Hi everybody. As you can see I'm new here and excuse my english a bit.

I received today my CSP2. I wanna ask if you hear first the sound from the right channel before the equal balance of both when the volume knob is almost all the way down. Just to know if this is normal.

Regards  ;)

Thanks.

Yes, this is when I use headphones. The right channel come before the left does. So, as you say it seems to be normal, all right.

Another issue is that with the volume all the way down or if there's no music playing, I hear a noise level enough to be heard. It's very very low but as I say enough to be heard in a quiet room. It is almost inaudible. This is through headphones too. Is this normal?

I comment these things because when I first turn the CSP2 on, I didn't connect the output to the amp, and the source was connected to the CSP2's input and playing. So, the CSP2 received input signal with the volume at 1/4 without the output line connected. Is it possible to damage the transformer like this way?. I did the procedure like if the CSP2 were a typical headphone amp.

"unlike a regular tube amp that must be connected to speakers when you turn it on. This unit does not have to be connected to anything"

No, that's not possible. That's what I thought the first time I turned it on, but as you must know, the output line has to be connected to another gear like an amp (on or off, doesn't matter) if you'd like to listen with headphones. If you don't do that, you'd only hear high frequencies without mids and lows.

This is what I told to Steve by email:

"a curious and scary moment when I first turn it on was that I hook up the input cables and the source only with the headphone output, not the line output. I only listenned high frequencies and the vocals an bass were gone from the track, very very bad sound. I was afraid. But then I realised that the CSP2 needs the output line to be connected to ground with an amp or something. ufffff...."

That's why I wondered if the CSP2 could have any possibility to be damaged in any way when you don't connect the output to anything with the volume control open. But not the transformers, it's an OTL (outputTransformerLess).

Tone:

It always helps to read the manual a few times. Maybe there is something you might be missing in the unit's operation and capabilities.

My home CSP2 unit does not have the outputs connected to the amp, the Mini Torii SEX, because I don't use it with the Torii. My CD player is connected to both the CSP2 and the Mini Torii.  When I want to listen through headphone I turn on the CSP2 and the CD player. When I want to listen through the speakers I turn on only the Mini Torii SEX and CSP2. I run the CSP2 with the CD input connected and nothing connected to he output and it is fine. Believe me if the output on the CSP2 had to have the output connected to something I would have had problems by now.

At my office I have a CSP2 connected t0 a CD player and a radio tuner. I do have the output on that connected to a TABOO amplifier. I do use that CSP2 with the outputs.

Both units work fine.

Another discover. To be more specific, the right RCA output and the mono RCA output are the responsible of the ground of my CSP2. I can use either, with one of them is enough. And of course, my amp (or whatever) must be connected to ground through the IEC power cord to the outlet. If I disconnect my amp from the electric outlet, the same effect occurs: Vocal and bass are gone from the track with headphones.

It's like if my CSP2 didn't connect to ground through the IEC power cord or something.

Dude, my source doesn't matter. My CD Player (Cambridge Audio Azur 840C) is OK. All the time my player was playing music during the tests. I'm not stupid xD. And the tubes are ok.

"Are you in U.S.?" No, I'm spanish.

For now, I'm waiting for answers from Steve.

"No offense intended".

I know, I know. Don't worry.

For now, the only thing I can do is wait for replies from Steve.

Hi Juan,

Sorry for the delay in jumping in here.  In the last 30 days I've had serious computer problems.  We use 5 just for Decware.  Anyway, I had to give up and buy a MAC.  So now I'm back on line and able to answer e-mails.

Your CSP2 is an OTL headphone amp and line stage.  Unlike an amplifier it has no output transformers.  It does not have to be hooked to anything while it's on.  No damage will result.

The problem you are having is indeed odd, however the CSP2 does not require being hooked up to an amplifier in order to work properly on the headphone output.

So I've pondered what could give these results and have come up with the following example:

The interconnects between the source and the CSP2 may have a bad ground in one or both of the cables.  If this were true, and the source is grounded to earth, then connecting an amplifier that is also grounded to earth to the outputs of the CSP2 would complete the ground circuit that is missing in the cables.

And it sounds like the ground is not completely missing from the cables, only compromised with perhaps a cracked solder joint explaining the strange results you get with the frequency balance.

-Steve