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azur DacMagic
Upsampling digital to analog converter
User’s manual
2
ENGLISH
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Contents Introduction............................................................................................................................................ 3 Important safety instructions ............................................................................................................... 4 Rear panel connections ........................................................................................................................ 8 Front panel controls .........................
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azur DacMagic Introduction Thank you for purchasing this DacMagic Upsampling Digital to Analog Converter. We are confident that you will enjoy many years of listening pleasure from it. TM The DacMagic features ATF (Adaptive Time Filtering), an up-sampling process developed in conjunction with Anagram Technologies of Switzerland to intelligently interpolate incoming audio data (of between 16-24 bits, 32-96kHz) to 24bit/192kHz through the use of a 32bit Texas Instruments DSP (Digital Signal Proce
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Important safety instructions For your own safety please read the following important safety instructions carefully before attempting to connect this unit to the mains power supply. They will also enable you to get the best performance from and prolong the life of the unit: 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. Inst
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azur DacMagic WARNING – To reduce the risk of fire or electric shock, do not expose this unit to rain or moisture. The unit must be installed in a manner that makes disconnection of the mains plug from the mains socket outlet (or appliance connector from the rear of the unit) possible. Where the mains plug is used as the disconnect device, the disconnect device shall remain readily operable. Only use the power supply adaptor supplied with this unit. Please ensure there is ample ventilation (at l
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FCC regulations NOTE: THE MANUFACTURER IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY RADIO OR TV INTERFERENCE CAUSED BY UNAUTHORIZED MODIFICATIONS TO THIS EQUIPMENT. SUCH MODIFICATIONS COULD VOID THE USER AUTHORITY TO OPERATE THE EQUIPMENT. This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates
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azur DacMagic This unit must be installed on a sturdy, level surface. Do not place in a sealed area such as a bookcase or in a cabinet. Any space open at the back (such as a dedicated equipment rack) is fine, however. Do not place the unit on an unstable surface or shelf. The unit may fall, causing serious injury to a child or adult as well as serious damage to the product. Do not place other equipment on top of the unit. Due to stray magnetic fields, turntables or CRT TVs should not be located
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LR Rear panel connections DacMagic Upsampling DAC Caution Designed in the UK, Made in China www.cambridge-audio.com Serial Number Label Removed 3 4 5 Incorporating Q5™ from: ANAGRAM Left 6 TECHNOLOGIES Digital Outputs Digital Input 1 Digital Input 2 USB In 12V 1500mA 1 Right 7 Use supplied Unbalanced S/P DIF Toslink S/P DIF Toslink S/P DIF Toslink PSU only! Output Right — Balanced Output — Left Co-axial Optical Co-axial Optical Co-axial Optical This device complies with part 15 of the FCC R
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azur DacMagic TOSLINK optical – use a high quality TOSLINK fibre-optic interconnect cable designed specifically for audio use. To achieve the best results we always recommend using high quality Cambridge Audio leads, which are guaranteed for life. Note: These outputs are pass-through only; there is no upsampling or any other modification done to the LPCM input signal. 4 5 Digital Inputs 1 and 2 The DacMagic is fitted with two sets of digital inputs which enable the connection of source componen
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Front panel controls On / Off Source Filter / Phase Phase Incoming Sample Rate Lin 32 44.1 48 88.2 96 Digital 1 Min 1 Digital 2 Steep 4 5 2 3 DacMagic Upsampling DAC 1 Power On/Off Switches the unit between On and Off. 2 Source Press to select between USB playback or Digital Inputs 1 and 2. The corresponding LED will light up to show which source has been selected. 3 Filter/Phase Select Momentarily press to select between three different filter modes: linear phase, minimum phase or steep (see pa
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azur DacMagic 4 Phase Indicates the output phase selected. Press and hold the Filter/Phase select button for approximately two seconds to select normal or inverted phase output. When the LED lights up, the phase is inverted by the DacMagic. If you suspect that your source material or amplifier, etc., is inverting the phase of the musical signal, you can use this function to re-invert the audio and regain absolute positive phase. 5 Incoming Sample Rate In the presence of an incoming digital strea
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Audio output connections Note: Do not turn on the unit until all connections have been made. DacMagic Balanced Output RL L Digital Outputs Digital Inputs Digital Inputs R Unbalanced USB In Output AC adaptor OR Amplifier Unbalanced Input L LR R Balanced Input Use either the unbalanced (RCA/Phono) or balanced (XLR) outputs of the DacMagic. The XLR output is slightly better in quality as it can reject interference and noise in the cable connection and is the preferred option if your amplifier featu
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azur DacMagic Digital audio input connections Note: Do not turn on the unit until all connections have been made. DacMagic Balanced Output RL L Digital Outputs Digital Inputs Digital Inputs R Unbalanced USB In Output AC adaptor OR CD/DVD player Digital Outputs Connect your digital source to Digital Input 1. Either S/P DIF co-axial or TOSLINK optical types can be used, each being of equal quality. Important Note: Only connect one co-axial OR optical cable to each digital input. The unit will not
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PC-USB connections Note: Do not turn on the unit until all connections have been made. PC DacMagic Balanced Output RL L Digital Outputs Digital Inputs Digital Inputs R Unbalanced USB In Output AC adaptor USB ‘B–A’ type lead 14
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azur DacMagic Connect a USB ‘B–A’ type lead (as illustrated at left) from the DacMagic’s USB input to one of the USB ports on the PC. This is the normal type of USB lead with an oblong plug at one end and a square plug at the other. Switch on the DacMagic using the front panel On/Off switch and make sure that the USB input is selected (USB LED lit). The Windows “Found New Hardware” dialogue bubble should now appear at the bottom right-hand side of the Windows desktop. The description of the DacM
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Digital audio output connections Note: Do not turn on the unit until all connections have been made. DacMagic Balanced Output RL L Digital Outputs Digital Inputs Digital Inputs R Unbalanced USB In Output AC adaptor OR Digital recorder Digital Inputs If it is desired to loop out the currently selected digital audio for recording on a suitable device (MD, CD-R, etc.), you can connect either an S/P DIF co-axial or TOSLINK optical cable to the digital outputs as shown, each type being of equal quali
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azur DacMagic Operating instructions The DacMagic can be sited in two different positions, as shown in the accompanying diagram. It can be placed horizontally by fitting the four small individual feet, or vertically by using the large rubber ‘foot’. Power on the DacMagic using the On/Off button on the front panel. After 4-5 seconds, the unit will unmute and the current Source and Filter type will be shown by the front panel LEDs. Using the Source button on the front panel, select the appropriat
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Filters The DacMagic DSP has three different Filter functions: Linear Phase, Minimum Phase and Steep. All three filters are highly sophisticated audiophile topologies, optimised specifically for audio playback. In our opinion, these filters offer excellent sound quality but differ subtly in optimisation, hence we’ve made all three available to you. Note: For clarity, all diagrams show the theoretical response of the DSP itself, excluding any analog filtering at the DAC output or the anti-aliasin
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azur DacMagic The Linear Phase filter is a highly regarded audio filter offering low ripple in both the pass and stop bands, and what is known as constant group delay. Constant group delay means that audio signals of all frequencies are always delayed by the same amount when passing through the filter. All audio is therefore fully time-coherent at the output. The trade-off with this type of filter is that due to internal feed-forward in the DSP, its impulse response will exhibit some pre-ringin
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Minimum Phase Filter Frequency response 20 0 -20 -40 -60 -80 -100 -120 -140 -160 -180 -200 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 frequency/FS (input sampling rate) 20 Magnitude (dB)
