Cambridge DacMagic manual

azur DacMagic Upsampling digital to analog con verter User’s manual 2 ENGLISH[...]

2 Introduction............................................................................................................................................ 3 Important safety instructions ............................................................................................................... 4 Rear panel connections ..........................[...]

DacMagic azur 3 ENGLISH Thank you for purchasing this DacMagic Upsampling Digital t o Analog Converter . W e are confident that you will enjoy man y years of listening pleasure from it. The DacMagic features A TF TM (Adaptive Time Filt ering), an up-sampling process de veloped in conjunction with Anagram T echnologies of Switzerland to intelligentl[...]

4 For your o wn safety please read the f ollowing im portant safety instructions carefully before attem pting to connect this unit to the mains po wer supply . They will also enable you to get the best performance from and pr olong the life of the unit: 1. Read these instructions. 2. Keep these instructions. 3. Heed all warnings. 4. Follow all inst[...]

DacMagic azur 5 ENGLISH WEEE symbol The crossed-out wheeled bin is the Eur opean Union symbol for indicating separat e collection for electrical and electr onic equipment. This product contains electrical and electr onic equipment which should be reused, recycled or reco vered and should not be disposed of with unsorted regular waste. Please return[...]

6 FCC regulations NOTE: THE MANUF ACTURER IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY RADIO OR TV INTERFERENCE CAUSED BY UNA UTHORIZED MODIFICA TIONS TO THIS EQUIPMENT . SUCH MODIFICA TIONS COULD VOID THE USER AUTHORITY TO OPERA TE THE EQUIPMENT . This equipment has been test ed and found t o comply with the limits f or a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15[...]

DacMagic azur 7 ENGLISH 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 dedicat ed equipment rack) is fine, howe ver . Do not place the unit on an unstable surface or shelf. The unit may fall, causing serious injury to a child or adult a[...]

8 Unbalanced Audio Outputs Single-ended conv entional stereo outputs f or connection to the line-lev el phono/RCA inputs of an amplifier . Balanced Audio Outputs The DacMagic also features true balanced (XLR) outputs. This is a higher quality output that can reject noise and interference with equipment with balanced inputs. These balanced outputs a[...]

DacMagic azur 9 ENGLISH TOSLINK optical – use a high quality T OSLINK fibre-optic inter connect cable designed specifically for audio use. T o achieve the best results we alwa ys recommend using high quality Cambridge A udio leads, which are guaranteed f or life. Note: These outputs are pass-thr ough only; there is no upsampling or any other modi[...]

10 Power On/Off Switches the unit between On and Off. Source Press to select between USB pla yback or Digital Inputs 1 and 2. The corresponding LED will light up to show which sour ce has been selected. Filter/Phase Select Momentarily press to select between three different filt er modes: linear phase, minimum phase or steep (see page 18 f or detai[...]

Phase Indicates the output phase selected. Press and hold the Filter/Phase select button for appr oximat ely two seconds to select normal or in verted phase output. When the LED lights up, the phase is inv erted by the DacMagic. If you suspect that your sour ce material or amplifier , etc., is inverting the phase of the musical signal, you can use [...]

12 Audio output connections L LR Unbalanced Input Balanced Input R Digital Outputs USB In Balanced Output Unbalanced Output Digital Inputs Digital Inputs L R RL Note: Do not turn on the unit until all connections hav e been made. DacMagic AC adaptor Amplifier OR Use either the unbalanced (RCA/Phono) or balanced (XLR) outputs of the DacMagic. The XL[...]

DacMagic azur 13 ENGLISH Digital audio input connections Digital Outputs Digital Outputs USB In Balanced Output Unbalanced Output Digital Inputs Digital Inputs L R RL Note: Do not turn on the unit until all connections hav e been made. DacMagic AC adaptor CD/DVD play er Connect your digital source t o Digital Input 1. Either S/P DIF co-axial or T O[...]

14 PC-USB connections Digital Outputs USB In Balanced Output Unbalanced Output Digital Inputs Digital Inputs L R RL Note: Do not turn on the unit until all connections hav e been made. AC adaptor PC DacMagic USB ‘B–A ’ type lead[...]

DacMagic azur 15 ENGLISH Connect a USB ‘B–A ’ type lead (as illustrated at lef t) from the DacMagic’s USB input t o 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/Of f switch and make sure that the USB input i[...]

16 Digital Inputs Digital Outputs USB In Balanced Output Unbalanced Output Digital Inputs Digital Inputs L R RL Note: Do not turn on the unit until all connections hav e been made. Digital recorder DacMagic AC adaptor If it is desired to loop out the currently selected digital audio f or recording on a suitable de vice (MD, CD-R, etc.), you can con[...]

DacMagic azur 17 The DacMagic can be sited in two different positions, as sho wn in the accompanying diagram. It can be placed horizontally by fitting the f our small individual fee t, or v ertically by using the large rubber ‘foot’. Pow er on the DacMagic using the On/Off button on the front panel. After 4-5 seconds, the unit will unmute and t[...]

18 The DacMagic DSP has three different Filter functions: Linear Phase, Minimum Phase and Steep. All three filters are highly sophisticated audiophile t opologies, optimised specifically for audio pla yback. In our opinion, these filters offer ex cellent sound quality but differ subtly in optimisation, hence we’ve made all three available t o you[...]

DacMagic azur 19 The Linear Phase filter is a highly regarded audio filt er offering low ripple in both the pass and stop bands, and what is known as constant group dela y . Constant group dela y means that audio signals of all frequencies are alwa ys delay ed by the same amount when passing through the filt er . All audio is therefore fully time-c[...]

20 Minimum Phase Filter -80 -60 -40 -20 0 20 -200 -180 -160 -140 -120 -100 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 Freq uency response frequency/FS (input sampling rate) Magnitude (dB)[...]

DacMagic azur 21 ENGLISH The Minimum Phase filter is another highly regarded audio filt er that offers even lo wer ripple in the pass and stop bands. Unlik e the Linear Phase filter , group delay is not constant so some time- coherence is lost; howe ver , phase shif t is low and the particular benefit with this filter is that the impulse response e[...]

22 Steep Filter -80 -60 -40 -20 0 20 -200 -180 -160 -140 -120 -100 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 Freq uency response Linear phase filter Steep filter frequency/FS (input sampling rate) Magnitude (dB)[...]

DacMagic azur 23 Our Steep filter is a linear phase filt er that has been optimised for st op band attenuation of close-in aliasing images. Here we ha ve traded a little attenuation of the v ery highest frequency response (-2dB at 20kHz) and a little more pre- and post-ringing for a v ery steep attenuation just outside the pass band. The Steep filt[...]

24 The follo wing table shows the filter st op band attenuation: Linear Phase Minimum Phase Steep Roll-off at 20kHz -0. 1dB -0. 1dB -2dB Roll-off at 22kHz -1 0dB -10dB -82dB Ultimate roll-off 140dB 140dB 140dB We encourage y ou to experiment with the filt ers to determine which sound best t o your ears and using your source eq uipment/programme mat[...]

DacMagic azur 25 D/A converters Dual Wolfson WM8 7 40 24bit D ACs Digital filter T exas Instruments TMS 320VC550 1 DSP upsampling to 2 4bit 192kHz Analogue filter 2-Pole Dual Differential Bessel Double Virtual Earth Balanced Frequency response 20Hz to 20kHz (±0. 1dB)* THD @ 1kHz 0dBFs <0.00 1% 2 4bit THD @ 1kHz -10dBFs <0.00 1% THD @ 20kHz 0[...]

26 There is no power Ensure the supplied AC adapt or is connected securely to the PSU sock et on the rear panel. Ensure that the correct mains transformer is being used and that it complies with the local electrical supply . Ensure the mains plug is fully inserted into the wall socket and is switched on. There is no sound Ensure that the amplifier [...]

DacMagic azur 27 Cambridge Audio warrants this pr oduct to be free fr om defects in mat erials and workmanship (subject to the terms set f orth below). Cambridge Audio will repair or replace (at Cambridge Audio's option) this product or an y defectiv e parts in this product. Warranty periods may v ary from countr y to country. If in doubt cons[...]

© 2008 Cambridge Audio Ltd AP23905/1-A Cambridge Audio is a brand of Audio Partnership Plc Registered Office: Gallery Cour t, Hankey Place London SE1 4BB, United Kingdom Registered in England No. 29533 13 www.cambridge-audio.com[...]