Owner`s manual

This design, implemented on an Arlon 25N printed circuit board with

local, discrete regulators, delivers greater transparency than any volume

control technology we have ever experienced. It also provides incre-

ments as small as 0.1 dB, allowing you to select precisely the correct

volume for any given recording, and to do so repeatably.

Arlon 25N circuit boards Madrigal designs have long explored new technologies that better serve

the cause of music, some of which have been quite esoteric. For ex-

ample, the single biggest difference between a Nº380 and a Nº380S is

the printed circuit board material used in the more costly “S” version

(cyanate ester).

In the Nº32 Reference Preamplifier, a new circuit board material is in-

troduced to the Mark Levinson product range: Arlon 25N™. This new

material outperforms even the already-remarkable material used in the

Nº380S preamplifier in terms of its uniformly low dielectric constant

and other critical characteristics.

Interestingly, the benefits of Arlon 25N accrue only on circuit boards

that contain active devices (such as transistors). On a board such as the

input board, which contains only signal traces and high performance

switches, neither Arlon 25N nor cyanate ester have been found to im-

prove performance. Thus, in such areas we use the highest quality FR-4

glass epoxy circuit boards which, while still being premium quality,

provide significant cost savings over the more exotic materials without

any performance penalty.

While in some ways it might be easier to simply use Arlon-25 every-

where, doing so would not yield good value. We understand that the

Nº32 represents a big investment for anyone to make in their music

system, and are careful to ensure that it is money well spent.

multiple outputs The Nº32 Reference Preamplifier includes two pairs of main outputs

per channel: a pair of balanced outputs on high quality XLRs, and a

pair of single-ended outputs on Madrigal-designed RCA jacks.

The XLR and RCA outputs are buffered independently of each other,

and may be used simultaneously without degrading performance. The

XLRs are wired in parallel with one another, as are the RCAs, to facili-

tate biamping and other applications.

extensive customization Although the Nº32 Reference Preamplifier may be used as it arrives

from the factory, without further setup or modifications, it may also be

customized rather extensively to suit the particulars of the system in