miniDSP U-DAC8 User manual

miniDSP Ltd, Hong Kong / www.minidsp.com / Features and specifications subject to change without prior notice 1
U-DAC8
8-CHANNEL HIGH-RESOLUTION USB DAC
User Manual

miniDSP Ltd, Hong Kong / www.minidsp.com / Features and specifications subject to change without prior notice 2
Revision history
Revision
Description
Date
1.0
First public release
12 March 2015
1.1
Error corrections, Windows signing
28 October 2015
1.2
Updated installation procedure,
added Mac firmware update
15 March 2016
1.3
Updated support links
6 July 2020

miniDSP Ltd, Hong Kong / www.minidsp.com / Features and specifications subject to change without prior notice 3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Important Information........................................................................................................................................ 4
System Requirements –Windows.................................................................................................................... 4
System Requirements –Mac OS X.................................................................................................................... 4
Disclaimer/Warning ......................................................................................................................................... 4
Warranty Terms............................................................................................................................................... 4
FCC Class B Statement...................................................................................................................................... 4
CE Mark Statement.......................................................................................................................................... 5
Package Contents ............................................................................................................................................ 5
A Note on this Manual ..................................................................................................................................... 5
1Product Overview......................................................................................................................................... 6
2Hardware Connectivity................................................................................................................................. 7
2.1 Analog output ...................................................................................................................................... 7
2.2 DC Power ............................................................................................................................................. 7
2.3 USB ...................................................................................................................................................... 8
3Installation and Configuration –Windows.................................................................................................... 9
3.1 Before you start ................................................................................................................................... 9
3.2 Installation ........................................................................................................................................... 9
3.2.1 Download the latest driver ........................................................................................................... 9
3.2.2 Connect your U-DAC8................................................................................................................... 9
3.2.3 Setup the driver package ............................................................................................................ 10
3.3 Configuration ..................................................................................................................................... 10
3.3.1 Driver info .................................................................................................................................. 10
3.3.2 Buffer settings ............................................................................................................................ 11
3.3.3 Firmware upgrade ...................................................................................................................... 11
3.3.4 Device configuration................................................................................................................... 12
3.3.5 Output channel volume control (playback) ................................................................................. 12
3.3.6 Clock source ............................................................................................................................... 13
3.3.7 Stream formats........................................................................................................................... 13
4Installation and Configuration –Mac OS X.................................................................................................. 14
4.1 Installation ......................................................................................................................................... 14
4.2 Configuration ..................................................................................................................................... 14
5Additional Information ............................................................................................................................... 17
5.1 Specifications ..................................................................................................................................... 17
5.2 Firmware Upgrade.............................................................................................................................. 17
5.3 Obtaining support .............................................................................................................................. 17

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IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please read the following information before use. In case of any questions, please contact miniDSP via the
support portal at support.minidsp.com.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS –WINDOWS
•1GHz or higher processor clock speed recommended / Intel® Pentium®/Celeron® family, or AMD K6®/AMD
Athlon®/AMD Duron® family, or compatible processor recommended.
•512 megabytes (MB) of RAM or higher recommended
•One free USB 2.0 port
•Microsoft• ® Windows® XP SP2/Vista/Win7/Win8
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS –MAC OS X
•Intel Core Duo processor or greater
•256 megabytes (MB) of RAM or higher recommended
•One free USB 2.0 port
DISCLAIMER/WARNING
miniDSP cannot be held responsible for any damage that may result from the improper use or incorrect
configuration of this product. Please read this manual carefully to ensure that you fully understand how to
operate and use this product, as incorrect use or use beyond the parameters and ways recommended in this
manual have the potential to cause damage to your audio system.
Please also note that many of the questions we receive at the technical support department are already
answered in this User Manual and in the online application notes on the miniDSP.com website. So please take
the time to carefully read this user manual and the online technical documentation. Thank you for your
understanding!
WARRANTY TERMS
miniDSP Ltd warrants this product to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for a period of one
year from the invoice date. Our warranty does not cover failure of the product due to incorrect connection or
installation, improper or undocumented use, unauthorized servicing, modification or alteration of the unit in any
way, or any usage outside of that recommended in this manual. If in doubt, contact miniDSP prior to use.
FCC CLASS BSTATEMENT
This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions:
•This device may not cause harmful interference.

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•This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired
operation.
Warning: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device,
pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection. This
equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance
with the instructions, may cause interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that
interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio
or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to
try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:
•Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
•Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
•Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected.
•Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.
Notice: Shielded interface cable must be used in order to comply with emission limits.
Notice: Changes or modification not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the
user’s authority to operate the equipment.
CE MARK STATEMENT
The U-DAC8 has passed the test performed according to European Standard EN 55022 Class B.
PACKAGE CONTENTS
Your U-DAC8 package includes:
•One U-DAC8 multichannel high-resolution D/A convertor
•One universal 5 VDC power supply
•One USB cable for computer connectivity (1.5m)
ANOTE ON THIS MANUAL
This User Manual is designed for reading in both print and on the computer. If printing the manual, please print
double-sided. The embedded page size is 8 ½” x 11”. Printing on A4 paper will result in a slightly reduced size.
For reading on the computer, we have included hyperlinked cross-references throughout the manual. In
addition, a table of contents is embedded in the PDF file. Displaying this table of contents will make navigation
much easier:
•In Adobe Reader on Windows, click on the “bookmarks” icon at the left. The table of contents will appear on
the left and can be unfolded at each level by clicking on the “+” icons.
•In Preview on the Mac, click on the View menu and select Table of Contents. The table of contents will
appear on the left and can be unfolded at each level by clicking on the triangle icons.

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1PRODUCT OVERVIEW
Thank you for purchasing a miniDSP U-DAC8 high-resolution multi-channel D/A convertor. The U-DAC8 supports
8 channels of audio playback at sample rates up to 192 kHz, and is an ideal solution for:
•High-resolution multi-channel audio
•Computer-based (HTPC) home theater
•Surround-sound mixing and mastering
•Computer-based active loudspeaker systems
The U-DAC8 outputs can be connected directly to power amplification (and optionally a subwoofer):
The outputs of the U-DAC8 can also be connected to any device with multichannel analog inputs, such as an A/V
receiver or processor:

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2HARDWARE CONNECTIVITY
2.1 ANALOG OUTPUT
Connect the analog outputs to your A/V receiver, multichannel preamp, or directly to amplification and
subwoofer.
Always be sure to turn off all equipment before connecting or disconnecting audio signal cables.
2.2 DC POWER
The supplied 5 VDC power supply includes a set of interchangeable power pins. Fit the correct pins for your
country. Connect the DC plug to the DC (5V) power socket.

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2.3 USB
To play audio through the U-DAC8, connect the USB port of the U-DAC8 to a USB 2.0 port on your computer
using the supplied cable. The U-DAC8 should also be connected for initial driver installation under Windows.

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3INSTALLATION AND CONFIGURATION –WINDOWS
Please read and follow all steps in this section carefully.
3.1 BEFORE YOU START
64-bit editions of Microsoft Windows 8 and later require by default that software drivers be digitally signed. In
order to complete the installation steps below on these versions of Windows, you will need to change the
default behavior. Rather than describe all the steps here, we refer you to websites that explain the steps in
detail:
•http://www.howtogeek.com/167723/how-to-disable-driver-signature-verification-on-64-bit-windows-
8.1-so-that-you-can-install-unsigned-drivers/
•http://www.top-password.com/blog/how-to-disable-driver-signature-enforcement-in-windows-10-8-7/
3.2 INSTALLATION
The U-DAC8 is a USB Audio Class 2.0 device. For use with Microsoft Windows, driver installation is required.
3.2.1 Download the latest driver
When you receive notification that your order has shipped, your installation software download will be available
at the User Downloads section of the miniDSP website:
http://www.minidsp.com/userdownloads
(If you are unable to access this section of the website, please login first.)
Download the installation zip file under the USB Streamer Driver heading and unzip the folder on your PC.
3.2.2 Connect your U-DAC8
In order to automatically detect the U-DAC8 during driver installation, connect the U-DAC8 to your PC and
power it on before going to the following step.

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3.2.3 Setup the driver package
Click on the setup.exe application in the unzipped installation folder to start the installation process. The
installer will first check for the presence of the U-DAC8, then continue with installing the driver.
Installation will take several minutes. Accept the defaults for screens such as install location. If you receive a
warning that Windows cannot verify the publisher, click Install this driver software anyway.
3.3 CONFIGURATION
To configure the U-DAC8, open the USBStreamer Control Panel (from Start Menu -> miniDSP Ltd ->
USBStreamer). It has several panes, described below.
3.3.1 Driver info
This panel provides general information and the driver version.