Mcintosh DA2 User Manual

DA2 Digital Audio Module

Owner’s Guide

DA2 Owner’s Guide is for end user reference after DA2 has been
professionally installed by Authorized McIntosh Dealer or Authorized
McIntosh Service Agency.

DA2 Digital Audio Module Owner’s Guide

SERIAL

NUMBER

HDMI (ARC)

DA2 DIGITAL AUDIO MODULE

USB AUDIO

COAX 2

COAX 1

MCT

OPTICAL 2 OPTICAL 1

DIGITAL AUDIO INPUTS

1. Is it in yet?

Due to the technical nature of the DA2 upgrade, the

upgrade must be performed by a qualied trained

professional at an Authorized McIntosh Dealer or
Authorized McIntosh Service Agency. Please note that
if the upgrade is performed by anyone other than an
Authorized McIntosh Dealer or Authorized McIntosh
Service Agency, under the terms of your McIntosh
Limited Warranty any resulting damage or failure of your
unit will be excluded from warranty coverage. Contact
your local Authorized McIntosh Dealer or Authorized
McIntosh Service Agency today to schedule your
upgrade.

2. Orientation

Depending on which unit the DA2 is installed, it can be
oriented 180 degrees so the inputs will appear like either

Figure 1 or Figure 2.

Figure 1: Lower Chassis Installation

DA2 DIGITAL AUDIO MODULE

COAX 1

COAX 2

SERIAL

NUMBER

appear in the menus as they previously have.

When using USB Audio the DSD capability increases
from 256k to 512k. Connect USB Audio with a USB
Type B connector. See Figure 3.

Figure 3: USB Type B connector

The DA2 adds an HDMI ARC connection. Your unit can
now receive audio via an HDMI cable from ARC enabled
televisions. Audio Return Channel (ARC) can provide
two-way communication between units allowing for
volume control and lip-syncing functions to ensure audio
and video are perfectly matched. This allows for more
intelligent operation between components as well as less
cable clutter. Make sure this feature is enabled in your
TV’s setup menu.

The Lip Sync function is automatic with an ARC CEC
connection. Lip Sync can also be controlled with your
unit’s trim function allowing adjustments of audio to sync
with accompanying video when CEC is defeated or with
the optical input.

The HDMI ARC input is designed to be used exclusively
with ARC compliant televisions. If the source is not ARC
compliant, use the optical connection for digital sources.

sets have sound levels that are lower than typical music
sources. Because of this, a volume boost has been added
to the HDMI input making it louder. Since not every TV
follows the same standard, the ability to adjust the default
volume boost for HDMI is available in the SETUP
menu. The ability to add and adjust a volume boost has
also been provided for the two Optical inputs so that the
Optical inputs’ gains can be adjusted as needed.

To adjust Digital Gain, enter the SETUP menu. Scroll to
Digital Gain. Press and hold the INPUT knob to enter the
sub-menu. Use the INPUT knob to choose the option to
adjust- HDMI Gain, OPTI 1 Gain or OPTI 2 Gain. The
VOLUME knob can be used to select a value between
0dB and +15dB.

HDMI CEC

Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) is a feature of
HDMI that theoretically allows users to control multiple
connected devices through one Remote Control. This can

work ne in some cases when you want to turn on the

television and also power on other related devices, but
there may be times when you do not want this or
other connected events to happen. To defeat CEC,

Trademark License Informaon

enter the SETUP menu using the INPUT knob as
you normally would. Scroll to HDMI CEC. Use
the VOLUME knob to toggle ON/OFF. If you
have a control system for your devices, you will
want CEC defeated (OFF).

HDMI CEC PWR

(automatic) and Manual. In the AUTO mode, lip syncing
functions for a connected HDMI ARC connected
television will be handled by CEC.

Changing the Lip Sync Mode to manual will enable a
TRIM option called HDMI LIP SYNC DELAY.

New Trim Options

HDMI LIP SYNC DELAY

When the SETUP option Lip Sync Mode is set to Manual,
the HDMI LIP SYNC DELAY option will be available in
the TRIM menu. Choosing this TRIM option will allow
a lip sync delay of between 0 milliseconds (ms) and 150
ms to be set in 10 ms increments. The lip sync delay will
apply to HDMI, Optical and Coax inputs.

5. New Processing Power

In addition to standard format SPDIF PCM signals, your
unit is now capable of processing Dolby Digital and DTS
encoded multi-channel bitstreams through the Optical,
COAX and HDMI inputs.

The McIntosh DA2 incorporates copyright
protected technology that is protected by U.S.
patents and other intellectual property rights.
The DA2 uses the following Technologies:

ASIO is a trademark and software of Steinberg
Media Technologies GmbH.

HDMI (ARC)

OPTICAL 2OPTICAL 1

DIGITAL AUDIO INPUTS

MCT

USB AUDIO

Figure 2: Upper Chassis Installation

3. Connections

The DA2 has the following connections:

• two digital coax

• two digital optical

• one HDMI (ARC)

• one MCT

• one USB audio

Connections that were previously in the DA1 module will

Copyright 2019 © by McIntosh Laboratory, Inc

4. Menus

The DA2 module is designed to work with rmware
version 2.0 or higher. With the appropriate rmware your

unit’s menus will automatically update to work with the
DA2’s new features.

New Input

HDMI ARC

HDMI (ARC) will be an option when selecting an input.
It can be renamed and enabled/disabled in the same
manner as all other inputs.

New Setup Options

Digital Gain

Many video sources such as broadcast video to television

With CEC enabled, your unit can control a
television’s volume, mute and unmute with
compatible televisions. Your compatible
television can also power on your McIntosh unit.
CEC will also ensure correct decoding and lip
syncing automatically. You can defeat your unit’s

power control while keeping the other benets of

CEC by using the SETUP option called HDMI
CEC PWR. Enter the SETUP menu, scroll to
HDMI CEC PWR. You can toggle the setting
ON/OFF using the VOLUME knob. If HDMI
CEC is off, this setting will have no effect.

Lip Sync Mode

The Lip Sync Mode setup option enables the
Lip Sync Mode to be toggled between AUTO

• McIntosh Laboratory, Inc. • 2 Chambers Street Binghamton, New York 13903 • www.mcintoshlabs.com

TM

HIGH-DEFINITION MULTIMEDIA INTERFACE

License Notice and Trademark Acknowledgment:
Manufactured under license from Dolby
Laboratories. Dolby, Dolby Audio, and the
double-D symbol are trademarks of Dolby
Laboratories.

For DTS patents, see http://patents.dts.com.
Manufactured under license from DTS, Inc. DTS,
the Symbol, DTS and the Symbol together, and
Digital Surround are registered trademarks and/or
trademarks of DTS, Inc. in the United States and/
or other countries. DTS, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The terms HDMI, HDMI High-Definition
Multimedia Interface, and the HDMI Logo are
trademarks or registered trademarks of HDMI
Licensing Administrator, Inc.