maximise your listening experience.
user guide for
pre amplifier (pages 8-24)
PRIMA
power amplifier (pages 25-31)
MEZZO
phono stage (pages 32-41)
SYMPHONIC
digital to analogue converter (pages 42-48)
DAC 64
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pre-amplifier
PRIMA
The pre-amplifier is the control centre of your system. By connecting your audio sources to
it you can choose the source you want at any particular time and control it.
You can also adjust the balance and volume before the signal is sent to a power amplifier.
Your pre-amplifiers can be operated manually or via any Chord remote control.
power amplifier
MEZZO
The power amplifier is the heart of your system, and your Chord amplifier offers stunning
results providing effortless power across the whole spectrum of music’s tonal span.
phono stage
SYMPHONIC
The phono stage provides the vital conditioning needed for a signal coming from the stylus
of your turntable and hugely amplifies the signal before it is fed to your pre-amplifier.
Combining high performance and ease of use, the phono stage is an important component
in a system that utilises a turntable.
digital to analogue converter
DAC 64
This award winning, state of the art product converts the digital signal coming from your
digital sources (such as a DVD/CD transport) into a suitable analogue signal that can be
fed to your pre-amplifier.
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background
We want you to be confident using your new Chord Electronics product.
You are probably an audiophile with extensive knowledge of audio equipment.
However, you may not be!
So in the following section we explain a few basics to help you get started, or get you back
up to speed if you are a little rusty.
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connecting your equipment
Chord amplifiers are supplied with and designed to be connected using balanced inputs.
The interconnecting cables you use will depend on the available input and output sockets
on your other equipment. We have installed unbalanced inputs on all Chord equipment,
thus enabling you to mix Chord Electronics and other manufacturer’s equipment.
Balanced inputs carry twice the strength of signal of unbalanced inputs and are able to be
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1
3
fed down long lengths of cable with less deterioration of signal. They are also less prone to
interference than unbalanced inputs. Balanced inputs have three pins and use Neutric XLR
style connectors. Pin 1 is earth, pin 2 is positive and pin 3 is negative.
Unbalanced inputs use RCA phono connectors, which are gold plated with teflon high
performance dielectric insulators for optimum performance.
speakers
outputs
inputs
outputs
inputs
outputs
DAC 64
inputs
CD Transport Turntable
Basic system diagram
MEZZO
power amplifier
PRIMA
pre-amplifier
outputs
inputs
SYMPHONIC
phono stage
- Amplification
- Switching and
level control
- Data and
analogue
conversion
- Signal
Detection
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when setting up
To ensure that your Chord product works efficiently and safely, please pay particular
attention to the following issues.
ventilation
Your Chord product should have at least 5cm of clear space all around it to ensure a free
flow of air at all times. We do not recommend that you place your Chord product directly
on a carpet as this can damage the equipment through blocked ventilation.
mains lead and plug
All Chord equipment comes supplied with the correct mains lead and plug. This should be
used at all times.
if you need to fit a plug for UK/Europe
Connect the blue wire to the neutral terminal
Connect the brown wire to the live terminal
Connect the yellow/green wire to the earth terminal
if you need to fit a plug for US/Canada
Connect the white wire to the neutral terminal
Connect the black wire to the live terminal
Connect the green to the earth terminal
earthing issues in Europe
In some European countries a hum may occur if your processor is connected to mains
sockets that do not have an earth. If this is the case please ensure that:
1. Your equipment is connected via a multi-way mains block which contains an earth point
at each socket outlet. This is to ensure that the chassis metalwork of each item is
connected together.
2. We recommend that an earthing method for your building is implemented.
3. Use the connecting points on your Chord unit and connect to an available earth point.
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safety warnings
It is important that your equipment is earthed at all times via its own mains lead. Failure to
do this may be hazardous. The power supply components within the units are designed to
be operated at lethal voltages and energy levels. Circuit designs that embody these
components conform with applicable safety requirements. Precautions must be taken to
prevent accidental contact with power-line potentials. Do not connect grounded test
equipment.
These unit comply with EN 50081-1 and IEC 801/2
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mains connection
The mains connector of your Choral product is at the back of the unit. Plug the female end
(socket) of the mains cable into the power connector of your Choral product, and the male
end (plug) of the mains cable into mains wall socket or mains extension socket. The mains
connector type will differ slightly for each Choral product. This is due to the highly
compact nature of this range requiring differences in chassis metalwork for each product.
Earth
Mains
Switch
Live Neutral
Mains connector and switch
powering up
Press the bottom part of the power switch labelled ‘I’.
powering down
Press the top part of the power switch labelled ‘O’.
Mains
Connector
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outputs on the PRIMA
You need to connect the outputs on the back of your pre-amplifier to a power amplifier in
order to drive your loudspeakers. There is a pair of balanced XLR outputs, which will drive
a 68
Ω load.
connecting to your power amplifier
1. Use the XLR style output connectors to connect your PRIMA pre-amplifier to the XLR
style input connectors of your power amplifier.
2. If you are using the PRE AMP REMOTE, then press the button marked O/P 1.
3. If you are using the Chord touch-screen remote control then press the OUTPUT 1 LCD
touch pad, which is on page 3 of the CHORAL SERIES device menu.
LEFTRIGHT
Main outputs on the PRIMA
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balanced inputs on the PRIMA
You can connect up to five items of source input equipment, such as CD player, Video,
Tuner etc. to the inputs on your pre-amplifier.
connecting to your source input equipment using balanced connections
1. Use the XLR style input connectors to connect your PRIMA pre-amplifier to the XLR
style output connectors of your source input equipment.
2. If you are using the PRE AMP REMOTE, then press the button marked 1 that is
grouped with main line bus buttons. The main bus buttons are grouped with the button
marked M.
3. If you are using the Chord touch-screen remote control then press the MAIN LINE 1
LCD touch pad, which is on page 1 of the CHORAL SERIES device menu.
LEFTRIGHT
Balanced inputs on the PRIMA – LINE 1
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unbalanced inputs
on the PRIMA
connecting to your source input equipment using unbalanced connections
There are 4 pairs of unbalanced phono input connections on the PRIMA. These are shown
in the diagrams below.
RIGHT
LEFT
LINE 2
LEFT
RIGHT
LINE 3
RIGHT
LEFT
LINE 4
LEFT
RIGHT
LINE 5
Unbalanced inputs on the PRIMA
1. Use any of the four pairs of phono style input connectors to connect your PRIMA pre-
amplifier to the phono style output connectors of your source input equipment.
2. If you are using the PRE-AMP REMOTE, then press the appropriate button marked
either: 2, 3, 4 or 5 that is grouped with main line bus buttons, depending on the line
input connectors that you have used. The main bus buttons are grouped with the button
marked M.
3. If you are using the Chord touch-screen remote control then press the appropriate LCD
touch pad, which are on page 1 of the CHORAL SERIES device menu.
Use MAIN LINE 2 for the LINE 2 input connectors.
Use MAIN LINE 3 for the LINE 3 input connectors.
Use MAIN LINE 4 for the LINE 4 input connectors.
Use MAIN LINE 5 for the LINE 5 input connectors.
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tape recording
using the PRIMA
You can use the PRIMA to tape record the signal from an input source whilst you are
listening to your main signal from another input source through the main outputs.
connecting to a tape recorder to tape an audio source
use the pair of phono style connectors that are furthest to the right, next to the XLR style
output connectors.
RIGHT LEFT
Tape line outputs
assigning an input source line to the tape line output
1. If you are using the PRE AMP REMOTE, press the corresponding numbered button,
for the desired line input. Use the numbered buttons that are grouped with the button
marked T.
2. If you are using the Chord touch-screen remote control, the use the corresponding LCD
touch pad that relates to the line input that you are using. These LCD touch pads are
found on page 2 of the CHORAL SERIES menu and are labelled TAPE LINE 1,
TAPE LINE 2, TAPE LINE 3, TAPE LINE 4 and TAPE LINE 5.
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everyday use of the PRIMA
controls on the PRIMA
The diagram below shows the controls on the PRIMA
Button A:
Main Line Input Select
Infra Red Receiver
Volume Knob
Button B:
Tape Line Input Select
Balance Knob
Controls on the PRIMA
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assigning an input to the main line outputs
Your PRIMA uses the main line by default and the display will read:
To assign the main output with a particular input signal, press the button A several times to
cycle through the 5 line inputs until, the one you wish to use is displayed. The options are
shown in the diagram below:
Cycle of input selection options for the main line outputs
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assigning an input to the tape line outputs
To assign the tape line output with a particular input signal, press the button B several
times to cycle through the 5 line inputs until, the one you wish to use is displayed. The
options are shown in the diagram below:
Cycle of input selection options for the tape line outputs
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viewing the settings for the main line
To view the settings for the main line press and hold button A for two seconds. The first
information that is shown is the current gain setting for the input line that is assigned to the
main line output. The PRIMA stores the gain setting for each input line. There are six gain
settings available in total that can be assigned to each input line and these are shown
below. After the gain setting has been shown for a second, the input line that is currently
assigned to the main line is displayed.
viewing the settings for the tape line
To view the settings for the tape line press and hold button B for two seconds. The first
information that is shown is the current gain setting for the input line that is assigned to the
tape line output. The PRIMA stores the gain setting for each input line. There are six gain
settings available in total that can be assigned to each input line and these are shown
below. After the gain setting has been shown for a second, the input line that is currently
assigned to the tape line is displayed. When you are viewing the tape line settings, the
display will indicate it is the tape line settings you are viewing using the letters ‘TP’. The
number of the input line that is assigned to the tape line is also shown. The diagrams below
show the possible display settings for each input that can be set to the tape line outputs.
Input lines that can be assigned to the tape line outputs
listening to the input assigned to the tape line
If you wish to listen to the input that you have assigned to the tape line, you must assign
the same input to the main line outputs using button A.
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