Cyenne Audio CY-3100 User manual

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High performance Digital to Analogue converter
USER’S MANUAL

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INDEX
CONTENTS
1. Safety.................................................................................................................................................3
2. Description.......................................................................................................................................4
2.1 Digital sound inputs.........................................................................................................4
2.2 Analogue sound outputs................................................................................................4
2.3 Power..................................................................................................................................4
2.4 Front panel.........................................................................................................................5
2.5 Remote control.................................................................................................................6
3. Unpacking & connections.............................................................................................................7
3.1 Placement..........................................................................................................................7
3.2 Connect your amplifier...................................................................................................7
3.3 Connect your headphones............................................................................................8
3.4 Prepare the remote control for use.............................................................................9
3.5 Connecting your sources.............................................................................................10
USB..........................................................................................................................................10
Connect the power..............................................................................................................11
4. Basic use.........................................................................................................................................12
5. Advanced use................................................................................................................................13
Digital filter setting................................................................................................................13
Adjusting settings without remote control using function dial..................................14
Custom installer upgrade set.............................................................................................14
6. Environment..................................................................................................................................15
Recycling................................................................................................................................15
Declaration of conformity...................................................................................................16
Trouble shooting...............................................................................................................................17

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1SAFETY
Caution Warning
This symbol indicates care
should be taken otherwise
damange occurs
This symbol indicates danger
for fire and potentially fatal
injury
There is risk of fire and lethal electric shock when mishandled. Read carefully for safe use.
a. Place the device in a clean and dry room.
b. Only use indoors, the equipment is not waterproof.
c. Do not use near to water, e.g. in a bathroom, swimming pool, moist basement etc.
d. Don’t install in place hotter than 40 degrees Celsius, such as a kitchen, boiler room etc.
e. Power only from standard mains voltage, see backside label on product for correct voltage.
f. This equipment needs to be grounded with a safety earth from a 3 pin wall outlet. Do not interrupt
the safety earth connection (e.g. to solve ground loop problems).
g. Place equipment on a stable surface in such way it doesn’t fall and cause injuries.
h. Route the cables so people will not accidently step on them and make the equipment tip over.
i. Route the power cord in a way it cannot be worn out, gets pinched, gets walked over, to avoid
damage to the power cord.
j. Handle the power cord with care. Unplug by holding the plug, never pull the wire.
k. Unplug the equipment immediately if the power cord looks damaged, the equipment doesn’t
work properly, has become wet or has been dropped, looks damaged. Contact a qualified service
technician for help before using the equipment again.
l. Do note remove the cover, modify or disassemble the equipment.
m. Unplug the equipment when not in use for a long period of time.
n. To clean, use soft, damp, cloth; do no spray anything on the equipment or use aggressive agents like
benzene, thinner, insect spray as this will damage the casing finish and might cause fire.
o. Don’t place objects filled with liquids such as vases near the equipment.

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2DESCRIPTION
2.1 Digital sound inputs
2.2 Analogue sound outputs
2.3 Power
The CY-3100 DAC is an advanced digital to analogue converter capable of playing digital audio up till 192
kHz/24bit samples by using coax SPDIF and 96 kHz by using the other inputs. The build-in microprocessor
will remember your settings and automatically adjust the internal components for maximum performance
for every sample rate. All incoming digital audio is placed in a buffer memory and retimed to eliminate any
jitter the input signal might have for the best possible sound.
Digital audio is available from computers, CD players, most DVD players and media players.
To Connect the DAC to an amplifier or headphones.
A. Two SPDIF inputs with coax connector. Coax SPDIF is usually the best and reliable way to
transport digital audio. This is the recommended way to connect your digital source.
B. One optical connector. This is mostly for computers and older CD players if they only offer
optical signal. Only use when nothing else is available.
C. One USB connector to connect your computer. When connected to a computer, the computer
has access to it as a sound card device. The maximum sample rata support by the USB sound is
96 kHz as it’s designed to offer a driver-less installation. Just plug, wait a few seconds and go. No
software downloads, no driver disks needed.
D. One line-out to connect to amplifier. Using the volume control, you can directly connect to an
end-amplifier if desired.
E. One headphones connector. Headphones should have an impedance of 32 Ohm or higher for
good results. Check your headphones specifications. Do not directly connect loudspeakers as
this result in poor sound quality and might damage the DAC after a while.
F. To connect the power cord.

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2.4 Front panel
The front has 4 main parts:
G. Power push button to power on and off.
H. Power indicator. Lights when power button is on.
I. Information screen, gives information about sample rate, input and other settings.
J. Multi-function-dial. Can work as volume knob or by pushing it, can change settings.
D
G JH I
A B C FE

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2.5 Remote control
a. Mute button. Makes volume low. Pushing again will restore the
previous volume.
b. DIM button. Will adjust the backlight of the display. Dimming the
display might be useful while listening at night.
c. POWER button. Puts the CY-3100 into standby mode. Sound will
stop, display will go off, but power LED keeps being lit. Pressing
POWER again will wake up the DAC. If you’re near the DAC, pushing
the volume knob also wakes-up the DAC.
d. COAX-1. Will switch the input to COAX-1.
e. COAX-2. Will switch the input to COAX-2.
f. NEXT. Will switch the input to the next available input. So if input
was COAX-1 it will go to COAX-2 etc.
g. OPTICAL. Will switch the input to optical input.
h. USB. Will switch the input to USB input.
i. Volume -. Reduces the sound volume.
j. Volume +. Makes the sound volume louder. by 1dB.
k. Filter PREV. Select a lower filter number.
l. Filter NEXT. Select a higher filter number.
A. Volume attenuation level. 00 is the loudest.
B. Line for menu and status messages. Is usually empty.
C. Current selected input
D. Sample frequency of the digital audio.
E. Current digital filter in use.
Display
B
D
CC
E

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3.1 Placement
3.2 Connect your amplifier
3UNPACKING & CONNECTIONS
Review the safety chapter before proceeding
Unpack the product carefully. The box should contain:
- CY-3100 DAC
- Remote control
- Power cord
- USB cable (type A to B)
- This instruction manual
If anything missing, check the box again carefully. Some content might have shifted during transport and
might be on the bottom of the box. If there really is something missing, contact your dealer or us for
advice.
The DAC is low-power and doesn’t require much ventilation. However, don’t place it on top of something
hot, like an amplifier, as very high temperature degrades the sound quality.
Make sure your amplifier is switched off before making any connection
When using direct connection without volume control on your amp, set the CY-3100’s
volume to -30dB or lower before playing music for the first time.

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There are 2 ways to connect the DAC to your amplifier, chooice one:
1) Use your amplifier to set the volume. Using an input on your pre-amplifier or integrated amplifier. Set
the CY-3100 volume to maximal (0dB).
2) Connect directly to an end-amplifier or to the pre-amplifier input of an integrated amplifier. This
gives somewhat better sound quality. Adjust the volume with the CY-3100. Caution: some equipment,
especially computers and DVD players, might cause very short but loud static noise when the CY-
3100 is directly connected to an end-amplifier without volume control. Try before deciding to use
direct connection.
Instead of an amplifier and speakers, headphones can be used to listen to music. The headphones
connector is located on the back side.
Put the volume down to -30dB on the CY-3100 before connecting to headphone for the first time to
avoid too loud sound. Plug-in the headphone, it will be automatically recognized and play.
When headphones are used, there is still sound from the Audio-out.
Note: the Audio-out and headphone share some circuitry. When using an amplifier and speakers and the
headphones are not in use, unplug them for the best sound quality.
3.3 Connect your headphones

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3.4 Prepare the remote control for use
For transport, the battery of the remote control
is protected with a plastic strip. This strip has
to be pulled out to start using the remote. See
illustration.
The internal battery will typically work for at least one year. If the battery needs replacement, see picture
below how to replace. Replace the battery with type CR2025. Lithium 3V.
a. Don’t allow them to get wet.
b. Don’t puncture or disassemble.
c. Dispose properly; check your local rules for proper disposure.
d. Don’t short circuit; don’t carry in your pocket together with other metal objects, e.g. keys.
e. Notice the correct orientation of the battery.
f. Replace only with the same type and voltage.
Warning: Lithium batteries are hazardous when misused. Risk of burns and explosion.

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3.5 Connecting your sources
USB
Digital audio coax cable
Digital audio optical cable
There are no digital cables included, please buy seperately. Alternatively, you can use a cinch video cable.
Do not use a regular cinch audio cable with red-white plugs for digital audio, this degrades reliability.
Use COAX as this often gives the best result. Connect the digital out (often called SPDIF-out) of your
source equipment, like CD player, to the DAC.
Note some optical cables have small transparent plastic caps on the ends to protect them during trans-
port, those caps need to be removed otherwise the cable will no fit and work properly. Refer to the docu-
mentation that came with the cable.
The USB will work as an additional sound card with most computers using Windows, Mac or Linux. The
USB doesn’t require additional software to be installed. For playback over USB, select the “Cyenne DAC”
sound output in your playback software on your computer.
For best results, use playback software that is capable of “bit-perfect” playback, so playback without any
additional sound processing by the computer. For the CY-3100, the maximum sample rate for USB is
96kHz/24 bit. Connect the DAC directly to the computer, not through an USB hub.

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Connect the power
Use the included cable only. Connect one side to the DAC and then plug the other side into the wall
outlet.
Read the safety hints in chapter one.
The power cord is not certified to be run through a wall, under a floor, trough conduct, under
carpet etc. Consult a certified electrician if there is no power socket nearby.

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4BASIC USE
The CY-3100 can be used without any adjustment. Just switch on and choose the correct input.
Note: The CY-3100 starts with the last selected input and volume setting when power up.
a. Push the power button. The display will light-up and shows information.
b. Adjust the volume down using the remote control or the funtion knob on the front.
c. Use the remote control to select the correct input. Like COAX-1 if that was used to connect the digital
player. If digital signal is being received, the display will show the sample rate. If the display stays on “No
signal”, check If the correct input is used and check if the source (like CD player) is connected cor-
rectly and powered on.
d. Start the music and raise the volume a bit until you hear sound. If there is no sound, set the volume
back first before trying anything else. Note the CY-3100 cannot play Dolby nor DTS signals. The dis-
play will show “Incompatible” and there is no sound when such a signal is send.
e. Use the remote control to adjust the volume if needed.
f. When finished listening, press the “POWER” button on the remote control to switch the CY-3100 to
standby.
g. When the CY-3100 is not to be used for several days, switching o using the front power button.
Caution: avoid hearing damage!
Set the volume to -30dB before using headphones for the first time.

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5ADVANCED USE
Not all digital music is recorded in the same way. Also the sound character and signature de-
pends on the combination of DAC, amplifier, speakers, listening room and recording method.
In order to get the best possible sound, the CY-3100 has 5 dierent digital filters:
• Standard half band, linear phase (LP, like most CD players)
• Standard half band, minimum phase (MP, standard but no pre-ringing)
• Soft knee, linear phase (LP, smooth, some aliasing)
• Apposing filter, linear phase (LP, smooth, a little high tone drop)
• Apposing filter, minimum phase (MP, smooth, a little high tone drop, no pre-ringing)
Note on pre-ringing
Pre-ringing is a side-eect from the filter being designed to be phase linear as not to introduce frequency
dependent phase shift into the signal. Pre-ringing means if there is a very sudden peak in the music there
will be some signal output before the actual peak starts. When it is audible, it will sound unnatural.
The CY-3100 avoids pre-ringing by selecting a filter from the MF (minimum phase) range. There will be
some frequency dependent phase shift as compromise.
Filter sharpness
Very sharp filters will filter out all unwanted signals. However, for some types of music, sharp filters might
take away some of the subjective dynamics of the sound. Here a less sharp filter may sound better. If the
filter is to be less sharp, there will be compromise between (1) setting the filters to filter some the very
high tones in the sound or (2) preserving all of the music, but allowing some ultrasonic unwanted signals
to escape the filter.
What is best depends on the rest of the equipment and to lesser degree on the recording itself.
After long listening sessions and testing, Cyenne Audio recommends first to try Standard Half Hand, mini-
mum phase (“MP half-band”). If that sounds too sharp to your taste, try one of the Apposing filters. If Ap-
posing takes too much of the detail away, try soft knee.
The filter setting has the most impact on CD recordings. For 192kHz, there will be little audible dierence
between the filters.
Digital filter setting

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Short press on the function knob: mute the sound. Press again to unmute (or rotate the dial). If the DAC
was in standby mode, it will wake up when pressing the dial.
Press and hold: look at the top line of the display as it cycles through the menu options. Release the dial
to select the function, then turn the dial to make the adjustment. Note: some adjustments, like changing
the input, need some time to process. Turn the dial slowly.
Ther automatic power down function can be swiched on and off here, just hold the knob until the option
is displayed. Then release the knob and rotate to change the setting.
When doing nothing for 20 seconds or a brief press, the dial will return to the volume function.
For integration with home control & automation systems such as Creston, AMX, Control4, an optional
custom installer upgrade will be available. The set will add a serial RS232 port to the CY-3100 for 2-way
contol.
Instead of the upgrade, the CY-3100 can also be controlled (one-way) by IR remote signals. There are
discreste codes for input and power.
If you’re interested in home automation integration for the CY-3100, contact us.
Adjusting settings without remote control using function dial.
Custom installer notes

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This product’s packaging materials are recyclable and can be reused.
Please dispose of any materials in accordance with the local recycling
regulations. When discarding the unit, comply with local rules or
regulations. Batteries should never be thrown away or incinerated
but disposed of in accordance with the local regulations concerning
chemical waste. This product and the accessories packed together
constitute the applicable product according to the WEEE directive
except batteries. This product is RoHS 2013 compliant and leadfree.
6ENVIRONMENT
Recycling

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We, the manufacturer / importer,
Cyenne Audio Co. Ltd.
Declare that the product
Kind of product: Audio Digital to analogue converter
Type designation: CY-3100
Is in compliance with the essential requirements and other relevant provisions of the following
directives:
RoHS Directive (2011/65/EU)
EMC Directive (2004/108/EC)
Low Voltage Directive (2006/95/EC)
ErP Directive (2009/125/EC)
The product is compatible with the following norms / standards:
EN 55013 (2001+ A1:2003+ A2:2006)
EN 55020 (2007+ A11:2011)
EN 61000-3-3 (2008)
IEC 61000-4-2 (2008)
IEC 61000-4-4 (2004+ A1:2010)
EN 60065 (2002+ A1:2006+ A11:2008+ A2:2010+
A12:2011)
EN 50564 (2011)
CE mark was first applied in: 2013
Intended use: indoor
Importer:
Declaration of conformity
Check www.cyenne-audio.com for more information.

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TROUBLE SHOOTING
1) No power. Power LED is o
a. Try pushing the power switch again
b. Check if the power cord is firmly fit
c. Try another wall outlet
d. Check / replace fuse on backside (this is rare)
2) Remote control doesn’t work or have poor range
a. Make sure the power LED lites, otherwise see (1).
b. Push the remote control button again (keep holding the button doesn’t work).
c. Move closer, the remote comtrol is guaranteed to work over 3 meters.
d. Try another button, maybe the function, like input, was already selected.
e. Maybe the remote control battery needs replacement.
f. There is strong interference from sunlight, plasma TV, CFL lighting etc. Move the DAC to a dierent
location.
3) Music is playing, but display says sometimes “!Bad Data”. Digital audio input signal was partly
corrupted during the last 30 seconds.
a. Check if cables are connected properly and not half inserted etc.
b. Try dierent and/or shorter digital cables.
c. Use digital audio cables, not cinch analogue (red/white plug) cables.
d. Sample rate too high for optical input. Try 96 kHz or lower.
e. Strong source of interference. Try moving cables around or move the DAC.
f. Strong ground current. Make sure all your equipment with earth connection is properly grounded.
Plug source and DAC into the same grounded power strip.
4) No sound, display says “Incompatible”
a. The CY-3100 can only play PCM data. Not WMA, AC3, DTS etc. Set the source to decode internally
and output PCM data only.
b. Try dierent source.
5) No sound, display says “No signal”
a. No input signal, check source, cables.
b. Digital cable was inserted into the wrong plug on source. Like digital cable inserted into video
output or one of the analogue audio outputs of the DVD player.
c. Source is powered o, check if source is on.
d. Wrong input selected, select correct input.
e. Incompatible sample rate, e.g. 24 kHz. Or 192 kHz on long optical cable.

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f. Some sources only output a digital signal when playing, start playback.
6) No sound, display shows normal sample rate
a. Source is not playing anything, start playback
b. Wrong input selected (e.g. from another idle source), select correct input.
c. Volume is way down. Set volume on DAC to -20dB
d. Wrong amplifier input selected, check
e. Amplifier volume very low or muted, check
f. Cables from DAC to amp loose or wrongly connected. Check and fix. Try another analogue source
to test the amp and it’s input (e.g. from CD player).
7) There is a buzz or hum in the sound. Probably due to ground loop.
a. Connect the CY-3100, the sources and the amplifier to the same power strip.
b. Check if cables are connected properly and not half inserted etc.
c. Your setup includes a TV, many TV’s are grounded trough the aerial or cable connection.
d. Disconnect the TV to test. If hum is gone now, ask your dealer for a antenna isolation transformer
8) USB playback stutters or hangs
a. Important: Try playback with Windows Media player or iTunes. If that works without problems,
check your playback software settings like buer size and latency.
b. Windows: Set your playback software to output DS (Direct Sound) to the “Cyenne DAC”.
The sound quality will not be optimal, but might be acceptable as temporary solution.
c. DAC was plugged into USB hub. Use direct connection without hub.
d. USB controller busy, stop other activities such as webcam.
e. Try another USB port.
f. If there are other USB audio devices on the computer, unplug them.
g. USB cable too long (>2M). Use included USB cable.
h. Outdated OS drivers. Install updates.
i. Conflict with other similar USB audio device which was connected and installed before (e.g. USB
headset). Try if the other device has software uninstaller.
j. Try dierent computer, even if only to make sure the DAC is working correctly.
k. Try removing all audio related internal drivers (requires expert…) and reinstall them.
l. Unfortunately, especially on Windows, some driver software conflict problems can only be solved
by re-installing Windows.
9) Display shows unusual characters, doesn’t respond
a. Power had brown-out or other large disturbance. Switch power o and on using the power knob.
b. Internal processor was overloaded. This might happen if a very corrupted or invalid digital signal
was input. Correct and switch power o and on using the power knob.
More information is available at www.cyenne-audio.com/support
If none of the above solves your problem or you still have questions, contact your dealer.