Mark Levinson No 434, No 436 Owners manual
Owner’s Manual
Nº434
Nº436
Madrigal Audio Laboratories
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WARNING: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO
NOT EXPOSE THIS APPLIANCE TO RAIN OR MOISTURE.
CAUTION
RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK
DO NOT OPEN
CAUTION: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRICAL SHOCK, DO
NOT REMOVE COVER. NO USER-SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE.
REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED PERSONNEL.
The lightning flash with arrowhead symbol, within an equilateral triangle, is intended to alert
the user to the presence of uninsulated “dangerous voltage” within the product’s enclosure that
may be of sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of electric shock to persons.
The exclamation point within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the presence
of important operating and maintenance (servicing) instructions in the literature accompanying
the appliance.
Marking by the “CE” symbol (shown left) indicates compliance of this device with the EMC
(Electromagnetic Compatibility) and LVD (Low Voltage Directive) standards of the European
Community.
NOTICE
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to
Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful
interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency
energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to
radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular
installation. If this equipment does cause interference to radio or television reception, which can be
determined by turning the equipment on and off, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by
one or more of the following measures:
• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna;
• Increase the separation between the equipment and the receiver;
• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected;
• Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.
CAUTION: Changes or modifications to this equipment not expressly approved by the manufacturer could
void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.
The information contained in the manual is subject to change without notice. The most current version of this
manual will be posted on our web site at http://www.madrigal.com.
Important Safety Instructions
Please read all instructions and precautions carefully and completely before operating your Mark
®
Levinson
power amplifier.
1. ALWAYS disconnect your entire system from the AC mains before connecting or dis-
connecting any cables, or when cleaning any component.
2. This product must be terminated with a three-conductor AC mains power cord which
includes an earth ground connection. To prevent shock hazard, all three connections
must ALWAYS be used.
3. AC extension cords are not recommended for use with this product.
4. NEVER use flammable or combustible chemicals for cleaning audio components.
5. NEVER operate this product with any covers removed.
6. NEVER wet the inside of this product with any liquid.
7. NEVER pour or spill liquids directly onto this unit.
8. NEVER block air flow through ventilation slots or heatsinks.
9. NEVER bypass any fuse.
10. NEVER replace any fuse with a value or type other than those specified.
11. NEVER attempt to repair this product. If a problem occurs, contact your Mark
Levinson
12. NEVER expose this product to extremely high or low temperatures.
13. NEVER operate this product in an explosive atmosphere.
14. ALWAYS keep electrical equipment out of the reach of children.
15. ALWAYS unplug sensitive electronic equipment during lightning storms.
®
retailer.
From all of us at Madrigal Audio Laboratories, thank you for choosing your Mark
Levinson Monaural Power Amplifier.
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A great deal of effort went into the design and construction of this precision device. Used
properly, it will give you many years of enjoyment.
Table of Contents
Unpacking Your Amplifier .......................................................... 6
Break-in period ................................................................................... 6
Placement Considerations.......................................................... 8
Ventilation.......................................................................................... 8
Operating Voltage, Nº436 and Nº434...................................... 10
Nº436 AC mains maximum current requirements (amps) ................ 11
Nº434 AC mains maximum current requirements ........................... 11
Special Design Features ........................................................... 13
Massive Power Supply ...................................................................... 13
Balanced design ............................................................................... 13
True Voltage Source.......................................................................... 13
Adaptive Biasing of the Output Stage ............................................... 14
Extensive Protection ......................................................................... 15
Front Panel ............................................................................. 17
Rear Panel ............................................................................... 20
PHASTLink® control cable .............................................................. 25
Remote turn-on tip polarity ............................................................ 26
Troubleshooting ......................................................................27
Care & Maintenance ................................................................ 29
U.S. and Canadian Warranty ....................................................30
90-Day Limited Warranty .................................................................. 30
Five Year Extended Warranty ............................................................ 30
Obtaining Service .................................................................... 31
Specifications .......................................................................... 32
Dimensions: Nº436 ..................................................................33
Dimensions: Nº434 ..................................................................34
Rack Mount ............................................................................. 35
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Unpacking Your Amplifier
Warning! Under no circumstances should you consider
unpacking your amplifier without adequate assistance,
as both personal injury and damage to the product is
likely unless you follow the procedures listed below.
Your new Mono Power Amplifier is heavy—the shipping weight of the
Nº436 for example is about 100 pounds (45 kg). We recommend two
people to unpack these amplifiers safely.
Included with your new Mark Levinson amplifier are two pairs of knit,
white gloves designed to assist you in the initial unpacking and placement of your new purchase. Please accept them as a token of our appreciation for having purchased our amplifiers.
Caution! Do not attempt to lift your power amplifier from its
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Break-in period Although your Mark Levinson power amplifier delivers outstanding
packing carton alone.
Never attempt to lift your power amplifier while
bending from the waist.
Always stand as straight as possible and use your leg
muscles to lift your amplifier.
After unpacking your power amplifier, keep all packing materials for
future transport. In the event that you need to ship your amplifier,
only the original, purpose-designed shipping carton is acceptable. Any
other method of shipping this heavy product will almost certainly result in damage to the amplifier—damage that would not be covered by
the warranty.
Please inspect your amplifier for any obvious damage due to shipping.
If you discover any problems, contact your Mark Levinson dealer immediately so an appropriate freight claim can be made.
performance straight out of the box, you should expect to hear it continue to improve as it reaches its normal operating temperatures and its
various components “break-in.” It has been our experience that the
greatest changes occur within the first 25-50 hours, but that the ampli-
fier will continue to improve in sound quality for about 300 hours, after which time it remains quite constant.
The only exception to this rule is if power is removed from the unit, allowing it to cool down. This can occur due to: extended power outages;
unplugging the amplifier from the wall during a vacation; or by leaving
the amplifier in sleep mode rather than in standby. In these cases you
should expect a brief warm-up period before the amplifier’s sound
quality is at its best. (Fortunately, you will never have to repeat the full
300 hour break-in period.)
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Placement Considerations
PRECAUTION
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For your protection, review “Important Safety
Instructions” and “Operating Voltage” before you
install your amplifier.
Your Mark Levinson mono power amplifier is specifically designed to
accommodate a wide range of installation options. These amplifiers
may be placed on the floor, near the loudspeakers they drive. They may
also be located on shelves, or bolted into a rack-mounting system. (The
rack mount kit is optional; given the weight of these amplifiers, we
strongly recommend using the purpose-built rack mount system if you
choose to install them in this way.) The sophisticated ventilation system
employed by the Nº436 and Nº434 will maintain optimal operating
temperatures in the output stage of the amplifier even when they are
stacked one above another.
If you have a choice in your design, however, locating each amplifier
near its respective loudspeaker is usually best. This approach minimizes
the length of the speaker wires, and necessitates longer interconnecting
cables from the preamplifier to the power amplifier. The advantage to
this strategy lies in the fact that the interconnecting cables carry lowcurrent signals that are more readily transmitted over distances with
great accuracy than are the necessarily high current signals required by
loudspeakers.
Ventilation
Note that adequate clearance for the AC cord and connecting signal
cables must be left behind your amplifiers. We suggest leaving at least
six inches (15 cm) of free space behind your amplifier so all cables have
sufficient room to bend without crimping or undue strain.
The Nº436 and Nº434 were designed to use passive, convection cooling
under most circumstances. This highly efficient system is supplemented with a forced air cooling system to maintain optimal operating
temperatures under a wide range of conditions. For example, the amplifier might need additional cooling if there is little or no space above
the amplifier for air circulation, or if it is being run at extremely high
levels for long periods of time.
This combination of passive and active cooling is accomplished by
crosscutting the heatsinks so that air can flow both vertically and horizontally. Passive, vertical cooling is used at low to moderate listening
levels. Above a certain operating temperature, two fans will be engaged
to provide additional cooling from the front to the back of the amplifier. If you look closely, you will see a gap between the front faceplate
and the chassis of the amplifier. This gap provides the air intake for the
forced-air cooling when it is necessary.
These fans are thermostatically controlled and have variable speed.
They are also extremely quiet even when running relatively hard. Most
people will never notice them, even if they do turn on occasionally. The
only time you are likely to hear them is when you first turn the volume
off after a prolonged period of extremely high volume listening.
Regardless of where you choose to locate your amplifier, we advise locating the amplifier well away from sensitive low-level components,
typically near the floor. (The massive output currents of which these
amplifiers are capable can generate significant magnetic fields, which
could conceivably induce noise in some sensitive components.)
The Nº436 dual monaural power amplifier dissipates approximately
175 watts of energy as heat when on (not in standby) and at idle (no
input signal). The Nº434 dissipates about 130 watts when on and at
idle. It is therefore normal and perfectly safe for them to run somewhat
warm.
Mechanical drawings are included in this manual to facilitate special
installations where necessary (see “Dimensions” at the end of this
manual).
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Operating Voltage,
Nº436 and Nº434
Your Mark Levinson Mono Power Amplifier is characterized by its remarkable ability to pass a musical signal with utter integrity, regardless
of how demanding that signal and the loudspeakers used might be.
When called upon to do so, your amplifier is capable of generating
truly prodigious power levels into virtually any speaker load, on either
an instantaneous or a continuous basis.
For compatibility with existing household outlets, a standard three
conductor, 15 ampere, IEC-standard, detachable AC mains cable is provided for use with your amplifier.
Depending on the demands placed on the amplifier by your loudspeaker, your listening habits, and the number of amplifiers you have in
your system, it is possible for the capabilities of your electrical service
to become the limiting factor in the performance of your system. For
this reason, it may be worth considering having one or more dedicated
AC mains circuits installed for your system.
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Important: When it comes to high current AC wiring such as
multiple Nº436 and Nº434 amplifiers are capable of
using, building regulations and electrical codes vary from
region to region, and even from one municipality to the
next. For this reason, it is impossible for us to anticipate
the requirements of your area with regard to high
current AC hookups.
If you plan to install a dedicated, high current AC line for
your amplifiers, please review this section carefully and
then contact a local electrical contractor for advice.
If you have more than one circuit feeding the system with power, please
ask your electrician to ensure that they are all operating with a solid,
low impedance ground reference that is the same for all products in the
system.
Mark Levinson amplifiers may be factory-set for 100V, 120V, 200V,
220V, 230V or 240V AC mains operation at either 50 or 60Hz, based on
the country for which they are manufactured. Depending on local electrical codes and regulations, the plug on the supplied AC input module
may need to be replaced by a local, licensed electrical contractor.
The Nº436 and Nº434 have four operating states:
• Off AC mains power is disconnected, either via the
black front panel power button or by unplugging the unit from the wall.
• Sleep Only a small power supply is on, along with the
communications and control circuitry. After
waking from sleep, some warm-up time is required before the amplifier sounds its best.
• Standby The main power supply is brought online, and
the voltage gain stages are power up; the output
(current gain) stage is off. The time required
for warm-up is quite short.
• On Everything is powered up and ready to go.
The maximum current requirements (in amperes) at these various
voltages under various test conditions are listed in the table shown below. (Note that only 230V units are sold in the European Union countries,
per CE requirements.)
Nº436 AC mains maximum
current requirements (amps)
Nº434 AC mains maximum
current requirements
100V 120V 200V 220V 230V 240V
Off 000000
Sleep 60 mA 50 mA 30 mA 27.5 mA 26 mA 25 mA
Standby .84 A .70 A .42 A .385 A .365 A .35 A
On, at idle 1.58 A 1.32 A .80 A .725 A .70 A .66 A
350w @ 8Ω* 10.2 A 8.5 A 5.1 A 4.7 A 4.5 A 4.25 A
700w @ 4Ω* 17.5 A 14.6 A 8.8 A 8.0 A 7.7 A 7.3 A
1400w @ 2Ω* 30.7 A 25.6 A 15.4 A 14.0 A 13.4 A 12.8 A
* power ratings are continuous (rms) with less than 0.5% THD, from 20-20,000 Hz.
100V 120V 200V 220V 230V 240V
Off 000000
Sleep 60 mA 50 mA 30 mA 27.5 mA 26 mA 25 mA
Standby .84 A .70 A .42 A .385 A .365 A .35 A
On, at idle 1.32 A 1.1 A .80 A .60 A .575 A .55 A
125w @ 8Ω* 6.8 A 5.7 A 3.4 A 3.1 A 3.0 A 2.85 A
250w @ 4Ω* 11.4 A 9.5 A 5.7 A 5.2 A 5.0 A 4.75 A
500w @ 2Ω* 19.2 A 16 A 9.6 A 8.8 A 8.4 A 8.0 A
* power ratings are continuous (rms) with less than 0.5% THD, from 20-20,000 Hz.
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It is important to understand that these are worst-case requirements
under severe test conditions, which are extremely unlikely to be encountered in normal use.
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