DCS Paganini Upsampler User Manual
© Data Conversion Systems Ltd. 2009-2011
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise)
without the prior written permission of dCS
publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
dCS Paganini Upsampler
Digital to Digital Converter
User Manual
Software Release 1.1x
1
. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this
March 2011
Price UK £8.00 / Euro 12.00
Information contained in this manual is subject to change without notice, and whilst it is checked for accuracy, no
liabilities can be accepted for errors.
1
dCS is Data Conversion Systems Ltd. Company registered in England No. 2072115.
dCS Paganini Upsampler User Manual Software Issue 1.1x
March 2011
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dCS Paganini Upsampler User Manual Software Issue 1.1x
March 2011
Contents
Using the dCS Paganini Upsampler for the first time .............................................................................. 4
What’s in the box? 4
Positioning the unit 4
Safety Notice 5
Patent Pending 5
Step-by-Step Guide ............................................................................................................................... 6
Preliminaries 6
STEP 1 - Connecting an Input 7
STEP 2 – Setting up the USB source 8
A word about Music Playing Software 8
Selecting the Paganini Upsampler as your Audio Output device 8
STEP 3 – Connecting an Output 9
Single wire PCM 9
Dual AES 10
1394 interface 11
STEP 4 - Setting the Sync Source 12
Using the USB input in Master Mode 12
Using a Master Clock 12
A Typical 4-box Paganini System 13
Using the Paganini Upsampler and DAC 14
Front Panel ........................................................................................................................................... 15
POWER Button 15
MENU Button 15
INPUT button 15
OUTPUT Button 15
Remote Control Receiver 16
Display 16
Rear Panel ............................................................................................................................................ 17
Digital Inputs 17
Digital Outputs 17
Word Clock Input / Output 18
SUC Connector 18
Mains inlet 18
The Menu .............................................................................................................................................. 19
Using the Menu 20
INFORMATION Menu 21
UPSAMPLER SETTINGS Menu 22
DISPLAY SETTINGS Menu 25
Specification ........................................................................................................................................ 26
Maintenance and Support ................................................................................................................... 27
Service and Maintenance 27
Replacing a Blown Mains Fuse 27
Cleaning the case 27
Limited Warranty 28
Operating Conditions 28
If you need more help 29
Software History 29
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dCS Paganini Upsampler User Manual Software Issue 1.1x
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USING THE dCS Paganini Upsampler FOR THE FIRST TIME
Congratulations on purchasing your dCS Paganini Upsampler.
Before using your unit, please read this section and the Step by Step Guide. This will enable you to
set the unit up quickly and safely with your hi-fi system.
From time to time, dCS will release updated software on CD that you can install yourself using the CD
Update feature. Please check our web-site occasionally to see if new Paganini software is available, or
consult your dealer.
What’s in the box?
Check that the box contains the following items:
• dCS Paganini Upsampler
• Manual and Menu / Setup Guide
• Power cable
• 1394 cable
• BNC cable
• USB cable
• 2 spare fuses
Notify your dealer as soon as possible if anything is missing or damaged. We suggest that you retain
the original packaging for possible future use. If this is not possible, replacement packaging can be
ordered from dCS or our distributors. Details can be found on our web site at www.dcsltd.co.uk
.
The cables supplied are commercial-grade parts, as we realise our customers will want to make their
own choices.
The dCS Premium Remote handset is supplied as standard with the Paganini Transport
. If you do not
have a Paganini Transport in your system or it was supplied with the original basic remote handset, a
remote control can be ordered direct from dCS as an optional extra.
Positioning the unit
Units in the Paganini range may be stacked directly on top of each other, but are likely to give better
sonic results when mounted on separate shelves of a rack. Place each unit on a firm, vibration free
base, allowing convenient connection to the other parts of your system. To prevent overheating, we
recommend that you leave some free space around the unit to allow for ventilation.
3 feet are fitted as standard, this may be changed to the 4-foot arrangement shown below, if you
prefer. Spare feet are available as an optional extra. The mounting points are M4 size, maximum
screw depth is 10mm.
FRONT EDGE
FRONT EDGE
STANDARD 3-FOOT
ARRANGEMENT
MOUNTING POINT
FOR 4 FOOT
ARRANGEMENT
BACK EDGE
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MOUNTING POINT
FOR 4 FOOT
ARRANGEMENT
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OPTIONAL 4-FOOT
ARRANGEMENT
MOUNTIN G POINT
FOR 3 FOOT
ARRANGEMENT
BACK EDGE
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Safety Notice
Your dCS Paganini Upsampler contains no user serviceable parts. DO NOT attempt to
open the case as there are potentially dangerous voltages present inside. In the event of
the unit developing a fault, please contact your dealer in the first instance.
To maintain protection from electric shock, the unit MUST be connected to mains earth
(ground) via the power cable. Also, unearthed systems do not give the best sonic
performance.
This product is lead-free to comply with the RoHS directive.
Before connecting the power cable to the unit for the first time, please check that it has been set to the
correct operating voltage for your mains supply. The unit’s voltage setting is shown on the serial
number label. If this does not match your local supply voltage, DO NOT attempt to use the unit.
Contact your dealer to have the unit reset. Using the unit with the wrong mains setting for your local
supply may result in serious damage to the unit and will invalidate the warranty. Do not attempt to
reset the voltage yourself.
We do not recommend the use of mains regenerators. However, if you do wish to use a mains
regenerator with variable voltage and frequency, we recommend that you set the voltage to match
your local voltage and the frequency to either 50Hz or 60Hz ONLY.
Damage caused to your Paganini Upsampler by misuse of a mains regenerator or by a
!
malfunctioning mains regenerator is not covered by the warranty.
Disposal at end-of-life - the symbol indicates that this product should not be treated as
normal household waste. It should be recycled, so please take it to an approved
collection facility.
Patent Pending
This product contains novel features that are the subject of patent application GB0817141.5.
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STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE
This section guides you through setting up the unit for basic operation.
Preliminaries
The Menu / Setup Guide sheet details the menu structure and details the two most common set-ups.
For digital interfaces, use with cables designed for digital audio:
• for AES/EBU interfaces use 110Ω screened, twisted pair cables fitted with one male XLR
connector and one female XLR connector.
• for Word Clock interfaces, use 75Ω coax cables fitted with BNC plugs.
• for SPDIF RCA interfaces, use 75Ω coax cables fitted with RCA Phono plugs.
• for IEEE 1394 interfaces, use the IEEE 1394 cable provided with the unit.
• For USB interfaces, use the USB cable provided with the unit.
Connect the power cable supplied to the power inlet on the Upsampler’s rear panel, plug the other end
into a convenient power outlet.
Please do not use an excessively heavy or inflexible power cable as this may damage the
!
power inlet connector.
Set the rear panel power switch to the I position. Briefly press the Power button and wait about 30
seconds while the Upsampler configures itself. The display will show in sequence: dCS, Paganini
Upsampler and No Input > 24/96.
If the unit is likely to be set in an unfamiliar state, you can reset it as follows:
Press the Menu button, press the → (Output) button once, then the Menu button again to display the
Upsampler Settings menu. Press the ← (Input) button repeatedly to highlight the Factory Reset menu
page. Press the Menu button and wait a few seconds while the settings are reset.
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STEP 1 - Connecting an Input
Use suitable cables to connect your source equipment to the matching digital input connectors on the
back panel of the Paganini Upsampler. The unit will accept up to 24-bit data at 32, 44.1, 48, 88.2 or
96kS/s. You can connect any interfaces you need or all 4 if you wish.
Use the INPUT button on the front panel to select the input you require, the choices are: AES, USB,
RCA1 & RCA2.
The label for the selected input at the top left corner of the screen will highlight. If the source is
generating recognisable PCM, the Upsampler will lock, displaying the input / output sample rates and
the Sync icon:
For example, when connected to an AES source generating 16/44.1 data:
Go to STEP 2.
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STEP 2 – Setting up the USB source
The USB interface can be connected to a WindowsTM Vista/ WindowsTM 7 or XP (SP2 or later) PC,
TM
OSX (10.5.4 or later) systems or a sound server, running software to generate PCM data.
Mac
If you do not want to use a USB source, go to STEP 3.
A word about Music Playing Software
There are countless programs that can play music on Windows
Unfortunately, not all of them present the data completely unprocessed to the USB ports. For
example, Windows Media Player re-samples all data to 24 bits, albeit at the original sample rate,
whilst iTunes rate converts data as necessary to the output sample rate set in the OSX Audio set-up
panel.
With such a proliferation of playing software, and with updates being issued daily, it is impossible for
dCS to be fully up-to-date with the behaviour and performance of all programs. If you have questions
or problems, we would urge you to take them up with your software vendor. What we will say is that
different programs operate very differently and it is well worth finding out exactly how your particular
program processes the audio.
TM
PC and Apple MacTM OSX systems.
One particular problem that has been identified and is worthy of note, concerns the popular iTunes
program when running on Windows systems. The default output word length is 16 bits and must be
changed to 24 bits for correct operation. To do this, click on Start > Control Panel > Quicktime.
Click on the Audio tab of the Quicktime panel and select 24 bit in the Size field of the Sound Out
section.
Selecting the Paganini Upsampler as your Audio Output device
Whichever program you are using to play your music, your computer may not automatically select
your Paganini Upsampler as the preferred playback device. You can correct this as follows :
Windows XP - Once you have connected the Paganini Upsampler and switched it on, go to Start >
Control Panel > Sounds and Audio devices. Click on the Audio tab and select dCS Paganini from
the drop down list in the Sound Playback Default device list. For best results, set the Sample Rate to
be the same as that of the file.
Windows Vista - Once you have connected the Paganini Upsampler and switched it on, go to Start >
Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Sound and click on the Playback tab of the panel that
appears. dCS Paganini will appear in the list of available devices. For best results, set the Sample
Rate to be the same as that of the file.
TM
OSX - Once you have connected the Paganini Upsampler and switched it on, open Finder,
Mac
click on the Go tab and select Utilities. In the Utilities panel, select Audio MIDI Setup and click on
the Audio Devices in the Audio MIDI setup panel. Select dCS Paganini from the drop down list in the
System Output. You can also set dCS Paganini as the default output from the same panel. For best
results, set the Sample Rate to be the same as that of the file.
For more detailed advice, please visit www.dcsltd.co.uk/page/support
to Computer Audio”.
Go to STEP 3.
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and download the “dCS Guide
dCS Paganini Upsampler User Manual Software Issue 1.1x
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STEP 3 – Connecting an Output
Choose which output interface you want to use and connect it up as described below. You can
connect as many outputs as you wish.
If the output format is not compatible with a particular interface, that interface will not be
!
active (for example, the AES1 output cannot carry DSD).
The Upsampler will not output sample rates that are lower than the input sample rate.
Single wire PCM
Connect one or more of the PCM outputs (AES1, AES2, RCA1, RCA2) to matching inputs on your
DAC. Use the OUTPUT button on the front panel to set the output sample rate to 32, 44.1, 48, 88.2 or
96kS/s. Use the DAC’s INPUT button to select that input.
Paganini Upsampler
dCS Model: Paganini Upsampler
~ 50/60 Hz, 30W
DIGITAL (PCM) OUTPUTS
RCA1
W/CLK
IN
DIGITAL (PCM) INPUTS 1394
AES 1 USB
PUSH
RCA 1
SUC
Paganini DAC
Go to STEP 4.
Fuse T 500mA L
~ 50/60 Hz, 30W
Fuse T 500mA L
W/CLK
W/CLK
W/CLK
OUT
IN
OUT
AES2
AES1
dCS Model: Paganini DAC
ANALOGUE OUTPUTS DIGITAL INPUTS 1394
LEFT
RIGHT
RCA2
LEFT
RIGHT
RCA 2
RCA 1
RCA 2
Figure 1 – Connecting the single-wire outputs
AES 1 AES 2
PUSH PUSH
SUC
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