Playback Designs Pinot User Manual

Pinot

Music Recording A/D Converter

USER MANUAL

Version 1.1

2

IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

!

CAUTION: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRIC
SHOCK, DO NOT REMOVE COVER. NO USER
SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE. REFER SERVICING
TO QUALIFIED SERVICE PERSONNEL.

The lightning flash with arrowhead symbol within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert
the user to the presence of uninsulated “dangerous voltage” within the product’s enclosure
that may be of sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of electric shock to persons.

!

The exclamation point within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the
presence of important operating and maintenance (servicing) instructions in the literature
accompanying the appliance.

 Read and follow these instructions and keep this manual in a safe place.
 Do not use this apparatus near water.
 Clean only with dry cloth.
 Do not block any ventilation openings.
 Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators, heaters, or other apparatus (including pre-

amplifiers and amplifiers) that produce heat.

 Do not install this apparatus in a confined space such as book cases or closed cabinets.

 Unplug this apparatus from the mains during lightning storms or when unused for long periods of

time.

CAUTION

Pinot User Manual

WARRANTY

Playback Designs warrants the Pinot product against defects in material and workmanship under normal use
and service for a period of time specified by the product’s serial number from the date of first delivery to the
owner. The warranty time period is for 30 days. If within the first 30 days of ownership you register your
Playback Designs Pinot product, by sending us a copy of your sales receipt, your name, address, city, state,
zip code, phone number, email address and your dealer’s store name, we will extend the warranty to 3 years.
This warranty is limited to the original owner.

Playback Designs will pay for return shipping charges (domestically) back to the owner when the product is
sent to Playback Designs within the first 30 days after purchase and the fault can be confirmed by Playback
Designs. Otherwise, owner will be responsible for all shipping charges to and from Playback Designs.
International customers must deal with their local dealer or distributor.

For all warranty claims, a copy of the original invoice must accompany the product.
Opening the product or modifying it in any way by the owner, including but not limited to cryogenic treatment,
will void any warranty.

Please contact Playback Designs with a clear trouble report and for shipping instructions before shipping any
product to Playback Designs.

Pinot User Manual

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Playback Designs products are sold worldwide through authorized dealers with restricted territories. If any
Playback Designs product is purchased from non-authorized dealers or from a dealer selling outside his / her
authorized territory all warranties will be void.

Alteration or modification carried out without appropriate approval may invalidate the user’s right to operate
the equipment.

BEFORE USING THE PRODUCT

 What is in the box: Pinot recording system

Power cord (100V and 110V versions only)
USB cable
Optical PlayLink cable
RCA to XLR adapters for each analog signal input
User manual
Wine glass by Playback Designs

 Registration If you purchased this product from a dealer please take a moment and

send us an email to [e-mail] so we can register you for
the warranty.

 Installation: The AC voltage supplied to the unit should match the voltage rating

indicated on the rear panel.
Do not place the Pinot on any other equipment that generates heat.

As the Pinot may become warm during operation, always leave sufficient
space around it for ventilation. Always allow adequate air circulation
around the system.

Pinot User Manual

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This button toggles the level meter display on and off for all DSD recording modes. For PCM
modes the level meter is always on.

fn

The first time this button is pressed the software version is displayed. If the button is then
pressed again within 5 seconds the last 3 digits of the serial number are displayed. Pressing it a
third time will display the filter selection for quad DSD.
If no button is pressed for 5 seconds the display will indicate the recording sample rate.

CLK

The Pinot can slave to an external word clock (BNC WCLK input connector) and this button
toggles this function on an off. When it is set to clock slave mode (external clock) the last decimal
point on the front panel display is lit:

Clock slave mode activated:

Clock slave mode inactive:

When in clock slave mode the Pinot will automatically detect the base frequency (44.1kHz or
48kHz). The user can then select any multiple of the base frequency as the recording sample
rate. For instance, if the Pinot detects a base frequency of 44.1kHz, then the user can select any
of the following recording sample rates: 44.1, 88.2, 176.4, 352.8, DSD1, DSD2, DSD4. Similarly,
if the Pinot detects a base frequency of 48kHz then the following recording sample rates can be
selected: 48, 96, 192, 384kHz (all DSD rates are multiples of 44.1kHz).

The frequency of the word clock input signal can be any binary multiple of 44.1kHz or 48kHz up
to 512FS.

Adjusts recording sample rate down one step. Only active when no USB device is connected,
otherwise sample rate is set by computer connected via USB.

Adjusts recording sample rate up one step. Only active when no USB device is connected,
otherwise sample rate is set by computer connected via USB.
This button can also be used to change the filter setting for quad DSD when the filter selection is
displayed (see Function button and chapter for "Filter Settings for quad DSD").

FRONT PANEL BUTTON FUNCTIONS

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Left channel audio level meter

Recording sample rate

Right channel audio level meter

adjustment knob for left channel

adjustment knob for right channel

FRONT PANEL DISPLAY AND LEVEL ADJUSTMENT

The level meter has 3 different colors:

 green: audio signal level is below -6dbFS 󱂑.
 amber: audio signal level is between -6dbFS and 0dbFS 󱂑. Each amber LED corresponds to 0.5dbFS 󱂑,

in other words there are 12 amber LED's. Ideal recording level is around -6 to -3dbFS 󱂑.

 red: audio signal is clipping. When clipping is detected the entire bar graph is lit red.

Audio signal levels can be adjusted with 1 knob for each channel separately. They are located on the right
side of the Pinot as shown below:

󱂑 NOTE: the units to measure digital levels are usually shown as dbFS indicating the decibels below absolute
digital clipping. In other words 0dbFS is the maximum level possible before clipping occurs.