AD Labs RD26 Owner's Manual

AD LABS www.musicaltech.com RD26

RD26 Owner’s Manual

Thank you for purchasing the AD LABS RD26 digital to analog converter. Our
goal is that the device will provide you many hours of listening pleasure due to it’s
high-performance package.

Don’t get fooled by the relatively small chassis. Inside the RD26 lies a high­quality digital front-end featuring asychronous reclocking and upsampling, a top dac
chip and one of the most advanced wireless audio streaming technologies. Other
strong points are the dedicated headphone amplifier and our proprietary ultra low
noise power supply.

Equipped with these technologies, RD26 will offer a lot of user convenience.
AES/EBU and coaxial s/pdif inputs are partnered by a low-latency, extended range
high-performance wireless usb input. Single ended and balanced outputs are present
on the back panel, while a headphone output is present on the front. All these
outputs are volume-controlled, making possible a direct connection between RD26
and a power amplifier (thus using a preamplifier becomes optional in your system).

The user has access to a variety of 5 digital filter responses, it can change the
absolute phase of the signal and switch channels between them. A highly readable
center display will show the incoming sample rate of the signal and various data. An
optional remote is available to complete the RD26’s features.

All RD26 units are manufactured and tested at our local facility under strict
quality control. We hope that you will enjoy this product as much as we intended to.

RD26 Front Panel:

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AD LABS www.musicaltech.com RD26

1) Input select 1 (AES/EBU);

2) Input select 2 (wireless USB);

3) Input select 3 (spdif);

4) Volume Up;

5) Volume Down;

6) Filter Selection;

7) Headphone output;

8) Numeric display;

9) Remote sensor.

• A long press on active input (buttons 1,2 or 3) will put the unit in standby.

• Normal operation can be resumed by pressing any volume button(4 or 5).

• Pressing the volume buttons at the same time (4 and 5) will change absolute

phase.

• A long press on filter button (6) will switch the output channels.

RD26 Back Panel:

1) RF connector (input);

2) AC supply (230V or 110V);

3) Digital Input - coaxial;

4) Digital Input – AES/EBU;

5) Balanced Output Left;

6) Single ended Output Left (White);

7) Single ended Output Right (Red);

8) Balanced Output Right.

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AD LABS www.musicaltech.com RD26

Instructions of use

Connect the unit to the mains. Connect the appropriate digital source to the unit.
A digital source can be any device with a s/pdif or aes/ebu digital output, or any PC
with a usb connector. Connect the output of the RD26 to your integrated or power
amplifier using balanced or single ended cables, or plug in a pair of headphones into
the approriate jack. When powered up, the screen should light up, and the “RF”
input is active by default. Sample rate of 44.1 shoud be on the display. In order to
get sound from the USB RF link, make sure that the RF dongle is plugged into your
computer via a usb port.

When using a computer to stream music to your dac, make sure that you select
“USB audio device” as a sound output.

On power-up, the unit restores the source that was last selected, the output
phase state, channels order and filter response. The startup volume is at 77% and
mute is disabled. The idle screen shows the input sample rate of the selected input.
The output sample rate is 96KHz if the input is less than 96KHz and 192KHz if the
input is higher than or equal with 96KHz.

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AD LABS www.musicaltech.com RD26

Use buttons 1, 2 or 3 to switch between the three inputs (AES/EBU, wireless
USB, SP/DIF). A long press on the current selected source will put the unit in
standby mode, indicated by only a dot being lit on the display. In this mode, the
outputs are muted and the DAC and Sample Rate Converter enter low power mode.
To exit standby mode, press buttons 4 or 5 (Volume Up/Down).

Press buttons 4 or 5 (Volume Up/Down) to adjust the volume level.

Press both buttons 4 and 5 (Volume Up/Down) to switch between normal and
inverted output phase. When the phase is inverted, the text PH. I. is displayed. If
the phase is normal, the text PH. 0 is displayed. When the idle screen reappears,
the selected phase is memorized as the default.

Press button 6 (Filter Selection) to change between the five available output
responses. After a short press on this button, the DAC response is changed and the
current filter number is shown on the screen (F1, F2, F3, F4, F5). When the idle
screen reappears, the selected filter is memorized as the default.

A long-press on button 6 (Filter Selection) allows the user to invert the output
channels. When the channels are inverted (left becomes right and vice-versa), the
text 2CH1 is displayed. If the channels are switched back to normal, the text 1CH2
is displayed. When the idle screen reappears, the selected channel order is
memorized as the default.

Use remote control buttons 14, 15 or 16 to switch between the three inputs.

Press buttons Up/Down to adjust the volume level.

Press button 11 (Filter Selection) to change between the five available output
responses. After a short press on this button, the DAC response is changed and the
current filter number is shown on the screen (F1, F2, F3, F4, F5). When the idle
screen reappears, the selected filter is memorized as the default.

By pressing button 12 (Phase Invert) the user can switch between normal and
inverted output phase. When the phase is inverted, the text PH. I. is displayed. If
the phase is normal, the text PH. 0 is displayed. When the idle screen reappears,
the selected phase is memorized as the default.

Press button 8 (Mute) to force output mute. In this state the idle screen blinks
and can only be disabled by another press of button 8 or unplugging and powering
up the the RD26 unit.

Use button (Standby) to put the unit in standby mode. Use button (Display) to
show the current firmware version.

Technical characteristics:

Inputs : SP/DIF, AES/EBU, USB (wireless)
Outputs : RCA, XLR, Headphones
Input sample rate : 32 - 192 KHz
THD+N : 0.001%
S/N ratio : 120 dB
Variable output : 0 - 4v rms
Output impedance : 32 ohms
Wireless range : 50 m (LOS - line of sight)

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Selectable advanced digital filtering :

F1 – linear phase

F2 – minimum phase

F3 – linear phase brickwall

F4 – minimum phase apodising

F5 – linear phase apodising

Unit dimensions : 160 x 220 x 55 mm

USER NOTES

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