Millennia STT-1 User Manual

Dedicated to the lives, memory, and families of

Chris Camacho and Gabe Weiner — two young men

who shared a passion for great audio,

and who left us much too soon.

Gabe 1970-1997
Chris 1959-1999

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STT-1

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READ THIS FIRST!

Any changes or modifications not expressly approved by MILLENNIA MEDIA, INC. could
void your authority to operate this equipment under the EC or FCC rules.

1. Copyright: You acknowledge that no title to the intellectual property in the STT-1 is trans­ferred to you.

2. Inspection: Inspect packing box(es), STT-1, and cable(s) for damage, unusual marks, or short­ages. It is your responsibility to report damage, shortage, or misshipments in a timely manner.
Millennia Media and/or its dealers will not be responsible for claims arising from damage in
shipping, nor will claims for shortage or misshipments be honored, more than 10 days after
ship date.

3. Read this manual carefully and completely before attempting to use the STT-1. Improper
operation could result in damage to product. It is the user's responsibility to understand the safe
use and operation of this device.

4. The shipping box of the STT-1 system will include (1) Owner's Manual, (2) STT-1, (3) a UL
approved power cord, (4) Owner's Registration Card. Fill out the Owner's Registration Card
and return to Millennia Media at your earliest ability.

The material contained in this manual consists of information that is property of Millennia
Media, Inc. and is intended solely for use by the purchasers of the equipment described in this
manual. Millennia Media, Inc. expressly prohibits the duplication of any portion of this manual
or the use thereof for any purpose other than the operation and/or maintenance of the equip­ment described in this manual without the express written permission of Millennia Media, Inc..
Under copyright laws, this manual may not be duplicated in whole or in part without the writ­ten consent of Millennia Media, Inc..

STT-1 and Origin are trademarks of Millennia Media, Inc. All other trademarks are property of
their respective holders. Serial numbers are located on the rear left side of each unit. We suggest
that you record the serial numbers in the space provided below. Refer to it whenever you call an
authorized Millennia Media repair facility or the manufacturer. Make sure that you return your
completed warranty card immediately.

Features and specifications subject to change without notice.
© 2001-2002 Millennia Media, Inc., All rights reserved

Serial Nos. ______________________________________________________________

Purchase Date ___________________________________________________________

Where Purchased _________________________________________________________

STT-1

SAFETY PRECAUTIONS

For your safety and the safety of others, be sure to read and understand all safety and opera­tional instructions before attempting to use the STT-1. WARNING: The STT-1 internal circuit-
ry carries lethal voltages. Carefully observe all warnings, precautions, and instructions on the
STT-1 and as described in the instructions supplied with the unit.

1. WATER, MOISTURE, AND SPILLAGE
Do not attempt to use the STT-1 in, near, or around water or in unusually moist environments,
such as near a sink or swimming pool. Prevent liquids or any other materials or objects from spill­ing or falling into the STT-1 unit.

2. HEAT AND VENTILATION
Be sure to allow adequate ventilation to STT-1 and avoid using or installing unit in close proxim­ity to heat sources, such as heaters, stoves, radiators, power amplifiers, spotlights, or other heat­producing appliances or equipment.

3. POWER SOURCES AND POWER CORD PROTECTION
The STT-1 Power Supply should be connected to a power source only of the type described in the
operating instructions or as marked on the Power Supply. Route the power cord so that it is not
likely to be walked on or pinched by having objects placed on it. Pay particular attention to plugs,
receptacles, and the point where the AC power cord exits the STT-1.

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4. GROUNDING
For your safety, it is extremely important that the grounding pin of the 3-wire power cable (in­cluded with unit) be inserted into a grounding type 3-pin power outlet. If you are unable to insert
the plug into an existing outlet, contact an electrician to install a properly grounded 3-pin power
outlet, preferably that with OFI protection, if available.

5. DAMAGE REQUIRING SERVICE
This unit should be repaired or serviced by qualified personnel whenever:

· The AC power cord has been damaged, or

· A microphone cable has been damaged, or

· Objects have fallen or liquid has spilled into any STT-1 unit, or

· The unit does not function properly or exhibits a marked change in performance, or

· The unit has been abused, dropped, or damaged, or

· The unit has been exposed to rain or moisture

6. SERVICING
Deadly voltages are found inside the STT-1 chassis. The user should not attempt to repair or
service this unit. All servicing and/or repairs should be referred to Millennia Media.

If, after reading all instructions, precautions, and warnings, you have remaining questions, please
contact Millennia Media directly before attempting to use your STT-1. Retain this owner’s manual
as a record of your purchase to aid positive identification in the event of loss.

STT-1

4

QUICK START

READ THIS!! The STT-1 operates with lethal operating voltages
— the voltage inside the STT-1 can kill you. Never, under any cir­cumstances, remove the top cover. Refer to a qualified electronics
technician any and all servicing and other operations which require

the top cover to be removed.

Congratulations on your purchase of the Millennia Media STT-1 Origin tracking and post sys­tem. The STT-1 is the culmination of meticulous listening tests on innumerable circuit, topol­ogy, and packaging designs over many years of product design and development. Your STT-1
is a finely tuned instrument intended for critical professional applications — we feel it offers
the world's most sonically versatile "all-in-one channel strip" audio signal path, with the added
benefits of selectable transformer-coupling and vacuum tubes when "euphonic enhancement" is
desired. With the emergence of 24+ bit digital audio, recording engineers are faced with a new
requirement for undistorted dynamic range. The STT-1 meets this challenge exceptionally well.

Before connecting power to the STT-1, assure that the rear panel voltage selection fuse block
switch is set correctly. In the USA, the STT-1 is shipped with the voltage selection block set
to 100-120 VAC. If you change the voltage selection block to 200-240 VAC usage, be sure to
change both fuses to the correct types. See "Rear Panel" instructions for proper fuse require­ments.

The STT-1 enclosure measures approximately 19" wide x 3.5" high x 15.5" deep and is designed
for mounting into a standard 2U, 19" equipment rack. If the STT-1 is mounted in a road case or
other rack which is prone to strong vibration or shock, it is highly recommended that the rear
of the STT-1 be supported or otherwise reinforced to withstand such conditions. The STT-1
contains a significant number of high voltage vacuum tubes and discrete transistors, all running
in pure Class-A mode. As such, the STT-1 Origin runs warm and should be mounted with at
least one rack screw space open above and below the unit. The rear panel heat sink should also
be given adequate exposure to unrestricted air movement.

The STT-1 is designed on a common ground topology. For high quality operation, and for your
own safety and the safety of others, do not defeat the purpose of the earth grounding pin.

STT-1 FRONT-END PROTECTION

Millennia Media enjoys a reputation for what many top engineers and producers call the
world's most musically accurate and dynamically consistent microphone preamplifier — the
HV-3. But this unique design is not achieved without certain operating criteria. Back-to-back
Zener diodes protect the super-matched discrete bipolar input transistors against high transient
energy spikes common when inserting and extracting XLR connectors. To maintain top perfor­mance and protect the STT-1's sensitive HV-3 front-end, it is advised that you do not insert or
extract XLR connectors with phantom power on. Get in the habit of turning phantom power
off and waiting about thirty seconds for the phantom power to ramp down before inserting or
removing a microphone. This is good advice for protecting a microphone, as well.

STT-1

INTRODUCTION (see block diagram)

The STT-1 Origin is a collection of Millennia's essential product line combined into one box. You might
call it our "greatest hits" compilation. The STT-1 is a single channel (mono) processing chain with various
signal path topologies (vacuum tubes, discrete transistors, audio transformer, transformerless) all select­able at various functions. The STT-1 offers an entirely discrete, entirely Class-A direct signal path from
input to output. The signal path can be variously selected to use vacuum tubes or transistors, transformer
or non-transformer coupling. The STT-1 also offers additional monolithic utility outputs. There are (yes,
we counted) at least 134 different product combinations available in the STT-1 Origin — ranging from
the most musically transparent, sonically accurate, and dynamically stable audio circuits, to sublime levels
of vacuum tube and transformer 'euphony', and everything in between. The possibilities afforded the cre­ative engineer, producer, and musician are virtually endless. The STT-1 includes the following functions,
employing the essential topology of Millennia products as noted by name:

1.) HV-3 discrete hybrid solid state microphone preamplifier -or-

2.) M-2 vacuum tube microphone preamplifier

3.) Vacuum tube instrument DI input, routable into M-2 vacuum tube -or- HV-3 solid state gain amplifiers

4.) Balanced line level (+4) input, routable into M-2 vacuum tube -or- HV-3 solid state gain amplifiers

5.) NSEQ four-band parametric EQ, selectable via vacuum tube -or- discrete solid state audio topology

6.) TCL opto-compressor/limiter/de-esser, selectable via vacuum tube, solid state, or non-amplifier topology

7.) All paths selectable via transformer -or- transparent transformerless input signal path

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The STT-1 Origin has three available audio inputs.

1.) Line Input (XLR or 1/4" phone, rear panel)

2.) Mic Input (XLR, rear panel)

3.) Instrument DI Input (1/4" phone, front panel)

A user must select one of the above three inputs via the "SOURCE" rotary switch. The above inputs can­not be combined or mixed internally. Polarity of any input can be flipped 180 degrees, if desired. The mic
input can also receive +48V Phantom power, if required.

All input sources (mic, line, DI) are routed directly to the front-end gain amplifiers. A front-end gain am­plifier is selectable as either vacuum tube (M-2) or solid state (HV-3). Each front-end gain amplifier has
its own gain adjustment potentiometer (approximately +10 dB to +50 dB solid state range and +20 dB
to +40 dB vacuum tube range). A user can select one front end gain amplifier, only (VT or SS) — front
end gain amplifiers cannot be mixed or used simultaneously. Additionally, a Millennia MIT-01 audio-path
transformer is selectable at all inputs (mic, line, DI) to the gain amplifiers. Use the transformer when you
want to add an enhanced, "in-your-face" euphonic personality to high-level input signals. The MIT-01
input transformer remains relatively uncolored and sonically neutral with nominal signal levels.

The front-end amplifiers feed two areas simultaneously: (1) a direct utility ouput and (2) the EQ/Dy­namics section. The direct output is placed before the EQ and Dynamics sections. The direct output is
FET-based, monolithic, balanced, and always active. The EQ and Dynamics sections can share the same
amplifier stage (selectable as vacuum tubes or field effect transistors), which opens up some interesting
operational features. The ORIGIN's Opto-Dynamics functions can be used with vacuum tube amplfica­tion, solid state amplification, or with no additional amplification whatsoever. See page 16 for important
detail on EQ and Dynamics co-operation.

The STT-1 has three other 'main' outputs: (1) monolithic XLR balanced, (2) discrete 100% Class-A 1/4"
unbal, and (3) discrete 100% Class-A XLR unbalanced. Main outputs sit at the back end of the STT-1,
following all functions. An additional RCA phono jack provides a linking function for stereo operation of
two STT-1 Dynamics sections. The large scale VU meter is a true audio responding level meter which can
be selected to measure the main output level or Dyanamics gain reduction.

STT-1

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STT-1 REAR PANEL

(1) MICROPHONE INPUT "MIC INPUT"

Conventional 3-pin female XLR input jacks for use with all standard balanced microphones, both phan­tom and non-phantom powered. Provides +48 Volts DC Phantom powering via front panel switch. Input
impedance is approximately 6,200 ohms with phantom power switched in. Microphone input is selected
via a front panel rotary switch marked "Source - MIC." Pin 2 is positive polarity. Pin 3 is negative polarity.
Connector contacts are Neutrik Galvatronic gold plated. It is suggested that XLR cable connectors used
with the STT-1 employ identical plating. This input feeds either the vacuum tube gain amplifier (M2)
or solid state gain amplifier (HV-3), with or without transformer coupling, depending on the status of
front panel Twin Topology "TT" and "XFMR" switches. With non-transformer coupling, the maximum
microphone input levels are +3 dBu (vacuum tube) and +14 dBu (solid-state). For reference, a Neumann
U87Ai directly in front of a screaming vocalist (127 dB SPL) will output approximately -6 dBu. (NOTE:
Do not let the front panel "overload indicator" LED fool you. It begins to turn on with a mic preamp
output of +18 dBu. When you first see the red LED turn on dimly, you have 14 dB of output headroom
remaining.)

(2) LINE LEVEL INPUT "LINE INPUT"

Conventional 3-pin female XLR connector for use with balanced line level audio signals. A line level
signal is defined here as nominal +4 dBu operating level. Pin 1 is ground. Pin 2 is positive polarity. Pin
3 is negative polarity. A 1/4" phone jack is wired in parallel with the XLR (Tip=pin 2, Ring=pin 3,
Sleeve=pin 1). Input impedance is approximately 2,200 ohms (x2). Line level input is selected via a front
panel rotary switch marked "Source - LINE." This input feeds either the vacuum tube gain amplifier
(M-2) or solid state gain amplifier (HV-3), with or without transformer coupling, depending on the status
of front panel Twin Topology "TT" and "XFMR" switches. Minimum line input gain is achieved when
amplifier gain controls are set fully counter-clockwise. Maximum line level input level is +30 dBu into
the solid state gain amplifier and +19 dBu into the vacuum tube gain amplifier. Unbalanced "semi-pro"
(-10 dBv) signals should be tried in both the front panel DI input and the line level input — select the
input which sounds best. Line level input XLR connector contacts are Neutrik Galvatronic gold plated. It

is suggested that XLR cable connectors used with the STT-1 employ identical plating.

(3) FRONT END DIRECT OUTPUT "DIRECT OUT"

Conventional three pin male XLR connector providing balanced, line level output directly from the
front-end amplifiers (MIC, LINE, DI). This output is configured before the EQ, Compressor, De-esser,
and main outputs. This direct output is essentially equivalent to the output on an HV-3 micamp and
can be used in addition to the main outputs (below). Pin 1 is ground. Pin 2 is positive polarity. Pin 3 is
negative polarity. This line level output is capable of driving <600 ohm loads and long, high capacitance
cables. Outputs may be configured in an unbalanced configuration by grounding pin 3, or taking pin 2
directly as an unbalanced signal while floating pin 3. In the former configuration, the output is automati­cally increased by 6 dB. Connector contacts are Neutrik Galvatronic gold plated. It is suggested that XLR
cable connectors used with the STT-1 employ identical plating.

(4) MAIN OUTPUT #1 "MAIN OUT - BAL"

Conventional three pin male XLR connector providing balanced, line level output from all stages of the
STT-1. Can be used simultaneously with all other outputs. Pin 1 is ground. Pin 2 is positive polarity. Pin
3 is negative polarity. This monolithic-based, balanced line level output is capable of driving <600 ohm
loads and long, high capacitance cables and has a maximum output level of +32 dBu. Outputs may be
configured in an unbalanced pin-2-hot configuration by either grounding pin 3, or taking pin 2 directly
as an unbalanced signal while floating pin 3. In the latter configuration, the output is decreased by 6 dB

STT-1