Artemis Labs LA-1 Operating Manual
Important Safety Instructions 1. Read these instructions. 2. Keep these instructions. 3. Heed all warnings. 4. Follow all instructions. 5. Do not use this apparatus near water. 6. Clean only with a dry cloth. 7. Do not block any ventilation openings. Install in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. 8. Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators, heat registers, stoves, or other apparatus (including amplifiers). 9. Do not defeat the safety purpose of the grounding-type plug.
INTRODUCTION & SPECIFICATIONS The Artemis Labs LA-1 Line Amplifier combines the clean, accurate sound of a purist single-triode line amplifier with the convenience and reliability of a solid, well-built product. Special care is taken with all parts in the audio path, from the Goldpoint™ stepped attenuator to the Swedish output chokes by Lundahl. All aspects of the design were done by John Atwood of One Electron™. The LA-1 is conservatively designed and is built to last for many years.
FRONT PANEL Input Attenuator Mono Indicator Power Indicator Mono Switch Power Switch Left Balance Input Selector Right Balance The Power Switch applies power when flipped up. The Power Indicator will glow red while the tubes warm up, then after approximately 40 seconds, will glow green. About 4 second after that a faint click will be heard, indicating the muting relay turning off. The LA-1 is now ready for use.
REAR PANEL Voltage Rating Fuse IEC Power Connector Ground Terminal Right Inputs Right Outputs Left Inputs Left Outputs Inputs 1 through 5 Outputs 1 and 2 Make sure that the Voltage Rating of your LA-1 matches the power mains voltage at your location. The voltage can be changed by internal rewiring, which can be done by Artemis Labs or by a qualified technician. The Fuse is a 1" x 1¼" “3AG” Slow-blow type. Its value is given on the Voltage Rating sticker. A power cord is supplied with each unit.
TUBES The LA-1 uses Cool-Swap™ technology to let the tubes run cooler and provide a built-in spare. Many dual triodes, including the 5687, have split heaters, allowing them to run from either 6.3V or 12.6V. This heater set-up allows only one of the two triodes to be heated. In the Cool-swap configuration, one tube is used for each channel, each with one half heated. The right channel uses triode #1 and the left channel uses triode #2.
TECHNICAL FEATURES +160V Right Inputs 5 Power Input Selector Lundahl 500H choke V1 1/2 5687 4 Volume 3 +250V Right Balance 1 1 50K stepped atten. Features: - Electrostaticallyshielded transformer - High-speed rectifiers - High-temperature (105°C) electrolytics 2 2 3 2 Power Supply (unregulated) Right Outputs 100K lin 1 V1 4 V2 1/2 5687 4 Left Balance 3 Left Outputs 9 50K stepped atten.
the LA-1 can drive loads as low as 8K while still meeting specifications. This is important when driving certain solid-state amplifiers or pro audio equipment which can have input impedances as low as 10 or 15K ohms. High-Quality Conductive-Plastic Balance pots Since a stepped attenuator allows only discrete level steps, the balance controls are conductive plastic pots by Spectrol®, which have a minimum impact on the sound.
