Contents

TH E HI -F I IDEA
Hi-fi and stereo
Hi-fi and live sound ..... 2
Hearing errors 2
Chapter 7
TH E HI -F I CHA IN OF EV ENTS 4
Audio sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Ampl ifier/Receiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • .. 5
Speaker systems/Headphones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Chapter 2
THE TURNTAB LE 7
Motor and drive system .. 7
Turntable platter . . . . . . 9
Pick-up system ....... . 9
Phono cartridge . . . . . . . . . . • . . . • . . . . . . . . . . 10
Sty lus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Demands upon phono cartridges . . . . . . . 12
Tonearm . . . . . . . . . . 13
Auto-return tonearm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Automatic record changer . . . . . . . . . . . _ . . . . . 15
Anti-skating device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
How to read turntable specifications . . . . • . . . . . . . . 16
Chapter 3
THE TUNER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . 18
AM and FM 18
Fu nctio n of FM t uner .......... . 19
FM MPX (stereo) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Tuner co ntrols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
How to read tuner specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Chapter4
TAPE EQUIPM ENT 21
Record ing a nd playback process 28
Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Tape speeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Tape quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Low-noise high-output tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Chromium dioxide tape . . . . . . . . . . _ ......... .
. December, 1975 Tape deck, recorder, player ? . . . . . .. _ . . . . . 31
Revised Fifth Edition .
Dolby noise reduction system . . . . . . . _. . . . . . . . . 31
.. . . . . July, 1971 Open reel, cassette, cartridge? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
First Edition . Drive mechanis m . . . . . . . . . . . . _. . . . 33
Publ ished i n Japan
2 and 3 motor systems . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . 34
by PIONEER ELECTRON IC CORPORAT ION Recording and playback heads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
3-head decks . . . . . . . . . 35
4-1 , 1-chome, Meguro, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153, Japan
Amplifiers, equa lization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Automat ic stop, auto-reverse . . . • . . . 37
Copyright © 7972 by Pioneer Electronic Corporation
How to read tape deck spec ifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Chapter 5
39
THE AMPLIFIER ................... .
. . .
Pre-amplifier, power a mplifier • Integra
ted amplifier receiver
•
39
40 Tile Hi-Fi Idea
Pre-amplifier functions · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 41
Phono equalization · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 42 Ever since the first grammophones began squeaking their scratchy messages into
•• • 0 •••

Inputs . · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · • • 0 0. 0 0
42 the ears of a surprised world around the turn of the century, there has been an
Tape monitoring · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 43
Volume, balance, tone contro ls · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·
uninterrupted search for better, clearer, finer methods of recording and replaying
. ........ 45 sounds. Yet all the major breakthroughs were made in the last two decades - the first
Filters, loudness co ntour · · · · · · · · 46
LP records, the invention of stereophonic recording and reproduction, the beginning of
• • 0 • ••••

Headphone jack · · · · · · · · · · · · • · · · · 46
Power amplifier function · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 6 FM and FM stereo broadcasting, the development of noise-free amplifiers, the intro-
4
Criteria of quality · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · . 47 duction of solid state engineering into audio equipment and, quite recently, the advent
0 • • 0 0 ••

Protector circuits · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 48
of four-chann el stereo sound.
Speaker terminals . · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 48
How to read a mplifier specifications · • · · · · · · · · · · ·
HI-FI AND STEREO
Chapter 6
51 Here we must make a d istinction between two terms
LOUDSPEAKERS AND HEADPHONES
51 that are often confused: high fi delity and stereo. High
Structure and functions · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·
51 fidelity or hi-fi makes very much the same demands as
Double co ne and coaxial spea ker s · · · · · · · · · · ·
52
Two-way, three-way, four-way systems . . . . . . . 53 an oath sworn in a court of law: " ..... the truth, the
Directio nality · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · : : : : : : 53 who le truth, and nothi ng but the truth." The goal of
Speaker enclosures · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 54 hi-fi is to record, preserve and rep roduce sou nd, chiefl y
How to choose speakers .. · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·
55 music, exactly the way it was pl ayed by the performers,
Crossover network, level contro ls · · · · · · · · · · · 56
How to read loudspeaker spe ci fi cations : : : : : : : : : : : without adding anyth ing, without leaving anything out.
57
Headphones · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 58 Stereo, on the other hand, means that sound is
E1ectrostatic headphones · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · recorded and reprodu ced via two chan ne ls in order to
Chapter 7 add a directional, spatial sensation. Stereo creates th e
MULTI-AMPLIFIER SYSTEMS · · · · · · · · · ~: same effect to the ear that 3-D photograph y offers to
Reaso ns fo r multi-amplifier systems · · · · · · · · • · th e eye. To continue the visual analogy: hi-fi demands
59
Electroni c crossover network · · · · · · · · · · · · · sharp, clear, undistorted pictures; stereo creates an
60
Features and drawbacks · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·
Hints concerning multi-amplifier systems .... . •...
61 illusion of space, width, and locations.
Unfortunately, the two don't always go together.
ChapterS There are stereo sets on the mar ket wh ich do not deserve
FOUR-CHANNEL STEREO . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 the name "hi-fi" because thei r sou nd quality is inferior.
63
four-channe l systems · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·
••• 0 • • • • • • •
63 Conversely, there are hi-fi systems with only one channel
Discrete system · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 64
Discrete four-c hannel tape · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · (" monophon ic"}.
64
Discrete four-channel disc (C D-4 disc) · · · · · · • · · · · · The ideal hi -fi system has never and will never be
66
Discrete four-channel FM broadcasts · · · · · · • · · · · · ·
66 built, simpl y because the demand to speak the whole
Regu lar matrix system · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · : : : : : : 67 truth and nothing but the tru th cannot be realized.
SQ matri x system · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·
Between the perform ers in the recording studio and the
Chapter 9 li stener in his living room, th ere is a long and com-
OF DOLLARS AND DECIBELS .. ..... . 68 plicated chain of equip ment and transformations, tearing
Chapter 70 off something from the original sound here, adding
DO'S AND DON'T · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 69 something there. These unwanted fiddlings and diddlil)gs
A GLOSSARY OF AUDIO TERMS · · · · · 70 can be reduced to a min imum - an d th is is what hi-fi
PURCHASE PLAN FOR RECORDS technology is all about - but they can never be totally
89 ·eliminated.
& TAPES ... . . · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·
 HI-FI AND LIVE SOUND
On the other hand, hi-fi has things to offer that no
li ve performance can match. Freedom. You, th e listener,
choose what you want to hear, when you want to hear
it and with whom, how many times. From this poin t
of view, hi-fi isn't a substitute for live concert per-
formances, it's an addition or, if you want, an
altern ative.
This brings us to another common misconception,
one that you find repeated in too many advertisements:
that a good hi-fi system will bring the concert hall into
your home. It's simpl y not true, and it wou ld be bad if
it were. First, much of the world's great music, both
old and modern, wasn't composed to be played in that
19th century inventi on, th e concert hall . Chamber
music, first of all the string quartet, calls for th e
intimacy of small rooms. Bach wrote his organ works as
an integral part of church li turgy. Brass bands are for
outdoors, and much modern music is composed especial-
ly for the recording studio and electronic reproduction.
But even th ose works which were intended for concert
hall performance, such as the classical and romantic
symph onies, can't and shouldn 't be played over a
li ving-room hi-fi system with concert hall volum e - the
cannon in Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture wou ld shatter
the window panes. No, hi-fi isn't supposed to put th e
concert hall in you r living-room; it's supp osed to put
the music in your livi ng-room, and that it does
remarkabl y well.
HEARING ERRORS
While we're on the subject of misconceptions: there's
another one that says "whe n choosing hi-fi eq uipment,
trust your ears rather than the manufacturer's specifica-
tio ns." Several reservations mu st be voiced against this
advice. The most impo rtant is that a person who buys a
hi-fi system fo r th e first time in hi s life is in most cases
ill-equipped to judge the quality of musical sound
reprod ucti on. Subj ected from morning to night to the
ceaseless trickle of non-hi-fi sou nds - the traffic din,
2
the bass-heavy bellowing of jukeboxes, the babble and
squall of cheap transistor radios and TV sets -- the hi-fi
novice hasn't had opportunity to train and hone his
sense of hearing. Experience shows th at, left to his own
resources, he wi ll usu all y choose an "impressive sou nd-
ing" sys tem, mostly with exaggerated bass response and
poor bri ll iance. As his hearing becomes sharper, as he
gets used to the possibilities of his system and compares
it with his friends' hi-fi installations, he will gradually
ou tgrow his origina l purchase and wi ll begin to grade up.
But since every replacement costs money, he will finally
end up wi th a good system that has cost him much
more than if he had bought it in the first place. We feel
that ou r - and every conscien tious hi-fi salesman's -
advice to the hi-fi novice should be to trust a reputable
manu facturer and store mo re than his own as ye t
underdeveloped hearing. Even though, his fi rst encounter
with hi-fi sou nd may not be pl easant at all, simply
because he is unaccustomed to hearing musical sou nds
as they really are.
With these remarks we have fi nally touched upon the
main theme of this booklet: How to choose a hi-fi
system, and how, as a salesman, to help a customer make
a wise choice. At Pioneer, we want you to thin k in
terms of Pioneer hi-fi equipment, of course, and the
purpose of this brochure is to provide you with the
tec~nical knowledge essential for ma ki ng the right
cho1ce. In the foll owing paragraphs, you will find
concise expla nations of the function of each component
i~ a ~tereo hi-fi installation, as well as hints concerning
llsten mg rooms, com ponent match ing, an d a glossary
of technical terms. We have tried to limit the technical
explanations to the bare essentials (and even these have
come out quite vo luminous) while avoiding over-
simpl ificati ons and pure advertisi ng. You may wish to
read on from this page to the end, or to skim, reading
onl y those sections that deal with things you are hazy
~bout. E_ither way, we have tried to keep it interesting,
mformat1ve and unbiased.
3
 Chapter I AUDIO SOURCES
At the recording studio, the sound waves em itted by
the voices or instruments are caught by, in a stereo
recording, two or more microphones and converted into
The Hi-Fi Chabt of Ewents electrical signals. These signals are recorded on the
so-cal led mas ter tape in th e form of magneticall y charged
What happens to the sound between the recording particles. Recording engineers control the conditions
studio and the listener's living-room? A brief explanation and later edit the tapes to obtain the desi red sound
of the "musical flow char t " may be helpful in answering effect and to get rid of background noise, etc. What
this question, in as much as it creates an awareness of results is called a "master tape" (or simply "master")
the many transformations - and accompanying dif- and from it are made records, tapes (in open-reel,
ficulties - that the sound has to go through. cassette or cartrid ge formats), or broadcasts via rad io
waves, and these "deli very systems" are what are
Playback process available to you for reproduction in your hom e.
Record player
To be more specific, let's take th em one at a time.
First, records. The signals on the master tape are con-
verted in to mechanical vibrations wh ich are engraved on
a rotating disc, usually made of lacquer, in a process
known as ''' cutting. " Fro m this engraved disc (also
called a "master") the record manufacture r makes a
metal mold which in turn is used to press "biscuits" of
viny l which end up as the records you buy and play.
Mak ing pre-recorded tapes (open-reel, cassette or car-
tridge) from the maste r tape is simpl er: the signals fro m
Fig. 1- 1 the master are passed from a playback head to the
Recording and Playback recording head of a tape duplicator and stored on the
in a Monophonic System "dubbed" or duplicated tape in the form of magneti zed
particl es of iron ox ide (see "Record ing and Play back
Process" in Chapter 4). For broadcast on AM or FM
waves, the master tape (or a copy of it) is pl ayed o n
equ ipment in the studio and transmitted ; you receive it
and reproduce it with the proper equipment.
This brings us to the play back or reproduction end of
the chain, and the equipment you need to reconvert the
information contained in the three delivery systems
described above into sound. In a stereo system , these
three di fferen t kinds of play back systems are comm onl y
called "sound sources," although they are, of course, not
the original sources of sound. They are: 1) turntable,
cartridge and stylus (NOTE: the nam e "record player"

5
4
 is perh aps more apt, but in today's usage it usually
denotes low-priced equipment withou t claim to hi-fi
performance.); 2) tape deck (NOTE: the name "tape
player" also can be used, but like " record player" it
usually denotes someth ing less than high quali ty hi-fi
perform ance.); and 3) AM, FM or FM Stereo Tuner.
None of th ese sound sources by itself can produce a
signal strong enough to drive a hi-fi speaker system, as
is explained below. Therefore, they must be connected Speaker
systems
to an amp li fier (or a receiver, which simply is an
integrated preamplifier and power amplifier combined
in the same cabinet with a tuner capabl e of receiving
FM and also usua lly AM broadcasts).

AMPLIFIER/RECEIVER Fig. 1- 3 Hi·Fi Stereo System

The signal sup pi ied by tuner, tape deck or turn table
is too feeb le to be converted into audible sound . There·
fore, an ampl ifier is required to augment the signals and
supply them to the speaker systems. The ampl ifier also
prov ides a convenient op portunity to control the
volume, tone quality and other characteristics of the
sound which is why it usuall y has a whole array of knobs
and switches. Very commonly, amp lifier and tuner are
combined into one unit which as mentioned above is
then cal led a "receiver," a word that mu st not be
confused with a regular rad io or TV receiver.

SPEAKER SYSTEMS/HEADPHONES
The speaker systems (or, for private listen ing, the
headphones) are the fi nal link in the chain of sound
reproduc ti on. What fin all y comes ou t of the speaker
systems is the acid test of the whole audio system, and
they must be chosen with equal ly great care as all o ther
components.
Now, a word from our sponsors: Pioneer makes (and
sell s!) all parts of a hi-fi system, from tuners, turntables
and tape decks to amplifiers, receive rs, headph ones and
speaker systems, in a startling variety of models to
match all needs and budgets. In the following chapters,
the individu al components, their function s and charac-
teristics will be exam ined in some detail, together with
ex planati ons of how to read and evaluate th ei r specifi ca-
ti ons.
6
7

Chapter2
The Turntable
The turntable, and its components including tonearm,
cartridge, stylus, etc., is the sound source which makes
it possible to reconvert audio information stored in disc
recordings. Those that are designed well and perform
properly do this with maximum fidelity. On a stereo
phonograph record, the sound information is contained
in the microscopic grooves or rather, to be exact, in the
undulations of the two walls of the groove. One (the
inner) wall bears the information for the left stereo
channel, the other (outer) wall that for the right channel.
The two are at an angle of 90 degrees.
1 Arm Elevation Device
2 Stroboscope
3 Cartridge
4 Head Shell
5 Function Lever
6 Speed Selectors
7 Speed Control Knobs
8 Anti-Skating Control
9 Counter Weight
10 Lateral Balancer
11 45rpm Adaptor
12 Arm Rest
13 Tone Arm
DRIVE SYSTEM
The tas k of the turntable d rive system seems simp le
at first glance: to do nothing but rotate the disc at a
specified, constant speed. But at closer inspection we see
the diffi cu lties hidden behind those innocent looking
words " nothing but," " specified" and "constant. " Any
mechanical system with moving parts generates vibra·
tions, inconsistencies an d wobble, and in a turn table
these wou ld cause noise, uneven ness of pitch ("wow")
and rum ble. Let us exami ne what is being done by
turn table designers to cou nterac t these trou bles.
First, the phono motor in a hi-fi tu rntable has to
meet six conditions: (a) it must revolve at a specified,
constant rotati onal speed; (b) its speed must remain
constant even if the supply voltage fl uctu ates; (c) it
must operate almos t withou t vibrations; (d) it must have
power ful torque (rotati onal force) to overcome changes
in its load and to bri ng the turntable qu ickly u p to the
speci fied speed, (e) it must no t produce any magnetic
tl ux leakage as this would induce noise ("hum") in th e
pickup system; and (f) it must be ab le to operate con-
tinuously for many hours.
Essential ly there are three types of drive systems:
1) rim d rive; 2) belt d rive; 3) direct drive. In the rim
drive system, one or more idler wheels transfer the
power fro m the moto r pu lley to the tu rntable platter
by way of friction of their rubber rims. Advantages arc
relatively low cos t, easy speed changes an d the possibility
to use motors of comparatively low torque. On the
o ther hand, as the ru bber rims wear ou t, a certai n
amount of slippage is bound to occur.
The common belt drive system emp loys a rubbe r
or plas tic belt to convey the motor power to the turn-
table. Speed changes are made by guid ing the belt
around either of two motor pull ey secti ons with dif-
fe rent diameters. The belt prevents motor vibrations
from reaching the turntabl e, thus reduc ing noise and
rumble. In precision engi neered hi-fi turntables, the belt
is often made of polyu rethane because of its resistance
to heat, hum id ity and oil an d its low elas ticity.
Recently, a third drive system - d irect drive - has
appeared on the market, receiving much atten tion and
winn ing many customers despite the relatively higher
cos t attached to turntables wh ich use it. Basicall y,
the term "direct dr ive" ex plai ns the system: a brush less
Fig. 2-2
DC motor is used to drive the platter directl y, with no Belt Drive System
connecting rim idl ers or belts. This is achieved by

Model PL-71

8 9
 centering the drive shaft of the pl atter in the center of PICK-UP SYSTEM

~·~~~~
the motor itself; the mo tor rotates at very slow speeds
Most efforts in the design of hi-fi record playing
(33-1 /3 or 45 rp m) th us eliminating the need for speed-
equipment have been concentrated on the pick-up
redu ction mechanisms. The motor is controlled by system, i.e. tonearms and phon o cartridges.
an electronic servo mechanism to maintain speed
accuracy.

TURNTABLE MOTORS
For rim d rive and bel t drive systems, onl y two types
Head shell Tonearm

"'- Cartridge
Stylus Arm rest
Balance weight
IIJIIJ
a b c
a: Left signal only
b: Right signal only
d

of AC motors can be used: the induction motor and the
synchronous motor. Of these, the induction motor is
being used mainly for low priced turntables because its
speed is liab le to flu ctu ate with load variations. This
DIRECT DRIV E SYSTEM leaves the synch ro nous motor. Its speed is locked to the
AC line frequency and therefore very constant even if
the power voltage fluctu ates. A special - and ra ther
expensive - vari ety is the hysteresis synchronou s motor
whose features include freedom from vibrations an d
noise-free operation. Most top class turn tables are
equ ipped with hyste resis motors alth ough other designs
(servo-controlled DC and AC moto rs, etc.) have been
tried with good results.
As all of these motors run at higher· rpm's than th e
33-1/3 and 45 rpm required for turning the record, they
must be cou pled to the turn tab le by means of speed-
redu ction mechan isms such as the rim drive o r belt
drive systems explained above.
TURNTABLE PLATTER
The turntable platter must be large enough to ac-
com modate 12-inch LP's, but there's another reason
for mak ing it as large and heavy as the moto r torque will
perm it. A large, heavy pl atter, once in mo tion, serves
as a fl ywheel an d keeps the speed cons tant by its own
iner tia. Turntab le platters are made of pressed steel
plate or di e-cast aluminum alloys. The latter is preferable
for high quality systems because of its better electrical
properties (anti-magnetism) and greater machining preci-
sion. To work as an efficient flywheel, the turntable
platter must be balanced just like an automobile wheel.
c: Left and right signal of
Fig. 2- 4 Pick-Up System any phase
d: Left and right signal of
The difficulties are caused by the great number of _ same phase
often conflicting - factors that have to be taken into Fig. 2- 3
consideration. The theory of phono pick-up systems The Groove of Stereo
alone cou ld fi ll a boo k. Disc and Stylus
Movement
PHONO CARTRIDGE
The cartridge, mou nted in a shell at the tip of the
tonearm, has the task of tracking the record grooves
and transform ing mechanical vibrati ons into an electric
signal. As the stylus ("needl e") rests in the rotating
record groove, it is deflected laterall y and vertically in Dampers
Elements
accordance with th e undulations in the groove walls. Stylus Cantilever
Thi s function already expl ain s one of the greatest
Flg.2- S
problem s: the stylus must follow ("track") the com- Sc~ematlc VIew of
plicated meanderings of the groove instantl y and without a Ceramic Cartridge
loosing contact with the wa lls or jumping out of the
groove. To be able to do this, the mass of the sty lus and
all moving parts must be kept as li ttl e as possible
·because the greater the moving mass, the higher its
inertia, i.e. resistance to qu ick changes in movement.
Other conditions for good track ing are: a sufficient
downward force called "tracking force" must be applied
to the stylus to keep it in the groove - which, if too
great, wi ll cause sty lus and records to wear out more
qu ickly than necessary, however; and the stylus assembly
must have enough freedom of movement, technicall y Fig. 2-6
called "compliance" or sometimes "trackability ." Schematic VIew of
The mechanical vibrations picked up by the stylus a Moving Magnet
are converted into an electri cal signal by any of a Cartridge

10
11
 number of systems. Let us briefly ex plain their func-
tions and weigh their merits and demerits.
Ceramic cartridges utilize the so-called "piezo-electric
effect. " Movements of the cantilever (which is fi xed to
the stylus) appl y varying forces - twists and pressures -
on a special crystall ic material wh ich generates an
electrical vo ltage in accord ance with the stylus move-
ment. The rigid armatures requ ired to exert this twisting
force natu rally inc rease the moving mass, and the
cerami c elements are sometimes affected by heat an d
moisture. Although comm onl y used in low priced
Fig. 2- 7
Schematic record players, they do no t fu lfi ll the discrim inating
VIew of a Moving deman ds of real hi-fi.
Coli Cartridge Moving magne t (MM) cartridges have a tiny perma-
nen t magnet attached to the cantil ever which, by movi ng
Coils freely between an assembly of coil s, induces a voltage
in th ese coils. Mov ing magnet cartridges are the most
commonly used hi-fi cartridges, offering the benefits of
small moving mass and relatively high output voltage, i.e.
efficiency.
The reverse principle is applied in moving coil (MC)
cartridges. Here, the magnet is fixed and the coils- one
for each channel - move in the magnetic fi eld, thereby
receiving an induction voltage. The moving mass of MC
cartridges is even smaller than that of MM types, but
their output voltage is so low th at the amplifier mu st
have special inputs of very hi gh sensitivity.
In addition to low moving mass, MM and MC
cartrid ges offer very good frequency response and
channel separation, factors which explain their great
popularity in hi-fi appli cations.
Induced Magnet (IM) cartridges have fi xed magnet
and coil assemblies. Two ti ny iron plates move in the
~ magnetic field, causing variations in the magnetic flu x
Snlcon element and, thereby, in the coils' indu cti on voltage.
Stylus All the cartridge systems described above generate an
Fig. 2- 9 electrical signal directly from the mechanical vi brations.
Schematic View of There are, however, two types of cartrid ges which
a Semiconductor requ ire an outside voltage su pply. This is the chief
Cartridge
....__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __. reason why they are not being used widely, although
12
they promise excellent resul ts. One is the sem ic onductor .-------~----.
cartridge in which mechanical forces created by sty lus
vibration work up on a silicon semicondu ctor, changing
its electrical resistance in correspondence with stylus
movement. The oth er type is called "photo-electric."
Light from a tiny bu lb in the cartridge falls upon a
pho to transistor which converts it into an electric
voltage. By moving a slotted mas k in the path of the Fig. 2- 10
light beam, the light intensity can be varied in ac-
Photo-Electric
Cartridge
cordance with stylus vibrations.
STYLUS
The stylus in a hi-fi cartridge is made either of
sapph ire or diamond. Diamond is pre ferable because of
its longer service life which averages 400 to 800 hours of
operation. Its durabil ity depends largely on the track ing
force, i.e. the weigh t with which the stylus is pushed
aga inst the walls of the record groove. The tip of th e
stylus is machined to ex treme precision. It can be
radial, with a tir radius of about 0.5 mil (1 mil = 1/1000
inch) fo r a stereo cartridge, or ell iptical, wi th its greater
wid th across the record groove. Elliptical stylus usuall y
deliver better response to high audi o frequencies, i.e.
they track high notes better.
Paraboli c Sty lu s and
For mono LPs I mil (0.026mm)
Shibata Sty lu s
Mono/stereo 0. 7 mil (0.017mm) New ly-d esigned sty lus tip s hav ing
Stereo 0.5 mil (0.012mm) " line con tact " with the disc grooves.
Stylus tip radius Especia lly distinguishe d by frequen-
St ylus tip cy respon se and sep arati on cha rac-
1 te rist ics, thus perfec t for C D-4
Fig. 2- 11 Various Stylus Tips d iscrete fou r-channe l d isc rep rodu c-
""--~------------------J tion .
DEMANDS UPON PHONO CA RTRIDGES
Let us sum up once more the demands made upon
a hi-fi cartridge. It must trac k the record groove with
precision, following even abrupt movements such as
sudden trumpet blasts with ease. This abil ity is usually
expressed mathematically as "compliance." The cartridge
should trac k th e record even at low force, because too
13

..__ _........._ __............._ _-....~
.......,;;;...;.;~..;.;;;.;s.._ _ _ _ ___.
14
much pressure between stylus and groove causes disc
and stylus to wea r out quickly. Because of the ex tremely
tiny area of contact between stylu s and groove walls,
seemingly fantastic pressures occur - at a track ing fo rce
of a few grams the pressure is several thousand
atmospheres, in other words thousands of t imes higher
than the air pressure in an automob ile ti re.
The cartridge must separate the two stereo channels
clearly and at all audi ble frequencies. And it must de liver
an output voltage large enough for the stereo amplifier
to work with.
TONEARM
A cartridge can only de liver its full performance if
it is mounted o n a tonearm of eq uall y high quality.
The tonearm's main function is to hold the cartridge in
its path wh ile it travels across the record, an d to app ly
the necessary track ing fo rce while compensating fo r
o ther, un wanted forces.
Most high quali ty tonearms are made of light metal
alloy because of its light weight, stabil ity, and easy
mach ining. By thei r shape, arms can be grouped into
three types: straight (or 1-shaped) types, j-types, and
$-types. In every case, the shell-car tridge assembly is at
an angle (o:) to the arm ax is, the line connecting sty lus
tip to arm pivo t. This angle is called offset angle, and
its purpose is to minimize the arm's track ing error.
(Trackin g error is the angle that the cartri dge ax is
deviates from the record tangential at any given point
on the record. The smaller the tracking error, the better.)
On some economy type equipment, the shell cannot be
removed fro m the tonearm ("in tegrated arm"). Most
modern tonearms, however, have standardized plug-in
connecti ons fo r the cartridge-shell assem bl y, so that
all cartridges following these standards can be freely
interchanged.
Since diffe rent cartridges requ ire diffe rent tracking
forces, the tonearm should have a movabl e balance
weight on its rear end, preferab ly with a graduated scale
of tracking fo rces. The track ing force can then be
adjusted by fi rst balancing the arm horizontal ly, then ....-------------.
applying the des ired force by moving the balance ~a~~~\
weight (or a sub-weight) fur ther toward the arm pivot ~
("static balance" ). On some arms tracking force is . Spring / Jd,
applied by the force of a spring {" dynamic balance"). Fig. 2- 14
On most high qu ality turn tab les, the tonearms are Dynamic Balance
equ ipped with several auxi liary controls to imp rove their
perfo rmance and ease of operation. ~ Only tracking force applied
It requi res a certain dexterity to set the stylus down
on a record and to lift it off again, and coun tless records
and cartrid ges have been da maged by careless handling. Fig. 2- lS
Most hi-fi tonearms are therefo re provided wi th a lifter o r .._s_ta_t_lc_ B_al_a_n_
ce_____..J
cueing device, mostly a hydraulicall y damped piston
which gently fl oats the tonearm down on the initial
record grooves and li fts it up again at the end.
ANTI-SKATIN G DEVICE
One other device must be men ti oned here - the anti-
skating device provided on many high quality tonearms,
also called sidethrust compensator or ins ide force
canceler. To unders tand its function, we must realize
th at a tricky combination of forces ac t upon stylus and
to nearm as they track the record. Among these, the most
disturbi ng is a force which tries to pull the tonearm
inward, toward the center of the disc, th ereby pushi ng
the sty lus aga inst the in ner wall of the record groove or, Anti-Skating Control
in extreme cases, causing the stylus to jump out of th e .._____(M _ o_d_ei_P
_L
_·_S_1_A_).......
groove. To assure perfect trackin g of both groove walls
(both stereo channels!), th is fo rce mu st be compensated.
Usuall y, a li ttle weight affi xed to a string applies a
corresponding cou nte rforce on the tonearm. As the
skating force varies with the sty lus tracki ng force, the
anti-skating device shoul d also be re-adjusted each time
the tracking force is changed.
AUTO-RETURN TONEARM
One step further advanced towards automation is the
" auto-return" tonearm - at the end of the record it
lifts off and returns to its rest position au tomaticall y.'
15

Speed selector Cartridge
Model PL-55X
The logical ex tension of this is the fully automatic
turntable. A single functi on lever controls the entire
operation. In positi on start, th e tonearm moves over the
initial record grooves, th e platter begins to revolve, the
to nearm floats down, th e record is played, and at th e
end the tonearm li fts off and returns to its rest. There
are usuall y two other controls: a speed selector, and a
record size selector which adju sts th e tonearm drop
point for th e three common record diameters (12, 10,
Model PL- 55X and 17 inches).
AUTOMATIC RECORD CHA NGERS
Pioneer feels that at th e present stage of turntable
technology it is not possible to manufacture an auto-
matic record changer th at will reliably and continuously
live up to hi-fi requirements.
How to Read Turntable S&JerUiratlons
When comparing and evaluating tu rntables on the
strength of th eir catalog specifi cations (you should listen
to them, too, before buying), the fol lowing technical
items deserve the greatest attention:
a) Wow & Flutter
Wow is a slowly cycling speed inconsistency causing an
16
up-and-down effect in th e playback sou nd. Flutter is a
high-speed quive r, especiall y noticeable in long-held
notes. Both M C caused by defi ciencies in th e drive
'system of the turnt able and arc ex pressed as a percentage
in the specifications. The smaller the figure, the better.
Max imu m al lowable wow/fl utter percentage for high
fidelity pe rform ance from a turntable is arou nd 0.1 5%
(WRMS).
b) Signal-to- Noise Rati o (S/N)
This is a measure of the amount of low-pi tched
" rum ble " a turntable produ ces in r·elation to the desired
signal. The larger th e S/N figure, the better. Hi-fi
perform ance requires th e fi gu re to be 45dB or above.
c) Turn tabl e Platter
Weight is importan t here. The moment of inertia is
related to smooth rotati on, and weigh t, in turn, is
related to inerti a. In belt-drive turntables th e reco m-
mended weight is between 3 lb. 5 oz. and 5 lb. 8 oz. For
direct-drive models the weight should be abou t 2 lb. 3 oz.
Hu'" to llt•ad l'm·ta·idnt• Sa•t•t·il il'alimtK
a) Frequ ency Response
The lowes t and th e highest audi o frequ encies to which
a cartridge will respond are used to indicate the
cartridge's frequency respo nse range. The wider the
range th e better. Also, there should be no peaks or cl ips
within the range. Hi-fi cartridges should have a range of
at least 20 llz to 16,0001 1z ±3d B. For d iscre te 4-channcl
reprodu ction, th e cartridge is requ ired to have an upp er
frequ ency respo nse limit of at leas t 45,000Hz.
b) Chann el Separa tion
The abil ity of a cartridge to separa te the tw o cha nnels
of a stereo record. The figure is expressed in decibels,
and should be above 20dB at l,OOOHz.
c) Outpu t Voltage
The voltage generated by the cartridge at a certain
sty lus-to-groove velocity and at a 1,OOOHz signa l input.
Th is voltage may differ according to th e cartridge
system, but should be greater th an the sensitivity (in
microvo lts, exp ressed " mV") of the amplifier's phono
17
 inputs. Generally speaking, about 2.5mV is recom-
mended.
d) Load Impedance
The amplifier's input impedance as seen from the
cartridge. For MM and IM cartridges the standard value
is about 47,000 to 50,000 ohms (47 to 50k0hms),
which is what most amplifier phono inputs are designed
to receive. MC cartridges have low impedance (2 to 20
ohms), and the amplifier must have special MC or
"ceram ic" phono inpu ts. If no such inputs arc prov ided,
the user will need a step-up transformer or booster
am pli fier between the MC cartrid ge and th e amp lifier.
c) Com pl iance
A measure of the stylus' ab ili ty to follow sudd en and
violent changes in the undu lations of the record groove.
Com pliance is expressed as th e amount of deflection
(in centimeters) that a force of 1 dyne upon the stylus
will cause. The larger the figure, the better. The
recommended figure depends on the tracking force, but
should be at least 8 x 106 em /dyne.
f) Tracki ng Force
The required downward force th at wi ll make a cartridge
stay in the record groove and track it. Di rectly related
to compliance : th e larger th e compliance, the smaller
the requ ired tracking force. As a light track ing force
will save wear an d tear on the record and the stylus,
the smaller the figure, the better. It shou ld never exceed
4 gra ms.
18
Chapter:)
TheTuner
Next to the turntable, the tuner is the most common
sound source in hi-fi installations. In many cases, tuner
and stereo amplifier are combined into one unit, a
so-called "receiver"; in these instances, the tuner section
of the receiver should fulfill the demands outlined
below.
AM AND FM
We are concerned with the two basic methods of
radio broadcasting here, AM and FM. In both, a signal
(the music, etc.) is carried from the transmitter th rough
th e air to your tuner in the form of electroni c impulses
via a carrier wave. Model TX-9500
AM stands for Amplitude Modu lation, that is, the
carrie r wave is modu lated by a fl uctuating signal so that , . . - - - - - - - - - - - ,
Carrier ampl;tudt modulated bV audio signal.
its instantaneous amp litude varies in sym pathy with the
signal. The freque ncy of the carrier remai ns uniform.
FM stands for Frequency Modu lation. Here the
carrier's instantaneous frequency is varied by an amount
proportional to the instantaneous am plitude of the
modu lating wave (th e signal). In th is case the amplitud e
remains un iform. (See Fig. 3- 1. ) FM_~~U~I::m Amplitude
Most hi-fi-tuners are AM/F M models wh ich means . . ...L
that they rece ive AM broadcasts as well as FM and FM Catrlor frequoncv modulotod bv oudlo signal.
stereo programs. A few exclusive FM models ex ist, but ...._ F..-
ig,_._3_
- _l_ A _M
_ a_n_d_F _M__~
since there is hard ly any difference in cost, the AM/FM
tu ner with its grea ter flexi bility has advan tages.
AM reception in the 535 - 1605 kHz radio band has
been around since th e earliest days of the "wireless".
Although there are built-in limitations which delegate
AM to the realm of lo-fi, it won't hu rt to have it
available for news, sports programs, etc.
When choosing a hi- fi tuner, its FM -and FM stereo
- performance is of incomparably greater importance.
19
 A good FM tuner will deliver the same degree of hi-fi
sound purity as a turntable or tape deck - in many
cases its sound will be superi or simply because FM
stations use top-grade professional reprod uction equip-
mcnt outside the range of the hi-fi amateur. Add to th is
the fact that the FM radio waves don't cost the listener
a cent and that FM music programs can be tape-
recorded with out difficu lty, and you will understand
why for many budget-m inded hi-fi fans the FM tuner
has become the chief source of sound.
Tuning meter Stereo indicator
wanted stations. In modern tuner designs, cross-
modu lation resistance has been improved considerably
by the use of field effect transistors (FET's) because
of their higher linearity. Since cross-modulation depends
largely on the strength of these unwanted signals, it can
be further reduced by correct, precise orientation of th e
antenna towards th e wanted stati on.
As the RF stage employs an oscill ator circu it, it fll SELECTIVITY
must be designed in such a way that the oscillator
frequency does not " leak" from th e tuner, causing
interference in nearby TV sets, radios, etc. !8 a=E~R!E,,~s=SE=ES
The RF stage delivers an intermediate freque ncy ~ t-t-++-t-tm-t oo,f-++fii~H-+-IH-j 1
signal of 10.7 MHz, which is then amplified and again f? H-+t--t--i~H-t-++lltH-t-H-1
selected in the IF (Intermediate Frequency) stage. The ~ H--t-t+-i-llt-k-';;;;t--t-+HIH--t-+-H--1
bf 'BOdB'ti-H--t-t-t--1
problem is to amplify only the desired, sharp ly defined ~ t!l ~~E~~~7a
1
0 3irJfBf1~
sectio n of the band that contains the wanted sound ~ 60

inform ati on. This is done by a series of fi lters of very ..~ r-.......,t--t-~+,-t_-Htt-H'60d'~tt-.....++_-t.--1.,..--I..H.
precise electrical dimensions, preferably ceramic filters. ~ ~:-;.:.~.;;;to---iJLfMi: ..l..,,l,!,.,.
These are a major fac tor in determining an FM tuner's ""'""""::.., t; !~ l:±fl1T
'CISI.IItOI>GI'lALllVIL
selectivity. ~ IJ'I
' 20<18
I The limiting circui t, also part of the IF stage, fu lfill s
J:~QtJLF:.ttD_ ----------- _j
- 600 - 400 200 0 200 400 600
one of the most important functions - it suppresses the FREQUENCY DIFFERENCE IN KHz
Fig. 3-2 Block Diagram of FM Stereo Tuner Mono/stereo switch atmospheri c noise. This is one of the special features of Fig. 3-3
FM broadcasting and ex plains the high sou nd quality Selectivity
FU NCTION OF AM FM TUNER attainable. The limiter begins to work only when a signal Characteristic
The demands made upon a hi-fi tun er will become of sufficient strength is present, and its function is ._C _ u_r_v_e....;(!..T,;_X_·-.
9_50_ _0,) __ _ __
clear if we exam ine its fun ction s step by step. Th e FM
antenna supplies th e radi o signal (FM occupies th e 88 -
108 MHz band) to the tuner's input, i.e. the RF (Radio
Frequency) ampl ifier stage. There, th e signal is amp li fied Lif'ter Noise is cut.
and, more impo rtantly, separated from those of other Noise I A ~~
~ n
FM stations and from random noise signals. This outlines I ~ I

•
the fi rst two tasks of an FM hi-fi tuner: sensitivity, i.e.
the ability to pick up weak signals; and selecti vity, which
is its ab ility to "slice out" only th e desired station while ~

1
v lj
B ~ Noise is cut.
1
suppressing adjacen t signals and noise. Ano ther item S1gnal still noisy at A mp l'f ' !
1 1cat1on
RF stage output. in IF stage.
found in tuner specificati ons and determined at the Limiting effect
tuner's RF stage is cross-modu lation resistance which Fig. 3- 4 Limiting Effect
describes a tuner's abi lity to prevent the desired signal
from being influenced ("modulated") by stro ng un-

20 21
 therefore closely related to the tuner's sensitivity and
antenna signal strength.
The muting circuit, usuall y switchable with a control
on the tuner 's front panel, has a simil ar purpose - it
cancels the noise encountered on unu sed FM channels,
that irritating hiss that you hear between stations. The
muting control can be either a simple on/off switch or,
on expensive models, a continuously adjustable control.
As the muting switch cancels out weak stations along
with the noise, it must be turned off or turned down
when such a weak signal is to be received .
After passing through the IF stage, th e signal is
demodulated, i.e. the audio signal is extracted from it.
This signal is stil l too weak, however, to drive the
loudspeakers; it must first be augmented in the
am plifier.
FM MULTIPLEX (MPX) FOR STEREO
The greatest attraction of today's FM tuners lies in
the possibility of stereophonic reception. (Of course,
this is possible only in areas where FM stereo stations
are operating. ) When broadcasting a stereophon ic (MPX}
program, the station transmits a sub·carrier wave along-
L + R side the main carrier and removed from it by 38kHz,
and a pilot frequency of half the sub-carrier i.e. 19kHz.
Fig. 3- 5
stereo broadcast has only about half the reach of a
monophonic program transmitted with the same power.
This makes it easy to understand why a good FM
outdoor antenna is needed in most cases to assure good
stereo reception.
TUNER CONTROLS
The quality and usefulness of an FM tuner are
determined not on ly by the precision of the circuits,
but its operating convenience is equal ly important.
Let us take a bri ef look at the controls, dials and
switches found on upper grade AM/FM hi-fi tu ners.
The operation mode is determined by a function
selector which usuall y has three positions: AM, FM
MONO, and FM AUTO. In FM MONO position, all FM
programs are received monophonicall y, i.e. the MPX
demodulator is deactivated. In FM AUTO mode, the
tuner automaticall y switches to FM stereo reception
when tuned to an FM MPX broadcast.
~~~====~====~~~·; 1 Signal Meter
Tu ning Meter II: 2

~
Carrier of FM MPX FM Stereo I ndicator
A pilot detector circuit in the tuner detects the presence Power Sw itch
Stereo _ _ __. of this pilot signal and activates the so-called FM MPX 'I;
Headphone j ack

w=~~~~~~~~~~l ~
Headphone Ou tpu t Level Con trol
demodulator circu it. AM & FM Ou tput Level Con trols
Let us call the sound information for the left channel Fu nction Switch
L, that for th e right channel R. In a stereophonic FM 9 Pu lse Noise Swi tch
10 MPX Noise Fil ter
broadcast, the main carrier contains the sum of both 11 FM Mu ting Level Switch
- - - - - - - - - - -.... signals, i.e. L+R. An FM tuner with out a mu ltiplex l r--------------r------------~ 13
1 2 Tun ing Knob
AM Ferrite An tenna
Main carrier demodulator will receive only this signal and deliver 14 AM An tenna Termina l
Pilot L - R 15 Ground Termin al
signal
monophonic sou nd. The sub-carrier transports a dif- 16 FM A ntenna Terminals (300.n)
ferent signal, L- R. In the FM MPX demodulator, 17 FM A ntenna Term inal (15.n)
18 FM Multipath Term in als
these two L+R and L- R signals are added and sub- 19 Fixed Outpu t Term inals
tracted to re-gain the signal for each chan nel: 20 Variable Output Term inals
0 15kHz 19kHz 38kHz
(L +R) + (L- R) = 2L . . . . . . . . left channel sound
Fig. 3- 6 (L+R) - (L- R) = 2R . . . . . . . right channel sound
Spectrum of FM Stereo
For reasons too complicated to explain here an FM

22 23
 Tuni ng is dcne by turni ng a large knob and watching re-adjustments should be entrusted to qualified service
SIGNAL TUN ING
one or two meters as well as the station dial. The engineers only.

~~
signal strength meter deflects to the right when the Other controls found on tuners include output level
station is turned in - tre greater its deflection, the controls, sometimes separate for AM and FM, wh ich
stronger the received signal. (It is also helpfu l in finding regul ate the tuner's output voltage in order to match
the best position and direction for th e FM antenna.) its sound volume with that of other source equ ipment
<D
Max. l The tuning or center zero meter moves into center
position to ind icate accu rate station tuning.
A close look at the tuning dials of different tu ners
(turntable, tape deck). A headphone jack may also be
provided, and some tuners have an extra pair of TAPE
REC outputs, permitting direct tuner-to-tape recording
wi ll reveal a slight but important difference. On most without going through the amplifier. Last but not least,
Min.J
tuners, the spacing between the frequency markings there may be an AFC switch (although its presence or
<2>
will become grad uall y closer toward the right en d of the ·absence says noth ing about the quali ty of the tuner)
<D Distortion dial. Others have dial s with equal distances between all whose function is to lock the station to the tuning
<2> S/N FM frequency markings. These "l inear" dials are of circuits, in other words to prevent stati on d rift and
<3) Separat ion cou rse easier to read an d permi t qu icker, more accurate fluctuations.
Optimum signal zone tuning. PLL (PHASE-LOCK-LOOP) CIRCU IT
Fig. 3- 7 PLL is a relatively new development, and one that is
Signal Strength and Non-linear scale ex tremely useful in FM MPX (and other electron ic
Tuning Meters 92 94 96 98 100 102 104 106 108
88 90 applications). Pioneer uses PLL in many of its newest
Fig. 3- 9
Pulse Noise I I I I I I I I III MHz FM MPX demodu lators to replace conventional coils
and capacitors of the resonance circuits. This greatly
Suppressor Circuit Linear scale enhances du rab ility and re liability. A PLL circuit.
his new circuit device is used to
effective ly cancel the pulse type 88 90 92 94 96 98 100 102 '?4 '?6 ' ?8 I consists of a phase comparator, an ampl ifier, a low-pass
noise (electrical equipment noise
interference) such as automobile
I I I I I I I I t t tMHz filter, and a voltage-controlled oscillator. It is commonly
constructed as an IC (in tegrated circu it) . By deriving an
ignition systems, fluo rescent ligh ts
Fig. 3-8 Linear FM Dial Scale outpu t from the junction of the low-pass fil ter and the
and othe r appliances witho ut sacri·
fic ing tonal quality and stereo '----------------------.....l voltage-controlled oscillator it serves as a demodu lator
separatio n. It is avail able on such The muting sw itch or continuous muting control has for MPX, and derives an accu rately synch ron ized 38kHz
advanced Pioneer products as the already been explained. In addition, top range tun ers switching signal from the input 19kHz pilo t signal
model TX-9100. often are equipped with a switch or control called received from the FM transmitter. Overall, PLL improves
"M PX NO ISE FILTER" or " HI BLEND. " Its functio n stereo separation and reduces distortion over a wider
is to eliminate or at least reduce hissing noise which is frequency range than conventional coil-and-capacitor
often present in FM stereo programs of insufficient circu its, cuts down the number of parts required for the
Aud iO 110n11 Willi diiiUibe
signal strength. As this circu it operates by blending a circu it, and further im proves performance by provid ing
b y PVI. . n011e
certai n amount of the high sound frequencies of both superior stability.
channels, its use entails a certain loss in stereo channel
separation. How lo llend Tuner Sa•edfirations
Speaking of channel separation: some tu ners are Compared to a turntable, which is chiefly a mecha-
A udiO &jftlll WI~- w oU\ P\IIN notH equipped with a semi-fixed screw or control for adj ust- nical device, a tuner's specifications present much
elu,uni!H by P NS
ing the MPX channel separation. This is factory adj usted; greater difficulties to the lay man. Indeed, a rather close

24 25
 familiarity with electronic circuits is requ ired to find
one's way through al l the ratios, rejections, res ponses,
and factors. Neverth eless, the following brief explana-
tions should be sufficient guid ance.
a) Scnsitivity
The minimum antenna signal which the tun er can
convert into a satisfactory sound signal. Expressed in
11V (m ic rovolts = 1/1 ,000,000 of a volt) and defined
by the Institu te of High Fidelity Manufacturers (IH F)
as the signal strength at which the tu ner will supp ress
noise by 30d B. Sensiti vity ratings of 3J1V are qu ite
respectable, values below 2J1V arc ou tstanding.
b) Signal-to-Noise Ratio (S/N)
Th e ratio, expressed in dec ibels, between a 400Hz
fu lly- modul ated signal and the noise com ponent. The
rating 60dB, for example, means that the signal is 1,000
times stronger than the noise. Here, the higher the valu e,
the better; for hi-fi FM it shou ld be at least SOd B. Some
Pioneer tuners offer a superb signal-to-noise ratio as high
as 7 Sd B.
c) Capture Ratio
Assume that two stations are broadcasting on the same
frequency. "Capture rati o" descri bes a tuner's ab il ity to
suppress the weaker of the two wh ile rece iving on ly the
stronger. Also related to the tuner's su ppression of
random noise. Exp ressed in decibels, smaller values arc
better. A rating of 4.5d B is usua lly sufficient.
d) Sclcctivi ty
This is similar to capture rat io, but instead of dealing
wi th signals of di ffercnt strengths on the same freq uency,
it deals with signals wh ich arc broadcast on frequencies
very close to the one you arc trying to select. The tuner's
ability to slice away the adjacent signals and select out
th e one you want is expressed also in decibels, the
higher the better. A selectivity of SOdB is usually
su fficicn l.
c) Image Rejection
" Image " means a tuner's undesirable reception of the
same signal at two or more points on the dial, of wh ich
only one is the true station signal. Tuners wh ich can't
26
reject the fal se image give you sound with "ghosts"
(as in tv). This is caused by interac ti on of the oscillator
freq uency and the RF freque ncy. Image rejection is the
tuner's abil ity to suppress this frequency. Bigger values
arc better; they pay off as less probl ems in areas with
many FM stations broadcasting.
f) Spurious Response or Rejection
An FM tuner's bad habit of creati ng unwanted, meaning-
less " lie" signals which it then (a) emits through th e
antenna, causi ng interference in th e neighbor's TV set or
radio, and (b) picks up itse lf, affecting its own reception
because this sci f-gcncratcd lie signal can in te rfere with
the true wanted station signal. Expressed in decibe ls,
higher values arc preferable.
g) AM Suppress ion
AM in this context has nothing to do with AM broad-
casting; AM here means the (amp litude modulated)
noise signals emanating from fl uorescent lamps, motors,
automobile ignitions, etc. which, unless suppressed,
cause th at notorious irritating crackle during FM recep-
tion. AM suppression is expressed in decibels, higher
values are better, 40dB is about minimum.
h) FM Stereo Separation
The FM MPX demodulator's abi lity to separate th e left
and right channel signals of FM stereo broadcasts. For
stereo effect, channel se paration in the medi um audio
frequency range (400 - 1,OOO Hz) is most im portant. A
good tuner should have 40dB separati on in this range or
30d B between 40Hz and 8k Hz or 25d B over the total
20Hz - 15k Hz range.
i) Output Level
This is usually in the 0.7V range, and is adjustable on
high qu ali ty tu ners. You arc in terested in the output
level of a tuner because it must match the input requi re-
ments of you r amp li fier or rece iver. In most Pioneer
stereo tuners, two kinds of ou tput terminals (fixed and
variable) arc provided. Thus, you can, for example, usc
th e fixed term inals to connect the tuner to a tape deck
for off-the-air recordin g, while using the variab le
terminals to con nect with oth er equipment.
27
 Chapter 4 retain this magnetism.
RECORDING AND PLAYBACK PROCESS
The recording process is, briefly, as follows. Electric
Magnetized particles

Tape Equipment signals supplied by a sound source are amplified and

Turntable and tuner are "passive" sound sources -
they can only reproduce commerciaffy recorded or
broadcast sound. Tape equipment, with the exception
of so-caffed tape players, lets the listener participate
"actively" in the selection and even creation of music
programs. This great advantage, together with the
operational ease and relatively low price of m odern tape
equipmen t, may explain the tremendous tape recorder
boom that has been sweeping the world.
THE TAPE
According to the tape form at, tape equipm ent can be
grouped into open-reel, cassette and cartridge . The
recording tape itself is basically the same for all three
types, and so are the essential functio ns of the machines.
Magnetic record ing tape consists of a thin polyester
or ace tate film (usually about 15 to 35 microns thick,
or as expressed in mils, 0.60 to 1.40 mils thick). This
fi lm, called backing (consisting of the base and emul-
sion), is covered with a layer of fi ne, crystal lic iron ox ide
Model RT-1020L particles imbedded in an adhes ive. These iron ox ide
particles can be magnetized in a magnetic field and will
I Pause Switc
2 Power Switch
3 Reel Size Switch
4 Tape Speed Selector
5 MIC Recording Level Control
6 Line Record ing Level Control
7 Recording Indicators
8 Level Meters
9 MIC Input jacks
I0 REC Bias Sw itch
II REC EQ Switch
then app lied to the coil of a small electro-magnet called
a "recording head." This causes a magnetic field,
alternating in accordance with the sound's rh ythm and
Emulsion
intensity, in and arou nd a tiny gap between the two
poles of the magnet. As the recording tape travels past Fig. 4- 1
Schematic View of
the recording head, its iro n oxide particles are magnet- Recorded Tape
ized by the altern ating magnetic field. The tape thus
stores th e sound information in the form of magnetism.
To retrieve this informati on, the reverse process is
used. The tape, transported past the so-called pl ayback
head - another small electro-magnet with a similar
structure as the recordi ng head - induces a small,
alternating current in the magnet's coil. As this current
contains the same sound in formation as the original
signal - provided that the tape travels at the same speed
at recording and playback - it can be amp lified and
used to drive a speaker system.
TRACKS
The fi rst tape recorders, bu ilt duri ng and after World
War II, used up the ful l tape width for a si ngle passage.
Later, as tape recorder components, recording tape and
techniques became more refin ed, the tape width was
split into two and then four "tracks." This provides
greater tape economy and, moreover, the possib ility to
store two (or more) chan nels on the tape. Most modern
open reel stereo tape recorders for amateur use are
Current
4-track models, whereas in cartridge recorders and
players the same tape width (1/4 inch) is divided into
eight tracks.

r>.~:·l >-·r;~T
4-track stereo

'§j
12 Phones Jack
13 Output Level Control Tracks
14 Meters Switch 1 &4
I5 Monitor Switches (L, R) Tracks
16 Play Switch Magnetic flux
3 &2
17 REC Switches (L, R)
Tape Shield
Fig. 4- 3
18 Function Buttons Structure of
19 Tension Arm
20 Ta e Counter Fig. 4- 2 Track Locations in Tape Heads Tape Head

28 29

Antl·mll(lne,Jc fratnll
TAPE SPEEDS recording time. The tabl e (P.30) shows recordi ng times r-----------.
Anothe r tend ency in tape recorder design has brough t (per track and per return trip) for common types of
about slower and slower tape speeds. Although profes- ree l tapes at 7-1/2 ips recording speed. Remember th at
sional studi o machines transport the tape at least the 3-3/4 ips speed provides twice the record ing time,
7-1/2 o r usually 15 or more inches per second (ips), and1 -7/8 ipsfou rti mesas much.
most home·use tape decks offe r a choice between 7-1/2
and 3-3/4 ips, and sometimes 1-7/8 ips. Cartridge player1 TAPE QU~LITY
always ru n at 3-3/4 ips whi le cassette tape is transported The quali ty of the recording tape is equall y as
at 1-3/4 ips. This explains the comparatively long important as th at of the equipm ent itself. Poor qual ity <D Shleld case Q) Colls
recording tim e o f cassette tap es. tape wears out your tape deck fas ter than necessary. <%> Shield plate ® Core holder

a~''" "'•'
Tape speed is of vital importance for the soun(j Some o f the demands on quality tape are obvious: it Fig. 4-S <S> Ferrlte core
qu ali ty, especiall y in the high sou nd range, because must [)Ot break or stre tch easily, its edges must no t cu rl, ~~~r~!r~~~uJe
of
a tape recorder's upper frequency response limit il and its base must retain its strength and fl exibility for .___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __,
Shield case directly and mathe matically related to the tape speed many years. Also, th e emulsion must not separate from
Fig. 4- 4 and the gap width of its recording and playback heads. the base or wear off because this fouls the heads and
Permalloy Shields The high er the tape speed, and th e narrower the head tape path and causes "drop-aut." i.e. holes in sound.
A~alnst High gap, th e better th e high-range frequ ency response. Most As the tape co~stantly rubs against the recordi ng and
Frequencies hi- fi fans with open-reel tape decks therefore prefer th e playba~k heads, 1ts surface should be as smooth and even
highes t ava ilable speed for recordings th ey consideJ as poss1ble to assu re long head service life. In addition,
important. Recen t advances in the technol ogy of record- there are num erous requiremen ts regard ing the tape's
ing heads h ave made it possible to manufac ture ul tra- elec trical characteristics - its dynam ic range, frequency
narrow head gaps so that excellent frequency response response and freedom from noise.
up to t~e limi ts of th e audible sound range can now LOW-NOISE HIGH-OUTPUT TAPE
be obta med even at the slower tape spee d s (F errite In recen t years, a new variety of recording tape has Chromlum Dioxi<fe Tape
head, etc.). . been put on the market. These so-called "low noise tThls newly developed tape use
Tape speed is of course directly connected With h.1gh ou t put tapes, ava1"Iable on open reels and as chromium dioxide particles In
II
~lead of the conventional Iron
RECORDING t . . .
THICK- LENGTH TIME(7_112 ips com~ac cassettes, possess h1gher magne t1c particle oxide ones, and is distinguished
TYPE BASE NESS ONE BOTH dens1ty and therefore a wider dynamic range - they can from other tapes by its very high
(mils) (m) (ft.) WAY WAYS record and reproduce a greater span of sou nd intensities output and low distortion, as wei
Standard 100 Aceta te 2.08 from a whisper to a roar. To make full use of th ese as Its excellent frequency response
mils 370 1,200 32m in 64 min and wide dynamic range. To ge
.. Polyester .. .. .. . .. RECORD ING
LENGTH TIMEl7·172 ips)
the most from this tape, you
tape deck should have a bias o
Low noise high Acetate
output 100
.. .. .. .. ..I (,TYPE
J .•
BASE THICKNESS
(mils} (m) (ft.)
ONE
WAY
BOTH eq ualizer circuit for chromium
W AYS
tape as we ll as for LH tape
.. Polyester .. .. .. .. .. G-30 Polyester 0.72 45 ISO 15min 30m in Chrome tape technology Is prom·
Long play I 50 Acetate 1.40 550 1,800 48 96 C·60 .. 0.72 90 300 30 60 ising for cassette stereo since It~
.. Polyester . .. II .. .. performance permits the user to
Double play .. 1 740 2,400 64 128 ~-90 II 0.72 135 450 45 90 reach sound levels quite simila
to many expensive open reel tape
Triple play II 0.80 1,100 3,600 96 192 C.120 II 0.72 180 600 60 120 !deck~.

30 31
 DOLBY SYSTEM advantages, however, th e tape recorder mu st have <
Dolby system is a unique noise special provision, an adjustable or switchable "biaPPEN REEL, CASSETTE, CARTRIDGE?
reduction system , wh ich elec- current." The choice between open reel, cassette an d cartridge
tronically eliminates the irritating (An audi o frequ ency signal is never recorded orhas become very much a question of personal prefer-
noise (tape hiss, circuit noise, magnetic tape as it is: the tape develops its optimurrences. Until only a few years ago, no status-consc ious
etc.) without sacrificing the
characteristics only after it has been "p rimed " with ;"eli te" hi-fi fan would go near a cassette reco rde r, Model CT- F71 71
original tonal quality.
rather high frequency bias cu rrent. This bias currentbranding them as kid stuff for amateu rs. The latest (F ront-access Cassette Deck)
usually applied through the recording head together wittgeneration of cassette decks have made many a "reel
the aud io signal, is different fo r ord inary tape and fo1snob" eat his words because they deliver, despite thei r
low noise, hi gh output tape.) slow tape speed and narrow track width, quite respecta-
Noise
Before we talk about the factors that determine thtble sound in ad dition to their great snap-i n, pop-out
Level qu ality of tape equipment, let's take a brief look at th 1convenie nce. This was made possibl e by th e development
many, sometimes confusing, types bei ng marketed. w1of new precision d rive systems, ultra narrow gap heads
have already made a distinction between reel, cartrid g1and; las t but not least, better recording tape. Cassette
Model CT- F6161
and cassette equipment. Each group is further dividecdecks can be recommended ch iefly to hi-fi fans who (Front-access Cassette Deck)
into "tape deck," "tape recorders" and "tape players." prefer to get their music the easy, uncomplicated way
Noise , and who don' t mind that cassette tape cannot easily be
Level ..,..f\,..,......,,., TAPE DECK, RECORDER, PLAYER? edi ted, i.e.cu tan d spliced .
RECORDING PROCESS A tape deck, the most com mon and sensible variet) Cartridge equ ipment for hi-fi install ations owes much
ovu hrlt~'tM:--- for use in hi-fi installati ons, consists of the tape transporlof its popu larity to its almost fully automated ease of
and the required recording and playback pre-amplifien operation and to the wide-spread use of automobile
but no power amplifiers or loudspeakers. A tape dec~stereo players which use the same tape cartridges. Most
Noise can record through microphones or from a tuner o1cartridges are recorded with eight trac ks. Since one track
Level
amp lifier, and pl ayback is also possible via an ex ternalcorresponds to one stereo channel, fou r stereo programs
@
amplifier and speaker system. (or two 4-channel programs) are contained on one
PLAYBACK PROCESS
A tape recorder is, in addition, equ ipped with it1cartridge. The tape is wound in an end less loop, travel ing
DOLBY SYSTEM own power amp lifier and loudspeaker(s). It can be usedarou nd and around. At one po int, a metal switching foil
(graphs)
as a self-contained unit for record ing and playback. lnis attached which, when trave li ng past the head, activates
<D Noise level is not disturbing.
(Signai=Fortissimo) this class we find most portable tape equipment as wel[a switching relay . Thi s in turn makes the head move one
<2> Noise level is disturbing. as some self-contained home units. step down (the width of two tracks) so th at it will scan
(Signal: Pianissimo) A tape player, finally, is a tape deck minu s thethe nex t program. In addi tion to its great convenience,
® Fortissimo signals are recording facilities, i.e. for playback of pre-recordedcartridge tape has the adv antage of traveling at 3-3/4 ips,
recorded naturally.
tapes on ly. Most cartridge tape equipment fall s intotwice the speed of cassettes, and can be expected to
@ Pianissimo signals are up-
leveled and recorded.
this class because stereo tape cartridges are chiefly solrdeliver better high range frequency response (which is
@ Pianissimo signals are down- with commercially pre-recorded music. There are, how-not always true, though). Also, a great deal of music,
leveled and played-back. ever, a number of cartridge decks equipped for recordin1mostly jazz and popular, is available on commercial
@ Since noise level is down- as well as playback and - the latest addition - 8-tradPre-recorded cartridges.
leveled by same degree, it is
4-channel cartrid ges and players which serve as con· Despite th e inroads made by cassette an d cartridge
not disturbing.
DOLBY is a trademark of
venient sound sou rces in a 4-channel stereo system. equipment, the open reel tape deck is still the most fig. 4- 6
DOLBY LABORATORIES INC. common, most versatile, most advisable (and most Schematic View of
expensive) recording an d playbac k instrument fo r th e _ c_
as~s_
e_tt_e_T_a_.p_e_ _ _ _ ___,

32
33
 serious hi-fi enthusiast, and it is th e open-reel stere so that each can go about its tas k with max imum
Car.trldge Rae!
'~----~------~
deck that wi ll be examined in the fo llow ing paragraph! efficiency.
,, although the principles appl y to cassette and car tridg
'\ equipment as well.
\

I
I
I
I
DRIVE MECHANISM
The mechani cal part of a tape dec k has to move th
tape past the heads at constant, specified speeds. This i
done by a rotating capstan against which the tape i
.f ..\
... ... .. . ··""','.
1 Flywhaal
••••• • Capstan
Pinch roller
pressed by a pinch roller. In the design of thi 4/8 pole capstan drive motor
mechan ism special attention must be paid to avoid tap
slippage. Th e mechanism mu st perform two other fun( Fig. 4- 9
Fig. 4-7 tion s: rapid forward winding and rew inding of the tapt Two-Motor Drive
Endless Loop Type Tape Pinch roller
Mechanism
All three tasks can of course be carried out by a singl
Cartridge motor and a system of belts, pulleys and idlers - Fit Three-Motor Drive Mechanism
4- 8 shows such a drive system.
RECORDING AND PLAYBACK HEADS
A tape deck needs at least two heads - an erase head
which cleans th e tape of previous recordings and noise,
and a combined recording/play back head. The im-
portance of the head gap has already been mentioned.
Other points of interest incl ude the heads ' surface polish
- the tape must travel ove r it with as little friction as
possible - and its dimensional accuracy and adju stmen t.
{The trac k locations on the tape are of course deter-
Model RT-1050
mined by an intern ati onal standard so that a tape
( 15ips, H alf-track Deck )
recorded on one machine can be pl ayed back o n any
.. -
.-:.- ~~-.:.. :: : __, ... Fig. 4- 8
other provided th ey use the same 2-trac k or 4-track
system.)
One-Motor Drive Mechanism

~~~!i~j{J{J,ii TWO AND THREE MOTOR SYSTEMS

THREE-HEAD DECKS
Hi-fi enthusiasts who wish to make their own record-
Where highest precision and rapid winding speed ings are well adv ised to bear th e extra ex pense of buying
are requ ired and cost is the minor consideration, separat a 3-head tape dec k, i.e. o ne with separate record ing and
motors can be used to drive the capstan and both reel playback heads (plus erase head). No t only can each
Model MA-62 or three separate motors fo r the capstan and each reel head be designed especiall y for its own purpose, but
(Microphone Mixing Amplifier) Such top class tape transports are often contro lled vi 3-head systems offer the only really accurate recording
electronic relays and pu sh -buttons and embody tensio1 control possibi lity: tape monitoring. It works li ke this:
regulators and other devices to protect th e tape fron as the tape travels pas t th e recording head, it is " im-
excessive forces. In two and three motor transports, th pregnated" with th e audio signal. This same, original
capstan and reel motors are of radi call y different desigr audi o signal which comes from the sound source can

34 35

Input
Mic o-..--o... _
line
Outputo.----+;...;.::..:.::..;~-------1
4- 11 Two-Head Mechanism
-Recording head
Level meter
Fig. 4-12 Three-Head Mechanism
si multaneously be monitored through speaker systems
(via the amplifier) or headphones. Then, as the tape
travels on past the playback head, the just-recorded
sound can agai n be picked up and monitored. Three-head
tape decks are equi pped with a switch to switch back and
forth between source monitoring and tape monitoring.
Thus, the operator can compare the source sound
instantl y with the recorded sound and make necessary
re-adjustments. Because of the distance from recording
to playback head which the tape has to travel, there is
of course a sho rt time lag between source and tape
monitor sound.
AMPLIFIERS, EQUALIZATION
Although tape decks don't need power am plifi ers,
EH : Erasing heed
they do need electron ic circuits th at transform the
PH : Playback head
signal to be recorded into a shape acceptable by the
RH: Recording heed
tape ("recording am plifier, recording equalizer" circu its)
Fig. 4-13 and others th at augment and again transform th e signals
Tape Monitoring
picked up by the playback head so that the amplifier
36
can work with them ("pl ay back equ al izer, play back
pre-ampl ifier" circuits).
(Technically speaking, an au di o signal of flat fre-
quency response, when recorded and played back via
tape, would d rop off in its very low an d very hi gh
portions. To compensate for this, the low and high
Frequency (Hz)
parts of the frequency response curve must be ra ised.
This is done accord ing to an intern ationall y agreed-upon Fig. 4-14
NAB Equalization Curve
method, the so-called NAB equal ization curve. The
high portion is boosted in the record ing equalizer, the
low portion in the playback equ alizer so that the tape
deck's outpu ts again suppl y a signal with fl at response.)
RECORDING LEVELS
As recording tape has only a lim ited capacity for
storing magnetism, the recording level - th e strength of
the signal applied to the tape head - must be controlled.
This is done with a control knob and usually two VU
or level meters (one per channel). Excessive recording
level causes di stortions, whi le an insu fficient level results
in noisy, hissi ng tapes.
The need to appl y a high-frequ ency bias to the tape
while recordin g has been menti oned; this frequency,
somewhere in the 30- 1OOkHz range, is gene ra ted by the
"bias oscill ator."
AUTOMATIC STOP, AUTO-REVERSE
To make the tape deck as convenient to operate as
possible, a number of aux iliary devices have been de-
signed. Very com mon is an automatic stop mechanism
that halts the reels when the tape runs out. Among
the several possible meth ods, the most commo n one
employs a lever which, normally held upward by the
tape, drops forward and activates a sto p switch when
the tape runs out.
To ge t rid of the necessity to remove, turn over and
re-thread the tape after each run, various au tom a tic RPH : Recording;playback heed
reverse systems have been devised. One, the sensing-foil EH : Erasing heed
method, is the most popu lar. The user affi xes short Fig. 4-15
pieces of metallic foil near either end of the tape. Tape Auto-Reverse Function
37
 gu ide and tension arm (two parts of the tape path! another. Expressed in decibels. The higher the value, the
serve as contact points for a relay. When the meta better. Channel-to-channe l crosstalk should be at least
sensing foil reaches these parts it closes an electri1 30dB, track- to-track crosstalk of a 4-track mach ine
circuit, activating the reverse relay which, in turn, mak~ should be above 55dB.
th e tape travel back in the other direction. The length oi e) Channel Separation
tape betwee n the two sensing foils thus trave ls bacl Another word for channel-to-chann el crosstalk (above).
and forth infinitely. At each reversing point, tape head! f) Max imum Reel Diameter
and tracks are switched accordingly. As illustrated in tht 'The largest reel size that the tape deck will accept.
drawing, an au to reverse tape deck needs two erase head Most open reel dec ks accept up to 7" diameter reels;
an d two double-action recording/playback heads. All Pioneer decks accept th e profess ional-sized 10-1/2"
reels.
How to Read Tape IJecl• Specifications
a) Wow & Flutter
Inconsistencies in the tape speed whi ch can cause pitd
variations and qui verin g sou nd. Expressed as pe rcen tagc1
with differen t val ues for each tape speed. Look fo r th
lowest values. 0.25% is about th e permissible maximum
b) Signal-to-Noise Ra ti o
Denotes the tape deck's freedom from scif.create.
noise. Expressed in decibels, hi gher values are bettct
45dB is about minimum. Pionee r decks arc 55dB o
better.
c) Frequency Response
The lowest and highest aud io frequ enc ies th at the tap
deck wi ll record and reproduce. Should be as fl at a
possible and cover at least 50 · 13,0001-fz at 7·1/2 ipso
50· 1O,OOOHz at 3-3/4 ips.

Parameter Excel· Good Fair Un

lent
Signal to Noise Ratio 54- 56 50- 53 45- 50 dl
30- 50- 50- H
7-1/2 16,000 13,000 10,000
Frequency 50- 50- 50-
3·3/4 12,000 10,000 8,000 H
response
SO- 50- 50-
1·7/8 8,000 7,000 5,000 H

d) Crosstalk
The amount of signal that leaks (i) from one stereo
chan nel in to the o ther and (ii) from one tape track int

38 39

Chapter5
The Amplifier
As the audio signals supplied by the turntable, tuner
or tape deck are much too weal? t o be converted into
audible sound directly, they must firs t be raised to a
higher level. This is done by the amplifier which thereby
becomes the heart of every hi-fi installation. Before we
examine the fundamentals, fun ctions and features of
hi-fi amplifiers, we mus t first clarify a few distinctions
in terminology.
PRE-AMPLIFIER, POWER AMPLIFIER ,
. . ...... , .... 0 INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER , RECEIVER
• : oo e oo ....•o o: An amplifier system in a hi-fi instal lati on consists of
Receiver two parts: the pre-amplifier which includes all the
controls for regul ating to ne, volume and channel
balance; and the power amplifier which, as its name
implies, suppl ies a sufficientl y powerful signal to d rive
th e loudspeakers. Manufacturers provide the audio
enthu siast with a multiple choice: he can pu rchase
separate pre-amplifier and power ampli fier un its, he can
select a combinati on of both which is commonly called
" in teg rated amplifier," "control amplifier" or just simply
"amplifier," or he can opt for a receiver, i.e. a combina·
ti on of tuner, pre- and power amplifier.
Since units bui lt to ve ry high perform ance standards
can be found in each group, the qu esti on is not so
much one of sound quali ty but rather a question of
fl exibility versus economy and convenience.
It stands to reason that a combination of two o r three
func tions in one unit shoul d be more economical than
separate sets - just think of the cost of chassis and
enclosures and power suppl y uni ts (i.e. th e transformer-
rectifier assembly in each unit which supplies the
Fig. 5-1 needed operating current to the circu its). Wh at 's more,
Classification of an integrated ampli fier or rece iver saves space and
Amplifiers
eliminates the need for - sometimes troublesome -
40
cable connections.
On the other hand, the pu rchaser of a separate tuner
plus pre-amplifier plus power ampli fier system may gain
a little bit in perform ance and may obtain a more
individuall y " selected" kind of sound, but he definitel y
gains in flex ibility; he can replace individual units as
technology progresses and new model s appear on the Stereo R eceiver
(Model SX-1 0 10)
market; he can easil y add an electronic crossover net-
work and one or two more power amplifiers to upgrade
his system into a multi-amplifier installation (see page
59); he can move on to a four-channel system (page63 )
without sacrifi cing any of his present equipm ent; and
he gets, last but not least, the pride of owning his own Stereo tuner
(Model TX -9 1 00)
custom-assembled personalized system.
The serious audio enthusiast, when deciding on the
purchase of a receiver or integrated amp lifier, shou ld,
however, insist on one feature (found on most Pioneer
models): the possibility to use the pre-amplifier and
power ampl ifier stages separately. This is done by mov-
ing a rear-panel switch (in the case of Pioneer amplifiers)
or by removing jumper cables o r plugs, and permi ts the Stereo Integrated A mplifier
(Model SA-9100)
system to be enlarged into a multi-amplifier configura-
tion at a later date.
The following expl anations deal with pre-ampli fier
and power amplifier functions, in that order, but th ey
apply to integrated amplifiers and receive rs, to o; onl y
the remarks about connections and matching of com-
ponents may be disregarded.
PREAMPLIFIER FUNCT IONS
To the hi-fi novice, the need fo r and functions of the
pre-amp li fier are usuall y more di fficult to understand
than those of the power amplifier wh ich after all
clearl y produ ces power. The pre-amplifi~r can b~
thou ght of as sort of super switchboard - it selects the
sound source to be pl ayed, it determines th e mode of
sound (4-channel, stereo o r monopho nic), it influences
the sound color with its tone controls, it regul ates the Stereo Preamplifier
volume and channel balance, and it brings the signals
up to a voltage level which the power ampli fier can then
41
 work with.
The different sound sources are connected to the
preamplifier inputs: the turntable to the phono inputs,
the tuner to the tuner inpu ts, the tape deck to the tape
(or sometimes "monitor") inputs, .and an aux iliary
source such as a cassette tape deck to th e aux inputs.
Some ampli fiers also have microphone inputs.
PHONO EQUA LI ZAT ION
Let us observe the phono signal o n its way through
the pre-amplifi er. First, it enters a circuit called an
equalize r amp. To understand its function, we must be
aware of a peculiarity of phonograph records. When the
mas ter disc is cu t, th e high sound ranges are over-
emphasized ("boosted") while the bass range is some·
what suppressed. This must be done in ord er to obtain a
record groove with sufficient modu lations in the high
range for the needl e to "feel" and, on the other hand,
without excessively wild bass undu lations (because these
would requ ire a wider groove). Technically, cu tting of a
disc is not " fl at" but foll ows a frequency response curve are pretty much standardized. With microphones, how-
as shown in Fig. 5- 2, called the RIAA curve (established
by the Record Industry Association of America). There·
fore, the aud io signal delivered by the pickup cartridge
11<
Frequency (Hz) would result in equall y disfigured sound if it were passed
on as it is. The RIAA curve must be " equ alized" first
Fig. S- 2
RJAA Equalization to obtain natural sound - and this is the function of TAPE MONITOR IN G
Curve the equ alize r amp.
~ monitor switch with two posi tions: "source" and "play"
~~-----
__
a:
,_ '· ,_ '· , tape deck with independent record ing and playbac k
Recording - - Equalization in amplifier-Resultant flat response
Fig. S- 3 Equalizing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ speake~; in position ''play, " howeveG the already
42
INPUTS
Because the phono inputs have to be equali zed, they
are called "non-linear" inpu ts as opposed to " linear
inpu ts" such as those for tape, tu ner, microphone or
auxiliary signals. Some high grade amp li fiers provide two
or even th ree pairs of phono in puts, permitting two or
more turntab les or cartridges to be connected simu l-
taneously for easy comparison. Also, the input sensitivity Model DM- 30
and impedance of the phono inpu ts is sometimes switch-
able to accommodate cartridges of differen t char-
acteristics. In this context, ano ther val ue often foun d
in pre-amplifier specifications is of im portance: max i-
mum input vol tage of the phono in puts. Th is describes
Electre t condenser type
the highest signal level that the amplifier can accept microphone
through the phono in pu ts withou t ove rl oad ing, i.e.
distorting. It should be at least 10 times higher than th e
output level of the pickup cartridge.
Tape deck and tuner connections usually do not pose
much difficu lty because the electrical charac teris tics
ever, it is important to choose the righ t ty pe. Pioneer
microphones of course are matched to Pioneer ampli-
fiers, but mikes of other brands must correspond in their
impedance to the amp 's mic input im pedance, within a
tolerance of about ±20 percen t.
Switching between the different connected sound
sources is usuall y done with a program selector, mostly
a rotary knob with five or more posi tions. Tape sound,
however, is switched o n and off with a so-called tape
(or "tape"). For tape playback, this switch is set in
position " play," for all other program sources it must
be in position "source." When making a recording on a
heads (a 3-head deck), this switch provides two ways of
monitoring the reco rding qu ali ty. In position "sou rce"
the original before-tape sound is heard from the loud-
43

iTWIN TONE CONTROL
SYSTEM
ifhis system is unique with Pioneer.
It features spec ial SUB controls in
addition to the more conventional
BASS and TREBLE co ntro ls. The
S UB controls permit you to boos
or cut the frequency in both the
ow and high ranges without
affecting the midrange sound.
Practical applications of this sys·
tem are as ind icated in the follow
mg diagram:
Frequency Response
50Hz 100Hz lOKHZ 20KHz
Frequency Response
44
recorded after-tape sound is reproduced . By switchi ng
back and forth between th ese positions, th e source
sound can be easily compared with the taped sound
and readjustments made if required.
VOLUME, BALANCE, TONE CONTROLS
The volume and balance co ntrols of the stereo pre-
amplifier are more or less self-explanatory. No te, how-
ever th at th e balance control, when turned to the right,
doe; not increase the right channel volume but actually
redu ces the left channel volume. Al so, volume and
balance controls do not affect the signal supplied to the
tape deck for recordin g.
17 I above and below a " turn over" point in a way as
1 Speakers Switch
2 Protect ion Pilot Lamp
3 Bass Contro ls
4 Treble Co ntro ls
5 Level Set Control
6 Volume Contro l
7 Function Selecto rs
8 Power Switch, Pilot Lamp
9 Headphone jack
10 Muting Sw itch
11 Low Filter Switch
12 Tone Defeat Switch
13 High Filter Switch
14 Lo udness Switch
15 Balance Control
16 Tape Mo nitor Switch
17 Tape Dupl icate Switch
18 Mode Switch
1t is usuall y no t difficult to tell the hi-fi greenhorn
from the old pro - just watch him operate the tone
controls of his amplifier. The beginner will show great
deligh t in his abili ty to turn up the bass and suppressing
the treble or vice versa, he will play around endlessly
with these kn obs and will usually wind up with a setting
of heavy, boomy bass accentuati on. The more advanced
hi·fi listener, however, will use the tone co ntrols sparing-
ly and near the neutral level, except for test purposes.
The true purpose of the bass and treble con trois on a
hi-fi amplifier lies indeed not in th e dictatori al power
pl ay of the novice, but in the ability to compensate
fo r certain weaknesses in the program material, the
listening room and, to some degree, th e speaker systems.
With good, new LP records or tapes pl ayed on good
equipment in a normal family living room, however,
extreme tone control settings are almost never required.
How do tone co ntro ls - and th eir cousins, the high
and low filters and the loudness switch provided on most
ampli fiers - work ?
In its simplest, bargain basement fo rm - as found
on portabl e radios etc. - a tone control is simply a
combinati on of a capacitor with a res istance, and it cuts
off the high parts of the sound spectrum. More suitable
to hi·fi applications is the passive CR (capacitors·
resistors) type which boosts or reduces frequencies
illustrated in Fig. 5- 4. For even more precise, ac tive
control, negati ve feedbac k techniques (NFB) have to be
introdu ced whict- require rath er elaborate circuits with
transistors, etc. The obtainable frequen cy response
characteristics are illustrated in Fig. 5- 5.
On some amplifiers, the to ne controls work on the
left and right stereo channel simultaneously, which is
quite sufficient fo r most ho me applications; on o th ers,
there are separate knobs (usually concentric double
knobs) for controlling the left and right channel
separatel y which is useful in difficult listening roo m
conditions.
FILTERS, LOUDNESS CONTOUR
Low and high filters (also referred to as rumble or
bass filters and noise o r scratch filters, respectively)
have functi ons as shown in Fig. 5- 6. The bass filter is
designed to cut off (or, more precisely, to attenuate by
45
 so many decibels) the sound spectrum below a certain
point, usuall y somewhere between 100 and 50Hz. This
has the effect of cancel ing out very low hum and rum ble
generated by turntables. The high filter, on th e other
hand, atte nu ates frequencies above 8,000 or 1O,OOOHz,
as the case may be, to eliminate scratching and hissing
noise from records, tapes, FM, etc. It is bad practice,
however, to use these filters indiscriminately because
together with the noise they also cancel part of the
desi rable musical spectrum . Use them o nl y when
necessary.
The loudness switch on an amplifier must not be
confused with the volume control. A more accurate
description of its functio n is found in the name
" physiologi call y correct loudness contour compensa-
tion." This name already hints at a deficiency of the
human sense of hearing. Indeed, measurements demon-
strate clearly that the human hearing apparatus is, even
at its healthy best, a far from perfect hi-fi devi ce. One of
its short-comings is that it is rather insensi tive to
extremel y low and very high tones when the overall
volume is so ft. The loudness switch, a special kind of
tone control, overcomes this hum an error by boosting
these extreme sound ranges at low volume settings. It
should therefore be turned off at high listening volumes.
BACK VIEW QF INTEGRATeD AMPLIFIER ISA-9100)
HEADPHONE JACK
In addition to the function s described above, the
pre-amplifier does of course amplify the signal level to
46
an extent. That is why headphones, which req uire very
little power, can be connected to a headphone jack
usual ly provided on pre-amplifiers.
POWER AMPLIFIER FUNCTION
From the pre-amplifier, the signal enters the power
(or main) amplifier. There, its power is raised several
hundred times to a val ue which can drive {and, if used
fully, even destroy) the speaker systems.
Much concentrated effort has gone into the develop-
ment of better and better hi-fi power amplifiers. Even
the vacuum tube types of years ago- on ly very few are STEREO POWER AMPLIFIER
now on the amateur hi-fi market - produced some
excellent results. To th is day, hi-fi enthusiasts brought
up in that age swear by the vacuum tube amp Iifier and
in terms of sound quality it does possess a ce,rtain
mellow charm. Its bad habits - vacuum tube am plifiers
guzzle electrici ty, create tropical heat waves in their
vicinity and break down or bu rn out at all too frequent . - - - - - - - - - - - - . -
in tervals - made it easy for solid state designs to take
over in a flurry. Today, the transis tor power amp has
emerged as the almost undisputed victor.
CRITERIA OF QUALITY
Solid state power am plifiers of the latest generation
are true marvels in audio engineering, with tremendous
power reserves, a remarkable absence of distortions and
very high reli ability. Design engineers have overco me the
OCL CIRCUIT
many inherent problems one by one by making use of
improved components such as silicon · transistors, by
developing new circuits such as quasi-complementary
and pure complementary output stages, by getting rid of
coupling transformers and capacitors.
Conventionally, capacitors were used to couple the
individual stages of a power ampl ifier, and to couple
the output stage to the loudspeakers. Direct cou pling
techniques are posing a new challenge to circuit
designers. They promise better results not only because
they avoid phase shifts betwee n the stages but also, and
more im portantl y, because they use so-called balanced
power supplies - i.e. power supply circuits providing L--=---.....:....:..=...:.:.~;.:.;.......:::.l!..J
47
 matched pos1t1ve and negati ve power correspondin g to
the (+) and (- ) sectio ns of the sound signal. Such direct How lo llead i\mplifier H)Jerifiralions
coupled and OCL ("output-capacitor-less") circuits are a) Continuous Power Output - The FTC Rule
already being used in most to p grade Pioneer ampli fiers. Pi onee r has and wi ll con tinue to comp ly with the new
The purchaser of a stereo power amplifier often ru ling (effective November, 1974) es tablished by the
chooses a unit mainly on the strength of its outpu t Federal Trade Comm ission (FTC) of the United States
power rating. But as practicall y all modern amplifiers as regards the listings and claims fo r the power output
provide more than a sufficient power reserve, he wou ld specifications for am plifie rs (includ ing am plifiers in-
be well advised to consider other facto rs in his choice, corporated in receivers). Thus, all Pioneer specification
such as distorti on figures, power bandwidth, etc. which sheets, adver tisemen ts, sales promotion materials and
will be explained in the paragraph dealing with amplifier other printed matter which list power ou tput specifica-
specifications. These give a tru er picture of the sound tions do so in the Un ited States by statin g the details of
to be expected than the power rating. the actual continuous power out put for all channels, al l
channels driven, in terms of minimum RMS (Roo t Mean
PROTECTOR CIRCUITS Square) watts. The listings also give the exact conditions
The expensive output stage of a transistor amplifier un der which the rating is taken, with the load im pedance
can be easil y damaged by a short circu it in the speaker {in ohms), and the amount of total harmon ic distor tion
leads. To prevent this, designers have invented a variety {in percen tagc) given clearly.
of protector circui ts and combinations thereof which This information appears in the fo llow ing form (w ith
shut down the output stage at the first sign of trouble. slight variations as rcq u ired): "continuous power output
These can be sim ple heat fuses o r, more elaborately, of 60 watts* per channel {for example), min . RMS at8
circu its which detect a drop in output load impedance ohms, all channels driven, 20 to 20,000 Hertz with no
(in other words, a short circuit). A few top quali ty more than 0.1 % total harmonic distortion ."
amp li fiers have protector circuits which detect the The asterisk in the listi ng is a reference to the footnote,
presence of DC current at the output stage. As DC also carried in all Pi oneer printed matter listing specifica-
current cou ld also lead to loudspeaker damage, these tions, which reads "*Measured pursuant to Federal
advanced protectors safeguard not on ly the amp Iifier Trade Commission's Trade Regulation rule on Power
itse lf but also the connected speaker systems. Ou tput Claims of Amplifiers."
b) Music Power (Dynamic Power)
SPEAKER TERMINALS
Often encountered in advertisements. Of dubious va lue
Although one pair of speaker systems is usuall y
because measured under conditions o the r than norma l
quite sufficient fo r a home stereo installations, som.e
usc. Usually given as the sum of both stereo channels,
----.,-----,.------, amplifiers includ ing most Pioneer models have provi-
unfor tunately often without distortion figures. judge
sions for connecting two or even three pairs of spea ker
an amplifier's power ch ie fl y by its continuous power
systems which can then be driven separately or in pairs.
rating (above)! The music power ra ting does, however,
One obvious use is to place a second pair of speaker
provide some in formation abou t the power available
systems in another room. This feature also permits STEREO DISPLAY
temporarily from the amplifier when reproduci ng volume Model SD-11 00
direct comparisons of different speaker systems by
peaks in the music. Good ampl ifiers have music power F or measu ring and sco p ing var ious
connecting two or three pairs to the amplifier and
ratings not very much removed from their con tinuous k inds of characterist ics of you r
!J!l!~~~!:..:l±.:...d switching back and forth.
power figures . equ ipment.

49
 c) Frequency Respo nse
The lo west and highes t audio frequencies th at th e
amplifier will reprodu ce from input signals supplied to
its AUX input and at 1 watt output power. To be
mea ningful , the frequ ency response rating must be
accompanied by a ± dB figure which indicates by how
mu ch th e response varies from the standard level (OdB
at 1kHz) over th e given freque ncy range. Smaller decibels
values are better - th e same amp may have a frequ ency
response of 20 - 18,000Hz ± 1d B or 18 - 25,000Hz
±3d B. Example of an outstanding amplifier rating:
Frequency . . . . . . . 15 - 40,000Hz ± 1dB
response (thro ugh AUX inputs)
d ) Power Bandw idth
. . - - - - - - - - - - - . , An important value th at puts output power and
Power output (W) frequen cy response in a relation. Power bandwidth
8 oh m
= 80.
0.1 ohm
Damp ing factor is a measu re of an am plifier's abi lity to
damp, i.e. control unwanted residual speaker movements
caused by forces other th an the aud io signal. Higher
values arc better, but anything over 20 is not reall y very
meaningfu l.
g) Input Level, Inpu t Impedance
Inpu t level : the minimu m level of the input signal
supplied to the power amplifier fro m which it will
deliver its full outpu t power. Shoul d be around 0.1 V-
1 V must be close to the pre-ampl ifier's ou tpu t level.
(Or~ly important if separate pre- and power amps are
used. )
Input impedance : The power amplifier's load impedance
as seen from the pre-amplifie r output. Shoul d be at

\J~1
2 rJNrJN signifies the audio frequ ency ra nge (in Hz) over which least 50 k-ohms when using a modern transis torized
the amplifier will deliver at least half of its rated outpu t pre-am pli fie r.
power withou t exceedin g its rated harmonic d istorti on.
For example, if th e continu ous output power of an
~~""""'.::o--:---..--_,........L.._ amp is listed as 20W per channel at 1% harmonic distor-
30,000 tion, then a po wer bandwidth rating of 20 - 30,000H z
.FI'fqUI I\CY (Hz) means th at th e amp will deliver 10 watts at 20Hz and
'"~~:r-J!dwldth at 30,000Hz without distortin g more th an 1%.
- - - - - - - - - - - - " e) Signal-to- Noise Ratio
The rati o between (wanted) signal and (unwanted) noise
delivered by the ampl ifi er at maxim um volume setting
and with its treb le and bass to ne controls set at flat
positi on. The higher the value, the less hum and noise
there is. Signal-to-no ise rati os should be listed individual-
ly fo r each input; for instan ce: PHONO (MAG) 65dB,
AUX 70dB. A 65dB ra tin g means that onl y 1/2000 of
the signal will be no ise, 75d B means 1/6000.
f) Damping Factor
Mathemati cally, the qu o tient of th e load impedance
(i.e. speaker vo ice coil impedance) and the amp li fi er 's
internal res istance. For example, if speaker im pedance is
8 ohms and th e amplifier's internal resistance is 0. 1
ohm, th e damping factor is

51

chapter&
StJeaker S}'slents and Headphones
Speal?er systems in a hi-fi system are somehow like
the last pages of a novel. The plot gradually thickens,
the parts of the puzzle fall into place, and from them
emerges the solution and the revelation of the writer's
intents. But, as in som e stories, speal?er systems are not
always a happy end, sometimes leaving questions un-
answered, wishes unfulfilled.
Speaker systems are as sim ple in theory as th ey are
complex in fact. Let's look at th eir structure and func-
tions first. And by the way, the use of the term "speaker
system" is more technicall y correct than the terms
"lou dspeaker" or "speaker," because as you will see a
speaker system is made up of several ind ivid ual parts -
speaker units, crossover networks, etc. - which toge th er
function as a system. One "speaker system" is needed
for each channel in a stereo install ation; thus a 2-channel
stereo set-up has a "pair" of " speaker sys tems" while a
4-channel set-up has two "pair" or a total of fo ur
speaker systems.
SPEAKER SYSTEMS
STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS
The signal from the power amplifier passes through
a coil (cal led the "voice coil "} wh ich is suspended
between the poles and around the center pole of a large,
powerful permanent magnet. The interaction between
this permanent magnetic field and the alternating
magnetic fi eld generated around the coil by the signal
makes th e coil vibrate in rhythm with the signal. A
cone-shaped membrane attached to the coil passes
these vibrations on to the surrou ndin g air, creating sound
waves. A cross section of such a speaker unit is shown
in Fig. 6-1.
The speaker cone, being a mechanicall y vibrating
mass, has a resonance point, that is a certain sound
52
frequency at which it " likes" to vibrate more than at
others an d in the vicinity of whi ch it wou ld therefore
over-emphasize the sou nd. One major task of designers,
therefore, is to el iminate this resonance or at least to
bring it under con trol or lower it beyond the lowest
au dible sound frequency. This is done by means of
speciall y se lected cone paper and cone designs.
DOUBLE CONE AND COAX IAL SPEA KERS
On the other hand, a speaker can reprod uce only a
limited sou nd ra nge - large-diameter speakers are best
at delivering the low sound spectrum, small ones are
most sui tab le fo r the high range. Th ough most portable
an d economy class aud io equipment has only one full-
range loudspeaker, various ways have been conceived to
divide th e sound spectrum into two or three ranges and
feed each portion to a cone of th e proper d imensions.
One method is illustrated in the photo, the doub le cone
speaker which does not really have two cones but a cone
made of two diffe rent kinds of paper for the low and Fig. 6- 1
Cut View of Cone
high ranges. The next logical step is the coaxial speaker Type Speaker
shown in Fig. 6- 2, which has a larger, outer pape r cone
for the low ran ge and a smaller horn speaker for th e
medium and high spectrum. (Designs with th ree coaxial-
ly arranged low, medi um and high range speakers are
called tri-ax ial.} In the coaxial speaker, th ere is some-
ti mes a crossover network wh ich di vides the signal into
the suitable portions, and level contro ls {attenuators} Doubl e cone speaker
for each range.
TWO-WAY, THREE-WAY,
FOUR-WAY SYSTEMS
By logical extension of this principle, we arrive
at speaker systems with two, th ree or even four separate
speakers mou nted in one enclosure. According to the
number of sections into which the aud io spectrum is
divided, such systems are called 2-way, 3-way or 4-way.
The numb er of speaker un its in such a box is not always
the same as the number of ways, because the high range
"tweeters" and mid-range speakers are sometimes
53
 doubled , so that we ge t 3-way 4-speaker or 3-way
5-spea ker systems.
In such sys tems, each speaker unit can be designed to
re produce, as ideally as possible, its apportioned sound
range. The low-range "woofer" is usually of large
diameter (7-1 /2, 10 o r 12 inch} and considerable weight
because of its big, heavy magnet. The mid-range spea ker,
about four inches or so in diameter, reprod uces the
sound range from approximately 500 to 2,000 or
3,000Hz. The top two or three octaves - up to about
20,000Hz in excellent hi-fi speakers - are the domain
of the tweeter, either a small paper cone speaker or,
increasingly, a dome-type with a dome-shaped membrane
or a horn type with a metal horn instead of a cone.
(Horns are more efficient in cou pling the sound vibra-
tions to the air, li ke the bell of a trumpet.) A re latively
new design is the multi-cellul ar ho rn used for mid-range
and tweeter applications which is partitioned into a
dozen or mo re cells. The purpose of this is to diffuse
the sound more evenly throughout the room.
Coaxial spea ker
Dl R ECTI O N ALIT Y
This may require some ex planati on. Speakers have
the sometimes desirable, sometimes unwanted character-
istic of radiating th ei r sou nd in a certain, clearly defined
angle which becomes narrower and narrower as the
sound frequ ency becomes higher, so that twee ters show
a ra ther strong directionali ty. As this would affect the
sou nd diffusion in the listen ing room and limit the
usable listeni ng positions, speaker designers have come
up with various methods of overcoming this deficiency.
One of th ese is the multi -cellu lar horn design, o thers
include the above-mentioned dome tweeter or a small
reflector called " diffuser" mou nted before the tweeter.
What complicates matters for the au di o amateur is
Plate \ Driver unit
that the speaker enclosure wi th five speakers does not
Voice coli always sound better than the one with four - a number
Fig. 6- 3 of other factors enter into the picture, including th e
Horn Type Speaker quality of each speaker unit and the way they are
54
ma tched, the size, shape and weight of th e speaker
enclosure, an d the listen ing room.
SPEAKER ENCLOSURES
Enclosures can be roughly divided into two types:
closed boxes and bass reflex types . A closed box is
hermeti cally sealed at the back so that sound emanating ~~~t-:;;
from the rear of the speakers is absorbed in the box ...__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __.
(which is usually lined or stuffed with sound absorbent
glass wool o r plastic foam}. Only the sound from the
face of the speakers is radiated into the room. Closed
boxes usually excel in sound clarity and subtleness, but
they requ ire rather volum inous dimensions to obtain
satisfactory bass response. A modern variety of the
closed box is the air suspension type, often used as
compact bookshel f speaker systems, in which the woofer ,.-----------=--...,
is mou nted in a soft baffl e suspension so that it can
perform longer piston movements for better bass
response.
The bass reflex type, on the othe r hand, boosts the
bass sou nd by channeling part of the rear sound back to
the front th rough a duct or port (see Fig. 6- 7.). In
Fig. 6- S
other wo rds, it behaves as if two woofers were instal led. Dome Type Speaker
The key to successful designs of this type lies in the a.;;..;..;.;.;..;....;..:.:.....;..:..._ _ _ ___.
phase inversion which the box must perform, because
otherwise the sou nd fro m the speaker and from the duct
wou ld be out of phase and might cancel each o ther ou t. ~----:===-~~~~1
Bass reflex boxes are being used widely because of their
smal ler volume in comparison to closed boxes, bu t their
drawback is that the bass range sometimes sou nds a
little boomy.
HOW TO CHOOSE SPEA KERS
The choice of speaker systems thus becomes rather
Sound absorbent
tricky because specifications can say very little about the material
characte r of the actual sound. The ideal speaker system, Fig. 6-6 Infinite Baffle
of course, wou ld reproduce th e entire sound range Enclosure
without arbi trarily add ing or su btractin g anyth ing, bu t
such a system has never and can never be designed -
all speakers have some individu al habi ts and id io-
55
 syncracies whi ch are called "coloration " or "trans-
parency" or other such abstract words. When purchasing
spea ker systems, the specifications should be used to
determine the general size, type and power range, but
the final choice must be made ei ther after comparative
listening tests. Res tated, the effect of a speaker system
o n human hearing is what has been called a "psycho-
acoustical phenomenon." Th at is, the actual, phys ical
Sound absorbent effect of a vibrating speaker on the air is translated to
material
the listener's brain through a combination of the actions
Fig. 6-7
Bass Reflex Enclosure of his ear drum, etc., and his psychological reaction to
L - - - - - - - -- - - -..1 th e physical perceptions he receives. This mea ns that
the "sound" of a given speaker system may be diffe rent-
ly interpreted by different people. And what it means to
the prospective buyer is that he should determine for
himself what he is hearing. Ideally, a speaker system
should be judged by the listener only when it is operat-
ing from his own amplifier in his ow n listening roo m.
When th is is inconvenient, th e bu yer should make every
effort to tes t the speaker system with equipment and in
an environment which most closely match those he
wi ll be using. Also, keep in mind that a reall y good
speaker system should be able to satisfactorily reproduce
Re : SPECIAL ENCLOSURE any kind of music; there is no such thing as a "rock-
(Back loaded horn enclosure)
music speaker system" or a "classical-music speaker
system."
CROSSOVER NETWORK, LEVEL CONTROLS
Auxiliary parts in a speaker system include th e cross-
over network and, sometimes, one or more level
controls. The crossover network is an electronic circuit
which splits up th e sound spectrum into the required
number of ways - low and mid/high range in a 2-way
system, low, mid and high in a 3-way. It consists of a
combination of coils and capacitors, often equipped with
ferrite coil cores which permit better dampin g and more
compact design . The bo rde r frequencies between one
range and another are called "crossover point." Unfor-
tunately, they are fi xed an d unflexible in such a cross-
over networ k, and they do no t always deliver equal
56
res ponse in each sound range. How th ese d ifficu lties can
be mastered wil l be explained in th e chapter about
mu lti-ampli fier stereo systems.
The level control is a simple attenuator which permits
the medium or high sound ranges to be suppressed or
boosted to an extent - a helpfu l way of matchin g the
speaker response to the charac ter istics of the listening
room.
Crossover network Level control
,.:\.... . I ,
+ I : : :
Power 1
amplifier
I]::J Tweeter
Fig. 6- 8
Wiring In a
Crossover Network
and Level Control
How In llead loudSJJenl•ers ti(Jecillcalitms
a} Input Im pedance
The load impedance of the speaker system as seen from
the am plifier ou tput. 4, 8 and 16 ohms arc the inter-
nationally standard ized values for speakers to be driven
by trans istor amp lifie rs. Not cr itical.
b) Maxim um Power Hand ling Ability
Also called "maximum in put power." The power (in
wa tts} that the speaker system can hand le continuously
without fear of damage. Some times, a higher limit value
is also given which describes the maximu m input power
of short transien ts and peaks. Power handling abi lity
docs not need to equal or exceed the amp! ifie r's ou tpu t
power un less the amplifier is to be operated at top
volume - wh ich al most never happens in home applica-
tions.
c) Frcqucncy Response
The width of the sound spectrum (i n Hz} that the
speaker wi ll reproduce. Tak ing l ,OOOHz as the reference
57

Model SE-70 0
(High -Poly mer Headphones)
Mo del SE-L40 1
(Light-weight
H eadphones)
(Sealed H eadphones)
Mo d el SE-0404
(4-channel headphones)
58
level, the lower and upper lim its arc the points at wh ich
the loudspeaker wi ll still deliver 1/3 of the sou nd
pressure level (= - 1Od B). Look for wider frequency
response ra ti ngs. 60 · 15,000Hz is quite suffi cient.
HEADPHONES
A good pair of stereo headphones is a very worth·
while, small investment for the seri ous listener. Head-
phones serve two main purposes: they permit late-night
listeni ng in com plete privacy and at fu ll volume levels;
and they are indispensable for monitorin g tape record-
ings. Practically all modern stereo amplifiers, tape decks
and even some tuners are equipped with standardized
headphone jack. In some instances, the headph one
volu me can be adjusted with a special control, inde·
pendently from the master vo lume setting. Al so, most
amp li fiers are so designed that the loudspeakers are
au to mati call y cut off when the headphones are plugged
in, or, have switches for tu rning off connected speaker
systems while leaving th e headph one circuit "live. "
It must be no ted that listen ing through headphones
creates a fundame ntall y diffe rent sensation from listen-
ing via speaker systems. As the sound enters directly
into the ear, it acqui res mu ch stronge r "presence."
A monophonic program heard through headph ones wi ll
appear as if the sound sou rce were located ri ght in the
cente r of the sku ll. Stereopho nic programs seem to be
spread out in " interio r space" - an ex peri ence that can
be startl ing at first.
Good headphones should be light and comfortable
to wear wi thout causing perspiration around the ears.
They should also have a wide frequ ency response - the
bass range is very critical - and should sound trans-
parent, not stuffy. Pioneer offers a wide selecti on of
stereo headph ones including some models with built-in
vo lume and tone con trols.
Chapter7
Multi-Amplifier Systems
In the chapter dealing with speaker systems we
came across the terms 2-way, 3-way or 4-way, meaning
that the audible sound range is divided into two, three
or four portions. This division is usually made by a
dividing network in the speaker systems, i.e. between
the power amplifier and the speal?er units, but it is of
course possible - and advantageous, as we will see -
to do this at an earlier stage. The reasons are easy to
understand.
REASONS FOR MULTI-AMPLIFIER
SYSTEMS
Assume that two pure sou nd signals of 1OOHz and
1,OOOHz pass through a power am plifier. At the amp
outpu t, we will obtain not on ly the original two signals,
but also a number of other freq uencies: 1,1OOHz, 900Hz,
etc. These undesirable admixtures - sums and dif-
ferences of the original frequ encies - are caused by a
bad habi t of all amp lifiers called "in termodu lation dis-
tor tion." Th is can of course be reduced by good
amplifier design, but it can never be totally el iminated
and can be rather irritating to the listener.
The atten tive reader wi ll also remember that a few
minor problems remained unsolved in regard to the
passive dividing networks in speaker systems - dividi ng
is not always even and accurate, DC resis tance can
degrade dam ping, and such passive systems are fixed,
not flexib le. Wouldn't it be nice to get rid of these
unw ieldy networks al together?
Also, wou ldn't it be lovely to be able to control
the intensity of each sound range - bass, med iu m and
high - individually and to obtain tailor-made sound for
every record, tape or listenin g roo m?
59
 ELECTRONIC CROSSOVER NETWORK
These are the main ideas behi nd mu lti-amp lifier
systems. The signal obtained from the pre-amplifier
outpu t is div ided into two, three or even four ranges
in a so-called "electroni c crossover network" {sometimes
called "channel divide r" or " di viding preampli fier"). Tuner Integrated amplifier
tv1odel SF- 850 (Electronic
From there, each partial ra nge enters its own special
Crossover Network)
power amplifier, is raised to the requ ired power level, ==--o: • 0 0 -------1
· : oo·oo- oo: - -- - -- 00 •000 Speakers
0 ••••• 0
and then enters directly in to one or more speaker units
of the proper type.
As each amplifier handl es only a small portio n of
the frequency spectrum, th at irksome inter modulation
distortion can be easil y tamed. No passive dividing Fig. 7- 1 Conventional System
network is needed in th e speaker system. And, best of
all, crossover frequencies can be switched at will and
each sound range can be controlled with accu racy.

FEATURES AND DRAWBACKS

If this sounds too good to be true, let us reveal the
one great d rawback: money. Two, three, or even four
power am plifiers are needed, and the electronic crossover
network isn't exactly cheap, ei ther. Therefore, mu lti-
ampl ifier systems seem to be doomed to rema in the
privilege of well-heeled enthusiasts or those with
extremely understanding wives. To the selected few,
however, a multi-ampli fier install ation can reall y bring Fig. 7- 2 2-Way Multi-Amplifier System
a degree of delicacy and realism in sound th at deserves
the name "highest fidelity."
{Fortunately, most Pioneer integrated amp lifiers and
receivers permit thei r pre and power stages to be used
separa tely so th at a multi-ampli fier system can be built
by adding only one or two more power amps and the
electronic crossover network. The speaker systems must
of course be equipped with separate input terminals for
low, medium and hi gh range.)

Fig. 7- 3 3-Way Multi-Amplifier System

60 61
 HINTS CONCERNING MULTI-AMPLIFIER
SYSTEMS
Wiring and adjustments in such a system become
rather comp licated so that a few hints may be usefu l.
Choice of add itional power ampl ifiers: it is of course
ideal to use the same types for each range, but if
differe nt ampl ifiers are combined, the o ne with the
highest power rating should be used fo r the bass
spectrum. This is because, statisticall y, most energy in
music is found in the low freque ncy range.
Power handling ab ility of speaker systems: if no
separate power ratings are given by the speaker manu-
facturer for the tweeter(s), mid-range speaker and
woofer, note that the rating for each segment in a 3-way
system becomes approxi mately 1/9 (not 1/3) of the
total. Never, never turn up the volume control fully
or you may overload the speaker units and burn out
delicate, expensive-to-replace voice coils.
Protection of tweeters against bass pulses: strong,
sudden bass pul ses may occur when the power amplifiers
are turned on and off, and these could damage the
tweeters. As a protecti on, a capacitor of approximately
6 - 12pF should be inserted (in series) between high
range amplifier and tweeter.
Setting of crossover frequency controls: start with
the settings recommended by the speaker manufacturer
or, lack ing these, start with 200Hz for low/medium and
2,000Hz for medium/hi gh. Then play your favorite tape
or record and slowly ad just the controls in either
direction until the sound becomes most satisfying.
(Leave tone con trols flat.)
Finally, let us reveal one of the great joys of owning
a multi-amplifier system: the advanced amateur or
semi-professional can do away with ready-made speaker
systems and can instead buy individual loudspeaker
units and have these installed in custom-made enclosures.
This provides a new dimension of freedom in sound-
engi neering one's home.
62
chapterS
Four-Channel Sound
The development of 4-channel comes close to solving
the biggest problem inherent in conventional 2-channel
stereo, that is the fact that all sounds- both direct and
indirect, and of different phases - are heard from the
two speaker systems placed in front of the listener.
To improve this, 4-channel employs four speakers,
usually two in front and two in the rear of the listener
as illustrated.
The two major advantages of 4-channel are: (7) The
listener can enjoy in his own home a musical environ-
ment often comparable to a concert hall, since the two
rear speaker systems reproduce the natural sounds of
the concert hGII - mainly the indirect sounds. And (2},
a new world of sound, one heretofore inconceivable,
is created. What one hears is music that has been com-
posed, arranged and recorded with the effects of
4-channel in mind, i.e., two orchestras in position,
one in front, another in the rear to enable switching
back and forth between the two; surrounding the listener
with music; or enjoying the movement of sound.
FOUR-CHANNEL SYSTEMS
There are today a number of different forms and
types of 4-channel program sources. Bu t general ly
speaking, they can be cl assified into the fol lowing three
categories. (Discrete, Regul ar matrix, SQ)
(I) DISCRETE SYSTEM
Th is system is the most auth en tic in terms of sound
quality, and also the most ex pensive, since it not on ly
req ui res 4-channel equipment, but also 4-channel tape
recordings. When the sou nds are reproduced, four
independent playback amplifiers are used, so that
optimum 4-channel effects are achieved. This system is
often referred to as the 4-4-4 system. Conceivable
63
 program sou rces for discrete 4-channel include open
reel, 8-track cartrid ge, or cassette tapes, o r disc record-
ings and FM broadcasts. Today open reel, 8-track
cartridge tapes and discs are al ready on the market.
1 Discrete Four-Channel Tape
The illustrati on below shows the functions in discrete
4-channel o pen reel tapes and 8-track cartrid ge tapes.
They provide the best tonal quality reproductio n, as
well as the most distinct separation of sou nds, since
independent signals can be recorded on each track, so
that the pl ayback effects provide th e same ri ch and
abundant sounds of the concert hall fo r classical or
popular music. Additionally with this system, other
unusual effects are possible, such as switching back and
forth between sou nds of two orchestras o r the move-
ment of a sound field at very high speeds.
Fig. 8- 2 Four-Channel Tape System
Conventional 2-channel Stereo 4-channal Stereo
) if ~ ~ )~l~
~~gg
OPEN-REEL 4 TRACK TAPE
CARTRIDE 8 TRACK TAPE (1 3 5 71
l'lllllll~ g::: lj
2 4 6 81
13.11 I
(4, 8) ~
]'
track 2·channel Stereo 8 track 4-channel Stereo
Fig. 8- 3 Open-Reel and Cartridge Four-Channel Tape
2 Discrete Four-Channel Disc (CD-4 Disc)
The CD-4 disc record is a unique 4-channel discrete
record that has compatibility with mono or stereo
records. In th e CD-4 disc, four independent signals are
recorded by usi ng special modulation techniques. This
disc mai ntains the conventional 45°/45° record groove,
but on the inner groove wall th e left channel sum signals
(channel 1 + channel 2) are engraved, while on the outer
wall the right channel sum signals (channel 3 + channel
4) are engraved. Additionally, important sign al com-
ponents for the rear channels are transmi tted by the
inaudible subcarrier, the center of which ex ists at
30KH z. These signal com ponents consist of th e dif-
ferential signals (channel 1 - channel 2) of the left
channel s, as well as th e differential signals (channel 3 -
channel 4) of the right channels. These signals are
frequency modulated and are then added to the walls of
the record groove in additi on to th e above-mentioned
sum signals. When we matrix these signals and the
differential signals, four independent signals are ob-
tained. Since this disc is the modul ation type, a CD-4
demodulator unit is required for exclusive pl ay bac k in
add ition to a high-quality stereo turntable and phono
cartridge.
: : :
~ {{ch.l+ch.2)t {ch.l -ch.2)}•ch. l
~{{ch . ltch. 2)-{ch. l -ch .2)} •ch.2
~{{ch .3+ch.4)t{ch.3-ch.4)} •ch. 3
~ ({ch.3+ch.4)- (ch.3- ch.4)} • ch.4
Fi . 8-4 The Principle of Discrete Four-Channel Disc

Fig. 8-S Four·Channel Disc (CD·4 DISC) System
(Ill ) SQ MATRIX SYSTEM
The one matrix 4-channel system that has no com-
patibi li ty with any of the others is called the SQ system.
Its encoding/decod ing process is dramatically differen t,
and thus a special SQ decoder is requ ired in order to
reproduce its program sources. Therefore, regu lar matrix
and SQ decoding circu its are req uired for true matrix
4-channel versatil ity.

3 Discrete Four-Channel FM Broadcasts

The FM discrete system uses multiplex modulation
techniques as well as conventio nal stereo FM broadcasts
techniques, and also employs the wide carri er bandwidth.
At present, various ki nds of systems have already been
annou nced, including the "Dorren" system. The futu re
of FM discrete broadcasts is bright, but government
regu lati ons regarding this system are still pend ing in the
United States and other cou ntries.

(II) REGULAR MATRIX SYSTEM

Four signals recorded in the form of 4-channel are fed
through a special 'encoder' and converted into two-
channel sign als. In the play bac k process, they are fed Model OX-949 Model QX-747 Model OX-646
(4-channel receiver) (4-channel receiver) (4-channel receiver)
through a "decoder" to recreate the original 4-channel
sound field .
This system is called "matrix", o r "4-2-4" system, and,
when used, does no t require a special tape deck or
turntable as is the case of discrete. All th e matri x
systems available today (except the SQ matrix) can be
classified into this "regu lar matrix" group. All basicall y
Model OA-800A Model QC-800A Model QM-800A
are compatible with each other.
(4-channel integrated (4-channel preamplifier) (4-channel power amplifier)
amplifier)

Model OL-600A
(4-channel rear ampli f ier)

6
 Chapterg
Of Dollars and Decibels
A few words of pecuniary advice to the hi-fi novice
may be warranted here because an audio system re-
presents a major investment and should be purchased
with wisdom and care. As a convoy of ships can onl y
travel as fast as its slowest vessel, so a hi-fi system will
only be as good as its weakest link - th e catchword is
"bal ance." It makes little sense to pair off a superb
am plifier with a meek speaker system, or equip a top
turntable with a so-so pickup.
To help avoid such pitfalls, we have drawn up the
following illustrations which give approximate per-
centages of the total available budget to be spent o n each
com ponent of a hi-fi system. Absolute amounts cou ld
not be quoted because prices differ greatly from country
to country, manufacturer to manufacturer, but these
percentages should prove about ri ght in prac ti call y all
cases.
68
chapter tO
Dos and Don'ts
Do read the operating instructions supp lied with each unit. Keep referring to the
instruction manual when setting up you r hi-fi system, and keep the manual handy
for future reference.
Do read and compare the speci fications. These contai n valuable figures for matching
your components correctly. Most items are ex plained in this guidebook.
Do fill out and mail the warranty cards, if required, to obtain full warranty
protection.
Do ex periment with different speaker positions. No cover-all ru les can be given,
but often a minor change in the speaker position can bring about a major
improvemen t in sound.
Do treat your phonograph records with utmost care. Always put the m back in their
jackets immediately after playing. Store th em either in upright position or
horizontall y in stacks of not more than 10.
Do store tapes in their boxes and away from mo tors, TV sets or other electrical
appliances.
Do fo llow the manufacturer's instructions in regard to pro per maintenance of all
units - cleaning, lu brication, fuses, etc.
Don't install any hi-fi component in a dusty, hot, moist or wobbly place. Do avoid
direct sunlight.
Don't accidentall y drop the stylus on the turntable or record when making
adjustments of the trac king force etc. Cartridges are eas il y damaged.
Don't obstruct th e movement of a turntable or tape reel by hand.
Don't ground the system at two or more poin ts. Grou nd connection should be
made onl y from the ampli fier.
Don 't run th e system at fu ll bl as t for extended periods. This may dam age the
speakers and the nerves of your neighbors. Hi-fi is not synonymous with loud ness.
Don 't call a serviceman immediately when you think your system isn' t functioning
properly. Refer back to the in structions. Very often there is no defect at all, o nl y
an operating error.
Don 't open or otherwise tam per with a hi-fi unit. This can be dangerou s and can
invalidate your warranty. Contact qualified service personnel for repairs.
69
 J\ Glossary of J\udio Ternts Ante nna: Assembly of metal bars, wires or loops for picking up radio waves.
Dimensions depend largely on the wavelengths to be received.

Antenna Directi onality: The characteristic of certai n antenna configurations,

includ ing most FM and TV antennas, to receive radiowaves reaching it within
AC: Alternating current. An electric current with periodicall y changing polarity. certai n defined angl es more strongly th an those com ing fro m other directions.
In popular parl ance, often used as synonym for electrical house (or mains) current.
Antenna Gain : An indirect measure for an. antenna's output level, i.e. the
Acoustic Feedback: Unwanted acoustic interaction between output and input strength of the signal supplied by the antenna when compared to a standard
of an au di o sys tem, usua ll y between speaker system and microphone or turntable antenna and at a certain frequency. Expressed in decibels (dB).
cartridge. Can lead to "howl."
Anti-Skating Device: Mechani sm exerting a small outward force on a tonearm
Acoustics: The science of sound . Also, the acoustical character of halls and to compensate the inward th ru st caused by groove/stylus friction and tonearm
rooms. geometry.

Active Filter: See filter. Antistati c Fluid : A fl uid (or spray) used to prevent phonograph records from
becoming electricall y charged, as an electrical charge wo uld attract dust.
Aerial: Sy nonym for antenna in British English.
Audibility Threshold : The minimum sound intensity that the average human
AF (Audio Frequency) : Frequency within the range of human hearin g - ear can hear. Approximately 0.0002 microbar at a frequency of l ,OOOHz.
app rox imately 20 - 20,000Hz.
Automatic Level Control: A circuit which au tomati call y keeps the level of a
AFC (Automatic Frequency Control): An AFC circu it of an FM tuner corrects signal within a certain range. Examples: automatic gain control in AM radios, ALC
for an inaccuracy in tuning by locking in the station being tuned . in portable tape recorders.

AM (Ampli tude Modulation) : Modulation accom plished by varyi ng the ampli- Automatic Record Changer: Record player which can change from disc to disc
tude (in tensity) of the carrier. automatically.

Amplifi cati on: Increase in signal magnitude. Aux (Auxiliary) Input: Inpu t on amp lifier, etc. Accepts ex tra signal source such
as cassette tape player, etc.
Amplifier: Unit providing amplification of signal, from low to higher voltage or
current (pre-amplifier) or power (power or main amplifier). Baffle: The board on whi ch one or several speaker units are mounted. Separates
the radiations from the front and back of the speaker.
AM Suppression : Characteristi c of an FM tuner to suppress changes of amp li tude
in received signals, thereby improving the signal-to-noise ratio by re jecting noise Balance Control: Potentiometer used to adjust volume difference of left and
and interference. right stereo channels.

Anechoic Chamber (Room) : A speciall y designed room, used fo r testing micro· Bandpass Filter: A circuit which will pass signals above (high bandpass) or
phones and speakers, rendered acousticall y "dead" by sound absorbing material. below (low bandpass) a certain frequency wh il e attenuating others.

70 71
 Bass: Low audio frequency range, below approxima tely 200Hz. Channel Separation: Degree to which left and right channel signals are separated
in a stereo pickup, FM stereo tuner, amplifier, etc.
Bass Reflex: Speaker system enclosure with an outlet permitting sound from
the rear of the speaker cone to be radiated to the front. Characteristi c: Refers to a characteristi c curve which conveys in formation
abou t an amplifier or other item.
Beat: A pul sation caused by interaction of two waves of different freq uencies.
Chrome Tape: A newly developed tape using the chromium dioxide particles,
Bias: In tape recordi ng, a high frequ ency signal ap plied to the tape to o ptimize and offers excellent freque ncy response and wide dy namic range.
its frequency response. Also, the side-thrust on a tonearm.
Coaxial Cable : A cable consisti ng of an in ner conductor and an outer screen.
Bias Compensator: See anti-skating device. Used as antenna leads and for interconnecting aud io un its.

Bi-Radial Stylus: See ell iptical stylus. Coax ial Speaker: A loudspeaker consisting of a bass cone with a concentrically
mounted tweeter.
Block Diagram : A schematic diagram illustrating the mai n circuit blocks and
signal flow in an electroni c device. Compatible: (a) FM MPX signal receivable as mono by a rad io or tuner;
(b) Stereo disc playab le with a mono pickup.
Capacitor: A device which can store an electric charge. Perm eable to AC, (c) Stereo pickup suitable for play ing mono records, too.
impermeable to DC.
Compli ance: The flexibili ty of phono cartridge. Th e un it of compliance is
Capstan: Drive spindle in a tape deck. The tape is pressed against the capstan 10 - 6 em/dyne.
by a pi nch roller.
Component System: An audio system consisting of separate units: turnta ble,
Capture Ratio: An FM tuner's abi li ty to reject unwanted FM stations and inter- tuner, am pl ifier, speakers, etc.
fere nce occurring on the same frequency as the desired station .
Condenser Microphone: A microphone utili zing the changes in capacitance
Cardioid Microphone: A microphone with a directional charac teristic that caused in a condenser if one of its plates - the microphone membrane - vibrates
resembles the shape of a kidney. in rh ythm with sound waves. Same principle can be applied to a condenser type
phono cartridge.
Carrier: Main radio signal from a transmitter. Can be modul ated in di ffere nt
ways (AM, FM) to convey sound or picture info rm ation . Control Amplifier: A preamp lifier and amplifier combi ned in one unit.

Cartridge: (a) phono picku p; (b) endless loop tape in a packaged, standardized Cost-Performance Ratio: A way of evaluating a unit's over-all performance by
container. grad ing its characteristics with poin ts, and divid ing the sum of accrued points by the
cost. Naturally high ly individual isti c.
Cassette: Preloaded container with tape and spools for use on cassette tape
recorder. Counter Weight: Weight fitted at rear end of tonearm behind the pivot to
counter the weight of the arm/head assembly and to permit adjustment of the
Center Channel: An output terminal fo und on some stereo amp lifiers which tracki ng force.
supp lies a monophonic mixed L+R signal.

72 73
 Crossover Frequency: In loudspeaker systems and mu lti-amplifier audio instal- Demodu lator: In an FM stereo tuner, the ci rcu it that ex trac ts the left and right
lations, the borderline frequencies between low/med ium range and med ium/high channel signals from a broadcast signal original ly modulated by the FM multiplex
range spea kers o r amp lifiers. system. In a discrete 4-channel system, a demodulator is that unit which derives
four signals from a CD-4 record.
Crosstalk: Leak of right channel signal into left channel, and vi ce versa.
Expressed as level of unwanted signal in relation to wanted signal channel, Derived Center Channel: See center channel.
measured in decibels (dB).
Differential Amplifier: A type of ampl ifie r consisting of two transistors in wh ich
Cutting: The process of engraving undu lati ng grooves in a rotating, wax-coated the di ffere nti al signal of th e transistors' input signals is amplified. Because of th eir
or lacqu er disc. An important step in the manufacture of phonograph records. excellent thermal characteristics, differential amplifiers are used in the first-stage
of OCL power amplifiers, FM limiter stage, etc.
Cutt ing Angle: See vertical angle.
DIN (Deutsche lndustrie Normen): German Industr ial Standards. In aud io, the
Cutting Sty lus: Stylus used fo r cutting of phonograph records. Germ an standard of plugs, sockets, etc. DIN is used as a standard in many
European cou ntries.
Cut-Off Frequency : The point at which frequ ency response is effectively
limited, often determ ined as the point at wh ich level is reduced by 3d B. Dispersion: Distribution of sound from a speaker through a room.

Damping : Redu ction of resonant effects by use of resistance or its mechan ical Distortion: Output signals not present in the origin al input. See harmon ic
and acoustic equivalents. distor tion, interm odulation distortion.

Damping Factor : Ratio of speaker or speaker system impedance to amplifier's Dolby System: A unique noise reduction system, which electronically eliminates
intern al impedance. Denotes amplifier's ab ility to damp unwanted, residual speaker the irritating noise (tape hiss, circui t noise, etc.) with out sacrifici ng th e original
movement. tonal quality.

dB (Decibel): A logarithmic unit used to ex press the ratio between two power, Drift: Tendency of a tuner to move away from optimum adjustment as its
voltage or current levels. components warm up.
power 1 Compensated by AFC.
Mathematically: 20 log 10 ::~::~ or lO iog 1o
power2
Drop-Out: In tape recording and playback, the "holes" in the sound caused by
Decoder: In 4-channel , a circuit or circuit complex which translates matrix- thin or bare spots on the tape.
encoded signals arri ving in the form of two se parate signals into four signals to be
amplified and passed on to the speaker systems. Dual Cone: Speaker consisting of separate bass and treble cones mounted
concentrically and driven by the same coil. See also Coaxial. Mechanical 2-way
DE -E mphasis: Attenuation of high sound frequencies in an FM tuner, to speaker.
counteract the boosting of these frequ encies ("pre-emphas is") done at the FM
station. Dynamic Mass : The effective mass of the movi ng parts of a pickup cartridge.
This is not simply the sum of the masses of each component, but rather the
Demodu lation : The process of "extracting" from a modul ated high or inter- equi valent mass that determines the mechan ics of its behavior.
medi ate frequency wave the original audio signal which it was mod ulated with.

74 75
 Dynamic Range : In program material, the range of signal amplitudes from
highest to lowest; the range (in dB) which a device will handle.
Efficiency: Ratio of output to input power in a transdu cer. In speaker systems,
the percen tage of electrical input available as acoustic output.
Electrostatic Speake r: A loudspeaker utili zing the princi ple of a membrane
vibrating in a strong electric field.
Elliptical Stylus: A pickup stylus shaped so that its width across the groove is
greater than the width of its sides. Claimed to have better high frequency charac ter-
istics than round styli.
Enclosure: The cabinet which houses one or more speaker units. Has great
influence on bass response of speaker.
Equalization : Correction fo r frequ ency non-linearity of recordings. Phonograph
records are cut with low frequ encies attenu ated and high frequen cies boosted.
Equalization compensates for this, producing a fl at frequency characteristi c.
Equalizer Amp li fier: In a pre-amplifier, the circuit which amplifies and
"flattens" th e phono input signal. Needed because phonograph records are not cut
with fl at frequ ency response but accord ing to a standard "equ ali za tion" curve.
Feedback: Signal from output of amplifier or electronic network app lied to
input in anti-phase (hence negative feedback) to redu ce distorti on and noise, and to
flatten or o therwise shape frequ ency response. Also, unwanted acousti c feedback.
Ferrite Core Ante nna: An antenna, used chiefly for AM reception, consisting
of wire windings around a core of ferrite . Advantages are: compact size, good
sensitivity and high directi onality.
FET (F ield Effect Transistor) : Special kind of transistor consisting of metal
ox ides. Amplifies voltage, not current. Used in audio equipment because of its
good linearity and stable impedance.
Field Strength : The intensity of an electrical o r magneti c field .
Field Strength Meter: See signal strength meter.
76
Filter: A circuit which attenuate signal s above, below, or at a particular
frequency.
Flutter: Quick waver of pitch caused by speed flu ctuations in the movement
of tape or discs. Heard as a so rt of quiver.
Flywheel: A disc of large mass which, when rotating, has the tendency to
maintai n its rotational velocity. This effect is utilized in tape equipm ent and
turntables to maintain constant speed.
FM (Frequency Modulation) : Type of mod ul ation of radio waves in which the
frequency, no t the amp litude of the carrier is modulated by the aud io signal.
FM broadcasting achieves higher sound qu ali ty.
Four-Channel: A new ly developed au di o technique using four (instead of two)
channels for sound reproduction.
Frequency Response: The frequency range which a unit will reproduce or
respond to.
Front End: Section of a tuner that selec ts the wanted stati on from th e radio
band and converts the RF (Radio Frequency) sign al to IF (Intermediate Fre-
qu ency).
Function Selector: In an amplifier or receiver, the switch or knob which selects
the different program sou rces such as ph ono, FM, AM, AUX, etc.
Gain: Degree of signal amplification achieved in an amplifier circuit. Expressed
in decibels (dB). Opposite: negative gain or loss.
Gap: Vertical slit in a tape-head. In the gap, a magnetic field occurs during
recording, and a magnetic signal is induced during replay.
Ghost: In TV, the appearance of a secondary picture slightly to th e ri ght of the
main picture. Sim ilarly, ghost can be used to mean multipath FM reception. Also
the "images" of the true station frequency that an FM tuner purports to receive. '
Harmonic Distortion : The sum of all signals in an output which are multiples
of the inpu t signal frequencies ("h armonics"). The ir intensities are expressed as a
percentage of the total output intensity.
77
 Head: a) the erase, recording and play back heads in tape equipment; (b) the
shell-cartridge assembl y of o r attached to a to nearm.
Headphon es: Small transducers, usuall y moun ted in pairs on a bracket to fi t over
the head and des igned to make intim ate contact with th e ears.
Head Shell : The part of a tonearm which carries the cartr idge. Head shells in
top-class equipment are usuall y detachab le.
Heat Si nk : A device used to remove heat from electro nic components such as
tubes, transistors, etc.
Hertz (H z): Uni t of frequency, equal to one cycle per second.
Horn: Speaker unit using a trumpet-bell shaped, fl aring funn el to couple its
sound vibrati ons to the sur roun ding air.
Hum: Unwanted low frequ ency tone. Usuall y caused by 50Hz or 6 0HzAC
and its harmoni cs.
Hysteresis Motor: A mo tor used in hi gh quality turntables. Characte rized by
very constant speed regardl ess of power voltage flu ctuations.
IC (Integrated Circuit) : Solid circuit bl ock containing th e fun cti ons of numerous
transisto rs, di odes, resisto rs, capacito rs, etc.
IF (Intermedi ate Frequency): The frequ ency which resul ts in a tuner when th e
incoming signal from th e antenna is mi xed with th e oscillator freq uency.
1F Transformer: Component in tu ner or radi o receiver used to couple or feed
IF signal between successive amplify ing transisto rs o r tubes. Windi ngs us uall y
tuned with capacito rs to resonate at th e fi xed IF fre qu ency.
IH F (Institute of High Fidelity): Insti tute founded by American manufacturers
of audi o equipment, devoted to the imp rove ment of audi o techno logy, standard iza-
ti on of tes t and measurin g meth ods, etc. " IH F" in au di o specificati ons means that
values we re obtained in measurements accordi ng to IHF stand ards.
Image Rejection: The ability of a tun er to reject an RF signal which appea rs to
be received, bu t which is actu ally a sum or difference frequency of the tuner's
78
oscill ato r and intermediate frequ encies.
IM Distortion: {see Distorti o n) Signals in outpu t caused by interaction of two or
more input signals, but not harmoni call y related to th em. Expressed as a percentage
of total signal intensity. IM distorti on is known to cause li stener fatigue.
Impedance: Resistance to th e fl ow of altern ating current. Measu red in ohms.
It may va ry with the frequency of the applied alternatin g current.
Induced Magnet Cartridge: A pi ckup cartridge in which both magnet and coils
are fi xed. The moving part is a tiny iron sheet.
Infinite Baffle: Type of spea ker mountin g wi thout an air path between front
and rear of spea ker cone.
Integrated Amp li fier: Unit combini ng a pream plifier an d power amplifier.
Also called pre-main amplifier.
In terference: Un wanted in flu ences upon desired signal by ex traneous signals,
for example from electri cal appliances, moto rs, auto mobiles as well as from un-
desirable signals generated within the aud io equipment.
LED: Light Emitting Di ode.
Limiter: Circuits in an FM tuner that reject unwanted amplitude vari ations
caused by atmospheric or ignition noise, producing an FM signal of constant
amplitude.
Linearity: {a) Amplitud e linearity, di sto rtion of which produces harmoni c
distorti on and intermodul ati on;
(b) Frequency linearity referr ing to the straightness of a frequency
response curve.
Line Output: Output terminal of a preamplifier, tape deck, etc., providing a
signal for monito rin g, tape recording or suppl ying to a power amplifier.
Loudness Control (Contour): A circuit which counteracts the reduced sensitivity
of the ear to very low and high notes at low volume levels.
Low Filter: A filter circuit designed to remove low frequency noises (rumble,
79
 hum, etc.) from the program. Network: In au dio, a frequency divid ing network in a speaker system, or an
electroni c crossover network in a multi-amplifier installation.
Magnetic Cartridge: A phono cartridge which derives its electri cal output signal
from change effected in a magnetic circuit by means of some mechani cal device Noise: Unwanted signal consisting of a mixture of random electrical agita tions.
such as a moving coil, moving magnet. Also, the sum of all unwanted signals such as hu m, hiss, rumble, interference,
distortio n, etc.
Main Amplifier (Power Amp lifier): Ampl ifier unit which produ ces the o utput
power required for driving speakers. Omni- Directiona l: Equ al sensitivity or output in all directions. Said of an tennas,
microphones and speaker systems.
Monaural : One-eared. Sometimes erroneously used to mean monophonic.
Osci lla tor: An electron ic circuit which generates an alte rnating current, e.g. the
Mon itoring: Listening to a program to judge or control the sou nd quality. oscillator in a tu ner produces the freq uency used to mi x wi th incoming rad io
signals.
Monophonic: Recording, transmission and reproduc tion of sound via a single
channel. Output Impedance: Impedan ce at output te rmin als of a device as "seen" by
the load .
MOS FET: An FET utilizing MOS (M etal Oxide Semiconductor) element.
Output Stage : Fi nal stage of a power amplifie r which supplies power to
Moving Coil (MC) Cartridge: Magnetic ph ono cartrid ge in which the coil s move a loudspeaker.
and th e magnet is fixed.
Output Transformer: Transformer in tube power amplifier to couple output
Moving Magnet (MM) Cartridge: Magnetic phono cartridge in which the magnet tubes to loudspeaker.
moves and th e coils are fixed.
Overto ne: A tone accompanying the fund amental in a mus ical note. May or
Mu ltip lex: Transmission of two or more channe ls on a signal carrier so that may not be harmonic.
can be independently recovered by the receiver. In FM stereo: transmission of L+R
(sum) signal and L- R (difference) signal on main carrier and subcarrier, respective- Phasing: Con nections between power am plifi er and speakers in a stereo system
ly. must be made in such a way that signals representing a central sound sou rce
cause the speakers to move equ i-d irecti onally, i.e. in phase.
Multipath Reception: Arrival of FM o r TV signal vi a several path s of different
length, due to obstructions, reflecting objects, etc. Phase Shift: As a signal passes through a tun er, amp Iifie r, etc., some frequencies
may lag beh ind others. In a tun er, th is phase shift can, in extreme cases, cause loss
Multipl ex Demodu lator: See demodulator. of channel separation of FM stereo broadcasts. Phase shift in an amp li fier resu lts in
blurring of stereo spati al localization and, in serious cases, can cause unstable
Music Power: The max imum power avail able te mporari ly fro m a power amplifier performance and d isto rtions.
ampli fie r. Also cal led "dynamic-power."
Polarity: Positive and nega ti ve te rminals of a battery or power sup pl y, or the
NAB: (Nati onal Association of Broadcasters). north and south poles of a magnet. Sometimes refers to phasing of cartridges and
Most widely used standard of tape recording techniques. loudspeakers.

80 81
 Power Amplifier: See main amplifier. RMS (Root Mean Squ are): Abbreviation for Root Mean Square; th e effective
amplitude of an AC voltage waveform (RMS); equ al to the DC current or voltage
Power Bandwid th: The frequency range over which a power amplifier will that in any given load wou ld produce th e same power dissipation.
produce at least half of its rated output power (accordin g to IH F standard) .
Ro ll -Off: The freq uency at which an equalizer, tone control or filter begins
Power Handling Abili ty: Max imum amount of power that can be safely fed to attenuate.
into a speaker system.
Rumbl e: Low frequen cy noise resultin g from vibrations in platter and motor
Preamplifier: A circuit unit wh ich takes a small signal, e.g. from a tuner or of a turntab le and from record warp.
turntable, and amplifies it sufficiently to be fed into the power amplifier for furth er
amplification. Selectivity : The ability of a tun er to receive only the desired station wh ile
rej ecting stations which are not requ ired. Measured in decibel s (dB).
Quietening: Term som etimes used instead of " muting" in FM tuners.
Sensiti vity: The input signal level required by a tun er, amplifier, etc., to be.able
Quieting: See lim iter. to prod uce a stated output. The lower th e necessary input, the higher the
sensitivity.
Rated Output Power: The maximum power that an amplifier will deliver
continu ously without exceeding its specified distortion rating. Also called con- Separation: See channel separation.
tinu ous power output or RMS power output.
Signal-to-Noise Ratio: Rati o of desired signal voltage to unwanted noise and
Ratio Detector: Circuit in an FM tuner for extracting audio signals from hum voltage. Expressed in decibels (dB).
modulated radio or intermedi ate frequency sign als.
Solid-State: Circuits using semi-conductors, e.g. transistors and integrated
Resistor: Circuit device which offers resistance to the flow of electric current. circuits (ICs).
Resisto rs may be made from wire, metall ic fi lm, carbon and other materials.
Speaker System: Enclosure containing two or more speakers and a crossover
Resonance: The tendency of a mechanical or electrical device to resonate at a network. Speake r box.
particul ar frequency.
Stereoph onic : Recording transmission and reproduction of sound via two or
Response: See freque ncy response. more independent channe ls.

Reverberation: Reflection of sound from walls or ceilings. Echo. Can be created Stylus: A fine ly machined piece of sapphire or diamond . The part of a phono
artificially by electronic or mechan ical devices to imitate the effect of large halls. pickup that traces the record groove.

RF (Radio Frequency) : The frequ ency of a radio carri er wave. AM (MW) covers Synchronous Motor: Type of AC electric motor in which rotor speed is related
535 - 1605k Hz, FM occupies 88- 1 08MHz. directly to freq uency of power supply.

RIAA (Record Ind ustry Assoc iation of Am erica): Usuall y refers to the disc Tape Deck: Tape equipment comprising complete tape transport system, with
recording and replay freq uency response curves established as standards by this motors, drive pu lleys, linkage etc., as well as pre-ampli fiers for recording and play-
association. back, but no power amplifier or speakers.

82 83
 THD (Total Harm onic Distortion}: See Distortion. the speaker cone back and forth in accordance with the frequency and intensity
of the signal.
Time-Constant: Product of capacitance and resistance in a circuit of resistors
and capacitors (R/C circuit); ex pressed in mi croseconds (J.Ls) to specify response Weighted : Appl ied to a noise-level figu re or wow and flutte r, etc., which takes
curve shapes such R/C circu its achieve. account of the human ear's sensitivity characteristics.

Tone Control : Control ci rcu its used to vary the proportion of bass and treble Woofer : A speaker designed to reprodu ce the low part of the sound spectrum,
in the sound. e.g. organ, bass, etc.

Trackabi lity: Ability of phono cartridge to track record grooves o f high Wow: Slow variation of pitch caused by speed fluctuation in tape or record
amplitude and velocity. Also, see compliance. movement.

Tracking Error: Deviation of center-line of phono cartridge from tange ntial of WRMS: Weighted Root Mean Square.
record at point of stylus contact. Caused by tonearm geometry.

Transdu cer: Device for converting energy from one form to another; e.g. a
speaker converts from electrical to acoustic, a tape head converts from magnetic
to electrical.

Trans ient : Abrupt change of state; sudden change in signal amp li tude as caused
by percussion instruments, "attack" of plucked strings, etc.

Trans ient Response: The abili ty of an amplifier, pho no cartridge or speaker to

follow sudden changes in the level of a sound.

Tuner: The part of a receiver, or a separate unit, which receives rad io broadcasts
and converts them into audi o frequency signals.

Tuner-Amplifier: Unit combining the functions of a tuner, preamp li fi er and

power amplifier. Also cal led "Receiver. "

Turn over: The frequ ency at which a response curve changes its shape or slope
or at which an audio system undergoes change in o perati on mode.

Tweeter: A speaker designed to reproduce the high part of the sound spectrum.

Vent : Opening or port in a bass reflex speaker system enclosure.

Voice Coi l: A coil of wire attached to a spea ker cone. When placed in the field
of a magnet, the coi l responds to the alternating signal from the amp li fie r, moving

84 85
 DEC I BE L CHA RT

100000

10000
·0
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q} ~,o
1000 ~'I>
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.Q o.:i- ~'\.\
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a:"' \c->
100 '!o."-'l>~e
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20
10
5
2
1
0 4 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Dec ibels (dB)

D ecib els D ecibels V oltage or

Power Rat io
(dB! (dB ) Current Ratio
0 1 0 1
1 1.26 1 1.12
2 1.58 2 1.26
3 2.00 3 1.4 1
4 2.5 1 4 1.59
5 3.16 5 1.78
6 3.98 6 1.99
7 5.0 1 7 2.24
8 6.3 1 8 2.5 1
9 7.94 9 2.8 2
10 10 10 3.16
20 100 20 10
30 1,000 30 3 1.6
40 10,000 40 100
50 100,000 50 3 16
60 1,000 ,000 60 1,000
70 10 ,000,000 70 3,160
80 100,000,000 80 10,000
90 1,000,000,000 90 3 1,600
100 10,000,000,000 100 100,000

86