M2TECH HIFACE DAC 384KHZ/32BIT DIGITAL-TO-ANALOG CONVERTER USER MANUAL

Transcription

1 M2TECH HIFACE DAC 384KHZ/32BIT DIGITAL-TO-ANALOG CONVERTER USER MANUAL

2 REV /2013

3 Warning! Canges or modifications not autorized by te manufacturer can invalidate te compliance to CE regulations and cause te unit to be no more suitable to use. Te manufacturer refuses every responsibility regarding damages to people or tings due to te use of a unit wic as been subject to unautorized modifications or to misuse or to malfunction of a unit wic as been subject to unautorized modifications. Tis unit is compliant wit te following CE regulations wen an USB cable less tan 3m is used: CEI EN 55022:2009 Class B (Radiated Emissions), CEI EN 55024:1999, CEI EN 55024:A2/2003, CEI EN 55024:IS1/2008 (Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Fields, 50Hz Magnetic Field Immunity Test and Electrostatic Discarges ESD). Recycling Te label above, printed on te product case, indicates tat te product, wen no more usable, can t be treated as generic garbage, but must be disposed of at a collection point for recycling of electrical and electronic equipment, in compliance wit te WEEE regulation (Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment). By making sure tat tis unit is correctly recycled, you will elp preventing potential damages to environment and uman ealt, wic could be caused by a wrong treatment of tis product as generic garbage. Materials recycling elps saving natural resources. For more in-dept information about recycling tis product, please contact Srl. WARNING: te information contained in tis manual are considered to be reliable and accurate. reserves te rigt to cange or modify te information any time, witout prior advice. It s up to te customer to ensure tat te manual being consulted is te latest version. 3 Copyrigt 2013, Srl

4 Dear customer, tank you for purcasing iface DAC. Wat you ave is a first-rate USB digital-to-analog converter wit many unique features conceived to obtain te best audio performance out of a music file. Even if getting digital music out of a PC, a Mac or a Linux computer is nowadays quite simple, muc arder is to obtain te best sonic performance from it, due to intrinsic limits in USB 1.1 audio standard and te implementation of digital audio interfaces in computers. Please visit website ( to find extensive literature about tis topic. iface DAC overcomes all te limits of usual USB D/A converters by exploiting te powerful performance allowed by USB 2.0 Audio class and by using asyncronous data transfer, along wit a sopisticated electronic design. iface DAC performance largely exceed tose of similar units costing a lot more: you ll be amazed by ow good te iface DAC can sound, even wit CD-standard files. And a wole new world will be at reac wen listening to ig-resolution files. We feel tat your expectations will be fulfilled by iface DAC: you ll ear your music files in a way like never before, prepare for a wole new experience! Nadia Marino, CEO Please annotate ere your iface DAC serial number and purcase date for future reference: Serial number: Date of purcase: 4 Copyrigt 2013, Srl

5 INDEX 1. Connections Connection to te ost and te amplifier/eadpones True plug n play operation wit Mac True plug n play operation wit Linux Operation wit ipad and Android-based tablets Windows driver installation Obtaining te driver Installing te driver on a Windows-based PC (XP, Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8, 32 & 64 bits) Cecking for rigt installation and trying te interface Unistalling te driver Configuring te computer to use iface DAC Configuring a PC wit Windows XP Configuring for Direct Sound wit Windows XP Configuring for ASIO wit Windows XP Configuring a PC wit Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows Configuring for Direct Sound wit Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows Configuring for Kernel Streaming wit Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows Configuring for WASAPI wit Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows Configuring for ASIO wit Windows Vista, Windows 7or Windows Configuring te player for Kernel Streaming: two examples FooBar Winamp and MediaMonkey Configuring te player for WASAPI: two examples FooBar JRiver Configuring te player for ASIO: an example FooBar Interface Special Features Precision oscillators Asyncronous transfer mode /32 operation Driving eadpones Powering te iface DAC wit an external power supply Tecnical Specifications Copyrigt 2013, Srl

6 1. Connections 1 2 Figure 1 1) USB input. Connect directly to te USB 3.0 or 2.0 or 1.1* port of a PC, Mac or Linuxbased computer, or use an USB extender (A male to A female). In te latter, te extender must be compliant wit USB 2.0 and less tan 3m, oterwise te bus performance will decrease and te correct operation of te interface will not be guaranteed. USB type A male connector 2) Stereo analog output. Connect to te amplifier or preamplifier input wit a 3.5mm jackto-rca interconnect or to a medium- or ig-impedance eadpones. 3.5mm stereo jack female connector. * iface DAC performance on USB 1.1 are limited to 96kHz. Please note tat 1.0 ports won t work. 6 Copyrigt 2013, Srl

7 2. Connection to te ost and te amplifier/eadpones ADVICE: Windows users must install te driver prior to connecting te iface to te PC (please refer to section 5). ADVICE: bot PC and amplifier/preamplifier sould be switced off and disconnected from te mains sockets before connecting te iface DAC. Please refer to section 1, Connections. Connect te iface DAC to te ost USB 2.0 port by inserting its USB plug (Figure 1, 1) into te ost socket. If straigt insertion is difficult or wen in need of avoiding straigt insertion, an USB 2.0 extender cable (A male to A female) can be used. Please avoid using extenders more tan 4m, to avoid invalidating te bus performance. If your computer as a Windows operating system and a driver asn t been installed prior connecting te iface DAC, an error message may appear and you may need to disconnect te iface DAC and install te driver (see section 5.3). Connect te 3.5mm jack end connector of a 3.5mm jack-to-rca interconnect to te iface DAC output connector (Figure 1, 2). Connect te RCA end of te connector to one stereo input of a preamplifier or integrated amplifier. A eadpones set can also be driven by te iface DAC, provided its impedance is medium or ig (32 Oms or more). In tis case, connect te 3.5mm stereo jack of te eadpones to te output connectors of te iface DAC. Tis can be done eiter before or after connecting te iface DAC to te computer: te iface DAC operation is glitcless, so no bumps or oter dangerous noises will be generated on eadpones drivers. 7 Copyrigt 2013, Srl

8 3. True plug n play operation wit Mac Mac computers wit OSX and later ave a native support for audio devices compliant wit USB Audio Class 2.0. Tis means tat te driver is already included in te operating system and te user needs not to install anyting: just connect te iface DAC to your Mac and it will be immediately recognized by te OS and ready to use. Macs wit older OS need update to use te iface DAC. To use iface DAC as output device for your Mac, you need to select it as default output device from te Audio Control Panel (Preferences -> Sound) as sown in Figure 2: Figure 2 After selecting iface DAC, please ceck settings, particularly te output sampling frequency (Figure 3): tat setting forces te sampling frequency for te iface DAC, regardless te native sampling frequency of te various tracks being played back (to get rid of suc unease operation mode, you may want to use a player wic automatically canges tis setting based on eac track s native sampling frequency, Like Sonic Studio s Amarra or PureMusic). 8 Copyrigt 2013, Srl

9 Figure 3 9 Copyrigt 2013, Srl

10 4. True plug n play operation wit Linux Linux as a native support for audio devices compliant wit USB Audio Class 2.0 based on ALSA. Tis means tat te driver is already included in te operating system and te user needs not to install anyting: just connect te iface DAC to your PC wit Linux and it will be immediately recognized by te OS and ready to use. ALSA version needs to be or later. To use iface DAC as output device, select it as default output device for te system or for te player you re using. 10 Copyrigt 2013, Srl

11 5. Operation wit ipad and Android-based tablets ipad also supports USB Audio Class 2.0. Tis means tat it is possible to connect te iface DAC to an ipad troug te latter s camera kit, wic exports a ig speed ost USB port. Te limited supply current required by te iface DAC makes it possible to power it even by te reduced current capabilities provided by te ipad. Once te iface DAC is connected, te ipad automatically set it as default output device. Android tablets may potentially use te iface DAC, provided tey ave a 2.0 or 1.1 USB ost port capable of at least 100mA output current and ALSA or any oter audio management module compliant wit USB Audio Class 2.0. Please refer to te tablet s specification cart. 11 Copyrigt 2013, Srl

12 5. Windows driver installation 5.1. Obtaining te driver Te Windows driver for iface DAC is available on te website, in te download page ( Download te exe file containing te driver package and save it to a folder in your PC. Tis is a self-extracting file wic will deliver a folder. Double-click on it to extract te folder. Please pay attention to te location were te folder will be extracted to avoid losing it into te ard disk (Figure 4). Figure Installing te driver on a Windows-based PC (XP, Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8, 32 & 64 bits) Uninstall older driver version if already installed (see section 5.3). Ten follow te instruction to successfully install te driver. Please note tat te pictures in tis Section are taken from installation process for eiter Window 7 and Windows 8: te process is basically te same and also applies to Windows XP and Vista. Open te folder produced by te self-extracting exe file. Double-click on setup.exe and follow te indications provided by te setup program. First, te installation wizard will ask for autorization to start installation (Figure 5). Accept. 12 Copyrigt 2013, Srl

13 Figure 5 Ten, te wizard will ceck for system features. At a certain point, it will ask you to plug te iface DAC in one of te USB ports (Figure 6). Figure 6 13 Copyrigt 2013, Srl

14 Follow te indications and plug te device in one port, ten click on Install. You will be asked to follow te destination folder (Figure 7). Figure 7 Te installation process continues sowing te progress (Figure 8). Figure 8 14 Copyrigt 2013, Srl

15 At te end of te installation process, te wizard notify te completion (Figure 9). Figure 9 Clock on Next : te installation is almost completed (Figure 10). Click on Finis to complete te installation. 15 Copyrigt 2013, Srl

16 Figure 10 At te end of te installation process, te USB Audio Class control panel is running and you can open it by clicking on te red T to te bottom rigt of te desktop (Figure 11) to ceck and select various operation options. Figure Cecking for rigt installation and trying te interface From Control Panel -> Audio select te iface DAC in te Playback tab and ten coose Properties. Tis windows also allows you to set iface DAC as default output device, wic is mandatory wen user needs to use iface DAC to listen to Youtube files audio and oter streaming sources (Figure 12). Select te Advanced tab, from te drop down window coose te desired audio sample rate and ten try it out: you sould ear a bell ringing in your system s speakers. Also ceck te Exclusive Mode acces boxes. In tis way te running player will take te exclusive access to te device, ensuring ig end performance. Warning: tis modality is not appropriate for te sared access, for instance wen user sets iface DAC as te default output audio device: in tis case, multiple access would be desirable. 16 Copyrigt 2013, Srl

17 Figure Copyrigt 2013, Srl

18 5.3. Unistalling te driver Sometimes it is necessary to uninstall te driver to roll back to a previous version. Uninstall is a quite simple procedure. Go to te control panel and launc te Application Installation utility (Figure 13). Look for te iface DAC driver item in te list. Double-click on it to launc uninstalling. Figure 13 Te installation wizard, wic also andles uninstalling, will sow up (Figure 14 on next page). Click on Uninstall to start uninstalling. 18 Copyrigt 2013, Srl

19 Figure 14 At tis point, te wizard will sow up te installation progress (Figure 15), up to te end. Figure Copyrigt 2013, Srl

20 After te uninstalling of all files related to te driver is complete, te Next button will be enabled. Click on it. Te final message will appear (Figure 16). Click on Finis to complete uninstalling. Figure Copyrigt 2013, Srl

21 6. Configuring te computer to use iface DAC 6.1. Configuring a PC wit Windows XP A PC wit Windows XP can use iface DAC in two different ways: Direct Sound (DS)* and ASIO. Te first mode is suitable for most players, suc as Windows Media Player and itunes, or for Internet streaming, wile te second can be cosen (for better performance) wit players wic can operate in ASIO mode. ASIO is widely used by professional audio software tools and ensures bit-perfect performance. *Please note tat DS mode doesn t allow for i-end performance, as te various audio streams from various sources (OS syntetizer, Windows sounds, audio player ) are mixed togeter. Tis mode is neverteless mandatory wen enjoying streaming material, suc as Youtube videos or Spotify programmes Configuring for Direct Sound wit Windows XP Connect iface DAC to your PC. Ten, go to te Control Panel and launc te Sound and Audio Periperals utility. Select te Audio tab. In te Predefined Periperal drop-down menu of te Playback area, select Audio 2.0 Output (see figure 17). 21 Copyrigt 2013, Srl

22 Figure 17 Ten, select te Voice Tab. Again, select Audio 2.0 Output in te drop-down menu of te Playback area. Click on OK button. Please be adviced tat even if te periperal is listed as kernel streaming, it will operate in Direct Sound mode wen listed ere. From now on, unless iface DAC is disconnected or settings are canged again, iface DAC is te audio periperal all audio programs will use wen operating in direct sound mode Configuring for ASIO wit Windows XP ASIO as no standard setting in Windows XP. ASIO must be selected in te specific player you coose to use. For example, wen using FooBar, wit iface DAC connected to te PC, go to te File/Preferences/Playback /Output tab and select ASIO: iface DAC as output device. Oter players will require different settings (see section 5). 22 Copyrigt 2013, Srl

23 6.2. Configuring a PC wit Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows 8 A PC wit Windows Vista or Windows 7 can use iface DAC in four different ways: Direct Sound (DS)*, Kernel Streaming (KS), WASAPI and ASIO. DS is suitable for players wic can t operate in Kernel Streaming mode nor wit WASAPI or for Internet streaming; KS can be cosen (for better performance) wit players wic can operate in Kernel Streaming mode (suc as FooBar, Winamp, Monkey Media, JRiver). WASAPI (Windows Audio Standard API) is a standard interface for audio players wic allows to get te same performance of KS wit applications wic can t operate in KS mode, at te cost of iger CPU load. Muc te same can be told about ASIO. *Please note tat DS mode doesn t allow for i-end performance, as te various audio streams from various sources (OS syntetizer, Windows sounds, audio player ) are mixed togeter. Tis mode is neverteless mandatory wen enjoying streaming material, suc as Youtube videos or Spotify programmes Configuring for Direct Sound wit Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows 8 Open control Panel and select Hardware and Sounds. Under Audio, click on Manage Audio Devices. Te following windows will appear, in wic iface DAC is listed. Set iface DAC as predefined device. Ten, click on OK. Figure Copyrigt 2013, Srl

24 Configuring for Kernel Streaming wit Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows 8 As for Windows XP, Kernel Streaming as no standard setting in Windows Vista and Windows 7. KS must be selected in te specific player you coose to use. For example, wen using FooBar, wit iface DAC connected to te PC, go to te File/Preferences/Playback /Output tab and select KS: Audio 2.0 Output as output device. Oter players will require different settings (see section 5) Configuring for WASAPI wit Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows 8 As appens wit Kernel Streaming, WASAPI cannot be directly accessed. WASAPI must be selected in te specific player you coose to use. For example, wen using FooBar, wit iface DAC connected to te PC, go to te File/Preferences/Playback /Output tab and select WASAPI: Speakers (iface DAC Audio) as output device. Oter players will require different settings (see section 6) Configuring for ASIO wit Windows Vista, Windows 7or Windows 8 As appens wit Kernel Streaming and WASAPI, ASIO cannot be directly accessed. ASIO must be selected in te specific player you coose to use. For example, wen using FooBar, wit iface DAC connected to te PC, go to te File/Preferences/Playback /Output tab and select ASIO: ifacetwo ASIO driver as output device. Oter players will require different settings (see section 7). 24 Copyrigt 2013, Srl

25 7. Configuring te player for Kernel Streaming: two examples 7.1. FooBar To use FooBar in KS mode it is necessary to download te DLL for Kernel Streaming from te FooBar2000 website and install it in te Components sub-folder inside FooBar2000 main folder in your ard disk. Te DLL can be found at ttp:// (click on Download). It is a zip folder wic contains te DLL. Extract it from te zip and copy to te Components folder. Ten, restart FooBar, go to te File/Preferences/Playback/Output window and set parameters as in figure 19. Figure Copyrigt 2013, Srl

26 7.2. Winamp and MediaMonkey Tese two players are actually te same player wit different skins, so tey can sare te same plug-ins. A freeware plug-in for Kernel Streaming by Steve Monks is available on te Internet (ttp:// tat can be used to enable Kernel Streaming operation wit tese players. Download te zip file, extract te dll file and copy it into te Plugins folder inside Winamp main folder. Wit iface DAC connected, rigt-click on Winamp and select Display/Select Plug-ins. Te Preferences window of Winamp will open (see figure 20). Figure 20 Go to Plug-in/Output and select Audio 2.0 Output. Ten click on Configure button. Coose HIFACE DAC Kernel Streaming in te output device list (Figure 21). 26 Copyrigt 2013, Srl

27 Figure Copyrigt 2013, Srl

28 8. Configuring te player for WASAPI: two examples 8.1. FooBar To use FooBar wit WASAPI under Windows 7 or Windows 8 it is necessary to download te DLL for WASAPI from te FooBar2000 website and install it in te Components subfolder inside FooBar2000 main folder in your ard disk. Te DLL can be found at ttp:// (click on Download). It is a zip folder wic contains te DLL. Extract it from te zip and copy to te Components folder. Ten, restart FooBar, go to te File/Preferences/Playback/Output window and set parameters as in figure 22. Figure 22 Please note tat 24 bits is OK for WASAPI. Please refer to te Foobar2000 tecnical notes for more info. 28 Copyrigt 2013, Srl

29 8.2. JRiver From JRiver Option menu, configure te Output Mode to use WASAPI Event style, te configure te output mode settings as in Figure 23. Please refer to te JRiver tecnical notes for more info. Figure Configuring te player for ASIO: an example 9.1. FooBar To use FooBar wit ASIO under Windows 7 it is necessary to download te DLL for ASIO from te FooBar2000 website and install it in te Components sub-folder inside FooBar2000 main folder in your ard disk. Te DLL can be found at ttp:// (click on Download). It is a zip folder wic contains te DLL. Extract it from te zip and copy to te Components folder. Ten, restart FooBar, go to te File/Preferences/Playback/Output window and set parameters as in figure Copyrigt 2013, Srl

30 Figure Copyrigt 2013, Srl

31 10. Interface Special Features Precision oscillators iface DAC uses two ig precision, low pase noise oscillators as time base for data transfer to te DAC. Tis way, jitter is kept at a minimum, wile output transfer is virtually isolated by te USB interface timing low stability Asyncronous transfer mode iface DAC uses an asyncronous transfer mode to get data from te computer. Tis way, te actual transfer timing is mastered by te iface DAC, tus avoiding all time uncertainties and tus te jitter caused by te computer USB interface /32 operation iface DAC is a true 32-bit DAC. Tis means tat 16-,20- and 24-bit files are reproduced wit igest fidelity. Te extra bits available are used to save te maximum resolution of te original audio data even wen setting volume in software mode by te player. To ave a better glance of tis important feature, te 8 extra bits available wen listening to a 24-bit file allow for 96dB attenuation before resolution truncation starts generating armonic distortion. 384kHz capability allows for listening to DXD files (352.8kHz sampling rate) at te native sampling rate, witout any armful sample rate conversion Driving eadpones iface DAC as been conceived as a line out DAC, to drive amplifiers line input at igest sound quality possible. No eadpones amplifier as been placed in te signal pat, to avoid signal detriment due to te power stage made to operate at low voltages. Tis allows for a sound quality tat s unmatced by competitors. On te oter and, te iface DAC line output is capable of driving most medium- and ig-impedance eadpones. Of course, sound quality is eavily dependant on eadpones impedance curve (reactance) and sensitivity Powering te iface DAC wit an external power supply iface DAC is powered by te USB bus, so it needs no external power supply. Its internal regulators ensure correct operation of te various sub-circuits, particularly te internal ig precision oscillators. Anyway, user may want to power te iface DAC wit a power supply giving clean current to te device. Tis can be done using adapting cables 31 Copyrigt 2013, Srl

32 purposely made for tat and available on te computer market. Please use a 5V power supply wit 500mA current capability. 32 Copyrigt 2013, Srl

33 11. Tecnical Specifications Sampling frequencies: , 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192, 352.8, 384kHz Resolution: to 32 bits USB:... USB Audio Class 2.0 Compatibility:... Windows XP (1), Windows Vista (32 & 64 bits), Windows 7 (32 & 64 bits), Windows 7 (32 & 64 bits); OSX ( and later); Linux (ALSA or later) Internal clock precision:... +/-10ppm 0 to 60 C, 2ppm 25 C Analog output voltage: koms Analog output impedance Oms DC 0.1 1kHz Frequency Response: ,000 Hz (@ fs = 44.1kHz) 5-150,000 Hz (@ fs = 384kHz) THD + N:... 0dBFS Power Supply... 5V from USB Power Consumption: mA Minimal requirements: GHz CPU clock, 1GB RAM, 2.0 USB port Size... 88x14x20mm (wit connectors) Weigt:... 20g Note: 1) DS and ASIO modes only. 33 Copyrigt 2013, Srl