Musical Fidelity X.DAC V8 User manual

MUSICAL
FIDELITY

X.DAC V8
X-V8
SERIES
TUBEDDIGITAL To ANALOGUE
CONVERTER
x-
trAC ''i
(,._,-,1
,.'-\
r'-l
(-,
I]YSTRUCTIOIYS
FOR USE
Thank
you
for purchasingtheMusicalFidetit.vX-DAC 18
Thismodeluses
thetopqualit.v, ultra low
jitter 24Bil DAC technologl'
and.firrther
jitter reductiontechniques
to achieve
bothanexcellenttechnicalspecification
andunparalleleddigital sound
quality. Thisis
complementedbya choicebetvveentheclassicX-l0D tubestageor solidstateoutputs
for theultimate
listening
experience.It hasthreestandardRCAdigital inputs
anda USBsocket
for playback from computer.
TheX-DAC v8 isaperfectanswertodigital listeni.ngrequirements
in asmall,beautifullyengineered
pactcage.
Used
properly andcarefully,it should givemany
)'ears
of outstandingmusicalreproduction.
Dustregularly with a softdusteror softbrush,butbecarefulwhenusingcleaningorpolishingagents
- they
mayharmthesurface
finish.
If 1,ou
havean))
questions
about),our audio svstem,
Pleaseconsult yoLtr
dealer who is thereto help and advise.

X.[)AC V8
PAGE
3
4
Safety
information
Generaladvice
- Saf-ety
information
- Installation
precautions
- Userinformation
- EUdisposalinformation
- Introduction
- Installation
- Audioconnection
- Inputs
- Outputs
- Power
- Cleaning
- Illustrations
- frontandrear
panels
- Operationand
illustration
- Switchon
- Digitalinputs1,2
and3
- USBinput
- Analogue
outputs
- Digitaloutput
- Basic
DAC faultfinding
Item disposal information
Installation
Facilities
andconnections
Remotecontrol
Basicoperation
l0 DAC problems'.
DAC specifications
Manual history
ll
t2
Issue1:19'nOctober2006

X.DAC V8
IMPORTANT! (u.K.onty)
ThisunitissuppliedintheU.K.withmainsleadfittedwithamouldedl3 amp
plug. If, foranyreason,
you
needtocut
off the
plug,please
removethe
fuse
holder
anddisposeof the
plugsafely,outof reachof children.I!_q$_qq!_Dg
Dlugeed
intoamainsoutlet.
Thewiresinthemainsleadsuppliedwiththisappliancearecolouredinaccordance withthefollowingcode:
Greenand
yellow..... .Earth
Blue. ......Neutral
Brown. .......Live
WARNING - ThisapplianceMUST beearthed
Asthecoloursofthewiresofthemainsleadofthisappliancemaynotcorrespondwiththe
colouredmarkingsidentifuingtheterminalsinyour
plug,
proceed
asfollows:
Thewirewhichiscoloured
green-and-yellow
mustbeconnectedtotheterminalin the
plug
whichismarkedwiththe
letterEorcoloured
green
orgreen-and-yellow, orbytheearthsymbol: .4
The wire which
The wire which
IS
is
colouredbrownmustbeconnectedtotheterminalwhichismarkedwith the letter
colouredbluemustbeconnectedtotheterminalwhichismarked with the letterN
BSl363
plug,
a l3 ampfusemust
beused.
L orcoloured red.
orcolouredblack.
If connectinstoa
ANY MODIFICATIONS TO THIS PRODUCT NOT EXPRESSLYAPPROVED
BY MUSICAL FIDELITY WHO IS THE PARTY RESPONSIBLEFOR
STANDARDSCOMPLIANCE COULD VOID THE USER'S
AUTHORITY TO
OPERATE THIS EQUIPMEI\T.
WARNING:
lssuel: l9'n
October2006

X-DAC V8
Issue1:
19'hOctober2006
INSTALLATION PRECAUTIONS and USERINFORMATION
Your newX-DAC v8
is designed
andbuilt to providetrouble-free
performance,
butaswith all electronicdevicesit is
necessaryto observeafew orecautions:
Heedallwamings
shownontheback
oftheproduct.
OnlyconnecttheX-DACv8
toamainsoutlethavingthe
samevoltageasmarked
at
the
backoftheunit.
Alwaysensure
thatwhendisconnecting
andreconnecting
your
audio
equipmentthemainssupplyisswitched
off.
Position
themainsleadand
signalinterconnectswherethey
arenotlikelytobewalked
onortrappedbyitems
placed
onthem.
Donotusenearwater,
or
place
water-filled
containers
ontheX-DACv8, forexample,aflowervase
orpotted
plants.
If waterdoes
spillinside, immediately
pull outthemains
plug
from the
wallsocketandinform
your dealer,whoshouldthenchecktheunit beforefurther use.Entry ofliquid intotheX-DACvE
is
dangerous,
andmaycauseelectric
shockor fire hazard.
Donot
place
the
unit
near
directheatsources
suchasradiators,direct
sunlightorotherequipment.
Donotremoveany
coversortrytogain accesstothe
inside.Therearenointernal
adjustmentsorfuses
you
can
replace
yourself.
Referallserviceworktoanauthorised
MusicalFidelityagent.
Note:
Unauthorised
openingoftheequipmentwill invalidate
anywarrantyclaim.
Dust
regularlywithasoftcloth
orsoftbrushbutbecarefulwhen
usingcleaning
or
polishing
agents
-theymay
harmthe
surfacefinish.
The
electronicsinmodemhi-fi equipmentiscomplexandmay,
therefore,beadversely
affectedordamagedby
lightning.For
protection
ofyouraudio
systemduringelectrical
storms,removethemains
plugs
and
disconnectany
aeriallead.
If after-salesserviceisrequired,
tohelp
your
dealeridentify
theX-DACvE
pleasequote
theserialnumberlocated
on
therear
naneloftheunit.

X-DAC V8
n
SSTZZ DISPoS.\L
-
!i41IN Thecrossed
outwheeled bin labelthat appearsonthe
backpanelof the product indicatesthat the product
mustnot be
disposedof asnormalhousehold
waste.
To preventpossible harm
to the environment
please
separatethe
product
fromotherwasteto
ensurethat it canbe recycledin an environmentallysafemanner.
Pleasecontact
your local govelnment
office or vour retailerfor
available
collectiontacilities.
I I prsPosrloN
f I La poubelle
surroulettes
barrdes
X, qui apparaitenlogo
sur
lepanneau
arrieredu produit, indique
que
celui-cine
doitpas
€tretraitecornme
un dechetdomestiquecommun.
Afin de
protdgcr
I'environnement. ce produit electronique devra etre gere
sdparementet donc recycle selon les nouvelles normes
EuropdennesRohs
concernantlesdechetsd'appareils
dlectroniques.
Prierede contacter les servicesconcernds
gouvernementaux
ou
votrepoint
deventepourI'dliminationet I'enldvement
deddchets
dlectroniquesequipesdecomposantselectroniques.
- LrrJr\JJAL
t-
- La etiquetacruzadahaciafueradelcompartimiento
que
apareceenel panel traserodel producto indica
que
el producto
no
se debereciclarse cofilo basuranormalde la casa.Para
prevenir
daflos
posible
al ambiente
separe
por favor el producto
de otras
basura
para
asegurarse
de quepuede serrecicladade unamanera
ambientalmentesegura.Entre en contacto
por fbvor a su oficina
gubernamental
local o a su minoristapara las instalaciones
disponiblesde
la
coleccion.
I I RIFIUTI
I I L'etichetta del cassonettobarrato riportato sul retro
dell'apparecchioindica
che il prodotto
non deveesseresmaltito
tramitela procedura
normaledi smaltimentodei rifiuti domestici.
Perevitareeventualidanniall'ambiente.
separare
questoprodotto
daaltri rifiuti domestici
in modoche possa
venirenciclatoin base
alle procedure di rispetto ambientale.Per maggiori dettagli
sullearee di raccoltadisponibili. contattateI'ufficio govenativo
localeodil rivenditoredel
prodotto.
I FArHctrRtrcHTtrtrNTqoRGr
rNr;'
Dasaul derueralerucKselte angebracnte
Labeldeutel
darar-rf
hin. dass das Produkt nicht mit konventionellem
Hauskehricht entsorgt werden darf. Um Schiiden und
Verschmutzungen
anUmweltundMenschzuvermeiden,
mussdas
Produkt fachgerecht
entsorgtund von anderemAbfbll getrennt
werden.Wenden
Siesichbei Fragenhierzu
an IhrenFachhiindler
oderaneineciffentlicheInfbrmationsstelle.
- AFVAL
I Het label op de achterzijde
van dit apparaat.een
afvalbakop wielen met eenkmis doorgehaald,
geeftaandat dit
apparaat
niet samen met gewoon huishoudal\'al
mag worden
weggegooid.
Om mogelijke schadeaan onze leefomgevingte
voorkomen dient dit apparaat, gescheiden van gewoon
huishoudelijk afual, te worden afgevoerd zodat het op een
milieuvriendelijke
manier kan worden gerecycled.
Neem voor
beschikbare
inzamelplaatsen
contactop met uw gemeentelijke
reinigingsdienst
ofmetuwelektronica
leverancier.
! ururlrryry
--f-- Yliruksattua jiiteastiaa kuvaava tana tuotteen
takalevyssii
kefioo, ettri tuotetta ei saa kAsitellAnormaalina
talousjtitteenii.
Ympiiriston suojelemiseksion tuote pidettiivii
erilliiiin muusta jZitteestiija se on kierriitettiivii ekologisesti
kestziviillii
tavalla.Ota yhteyttii laitteenmyyj2i2intai Pirkanmaan
Ympiiristokeskukseenliihimmiinkierriityskeskuksenl6yiimiseksi.
T I AFSKAFNING
I I Logoetmedenskraldespandmedkrydsover
pi bagsiden
afapparatet
indikereratdette
produkt
ikkemAkasseres
som
normal
husholdningsaffald.Foratforebyggemulig skade
pi miljoet,bedes
De separeredette
produktfra andetaffald,og sikreat det bliver
genbrugtpi en miljorigtig mide. Kontakt venligstde lokale
myndigheder
eller din fbrhandlerfor oplysning om ncrmeste
tilgrengeligeopsamlingsstedforelektronikaffald.
:: atAAtKAlA AnopptvHr
- To IHMA ME TON AIAIETPAMMENO
-
TPOXHAATO
KAAO ANOPPIMATONITHN NIIO OWH
TOY
MHXANHMATOI
AHAONEI
OTI TO NPOIONAYTO AEN NPENEI NA
AIAXEIPIIOEITANIYNHOIIMENO
OIKIAKO
ANOBAHTO.
NPOTANOOYI-HENAEXOMENHIENIBAPYNIHI TOY
NEPIBANAONTOI.=EXOPIITE TO NPOIONANO TA
ANAA
ANOPPIMATA
OITE NAE=AIOANIIOEIHANAKYKNOIH
TOYME
TONNPENONTATPONO.
NAPAKANOYME
NAENIKOINONHIETEMETHNTONIKH
YNHPE:IA ANAKYKNOTHI H ME TO KATAITHMA
AI-OPAITIA
NEPIIIOTEPEIAENTOMEPEIE:.
Issue1:19'hOctober2006

X-DAC V8
I]VTRODUCTION
Congrarulations
on the purchase of your new X-DAC v8
digitalto analogue
converter.
TheX-DAC "8is powered
directly
from mains,andwill also
happily supplypower for the X-p.,4yvs CD player and X-
PLORA\* tune. components.This turns the X-series
componentsintotheequivalentof a miniatureDM25 system
(withaddedDAB/FM tunerthrownin).
The X-DAC u* has extremelylow jitter, vanishinglylow
distortion,exemplarylinearityandultra low noise.Its case
design complementsthe X-\'8 series componentswhich
includea CD player,
DAB/FM tunerandintegrated
amplifier
allinthesamc
convcnientsize.
Greatattentionhasbeen
paid
to internal
layout,isolating
each
circuitsectionto
preventpossible
interaction.
The digital data streamsare first up-sampled
to l92kHz.
which movesnoise,
jitter anddistortionartefacts
well above
the audioband. They arethenpassed
througha new, low
noise, low distortion 24-btt dual-differential
digital-to-
analogueconverter,which allows simpler filtering of the
analogueoutput. This in turn gives an improvedaudio
responsewithouttheneed
for sharpfiltersthat
degradesound
quality. Theresultisa DAC whichhasa smootherresponse
andlowerdistortionthan
previouslypossible.
Thereis alsothe
optionof selectingtheuseof a valve
stage
identicaltoourclassicX-l0D asoutput
buf
ferincluded.
Theresultantperformance
achieved
bythisunitisamong
the
best
in theworld. It has
ercellentsignalto noiseratio,low
distortion. wide bandwidth, huge dynamic range,
extraordinary
resolution
andflnedetail.
INSTALLATION
PositiontheX-DAC "n
on a stable
thereis no riskof it being
knocked
suchasfrom loudspeakers.
INP(JT CONNECTIONS
horizontal
surfacewhere
or subjectedto vibration
ffielectable inputs to allow
connection
forupto fourdifferent
digitalsources.
Inputs1,2,3 and4 areselectablefrom thefrontpanel
or
remote.
Use
inputs
l, 2 and3 to connectthedigitaloutputs
of
anyX-v8series
or othercomponentsfor the
bestexperiencein
digital
audiolistening.
Input4 isa USB l.l inputwhich
allows
directdigitalaudio
streamingfrom a computer'sUSB output port.See
page
7 for
setupdetails.
Pleasenotethatthe USB inputCANNOT be usedto stream
directlyfrom USB on portable
devicessuchasiPod,or flash
drivesetc.
DIG I TAL OUT PLrT COl\rNECTIO
NS
There
isanoutputthatallowsloop
through
of digitalsignals.
ATIDIO OUTP
LITCO
N
NECTIONS
Outputs:Connect
youramplifierinputs
totheRCA sockets
onthe
back
panel
markedasLEFT and
RIGHT outputs.
POI4/ER CONNECTIONS
Connectthe
unittothemains
usingsuppliedlead.
Switchingonthe
power
supplyunitshouldlightthefront
panelpower
LED andthe
connectedcomponents
shouldall
comeon.Thesetup isthenready
foruse.
FOR COMPLETE X-re SERIES:
For
bestresultswith
the
fullcornplementof X-\'sseries
components,werecommend
the
following:
X-RAY t'tCD player
X-PLORA
u*
DAB/FM tuner
X-DAC V8
TRIPLE-X170
upgrade
power
supply
The
power
connector
fromtheX-RAY\'8mateswith the
5-
way
socketlabelled
X-RAYvttontherearoftheX-DAC \'8.
The
connector
should
fit comfortably with
asmallclickwhen
properly
seated.
Do not
Jbrcetheconnector.
The
coaxial
(RCA)
Digital
outputfromtheX-RAY ut-oy
then
beconnectedtoasparedigital input
ontheX-DAC\'8,
e.g.
INPUT
I
The
power
connectorfromtheX-PLORAVITmateswith the4-
way
socketlabelledX-PLORAt't ontherearoftheX-DAC
t'*.
The
connectorshouldfit comfortablv with
asmallclick
when
properly
seated.
Do not
Jbrcetheconnector.
The
coaxial
(RCA)
Digital
olrtputfromtheX-PLORA
u*
-uy
then
beconnectedtoasparedigitalinputontheX-DAC\'8,
e.g.
INPUT
2
TheXT-100
unitalone
shouldbepowered
fromtheupgrade
Triple-X
170
power
supplyunit.Connect
your
XT-100
tothis
supplythrough
the6-wayXLR socket at theback.The X-
PLORA t'8
andX-RAY t't aresuppliedfromtheDAC. This
freesup reserve
supply for the power amplifiersin the
XTl00.The
L & Raudio
outputs
f,romtheX-DAC'n should
be
connected,withgood quality
cable,to aspareinput
onthe
X-T100.
You cannow switchbetweenthetwo digitalinputs
usingthe X-DAC \3. This arrangementalso freesup an
analogue
inputontheX-T100forfirtureuse.
CLEAI\rI^lG
Beforecleaningthe unit, switch off power at the rnains
switchandremove
themains
plug
fromthe
wallsocket.
Cleanthe
cabinetandremote
controlunitusingamoist
cloth.
We do notadvise
usingsolvents,white spiritor thinners
as
they
coulddamage
thesurfacefinish
LlPGRADEPATH
Earlyin 2001 anotherinterestingnewX-v8series
product
is
coming:
The
TRIPLE-X170
PSUisan
upgrade
Power
Supply
Unit.It
increasesthe power of your X-T100 to 85+85 wpc and
improves
its peak current.The TRIPLE-Xl70 PSU will
power the X-T100, X-RAYV8 and X-PLORAV8
simultaneously.
Any productconnected to it will sound
better.
Issue1:l9'hOctober
2006

X-DAC V8
3-component
setup.
standard
power
supply
x-PLoRA
t'
X-RAY
tt
4-component
setup.upgraded
powersupplv
x-PLoRAt'
x-RAYtt
x-DACtt
xT-100
- xT-100
ing the original
in figureL
Thepower
connectorfrom theX-PLORAV8
mateswith
the
4-way
socketlabelledX-PLORA\t ontherear
of the
TRIPLE-X PSU. The connectorshouldfit comforlably
withasmallclickwhen properly
seated.
Thepowerconnector
from theX-RAY\'8 mateswith the
5-way socketlabelledX-p,4yt's on the rear of the
TRIPLE-X PSU.The connector
shouldfit cornforlablv
withasmallclickwhen properly
seated.
The power connector from the XT-l00 Integrated
amplifiermates
with the 6-waysocketlabelled
XT-100
on
the
rearoftheTRIPLE-X PSU.
Theconnector
should
fit comfortablywith asmall
clickwhen
properly
seated.
3-component
setup,
upgraded
power
supply
The standard3-componentsetup us
TRIPLE-X PSU
(bottom
left)isshown
Fisure 2
The upgraded
3-component
setupusing
Xl70 PSU
(bottom
left)
isshown in figure
The recommendedpower supplywiring for the four-
component
setup,including
upgrade
powersupplyand
X-DAC\'8.
isshownin figure3.
The
power
connectorfromtheX-PLORAVS
mateswith
the4-waysocketlabelledX-PLORAts on therear
of
the X-DAC\'8. The connectorshould fit comfortably
withasmall
click
whenproperly
seated.
The power connectorfrom the X-RAY\'8 mateswith
the5-way
socketlabelled
X-RAY\'t on therear
of the
X-DAC\'8.The
connectorshouldfit comfortablywith a
small
clickwhen
properly
seated.
TheXT-l00 integrated
amplifiershould
be powered
from the upgrade
TRIPLE-XI70 power supplyunit.
ConnectyourXT-l00 to this
supplythroughthe
6-way
XLR socketat the back. The X-PLORAV8and X-
RAYV8
arenow suppliedfromtheX-DAC!'8.
Thisfrees
up reservesupply for the power amplifiers in the
xT100.
Thisis by no means
anexhaustivelist,
asit ispossible
to use the original TRIPLE-X power supply,say,to
supplytheCD player
alone
further
isolatingit from the
DAC andother
circuits.The
beautyof this
systemisits
incredibly
flexibleallowingconsiderabletweaking
to
obtain
optimumaudio
performance.
nqn,,.
.xT-100
the TRIPLE-
2.
The wiring is identical
to thatgiven underthe standard
setupshownabove.
Simplyremove
theTRIPLE-X PSU
andusetheTRIPLE-Xl70 PSUin its
place.
TRIPLE-XI70
lssue1:19'n
October2006

X-[)AC V8
FRONT PANEL
V nn f- '{
,^r*L./n\-
,I
o
o/-\
l
l. DIGITAL INPUT I buttonand
LED
2.
DIGITAL INPUT 2.3.USB
buttonandLEDs
3.IR lens
4.
OUTPUTTUBE/SOLID
STATEbutton
and
LEDs
5.MAINS
ON/OFF
Switch
REAR PANEL
6
-.- t
I
PL?RA
/8
I
I
I
SERIAL
NU[/BER
POWERCONSUM
I
K
USB
NPUTS
DiG3 DIG2 DIG
DIGiIAI ANA.OGUE
CUTPUT OUTPUTS
COAXIA'-F., -.. ,.-'
I l, , -cf . : :i? G-1-
. '-l
rF]S
PROD.]CTCOI/PLIESV/ H
)F]HSRUIES2I CFR,
CHAP]E?
I
SJBCHAPTER
J,PART
]
O4OA] )Ai: OF I\4AI.]UFACTURE
IIiIS
P?OD|]CT
COI',/PIESWTH
PART
I5 OF TFEFCC
RUTES
OPERATIONSSUBJEC:TO]wO
CONDITONS.
I rHlS
DEVICE
N4AVNOTCAUSEFrAR\4FULlNTERFERE\C:,
A\l
2
TTIS
DE!ICEVJSTACCEPT
Ai\Y
II'ITERFEREIJCE
?ECFVED,
IiCtUDIIiG
NTERFERENCE
IHAT
il/AY
CATSE
JNDESIAED
OPERAT]ON
DESGNEDINE BYMUSICALFDEtIry
7
9I0I1
I\I)
6.
X-PLOftr1 vt power
outputsocket
7.X-RAY tt power
outputsocket
8.MAINS POWER IECinlet
socket
9.
USBinput
USB"B"-type
socket
10.
IN{PUTSDIG 3.2.1RCA socket
11.
DIGITAL COAXIAL OUTPUTRCAsocket
12.
LEFT & RIGHT ANALOGUE OUTPUTS
RCA sockets
Issuel: 19'n
October2006

X.DAC V8
TunerButtons:
INFO
- Toaccess
broadcastinfbrmation
MENU to
chooseoptions
AUTOTUNE finds
previous,nert
broadcast
MONO,'STEREO Ootionforweaker
FMstations
DAC Buttons:
DIG I - Sclccts DAC
digitalinputI
DIG2- SclectsDACdigital input
2
DIG
3
- SelectsDACdigitalinput
3
USB
-Selccts
DAC
USB
input
Amnlifier Buttons:
PHONO
- SelectsPhonoinput
AUX I Sclcct
Source
AUXI or PDI
AUX 2 SelectsourccAUX 2
AUX 3 SelectsoLrrccAUX 3
CD Buttons:
TIIvIE DisplaysTrackTirneiTirne
rcrnaining
0-9Buttorrs LJsedto sclccttrack
numbcrs
CHECK Check
prcprograrnmed
tracks
PROGRAM
-Prosranrsselectionand
ordcroftracks
INTRO
- Playerplays
flrstl0 seconds
of'eachtrack
REPEAT
-Repe'atswholc
diskor
selectecl
tracks
SEARCH Fastfbrwardibacku'ard
throughtrack
STOP Stop
playing/E;ect
CD
Theremotecontrolshownbelow enablesfunctionsto bc operatedfionr aconvenient
distanca.
Equivalent
buttonsonthcrcmotc
controlhavethesamefunctionsasthosc
on
thcliont panel
ofthe unit.Otherfunctionsareonlyavailableby remotecontrol.
Asthehandsetuscsaninvisiblcinfia-rcd
lishtbean.thctiorrtcdeenust beoointeddircctlvtowardsthcreceiverwindowatthe
fiont
ofthe
player.
without
visr-ral
obstructionbetr.l'eenthenr.
If therangc
ofthcrcmotc control
greatliz
decreases.replacethe
batterics
u'ith
ne\\'ones.Dclnot
required.sizeAAA. LR03
orSUM-4.
Please
disposeo.l'usedbatteriesin accordance
to local regulations.
BAND SelectsDAB orFM
STORE Storesslation
as
prcset
SELECT Tochoose
presetiDAB
station
PRESET
'l'
Jselects
preset
TUNE f I stepsupidownband
VOLUME UP/DOWN
- sets
volume
level
MLrTE
__
Mutcs
unituntil
pressed
again
DISPLAY Dims
display
CLEAR Clearsselected
pre
proqrarnmed
track
A,'BSets
repeat
startrendtorepeat
sectionoftrack
SHUFFLE Plays backtracksin
randomorder
TRACK - Next/previoustrack
PAUSEiPLAY Stop/starlCD
Plai'back
oldandncwbatteries
-twoare
lsstreI: l9'r ()e tobcr l(XXr

X-DAC V8
Switch-on PC users
Once
power
isapplied,oneinputLED
indicatorshould Checkthe
computerhas
picked
upthedeviceandis
flash.After
approx.30secondsa small
"click"
will be cunentlyusingit
byclicking:
(most
Windows
versions)
heardand one of the outplrt
LED indicators
(SOLID
STATE or TUBE) will light indicating
output it | - Start
enabled,andthe
unitisreadyforuse. I I - Settines
Whenthe
selectedinputis
unconnectedornotreceiving
I I - Control
panel
digital data, the correspondingLED will flash to I I SoundsandMultimedia
indicate
absence
of signal.
When
a signalispresent.
the | | - Audio
LEDwill li,sht
continuously. Checkthat
"USBaudiodevice"appearsunder
Disitalinputs1,2,3 I I PREFERRED
AUDIO DE,VICEtab
You will need
a goodquality phono
to phono
cableto I Mac users
connecttheDAC tothe
disitalsource.
Plugoneendinto therequiredinput socketin theback I Checkthecomputerhas
pickedupthedeviceand
is
ofthe X-DACV8 | cunently
using
itbyclicking:
(MAC OS
X)
Plugtheother
endintothedigitaloutputRCA socket
onyour
digitalsourcee.g.
CD player. minidisk.DAT or ] I System
preferences
Satellitereceiver. | 1 - Hardware
Onceconnected,selectthe correctinputon the fiont | | - Sound
panel or correspondingremote button. The input
selectedshoulddisplaya constantlight and oncethe Checkthat"USB
audioDAC" isselectedunderthe
sourceis
playing.
themusic
should
be
heard
throughthe | | OUTPUTtab.
system. lf thecomputer'swaming sounds/chimesareto played
through
theDAC, makesureit isselected
under
the
Computersetup
lbr input 4 (USBinDui. SOUND EFFECTStabtoo.
You will need
a goodqualityUSB A to B cableto ] | SelectingDAC outnut
tvoe:
connectthe
unit
to
thecomputer.
Plugthe B (square)
endinto the socketin the backof | ] Therearetwo optionsofoutput for theX-DAC v8.
theX-DACV8
Plug
theA (rectangle) endintoa freeUSBsocketon | | Tube
output
- Filteredanalogueoutputtakenthrough
a
your
computer. | | top spectubestageidenticalto our classicX-l0D tube
The computer should detect the new hardware and | | buffer. This givesa lovely tube soundto all the digital
install
ageneric driverautomatically
(Nosetupordriver| | sources
played
thoughit.
disk
required).
Youwill nowhavea secondmixeravailable
whichis I SolidStateoutDut
- FilteredanalozueoutDutfor the
defaultwhenevertheDAC isplugged in.Usethismixer I semiconductor purist, gives the absolute top
toselectthesourceoradj
ust
levels
ifrequired. I specificationand is bestsuitedto drive longer
cable
CD, MP3, WAV filesplayed
on any software
should
] lengths.
now play through the DAC. This device has been
designedto work with Windows98,ME, 2000andXP. The ouput typecanbe changedwithout anyrewiring
Pleasenote: pressine the front oanel button allows instantaneous
This deviceis ahigh speedserialdata processor.
andby switch- over at any time. The indicator LED lights to
its nature. requires a very high volume of USB | | showcurrently
selectedoption.
bandwidth.It will benef-rt
sreatly
fiom beinethe onlv
deviceconnectedon its USB 'bus'. Sharingthe same I DieitalOutnutCoo-yial:
bus with other devices may cause unwanted arlefacts
such as dropouts or temporary loss of signal. This ] ] An RCA socketfor digital output is includedto allow
especially includes the use of the DAC on a USB I I loop though digital connectionof the selected
source.
hub/splitteralongside
otherUSBcomponents | | Thiswill enable,forexamplethe
digitalrecordingof the
selected
input onto a CD-R/RW, MD, DAT, or other
digitalrecorder.
Thedatastreamsamplerateis passed
throush
unaffected.
Issue1:l9'r'
October2006

X.DAC V8
Basic
problem-solving
with aDAC is similarto troubleshooting
otherelectricalor electonic equipment. Always checkthemost
obvious
possible
causesfirst, suchasthefollowing examples:
Problem Probable
Cause Remedy
Nopower
/ lights Power
plug
isnotinserted
correctly Pluein securelv fullvinto
Dower
supply's
X-DAC t'treu,
socket
No audiooutput,ortoo low level
output Incorrect
or missins connections
USB Driver not selected
(PC or MAC)
Check connections
andmakesure they
are
secure.
See
P.9 PC users or MAC users section
Dropoutsin sound
(RCAinputs) Digitalinputlead
not
properly
connected
Faulty
digitalinputlead Checkinputleadisfully secured
Changelead.Pleaseusea
goodquality
straight-throughsignal-and-ground
phono
tophono lead.
No audiooutputfrom USBinput USB
Cable
not
connected
USB
Driver
notselected
(PC
orMAC)
Checkconnectionsandmakesurethey
aresecure.
See
P.9 PCusersorMac userssection
Not detectedwhen connectedto
USB USB
Cable
faulty
USBnotworking/enabled
oncomputer
CorrectUSBdriversnotinstalled
(can
happen
particularly
with factory-
preinstalled
Windows
operating
systems)
Checkandreplacecable
CheckUSBportfunctionswith another
device.
Please
check
with
thecomputer
manufacturer.Enquireabout
USBdriver
orupdate.
Dropoutsin sound
(USBinput) Shared
USB
port
with
anotherdevice
Computerbusywithanotherapplication
Computerlow onresources
Avoid sharingtheUSBport with other
devices,
if possible.
At times
anapplication
(program)
may
intervene,sometimesinvisibly
e.g.a
virusscanner.Whenthishappens,
computer
resources
aretemporarily
used
up,and
playback
maysuffer. Thisisnot
afault.Try running fewer
applicationsif
possible.
Hum Audio
connector
plug
isnotfullypushed
in lnsert
plug
securely
Remote
controldoesnotwork Power
supply
switch
issettooff Setswitchto on
Battery(ies)
fittedthewrongwayround lnsert
batteriescorrectly
Batteriesareflat Changebatteries
for anew
set
Remote
controlisnot
pointed
directlytowards
the
front
panel
of theDAC Ensure
there
isnoobstruction
between
theremotecontrolandDAC front
Remotecontrolrangehas
greatly
reduced Batteriesare
runninsout Change
batteries for anewset
PleasenotethatthedriverfortheUSBinputisGENERIC
(no
diskrequired,thecomputer
picks
the
correctdriverautomatically),
andincludedinthefollowing
operatingsystems:
MicrosoftrMWindowst"98SE,ME,2000Pro,XPHome/Pro
(with
Service
pack
I orlater)
MacrM
OS9.I orlater
(Japanese/English),OS
X 10.0orlater
(English
only),OSX l0.l orlater
(Japanese
editionSP)
(For
MacOSX 10.0Japaneseedition
plug
and
play
doesnotworkappropriatelyforUSBaudiodevices)
All aboveinformationcorect attimeof going topress.
Pleasecheckwithsoftware
company'ssupportfor laterand/ordifferent
versions
lssue
l: l9'nOctober2006

x-f)AC v8
DAC:
Connections:
DACcircuit
Up sampling
Totalcorrelated
jitter
Linearity
OutputdigitalOdBlevel
Analogue
outputimpedance
Frequencyresponse
Channelseparation
Signal
/noise
ratio
Totalharmonic
distortion
Digitalinputs
24
bitDelta-Sigma
(Bit stream)dual
differential
8X oversampling
192
VHz
< 135pS
< 0.
I
dBdown
to-96dB
2.lSVRMS
atI kHznominal
47Ohms
l0Hz to20kHz -0.2d8
max
> I
05dB20Hzto20kHz
> I lTdB
"A" weighted
< 0.003%
l}Hz to 20kHz
I USB I.l 132, 44.1
,48WIzsample
rates]
connection
forcomputeronly
3 S/PDIF
(RCAconnector)
I S/PDIF
(RCAconnector)
I pair RCA
Digital
outputs
Linelevel
analogue
outputs:
Powerrequirement: 100/ 115l230Volts
AC 50I 60Hz
(factory
pre-set).
16W no
devicesconnected,idle
26W alldevices
connected.idle
30
W maximum
Weight: 4.15
kg,
6.4kg, 9.13lbs
14.Ilbs unitonly,unboxed
inshippingcarton
Dimensions: 219mm. 8.6inches wide
88
mm, 3.5inches highincludingfeet
340
mm, 13.4inches deepincluding
tenninals
Standardaccessories:Remote
control (X-tt series,universal
type),
2batteries
sizeLR03orAAA, manganese
alkaline
type
l0A IECMainslead
Musical
Fidelityreserves
theright
tomake
improvementswhich
mayresultinspecificationor
feature
chanses
without
notice.
IssueI: 19'r'October2006

X-[)AC V8
RELEASE DATE CHANGES
lssueI l9thOctober2006 l" issue
Issue1:19'n
October
2006