TEP 3800 - Audio Amplifier THORENS - Free user manual and instructions

USER MANUAL TEP 3800 THORENS

© 2007 Thorens Export Company Ltd, all rights reserved.

Under the copyright laws, this manual may neither in whole, nor in part be copied, duplicated, translated or converted into an electronic media of any kind without the consent of Thorens.

The Thorens logo is a trademark of Thorens Holding Ltd. Use for commercial purposes without the prior consent of Thorens may constitute trademark infringement.

Thorens is not responsible for printing or clerical errors.

Congratulations to your Thorens TEP 3800!

The preamplifier TEP 3800 - as well as the power amplifier TEM 3200 - is based on a completely new, revolutionary concept.

Manufacture and installation of the TEP 3800 exclusively take place in Germany - thus guaranteeing highest quality, even after many years of use.

Please take some time to read this manual. It contains important instructions that will guide you in connecting the appliance correctly and avoiding damage.

Table of content

Safety instructions. 20

Unpacking and alignment. 21

Installation 22

Operation. 26

Maintenance and care. 30

Specifications 31

Trouble-shooting. 32

Customer service. 33

High voltage! Danger to life!

We confirm that this product conforms to the legal EG directives for obtaining the CE mark. The necessary tests have been conducted with positive results.

CAUTION

In order to avoid electric shock, do not open the cabinet. There are no user serviceable parts inside.

WARNING

IN ORDER TO PREVENT FIRE OR ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT EXPOSE TO RAIN OR HUMIDITY.

EXPLANATION OF THE GRAPHIC SYMBOLS

The lightening flash with arrow head symbol within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the presence of "dangerous voltage" inside the cabinet, sufficient enough to constitute a risk of electric shock to persons.

The exclamation mark within an equilateral triangle is intended to advice the user of important user and maintenance instructions in the user manual.

IMPORTANT: DISPOSAL OF ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT BY USERS OF PRIVATE HOUSEHOLDS IN THE EU

This symbol on the product or its packaging shows that the equipment may not be disposed of with the residual wastage. It is thus your responsibility to hand in the product at a collection point for disposal and recycling of electrical appliances (e.g. at a civic amenity site). The separate collection and recycling of your used electric appliance at the time of its disposal contributes to environmental protection and allows for its recycling in a way that is not harmful to the health of human beings and to the environment. More information on where to hand in used electric appliances for recycling you can obtain from your local authorities, civic amenity sites and from where you bought your appliance.

Conform to 2002/95/EC (RoHS).

Unpacking and alignment

Carefully remove the TEP 3800 from the box. The inside packaging consists of styrofoam shaped parts that guarantee a safe transport. We therefore recommend to keep the complete packaging material.

Purchased parts

package:

1 x Thorens TEP 3800
1 x Remote control including batteries
1 x Country-specific mains cable

Put the TEP 3800 on a stable, safe and even surface. Leave a distance of at least 10cm to all objects behind and above the appliance. Implicitly allow for ventilation underneath the appliance.

Never block the ventilation slots on (or on the bottom side of) the cabinet and do not put any items on it.

Never operate the TEP 3800...

near heaters, radiators or any other heating source at very cold places or places that are exposed to heavy dirt, dust, mechanical vibrations or poor ventilation or directly next to gramophones, as buzzing disturbances might otherwise occur within the gramophone.

Installation

The TEP 3800 is a preamplifier designed for purifying signals from different sources at best possible quality for power amplifiers (e.g. for the monoblock Thorens TEM 3200).

Always conduct connections with pre/ power amplifiers being switched off.

- Connections at the rear panel

Fix

The input signal is amplified with a fixed value, thereby bypassing the volume control. Using this input you may connect one or several TEP 3800 to a 5.1 or 7.1 surround processor. In such a case the volume is controlled centrally by the surround processor.

Tape-in

Input for using a tape recorder as input source.

Tape-out

Output for recording onto a tape recorder.

Installation

CD,Aux1,Aux2,Tuner

High level inputs for connecting different input sources. CD and Aux1 inputs are optionally available as Cinch or XLR inputs. You may select the desired connection method for both inputs using the Cinch/XLR change-over switch.

Phono

The TEP 3800 is not equipped with a phono input. In order to connect a record player, you will need an additional phono preamplifier (e.g. the Thorens TEP 302) that will be joined between the record player and any optional high level input.

Pre-out

Output for connecting the power amplifier(s). The TEP 3800 is equipped with both a Cinch and a XLR output. Both outputs are available simultaneously, irrespective of the position of the Cinch/XLR change-over switch on the rear panel, which is only used for switching between inputs.

If the power amplifier is equipped with a XLR input, you should select XLR, as this way the signal is transmitted completely symmetrically. But if the power amplifier is with a Cinch input only, you should also use the Cinch output at the TEP 3800 (do not use a XLR/Cinch adapter!).

Installation

Due to the revolutionary DC-coupled counterparallel amplifying concept the TEP 3800 achieves an extremely low output impedance of less than 1 ohm (XLR-out) – entirely without transformer in direct coupling and without semiconductor support, but only with tubes at the output stage. This way you may also connect very long or high-capacity connection cables to the power amplifier, whereby the unique transparency and the musical stream of the playback are kept. Thereby you may place mono power amplifiers, such as the Thorens TEM 3200, directly next to the speakers (advantage: short speaker cables and best possible control of speakers). The design of the TEP 3800 XLR outputs furthermore allows the actuating of professional active speakers (studio monitors) with 600 ohm terminating impedance and with excellent quality even via long cables.

The TEP 3800 is equipped with a XLR connection plug arrangement that complies with international studio standards:

Pin configuration:

Pin 1: Ground

Pin 2: Plus (non-inverse signal)

Pin 3: Minus (inverse Signal)

Never use cables with other arrangements!

Press the flap at the upper end of the socket to remove the plug from the socket.

Installation

Connecting to the mains

Connect the included 3-wire cold appliance cable to the mains socket at the rear panel of the appliance. Always use a wall socket or a socket on an extension bar. Never use the connection on another HiFi appliance!

Only pull the mains plug after having switched off the appliance.

Required mains supply

See rear panel of appliance. Do not connect the TEP 3800 to the mains with another voltage, as the appliance might thereby severely be damaged!

Power input

The power input amounts for approx. 100 W. Please also note the specifications on the rating plate of the appliance.

Please do not use extension cables or adaptors not suitable for the power input of the TEP 3800.

- Operating controls (front panel)

On/Off switch and power indicator

Switch on the TEP 3800 by pressing the on/off switch (Power). The blue THORENS script nameplate illuminates and the volume display flashes during booting up. As soon as the volume display illuminates continuously, the appliance is ready for operation. Press on/off switch (Power) to switch off the appliance.

The TEP 3800 takes about two to three minutes until it has entirely powered up and is ready for use!

Important note on continuous operation:

Due to the fully automated control of all operating points and the complete DC coupling of all stages, the TEP 3800 operates with the optimum parameters after a few minutes already. This way it is neither necessary nor recommended to leave the TEP 3800 switched on continuously. Continuous operation will result in early deterioration of the component parts (especially of the tubes) and would hence reduce the lifespan of the appliance. Moreover, increased power consumption through continuous operation pollutes the environment unnecessarily.

Operation

Selecting a signal source

Please select the desired input source using the source selection switch.

Source-/tape switch (Monitor)

When pressing the monitor switch, you may access the signal that is located at the tape-in (real-time tape control). Press again to return to the signal of the selected source.

Use this function to check a recording in process or for looping-in an external device. It might be useful for looping-in a reverberator or sound processor in a recording studio.

Volume control

You may adjust the volume using the infinitely variable volume control. The position of the control is displayed entirely analog with the help of precisely projected light spots.

-14 dB

This switch considerably expands the control range for "loud" sources such as CD players. The mostly used medium volume range is zoomed out, thus allowing a very sensitive adjusting operation even when using the remote control. This is advantageous, especially with low acoustic volume or very loud signal sources.

Mute

Press the mute switch once to mute the outputs of the TEP 3800. However, the tape-out remains activated in order to conduct recordings even when the device is in mute mode.

Operation

Playing and recording audio tapes

Playback: Select the tape input. You will hear the output signal of the tape recorder, which is applied to the tape-in jacks.

Recording: Select the desired channel. The signal is routed automatically to the tape-out jacks and may be recorded through the tape recorder input.

You may control the recording quality using the Monitor switch:

Button not pressed: You listen to the signal source.

Button pressed: You will listen to the recording in process.

The switching occurs without interfering the recording in process.

Playing records

You will need a special phono amplifier for playing records (e.g. the Thorens TEP 302), as the playback will be turned down and distorted otherwise.

Operation

Remote control

Using the remote control you may control the source selection and volume adjustment (Vol +/-), as well as mute the device (Mute). Furthermore you may use the remote control to adjust the brightness of the display. Press the Dimmer switch several times to adjust the brightness in 5 levels (from completely off to very bright).

To avoid unnecessary power consumption and to preserve the environment, a standby function has been left out. Switching on and off the TEP 3800 has thus to be conducted on the unit and not via remote control.

Replacing batteries

Loosen the four screws on the bottom side of the remote control and remove the cover. You may now replace the batteries (2 x type AAA), please observe the correct polarity.

Do not dispose of used batteries in the domestic waste!

Maintenance and care

Care

The TEP 3800 does not require any special care. You may remove fingerprints from the chrome faceplate using a glass cleaner and polish with a soft, flat cloth. Rub off the side flanges, also using a glass cleaner and soft cloth.

Do not use benzene, alcohol or other lightly volatile substances for cleaning ,and be careful not to allow cleaning liquids to enter the unit!

Replacing tubes

Due to the notably gentle and automatically controlled mode of operation in the TEP 3800, you may under normal conditions anticipate a lifespan of the tubes of more than 20 years. At the same time there are replacement tubes available in case of a defect or malfunctioning. Like the tubes in the appliance, those tubes are also measured with special testing devices and selected in pairs. Please read the service and warranty conditions for more information.

You may not replace the tubes in the TEM 3800 by similar or supposedly pin-compatible types, as the appliance might be destroyed thereby!

HIGH VOLTAGE. DO NOT OPEN THE CABINET. DANGER TO LIFE!

Unauthorized opening of the cabinet as well as repairs and modifications by unauthorized personnel may result in the loss of all warranty claims.

Specifications

System	Preamplifier
Amplification factor
XLR→Cinch	16 dB
XLR→XLR	16 dB
Cinch→Cinch	16 dB
Cinch→XLR	16 dB
Frequency response
XLR-out, Load = 600 Ohm	2.5 Hz - 600 kHz, +0/-3 dB
XLR-out, Load = 10 kOhm	0.7 Hz - 600 kHz, +0/-3 dB
Cinch-out, Load = 10 kOhm	0.7 Hz - 300 kHz, +0/-3 dB
Output impedance
XLR-out	< 1 Ohm
Cinch-out	< 60 Ohm
Signal-to-noise ratio
XLR-out	>98 dB, based on 1 V output level A - DIN certified
Cinch-out	>96 dB, based on 1 V output level A - DIN certified
Zoom function -14dB
Control function	almost double logarithmic
Level lowering when adjusting the volume control with total amplification = x1: -14 dB; level lowering when volume control at maximum: 0 dB
Amount of inputs	6, 2 of which are optionally XLR or Cinch (CD and AUX1)
Outputs	1 x XLR 1 x Cinch 1 x Tape-out (Cinch)
Mains supply	country-specific; see rear panel of appliance
Power consumption	100 W No standby function
Dimensions (WxHxD)	450 x 120 x 360 mm 17.7 x 4.7 x 14.2"
Weight (net)	12.0 kg (26.5 lbs)

Trouble-shooting

Problem: Vol.-LED flashes during operation (bright/dark).

Proceed as follow: Check whether Mute is activated. Otherwise, switch off the unit using the on/off switch (Power) and check, if a short circuit or accidental grounding has occurred. Beyond that the pre amplifier also switches off in case of temporary current interruptions.

In either case, please wait at least one minute before you switch on the TEP 3800 again.

If the protective circuit engages again immediately, switch off the unit and contact your specialist dealer.

Problem: The TEP 3800 does not boot up, or needs a very long time until ready-to-operate.

Cause: The TEP 3800 is equipped with a soft-start function in order to allow for a long lifespan of the tubes. This function slowly boots up the tube heating and voltage and in the meantime conducts several parameter tests; only after the tests have been conducted with positive results the outputs will be activated. This process might take 2 to 3 minutes in total.

If the unit hasn't powered up for long after that time, check whether the protective circuit has possibly been engaged (see above). Please contact your specialist dealer otherwise.

Problem: An external device like CD-Player is connected to CD- or Aux1-input, volume is turned on but the TEP 3800 remains silent

Cause: The inputs CD and Aux1 have two options for connection: XLR- and Cinch-connectors. Please check if the switch on the rear side is looking to the connection which is used, e.g. if the Cinch-connector is used but the switch on the rear side is switched into the XLR-position, the input signal from the Cinch-input cannot be amplified. The switch has to be moved into the Cinch-position.

Trouble-shooting

Problem: An object or liquid has entered the cabinet of the TEP 3800.

Proceed as follows: Immediately switch off the unit and pull the mains plug. Contact your specialist dealer.

In case of a defect or malfunctioning, please contact your specialist dealer or distributor. Do on no account attempt to repair the appliance yourself!

Customer service

Your specialist dealer or distributors are at any times competent contacts that will be glad to assist you with all your questions related to your Thorens product.

Your may also contact Thorens directly:

Thorens Export Company Ltd.
Im Huebel 1, CH-4304 Giebenach, Switzerland
www.thorens.com, [e-mail]

In case of warranty claims, please always contact your specialist dealer or distributor first!

Further service information

www.thorens.com

Notes

François