Stereo / Mono Operation; How To Operate; Burn-In Process - Decware SE84ZS Owner's Manual

STEREO / MONAURAL OPERATION
To run the amplifier in Stereo, simply connect
the left and right input jacks to your source or
preamp and the left and right output binding
posts to your speakers. If using the variable
inputs, the volume control located at the front
of the amplifier will control the output level of
both channels at the same time.
To bridge the amplifier into a monoblock (single
channel amp) all that is needed is a short piece
of 14 AWG wire hooked between the Left nega-
tive (black) speaker binding post and the Right
positive (red) speaker binding post on the other
side of the amp. This leaves two binding posts
left, one on each side of the amp, to drive your
loudspeaker.
This is made possible by the SE84ZS floating
output transformer design where the negative
speaker binding posts are not tied or referenced
to ground (chassis). When you hook your amp
up as described, you have effectively wired the
output transformer in series creating a single
mono circuit that does not have the typical
smearing associated with bridging stereo ampli-
fiers.
To hook up the inputs of the amplifier in mono
so that only once cable is needed from the
preamp or source it is recommended that you
use a Y-Cable that plugs into the left and right
input jacks combining them into one. Decware
can supply you with high quality Y-Cables made
from the same Silver/Teflon conductors as our
signature cables. Alternately space has been
provided in the design to accommodate a
stereo/mono switch for the input jacks should
someone wish to custom order the amplifiers
that way. We should mention that our Y-Cable
gives the same sonic results as the switch, costs
about the same and keeps you from having to
ship your amplifier back to Decware for the
modification. That is one of the reasons why a
stereo/mono switch is not standard on the
SE84ZS.

HOW TO OPERATE

After finding an appropriate place for the
amplifier you can install the tubes and con-
nect the speaker cables. Do not hook up the
input cables at this time. Install the power
cord and plug it into a grounded receptacle
and turn the amplifier on.
Let the amplifier warm up for several min-
utes with the volume control all the way
down. NOTE: it is common for new tubes to
make an occasional spit or crackle upon
startup. This goes away after the first cou-
ple uses.
Now that the amp is on and warmed up for a
few minutes with no source or preamp con-
nected to it, it is your chance to evaluate the
noise level of the amplifier. What you hear
coming from the speakers is your baseline
reference for a given set of tubes. All tubes
will vary somewhat. On all but the most effi-
cient loudspeakers, you should hear almost
nothing at a distance of less then 1 foot from
the speaker. Decware amps are known for
being quiet.
Next, turn the amplifier off and let it cool for
1 minute. Now hook up your source or
preamp making sure to have the volume
control all the way down and turn the ampli-
fier back on. Raise the volume control to
your desired listening level and enjoy!

BURN-IN PROCESS

Expect less then wonderful sound for the
first 20 to 40 hours of operation as the ca-
pacitors break-in. The fastest way to ad-
vance the burn in process is to play the amp
for 5 hours and then turn it off for at least 5
hours. Repeat this at least 5 times. Most
customers find that the amp really blooms in
about the 3rd week of their evaluation.
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