OWNER'S MANUAL
PV6
VACUUM TUBE PREAMPLIFIER
conrad johnson design, inc.
703-698-8581
Thank you for purchasing the conrad-johnson model PV6 vacuum tube preamplifier.
We believe that it will be one of the most satisfying purchases of audio equipment
that you will make.
The PV6 was designed to provide audiophiles with a moderately priced preamplifier
of high quality which would accurately reproduce the dynamics, tonalities and
textures of a live musical performance. The design and materials have been carefully
selected to yield many years of unvarying excellence.
Please take a few minutes to read this manual so that you will better understand the
use of your PV6.
LIMITED WARRANTY FOR THE conrad-johnson PV6
1. conrad-johnson design, inc. warrants to the original purchaser that the conrad-
johnson PV6 will perform to specifications as published in the owner's manual
and that it will be free of defects in materials and workmanship far a period of
three years from the date of original purchase.
2. conrad-johnson will repair defective units without charge for labor or parts with
the exception of the vacuum tubes) subject to the following conditions:
a) The unit must not have been altered or damaged through misuse, abuse,
negligence, accident, or improper operation.
b) The purchaser must provide evidence of purchase at the time service is
requested.
c) All repairs must be undertaken at the factory or other service center
designated by conrad-johnson design, inc. Units submitted for warranty
repairs must be shipped in the factory packing carton to conrad-johnson
design or its designated service center, freight and insurance prepaid by the
owner, and will be returned to the owner, freight and insurance prepaid by
conrad-johnson design. Replacement cartons are available from the factory
for a nominal charge,
d) Normal wear and maintenance are not covered by this warranty.
3. The above warranty may be transferred to subsequent owners provided that the
warranty registration card has-been returned to conrad-johnson design, inc.
within 30 days of the original purchase and that the registered owner provides the
factory with a signed notice giving the new owner's name and address and the
model and serial number of the unit.
4. Where permitted by law, conrad-johnson design's liability shall be limited to that
set forth in this warranty. No other warranty of any kind, expressed or implied, is
made by conrad-johnson design, inc., and all implied warranties, including
merchantability and fitness for a particular "purpose", which exceed the
obligations and time limits set forth herein are hereby disclaimed. conrad-
johnson design, inc. shall not be liable for incidental or consequential damages.
Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or
consequential damages, or limitations on how long an implied warranty lasts, so
the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you.
5. This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights
which vary from state to state. Questions about warranty service should be
addressed to:
conrad-johnson design, inc.
2733 Merrilee Drive
Fairfax, Virginia 22031
(703) 698-8581
ABOUT conrad-johnson design
We are a small company offering exclusively audiophile products designed for our
own use as well as our customers'. We believe that our commitment to the purchaser
of our products is nearly unique in the industry. The services we offer to conrad-
johnson owners include:
• Information - Registered owners of conrad-johnson equipment will be directly
informed of new equipment we have to offer. They will also be informed of any
significant changes in the design of their equipment resulting from our ongoing
development program.
• Factory updating - Should significant design changes be made, conrad-johnson
design will, whenever practical, offer to update existing equipment. This service
will be offered at a minimal charge to cover parts, labor, and handling.
• Factory service - Any conrad-johnson product may be returned to the factory for
service. All equipment serviced at the factory will perform to its published
specifications when returned. Factory service will be offered at reasonable rates.
• Transferable warranty - conrad-johnson design guarantees its products, not the
owner. Should you decide to sell the product, the warranty may be transferred to
the new owner. (See Registering the Warranty.)
REGISTERING THE WARRANTY
Please return the enclosed card to the factory within 30 days of purchase to register
the warranty. The warranty may be transferred to a new owner if it has been properly
registered initially and if the registered owner sends a signed notice providing the
name and address of the new owner and the model and serial number of the unit.
Proper registration of the warranty is important! Not only will it preserve
transferability of your warranty, it will also enable us to inform you of any alterations
in the design of a given model and of any 'new products we offer which are likely to
be of interest to you.
CIRCUIT DESIGN
Both the phono and line stages of the PV6 consist of two cascaded triode amplifiers
direct coupled to a cathode follower for low output impedance. Phono equalization
is accomplished by R-C networks in a direct coupled feedback loop driven by the
cathode follower. The line stage is also enclosed in a direct coupled feedback loop.
The audio circuitry is executed entirely with precision, low noise metal film resistors.
All coupling capacitors are polypropylene dielectric. The RIAA components are 1%
tolerance, with RIAA capacitors being of polystyrene dielectric.
A newly designed solid state voltage regulator provides a near zero source impedance
for the plate voltage supply. Filaments are also operated at a regulated d.c. voltage to
prevent line voltage fluctuations from coupling infrasonic disturbances to the audio
signal.
INSTALLATION
Because of the number and type of vacuum tubes used, the PV6 dissipates a
significant amount of heat (approximately 35 watts). It is essential, therefore, that
proper attention be paid to ventilation. The unit should be mounted horizontally on a
flat hard surface so that the ventilation holes in the bottom are un-obstructed. At least
three inches of clearance should be provided above the unit and the cabinet or shelf
should be open at the back. Vertical installation is not recommended.
To minimize hum pickup, keep the unit well away from the power amplifier, and
route power cords away from input cables.
THE PV6 IS TO BE OPERATED ONLY ON AC LINE VOLTAGE OF 108 to 125
VOLTS, 50 or 60 HZ
In any system of audio electronics minute leakage currents from the ac line
transformers will flow in the signal ground connections between preamplifier and
amplifier. These currents can intermodulate with the signal and affect the clarity of
sound. Generally, one orientation of the line cord will provide much lower current
flows. When combined with the finest associated equipment this effect is clearly
audible with the PV6. After installing the unit try reversing the line cord at the wall
outlet to pick the most satisfactory orientation.
CONNECTION
Inputs:
Phono - The phono inputs provide the additional amplification and RIAA
equalization required by most high fidelity cartridges. The input impedance is
47,000 ohms shunted by approximately 100 pico-farads capacitance. This is the
industry standard load and will work well with most moving magnet cartridges
and all pre-preamplifiers for moving coil cartridges. A few moving magnet
cartridges perform better with a 10,000 ohm load which may be achieved by
having a service technician shunt the phono inputs with 12,000 ohm resistors.
For some moving magnet cartridges, optimum performance requires higher
capacitive loads. This may be achieved by soldering suitable value capacitors
across the phono input. jacks. Polystyrene capacitors are recommended for this
purpose.
Tuner, Auxiliary, Tape 1, Tape 2 - These are all high level inputs and are
electronically equivalent. The outputs of your tape recorders should be connected
to Tape 1 and Tape 2.
Outputs:
Record 1, Record 2 - Connect these to the inputs of your tape recorders.
Output 1, Output 2 - Connect to the inputs of amplifiers with impedance of 10k-
ohms or greater.
USE OF EXTERNAL TONE CONTROLS OR OTHER EXTERNAL SIGNAL
PROCESSING DEVICES:
Use Tape 1 and Record 1 for your tape recorder, as described in the preceding two
paragraphs. Connect the output of the tone controls to Tape 2 and the input of the
tone controls to Record 2. The Monitor 2 position of the monitor switch will insert
the tone controls in the circuit; the Source position will provide flat, unprocessed
response. This method of connection will permit the use of tone controls with tape
playback by selecting Tape 1 in conjunction with Monitor 2.
AC OUTLETS
Four ac outlets are provided for your convenience two, marked unswitched, are
always live; the remaining two are switched by the preamp's power switch. THE
TOTAL CURRENT REQUIRED OF THE SWITCHED OUTLETS MUST NOT
EXCEED 5 AMPERES. This precludes the use of these outlets for high powered
amplifiers. It is preferable not to switch power amplifiers by the preamplifier power
switch in any case.
OPERATION
Turn on:
Because of the delayed warm up characteristics of vacuum tube equipment, a
time delay muting circuit is incorporated in this preamplifier. Output 1 and
Output 2 are grounded via a relay for approximately 45 seconds after the unit is
turned on in order to suppress warm up transient noises. The relay grounds the
outputs again immediately at turn off or in the event of any power line
interruption.
Selector:
Use the selector switch to choose an input from Phono, Tuner, Tape 1, or
Auxiliary inputs. The selected source will be available at the source position of
the tape monitor switch and at both Record Outputs. The Tape 1 position permits
dubbing from Tape 1 to Tape 2.
Monitor:
This switch permits you to compare source and tape while recording on either or
both tape decks from the selected input. It is also used to select the input at Tape
2. You may wish to use Tape 2 and Record 2 to install an external signal
processor such as graphic tone controls. Then, the Tape 2 position will choose
the processed signal while Source will choose the pure signal.
Mode: (the setting of this switch does not alter the signal at the record outputs)
Stereo - Normal stereo operation
Stereo Reverse - Passes the left channel input to right channel output and vice
versa
Mono - Passes the sum of left and right inputs to both channel outputs
Balance:
Permits continuous control of location of stereo image from left to right. In the
full counterclockwise position only the left channel will be heard. Similarly, the
full clockwise position will reproduce only the right channel. In normal use this
control will be centered.
Volume:
The PV6 volume control is an extremely precise control, maintaining channel to
channel tracking within +/- 1/2 db throughout its rotation.
VACUUM TUBES
The audio circuit of the PV6 uses six vacuum tubes of three different types: one
12AX7 (V1), three 5751 (V2, V4, V5) and two 12AT7 (V3 and V6). Each type has
been carefully chosen for its circuit application. It is well known that tubes of a given
type vary sonically depending on the manufacturer. We have chosen the brands of
tubes that we supply based on extensive auditioning of available brands. The choice
of brand has been made solely on the basis of sonic performance without regard to
either cost or prestige. We know of no vacuum tubes available which will improve
the sonic performance of your PV6. Also, the tubes in your preamplifier have been
tempered by a controlled burn in procedure that permits them to perform for a greatly
extended period without sonic degradation. We anticipate two to three years of
operation without degradation in normal use. We highly recommend that, when the
time comes to replace the vacuum tubes, you purchase replacement tube sets from
conrad-johnson design.
Please note: The indiscriminate substitution of type 12AX7 tubes for the 5751 will
seriously degrade sonic performance of the unit. Substitution of 12AX7 type for the
type 12AT7 is likely to damage the 12AX7.
TUBE LOCATIONS:
V1 V6
V2 V5
V3 V4
Tube complement:
V1 12AX7
V2,V4,V5 5751
V3,V6 12AT7
Fuse: The AC line is fused to protect the transformer. This fuse will not fail in normal
operation. Failure of the fuse is a symptom of a more serious problem, so the unit
should be taken to a qualified service center. IN NO EVENT SHOULD THE FUSE
BE REPLACED WITH A FUSE OF DIFFERENT TYPE OR RATING THAN
THAT SUPPLIED BY THE FACTORY.
SPECIFICATIONS
Gain: phono stage 38.5
high level 28.5
Output: maximum 25v
rated at 2.5v
Phase: phono and high level stages are each phase correct (non-inverting)
Phono Overload: in excess of 500mv at 1kHz
Response: bandpass 2Hz to more than 1OOkHz
RIAA equalization to +/- .25db (20-2OkHz)
Total Hum and Noise (20-20kHz):
Phono inputs: 72db below 10mv input
High Level: 84db below 2.5 volt output
Distortion: THD less than .05%
IM less than .05%
Output impedance: Less than 200 ohms
Dimensions: 14 ¼ x 11 ¼ x 4 ¼”
Weight: 12 lbs.
SERVICE
In the event your conrad-johnson component requires service, repack it with the
original packing material and ship it to:
Service Department
conrad-johnson design, inc.
2733 Merrilee Drive
Fairfax, VA 22031
For components weighing 90 lbs. or less, we recommend that you ship via United
Parcel Service (UPS). In all cases, be sure to adequately insure your component.
Be sure to enclose a note explaining the problem you are having in as much detail as
possible. If the problem is intermittent, please indicate. If you do not have the
original packing material, replacements are available from conrad-johnson design at a
nominal charge. If the unit is under warranty, enclose a copy of your receipt as proof
of purchase.
