Tenor phono1 Owner's Manual

Phono stage

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Tenor

Phono1

Ultimate Reference

Phono Stage

Owner's Manual

July 2015

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Page 1 Tenor Phono1 Ultimate Reference Phono Stage Owner’s Manual   July 2015...
Page 2: Important Safety Instructions
Important Safety Instructions Please read this Owner’s Manual for your own safety and the protection of your Tenor equipment. Once you have installed your Tenor equipment, store this Owner’s Manual in the travel case or another safe place for future reference.
Page 3: Table Of Contents
Design Principles ......................Precision Crafted, Assembly and Delivery ................Unpacking Travel Case Lifting Caution! ................... Travel Case Opening ....................List of Items Included with Tenor Phono 1 ................Moving Your Phono Stage ....................Installation Considerations ......................3rd Party Isolation Stands ....................
Page 4: Introduction
Design Principles The passion and desire to attain the most realistic and live musical reproduction of recorded material is a lifetime goal of Tenor. Building on Tenor classics including the internationally acclaimed: •...
Page 5: Unpacking
Special care is needed when installing in a shelving unit due to re- strictive access. When sliding the Tenor Phono 1 on a shelf, do not drag on rubber feet but lift enough weight so that rubber feet do not bind when sliding.
Page 6: Installation
50/60 Hz ground loop hum. Special grounding options exist in the Tenor Phono 1 as well as other Tenor amplifiers to mitigate ground loop hum in the event that ground hum poses a problem. See details if necessary.
Page 7: Input Source Component Quality
Remote Turn On Jack The Tenor Phono 1 has a 3.5 mm stereo mini phone plug for a 12V communication ca- ble from the Tenor Line 1/Power 1 (or similarly equipped preamplifier) which allows the Tenor Phono 1 to turn on automatically in sequence with other equipment when the Tenor Line 1/Power 1 is powered on.
Page 8: Ac Power Requirements
Stabilizing & Initialization after Power On. The AC Mains Power switch of your Tenor Phono 1 is located at the left (looking at back directly) rear back plate of the Phono 1 chassis. This switch powers the Tenor Phono 1 so the front top right push button on the Phono 1 display panel can be used to turn the phono stage on or off.
Page 9: Break-In Period
The Tenor Phono 1 is designed to operate within design specifications for a period close to 10,000 hours. As a typical example, a Tenor Phono 1 used each and every day for 3 hours under nor- mal use will last almost 10 years before it will need a tube refit and calibration. Each...
Page 10: Design Features
Design Features Summary of Phono 1 Design Features Custom extruded & machined aluminum chassis provides a stable, rigid base plus the beautiful solid cherry wood face plate, rails and feet enhance the aesthetics and improve vibration control of the system. Microprocessor controlled Vacuum Florescent Display (VFD) &...
Page 11 High current pure class A ultra-low distortion unity gain solid state buffer stages provide isolation from the vacuum tube circuit using discrete tran- sistors rather than ICs - for maximum sonic performance Low output impedance can drive hundreds of feet of interconnect with un- changed distortion and noise characteristics High bandwidth double shielded balancing custom made transformers with ultra-low distortion for balanced inputs/outputs...
Page 12: Front & Rear Panel
Front & Rear Panel  The front panel of the Tenor Phono 1 phono stage is made from the finest selected cherry wood and has been hand finished with 16 coats of clear piano lacquer by local Canadian artisans. With time the cherry wood will age naturally by showing a somewhat mellow patina - making the phono stage even more beautiful as time passes.
Page 13: Turning Power On
The following picture is provided for identification of the rear AC mains power switch as well as the front ON/OFF (top right) button: Please Note: Hazardous voltages inside the Tenor Phono 1 are dangerous! Please al- low 10 minutes for high voltage to dissipate before opening the Phono 1 chassis. Never open the Phono 1 chassis with the rear switch turned on unless you are an experienced technician.
Page 14: Initial Power On/Off Screens
ON/OFF: PUSH TOP RIGHT BUTTON. Pushing top right button on display will begin a sequence of events displayed on the Vacuum Florescent Display (VFD) starting with the Tenor logo as follows:   To power off the Phono 1, simply push the top right button to initiate shutdown se-...
Page 15: Vacuum Florescent Display (Vfd) Button Overview
Florescent Vacuum Display (VFD) Button Overview The control of the Phono 1 is simple and straightforward: 1. Touch any button gives instructions to push top right button for power on 2. Push the top right button to turn the Phono 1 ON/OFF 3.
Page 16: Vfd Display Screens & Buttons
Screens VFD Display & Buttons SETUP Screens Entering the programming mode of the Phono 1 is achieved by pushing the SETU button and using the dual purpose INPUT buttons to scroll up or down. The Vacuum Flores- cent Display (VFD) then displays the following screens: OUTPUTS GAIN FACTOR OUTPUTS...
Page 17 EQ CURVES Z LOAD COMP AUDIO GROUND INFO CLOCK FACTORY SET CLOCK FACTORY SET Page...
Page 18: Input Buttons
INPUT Buttons Select the up or down INPUTS button on the front display to move between the following screens which represent the various input selection. MC 1 & MC 2 are both unbalanced single ended RCA inputs. MC 3 (BAL) is balanced XLR input. MC 1 MC 2 MC 1...
Page 19: Display Button
Muting of the output is achieved by pushing the MUTE button of the Phono 1 display when the Tenor Phono 1 is powered on. The display will flash MUTED until the MUTE is pushed again - whereby the mute will be released and the output will operate normal- ly again.
Page 20: Mono Button
MONO Button The MONO button provides 2 choices. Pushing the MONO button switches between ei- ther STEREO or MONO L+R - which is displayed in the lower left of the main screen: PHASE Button Pushing the PHASE button changes the absolute phase from 0 degrees to 180 degrees. Most preamplifiers are in fact phase inverting so it is necessary to invert the phase so the speaker output is in phase.
Page 21: Phono 1 Programming Guide
Phono 1 Programming Guide OUTPUT Selection Under SETUP and using INPUT UP & DOWN buttons, choose the OUTPUTS screen by se- lecting OUTPUTS in the centre box then push the DISPLAY button to enter. OUTPUT 1 & 2 are unbalanced single ended RCA. You can select them individually or combined. OUTPUT BAL is balanced XLR.
Page 22 OUT 2 OUT 1&2 OUT BAL OUT 1&2 OUT BAL Page...
Page 23: Gain Factor Selection
The Tenor Line 1/Power 1 should be set at HIGH gain but may have to be changed to NORMAL gain depending on the gain selected in the Phono 1. Centre the GAIN FACTOR screen and push DISPLAY button to enter selection.
Page 24: Eq Curves Selection
65 dB 70 dB EQ CURVES Selection Under SETUP and using INPUT up and down buttons, centre the EQ CURVES screen then push DISPLAY button to enter. Select either RIAA (de facto global standard since 1954) or IEC (RIAA amended in 1972 but not universally adopted) based on your records actu- al EQ CURVE requirement.
Page 25 HIGH Page...
Page 26: Audio Ground Selection
The Tenor Phono 1 offers 3 settings for grounding to assist in alleviating ground prob- lems. NORMAL is the audio circuit grounded through a resistor to convert stray volt- ages into heat and is the best alternative.
Page 27: Info Selection
• Elapsed Time • Current Time & Date • Unit Country Please note that this is read only and only Tenor can alter this data when it is being ser- viced. CLOCK Selection Under SETUP and using INPUT up and down buttons, choose the CLOCK option to enter the following time parameters: •...
Page 28: Troubleshooting Overview
The Phono 1 has grounding options to remedy a ground loop problem on either balanced or unbalanced connections and are selectable for left, right or both channels. Tenor amplifiers also have sophisticated grounding options available, which can be used to help solve a ground hum problem.
Page 29: Balanced Moving Coil Cartridge Cable Connection (Arm)
Typically the connection of the Moving Coil Cartridge is unbalanced RCA and in most cas- es provides exceptional noise and response characteristics. Balanced connection of a Moving Coil Cartridge to the Balanced XLR input of the Tenor Phono 1 are transformer coupled giving high Common Mode Rejection Ratio (CNRR) for the lowest noise operation and the ultimate in fidelity.
Page 30: Care And Maintenance
Audio Board (Vacuum Tubes) The Audio Board is home to all of the Vacuum Tubes in the Tenor Phono 1. Every tube is matched and calibrated in the circuit so unless you are specifically directed by Tenor to alter these tubes they should never be touched except by trained Tenor service techni- cians.
Page 31: Tenor Phono 1 Specifications
Dimensions Shipping.…24.5in W x 26.5in D x 12.5in H / 622 mm W x 673mm D x 318mm H * : @ 120V AC @ 1kHz & 2V rms input Tenor Inc. reserves the right to make improvements without notice that may result in specification changes  Page...
Page 32: Warranty
Tenor Inc. Canada dealer or distribu- tor. If the Tenor phono stage is not registered within 90 days of the purchase date then the warranty will be limited to only 1 year with a valid proof of purchase from an autho- rized Tenor Inc.
Page 33: Product Registration
Product Registration To ensure your amplifier is covered by the Tenor Inc. Canada 5 year warranty, it is mandatory that you register with Tenor Inc. Canada by mail or email within 90 days of purchase and provide us with all of the following information:...
Page 34: Tenor Contact Information
Before returning your amplifier to Tenor Inc. Canada, it is necessary to receive a Return Authorization Number (RAN) as stated in Warranty Conditions. A RAN will be issued by contacting Tenor Inc. Canada and describing the nature of your service request using either email or phone as follows: Tenor Inc.
Page 35: Owner's Notes
Owner’s Notes  Page...