M2TECH hiFace Dac User Manual

M2TECH

HIFACE DAC

384KHZ/32BIT DIGITAL-TO-ANALOG CONVERTER

USER MANUAL

REV. 1.1 – 5/2013

hiFace DAC 384kHz/32bit digital-TO-ANALOG CONVERTER

REVISION 1.1 – MAY 2013

M2Tech

www.m2tech.biz

Warning!

Changes or modifications not authorized by the manufacturer can invalidate the compliance to CE regulations and cause the unit to be no more suitable to use. The manufacturer refuses every responsibility regarding damages to people or things due to the use of a unit which has been subject to unauthorized modifications or to misuse or to malfunction of a unit which has been subject to unauthorized modifications.

This unit is compliant with the following CE regulations when an USB cable less than 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 Discharges – ESD).

Recycling

The label above, printed on the product case, indicates that the product, when 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 with the WEEE regulation (Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment). By making sure that this unit is correctly recycled, you will help preventing potential damages to environment and human health, which could be caused by a wrong treatment of this product as generic garbage. Materials recycling helps saving natural resources. For more in-depth information about recycling this product, please contact M2Tech Srl.

WARNING: the information contained in this manual are considered to be reliable and accurate. M2Tech reserves the right to change or modify the information any time, without prior advice. It’s up to the customer to ensure that the manual being consulted is the latest version.

hiFace DAC 384kHz/32bit digital-TO-ANALOG CONVERTER

REVISION 1.1 – MAY 2013

Dear customer,

thank you for purchasing hiFace DAC. What you have is a first-rate USB digital-to-analog converter with many unique features conceived to obtain the 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, much harder is to obtain the best sonic performance from it, due to intrinsic limits in USB 1.1 audio standard and the implementation of digital audio interfaces in computers. Please visit M2Tech website (www.m2tech.biz) to find extensive literature about this topic.

hiFace DAC overcomes all the limits of usual USB D/A converters by exploiting the powerful performance allowed by USB 2.0 Audio class and by using asynchronous data transfer, along with a sophisticated electronic design.

hiFace DAC performance largely exceed those of similar units costing a lot more: you’ll be amazed by how good the hiFace DAC can sound, even with CD-standard files. And a whole new world will be at reach when listening to high-resolution files.

We feel that your expectations will be fulfilled by hiFace DAC: you’ll hear your music files in a way like never before, prepare for a whole new experience!

Nadia Marino, CEO

Please annotate here your hiFace DAC serial number and purchase date for future reference:

Serial number: ___________________________

Date of purchase: _________________________

M2Tech

www.m2tech.biz

hiFace DAC 384kHz/32bit digital-TO-ANALOG CONVERTER

REVISION 1.1 – MAY 2013

M2Tech

www.m2tech.biz

INDEX

1. Connections ...................................................................................................................5

2. Connection to the host and the amplifier/headphones ..............................................6

3. True plug’n’play operation with Mac............................................................................7

4. True plug’n’play operation with Linux .........................................................................9

5. Operation with iPad and Android-based tablets .......................................................10

5. Windows driver installation ........................................................................................11

5.1. Obtaining the driver .................................................................................................11

5.2. Installing the driver on a Windows-based PC (XP, Vista, Windows 7 and Windows

8, 32 & 64 bits) ...............................................................................................................11

5.2.1. Checking for right installation and trying the interface ......................................15

5.3. Unistalling the driver................................................................................................17

6. Configuring the computer to use hiFace DAC

6.1. Configuring a PC with Windows XP ........................................................................20

6.1.1. Configuring for Direct Sound with Windows XP ................................................20

6.1.2. Configuring for ASIO with Windows XP ............................................................21

6.2. Configuring a PC with Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows 8 ...........................22

6.2.1. Configuring for Direct Sound with Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows 8...22

6.2.2. Configuring for Kernel Streaming with Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows 8

....................................................................................................................................23

6.2.3. Configuring for WASAPI with Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows 8 .........23

6.2.4. Configuring for ASIO with Windows Vista, Windows 7or Windows 8................23

7. Configuring the player for Kernel Streaming: two examples...................................24

7.1. FooBar ....................................................................................................................24

7.2. Winamp and MediaMonkey.....................................................................................25

8. Configuring the player for WASAPI: two examples ..................................................27

8.1. FooBar ....................................................................................................................27

8.2. JRiver ......................................................................................................................28

9. Configuring the player for ASIO: an example ...........................................................28

9.1. FooBar ....................................................................................................................28

10. Interface Special Features ........................................................................................30

10.1. Precision oscillators...............................................................................................30

10.2. Asynchronous transfer mode ................................................................................30

10.3. 384/32 operation ...................................................................................................30

10.4. Driving headphones ..............................................................................................30

10.4. Powering the hiFace DAC with an external power supply ......................................30

11. Technical Specifications ...........................................................................................32

hiFace DAC ............................................................20

hiFace DAChiFace DAC

hiFace DAC 384kHz/32bit digital-TO-ANALOG CONVERTER

REVISION 1.1 – MAY 2013

1. Connections

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Figure 1

1) USB input. Connect directly to the 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 the latter, the extender must be compliant with USB 2.0 and less than 3m, otherwise the bus performance will decrease and the correct operation of the interface will not be guaranteed. USB type A male connector

2) Stereo analog output. Connect to the amplifier or preamplifier input with a 3.5mm jackto-RCA interconnect or to a medium- or high-impedance headphones. 3.5mm stereo jack female connector.

* hiFace DAC performance on USB 1.1 are limited to 96kHz. Please note that 1.0 ports won’t work.

hiFace DAC 384kHz/32bit digital-TO-ANALOG CONVERTER

REVISION 1.1 – MAY 2013

M2Tech

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2. Connection to the host and the amplifier/headphones

ADVICE: Windows users must install the driver prior to connecting the hiFace to the PC (please refer to section 5).

ADVICE: both PC and amplifier/preamplifier should be switched off and disconnected from the mains sockets before connecting the hiFace DAC

Please refer to section 1, “Connections”.

Connect the hiFace DAC to the host USB 2.0 port by inserting its USB plug (Figure 1, 1) into the host socket. If straight insertion is difficult or when in need of avoiding straight insertion, an USB 2.0 extender cable (A male to A female) can be used. Please avoid using extenders more than 4m, to avoid invalidating the bus performance.

If your computer has a Windows operating system and a driver hasn’t been installed prior connecting the hiFace DAC, an error message may appear and you may need to disconnect the hiFace DAC and install the driver (see section 5.3).

Connect the 3.5mm jack end connector of a 3.5mm jack-to-RCA interconnect to the hiFace DAC output connector (Figure 1, 2). Connect the RCA end of the connector to one stereo input of a preamplifier or integrated amplifier.

A headphones set can also be driven by the hiFace DAC, provided its impedance is medium or high (32 Ohms or more). In this case, connect the 3.5mm stereo jack of the headphones to the output connectors of the hiFace DAC. This can be done either before or after connecting the hiFace DAC to the computer: the hiFace DAC operation is glitchless, so no bumps or other dangerous noises will be generated on headphones drivers.

hiFace DAC.

hiFace DAChiFace DAC

hiFace DAC 384kHz/32bit digital-TO-ANALOG CONVERTER

REVISION 1.1 – MAY 2013

M2Tech

www.m2tech.biz

3. True plug’n’play operation with Mac

Mac computers with OSX 10.6.4 and later have a native support for audio devices compliant with USB Audio Class 2.0. This means that the driver is already included in the operating system and the user needs not to install anything: just connect the hiFace DAC to your Mac and it will be immediately recognized by the OS and ready to use. Macs with older OS need update to use the hiFace DAC.

To use hiFace DAC as output device for your Mac, you need to select it as default output device from the Audio Control Panel (Preferences -> Sound) as shown in Figure 2:

Figure 2

After selecting hiFace DAC, please check settings, particularly the output sampling frequency (Figure 3): that setting forces the sampling frequency for the hiFace DAC, regardless the native sampling frequency of the various tracks being played back (to get rid of such unease operation mode, you may want to use a player which automatically changes this setting based on each track’s native sampling frequency, Like Sonic Studio’s Amarra or PureMusic).

hiFace DAC 384kHz/32bit digital-TO-ANALOG CONVERTER

REVISION 1.1 – MAY 2013

Figure 3

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hiFace DAC 384kHz/32bit digital-TO-ANALOG CONVERTER

REVISION 1.1 – MAY 2013

M2Tech

www.m2tech.biz

4. True plug’n’play operation with Linux

Linux has a native support for audio devices compliant with USB Audio Class 2.0 based on ALSA. This means that the driver is already included in the operating system and the user needs not to install anything: just connect the hiFace DAC to your PC with Linux and it will be immediately recognized by the OS and ready to use. ALSA version needs to be 1.0.24 or later. To use hiFace DAC as output device, select it as default output device for the system or for the player you’re using.

hiFace DAC 384kHz/32bit digital-TO-ANALOG CONVERTER

REVISION 1.1 – MAY 2013

M2Tech

www.m2tech.biz

5. Operation with iPad and Android-based tablets

iPad also supports USB Audio Class 2.0. This means that it is possible to connect the hiFace DAC to an iPad through the latter’s camera kit, which exports a high speed host USB port. The limited supply current required by the hiFace DAC makes it possible to power it even by the reduced current capabilities provided by the iPad. Once the hiFace DAC is connected, the iPad automatically set it as default output device.

Android tablets may potentially use the hiFace DAC, provided they have a 2.0 or 1.1 USB host port capable of at least 100mA output current and ALSA or any other audio management module compliant with USB Audio Class 2.0. Please refer to the tablet’s specification chart.

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M2TECH hiFace Dac User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual