Tag mclaren audio DAC20 User Manual

power
LED

source
button

input
button

source

coaxial

optical mute

input

status
indicators

2

1

32kHz344kHz 48kHz

lock

power
button

aes

aes

demp

02 welcome
08 key features
10 getting started
12 input types
14 selecting an input
15 muting
16 HDCD

contents

®

decoding

17 sampling frequency
18 jitter reduction
19 de-emphasis
20 outputs
21 running in and warming up
22 care and maintenance
24 technical data
28 international standards

fuse
carrier

220-240V
~

50-60Hz

Fuse: T1A L250V

made in United Kingdom

ac supply
socket

mute
button

analog output
sockets

OUTPUT

left

right

1

serial

DAC 1234567

number

2

optical input
sockets

OPTICAL INPUT

eiaj

231

®

is a registered trademark of Pacific Microsonics Inc.

coaxial input
sockets

COAXIAL INPUT

spdif 75 ohm

231

digital output

socket

COAXIAL

OUTPUT

spdif 75 ohm

AES/EBU input
socket

XLR INPUT

aes/ebu 110 ohm bal

Specification shown may vary for different countries

welcome to a new partnership

..in hi-performance, hi-fidelity

Derek Scotland (on the left) – Technical Director

Peter Stevens – Chief Industrial Designer

Dr. Zucker – Chief Executive

All TAG companies per petually strive
for,and ac hieve,excellence and high­performance in every area of their
business.

These qualities are demonstrated in the
fastidious standards that make TAG Heuer
watches some of the world’s most
admired;in the teamwork that makes TAG
McLaren’s motor racing team one of the
most successful in Formula One;and in the
advanced electronics technology that
makes TAG Electronic Systems the first
choice for many Formula One constructors
and high-performance car makers.

celebrating a TAG McLaren victory

Now,this blend of talent and
expertise has been combined
with the award-winning
experience of Audiolab to create
a company with a technical
advantage and access to
resources second-to-none in the
high end audio industry ­TAG McLaren Audio.

TAG McLaren Audio has been created with
one aim in mind:to produce the best high­fidelity audio and audio-visual systems
available. Now the first fr uits of that
alliance are ready – a unique new range of
audio products.

Throughout the F3 Series development
process,quality,performance and
reliability have been paramount,resulting
in unparalleled performance,operational
excellence and sheer listening pleasure.

03

welcome

welcome

Thank you for purchasing the TAG McLaren Audio digital to analogue converter DAC20.

We are convinced it will give you many hours of

listening pleasure.

Digital methods of recording music have many advantages,
such as very low noise,high dynamic range and fast
searching but,until now,you may have been disappointed
by the sound quality when you play digital recordings.
At TAG McLaren Audio,we understand exactly what needs
to be done to get the best sound from a digital recording.

accurate reproduction

Digital recording is quite insensitive to
data losses,such as a scratch on a disc or
a drop out on a tape.However,rebuilding
the recorded music exactly,even from a
perfect digital recording,is a complex task
which is often not appreciated and has only
recently been fully understood.

very high resolution

The digital signal represents the original
music as rapidly changing groups of bits
(i.e.the ‘zeros’ and ‘ones’ understood by
computers). More bits in eac h g roup allow
a more accurate representation of the
music information during its processing.
The DAC20 uses 24 bits (eight bits more
than a CD’s original recording), which
results in higher signal resolution and
more precise sound details.

digital filtering

By its nature,digital data generates
unwanted,high-frequency noise when it is
converted back to the analogue domain
(which is what our ears can hear).Even
though the noise frequency is way above the
threshold of human hearing,it has unpleasant
effects on the sound due to what audio
engineers call ‘intermodulation’.To remove
this noise,the DAC20 uses a digital filter
which is made more effective by
oversampling and noise shaping the data.
This technique reduces the high frequency
noise by using an 8 times digital
oversampling filter.The data from the filter is
further oversampled,using noise shaping,to
produce a 192 times single bit data stream
for conversion back to analogue.

0504

welcome

welcome

06

stable internal clock

The timing of the data is as important as
the data itself.Timing inaccurac y,known
as ‘jitter’,is responsible for a wide range
of subtle distortions. In the DAC20,jitter
is reduced to an absolute technical
minimum by a very stable electronic clock
which is synchronised to the incoming
digital data stream to provide accurate
timing. The retimed output is sent to a
digital 75

Ω

coaxial SPDIF output for
digital recording purposes, as well as to
the analogue section of the converter.

®

HDCD

decoding

HDCD®(High Definition Compatible
Digital) is a proprietary technique
developed by Pacific Microsonics Incor­porated.Using HDCD

®

,the recording

engineer can record the music at a higher

resolution and quality than on a standard
CD.A digital to analogue converter with an

®

HDCD

facility,such as the DAC20,
is necessary to make use of this higher
resolution.The DAC20 recognises
recordings made with HDCD

®

encoding and
applies the appropriate decoding to make
use of the improved music information.

multiple input formats

The DAC20 accepts digital data in three
different formats:SPDIF 75

Ω coaxial

using both phono and BNC connectors;
optical EIAJ using TOSLINK

™

connectors
and,for optimum noise rejection,
AES/EBU 110

Ω,balanced, transformer-

coupled using XLR connectors.Input can
be selected from one of the three optical
inputs,one of the three coaxial inputs or
from the AES/EBU input.

automatic detection of sampling

frequency and pre-emphasis

The DAC20 automatically detects the
sampling frequency of the incoming
digital data stream and switches its internal
circuits to match.If the or ig inal recording
was made with pre-emphasis,the DAC20
will automatically switch on de-emphasis
to take advantage of it.

high-quality analogue output

With all our effort on the digital side
(and we have only listed a few topics here),
we have not forgotten the analogue music
reproduction,which is as impor tant as the
recovery of the music from the digital
domain. The analogue circuit in the DAC20
is a ‘no-compromise’design using high­quality,high-stability components to send a
smooth,clean signal to your amplifier for

excellent sound quality. The analogue
output terminals are duplicated for your
convenience.

The DAC20 combines digital precision
with analogue purity.

07

key features key features

HDCD®compatible with automatic switching

•

Linear phase output filters with high-quality, high-stability active

•
and passive components

24 bit data processing

•

Single bit digital to analogue converter with 20 bit resolution and

•
192 times oversampling

Ultra linear, low-noise, low-distortion single-bit conversion

•

‘Straight Line Technology’ links the digital to analogue

•
converter to the audio output

Very low noise master clock synchronises with the digital data

•
input to minimise jitter

Automatic sampling frequency selection

•

Automatic de-emphasis

•

Microprocessor control

•

Automatic and manual muting

•

Immunity to electromagnetic interference enhanced by double

•

Three coaxial SPDIF inputs with phono and BNC sockets

•

AES/EBU balanced input with XLR socket

•

Three optical EIAJ inputs

•

Two low-impedance analogue stereo outputs to allow long

•
cable runs

Coaxial SPDIF digital output with precisely retimed signal for

•
high-quality digital recording

Sorbothane

•
by TAG McLaren Audio

®

sonic isolation feet, specially designed

(1)

layer, epoxy glass printed circuit board technology

1. For the very best performance we recommend that our units are placed on

individual shelves and are not stacked one on top of another

08 09