GAS Ambrosia, Ambrosia Owners manual

WARRANTY

Spread Spectrum Technologies Inc. WARRANTS THIS PRODUCT TO BE FREE OF DEFECTS IN MATERIALS AND WORKMANSHIP FOR A PERIOD OF FIVE YEARS FROM DATE OF PURCHASE.

Spread Spectrum Technologies Inc. WILL REPAIR AND/OR MODIFY, IF NECESSARY, THE PRODUCT AT NO CHARGE TO THE CUSTOMER.

CUSTOMER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR RETURN SHIPPING CHARGES.

CUSTOMER MUST REGISTER THE SERIAL NO. WITH Spread Spectrum Technologies Inc. FOR THE WARRANTY TO BECOME EFFECTIVE.

CUSTOMER MUST OBTAIN AN “RA” NUMBER IN ADVANCE.

Spread Spectrum Technologies Inc. WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR SHIPPING DAMAGES OR MISUSE OR MISTREATMENT OF PRODUCT.

ALMOST THE LAST ANALOG PREAMP

OWNER’S MANUAL

Spread Spectrum Technologies Inc.

LOMPOC, CA 93436

WARNING:

FACTORY LOCATION: CULLEN CIRCUITS 2323 TULEY ST. UNIT A PASO ROBLES, CA 93446 805-237-2113

716 N. G St. #2

Lompoc, CA 93436

Phone/Fax 805-740-9902

sstinc@earthlink.net

jamesbongiorno@ampzilla2000.com

DO NOT INSERT OR REMOVE ANY PLUGS INTO THE MC INPUT WHILE THE POWER IS ON. SEVERE DAMAGE MAY OCCUR TO THE INPUT STAGE.

WARNING: YOU MUST INSERT THE SHORTING PLUGS (SUPPLIED) INTO ALL UNUSED INPUTS INCLUDING TAPE INPUTS BEFORE FIRST TURN ON.

AMBROSIA 2000 – THE STORY

30 YEARS AGO, IN 1975, OUR DESIGNER JAMES BONGIORNO, UNLEASHED ONTO THE WORLD, THE THAEDRA, FROM GREAT AMERICAN SOUND. AS OF THEN AND EVEN NOW STILL, THIS WORLD CLASS PREAMP HAS BEEN REVERED FOR ITS PERFORMANCE. THERE HAS BEEN NOTHING SINCE, TUBE OR TRANSISTOR, TO EQUAL THE MAJESTY OF THAT PREAMP. AND EVEN THOUGH MANY THOUSANDS OF THEM WERE PRODUCED, YOU RARELY SEE THEM MADE AVAILABLE IN THE USED MARKET. INDEED, THOSE WHO DID PART WITH THEM ARE CRYING SONGS OF REGRET SINCE NOTHING HAS EQUALLED THE THAEDRA. AS OF THAT TIME, THE THAEDRA WAS THE MOST COMPLICATED AND SOPHISTICATED PREAMP THAT THE WORLD HAD EVER SEEN. IT HAD VIRTUALLY EVERY POSSIBLE FEATURE THAT ANY AUDIOPHILE COULD WANT.

WHAT TO DO FOR AN ENCORE??????

TODAY, AN AUDIO CONTROL UNIT MUST BE REMOTE CONTROLLED. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY MANDATORY. HOWEVER, AS MOST PEOPLE KNOW, MOST REMOTE CONTROL CONCEPTS INVOLVE A GAZILLION BUTTONS, ETC., WHICH ARE A ROYAL PAIN. WE ENDEAVORED TO MAKE A UNIT THAT WAS SO SIMPLE THAT A CHILD COULD OPERATE IT (ALTHOUGH WE DO NOT RECOMMEND THAT CHILDREN RUN YOUR AUDIO SYSTEM). THE AMBROSIA IS COMPLETELY MENU DRIVEN AND THE REMOTE IS A CARBON COPY OF THE FRONT PANEL OF THE UNIT. THIS WAY, THERE CAN BE ABSOLUTELY NO CONFUSION IN ITS OPERATION OR FUNCTIONALITY. YOU MIGHT SAY THAT THE AMBROSIA IS COMPLETELY PROGRAMMABLE. IN ADDITION, SAVE FOR THE MAIN (HEAVY DUTY SEALED, 8 AMPERE) OUTPUT RELAYS, THERE ARE ABSOLUTELY NO MECHANICAL PARTS WHATSOEVER. EVERYTHING IS CONTROLLED ELECTRONICALLY. HOWEVER, EVEN THOUGH THE AMBROSIA IS FULLY DIGITALLY CONTROLLED, THERE ARE NO DIGITAL CIRCUITS OR DIGITAL PROCESSING IN THE SIGNAL PATH. THE SIGNAL PATH IS STILL ALL 100% ANALOG. ALL FUNCTIONS ARE CONTROLLED BY A SET OF 11 VERY EXOTIC ANALOG SWITCHES THAT ARE DIGITALLY CONTROLLED. IN ADDITION, THE VOLUME CONTROL IS ALSO MADE UP OF ANALOG SWITCHES WHICH ARE DIGITALLY CONTROLLED. THE FUNCTIONAL OPERATIONAL STATE IS DISPLAYED ON A READOUT ON THE FRONT PANEL. ALL FUNCTIONS ARE ACCESSED VIA FIVE TACT SWITCHES IN CONJUNCTION WITH A TRUE OPTICAL SHAFT ENCODER (THE ENCODER ON THE REMOTE IS A MECHANICAL UNIT IN ORDER TO SAVE BATTERY POWER). FINALLY, THERE ARE A PAIR OF POWERED HEADPHONE JACKS ON THE FRONT PANEL WHICH CAN PUT OUT HUNDREDS OF MILLIWATTS INTO EVEN THE LOWEST IMPEDANCE HEADPHONES.

MC Noise Spectrum 2 Line Amp THDN 2V Out 2

MC RIAA Error 2 MC RIAA Error 3

MM RIAA Error 2 MM THDN 2V Out 2

2 15

Line Amp Response 2

JB_Quasi_2nd_Order_Low_Cut_MM,_MC 20Hz

May 25, 2006 12:02:00

Traces: io3,

AC Analysis

Frequency (Hz)

1 10 100

Magnitude

100µ

10m

100m

Tone Controls 2

THE FEATURES OF THE AMBROSIA ARE AS FOLLOWS.

11. ULTRA LOW EMISSION POWER TRANSFORMER MOUNTED IN

ITS OWN CAN. IT HAS FOUR SECONDARY SETS OF WINDINGS WHICH ARE USED TO POWER EACH SECTION OF THE CIRCUITS TOTALLY INDEPENDENTLY WHICH ABSOLUTELY ELIMINATES A POSSIBILTY OF GROUND LOOPS OR POWER SUPPLY NOISE.

12. IN ADDITION THERE ARE 15 INDEPENDENT POWER SUPPLY

REGULATORS FOR ABSOLUTE IMMUNITY.

13. AS IN THE ORIGINAL THAEDRA THERE ARE COMPLETELY SEPARATE

CIRCUITS FOR BOTH THE MOVING COIL AND THE MOVING MAGNET CARTRIDGE SOURCES, BOTH OF THEM RIAA EQUALIZED.

14. IN ADDITION, EACH CIRCUIT, THAT IS BOTH MC AND MM, HAS

ITS OWN SET OF DIRECT OUTPUTS WHICH BYPASSES ALL OF THE INTERNAL SWITCHING.

15. IN ADDITION, EACH CIRCUIT HAS ITS OWN SWITCHABLE

AND DEDICATED LOW CUT (APPROXIMATELY 20HZ) FILTER WHICH IS A QUASI 4TH ORDER PHASE EQUALIZED NETWORK.

16. THERE ARE SEVEN (7) SETS OF INPUTS (PLUS TWO SETS OF TAPE

INPUTS AND OUTPUTS) TWO OF WHICH SHARE THE SAME INPUT JACK I.E. AN XLR COMBO JACK FOR BALANCED WITH A PAIR OF GOLD PLATED PHONE TO PHONO PLUGS FOR AN ADDITIONAL UNBALANCED INPUT. (SUPPLIED)

17. THERE ARE A PAIR OF HEADPHONE JACKS ON THE FRONT PANEL

WHICH ARE POWERED BY A VERY UNIQUE BALANCED POWER

MM-Noise Spectrum 2 MC RIAA 2

BUFFER IDLING AT 4.5 WATTS PER CHANNEL.

18. THE LINE AMPLIFIER IS FULLY BALANCED WITH AN EXTREMELY EXOTIC

CIRCUIT THAT HAS ESSENTIALLY ZERO DISTORTION. AS A MATTER OF FACT, ALL OF THE DISTORTION PRODUCTS IN THE AMBROSIA FROM THE HIGH LEVEL INPUTS ONWARD COME SPECIFICALLY AND ONLY FROM THE PASSIVE SWITCHES AND VOLUME CONTROL. THESE DISTORTION PRODUCTS ARE OF THE “PASSIVE” VARIETY WHICH ARE VIRTUALLY INAUDIBLE AS COMPARED TO THE MORE NORMAL DYNAMIC DISTORTIONS THAT ARE CREATED BY THE CIRCUITS.

19. THE LINE AMPLIFIER ALSO HAS COMPLETE TONE CONTROLS,

BASS AND TREBLE (WITH FOUR SELECTABLE INFLECTION POINTS FOR EACH) THAT VIRTUALLY NO HIGH END PREAMP HAS TODAY. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A FLAT ROOM.

10. THE ENTIRE PREAMP METAL PACKAGE (WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE FRONT PANEL) IS MADE OF 14 Ga. STEEL AND THE UNIT WEIGHS IN AT A HEFTY 50 LBS. ALL METAL SURFACES INCLUDING THE FRONT PANEL ARE POWDER COATED.

11. THE DISPLAY READOUT HAS LARGE NUMERALS WHICH CAN BE READ EASILY FROM ACROSS THE ROOM.

MM-MC LO FILTER

14 3

12. THE REMOTE CONTROL IS MADE OUT OF A SOLID MILLED OUT PIECE OF ALUMINUM (NOT A CHEAP PIECE OF PLASTIC).

D D

C C

B B

A A

File:

Date:

Size

Title

Number Revision

Drawn by:

Engineer:

Approved by:

Date

3/9/2006

Sheet

LINE AMP POWER

LA+32V

LA-32V LAGND

1234567891011

TRANSFORMER

LINE AMP POWER

SWITCH LED

HP LED

HEADPHONES

1234567891011

8129

53746

CHASSIS

1 2

S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6

SW1

LOGIC POWER

12345

LEFT BAL IN

RIGHT BAL IN

12345

L MC IN

L MM IN

R MM IN

R MC IN

12345

J11

BALANCED OUT

L+Out

L-Out

R+Out

R-Out

CLOCK

DATA

CS3

CS4

CS5

CS6

CS7

CS8

CS9

CS10

CS11

CS12

CS13

CS14

CS15

CS16

123

MULTI -CHANNEL POWER

-18V

+18V

LAGND

123

MULTI -CHANNEL LOGIC

CLOCK

DATA

CS15

CS16

HEADPHONES

HP-SW

L HP Out

R HP Out

12345

PHONO POWER

12345

J10

BALANCED IN

MC CLK

MM CLK

MM DATA

MC DATA

CS1 CS2

L MC OUT

L MM OUT

R MC OUT

R MM OUT

PHONO POWER

SWITCH LOGIC

LOGIC POWER

SWITCH LOGIC

SEL UP

SEL DOWN

ENTER

MEMORY

MUTE

D+5V

123456789

1011121314151617181920

LINE AMP LOGIC

12345678910111213141516171819

LINE AMP LOGIC

PHONO LOGIC

LA+5V

LAGND

LA+18V

LA-18V

MCGND

MMGND

MC+5V

MM+5V

MC-32V

MC+32V

MCGND

MM-32V

MM+32V

MMGND

MC-32V

MC+32V

MCGND

MM-32V

MM+32V

MMGND

DGND

D+9V

DGND

LINE AMP PCB

PHONO PCB

DISPLAY & LOGIC PCB

POWER SUPPLY PCB

FRONT PANEL

SWITCHES PCB

Spread Spectrum Technologies Inc

Ambrosia Wiring Diagram

John Wright

J. Bongiorno

3/09/06

1 of 1

HEADPHONE

LED PCB

BALANCED

OUT PCB

BALANCED

IN PCB

123

RE1

D+5V

DGND

123

ENCODER

GAIN

4 13

SPECIFICATIONS

GAIN MC 0 dB (1600X) TO TAPE OUT

-6 dB ( 800x) “

-12 dB ( 400x) “

MM 42 dB (125x) TO TAPE OUT

LINE 21 dB (11x) TO MAIN OUT THE ABOVE (LINE) INCLUDES ALL INPUTS & TAPE INS

THD MC & MM

LINE LESS THAN .05% 20Hz TO 20kHz AT 2 VOLTS MAIN OUT

NOISE MC 20Hz to 20kHz FLAT — LESS THAN 70 nV 400Hz to 20kHz LESS THAN 35 nV

LESS THAN .05% 20Hz TO 20kHz AT 2 VOLTS AT TAPE OUT

MM 20Hz to 20kHz FLAT — LESS THAN 300 nV 400Hz to 20kHz LESS THAN 200 nV

LINE 20Hz to 20kHz FLAT — LESS THAN 5uV

ALL THE ABOVE ARE INPUT REFERRED

MAXIMUM OUTPUT ON ALL OUTPUTS IS 10 Volts RMS POWER HEADPHONE BUFFERS WILL DRIVE FULL OUTPUT INTO 30 OHMS

INPUT IMPEDANCE

MC NOMINALLY 1K OHMS MM NOMINALLY 47K OHMS LINE INPUTS NOMINALLY 40K OHMS BALANCED INPUTS --+/- 50K OHMS BALANCED, 50K OHMS UNBAL.

POWER CONSUMPTION 60 WATTS WEIGHT 50 LBS (60 LBS SHIPPING)

12 5

MAIN MENU – DISPLAY

UP/DOWN SELECT SHAFT ENCODER –ADJUST BALANCE LEFT OR RIGHT VOLUME +20 TO –58dB INPUT SELECT MC,MM,TUN,CD,AUX,BAL* MODE STEREO, ST. REV., MONO BASS LEFT +8 TO –7 BASS RIGHT +8 TO –7 BASS LEFT & RIGHT +8 TO –7 TREBLE LEFT +7 TO –8 TREBLE RIGHT +7 TO –8 TREB LEFT & RIGHT +7 TO –8 LOW CUT FILTER MC, MM, MC & MM, LINE, MC & LINE, MM & LINE, ALL, NONE BASS TURNOVER 500, 400, 330, 270 TREBLE TURNOVER 5000, 4000, 3300, 2700 TAPE COPY T1 T2, T2 T1 TAPE MONITOR T1, T2 RETURN TO TOP *COMBO JACK – MAY BE USED AS AN UNBALANCED INPUT WITH SUPPLIED ADAPTORS

SAME PROCEDURE. YOU CAN ALSO USE THE NEXT POSITION WHICH IS BASS L&R IF YOU CHOOSE TO ADJUST BOTH THE LEFT AND THE RIGHT BASS SIMULTANEOUSLY. JUST REMEMBER THAT YOU MUST ALWAYS PUSH THE ENTER BUTTON IN ORDER TO EFFECT THE CHANGE. THE NEXT THREE POSITIONS ARE THE SAME EXCEPT THAT THEY ARE FOR THE TREBLE CONTROLS AND THEY OPERATE IN THE SAME FASHION.

NEXT COMES THE LOW CUT FILTERS IN WHICH THE POSITIONS ARE MC, MM, MC & MM, LINE, MC & LINE, MM & LINE, ALL, OR NONE. THE TWO PHONO FILTERS ARE SET AT APPROXIMATELY 20 Hz. THE LINE FILTER IS SET VERY LOW AT AROUND 1 Hz SPECIFICALLY TO PREVENT ANY DC FROM CAUSING PROBLEMS. THE SELECTIONS ARE MADE IN EXACTLY THE SAME WAY THAT IS BY PUSHING THE ENTER BUTTON. AS BEFORE, THE DISPLAY WILL DEFAULT BACK TO VOLUME. AGAIN, PUSHING THE MEMORY BUTTON WILL TAKE YOU BACK TO THE FILTER POSITION.

NOW, PUSHING THE DOWN SELECT BUTTON WILL TAKE YOU TO THE “LOW FREQUENCY TURNOVER” WHICH IS ABBREVIATED AS LOFT. THERE ARE FOUR SELECTIONS POSSIBLE HOWEVER THESE NUMBERS ARE NOT NECESSARILY OR ABSOLUTELY DEAD ACCURATE. THEY ONLY INDICATE THE RELATIVE AREA OF FREQUENCY TURNOVER POINTS. IT WOULD BE BEST TO USE YOUR EARS TO DETERMINE WHICH SOUNDS BEST TO YOU. YOU CAN ALSO SEE THE GRAPHS ON OUR WEB SITE.

NOTE 1: ALL SELECTIONS MUST BE ENTERED INTO MEMORY TO TAKE EFFECT. USE THE ENTER KEY

NOTE 2: ALL SELECTIONS CAN BE DEFAULTED BACK TO MAIN VOLUME BY PUSHING THE MEMORY KEY. PUSHING MEMORY AGAIN WILL RETURN MENU TO THE PREVIOUS SELECTION.

NOTE 3: AFTER ANY SELECTION IS ENTERED INTO MEMORY, THE MENU WILL ALWAYS DEFAULT BACK TO MAIN VOLUME.

NOTE 4: THE MAIN MENU IS CONTINUOUS AND THE NEXT SELECTION AFTER TAPE MONITOR, FOR EXAMPLE, WILL BE BALANCE. THIS ALSO HOLDS TRUE IN THE REVERSE DIRECTION.

THE SAME HOLDS TRUE FOR THE NEXT POSITION WHICH IS THE “HIGH FREQUENCY TURNOVER” WHICH IS ABBREVIATED AS HIFT. THERE ARE FOUR SELECTIONS AVAILABLE.

NEXT IS THE TAPE COPY FUNCTION WHICH ALLOWS YOU TO COPY FROM ONE TAPE RECORDER TO ANOTHER WITHOUT ANY EFFECT ON THE AMBROSIA. THE POSITIONS ARE T1-T2, AND T2-T1.

FINALLY, THE LAST MENU POSITION IS TAPE MONITOR. YOU CAN SELECT EITHER TAPE 1 OR TAPE 2.

ALL OF THESE SAME IDENTICAL FUNCTIONS ARE MIRRORED ON THE REMOTE CONTROL AND WORK IN THE SAME FASHION AS THE FRONT PANEL.

6 11

LOW

FIL.

LOW

FIL.

DEDICATED

OUT

INPUTS

TAPE

OUT

P.S.

LINE

DIG

FUNCTION

SWITCH

VOL

BAL

LINE

AMP

TONE

CNTL

HEAD

PHONE

PWR

HEADPHONES

CHANNEL B

ENCODER

REMOTE

DIG

CONTROL

DISPLAY

C D S

FIRST TIME OPERATION

BEFORE YOU TURN ON THE AMBROSIA FOR THE FIRST TIME, IT IS MANDATORY THAT YOU DO THE FOLLOWING. INSERT THE SHORTING PLUGS (SUPPLIED) INTO ALL OF THE UNUSED INPUT JACKS INCLUDING THE TAPE INPUTS. THIS WILL PREVENT CLICKS AND POPS FROM GETTING INTO THE CIRCUITS DURING THE CYCLING THROUGH THE MENU(S). NONE OF THE INPUTS ARE INTERNALLY SHORTED WHEN NOT SELECTED. IF YOU DO NOT USE THE SHORTING PLUGS IT MAY BE LIKELY THAT CLICKS AND POPS MIGHT POSSIBLY CAUSE SOME SPEAKER DAMAGE. Spread Spectrum Technologies Inc. WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY SPEAKER DAMAGE DUE TO NEGLIGENCE IN THIS REGARD.

AFTER YOU HAVE THE AMBROSIA CONNECTED INTO YOUR SYSTEM, IT IS READY FOR TURN ON AND YOU WILL NOTICE THAT THE DISPLAY SHOWS THE INITIALIZATION MODE. THIS MAY TAKE 30 TO 40 SECONDS FOR ALL OF THE SOFTWARE TO GET LOADED UP. AFTER THE INITIALIZATION PERIOD IS FINISHED, THE DISPLAY WILL DEFAULT TO VOLUME AT –15dB.

NEXT, PUSH THE DOWN SELECT BUTTON UNTIL YOU ARRIVE AT THE SOURCE SELECTION. WITH THE SHAFT ENCODER YOU CAN NOW MOVE THROUGH THE VARIOUS SELECTIONS STARTING WITH MC, THEN MM, THEN TUNER, THEN CD, THEN AUX. AND FINALLY BALANCED. PLEASE NOTE THAT DUE TO THE USE OF AN XLR COMBO JACK, THE BALANCED INPUT CAN ALSO BE USED AS AN ADDITIONAL UNBALANCED INPUT VIA THE SUPPLIED ADAPTER.

YOU CAN NOW MAKE YOUR INPUT SELECTION AND THEN, PUSH THE ENTER BUTTON TO PUT IT INTO MEMORY. THE DISPLAY WILL THEN DEFAULT BACK TO VOLUME.

NEXT, AGAIN KEEP PUSHING THE DOWN SELECT BUTTON UNTIL YOU ARRIVE AT THE MODE POSITION. THE SHAFT ENCODER WILL THEN ALLOW YOU TO MAKE ONE OF THREE SELECTIONS I.E. STEREO, STEREO REVERSE, AND MONO. AFTER MAKING YOUR SELECTION BY PUSHING ENTER, THE DISPLAY WILL AGAIN DEFAULT BACK TO VOLUME. NOW COMES THE NEXT NEAT TRICK. INSTEAD OF USING THE SELECT BUTTONS TO GO TO THE NEXT POSITION, YOU CAN PUSH THE “MEMORY” BUTTON AND THE DISPLAY WILL GO RIGHT BACK TO THE MODE POSITION. NOW, WHEN PUSHING THE DOWN SELECT BUTTON, THE DISPLAY WILL MOVE TO THE NEXT POSITION WHICH IS BASSLEFT. THE DISPLAY SHOULD SHOW FLAT. YOU CAN USE THE SHAFT ENCODER TO CHANGE THE BASS UP OR DOWN. WHEN THE POSITION IS SELECTED, YOU MUST THEN PUSH THE ENTER BUTTON. THE DISPLAY WILL THEN DEFAULT BACK TO VOLUME. IF YOU NOW PUSH THE MEMORY BUTTON, THE DISPLAY WILL TAKE YOU RIGHT BACK TO BASS-LEFT. NOW, PUSHING THE DOWN SELECT BUTTON WILL TAKE YOU TO BASS-RIGHT AND YOU CAN FOLLOW THE

10 7

THEORY OF OPERATION

BUTTON & CONTROL DEFINITIONS

THERE ARE FUNDAMENTALLY FOUR WAYS TO DESIGN A CONTROL PREAMPLIFIER. THE FIRST IS THE OLD FASHIONED WAY USING ROTARY AND PUSHBUTTON SWITCHES AS WELL AS POTENTIOMETERS. SINCE IT IS VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO SANELY DEVISE THIS KIND OF A SYSTEM WHILE INTEGRATING ALL THE REMOTE CONTROL FUNCTIONS, WE DISCARDED THIS APPROACH. THE SECOND METHOD WHICH SEEMS TO BE GAINING POPULARITY AS TIME GOES ON IS THE COMPLETE DIGITAL APPROACH USING DSP SIGNAL PROCESSING. WE ALSO DISCARDED THIS APPROACH BECAUSE OUR FEELING IS THAT ENOUGH DAMAGE HAS ALREADY BEEN DONE TO THE SIGNAL BY THE TIME IT REACHES YOU. THEREFORE, WHY CONTAMINATE THE SIGNAL FURTHER.

THE THIRD METHOD WOULD BE TO USE A GAZILLION RELAYS WHICH HAS BEEN TRIED IN THE PAST WITH RATHER REGRETTABLE RESULTS. WE BELIEVE THAT THIS APPROACH IS JUST UNACCEPTABLE FROM A RELIABILITY STANDPOINT AND THEREFORE WAS DISCARDED ALSO. WE CHOSE THE INDIRECT DIGITAL TO ANALOG CONTROL APPROACH AS THE BEST SOLUTION. IN THE AMBROSIA THERE ARE (11) ELEVEN CMOS PACKAGES EACH WITH 16 SETS OF SWITCHES. ALL OF THE DEVICES ARE IDENTICAL WHICH MAKES PROGRAMMING SIMPLER. EVERY FUNCTION IN THE PREAMP IS CONTROLLED BY THESE SWITCHES.

THE SOFTWARE SYSTEM IS RATHER UNIQUE IN THAT IT IS ONLY RUNNING WHEN YOU ARE ACCESSING A FUNCTION. WHEN YOU ARE LISTENING TO MUSIC, THE ENTIRE DIGITAL SOFTWARE SYSTEM GOES TO SLEEP. IN OTHER WORDS, THERE IS NO CLOCK, NO DATA, NO STROBE SIGNALS RUNNING AROUND WHICH MIGHT CONTAMINATE THE AUDIO SIGNAL WITH DIGITAL NOISE. THE SOFTWARE SYSTEM ONLY “WAKES UP” WHEN YOU ACTUATE A FUNCTION.

CLICK, CLICK, CLICK. UNDER A RARE SET OF CIRCUMSTANCES, IT IS POSSIBLE TO HEAR A SMALL “CLICK” WHEN ACCESSING A FUNCTION. THIS IS DUE TO THE TIMING ERROR THAT MAY OCCUR WHEN ONE PHYSICALLY IMPLEMENTS A COMMAND. THIS IS NORMAL AND CANNOT BE COMPLETELY ELIMINATED WITH THIS KIND OF SOFTWARE SYSTEM. IT ONLY OCCURS WHEN THE SOFTWARE “WAKES UP” AND SHOULD BE IGNORED AS IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR THIS TO HAPPEN AT ANY OTHER TIME. A TOTAL OF APPROXIMATELY 10 MAN-YEARS HAS BEEN SPENT ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE AMBROSIA. IT IS BY FAR THE MOST COMPLICATED AND AMBITIOUS UNDERTAKING THAT HAS EVER BEEN DONE IN ANALOG AUDIO ELECTRONICS. WE ARE VERY PLEASED WITH THE FINAL PERFORMANCE AND HOPE THAT YOU WILL BE TOO.

UP/DOWN BUTTONS.

THESE ARE USED TO CYCLE THROUGH THE MAIN MENU. IT IS A CONTINUOUS FUNCTION IN THAT AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MENU THE NEXT STEP WILL GO RIGHT BACK TO THE BEGINNING. YOU CANNOT EFFECT ANY CHANGES WITH THE UP/DOWN BUTTONS. THEY MERELY TAKE YOU TO THE FUNCTION.

SHAFT ENCODER.

THIS IS THE MAIN SELECTION CONTROL WHICH SHUFFLES THRU THE VARIOUS OPTIONS WITHIN A MAIN SELECTION. THIS ALSO ACTS AS THE VOLUME CONTROL, THE BALANCE CONTROL, AND BASS AND TREBLE CONTROLS.

ENTER.

THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT BUTTON OF ALL. AFTER MAKING ANY SELECTION YOU MUST PUSH THE ENTER BUTTON FOR THAT SELECTION TO BE ENTERED INTO MEMORY. THE ONLY FUNCTION THAT DOES NOT REQUIRE THIS ACTION IS THE VOLUME CONTROL. ALL OTHER FUNCTIONS WILL DEFAULT BACK TO THEIR ORIGINAL SETTINGS IF THE ENTER COMMAND IS NOT EXECUTED. THIS MAY BE FRUSTRATING AT FIRST BUT WILL BECOME SECOND NATURE AFTER YOU GET USED TO IT. IN ADDITION, AFTER YOU HAVE ENTERED A SELECTION, THE PREAMP WILL AUTOMATICALLY DEFAULT BACK TO MASTER VOLUME, WHICH BRINGS US TO THE MEMORY BUTTON.

MEMORY.

THIS BUTTON IS VERY UNIQUE. WHAT IT DOES IS AS FOLLOWS. SAY YOU HAVE ADJUSTED THE BASS CONTROL AND THEN THE DISPLAY DEFAULTED BACK TO VOLUME. IF YOU ARE NOT SATISFIED WITH THE BASS SETTING, THEN YOU CAN PUSH THE MEMORY BUTTON AND THE UNIT WILL DEFAULT BACK TO THE BASS SETTING ALLOWING YOU TO READJUST. THIS OBVIOUSLY SAVES HAVING TO SCROLL THROUGH THE WHOLE MENU TO GET BACK TO THE BASS FUNCTION. THE MEMORY BUTTON WORKS THE SAME WAY ON ALL THE OTHER FUNCTIONS AS WELL.

MUTE.

THIS IS SELF EXPLANATORY.

REMOTE CONTROL

THIS IS A CARBON COPY OF ALL THE IDENTICAL CONTROLS ON THE FRONT PANEL OF THE AMBROSIA AND WORKS EXACTLY THE SAME AS THE FRONT PANEL CONTROLS.

8 9

GAS Ambrosia, Ambrosia Owners manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual