Wyred 4 Sound DAC-2 User Manual

Wyred 4 Sound

OWNER’S MANUAL

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DAC-2

Digital to Analog Converter with volume control

Get Wired, WYRED 4 SOUND

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WYRED 4 SOUND	DAC-v6.1
4235 Traffic Way	Software ver. 1.6n
Atascadero, CA 93422
PH: 805-466-9973
FAX: [phone]
[e-mail]
www.wyred4sound.com
©2014 WYRED 4 SOUND LLC
All rights reserved.	Page 1 of 18

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

Warranty Registration	3
Unpacking	3
Introduction	3
Design features	4
Setup Menu	5-6
Front panel operation	6
Remote Control	6
USB Configuration	6-7
I2S input	8
DC Trigger / HT Bypass	8-9
Fixed Volume Mode	9
Bandwidth / IRR Settings	9
Volume Min / Max Settings	11
Powering your DAC	11
Getting connected	11
“Break-in”/ warming up Period	12
Troubleshooting	12
Hum	13
Warranty coverage	13-14
Servicing your DAC	15-16
Product Specifications	17

_____________________________________________________________________

WYRED 4 SOUND	DAC-v6.1
4235 Traffic Way	Software ver. 1.6n
Atascadero, CA 93422
PH: 805-466-9973
FAX: [phone]
[e-mail]
www.wyred4sound.com
©2014 WYRED 4 SOUND LLC
All rights reserved.	Page 2 of 18

Warranty Registration

**IMPORTANT**

Please take a moment to complete the warranty registration form located on our website. You MUST complete and submit this form within 30 days of purchase to activate your warranty.

Unpacking

The DAC packaging contains:

(Don’t forget to submit your product registration form at www.wyred4sound.com)

1 – Owners Manual

1 – 2.0 meter AC Power Cable

1 – 1.5 meter USB 2.0 A to B cable

1 – 1.5 meter DC trigger cable (3.5mm Mono cable) 1 – Remote control

2 – AAA Batteries

1 – Wyred 4 Sound USB Driver disk

1 – DAC-2 Digital to Analog converter

Carefully inspect your new DAC for any shipping damage. Please contact your dealer or

Wyred 4 Sound directly if you notice any shipping damage or for anything you suspect is missing from your shipment. All packaging cartons will easily fold flat for convenient storage, and should be stored for future use should there be one.

Introduction

Wyred 4 Sound products are a perfect example of what is accomplished when practical engineering and knowledge are combined. All components are selected for the greatest possible functionality, durability, and most importantly, the quality. Wyred 4 Sounds’ excellence in engineering will provide you with first-class performance and years of satisfaction.

Wyred 4 Sound audio products are designed to bring you closer to the beauty of your music. Our goal is to bring the performance of the recording right into your home with as little change as possible. As you can identify, our drive is focused on the customer. We know what others have to offer, so you can be sure that our value will be substantially more than theirs to keep the American made products desirable. We greatly appreciate your purchase and expect your complete satisfaction. Wyred 4 Sound hopes that you will continue to grow with us as we continue to provide the quality and functionality that you can learn to depend on.

_____________________________________________________________________

WYRED 4 SOUND	DAC-v6.1
4235 Traffic Way	Software ver. 1.6n
Atascadero, CA 93422
PH: 805-466-9973
FAX: [phone]
[e-mail]
www.wyred4sound.com
©2014 WYRED 4 SOUND LLC
All rights reserved.	Page 3 of 18

Design Features

Perfection takes time, and the time is now. The DAC-2 is finally here! There are many contributions which make the DAC-2 an industry leading DAC. A big thanks goes out to ESS for the implementation of the finest DAC chip on the market, the Sabre reference 9018 DAC. The DAC-2 can process signals up to 32 bits in length, and 200 kHz in sampling frequency through the coax digital inputs. Because of the limitations of Optical transmission, only 176.4kHz has proven to be reliable through the TOSLINK inputs. You will find that some optical inputs will operate at rates up to 192 kHz, but is not guaranteed. The USB input will process signals up to 24 bit in length, and sample rates up to 192 kHz. The heart and soul of the DAC-2 uses the 8ch ESS chip in quad-differential mode meaning that there are actually 4 differential D-A conversion circuits for each channel in parallel. This greatly helps achieve the spectacular S/N ratio and output drive capability.

Each of the Coax inputs are transformer coupled to isolate the source while maintaining proper loading. To ensure that the lowest input signal level will satisfy the digital conversion engine, the signals also pass through TTL buffers to maintain consistent signal integrity. To simplify input selection, the ESS chip is also used as the receiver chip and performs all the signal selection and routing. Automatic signal up-sampling is done internally to keep output filtering to a minimum, and is a crucial part of the jitter elimination. To ensure source immunity, the time domain jitter elimination is executed as the signal enters the DAC chip by re-clocking to the desired rate selected by the ESS chip.

With an oversized toroid, more than 115,000uF of capacitance, 3 stages of filtering and 13 regulation points, the power-supply in the DAC-2 is surely overbuilt. The analog output stages are powered by a separate power-supply to ensure isolation from the digital front-end. House-keeping voltages also use separate supplies to guarantee minimal supply contamination. The digital board is supplied with 7 out of the 13 dedicated regulators to ensure tight tolerances, and consistent power delivery.

The best part of the DAC-2 is the proprietary discrete output stages which represent the beginning of the analog generation. You will quickly find why W4S spent so much time developing the cleanest, most transparent, and natural sounding output stage. Instead of choosing the simple path like many others, we took the “dirt road” and it paid off big time. Our grain-free sound stage reproduction is the product of our discrete dual-differential FET input amplifier stage which uses all Dale RN55d resistors for precise control. Because of the dual differential circuits, the completely balanced signal offers balanced and unbalanced outputs which both take advantage of common-mode rejection.

To complete the package, we decided to connect a 2 line display for easy verification of input selection, sample rate, and volume level. You will notice that when the DAC is locked onto a signal, the sample rate will be shown, when the signal is lost, the sample rate will read as ----. The up and down buttons on either side of the power button will allow for input and volume control up and down scrolling. From the front panel, you can toggle between volume and input selection by quickly pressing the power button. If you push and hold the power button in either input or volume mode, the DAC will power down. When the unit is off, you can quickly tap the power button to bring the unit back to life.

_____________________________________________________________________

WYRED 4 SOUND	DAC-v6.1
4235 Traffic Way	Software ver. 1.6n
Atascadero, CA 93422
PH: 805-466-9973
FAX: [phone]
[e-mail]
www.wyred4sound.com
©2014 WYRED 4 SOUND LLC
All rights reserved.	Page 4 of 18

Setup Menu

With a quick look at the setup options, you will quickly see how flexible the DAC-2 really is. Each type of input can be configured to fixed or variable volume control, and you can also independently choose the level of each. Min/Max volume levels are also adjustable for each input to offer optimal flexibility for those low or high sensitivity systems. As you will find, other setup options include remote on/off, HT trigger in/remote trigger on, HT display dim level, I2S justification select for the HDMI input, IIR Bandwidth, Roll-off slope (fast/slow), and a default reset in case things get jumbled up.

To enter the Setup Menu, first turn the unit off from the power button on the front. Next push and hold the (UP) and (DOWN) buttons at the same time and press the (POWER) button. Once the menu is activated, you can use the up and down buttons to scroll through the different setup registers. Once the register is selected that you wish to adjust, press the power button to select and enter that register. The menu will now be adjustable (EDIT MODE) and you can use the up/down buttons again to edit the settings. Once the desired setting has been selected and is displayed, press the power button again to save and return to the main menu. You can now scroll through more settings and use the same method to make the changes needed. To exit and apply all changes, press and hold the power button in any main menu register (NOT IN EDIT MODE). The unit will then power down and will be ready for use.

The Menu Map is as follows:

•	IIR Bandwidth	(<50k / 50k / 60k / 70k)
•	Roll-off slope	(Fast / Slow)
•	I2S justification	(I2S / Left justified / Right justified)
•	Remote control select / Trigger in use				(On-Off / Off-Off / On-On / Off-On)
•	see “DC Trigger / HT Bypass” for more information
	HT Display Dim level		(Off / Low / Medium / High)
•	Coax Volume select		(Variable / Fixed)
•	Coax Minimum Volume level			(0-70)
•	Coax Maximum Volume level			(0-70)
•	Toslink Volume select		(Variable / Fixed)
•	Toslink Minimum Volume level (0-70)
•	Toslink Maximum Volume level (0-70)
•	USB Volume select (Variable / Fixed)
•	USB Minimum Volume level			(0-70)
•	USB Maximum Volume level				(0-70)
•	AES/EBU Volume select (Variable / Fixed)

_____________________________________________________________________

WYRED 4 SOUND	DAC-v6.1
4235 Traffic Way	Software ver. 1.6n
Atascadero, CA 93422
PH: 805-466-9973
FAX: [phone]
[e-mail]
www.wyred4sound.com
©2014 WYRED 4 SOUND LLC
All rights reserved.	Page 5 of 18

•	AES/EBU Minimum Volume level	(0-70)
•	AES/EBU Maximum Volume level (0-70)
•	I2S Volume select (Variable / Fixed)
•	I2S Minimum Volume level (0-70)
•	I2S Maximum Volume level	(0-70)
•	Default Reset (On / Off)

Front panel operation

The front of the DAC-2 offers several features. You will notice a power button to turn the DAC on and off, as well as 2 others that are used for volume

and input scrolling. Across the top of the DAC-2 display, you will see the selected input on the left and corresponding sample rate of the signal to the right. When the sample-rate number disappears, the signal lock has been lost. When a number is displayed, then the DAC is locked on to the rate which is displayed. On the bottom line, the output level will be displayed. When the unit is in fixed output mode, the display will state “Fixed” where the level is normally positioned.

Remote Control

The remote you will find with your DAC-2 is very basic but offers the convenience of controlling the DAC from a distance. To keep the cost down, the W4S remote is very simple but effective. If you find the need to, you can always program a universal remote to control the DAC as well.

The remote control functions offer features that you can’t access otherwise. You will find that balance, phase and dim control are exclusive to the remote control. Distances of 20ft or so shouldn’t cause a problem for the remote, but further than that are not recommended. The features of the remote are self-explanatory, but the picture to the side may help visualize things a bit.

USB Configuration

The USB interface of the DAC-2 offers features like no other. The USB receiver chip outputs I2S signals directly to the DAC chip which offers a jitter-free audio streaming. Because of the Asynchronous USB implementation of the DAC, proprietary drivers had to be developed to enable sample rates over 96 kHz which are normally limited with the built-in drivers. Standard ASIO drivers that other implementations offer are convenient because you don’t have to install them, but they are limited to the standard USB specifications. At this time, we have proprietary drivers developed for MAC OS 10.4-10.9, Windows XP, Vista, and 7. The drivers are also driver signed to be used in 32 and 64-bit environments.

_____________________________________________________________________

WYRED 4 SOUND	DAC-v6.1
4235 Traffic Way	Software ver. 1.6n
Atascadero, CA 93422
PH: 805-466-9973
FAX: [phone]
[e-mail]
www.wyred4sound.com
©2014 WYRED 4 SOUND LLC
All rights reserved.	Page 6 of 18