Ow ner’s Manual
Nº390S
CD
Processor
Important Safety Instructions
Please read all in struction s an d precaution s carefully an d com pletely before operatin g your Mark
Levin son pream plifier.
1. ALWAYS discon n ect your en tire system from th e AC m ain s before con n ectin g
or discon n ectin g an y cables, or wh en clean in g an y com pon en t.
2. Th is product m ust be term in ated with a th ree-con ductor AC m ain s power cord
th at in cludes an earth groun d con n ection . To preven t sh ock h azard, all th ree
con n ection s m ust ALWAYS be used.
3. AC exten sion cords are n ot recom m en ded for use with th is product.
4. NEVER use flam m able or com bustible chem icals for cleaning audio com ponents.
5. NEVER operate th is product with an y covers rem oved.
6. NEVER wet th e in side of th is product with an y liquid.
7. NEVER pour or spill liquids directly on to th is un it.
8. NEVER block airflow th rough ven tilation slots or h eat sin ks.
9. NEVER bypass an y fuse.
10. NEVER replace an y fuse with a value or type oth er th an th ose specified.
11. NEVER attem pt to repair th is product. If a problem occurs, con tact your Mark
Levin son retailer.
12. NEVER expose th is product to extrem ely h igh or low tem peratures.
13. NEVER operate th is product in an explosive atm osph ere.
14. ALWAYS keep electrical equipm en t out of th e reach of ch ildren .
15. ALWAYS un plug sen sitive electron ic equipm en t durin g ligh tn in g storm s.
From all of us at Mark Levinson, thank you for choosing the Mark
Levinson Nº390S CD Processor.
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.
4
“Mark Levin son ” an d th e Mark Levin son logo are registered tradem arks of
Harm an International Industries. U.S. patent num bers and other worldwide
paten ts issued an d pen din g.
3 O ak Park
Bedford, MA 01730-1413 USA
Telephone:
Fax:
781-280-0300
781-280-0490
“Madrigal Audio Laboratories” an d th e Madrigal Audio Laboratories logo
are registered tradem arks of Harm an In tern ation al In dustries. U.S. paten t
n um bers an d oth er worldwide paten ts issued an d pen din g.
C ust om e r Suppor t
Telephone:
Sales Fax:
781-280-0300
781-280-0495
Service Fax: 781-280-0499
©2004 Harm an Specialty Group. All righ ts reserved.
P roduct Shipm e nt s
16 Progress Road
Th is docum en t sh ould n ot be con strued as a com m itm en t on th e part of
Harm an Specialty Group. Th e in form ation it con tain s is subject to ch an ge
with out n otice. Harm an Specialty Group assum es n o respon sibility for
errors th at m ay appear with in th is docum en t.
Billerica, MA 01821-5730 USA
Part No. 070-630457 | Rev 1 | 04/04
Table of Contents
Unpacking and Placement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Unpacking the Nº390S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Remove the Transport Screw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Placement of the Nº390S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Operating Voltage & Frequency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
A Quick Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Break-in Period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Special Design Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
A New Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Digital Servo Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Digital Input/Output Versatility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Industrial Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Convenience Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Communications Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Fully Balanced Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Advanced Digital Filter Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Digital to Analog Conversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Balanced Analog Volume Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
State-of-the-Art Output Buffer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
5
Front Panel, Nº390S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
The Extended Pause Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Sleep Timer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Rear Panel, Nº390S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
AC Power Cord Polarity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
IR Input Tip Polarity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Linking Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Standard Link Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Amplifier Link Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Remote Control, Nº390S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
Random Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Analog Input Switching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Conditions that Affect IR Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Optimum IR Reception Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Setup and Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
Connecting AC Mains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Connecting Digital Audio Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Connecting the Digital Audio Outputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Making Link Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Connecting Analog Outputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Basic Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
Loading a CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
Playing a CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
Random Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Navigating the Disc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Direct Time Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Pause . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
Repeat Disc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Repeat Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
A-B Repeat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
Polarity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Programming the Nº390S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Introduction to Play Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Assembling a Play List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Programming by Omission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Saving a Play List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Reviewing a Play List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Deleting a Track from a Play List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Adding a Track to a Play List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Overriding a Play List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Erasing Play Lists from Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Why Polarity Programming? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Whole-Disc Polarity Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Track-by-Track Polarity Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
Overriding a Polarity Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
6
Special Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
SOUND Menu Items: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Fixed/Variable Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Silent/Audible Cueing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Balance Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Mute Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Locked Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
LINK Menu Items: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Standby Link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Name Link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
Play Link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Display Link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
AUX IN’s Menu Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Changing Link Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Sleep Timer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
Using Learning Remote Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
Teaching Nº390S Front Panel Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Teaching Other Nº390S Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
Special Commands Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56
Care and Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Installation Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62
7
Unpacking and Placement
Unpacking the Nº390S
Un pack your Nº390S CD Processor an d rem ove all accessories
from th e carton .
Important!
Keep all packing materials for future transport of your Nº390S.
Shipping your new component in anything other than its
purpose-designed packing material may result in damage that is
not covered by the w arranty.
In cluded with your n ew Mark Levin son CD processor is a pair of
kn it, wh ite gloves design ed to assist you in th e in itial un packin g
an d placem en t of your n ew purch ase. Please accept th em as a
token of our appreciation for h avin g purch ased on e of our
products.
Remove the Transport
Screw
Place th e Nº390S CD Processor upside-down on a soft, clean
surface. Rem ove th e tran sport screw from th e bottom of th e un it
an d save it with th e packin g m aterials for future use.
8
Warning!
The transport screw must be removed before operating the
Nº390S, since it immobilizes the transport mechanism during
shipping to prevent damage. This screw must also be replaced
before shipping the unit.
Placement of the
Nº390S
Th e Nº390S sh ould be placed close to your digital audio processor,
th us keepin g in tercon n ect cablin g reason ably sh ort. It m ay be
placed on a sh elf or in a cabin et wh ere it is con ven ien t to operate,
but sh ould n ot be rack m oun ted, so as to leave access to th e rear
pan el power switch .
Th e Nº390S is design ed for con tin uous operation —h en ce th e
stan dby button on th e fron t pan el rath er th an a power button .
However, a rear panel power switch is provided for your convenience
sh ould you wan t to discon n ect th e un it from th e AC m ain s (as
wh en takin g a vacation , for exam ple).
Drawin gs are in cluded in th is m an ual to facilitate special
in stallation s an d custom cabin etry (see Dimensions on page 61).
Operating Voltage &
Frequency
Th e Nº390S CD Processor is set at th e factory (in tern ally) for 100V,
120V, 200V, 220V, or 240V AC m ain s operation as appropriate for
th e coun try in wh ich it is to be sold. Make sure th at th e label on
th e rear of th e Nº390S (adjacen t to th e power cord) in dicates th e
correct AC operatin g voltage for your location , as attem ptin g to
operate th e Nº390S at an in correct voltage can dam age th e un it.
Th e Nº390S CD Processor is also set at th e factory for operation
on eith er 50 or 60 Hz AC lin e frequen cies, as appropriate for th e
coun try in wh ich it is to be sold. It will n ot operate if it sen ses an
in correct lin e frequen cy.
9
Warning!
Neither the voltage nor the line frequency setting may be
changed by the user. There are no user serviceable parts inside
the Nº390S. Only qualified, authorized service personnel may
open the Nº390S CD Processor, as hazardous voltages exist
w ithin the unit.
If th e AC m ain s voltage or frequen cy in dicated on your Nº390S is
in correct, please con tact your local, auth orized Mark Levin son
dealer or distributor.
Th e Nº390S can easily be powered by a n orm al 15-am pere AC
m ain s lin e. If oth er devices are also powered from th e sam e AC
lin e, th eir addition al power con sum ption sh ould be taken in to
accoun t.
A Quick Start . . .
We recogn ize th at m an y people are un derstan dably eager to begin
listen in g to th eir n ew com pon en ts, an d th at readin g th e m an ual
is often don e (if at all) at a later tim e—perh aps wh ile listen in g to
m usic with th e n ew product itself. We stron gly recom m en d th at
you read th is m an ual th orough ly, as th e Nº390S CD Processor
in corporates m an y un usual features th at en h an ce its operation .
Fortun ately, we can h elp you get som e m usic up an d run n in g on
your system quickly, so th at you m ay begin en joyin g your n ew
CD player wh ile readin g m ore about it. Th e goal h ere is sim ply to
m ake som e m usic as quickly as possible. Th e followin g procedure
assum es th at you h ave a relatively con ven tion al system an d it is
already con n ected with th e exception of th e Nº390S (e.g.,
pream plifier to power am plifier, to speakers, etc.).
1. Turn off your associated components.
Th is m in im izes th e opportun ity for a m om en tary electrical
surge disturbin g your system wh ile m akin g con n ection s. If
you h ave a large power am plifier, allow its power supply to
fully disch arge before proceedin g (wh ich m ay take as lon g as
several m in utes, depen din g on its design ).
10
2. Remove the transport screw from the bottom of the Nº390S.
If you h ave n ot don e so already, rem ove th e kn urled tran sport
screw from th e bottom of th e Nº390S n ow. Be sure to save it
an d all packin g m aterial for possible future use. (Shipping the
Nº390S without proper packing material and without the transport
screw in its proper position may cause damage to the unit that
would not be covered by the warranty.)
3. Connect the Nº390S to AC pow er.
Con n ect th e AC cord to th e Nº390S at th e receptacle on th e
rear pan el, an d th en to your AC outlet. Th en turn on th e
power switch just above th e AC power receptacle. (Th e
in tern ation al sym bol for “on ” is a sin gle vertical lin e: |. “Off”
is sym bolized by a circle: O.) Th e Nº390S will take a few
m om en ts to in itialize an d will th en be ready to use.
4. Connect either the XLR or the RCA analog outputs on the
Nº390S to an appropriate input of your preamplifier.
Wh en properly im plem en ted, balan ced in tercon n ection via
XLR connectors and high quality balanced cables offers superior
perform an ce, an d is preferred to sin gle-en ded RCA
in tercon n ection . Both sets of outputs on your Nº390S h ave
been optim ized to en sure m axim um com patibility in a wide
ran ge of system s. (Note that you should never connect a line-level
component such as a CD player to a phono input on a preamplifier.
Although no damage is likely to result to either CD player or
preamplifier, the sound will be badly distorted and the volume may
be much louder than you expect.)
4a. If going direct from the Nº390S to an amplifier!
See Special Functions setup on page 47 to set th e Nº390S to
variable output m ode.
5. Power up the rest of the system, leaving the power amplifiers
for last.
Always turn th e power am plifier(s) off first, an d on last. Th is
good h abit m in im izes th e opportun ity for un expected tran -
sien ts to be passed to your loudspeakers. An oth er good h abit
is to reduce th e volum e on your pream plifier to m in im um
value before you restore power to th e system . Wh en th e
Nº390S is in its variable pream p m ode, it powers up at a low
volum e to m in im ize sudden ch an ges in volum e.
6. Load a disc in the draw er and press Play; slow ly raise the
volume on your preamplifier.
Con gratulation s! You sh ould n ow be able to en joy your
favorite m usic wh ile readin g th e rest of th is m an ual. (Please,
do read the rest of this manual.)
11
Break-in Period
Alth ough your Mark Levin son Nº390S CD Processor delivers
outstan din g perform an ce straigh t out of th e box, you sh ould
expect to h ear it con tin ue to im prove as it reach es its n orm al
operatin g tem peratures an d its various com pon en ts “break-in .” It
h as been our experien ce th at th e greatest ch an ges occur with in
th e first 300 h ours, as th e Nº390S reach es th erm al equilibrium
an d capacitors becom e fully form ed. After th is in itial break-in , its
perform an ce will rem ain quite con stan t.
Th e on ly exception to th is rule is if power is rem oved from th e
un it for m ore th an a few m in utes, allowin g it to cool down .
Depen din g on th e degree of coolin g in volved, you sh ould expect
a brief warm -up period before th e Nº390S’s soun d quality is at its
best. Un less your Nº390S was allowed to becom e quite ch illed,
subsequen t th erm al re-stabilization sh ould n ot take lon g.
Special Design Features
Con gratulation s on your purch ase of th e Nº390S CD Processor.
Th e design team is con fiden t you will en joy th e outstan din g
perform an ce of th e Nº390S for m an y years. In case you are
in terested in tech n ical details, wh at follows is a brief outlin e of
som e of th e key tech n ologies in your n ew CD player.
A New Generation
Th e task of a CD player is easy to defin e: it m ust recover th e
correct data from th e disc an d con vert th at data to a series of
an alog voltages with n eith er am plitude n or tim in g errors
(som etim es called “jitter”). As sim ple as th is soun ds, ach ievin g it
in reality h as been extrem ely difficult—as eviden ced by th e
sign ifican t son ic differen ces between various CD players.
Con ven tion al CD player design depen ds h eavily on th e quality of
th e oscillator used to con trol th e rate at wh ich th e disc spin s. Th is
oscillator exists in an extrem ely “n oisy” electrical en viron m en t
close to th e m otor th at spin s th e disc. Th e electrical n oise
in troduces tim in g errors in th e delivery of th e digital sign al th at
h ave com e to be kn own as “jitter.” Subsequen t h an dlin g of th e
digital audio sign al in tradition al CD player design s can n ot
im prove upon th is “jittery” sign al, lackin g a better referen ce. To
th e con trary, th e various stages of sign al processin g between th e
laser pickup an d th e actual con version to an alog can on ly
con tribute addition al jitter of th eir own .
12
Th e Mark Levin son Nº390S leaps beyon d con ven tion al digital
audio tech n ology by em ployin g a proprietary, closed-loop jitter-
reduction system in con jun ction with a double speed CD-ROM
drive. Usin g a custom -m ade crystal oscillator with better th an five
part-per-m illion accuracy, the digital signal is re-clocked im m ediately
before its con version to an alog, elim in atin g tran sport-related jitter
from th e digital audio sign al. Th is sam e crystal oscillator con trols
th e all-digital servo used to con trol th e rate at wh ich th e disc
spin s, an d th e digital to an alog con version process.
In effect, th e design of th e Nº390S turn s th e accepted status quo on
its h ead. By placin g th e all-im portan t referen ce clock im m ediately
prior to digital to analog conversion, and slaving all the m echanical
sub-assem blies to it rath er th an th e oth er way aroun d, th e sign al
presen ted to th e outputs of th e Nº390S is un con tam in ated by
electrically- or m ech an ically-in duced jitter. Th e son ic advan tages
of th is design are im m ediately apparen t in th e clarity, warm th an d
stun n in g dyn am ic con trasts exh ibited by th e Nº390S.
Digital Servo Control
Th e laser m ech an ism used in th e Nº390S uses all digital servo
con trols of its operation s. Critical fun ction s such as focus an d
trackin g are h an dled com pletely in th e digital dom ain with
m ath em atical precision . A digital servo rem ain s stable over tim e,
n ever n eedin g readjustm en t un der n orm al con dition s.
Digital Input/Output
Versatility
Th e Nº390S CD player in corporates two digital in puts, allowin g
two extern al digital sources such as a laser disc player an d digital
cable radio to ben efit from th e excellen t digital processor
in corporated with in . Th e two m ost com m on digital in terfaces are
supported for th e widest com patibility: EIAJ (som etim es called
“TosLin k™”) an d S/PDIF coaxial, via an RCA con n ector.
Two h igh quality digital output con figuration s are also supported
in th e Nº390S. A n ew com plem en tary driver for th e balan ced
AES/EBU electrical output delivers outstan din g perform an ce to th e
h igh quality XLR con n ector. A sin gle-en ded S/PDIF electrical
output is also provided via an RCA con n ector. Th ese digital
outputs m ay be used to feed th e in put of digital recorders or an
outboard digital processor, an d th ey both ben efit from th e closed-
loop jitter reduction circuitry described above. (In effect, th ey
duplicate th e fun ction ality an d perform an ce of th e correspon din g
outputs on a Mark Levin son Nº37 CD tran sport.)
All digital in terfaces h ave been carefully optim ized to deliver th e
fin est perform an ce each in terface stan dard allows. As a direct
result, th e Nº390S perform s optim ally with an y digital processor,
with out h avin g to resort to tech n iques wh ich would lim it its
com patibility with oth er products.
13
Industrial Design
Th e Nº390S sh ares th e h an dsom e in dustrial design of oth er Mark
Levin son com pon en ts such as th e Nº380 pream plifier. Th e
com bin ation of th e h an d-brush ed, black-an odized alum in um
faceplate an d bead-blasted custom -m ach in ed button s m ake
operatin g th e Nº390S a tactile as well as a son ic pleasure.
A large, easily read display provides in form ation as to th e
operation al status of th e Nº390S from across th e room , m akin g
th e supplied rem ote con trol m ore gen uin ely useful th an on
products lackin g such a display.
In keepin g with its soph isticated design , th e Nº390S also
in corporates a Mark Levin son -design ed loadin g m ech an ism .
Con trastin g stron gly with th e bulky, plastic drawers com m on ly
used, th e slim 1⁄8 in ch drawer is m ach in ed from a solid piece of
alum in um an d rides on h igh ly polish ed bearin gs. Its variable-
speed design open s an d closes quickly, but with out jarrin g th e
disc con tain ed with in , n or riskin g a jam from dislodgin g it.
Convenience Features
Too often, high performance CD players have eschewed convenience
in th e h opes of seem in g m ore “perform an ce-orien ted.” Wh ile th ere
were good argum en ts for such a “m in im alist” design in th e days
of an alog turn tables, th e tim e is lon g gon e wh en th e audioph ile
needed to give up operational convenience for m usical perform ance.
After all, con ven ien ce features in a digital product are largely a
m atter of writin g appropriate software, an d h ave n o affect on th e
quality of th e digital data itself.
Th e Nº390S supports a variety of custom program m in g option s,
in cludin g “delete program m in g” wh erein selected tracks are
om itted from th e play list. Th is allows th e user to skip th e on e or
two son gs on an oth erwise good disc th at h ave been overplayed
ad nauseam. Th e Nº390S will rem em ber such program s for
th ousan ds of discs, sh ould you wan t to save th at m an y program s.
Communications Links
As with all Mark Levin son 30-series com pon en ts, th e Nº390S
in corporates a soph isticated in ter-com pon en t com m un ication s
bus. Un ique am on g h igh perform an ce audio system s, Mark
Levin son 30-series com pon en ts offer a degree of system in tegration
th at m akes even com plex system s a pleasure to use.
For exam ple, brin gin g th e Nº390S CD Processor out of stan dby
will also brin g th e Lin ked pream plifier an d power am plifier(s) out
of stan dby, an d select th e appropriate in puts on th e pream plifier
so th at a CD can be en joyed. Even a soph isticated system with
m an y com pon en ts can th us offer on e-button sim plicity of
operation .
14
In sh ort, th e Mark Levin son Nº390S establish es a n ew stan dard for
perform an ce an d practicality am on g h igh en d CD players an d
sh ould be audition ed by an yon e wh o desires th e fin est in digital
audio.
Fully Balanced Design
Th e Nº390S is fully balan ced in both th e an alog an d digital
dom ain s. In form ation from th e disc an d sin gle-en ded digital
in puts are im m ediately con verted to balan ced sign als an d routed
to balan ced DACs by way of an LVDS (Low Voltage Differen tial
Sign al) tran sm ission lin e. Th is design tech n ique, borrowed from
separate Mark Levin son digital processors, preserves th e faultless
tim in g of th e digital audio sign al m ade possible by our Closed
Loop Jitter Reduction (CLJR) system m en tion ed earlier in th is
m an ual.
An Arlon 25N® prin ted circuit board provides th e foun dation for
th e critical an alog audio circuit. First used in th e Nº32 Referen ce
Pream plifier, this superior m aterial offers superb dielectric properties
an d h elps th e Nº390S ach ieve rem arkable perform an ce with
com plex audio sign als.
Design of th e fully balan ced DAC/an alog output m odule follows
th e Mark Levin son tradition of rigorous com pon en t selection . An
un usual h ybrid design approach in corporatin g both advan ced
Surface-Moun t an d “th rough -h ole” tech n ologies, allows us to
utilize th e optimum part at each location in th e circuit, with out
th e con strain ts on parts selection n orm ally associated with
tradition al PCB assem bly practices. Every active device h as been
pain stakin gly selected for top tech n ical perform an ce, with fin al
selection s of top perform in g devices determ in ed by n um erous,
con trolled son ic evaluation s.
Advanced Digital Filter
Techniques
Just as with Mark Levin son separate Digital Audio Processors, such
as our Nº30.6 Referen ce, th e Nº390S in corporates advan ced digital
filter techniques carefully chosen to optim ize the sonic perform ance
of its on-board digital processor. Whether playing a CD, or decoding
a digital sign al received th rough an auxiliary in put, sam ple depth
is in creased to 24 bits an d sam ple rate in creased to 352.8kHZ or
384kHz (in put rate depen den t) prior to con version to an an alog
sign al. Th is soph isticated “processin g” of th e digital sign al before
con version (referred to variously as “un con version ”, “upsam plin g”,
or “oversam plin g”) is a fun dam en tal con tributor to th e excellen t
soun d ach ieved by all Mark Levin son digital processors. Th e
Nº390S con firm s its in tern al con version rate on its fron t pan el
display each tim e a disc is loaded, or an auxiliary in put is ch osen
an d locked.
15
Th e Nº390S also in corporates High Defin ition Com patible
Digital® decodin g to take full advan tage of th e resolution avail-
able from HDCD en coded 16-bit CDs. Th e HDCD form at retain s
m ore of th e resolution in h eren t in m odern h igh resolution record-
in gs th an can be accom m odated by th e n orm al CD stan dard by
en codin g in form ation m ore efficien tly with in th e 16-bit space
available on th e disc.
Digital to Analog
Conversion
Digital to an alog con version with in th e Nº390S is perform ed at an
extraordin arily h igh level an d features a Mark Levin son -developed,
balan ced im plem en tation of th e An alog Devices AD1853—a n ew
class of m ulti-bit Sigm a/Delta DAC devices deliverin g superb
tech n ical perform an ce. In addition to its un usual m ulti-bit
arch itecture an d un like typical Sigm a/Delta devices, th e AD-1853
h as a differen tial curren t output stage, wh ich allows us to optim ize
th e critical curren t-to-voltage(I/V) con version stage with dedicated
operational amplifiers possessing superlative rise time and bandwidth
ch aracteristics. Followin g th is, a n ew active an alog filter circuit,
im plem en ted in a differen tial am plifier, sum s both h alves of th e
balanced signal and provides superb com m on m ode noise rejection
in addition to its outstan din g filter ch aracteristics.
This approach to the Digital-to-Analog circuit block yields distortion
and noise levels that are extraordinarily low and contributes greatly
to th e n atural soun d of th e Nº390S.
Balanced Analog
Volume Control
Rath er th an use th e digital atten uator on -board th e DAC, th e
Nº390S incorporates a fully balanced analog volum e control sim ilar
to th at foun d in Mark Levin son separate pream plifiers. Wh en
activated (by turn in g on th e variable output fun ction un der
setup: sound), th e output of th e Nº390S m ay be atten uated in
precise 0.1dB steps th rough m ost of th e ran ge. Sign ifican tly, th e
Nº390S m ain tain s th e full perform an ce of its rem arkable DACs at
all volum e levels—som eth in g im possible with digital volum e
con trols, regardless of wh at tech n iques m ay be em ployed to m ask
th e son ic con sequen ces of th is design approach .
State-of-the-Art
Output Buffer
Th e balan ced discrete output buffer circuitry used in th e Nº390S
em ploys th e sam e topology used in th e rem arkable Mark Levin son
Nº32 Referen ce Pream plifier. A h allm ark of Mark Levin son
pream plifier an d digital processor design , th is circuit h as proven
itself tim e an d tim e again to be both son ically tran sparen t an d
exception ally im m un e to adverse in teraction s with in tercon n ectin g
cables an d un usual in put im pedan ce ch aracteristics of power
am plifiers or pream plifiers. Th e Nº390S features a n ew, ultra
com pact, im plem en tation of th e Mark Levin son output buffer
circuit push in g n oise couplin g an d parasitic effects to van ish in gly
sm all levels. Th is exception ally robust output stage allows th e
Nº390S to m ake th e m ost of wh at wh atever com bin ation of
pream plifier, power am plifier, or cables you ch oose to use.
16
Front Panel, Nº390S
1. display intensity
Pressin g th is button varies th e brigh tn ess of th e display. Four
brigh tn ess levels are available, in cludin g “display off.” All
oth er fron t pan el LEDs ch an ge th eir brigh tn ess levels
appropriately, except th at th ey rem ain at th e dim m est level
wh en th e display itself is off.
Wh en power is first applied to th e Nº390S (or wh en power is
restored after an in terruption ), th e display is autom atically set
to its h igh est level.
Pressin g th e display intensity button on ce dim s th e display
on e level; pressin g it again turn s th e display off; pressin g
display intensity on ce m ore return s th e display to its brigh test
level; pressin g it a fourth tim e will return it to m edium . (If
oth er Mark Levin son com pon en ts in th e system are “Lin ked”
to th e Nº390S, all display in ten sities can ch an ge in un ison .
See Special Functions for m ore in form ation .)
If th e display is set to “off,” pressin g an y key will cause it to
ligh t at m edium in ten sity for approxim ately four secon ds in
order to display th e action of th e key press.
2. Infrared Transceiver (w ithin display)
In frared com m an ds tran sm itted from th e rem ote con trol are
received by a receiver beh in d th is section of th e display.
Rem ote con trol of th e Nº390S m ay be un reliable if th ere is n ot
a clear lin e of sigh t between th e rem ote con trol an d th e
receiver (if th e rem ote is far off-axis, or if th e Nº390S is with in
a cabin et, for exam ple). In such a case con sider usin g a th ird-
party IR repeater to route th e sign al to th e IR in put jack on
th e rear pan el (see Rear Panel, Nº390S).
17
In addition to receivin g IR com m an ds, th e Nº390S h as th e
ability to teach a learn in g rem ote con trol its own com m an ds
from an IR tran sm itter located in th is sam e area. (See Using
Learning Remote Controls for m ore in form ation .)
3. Special Mode Indicator
Th e first ch aracter in th e display is reserved for in dication of
special m odes of operation . For exam ple, a P is displayed in
th is space to in dicate a Program (a special sequen ce of tracks)
is bein g played: A an d B altern ate wh ile an A-B loop is bein g
repeated. Sim ilarly, an R is displayed to den ote random play,
an d ꢀ is displayed to den ote pause.
4. Track Indicator
Th e n ext two ch aracters are used to in dicate th e n um ber of
th e track bein g played. Wh en a com pact disc is loaded but th e
tran sport is in th e stop m ode, th is sam e space in dicates th e
total n um ber of tracks on th e disc (or in th e program for th e
curren t disc, if program m ed).
5. Time Indicator
Th e tim e section of th e display can be set to display an y of
th e followin g four in dication s of tim e in m in utes an d secon ds:
•
•
•
•
time elapsed in track (n eith er LED lit)
time elapsed on disc (time on disc LED lit)
time remaining on track (time remaining LED lit)
time remaining on disc (time on disc an d time remaining
LEDs lit)
In effect, th e Nº390S assum es you will be m ost in terested
seein g elapsed tim e on th e curren t track; on ly departures from
th at assum ption are den oted by LEDs. Th e Nº390S will
rem em ber th e last display m ode selected an d con tin ue to
display th at in form ation un til you ch an ge it, except in stop
(wh en it always defaults to sh owin g th e tim e rem ain in g on
disc, or in th e disc’s play list if it h as been program m ed). On ce
in stop, th e tim e in dication m ay be ch an ged to sh ow an y of
th e oth er display m odes (if desired).
Th ese four option s are accessed by pressin g th e mode button
to th e righ t of th e display un til TIMES is sh own in th e display
(see 6, below). Th en , use th e mode + or mode – keys to cycle
th rough th e four m odes of tim e display, usin g th e time on
disc an d time remaining LEDs to in dicate wh ich m ode is
ch osen at an y m om en t.
18
6. mode button
Th e mode button beside th e display cycles th rough th e four
fun ction s th at can be con trolled by th e mode + an d mode –
button s (eith er on th e fron t pan el or th e rem ote con trol).
Th ese four m odes are:
•
•
•
•
*
PROGRAM (for creatin g custom play lists)
INPUTS (for selectin g a digital source)
TIMES (for selectin g a tim e in dication )
VOLUME* (for con trollin g th e volum e of th e Nº390S*)
(Note th at th e volume con trol is on ly m ade available if
th e Nº390S’s variable output m ode is en gaged; see Special
Functions for m ore in form ation .)
Any of these four m odes (three m odes if using the fixed output)
m ay be accessed by repeatedly pressin g th e mode button ,
th ereby cyclin g th rough th e option s.
Once a particular m ode is chosen, pressing the mode + and
mode – button s “in creases” or “decreases” th at particular
fun ction . For exam ple, mode + would eith er: add a track to a
play list; select th e n ext digital in put; advan ce to th e n ext
tim e in dication ; or raise th e volum e.
Alon g with mode + an d mode –, th e mode button is also used
to ch an ge th e option settin gs. (See Special Functions.)
7. Repeat button
You m ay ch oose to eith er repeat th e en tire disc (in cludin g an y
program s you m igh t h ave en tered for th at particular disc) or
an in dividual track by pressin g th e repeat button . From
n orm al operation , th e first press of th e repeat button will
ligh t th e disc repeat LED below th e display (n um ber 11 in th e
fron t pan el illustration ). Pressin g th e repeat button again will
ligh t th e track repeat LED (n um ber 13 in th e fron t pan el
illustration ). Pressin g it a th ird tim e will cycle out of an y
repeatin g m ode, as will pressin g stop/draw er at an y tim e. In
eith er case, both repeat LEDs will be extin guish ed to in dicate
th e absen ce of an y repeat m ode.
8. Draw er
Th e Nº390S em ploys an elegan t, slim drawer th at is m ach in ed
from a solid piece of alum in um . It is n orm ally open ed an d
closed by pressin g th e stop/draw er button (n um ber 15 in th e
fron t pan el illustration ). If open ed, it m ay also be closed
sim ply by gen tly push in g th e fron t edge in ward (as th ough
you were goin g to close it m an ually). Th e Nº390S will in terpret
th is as a request to close th e drawer an d take over for you,
sm ooth ly closin g th e drawer.
19
If th e Nº390S sen ses an obstruction durin g open in g of th e
drawer m ech an ism , it will attem pt to re-close. If successful, it
will read th e disc’s table of con ten ts an d display th e disc’s
n um ber of tracks an d total tim e (followed by th e play list’s
track an d tim e in form ation , if on e exists). If for an y reason
th e drawer does n ot close fully, th e display will sh ow DRAWER
to in dicate th e problem . After rem ovin g th e obstruction , press
th e stop/draw er button again to close th e drawer n orm ally.
Sim ilarly, if th e Nº390S sen ses an obstruction durin g th e
closin g of its drawer, it is design ed to stop im m ediately an d
will attem pt to reopen . If th e n ature of th e obstruction
preven ts th is also, it will stop wh ere it is an d wait for your
in terven tion , displayin g STOPPED! to in dicate th e problem .
After rem ovin g th e obstruction , press th e stop/drawer button
again to close th e drawer.
9. HDCD® indicator
Th is LED will illum in ate wh en th e Nº390S is playin g HDCD-
en coded m aterial, wh eth er from th e CD tran sport or from an
extern al digital source.
10. mode – and mode + buttons
Using these two buttons in conjunction with the mode button,
an y of four differen t Nº390S fun ction s can be con trolled from
th e fron t pan el:
•
•
•
•
*
PROGRAM (for creatin g custom play lists)
INPUTS (for selectin g a digital source)
TIMES (for selectin g a tim e in dication )
VOLUME* (for con trollin g th e volum e of th e Nº390S*)
(Note th at th e volume con trol is on ly m ade available if
th e Nº390S’s variable output m ode is en gaged; see Special
Functions for m ore in form ation .)
Any of these four m odes (three m odes if using the fixed output)
m ay be accessed by repeatedly pressin g th e mode button ,
th ereby cyclin g th rough th e option s.
On ce a particular m ode is ch osen , pressin g th e mode + an d
mode – button s “in creases” or “decreases” th at particular
fun ction . For exam ple, mode + would eith er: add a track to a
play list; select th e n ext digital in put; advan ce to th e n ext
tim e in dication ; or raise th e volum e.
Alon g with mode + an d mode –, th e mode button is also used
to ch an ge th e option settin gs. (See Special Functions.)
20
For detailed in form ation on program m in g th e Nº390S, see
Programming the Nº390S later in th is m an ual.
11. disc repeat LED
Th is LED is lit wh en th e Nº390S is set to repeat a disc (or a
disc’s program , if it h as on e) en dlessly. Th is feature is accessed
usin g th e repeat button (see n um ber 7, page 19).
12. prev/rew button
Pressin g th is button momentarily will return you to th e begin -
n in g of th e previous track. Pressing and holding th is button will
in stead perform a reverse scan of th e m usic, rem in iscen t of
th e rew ind fun ction foun d on m an y tape decks. Th is scan n in g
m ode m ay be eith er audible or silen t (accordin g to your
ch oice in th e setup: sound m en u; see Special Functions), an d it
allows you to quickly fin d a particular poin t with in a track.
(In ciden tally, if you wish to listen to th e current track over
again from th e begin n in g, sim ply press play wh ile th e track is
playin g.)
13. track repeat LED
Th is LED is lit wh en th e Nº390S is set to repeat a sin gle track
en dlessly. Th is feature is accessed usin g th e repeat button (see
n um ber 7, page 19).
14. next/f.fw d button
Pressin g th is button momentarily will advan ce th e Nº390S to
th e begin n in g of th e next track. Pressing and holding th is
button will in stead perform a fast forward scan of th e m usic,
rem in iscen t of th e fast forw ard fun ction foun d on m an y tape
decks. Th is scan n in g m ode m ay be eith er audible or silen t
(accordin g to your ch oice in th e setup: sound m en u; see
Special Functions), an d it allows you to quickly fin d a particular
poin t with in a track.
15. stop/draw er
Pressin g th is button on ce wh ile a disc is playin g will stop th e
disc, resultin g in th e total n um ber of tracks an d th e total tim e
on th e disc bein g displayed. (Both th e time on disc an d th e
time remaining LEDs are lit to clarify th e m ean in g of th e
in form ation bein g displayed at th is poin t.) Pressin g th is button
once the disc has stopped, or if there is no disc in the transport,
will cause th e draw er to open .
Pressin g th e stop/draw er button will cause an open drawer to
close. If it sen ses a disc in th e drawer, th e Nº390S will con firm
its in tern al con version rate on th e display (24-bit, 352kHz)
an d th en read th e disc’s table of con ten ts so th at it m ay
display th e total n um ber of tracks an d th e total tim e on th e
disc for your in form ation . If a custom play list exists for th e
disc, th e total n um ber of tracks an d th e total tim e of th e play
list is displayed in stead.
21
16. time on disc and time remaining LED indicators
Th ese LEDs are used to in dicate wh ich of th e four available
display m odes th e Nº390S is in . Th e four in dication s of tim e
th at can be displayed are:
•
•
•
•
time elapsed in track (n eith er LED lit)
time elapsed on disc (time on disc LED lit)
time remaining on track (time remaining LED lit)
time remaining on disc (time on disc and time remaining
LEDs lit)
Th ese four option s are accessed by selectin g th e TIMES m ode
(usin g th e mode button ) an d repeatedly pressin g th e mode +
or mode – button s, wh ich cycle forward or backward th rough
th e four m odes, respectively.
17. play button
As you m igh t guess, press th is button in order to play a disc. If
a program m ed sequen ce of tracks exists for th at particular
disc, th e program will be played from its begin n in g. Also, as
you m igh t expect, you m ay press th e play button im m ediately
after placin g a disc in th e Nº390S’s drawer; th e drawer will
close an d th e Nº390S will en ter th e play m ode as soon as it
h as con firm ed its in tern al con version rate (24-bit, 352kHz),
h as read th e disc’s table of con ten ts an d ch ecked to see if a
program exists th at ough t to be played.
Th e play button h as an oth er im portan t fun ction : if you wish
to return to th e begin n in g of th e track curren tly playin g,
sim ply press play to restart at th e begin n in g of th at sam e
track. If th e Nº390S is in pause, pressin g play will re-cue th e
disc at th e begin n in g of th e curren t track.
18. pause button
Pressin g th is button on ce durin g play will pause th e Nº390S
at th at poin t with in th e track; th e display will sh ow double
bars (ꢀ) as a rem in der th at you are in th e pause m ode.
Pressin g th e pause button a secon d tim e will resum e play.
The Extended Pause Mode
After two m in utes in pause, th e Nº390S will go in to an
“exten ded pause” m ode. Extended pause stops th e disc an d
turn s off th e laser again st th e possibility th at you h ave been
called away an d m ay n ot return for som e tim e. Th e Nº390S
will slowly flash th e double bars (ꢀ) to in dicate th at you are
in th e extended pause m ode rath er th an n orm al pause.
22
You m ay force th e Nº390S in to extended pause m ode by
pressing and holding th e pause button (on eith er th e fron t
pan el or th e rem ote con trol) un til th e double bars begin to
blin k.
In effect, extended pause is m uch like stop, with th e
exception th at pressin g pause will return you to th e poin t on
th e disc wh ere you h ad left off listen in g after on ly a
m om en tary h esitation to spin th e disc back up to speed an d
scan to th e appropriate poin t.
19. Standby & Standby LED
Assum in g th at th e Nº390S is con n ected to AC power an d th e
main pow er switch on th e rear pan el is in th e “|” position (see
Rear Panel, Nº390S), pressin g th is button takes th e Nº390S out
of standby m ode an d en ables th e fron t-pan el con trols.
Wh en th e Nº390S’s main pow er switch is first turn ed on (or
wh en power is restored after an in terruption ), th e Nº390S will
go th rough a brief in itialization an d th en be ready to operate
(th at is, it won ’t be in stan dby m ode).
Pressin g stan dby again places th e Nº390S in to standby m ode,
wh ich turn s th e display off, turn s off all digital outputs, an d
disables th e fron t-pan el con trols. Th e in tern al circuitry
rem ain s powered up in order to m ain tain its th erm al stability
an d optim um perform an ce at all tim es.
Pressin g standby, draw er, or play will brin g th e Nº390S out of
stan dby, en ablin g th e fron t pan el con trols, an d activatin g th e
display an d outputs.
Wh ile th e Nº390S is in standby, th e LED above th e stan dby
button flash es approxim ately every five secon ds. (Wh en th e
Nº390S is Lin ked to oth er Mark Levin son com pon en ts, all
th eir stan dby ligh ts will blin k in un ison .) Wh en th e Nº390S is
ready to operate (th at is, wh en it is n ot in stan dby m ode), th is
LED rem ain s lit con tin uously.
23
Sleep Timer
As sh ipped from th e factory, th e Nº390S will rem ain on un til
you deliberately place it in stan dby. If you prefer for it to
autom atically en ter stan dby after a particular period of tim e,
press an d h old th e standby button un til th e display reads
MANUAL. Pressin g th e next/f.fw d button will advan ce it in
on e m in ute in crem en ts to a m axim um of 120 minutes.
Pressin g th e prev/rew button will decrease th e sleep tim er by
on e m in ute in crem en ts. Reducin g th e tim er settin g below 1
minute will return it to n orm al, MANUAL operation .
Th ese option s represen t th e len gth of tim e th e Nº390S before
it will autom atically go in to stan dby. Havin g m ade your
selection , sim ply allow th e Nº390S to tim e out (wh en th e
display reverts to its n orm al operation , in dicatin g disc
in form ation ). You m ay ch an ge your Nº390S back to m an ual
stan dby m ode before it en ters stan dby by reversin g th is
process.
Th e sleep tim er will autom atically reset itself to MANUAL after
h avin g been activated. In th is fash ion , you can set it an d forget
it with out h avin g a subsequen t listen in g session in terrupted
un expectedly.
Rear Panel, Nº390S
1. AC pow er input and sw itch
Th is in put accepts AC power from th e AC m ain s (via th e sup-
plied AC cable).
Warning!
The Nº390S is set internally for 100, 120, 200, 220, or 240VAC
mains operation at either 50 or 60Hz. Make sure that the label
on the bottom of the unit indicates the correct AC operating
voltage and frequency for your location before connecting it to
AC mains.
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Con n ect th e |