CONNECTING YOUR STINGRAY
Setting up this integrated amplifier is rather easy. Please refer to page 8 for a diagram of the back of the Stingray.
1.You will be connecting power last and turning the system on after all other connec- tions are made to prevent ugly noises as wires are connected and to prevent possible damage to the amps and speakers. In general, it is best to make any connections with the power off or the volume control turned all the way down. With all tube amps, you MUST have speakers (or a load box) properly connected to the speaker terminals before power is turned on. Without a speaker, the voltage swings can be large enough to possibly cause an electrical arc inside a tube, tube socket or trans- former and this may damage the amp. Solid state amps operate with no speaker connected but generally don't tolerate a short circuit. Most tube amps will tolerate a short, but we try to avoid this.
2.Before plugging in your interconnects, take a quick visual inspection of the tubes. Sometimes either through shipping or unpacking things get jostled. Make sure all tubes are firmly in their sockets and standing straight up. You might also verify that none have turned white inside. That indicates that air has leaked inside the tube (or the vacuum leaked out!). Though it is rare, a tube is sometimes cracked or broken in shipping. It would need to be replaced before powering the amp.
3.On rectangular chassis it is easy to specify front, back, sides etc - but on the 6 sided Stingray we should adopt a convention and call the sides that have the RCA inputs and input switching as
95% of the time and because it provides you with the maximum stereo separation at the lowest cost. Yes, it could have been more convenient but it would have cost more if more we had to use 10 "runs" of good shielded wire and it wouldn't have sounded quite as good.
4.Plug in your interconnects, one at a time, from each source, ie CD, Tuner, AUX, then connect each input to the appropriate RCA jack on the Stingray. All RCA jacks are clearly labled as to a typical function. Each input is for all intents functionally and electronically the same - only the labels are different. You may have to separate or split interconnects an extra 12 inches if they are the "paired" type or slide the loop that holds the pair together. If you need to connect a turntable (vinyl!) you will need a separate phono preamp to raise the level from the tiny signal from the cartridge to regular line levels. Manley builds these, as do some other manufacturers.
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