Chord PRIMA User manual

welcome

Thank you for buying a Chord Electronics product

Before you start toenjoy using yourChord Electronics product, please take a couple of minutes

to read howto connect your audio equipment and loudspeakers to your Chord Choral product

and how to maximise your listening experience.

user guide for

pre amplifier

PRIMA

pre-amplifier

PRIMA

The pre-amplifier is the control centre of your system. By connecting your audio sources to

it you can choose the source you want at any particular time and control it.

You can also adjust the balance and volume before the signal is sent to a power amplifier.

Your pre-amplifiers can be operated manually or via any Chord remote control

background

We want you to be confident using your new Chord Electronics product.

You are probably an audiophile with extensive knowledge of audio equipment.

However, you may not be!

So in the following section we explain a few basics to help you get started, or get you back

up to speed if you are a little rusty.

connecting your equipment

Chord amplifiers are supplied with and designed tobe connected using balanced inputs.Theinterconnecting

cables you use will depend on the available input and output sockets on your other equipment. We have

installed unbalanced inputs on all Chord equipment, thus enabling you to mix Chord Electronics and other

manufacturer’s equipment.

Balanced inputs carry twice the strength of signal of unbalanced inputs and are able to be fed downlong

lengthsofcable with lessdeterioration ofsignal.Theyarealsolesspronetointerferencethan unbalanced inputs.

Balanced inputs have three pins and use Neutric XLR style connectors. Pin 1 is earth, pin 2 is positive and

pin 3 is negative.

UnbalancedinputsuseRCAphonoconnectors,whicharegoldplatedwithteflonhighperformance dielectric

insulators for optimum performance.

when setting up

To ensure that your Chord product works efficiently and safely, please pay particular

attention to the following issues.

ventilation

Your Chord product should have at least 5cm of clear space all around it to ensure a free

flow of air at all times. We do not recommend that you place your Chord product directly

on a carpet as this can damage the equipment through blocked ventilation.

mains lead and plug

All Chord equipment comes supplied with the correct mains lead and plug. This should be

used at all times.

if you need to fit a plug for UK/Europe

Connect the blue wire to the neutral terminal

Connect the brown wire to the live terminal

Connect the yellow/green wire to the earth terminal

if you need to fit a plug for US/Canada

Connect the white wire to the neutral terminal

Connect the black wire to the live terminal

Connect the green to the earth terminal

earthing issues in Europe

In some European countries a hum may occur if your processor is connected to mains

sockets that do not have an earth. If this is the case please ensure that:

1.Your equipment is connected via a multi-way mains block which contains an earth point

at each socket outlet. This is to ensure that the chassis metalwork of each item is

connected together.

2.We recommend that an earthing method for your building is implemented.

3. Use the connecting points on your Chord unit and connect to an available earth point.

safety warnings

It is important that your equipment is earthed at all times viaits own mains lead. Failure to

do this may be hazardous. The power supplycomponents within the units are designed to be

operated at lethal voltages and energy levels. Circuit designs that embody these components

conform with applicable safety requirements. Precautions must be taken to prevent accidental

contact with power-linepotentials. Do not connect grounded test equipment.

This unit complies with EN 5008 1-1 and IEC 80 1/2

Caution: The BLU employs a laser that emits both visible and invisible radiation.

Removal of the top cover or tampering with any of the enclosed electronics may result in

exposure to hazardous levels of laser radiation that could cause eye damage. To prevent

injury this product should be returned for qualified service to Chord Electronics Ltd.

There are no user serviceable parts within any Chord Electronics Choral

product. Unauthorised tampering or dismantling of this product will

invalidate the warranty and could cause injury

mains connection

The mains connector of your Choral product is at the back of the unit. Plug the female end

(socket) of the mains cable into the power connector of your Choral product, and the male

end (plug) of the mains cable into mains wall socket or mains extension socket. The mains

connector type will differ slightly for each Choral product. This is due to the highly

compact nature of this range requiring differences in chassis metalwork for each product.

Live Neutral

Mains

Switch

Earth

Mains

connector

powering up

for the BLU

If you are powering the BLU up from standby mode simply press the STANDBY button on

the top panel controls or the STBY on the remote control .

If you are powering up the BLU from cold then press the bottom part of the power switch

labelled ‘I’. If the BLU has no disc loaded, the top panel display with read “NO DISC”; if a

disc has been loaded then the number of tracks and length of the CD will be shown. Please

allow a short time for the BLU to read the disc’s Table of Contents (TOC). During this

time the display will indicate “-- ----“

For all Choral products except the BLU

Press the bottom part of the power switch labelled ‘I’.

powering down

for the BLU

For everyday use there is no need to power down the BLU completely, you can put the BLU

into standby mode instead. Press the STANDBY button on the top panel controls or the

STBY on the remote control to put the BLU into standby mode. If at this point, you wish to

power down the BLU completely then press the top part of the power switch labelled ‘O’.

For all Choral products except the BLU

Press the top part of the power switch labelled ‘O’.

outputs on the PRIMA

You need to connect the outputs on the back of your pre-amplifier to a power amplifier in

order to drive your loudspeakers. There is a pair of balanced XLR outputs, which will drive

a 68Ωload.

connecting to your power amplifier

1. Use the XLR style output connectors to connect your PRIMA pre-amplifier to the XLR

style input connectors of your power amplifier.

2. If you are using the PRE AMP REMOTE, then press the button marked O/P 1.

3. If you are using the Chord touch-screen remote control then press the OUTPUT 1 LCD

touch pad, which is on page 3 of the CHORAL SERIES device menu.

Main outputs on the PRIMA

balanced inputs on the PRIMA

You can connect up to five items of source input equipment, such as CD player, Video, Tuner

etc. to the inputs on your pre-amplifier.

connecting to your source input equipment using balanced connections

1. Use the XLR style input connectors to connect your PRIMA pre-amplifier to the XLR

style output connectors of your source input equipment.

2. If you are using the PRE AMP REMOTE, then press the button marked 1 that is

grouped with main line bus buttons. The main bus buttons are grouped with the button

marked M.

3. If you are using the Chord touch-screen remote control then press the MAIN LINE1

LCD touch pad, which is on page 1 of the CHORAL SERIES device menu.

Balanced inputs on the PRIMA –LINE 1

unbalanced inputs

on the PRIMA

connecting to your source input equipment using unbalanced connections

There are 4 pairs of unbalanced phono input connections on the PRIMA. These are shown in

the diagrams below.

LINE 5

Unbalanced inputs on the PRIMA

1. Use any of the four pairs of phono style input connectors to connect your PRIMA pre-

amplifier to the phono style output connectors of your source input equipment.

2. If you are using the PRE-AMP REMOTE, then press the appropriate button marked

either: 2, 3, 4 or 5 that is grouped with main line bus buttons, depending on the line

input connectors that you have used. The main bus buttons are grouped with the button

marked M.

3. If you are using the Chord touch-screen remote control then press the appropriate LCD

touch pad, which are on page 1 of the CHORAL SERIES device menu.

Use MAIN LINE2 for the LINE 2 input connectors.

Use MAIN LINE3 for the LINE 3 input connectors.

Use MAIN LINE4 for the LINE 4 input connectors.

Use MAIN LINE5 for the LINE 5 input connectors.

LINE 2

LINE 3

LINE 4

tape recording

using the PRIMA

You can use the PRIMA to tape record the signal from an input source whilst you are

listening to your main signal from another input source through the main outputs.

connecting to a tape recorder to tape an audio source

use the pair of phono style connectors that are furthest to the right, next to the XLR style

output connectors.

Tape line outputs

assigning an input source line to the tape line output

1. If you are using the PRE AMP REMOTE, press the corresponding numbered button,

for the desired line input. Use the numbered buttons that are grouped with the button marked

2.If you are using the Chord touch-screen remote control, the use the corresponding LCD

touch pad that relates to the line input that you are using. These LCD touch pads are

found on page 2 of the CHORAL SERIES menu and are labelled TAPE LINE1,

TAPE LINE2, TAPE LINE3, TAPE LINE4 and TAPE LINE5.

everyday use of the PRIMA

controls on the PRIMA

The diagram below shows the controls on the PRIMA

Controls on the PRIMA

Button A:

Main Line Input Select

Button B:

Tape Line Input Select

Infra Red Receiver

Volume Knob Balance Knob

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